We may, without realizing it, be trapped in a dangerous fantasy, we believe that we must work to build a life in which there are no problems, contradictions or painful facts, fantasy is risky because it can lead us to fight for what does not exist, rather than what is possible: spiritual alchemy.
The term “spiritual alchemy” is a metaphor. Remember that a few centuries ago, alchemists were researchers who, for a long time, were looking for a method to convert lead into gold.
- This can also be seen from a symbolic perspective.
- It means turning something of little value into a precious item.
“If it’s not in your hands to change a situation that causes you pain, you can choose the attitude with which you face that suffering. “Viktor Frankl?
The ancient alchemists believed that they could achieve this magical transformation through a substance they called “philosopher’s stone”. Of course, it was another fantasy.
However, this idea gives us an illustrative image that we can apply to the process of spiritual alchemy, it is a symbolic process, possible to achieve, because it happens in our minds.
We said at first that, without being very aware of it, we sometimes think that something is wrong in our lives simply because it is not perfect, we have internal problems or contradictions and assume that it is ‘false’, which should not be the case.
From this we infer that, deep down, we imagine the existence of a way of life in which there is none of these difficulties.
It’s self-deception. Life itself is a difficulty to solve, but also an opportunity to grow.
At birth, and even before him, we carry the effect of all the problems not yet solved by our parents and the generations that preceded them, in addition to the difficulties of the society in which we came into the world.
Thus, as we grow, we face our own needs, needs and paradoxes, it could not have been otherwise.
Even if our life is surrounded by very harmonious conditions, sooner or later we will have to face loss, physical and emotional pain, illness, death. He’s the protagonist.
When we finally understand that a perfect life does not exist and therefore it is unreasonable to believe it, we will take a big step.
Abandoning this fantasy is a very important starting point, not only to adjust our expectations, but to start the long process of learning spiritual alchemy: turning lead into gold, that is, turning problems, difficulties and pain into a positive contribution to our lives. .
What leads us to classify some of the experiences we have, or the situations in which we are immersed, as unbearable are not these realities, everything is in our minds, that is, in the perspective we take in the face of what is happening. for us, in our reading of all these realities.
Even the best experience can become negative if we decide to see it this way. This happens when, for example, “We love selfishly, with fear and willingness to control. “Or when we work with carelessness and ill will, or when he decides to emphasize only the faults of others and the world.
We need the philosopher’s stone to turn lead into gold. This philosopher’s stone exists in the spiritual world. This is equivalent to how we organize our ideas and perceptions to interpret reality.
A stone can be used to hit someone, to build a house or to make a sculpture, it all depends on what those who find it think.
Are we still exposed to pain, rejection, not getting what we want?One way or another, no human being escapes him. The difference between them is the ability to build each experience constructively.
Unfortunately, those who do not do it correctly are constantly repeating painful situations.
Spiritual alchemy is a process of inner transformation that only each of us can achieve in ourselves, is not easy and does not guarantee a happy life, what it does is protect us from a miserable life, overrun by pain and despair, in which it will end up being a passive object of adversity.