The Sacred Space of Offering

Sacrifice and the LoA

Most of us in the personal/spiritual development realms are aware of the Law of Attraction and how it works. What is less obvious perhaps is that it was once known under a different name and practice…sacrifice.

The idea of sacrifice conjures up a lot of unpleasant images for most of us, as it is a practice whose heart and spiritual significance is vastly misunderstood by the modern mind. So if you find yourself getting uncomfortable right about now…let me explain.

Make an Offering

The Law of Attraction operates on the principle that we are constantly making offerings to the universe…most of which are unconscious in the form of our thoughts. If you want more of something, you find what you currently have in your life which represents the more of what you want, place your attention on it and create a congruency within your thought patterns to support it. Then you cast it out into the universe…you let it go and trust that what you have given will return to you in a greater magnitude.

It is the same with the concept of sacrifice. Ancient peoples quite literally took the best of what they had and gave it back to the universe in a spiritual communication that is as old as time. The ritual surrounding the preparation of their offerings and the thought that went into selecting the appropriate items for surrender placed an enormous amount of attention on the understanding that life is an exchange of energy…a dance and that when energy is given, something new is produced. They performed the process using the body and mind, combining both spiritual and physical elements to enter a place of unity that lives deep within the human psyche.

Acknowledgment: The Heart of the Offering

Both the Law of Attraction and sacrifice embrace the concept of acknowledging that you already have something of what you want (hence the offering) and within that acknowledgment is the understanding that the universe is capable of producing more. They also both involve a trust factor…a making of space, a letting go, a release that sparks new growth in the area of your desires. It is then placed firmly within the hands of their perception of God, and the rest as Einstein so aptly put it…are details.

Getting Stuck on the Details

Seeing how instruction or various other input from us is not needed to create a tree or fish it is also reasonable to suggest that the whole of what we want doesn’t require much from us to create…and that the details are best left within the realm of the divine.

Micromanaging what you manifest limits your options. It takes something with infinite ways of showing up and forces it to travel down a traffic clogged roadway, where it is likely to get stuck in the congestion, placing it at the mercy of the environment and severely limiting its chances of making it through to its final destination.

Yet this is what many of us do with our requests…we funnel them down to exactly how we want them instead of allowing the universe and the infinite intelligence housed within it…to surprise us. It’s no wonder so many people become disillusioned with the process.

Creativity: The Art of Holding Space and Letting Go

I discovered a method recently when I was knee deep in the creative process that I think accurately portrays the art of holding space and letting go. We are by our very natures, creative beings, and what I’d like to demonstrate here is that creation comes effortlessly when it is coupled with space and intent.

I was working on the concept for my new web site when I stumbled upon this method. I wanted to be extremely clear about who I am and what my mission is and this required me to distill it down to its very essence. I needed to get to the heart of it, to journey down several layers within my unconscious mind and translate what was there into the words and images that are its perfect energy match.

I started out by loosely holding the images and feelings I resonated with for the site while going into deep trance. In the trance state I found myself beside a great rectangular pool of unimaginable depths. It looked Greek in architecture, beautifully tiled in white and with aesthetically placed giant columns along the side. I walked to the front of the pool and lined up one of the things I was working on, literally taking it out of my mind and body and placing it on the tile right next to the waters edge.

I backed up a few feet and sat down to watch, cross legged in meditation. I simply observed with no expectation other than wanting to see truth. Sitting there, holding the meditative state I was peacefully detached, empty, open and free.

Effortless Return

Eventually the item I placed began to change. Sometimes it levitated off of the ground and morphed into something else right before my eyes. Other times the item was claimed and swallowed up by the waves of the water lapping against the tile only to return as something new traveling along the surface of its white crested tips. And once when the offering was particularly well received, hands like those of the Lady of the Lake appeared with a gift from the depths of the pool.

Each time I exited my trance state the items I went in with had been transformed…and imbued with a new energy that gave me something more to work with. Increasing my clarity with each image I placed…until I was absolutely certain I had what I was looking for.

I think that what I’ve found with this experience is that the secret to an effortless return lies in entering a state of curiosity about how life comes up to meet the mind that’s seeking truth

What do you think?

Image by Stephane De Bourgles