LOST!

There are many ways we feel lost; we can lose our way whilst walking in a strange place and unless there is someone we can ask directions from, it may be sometime before we are able to find our way back again; we may be driving and unknowingly take a wrong turning and after a while realise we are not where we thought we should be; we may find ourselves in strange company where the conversation is beyond our ability to join in; we may be in a foreign country and wander off the beaten track, suddenly finding there are no signs in any language we understand; we may become so stressed from something that is happening to us, that we become totally disorientated; we may, either as the result of an accident or even for no apparent reason, suddenly lose our memory and not be able even to recall our own name.

Whatever the reason, feeling lost is a most disconcerting feeling and is the subject of many a nightmare. Of the cases I have cited, I guess losing our memory and I mean losing it totally, not just being unable to recall certain facts, is the one we know least about because the person undergoing it cannot tell us how they feel. Even if they recover, I am not sure they can really tell us exactly how they felt. Despite this, many are the stories and films that have been written and made where the central character has lost his or her memory but of necessity, the feelings put over are subjective ones imagined by the writer or film maker. Because we imagine it is such a nightmare experience, we cannot resist trying to guess what it would feel like to experience it. Presumably, something takes place within the afflicted person that interferes with the connection between the mind and the brain on a conscious level. To assume it is a bad experience per se is not necessarily so I believe.

As Spiritualists we know that we are beings of spirit and only have a physical body, including a physical brain, for the period we spend on Earth. If we lose, even temporarily, part of the link between our real spiritual self and the brain through which that part of us gives instructions to the physical body, does our spiritual self still register what is going on physically around us? I believe it must, and because the mind, which is not part of our physical selves, is able to recall consciously everything that ever happened to us, if properly prompted, it must be possible somehow to reconstruct the period during which our spirit was unable to access the brain. I believe if psychiatrists fully understood the true relationship between brain and spirit, they would find it easier to treat memory loss but above all, to help patents recall all that happened both during their memory loss and previously.

During any period when we feel ‘lost’ I guess the worst part is that we begin to feel all alone. There appears to be nobody to whom we can turn for help or advice and this can lead to a feeling of panic sometimes. This is when we can discover important truths about ourselves. I believe because nothing ever happens without a purpose, these periods of feeling ‘lost’ or ‘abandoned’ occur because, for some reason, we need to undergo that experience at that particular time. After the initial shock or even panic has passed, we find that we are much more resourceful than we ever imagined possible. Circumstances have forced us into an unaccustomed pattern of thinking; we are being forced to think laterally even though that may not be something we have done before. Once the panic passes, we become calm and it seems that our minds are clearer. We begin to remember things we have learned, often in vastly different surroundings, and adapt them to our present predicament. We even have thoughts come into our minds that have never occurred to us previously.

Why should this be? Because we are never truly alone! We may have no physical companion but those close to us in spirit, because of our different thinking pattern, can draw close to us in a way that is impossible in our normal state. They can impress our minds with thoughts that will enable us to find ourselves or our way again. It is not just impressions from those in spirit who never desert us however our own inner self is freed by the change in circumstances. Our conscious mind holds our inner self in check normally but when the conscious mind is ‘out of its depth’ (or when we sleep incidentally) it is forced to let go. Then the inner or spiritual self can come into its own and prompt us to take action that would never occur to the former because it is outside its experience.

Therefore my friends, when we are put in conditions where, for whatever reason, we feel lost or abandoned, there will be a reason for it and we will definitely learn something important as a consequence. Try never to allow yourself to feel desperate when deserted or lost, try to remain calm and look within. This will assist the process that supersedes your conscious mind at such times of apparent crisis. When it is all over, try to discover what you have learned from the experience, for something important will have been revealed to you.