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In
the Sumerian myth, The Descent of Inanna, which dates back to between
2,000 and 3,000 BC, the Goddess Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, travels
through seven gates guarded by seven gatekeepers to the Underworld to meet
her sister, Ereshkigal, Queen of the Dead. As a divine being, Inanna
is beautifully adorned with a crown, two necklaces made of lapis lazuli
beads, a jeweled breastplate, a gold bracelet, a lapis measuring rod and
line, and her royal robe, all of which symbolize the seven aspects of her
divine power. At each gate, the gatekeeper insists that Inanna give up one
aspect of her divinity in order to continue. Eventually, she enters
the seventh gate, naked and powerless, and meets Ereshkigal who condemns
her to death and hangs her on a hook like rotting meat. After three
days, she is rescued and resurrected by two demons sent by Enki, the God
of Wisdom, and returns to the upper realm where she continues to reign
supreme.
Symbolically
speaking, the myth of Inanna describes just how difficult the descent into
matter is for the divine Spirit. Forced to keep sacrificing itself
in order to gain a more complete knowledge and experience of itself, the
Spirit remains almost dead, in a state of suspended animation reminiscent
of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, until rescued and resurrected by the
Soul. Then, unlike the Disney movie versions where the princess
lives problem-free immediately upon being kissed by the prince, the
equally difficult ascent from matter back to the spiritual realm begins.
This isn’t as far from our everyday lives as we might imagine. On
the spiritual path, we often encounter obstacles and roadblocks that seem
to demand that we surrender aspects of ourselves in order to progress. Who
are these gatekeepers who control our access to the upper realms and
demand that we crucify ourselves at every turn?
The
gatekeepers of our experience are our emotional states and the challenges
we face every day provide ample opportunities for either descent or
ascent. As spiritual seekers, we resist the idea of descent,
thinking that it is the uphill climb fueled by positive energy that is the
key to success, but if the divine Spirit finds it necessary to experience
all aspects of hell in order to attain a more multidimensional perspective
on itself, why do we resist the journey into the depths of our being?
Because it’s unpleasant, depressing and frustrating, that’s why.
When
we find ourselves descending to the nether world of our own minds, we
relinquish faith, kindness, hope, patience, duty, compassion and love and
experience the emotional states of fear, greed, worry, anger, jealousy,
criticism and hate, instead. We become frightened at the intensity
of our negative feeling and fear that we’ll be stuck in the land of the
dead forever. But, as Inanna’s story reveals, our success is
assured when we completely surrender to the experience. If while
we’re rotting on the hook of our negative emotions we can find the
wherewithal to not only experience them, but also understand and accept
them, we begin to acquire wisdom and our Soul assists us in our ascent
toward heaven once again. Someday, when we least expect it, we’ll
bypass heaven all together, and head right for the One. Once there,
we’ll forget we ever left. That’s something to look forward to
on the days we’re hanging out in the underworld with Ereshkigal.
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