This episode begins with the idea that at critical times all of life can just hang by a thread. Michael Meade then describes the ancient rites of passage that involved the “upavita” or thread of life. The upavita was imagined as the red thread of passion that runs within the blood of every being. It was also envisioned as the green thread of existence that is dancing through the endless windings of the vegetal realm. Either way, it's the vine of eternity that secretly unites all living tendrils and embodied souls to the eternal web of life.
When tied onto young people as part of a rite of passage, a red thread or cord indicated that each life is sacred and symbolized the capacity of each person to awaken to how and where they are threaded to the eternal chain of being. The upavita thread symbolically pulled each novice away from the concerns of daily life in order to connect them to something deep inside themselves that also connected them to something deep and enduring in the world.
At this troubled time on earth, when life itself seems to be unravelling, we are all in a collective rite of passage and need reminders that we are each secretly tied to the web of life in a meaningful way. We each have an inner thread of spirit or genius that connects us to a calling and a purpose that makes our lives meaningful, no matter what the conditions of the world might be.
The symbolic thread of life reminds us that we are all in this together; but also that meaningful change comes from following the inner thread of imagination woven within us to begin with. Like initiates in ancient rites, we can follow our thread and become messengers of the unseen, able to bring forth both ancient understandings and new ideas when everything seems to be hanging by a thread.
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