The Ecstasy Groove

"Ecstasy doesn't last. But it cuts a groove for something that does last."

-- E.M. Forster

Ecstasy is necessary, but hardly sufficient, for the good life. Can you imagine how dull and routine a life without ecstasy would be? But merely bouncing from one ecstatic moment to another is like being on an endless sugar buzz.

Ecstasy's purpose is to take us to the top of the mountain, to give us the experience of unity and love and oneness. But when we come down, ecstasy doesn't tell us how to live. It doesn't automatically translate into life lessons that we can operate by in the so-called real world. That's where insight and wisdom enter the picture.

Ecstasy "cuts a groove" for Spirit, a groove in which wisdom takes birth, in which insight blossoms. Without the ecstatic experience we merely have dry, second hand knowledge. We may try valiantly to translate book learning into mindful actions and behaviors, but without the true ecstatic experience of Spirt, our efforts bear no fruit. Ecstasy and insight are both necessary for us to live our lives powerfully and fully.

So, by all means, allow ecstasy to enter your life. But don't stop there. Let the grooves that ecstasy cuts into your psyche, into your heart, fill with Spirt, with compassion, with love. And from that fertile soil let wisdom spring. Out of that potent concoction of ecstasy and insight your life path will unfold. Pay attention and live a deep, groovy life!