Last night I returned from a five-day trip, which is probably the most meaningful trip I've ever made in my entire life so far, and am still in the middle of digesting all the insights I got from it. This trip must be a special type of the so-called "vision quest".
In this specific case of mine I wanted to reconfirm the life vision I had identified about five years ago and enabled me to end the previous chapter in my life instead of finding a new life vision for the first time.
The city I chose for this "vision quest" symbolizes for me the beginning of the end of this previous chapter. I felt something deep was still preventing me from fully switching to the present chapter. So by physically visiting this city I wanted to symbolically get rid of this something once and for all.
The quantity and quality of insights I got from this short trip even surpassed the quanity of quality of insights I get in one year in my ordinary life in Jerusalem.
What I wanted to clarify through this vision quest concerned, first and foremost, where I can best accomplish my life mission, that is, whether I should continue living in Jerusalem or relocate somewhere else. And this city I visited this time, which is also my second most favorite city in the world after Jerusalem, was one of the options.
Now I know clearly that I want to and should continue living here in Jerusalem though my love for this second most favorite city of mine has increased even more. I've learned this time the fundamental difference in the types of love I feel for these two cities - my love for the latter seems to come from the heart, while my love for the former seems to come from the soul.
Another, no less important, insight I got is how to accomplish my life mission. Though saying farewell to the previous chapter in my life was my original intention, I feel I'm shifting from the present chapter, which started about five years ago, to a new one. The new chapter must be a synthesis of the previous and present chapters, or a synthesis of the so-called self-consciousness and divine consciousness into the rectified self-consciousness.
The biggest challenge I face in making this shift is that I don't know anyone personally who can be my role model. I'm also facing another difficult challenge I have to get over within a few months. This is also a test for my faith and confidence.
In conclusion, I myself am amazed that such a short trip could affect me so profoundly, of course, for the better. By extension I'm even more convinced now that our souls are here in this world with physical bodies to experience as many life challenges and grow spiritually by getting over them.