The impossible lies within us. It wants to be realised – when it is time for a change.
The pursuit of the impossible is often the driving force that inspires humanity to greater heights. It is the spark that generates innovation and expands the boundaries of experience. Although many of us consider the impossible to be unattainable, it is precisely this pursuit that holds immeasurable power and inspiration.
Wanting the impossible requires courage and determination. It means standing up to opposition and believing in a vision even when others doubt it. But it is precisely this unshakeable belief in the impossible that holds the key to significant breakthroughs. And perhaps it is this belief that continues to change the world – and, with it, humanity itself.
Of course, striving for the impossible involves risks and setbacks. But every failed attempt is a valuable lesson that brings us closer to our goal – a goal of development that lies largely in the dark. Individuals may become discouraged, but the courage to learn from failure and emerge stronger gradually grows in them and in others.
In the realm of the spirit, nothing is impossible. There, eternal truths exist that influence the soul worlds and our world. The inhabitants of the soul worlds are able to give shape to the impulses of the spirit in ever new ways – in developments ‘from glory to glory’. In contrast, our earthly life is a game of countless possibilities waiting to be realised. Countless things are waiting to take a step, but nothing reaches its completion. The potentials seem limitless; they spring from the truths of the spirit that underlie all life. However, their realisation is only possible to a limited extent in our world, and efforts to achieve them always bring about their opposite.
If the impulses we receive contain the impossible, what purpose do they serve? Could they be a call and an invitation to spiritual transformation, to ascend to spiritual worlds where realisation is possible? And could they also be an offer of help ‘from above’?
In the Jewish and Christian traditions, there are a number of episodes and metaphors that can be interpreted in this way. Many stories in the Bible can be interpreted as parables.
Moses and the parting of the Red Sea
‘When Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the water was a wall to them on their right hand and on their left (Exodus 14:21-22; King James Version).
Moses wanted to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the land of Canaan promised by God.
Canaan, the “Promised Land,” can be understood allegorically as an image of the world of spirit and soul that is promised to all human beings. The path to it is an inner journey. Moses can be understood as a symbol of our consciousness, which is seized and permeated by the divine impulse. Deep resonances arise, and a longing for union with the divine origin flames up. The origin rests in the depths of our inner being. But how are we to get there? How can we establish a connection with it? This requires a profound spiritual transformation.
Everything gets in the way of such a transformation. We ourselves, who long for new spiritual dimensions, are the biggest obstacle. We are dominated by our current state, our existence in a world where the forces of fate are at work, and we are at the mercy of the atmospheric forces that humanity generates and reinforces every day, right down to our blood and every cell of our body. And last but not least, it is our own life strategies that bind us to what we currently are. We are the ‘guardians of the threshold,’ the prison guards of our existence, who do not allow us to escape from ourselves. The ‘Promised Land’ shines in our longing; we know deep down that there is something else within us, something great, but the ‘Red Sea’ keeps us from it, the power of our blood. In Kabbalah, the Jewish secret teaching, the Red Sea symbolises the Klipot, the shells or obstacles that hide the divine light and block spiritual enlightenment.
The people of Israel – understood as a symbol for humanity – are enslaved in ‘Egypt’, in our material world. And this can continue for a long time. But ‘Moses,’ our consciousness, has received a call, a disturbing impulse. He does not really want to follow it, but he cannot escape it; the impulse is too powerful, seizing him again and again and finally igniting in Moses the belief that the path is (somehow) passable after all. Even though it seems impossible …
This inflamed faith unleashes divine help. Moses and the Israelites arrive at the Red Sea. After a short run, their journey seems to be over. The ‘Egyptian soldiers’ are getting closer – they are our conditioning and entanglements that bind us to our previous world. We experience them more clearly than ever before. They are much more numerous, stronger and more threatening to our path than we ever thought possible. But now the miracle happens: the waters part and we pass through with dry feet. The liberating path opens up to our consciousness. It is already within us, but we have never seen it before. Now it reveals itself – our faith has moved mountains within us. We reach the other shore. According to the biblical story, God causes the sea to flow back. The Egyptian army is destroyed (Exodus 14:28).
The desert
Is it really that simple? It was an enlightening moment that brought about a first breakthrough in consciousness, an unmistakable sign that the path exists and that we are called to follow it. The ‘Promised Land’ is there; the new spiritual state awaits us. We have overcome the first great limitation, the darkening of consciousness. That was a decisive step. But now we see with new eyes what lies ahead: the entire process of transformation that must take place down to the cells of our bodies. An inner structure must emerge that allows the soul to enter the world of the spirit and soul.
And so begins a 40-year journey through the desert, that is, a lifelong journey. Without help ‘from above,’ without inner guidance, it would be impossible to accomplish. Mutual support in a group of like-minded people also seems indispensable. The Israelites receive manna and water from heaven. The newly awakened soul forces must gain a foothold in the old system; indeed, they must overcome their previous motivations and survival skills. Is this possible? What courage is required! Doubts arise. We continue to live in our familiar surroundings, in our relationships with our partners, children and friends, facing all the challenges of our jobs, financial worries and health concerns. And now we are supposed to experience ourselves in a completely new way. In the midst of the old, we are supposed to reinvent life. Everything beautiful and frightening at the same time, everything that brings highs and lows – all of this gradually enters a new realm of perception, a kind of parallel perception. In this perception, everything that does not stem from divine values and ideals appears as a ‘desert’. Existence becomes an adventure in a new way, a place and state of constant new trials. Can we manage to live according to the ideals that arise from within us, even if they cannot be realised here, the ideals that are our signposts to the ‘Promised Land’?
We continue on our way. We have made a firm decision and intend to follow it. We have had an enlightening experience, a preview of the path ahead. Moses – our consciousness – gradually changes, rising more and more towards what is to come. The greatest elevation, which eclipses everything that has gone before, takes place “on Mount Sinai”. In luminous clarity, detached from all bonds, Moses receives the tablets of the law, the fundamental guideline for the path. He is transported into the world of the spirit and soul.
Finally, however, it becomes clear that Moses himself cannot enter the Promised Land. He can only see it from a distance. Human consciousness, earthly identity, can only take us to the border of the soul world. There, a new identity awaits us: our divine self. In the biblical story, it is Joshua who anchors the soul in the soul world. He corresponds to Jesus, the ‘Son,’ the original human being.
Every human being is called to an “exodus” from the present world. In each of us, the “Red Sea” surges and separates us from the soul worlds and our true identity. In each of us, inner guidance can develop; the ‘prophet’ can awaken and lead us out of an existence that represents “slavery” for the divine soul spark. The original home of the souls sends out a call. Those who feel it within themselves and are disturbed by it are faced with the question: Do I have the courage to follow this call?
If they do so, unwavering, the impossible gradually becomes reality within them. For our original nature lies within us like a seed. And it sprouts when its time has come.
