Writings

The Island of Safety

By Theresa Martin

I have been on many trips to the pyramid site of Teotihuacan with don Miguel Ruiz and his son Jose. We use the symbology of the pyramid site along with our personal intent to show us the truth about ourselves. On the first day, we go to a plaza in the front of the complex which represents Hell; the way that we have created our lives from unconsciousness. This is not a place where we judge ourselves or judge how we have lived. It is a place to acknowledge that we did not know what we were doing. We can take the opportunity to awaken and really see our dream. We can use our intent to become aware of what we believe.

In the center of the plaza is an island which we call the Island of Safety. This represents all of the ways that we have found to comfort ourselves in our dreams. We have made so many agreements with ourselves out of a desire to protect ourselves from other people and from the world around us. It is so easy to believe that life is scary, that love hurts, that we need to protect ourselves. We are bombarded with messages that tell us to be afraid; just turn on the television or pick up a paper and you will see fear everywhere.

Right there in the center of Hell is this enticing structure that will bring us above the fear and keep us safe. What agreements have we made about safety? These agreements affect everything; how we interact with strangers and loved ones, whether we express ourselves or hold back, how we present ourselves, how we trust or withhold trust, what payment we must make to life to keep safe. The Island of Safety is central to our experience in Hell, in unconsciousness. Even as we gain awareness, we do our best to preserve these agreements because when we made these agreements, we believed that our survival depended on them.

Let's look at the foundation of all of these agreements because sitting right there is a big belief: that safety is an issue and that we are not safe. If we believe that we need to be safe, we are giving unspoken agreement to the idea that we can be unsafe. What if safety is not an issue at all? Consider the possibility that there is no such thing as being unsafe. Do you feel resistance to this thought? If you can feel totally free of worries for your safety, all of the agreements that you made about safety will no longer have anything holding them up.

In Teotihuacan, one must get off of the Island of Safety which is in the center of Hell in order to walk out of the plaza. In life this is also true; we must let go of the concept of safety and all of our agreements in order to step into total awareness and freedom. This seems so simple and yet it is a process of choosing again and again to step off of the Island of Safety. Life presents the invitation to leave hell in so many unexpected ways. We can answer the invitation and use our will and our awareness to climb the steps out of hell.