BARITE PROPERTIES

✧ REALITY ✧ WISDOM ✧  PRESENCE ✧
✧ CONTEMPLATION ✧ INTROSPECTION ✧ TRUTH ✧
✧ STILLNESS ✧ SELF-KNOWLEDGE ✧ SPIRITUALITY ✧
✧ WEIGHT ✧ BALANCE ✧

Barite, also spelled Baryte, is a barium sulfate mineral known for its unusually high specific gravity. Its name comes from the Greek word barys, meaning heavy, an appropriate name for a mineral that can feel surprisingly weighty in the hand.

Barite occurs in several crystal habits, including tabular and bladed crystals, and may be colourless, white, blue, yellow, brown, grey or other colours.

THE WEIGHT OF REALITY

 The challenge of being spiritually curious while remaining comfortable within the ordinary is one of the heavy realities of human life.

It is easy to become fascinated with what might exist beyond our immediate perception.

What happens after death?
What is consciousness?
What can we know about God?
Are there dimensions of existence we can or cannot perceive?
What is the nature of the soul?

These are questions human beings have contemplated for thousands of years, and I don't think curiosity about them is something we need to abandon.

TRUST YOUR SENSES

Discernment requires us to pay attention to what is actually happening rather than only what we hope, fear or imagine might be happening.

What did I actually see?
What was actually said?
What evidence do I have?
What am I assuming?
Could I be wrong?

There is wisdom in intuition, but there is also wisdom in observation, reason and the willingness to question our own interpretation.

Being spiritually open does not require being easily convinced.

THE INNER LIFE

Barite also reminds me of the importance of contemplation.

Human beings possess an enormous interior world of memories, thoughts, imagination, conscience, emotions, beliefs and questions.

Meditation, prayer, solitude, journaling and quiet reflection can give us opportunities to examine that world.

But going inward should eventually help us return outward with greater clarity.
Self-knowledge matters because it influences how we live.

What do I believe?
Why do I believe it?
What am I avoiding?
Where am I wrong?
What needs to change?
What am I responsible for?

The inner journey becomes meaningful when what we discover begins to influence the person we choose to become.

SPIRITUALITY & EMBODIMENT

How can a spiritual person become more fully present here?

I don't believe our physical existence is something we need to transcend as quickly as possible.

We have relationships to nurture, work to accomplish, bodies to care for, mistakes to correct, people to forgive, things to learn and a creation surrounding us that deserves our attention.

Faith does not make ordinary life meaningless.
It can make ordinary life more meaningful.
Perhaps we don't always need to become lighter.
Sometimes we need enough spiritual weight to keep our feet firmly planted in reality.

THE VIRTUE OF BARITE

 Amusingly, its literal heaviness reminds me of presence.

Remain curious about mystery.
Contemplate what exists beyond yourself.
Pray.
Wonder.
Explore.
But keep your feet on the ground.

Truth should be able to survive contact with reality.

A symbol of wisdom, discernment, contemplation and remaining spiritually curious while fully present within the life we have been given.