Shifting awareness
"In addition to creating new cultural establishments, we must enable our very mode of being to evolve. But I do not mean something implausible or fanciful. I mean what simply amounts to growing up. Rather than becoming something other-than-human or superhuman, we are summoned to become fully human. We must mature into people who are, first and foremost, citizens of Earth and residents of the universe, and our identity and core values must be recast accordingly. This kind of maturation entails a quantum leap beyond the stage of development in which the majority of people live today. And yet we must begin now to engender the future human". - Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Poltkin.
This quote fits really well with how I feel life is unfolding, at least, with the new year and the current spiritual paradigm shift. I have a real sense that it is no longer about us. Obviously we’re important, but it has to be about something much greater than ourselves, it has to be about the collective. And this isn’t just in the sense of ‘airy-fairy-spiritual-fluffiness-oneness-in service-it’s all just about love and light-talk’, but about how we each impact on this world, and how we can all make a positive contribution by living a life on/of purpose.
It means setting aside our own ego-centric agendas for fame and fortune and the need to ‘be someone’, and to instead just ‘be’ our authentic selves, offering our gifts to the world for the greater good. It also means setting aside the self-depreciating ego that says we have nothing to give and that we are not worthy. It is also time to set aside the many stories, to exit the victimhood, the martyrdom and the various other roles we play (blaming others goes in there too) and to take absolute responsibility for our lives and the manner in which we react to, and/or perceive things to be.
It’s time to stop putting others on pedestals (especially spiritual ones) and to stop putting ourselves on them too. It is also time to stop believing that anyone else is any worthier than us, and that we are any worthier than others. We are all citizens of this wonderful Planet Earth and we all have a gift to share and we need to get on sharing it for the greater good of everyone else.
It’s also of course about connecting more fully (perhaps for the first time) with nature. To recognise that we are the microcosm of the macrocosm. It is time to notice the moon cycle and how this affects our own cycle, to notice the weather and the impact this has on our day to day lives, to notice the fruits and vegetables that are in season and when, to notice the changing seasons and the shifting light, and the manner in which both affect how we feel.
It’s about becoming conscious really. About reducing separation. Not seeing ourselves as separate to the world we live in. We are very much a part of it, and what we do will impact on some level.
I have a strong sense that we are being propelled along in this direction anyway. There’s going to be plenty of planetary shifts and eclipses this year to try and awaken us further from our slumber, and to help us to recognise that the current way of living is not sustainable and doesn’t work. There does need to be a huge shift in the collective awareness, but of course this happens one person at a time.
If ever there was a time to stand up for what we believe in, then it is now. Reducing our plastic usage is not enough, although it does help. It has to be so much more than this. It has to be about doing the healing work, and bringing light to the shadows. No more getting stuck in the spiritual ego or spiritually bypassing, but being truly honest and real.
Hopefully this doesn’t sound preachy as that’s not my intention. But I must admit I have been getting a touch challenged by all the spiritual waffle that seemed to increase last year, as if being spiritually ‘awake’ Is now a badge of honour, and entitles you to join ‘awake’ groups on Facebook, creating yet more division and separation.
Wake up people! We are all one. And we live on the same Planet. And if we want the Planet to heal, we need to heal ourselves and reduce our sense of separation. That means going inwards. Joining a Facebook “conscious’ group or posting about being ‘awake’ isn’t going to make the difference (that my friends is the spiritual ego kicking in). Nor is merely talking about it. You need to do the work! Delve right in!
We also need to honour the soul. The soul is constantly trying to get our attention through the body. That ache or pain you’re feeling? That’s the soul trying to get you to listen. The soul doesn’t want you to opt out, it too wants you to dive right in. It wants expression! So do what you can to quieten the inner noise and distraction, and allow it some expression.
Needless to say I’m biased, but yoga is often exactly what is needed. Not only does yoga help to quieten the mind and allow the soul expression (a voice even) but each time we practice yoga, everyone benefits because our vibration increases and as we are part of the whole, the vibration of the whole planet increases. This explains the reason that the more we heal, the more the Planet heals too. We all become clearer and cleaner conduits for the greater whole.
Furthermore, as yoga helps us to connect more fully with our true nature, so it also helps us to connect more fully with nature. Yoga is about union - union of body, mind and soul, and union with nature and the Planet in which we inhibit. We are not separate and this is what we need to realise.
Other than yoga, I’m also going to suggest a sound bath, one of my favourite (after Reiki) healing modalities. We are spoiled here on Guernsey to have Sabine and her amazing sound gongs and Ariana visiting who uses her voice and Tibetan singing bowls. Both are profound in their own way. Both give the mind a break. Both resonate with the soul in a very real way. Both have a deep resonance with nature.
Of course the healing list could go on. There are crystals and sea swimming and walks in nature, to say nothing of getting your hands in the earth and preparing a meal using fresh ingredients consciously for your family with love.
For now I shall leave you with an extract from Bill Plotkin’s book, Nature and the Soul, “ …how we might grow whole, one life stage at a time, by embracing nature and soul as our wisest and most trustworthy guides. This model for individual human development ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation, a way of progressing from our current egocentric societies (materialistic, anthropocentric, competition based, class stratified, violence prone, and unsustainable) to soul centric ones (imaginative, ecocentric, cooperation based, just, compassionate, and sustainable).”
Happy New Year!