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| Peace Soul Card by B. Upton |
We are undergoing a renaissance of spirit that will forever change the way we view the earth, others and ourselves. We are leaving behind the old- based on separation, scarcity, exploitation and fear and ushering in the new that is founded on connection, abundance, reverence and love.
Evolutionary leaps in consciousness are birthed out of difficult times like these. We are now being presented with two clear paths. There is the path of the old that mistrusts, sees "the other" as the enemy and fouls and destroys our earth. In our nuclear/technological age, this path will eventually lead to our co-annihilation- by war, global changes or both. Many are understandably distraught by this. For the first time in the history of humankind we are not guaranteed a future. No wonder the use of antidepressants is through the roof! It can feel bleak, until we see that there is another path shining before us.
It is the New Path of remembering that not only are we are not alone, but we are also loved just as we are. This epiphany helps us to remember that just as we have worth and inherent dignity, so do all the people of the world, our human family. We connect to the sacredness and unity of all life and passionately take on our roles as stewards of our beautiful earth. We connect to our true essence which is unconditional and everlasting love. From this place of radical self-acceptance and healing self-love we are free to joyfully co-create the heaven our earth was meant to be.
If this sounds too lofty or unreachable- then this is the place for you! Because we will be sharing what has helped people to find more inner peace, joy and love in their lives. If you already feel a deep connection to your deepest and most loving self then this is also the place for you! Please share what has helped you to remember who you really are!
I'll be talking about the first Four Steps to Inner Peace tomorrow! Let's help one another to wake up, be kind, give our gifts and live our magnificent selves!
3 comments:
"For the first time in the history of humankind we are not guaranteed a future..", this sentence gave me the chills, because it seems so true. On the other hand, we still have a chance and I very much look forward to your 5 steps to inner peace.
Meant to post those today- but I got distracted photographing butterflies! There were 10 or so on the butterfly bush (it really lives up to its name!) I even captured two during a romantic moment-no kidding!
Will post the first five steps tomorrow. Maybe some of the pics and the butterfly love video clip too:)
Hi Barbara, Barbara Hubbard’s work is indeed a reflection of a great movement, an “evolution in consciousness,” as the increasingly familiar term states it. Barbara’s is a version reminiscent of Pierre Tielhard de Chardin, whose now popular `The Phenomenon of Man’ put the evolution of consciousness on the map. His Law of Complexity/Consciousness is similar to Hubbard’s analogy of the butterfly; there is an inherent tendency for phenomena to arrange themselves in more complex groupings, and thus creating higher levels of consciousness. In human beings, because of language development, consciousness has “folded back on itself” and vis-à-vis the development of self-consciousness, awareness of awareness emerged. This is truly remarkable and, as we have seen, in a relatively brief period of time, we are moving from a worldview and worldspace constituted in duality, to reaching a nondual level of consciousness which, by the way, Buddhism has been advocating for 2600 years! In nondual awareness, the shift is, as you say, from “a fear-based world of aggression, greed and destruction to one founded on love that values cooperation, respect and compassion.”
Even in my field of discipline, clinical psychology, this shift towards a nondual perspective in a way radicalizes the therapeutic mission, because well-being, what the Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard, defines as "a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment; a state that underlies all other emotional states,” no longer means helping individuals adjust to society via symptom reduction. The therapeutic now means (at least as far as I’m concerned) radicalizing self-perception and dismantling those very beliefs that streamline us into society’s mode of existence. The therapeutic means cultivating self-awareness which, as it evolves, thoroughly opens the psychological space for awareness of awareness. In simple terms, it is exactly what Hubbard and de Chardin are advocating: an awakened humanity beginning with awakened individual minds. And it begins with the most simple: awaken every morning with the words, “I am grateful to be alive so that I can cultivate compassion for all beings, without exception.” This is what Buddhists mean by the word “virtue.” As The Dalai Lama recently said, “It is self-evident that a generous heart and wholesome actions lead to greater peace and that their negative counterparts bring undesirable consequences.”
Best, Paul Lichtenberg
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