Sunday, March 07, 2010

Unprecedented Times


We are now living through unprecedented times. Yet this is not a time for fear, as with preparation and certitude the times ahead can be navigated. The keys to growth and renewal have been planted within each person. Much will be expected from people in the coming years as they face increased fears and challenges; challenges for which history holds few guidelines. Such challenges, whilst resonating within the heart of each person, will be aligned also within an Earthly context. The spirit does not live in isolation, but walks in life. As Native American ‘Grandfather’ says:

Trying to live a spiritual life in modern society is the most difficult path one can walk. It is a path of pain, of isolation and of shaken faith, but that is the only way that our Vision can become reality. Thus the true Quest in life is to live the philosophy of the Earth within the confines of man…we must walk within society or our Vision dies, for a man not living his Vision is living death…It is very easy to live a spiritual life away from man, but the truth of Vision in spiritual life can only be tested and become a reality when lived near society.[i]

The human species is, after all, a social species (as anthropologists keenly like to remind us). It is easy to behave ‘spiritually’ when one is confined to the hermit’s cave; then our only struggles are with our ceaseless thoughts. Whilst the realm of the spirit may appear to exist ‘not of this world’, it very definitely is an important component ‘of the world’. Again, it is the significant play of polarity – to bring matter into contact with the non-material. Without the material playground, the spirit becomes ephemeral to us; unable to manifest tangibly within our everyday lives. So the life of the spirit needs to become very real for us, and well-lived. By living it, the presence of spirit can have greater effect. As ‘Grandfather’ again reminds us:
If a man could make the right choices, then he could significantly alter the course of the possible future. No man, then, should feel insignificant, for it only takes one man to alter the consciousness of mankind through the spirit-that-moves-in-all-things. In essence, one thought influences another, then another, until the thought is made manifest throughout all of creation.[ii]

Any spiritual re-vitalization requires that each individual feel the worth of their participation; of their presence with friends, family, and within the community. As there is likely to be a forced social contraction, the transition times will usher in the need for more integral communities. Progress will come through action; and knowledge, understanding and growth can also be achieved through right actions and intentions. The window of opportunity being presented to humanity through the evolutionary ‘trigger point’ will provide the energies for growth along new values, emotions, and intellectual reasoning. To miss this opportunity and crave for the security of old perceptions and status-quo material gains will be a sore transitory pleasure. This is neither a conspiracy nor a fairytale – it is a narrative of resilience, renewal, and regeneration. This is a cyclic process that occurs at all levels in some form. However, at this present juncture, there is much necessary change required: call it an evolutionary imperative. Really, it’s quite serious this time around.


[i] Brown, T. (1991) The Quest. New York: G P Putnam’s Sons.

[ii] Brown, T. (1991) The Quest. New York: G P Putnam’s Sons.


No comments: