The Infinite Conscious Creative Force of Reality

by  Paul Lenda -

When comparing the current overall level of consciousness that we as the human race exhibit to the unlimited potential that we have in every possible way, we are still infants.

Going far beyond the shift from the self-centered to the unity-oriented modality of existence, this potential includes becoming the infinite conscious creative force of  Reality  itself.

It is a seemingly-unfathomable idea to think about, given our current overall level of consciousness. However, the potential is definitely there; we simply have to go through a  supramental transformation  of consciousness to reach this destination.

Focusing on higher mind-states such as peace, love, and happiness, merging biological and technological systems, and the experience of  extropy  all assist in manifesting such a reality in humanity’s future.

The choice whether we become that infinite infinite creative force is ultimately up to us.

Each moment of existence that we spend resisting the realities of interconnectedness,  oneness, and the universal laws such as those pertaining to cause and effect as well as attraction is one more moment keeping us away from attaining such an existence.

The concept of infinity is impossible to describe since it has never been experienced by a single human being in its fullness.

The idea of consciousness is likewise difficult to describe but as far as consciousness goes, it can be perceived as being one in the same with infinity if the perception is that all is consciousness and so if infinity is, was, and will be the totality of the manifest and unmanifest, then consciousness is infinite.

Sure, we can put an 8 on its side and say that it is a reasonable visual and mathematical depiction of infinity, but it does not help us much in experiencing infinity or becoming the infinite intelligent consciousness that encompasses all that  is  in Reality.

In order for this idea to work, one must have the conviction that consciousness is expressed as energy and this energy manifests itself in a wide variety of ways; from solid manifestations such as rocks, to the intangible and unquantifiable expressions of consciousness such as love.

This idea makes use of a multidimensional Reality, in which there are several more dimensions than the 4 that we interact with on a daily basis.

Theories in physics such as M-Theory identify the existence of 11 dimensions within their models and are adequate at assisting in the understanding of this idea of  epigenesis.

Given all of this, it can now be understood how this process of becoming the infinite conscious creative force of Reality can come about.

The mystical philosophy that can be used to explain this concept says that a person should utilizes life’s opportunities to change an individual’s circumstances. The evolution of the process is as such:

A person seeks first to understand how previous actions have contributed to current situations. Armed with this knowledge, the person sets out to initiate new causes that will eventually result in the most beneficial effects for both his or herself and humanity, as a whole.

The aspirant understands that by using this method, drastic change or elevation in the progression of one’s present and future evolution of consciousness can take place.

Such a person is a co-creator in his or her own destiny.

This is something known as “conscious evolution”. Instead of assuming the passive status of a passenger on life’s journey, it is preferred to determine the direction and nature of his or her own trip.

Much attention is paid to the subtle dimensions of what is considered the human being. Both eastern and western mystic tradition recognize that the health and vitality of the physical body are direct manifestations of this “higher” etheric vehicle.

According to the evolution of consciousness, humans build upon that which has already been created, but add new elements because of the activity of one’s consciousness (in times past interpreted or labeled as spirit).

Humans have the capacity, therefore, to become creative intelligences (creators) and ultimately, to become part of the Supermind that is the infinite creative intelligence of Reality.

For a human being to fulfill this promise, his or her training should allow for the exercise of originality, which distinguishes creation from imitation.

When the process of epigenesis becomes inactive, in the individual or even in a race of species, evolution ceases and degeneration commences.

This concept is based on the view of the world as being a training school, which posits that while mistakes are made in life, humans often learn more from mistakes than successes.

Suffering  is considered as merely the result of error and the impact of suffering on consciousness causes humans to be active along other lines which are found to be good, in harmony with nature.

Humans are seen as localized fields of consciousness attending the school of life for the purpose of unfolding latent powers within their beings, developing themselves from impotence to omnipotence, reaching the stage of creative beings at the end of humanity’s present physical evolution.

Science fiction has played with the idea of humans eventually evolving to the point where they become pure energy and exist in a higher dimension of Reality.

Although it may seem like fiction to us humans, it may have become a reality for a race somewhere else in the universe (assuming there is life beyond earth).

There is little in the way of impossibility in Reality, which assists in assuring us that the evolution of humanity is far from over.

Consciousness has growth potential that is not even contemplated by the most advanced thinkers of today.

There must be an open mind when musing about the possible future metamorphosis of the  transpersonal  consciousness of humanity since without such an accepting position of awareness, the vision cannot be seen. If the vision cannot be seen, it cannot ever come to fruition or become manifest.

The 21st century is teeming with advanced concepts, ideas, and theories concerning our current abilities and future possibilities.

Let us not close doors that have never been walked through. To get to the top of the mountain, one must first have the courage to climb.

About  Author: Paul is a conscious evolution guide, author of “The Creation of a Consciousness Shift“ and co-founder of  shift.is, a social community focused on anchoring in the new paradigm and assisting the positive transformation of humanity. With the drive to be aware of and experience the wider horizon of Reality, Paul has developed an extensive background in the spiritual and transformative elements of life; one that is both knowledge and experienced-based. Paul on  Twitter.

shift.is 

wakeup-world.com

Adapting To A World In Revolution

by Kingsley Dennis - 

Human life upon this planet, it seems, is about to undergo a period of transition that will test our capacity to re-adapt and re-emerge on an unprecedented scale.

Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves — what type of “revolutions” are we set to face on this “small planet” of ours in the days and years to come? Is humanity collectively heading toward a “near-death experience” as part of the process of transformation and renewal?

Western civilization has created a mindset that, although termed “modern,” is one that is overly rational and logical, and which seeks to regulate and control. It has also, unfortunately, succeeded in taking the enchantment away from a mystifying universe.

What is clear is that humanity is in the midst of great revolution. 

Ecological, biological, social and technological systems are now being reorganized because of new developments in energy, communications, and consciousness.

Life on planet Earth is entering a phase shift of almost ground-breaking dimensions.

The 21st century has been reached through a growing series of critical thresholds, moving toward current global, social and environmental limits. However, at such thresholds new arrangements are forced into being.

Such emergent new arrangements generally occur within the context of interrelated systems, where change in one system/structure has potential to affect many other structures both directly and indirectly.

We can say that the revolutions set to occur on this planet will have profound physical — structural, environmental, sociocultural — as well as deep psychological effects.

The media report dramatic changes due to climatic disruption: earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. We are also witnessing a surge in popular protest, as decades of corrupt or inefficient social systems face their nemesis.

Yet within this outward turmoil, more subtle shifts are occurring, such as the transition of the “modern” mind from the industrial-globalisation model toward a life-sustaining, ecological-integral world-view. 

Western thinking, with its linear notion of history and progress, has robbed us of much enchantment and promise. Many ancient teachings (both spiritual and secular) and many indigenous cultures speak to us of cyclic processes over long periods of historical time, such as the Yuga cycles.

These cycles also coincide, or are coexistent with, changes in perception and worldviews. In other words, major social revolutions are accompanied by great shifts in human consciousness. 

Such shifts also correspond to changes in how the human species understands and subsequently harnesses, varying forms of energy, upon a progression of discovering ever-finer and less dense/corrosive forms of energy.

It is my view that in the years to come, humanity will find itself part of a world “in revolution” in adapting to utilize and make good on new developments in energy, communications and consciousness.

With the understanding of how finer, more subtle energies work, we may develop a relationship with technology that catalyzes a “re-wiring” of the human psyche.

We are already seeing this emerge with the rise of a globally connected empathic mind. 

This empathic mind, which is born out of increased physical and emotional connectivity, may then be the forerunner to new generations being born with heightened intuitive minds.

We might refer to them as “supramental” minds, where intuitive rationality, or heightened common sense, becomes the predominant state of mind.

In other words, it is recognizing mindfulness beyond our physical mind and which encapsulates our growing awareness of our place within a grand, creatively dynamic cosmological order.

A New Story

We can say that it is a mindfulness that is simultaneously vertical (transpersonal) as well as horizontal (integral).

Within this transpersonal-integral mindfulness, we can tell ourselves a new story — a story of a living cosmos that is dynamic, creative and which is a continuous flow-through of energy.

Within a living universe the whole underlying energetic order is recreated and sustained at each moment, rather than being a lifeless, random mass.

Such a shift in perception of the meaning of our cosmos holds profound implications for our understanding and significance of human life.

In the coming years, humanity may advance not only in its scientific discoveries of “finer energies” but also in the species development of innate capacities and organs of intuition, empathy and new patterns of thinking.

In stepping further along its evolutionary journey, humanity will see that the cosmos not only continuously sustains us but that we are all intimately related to everything that exists.

After nearly 4.5 billion years of evolution upon Earth, humans may finally regard themselves as agents of participation within an active, creative cosmos.

In the years to come, humanity will find itself needing to adapt to a world in revolution — in energy, communications and mind — as our lives are catalyzed into new arrangements and possibilities. We need to be prepared to adapt to new worlds and new world-views and to perceive our opportunities for a creative future.

kingsleydennis.com

inspireamaze.com

Do You Feel Motivated?

by Lynn A Robinson -

“I’d love to ________ but I can’t get motivated.”

I’ve heard that phrase from so many clients over the years.

The image I have is of the person standing at the bottom of Mount Everest wanting to reach the peak and feeling overwhelmed by the journey before they even begin. 

You may not be thinking about a mountain climb but fill in the blank with something you’d like to find motivation to do. 

• Start a business? 
• Take a trip? 
• Go back to school? 
• See your friends more often?

Here’s an idea to try…..

To create space for more motivation, let go of something that’s taking too much energy.

Many of us have lives that are overwhelming. We work full-time plus, take care of the kids and aging parents. We volunteer at civic events and try to make time for a social life. It can be too much. 

The idea of adding something else into the mix, even something we want, makes us procrastinate. You have to let go of something first. I’m not suggesting you ditch your job (or the kids!)

Think of some aspect of your life that’s draining you. What could you let go of that would create some breathing room today? 

If it makes you feel relieved, think about it. That’s you clue from your intuition!

Just for today:  

Find the motivation to make a small change in your commitments. 

What could you let go of that’s draining your batteries?

lynnrobinson.com

Transcendence of the Ordinary

by Keith Varnum -

“How’d they do that?” 

I asked myself time and time again in my youth. As a journalist and documentary filmmaker, I witnessed ordinary people performing extraordinary feats on countless occasions. 

I documented individuals in moments of crisis and emergency going beyond the limits they and society believed possible.

Caught up in earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and accidents, I watched mild-mannered people become super-heroes.

When extreme circumstances demand action, paranormal abilities arise from normal folks. 

• Women lift two-ton trucks and hold them aloft until their child or husband is freed from beneath the vehicle. 

• Young boys perform successful medical procedures as if they were trained professionals. 

• Men lead victims to safety through burning buildings, pitch-black forests and raging floods. 

• Teenagers bend steel and rip open closed elevator doors to liberate loved ones. 

• Scared people jump ten feet over a chasm to safety. 

• Given a death sentence by doctors, people heal themselves spontaneously.

“Where do human beings get the power and knowledge to perform such implausible feats?” I wondered.

I observed that when life offers people a choice between their beliefs in what is possible and the necessity to save another from harm, people often scrap their perceived limitations and choose to do whatever needs to be done. 

Every day people choose life, caring and rescue over the restrictions of their belief systems.

“If we can break out of our belief box when life has us up against the wall, why can’t we release our limiting beliefs at will when we are not in a crisis?” I inquired within myself.

I looked around in my world for examples of people who know how to free themselves from tribal collective limitations—mainstream cultural beliefs—in order to access fresh possibilities of human potential. I discovered my models through reading biographies of dynamic individuals and interviewing adventurous people. 

I found that people who are forerunners, pioneers and explorers in social, political and artistic expression invariably refer to one or more moments in their lives in which they opened to a peak experience.

And not only do these resourceful people make reference to these extraordinary moments, they draw strength, wisdom and compassion from these glimpses of their true power. They have learned how to tap into these past moments of heightened awareness and achievement in order to surmount present life challenges. 

Whether it be excellence in athletic or artistic expression, or success in business or romance, these potent moments of “transcendence of the ordinary” act as wells of inspiration and inventiveness that enable people to handle current predicaments.

With a degree of benevolent innocence, I decided that if these people could break free of their restrictive belief systems and tap into the power of previous peak experiences, then I could as well.

Their successes inspired me to try this approach myself—to reach beyond my perceived boundaries.

Every day now I invite magic into my life and welcome miracles into my world. It is my heartfelt wish that you too are inspired to go beyond your own self-created limits.

What do we have to lose—except our fears and imaginary walls?

thedream.com

How Do You Reach Your True Potential?

by Tina Olivero -

Now that’s a big question! 

Here’s the not-so-big answer: you go where you wouldn’t go before.

Reaching your true potential is the action of facing your fears and moving to a new threshold. You move in empowering ways rather than moving in disempowering directions. Empowering ways create an empowered self. Creating an empowered self, is a very loving thing to do and it takes courage! Self love is an act of self worth. 

Self worth is the basis of your Self Esteem or who you consider yourself to be in the world.

How do you create self esteem? 

Well here’s a surprise – self esteem is a verb… you take action! You go beyond where you wouldn’t go before… in the face of your fears. The reason we haven’t gone there before is because of our fear! How debilitating can fear be? It can be as debilitating as we let it…

For example when someone expresses fears, it’s tempting to follow them down the rabbit hole and get lost in the useless world of “what ifs”.

If we do get someone to “partner with” our fears, we are actually gathering evidence to keep us stuck… then… a little stuck-ness may blossom into a full-blown drama-fest with the help of your fear-partner. 

Did you ever do that? 

Get so caught up in a conversation about the “what ifs” that you actually supported each other in something with no basis in reality. People who comfort each other in fear do not serve each other! Most of what we fear never comes true!

It’s important to remember that fear is:

1. A normal response to personal growth and a necessary learning tool.
2. Not reality based in most circumstances.
3. A gateway into meaningful change.
4. Your best teacher.

Common fears sound like this:

• What if I’m not a good at it?
• What if it doesn’t go the way I want it to? I can’t do it.
• What if they don’t like me?
• What if they don’t buy it?
• I’m afraid to market my services.
• Perhaps I’m not good enough!
• What if something goes wrong?
• They won’t give me their time.

While these fears are normal, they do not serve us. If they are given credence and we allow them to disempower us, they can put an end to our goals and dreams. 

So, how do we deal with fear? 

We can create a method or structure that will provide us with the “path to our empowered selves.” The path that provides us with a way to move through fear! 

Try this:

• Acknowledge that the fear is real for you with a brief compassionate comment like, “I know it can be scary to go after my dreams… ok, so it’s scary at times. So what!” Whatever that fear is. Acknowledging fear will take the charge out of it.Denial of fear is simply the same fear, stuffed down into a less noticeable place. (It’s not really less noticeable… we just try to trick ourselves into thinking that it is.) Fear may also be denied by creating disempowering and limiting thoughts (thought addictions), or by using something to cover it up (substance addictions). If this happens, recognize the addictive thoughts and substances as your teacher in, “How I keep fear alive with my denial.”

• Simply recognize your fears as limiting beliefs. Then make a distinct choice in the other direction by choosing empowering thoughts. For example, “When I create this, what will it make available for my life, others, the world?” Or, “Why would I want to do this in the first place? Is it my dream/purpose/self expression. If so… What else matters?”

• Always keep your eye on the outcome you want to create. When you look into the past that’s what you create. You create what you focus on. If the past comes up, and you find it sitting out there as anxiety about “what ifs” for the future, then recognize it as illusion, laugh at it and move on. Become the watcher of your fears/thoughts. Let them glide by like a cloud in the sky. You are not your thoughts.

• Create measurable specific steps that will incrementally move yourself toward your goals and your desired outcomes. Get creative. Have fun! Make it your personal game!

• Get a box full of tools to manage your fears. Consider keeping a journal of your fears. Next to each fear write down the action you’ve taken, despite the fear. Or look in the mirror and tell yourself each day… “This is what I created today. This is who I am, in spite of my fears!”

• Recognize comfort as your enemy. Comfort kills possibility. When you are feeling uncomfortable as you move to the next phase of your dream/goal… Rejoice… you are headed in the right direction. Be willing to get uncomfortable!

• Get a coach, partner, buddy, or all three, who will always keep you above your fear and support you on the high road, to your highest good, your dreams fulfilled and your greatest self.

That’s some of the many ways to reach your true potential! I hope they find a way into your world, your dreams and your possibilities!

transformwithtina.com 

Being Embodied Limitless Consciousness

by Meredith Murphy -

Turn your attention inward, place your attention on and orient to the flow of energy entering your field.

Close your eyes and place your focus in your energy field so that you can allow yourselves to perceive, notice or sense ... in whatever way arises for you, the vibration, the emanation, the flow of your being.

As you are placing your attention on this you’ll realize this is a subtle thing and that’s because higher frequency energies are more subtle. It is higher frequency energies flowing into you purely and directly.

The more you turn your inner knowing and attention to perceiving and orienting to these energies the more your capacity to perceive them opens up.

With an awareness of the pure energy of you coming into your field and even if you feel that you are simply imagining this, take a deep breath and intend to open further.

Be available to receive more.

Be aware of the sensations within your physicality that indicate these very subtle shifts created by your choice and your focus and be aware of your capacity for allowing, your ability to soften and let things move more easily.

When you are tuned to this energetic expression of your being you will notice it feels delicate.

This is not because you are fragile in any way. It’s because fundamentally your consciousness is this higher frequency subtle energy and it is this energy that is interpenetrating your physicality and creating your embodiment.

You are this consciousness that feels delicate and ethereal. You’ve been focused so much lately on embodying your human life we wanted to be in this space together where we returned your awareness to who you truly are and now to say: this is what you are bringing into form!

This energy that you’re sensing and orienting to, this is what you are bringing into form.

You are being encouraged to expand upon your allowing so this subtle energy can enrich your life and your world. This is the blending of which we are speaking.

Most of you are getting very relaxed right now and this is facilitating greater flow.

So much of this ability to flow is accomplished by your state of mind. When you are excited or passionate, peaceful, enthused, blissed out, full of love or appreciation your energy flows easily, quickly, directly.

When you are feeling less well, you create resistance. You filter your own flow.

When you are feeling less well we want to point out something else to you – you’ve gotten disoriented. You’re not really in alignment with your own consciousness. You’ve kind of abandoned your own consciousness. 

In some way when you don’t feel well you are focused on the body you live in or the temporary experiences that arise in your awareness and you’ve got some story going about all of them and in fact you’ve gotten disoriented.

You’ve made the temporary playground your “reality” and you’ve kind of disengaged from the truth of your being. You’ve given perhaps more permanence or meaning to the temporary uprisings in this experience of focus.

When you find yourself unhappy, stressed out or discouraged, in pain, we encourage you to do what we just did and re-identify with your own true self. Return to your own energy and the subtle field that is really who you are.

You are conscious awareness. 

You are conscious awareness that at this moment is experiencing a blended embodiment, an interpenetration of your awareness with this physicality and having the experience of your focus molding things.

When you return to the awareness that you are consciousness and that you are consciousness that molds to your focus and is eternally abundant you create a new relationship to this moment.

One that again feels more powerful, peaceful, expansive and free.

You are the shaper of your experience so use this capacity to your benefit.

Remember when you love yourself, you love yourself. Not sometimes but all the time. In this state and the state into which you are evolving, you love yourself. We want you to feel good all the time.

• Return to this blending which you are creating.

• Reorient to the subtle energy which is the truth of who you are.

• Let yourself as awareness expand from the center of your being.

We’re asking you to do this now. To return to this subtle energy that you are and then as you’re letting yourself expand as conscious awareness from the center of your being, do you notice how you can expand outward in all directions, endlessly?

Even though you might not distinctly perceive things beyond your physical state, without hearing or sight you still can have a feeling, a sense of your own expansiveness and you can have a sense of how your consciousness can just expand infinitely.

There is a limitlessness that is your actual awareness.

Do you notice the way it can expand outward endlessly and in this awareness, as we often say, everything arises.

Everything that you experience arises within this vast awareness?

Your awareness is the host in which all experiences arise and this can be more real to you as you tune to the subtle energy you are.

Then you can see quite clearly that all of the conflict and all the challenges are temporary arising within this awareness.

• You can also see that everything can be resolved in your awareness.

• Everything you want to be different can actually arise differently within your awareness.

• All the beauty of life can be known within your awareness.

At any given moment there is so much going on and rising up which is beautiful and benefiting you and everything that is and that in essence all of it is rising and falling away and yet the perpetual thing is your awareness.

When we guide you in this way these are not tricks to distract you from what you see as problems. These are pathways to tap into the more accurate relationship to your existence, which shows you that what you relate to as a problem is actually a temporary experience and it’s most definitely not who you are.

We’re encouraging you to consciously maintain that awareness more often while embodied. 

Blending Your Being

Blending your being means embracing your humanity as we have been encouraging you to do and engaging and creating the most beautiful and expressive, free and elevated experience in your human life.

Blending your being occurs by cultivating an awareness that you are this subtle energy, this subtle, expansive, eternal energy flowing into this human life.

As consciousness you and let the implications of this broader knowing shape your experience, become so fundamental to how you relate to life and yourself that they implicate fully.

To achieve this is an ongoing practice – to live as a blended being. It’s a practice that integrates light into form and energizes the material while liberating paradigms of love and wholeness.

You are the ambassadors of this emerging paradigm of wholeness for human beings. Do you realize this is a brand new experience to be a human being and relate to your life as it is whole?

You are the first collective human experience that is seeing itself as whole. As already good enough. Already capable.

Although you’re identifying more fully with your nonphysical eternalness, and although some of you may struggle to maintain this state of mind consistently, you have tasted its truth. You have moments where you feel this knowing.

You are developing an ability to be in your bodies more consistently with this knowing and you are using daily practices to reshape the habits of being human through creating your own experience.

As you live differently, as you behave differently, as you alter the lifestyle of being human by living with an orientation to your fullness rather than fully identifying with this temporary expression of you, you are also transforming the human DNA so that you will experience greater and different experiences through the capacity of your human body and future humans will have a far different experience. 

These future humans also include some of you. There’s a wonderful complex mind blowing co-creation occurring and it’s being facilitated by your conscious awareness opening up while you’re in this embodied human experience.

Practice being aware of yourself as consciousness, embodied.

We encourage you to combine these wonderful, active, doing, enjoying, being moments of humanity with this sense of yourself as this subtle, eternal, expansive consciousness and to play with finding a balance in relating to both of these such that you feel an awareness of the fullness of you more and more often, more and more accurately.

See how much of your limitlessness, your awareness can flow forth here. That is the game.

expectwonderful.com

Ending the Violence

by Karen Wright -

I passed a church today displaying a sign, "Resolve to stop the violence."  Not your run-of-the-mill vow to lose 10 pounds or start eating more vegetables.

Stop the violence. How in the world can I stop the violence? Could I have prevented the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary? Can I calm the fighting in the endless Israel-Palestine war? The inventory of violence in our world is crushing. 

What can I do? What can you do?

Virtually nothing - as long as we believe that violence is a behavior. No commad or legislation has or ever will, control human behavior. And lord knows we've tried.

More police, more laws, more restrictions. Yet, all we achieve is more fear. Year after year we helplessly ask the same question - "How do we stop this from ever happening again?"

Our only hope is to recognize that violence begins before behavior. 

It festers and breeds in our every thought of anger or judgment. Condemnation, jealousy, resentment, contempt, prejudice, hatred, ridicule, loathing, scorn, sarcasm. 

All those lead-heavy thoughts pull us into darkness and ravage our souls.

Perhaps you don't quite dive to the depths of these black emotions, but what about complaining, blame, grouchiness, accusation or suspicion? Few, if any of us, can say we don't 'go there' on occasion.

Regardless of the severity of our negativity, it's all energy and energy created does not dissipate. It transforms into a physical reality.

Every thought of anger and hatred is destructive. Even their milder cousins, annoyance and dislike, destroy. First, they attack your own peace of mind and then they add to humanity's collective state of fear.

Each drop of negativity adds to the bucket of fear - and fear spawns attack. Those who do not fear do not injure. 

To stop the violence in the world we must stop the fear in ourselves.

• Fear urges, "Do unto them before they do unto you."
• It beckons, "Take more than you need or they will take it all."
• It warns, "Evil is around every corner. Arm yourself."

The sick-to-your-stomach feeling you have, when you're cloaked in negativity isn't confined to your physical body. It's an energy that is released into the world and bonds with and attracts other such energies.

When the collective level of disturbance is powerful enough, it manifests in an outbreak of violence.

This you can do - stop the violence by refusing to let thoughts of harm enter the world through your mind. Easier said than done? Yes. But, let me ask this, "How difficult is it to continually feel the churn of anger in your gut?" 

How delicious would it be to feel generosity and curiosity instead?

Each thought you have is your contribution to the world's condition. You can end violence by stopping it in you first.

wrightminded.com

Why the Will Matters

by Steve Nation -
Vision of Wholeness:

We are living at a time when the vision of wholeness is seeping into consciousness, upsetting all sorts of established patterns of thinking, seeing and acting. 

As a species we are, perhaps for the first time in any collective sense, beginning to care about the good of the whole, noticing that the well-being of the individual unit in any system depends upon the well-being of the environment within which it is embedded. 

There are huge challenges in lifting our vision so as to see the patterns of synthesis and order in a whole system. 

Yet we are on the way, aware of the need to perceive forces of interdependence and the primary role of relationships between different entities in any system.

This raises inevitable tensions. 

Established habits of separative thinking (engrained within each and every one of us and dominating modern cultures) rub up against the new sensitivity to the integrity and well-being of the whole. 

These tensions are most obvious in issues of the day such as climate change; competition for available water resources; social and economic inequalities; fundamentalist and inclusive integral approaches to religion, economics, politics, and so on. 

These tensions also live within us as we become increasingly aware of the wholeness of our own being with its dimensions of mind, spirit, soul, and body (subtle and physical).

It is no coincidence that just at the time in history when the wholeness vision is creeping into the thinking of intelligent women and men across the whole spectrum of diverse cultures, professions, arts and sciences, there is a parallel—almost gut-level—awareness that, because of historically embedded pathways of competition and separation, humanity has become an endangered species. 

Nothing concentrates the mind more than imminent danger.

It is precisely in this situation that it becomes necessary to observe the role of the will at all levels of the relationship between the wholeness vision and ourselves. 

How often do we hear the cry that there is a lack of political will in the world and in our own lands? It is a cry that must be answered and is being answered.

We human beings in our millions are being called upon to give expression to the wholeness vision with a dynamic will— in our lives, in our groups, in our professions, communities, schools, colleges and universities and in our deepest circles of faith and spirit.

All of us who have been touched deeply by the sense that we are part of a greater whole ultimately have no choice but to become, in small human ways, units of loving will-full activity, seeking to create patterns of synthesis and wholeness in every aspect of our lives. 

The future depends on our willingness to approach the opportunities of our time with a sense of purpose. 

This may be a rather nebulous purpose when we set out, but it is important to imagine it becoming, through time and experience, an unshakeable, rock-like centre of our being. 

If this sounds too ‘majestic’ or ‘grand’ or ‘noble,’ we should remember that the will is all about the intention we apply to small steps in bringing our sense of wholeness into expression in our lives, our professions, and our fields of passion and interest.

Over time, patterns of quiet persistence emerge as we notice and care about the progress we are making towards reorienting our lives and our communities in response to the wholeness vision.

Dag Hammarskjöld | United Nations DPI

In the middle of the last century, soon after the formation of the United Nations, the visionary Secretary-General of the organization, Dag Hammarskjöld, spoke of the Taoist view that the world cannot be shaped by the will and purpose of human beings because the world is a spiritual thing.

Hammarskjöld commented,

No one can foresee with certainty what will emerge from the give and take of the forces at work in any age. We cannot mould the world as masters of a material thing… But, he added, we can influence the development of the world from within as a spiritual thing.

This leads into the central role of the will in our time. 

The efforts to shape the world as a material thing, to be mastered and dominated, are what have led to so many of the environmental problems we face.

Partly in response to these problems there is a growing awareness of the spiritual will—paying attention to the spirit of wholeness and seeking to act in ways that reflect concern for the good of the whole.

For Hammarskjöld, this awareness has great significance:

As individuals and groups we can put our influence to the best of our understanding and ability on the side of what we believe is right and true. We can help in the movement towards those ends that inspire our lives and are shared by all [people] of good will—in terms very close to those of the Charter of the United Nations—peace and freedom for all, in a world of equal rights for all.

Fresh insights into the nature of the whole milieu in which we live and move and have our being (the physical environment; the human, animal, and plant environment; and the spiritual environment) call us to love… purposively.

They call us to a will to love—a will that leads us to explore how we might love selflessly and how we might grow in our capacity to love transparently and without expectations.

Resistance to this call comes from elements of self-interest and self-absorption that are a part of our human nature.

It also comes from the voices of those who stridently refuse to see that the realities of wholeness demand deep changes in our understanding of ourselves and in the way we live, from our response to climate change and the use of energy to our undisciplined obedience to the manipulation of competitive market forces in the economy.

It is these forces of resistance (both within and without) that lead us to draw on hidden depths of will that are beyond our understanding, reaching in to areas of faith, grace and the sense of a Greater Will—for the world is a spiritual thing.

Two qualities of consciousness and of being have been central to our understanding of human development as well as our understanding of the divine: the light of knowledge and the radiance of love and wisdom.

It might be argued that the human meditation on these principles (through time and across all faiths and traditions) has created the conditions in which the revelation of wholeness has now become possible.

Today, in order to respond appropriately to the challenges of the wholeness vision and to the damaged ecosystems that have been caused by our ancient habits of separation, it is the third quality of consciousness and of being, the third quality of divinity, will, that is becoming of primary concern.

Countless acts of will, particularly in its higher dimensions (the transpersonal will, the will to love, the good will, the will to harmonize apparent opposites, and the will to act for the good of the whole) are required today in response to the crises we face.

This is not a call to cold discipline. It is a call to re-value the will, particularly in its more refined expressions. 

The planetary life of which we are a part displays patterns of order, harmony, beauty, beneficence, nobility, and joy.

As we first sense the dim outlines of the magnificence of the whole, there is an awakening will to understand and see more clearly and to experience its livingness more fully, as well as an awakening will to live in some degree of right relationship with the joy, harmony, and beauty that are revealed.

The will leads to action—action to awaken and broaden our intuitive as well as our scientific understanding of wholeness and action to move ourselves, our communities and our world into right relationship with this vision of wholeness.

Time to Hold the Will in the Light

In the past, the will was often understood in terms of ‘thou shalt not’ and of power over others—maintaining a stiff upper lip in the face of difficulties and repressing anything unpleasant or not understood.

We know that repression doesn’t work and that trying to battle on without addressing issues as they arise or without ever questioning what we are doing simply sets up new problems for the future.

More often than not, problems and issues are a sign of something needing to be addressed—something that is out of alignment.

The deeper will is concerned with purpose and with understanding the role that purpose can play in crafting a fulfilling and meaningful life. It is about fostering a sense of direction and nurturing a realistic sense of future possibilities. ‘Thou shalt’ replaces ‘Thou shalt not.’

In a sense, the will is all about the way in which we as individuals and groups respond to our perception of human need and to our sense of the future. 

As problems arise in our communities and in the world as a whole, they provide an opportunity to heal, transform and redeem ancient patterns of separation.

As such, the problems can be embraced.

In learning about a particular social problem, we can train ourselves to recognize the forces that are causing the problem (forces in the human psyche reflected in economic, social, and cultural dynamics) while at the same time looking for the individuals and groups that are responding to these forces in a meaningful way—using the problem to break through ancient thought forms of division and to nurture love and goodwill in the community and to empower disadvantaged groups and individuals with a sense of their own dignity and possibilities as human beings.

In the process of responding to the problems of our time something wonderful is happening to human beings. The quality of will is being mobilized as never before. 

It is happening at the local level in every community on the planet, just as it is happening regionally, nationally and globally.

There is today a vast network of groups of citizens that are applying the will to transform the quality of human relationships. Think of the vitality and purpose of the 350.org movement, or of the mindfulness networks that are emerging in health, healing and education around the world.

Think of the One Campaign fighting extreme poverty with almost 6 million global members. Think of the activities of countless Amnesty International groups throughout the world, or of the countless actions by concerned citizens on the International Day of Peace every September 21st.

These are just the tip of the iceberg — we are living at a time when people of concern are becoming willfully engaged in diverse ways to transform the quality of relationships on earth.

There have always been periods in history when forces of goodwill coalesce with an unusual degree of singleminded purpose and focus.

In the US for example, there was an extraordinary period during the height of the civil rights struggle when a culture of hatred, lawlessness, and violence was confronted by countless acts of individual and group courage.

The anti-apartheid movement (within South Africa and around the world) saw a similar concentration of will. What is different about the will that is emerging today is that it is emerging as a universal force.

Millions of people feel themselves to be a part of the One Humanity and the One Earth and feel a measure of personal responsibility and engagement in building a culture and civilization that reflects this new awareness.

The good will is arising amongst individuals across the face of the globe, just as it is arising in groups and movements in every field of activity.

There is an awareness of a common purpose that links community development groups with human rights groups, those working for the empowerment of women with groups targeting the need for nutritious food, and the massive global movement calling for new economic and political structures in response to the challenges of climate change.

We are witnessing a quiet and steady mobilization of the will in human affairs.

The process of dialogue and negotiation surrounding the definition of a new set of achievable Sustainable Development Goals for the future of humanity at the United Nations is one of the clearest examples of the new role that the will is now playing in the world.

Previous planning initiatives at the United Nations tended to be ideologically and politically driven with high-sounding objectives.

In 2000, this began to change with the declaration of a set of eight Millennium Development Goals, each with specific targets to be achieved by 2015 and with annual reports measuring progress on each target.

Now the process has moved forward in preparation for a new set of goals to take us through to 2030, and this time there is a massive process of negotiation between different stakeholders, movements, civil society organizations, businesses, and governments.

The final goals will be declared at a global summit next year.

They will reflect some sort of balance between the self-interest of nation states (particularly the powerful interests of the five permanent members of the Security Council as defined by their governments) and the wider interests of the common good.

These wider interests have already been well-defined within a set of 17 goals (each with specific measureable targets) prepared after lengthy negotiations by a Working Group of the General Assembly.

They include the following:

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Reduce inequality within and among countries. End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Goals like this set intentions and help focus the will of different networks and associations (including governments) to ensure that targets are met.

They move from statements of principle, such as the Declaration of Human Rights, to become statements of focused purpose where each country and each particular social movement is left free to determine how to concentrate their energies on achieving specific targets and broader goals.

People of concern linked into groups and networks of focused concern (groups like the Commons Movement, the New Economy movement, the Sustainable Development movement) are using the opportunities of the time to bring purpose and will into the centre of their beings and their activities.

There is a vitality and vibrancy about the new movements—and what the General Assembly’s set of Goals demonstrate is that a momentum of intentional activity is building that has the power to lead us into a new era.

1 Dag Hammarskjöld, To Speak for the World: Speeches and Statements. Stockholm, Atlantis, 2005, pp. 145-6.

About Author: Steve Nation is a writer and speaker on meditation and global issues. He is co-founder of Intuition in Service and the United Nations Days and Years Meditation Initiative. He worked for almost 20 years at the London office of World Goodwill and Lucis Trust. Since 2002, he has coordinated an annual global meditation Vigil for the International Day of Peace.

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