Each of us has deep and equal value. No surprise here. It's when we lose connection to this reality, however, that the trouble starts. Add to that, the mistrust. Think about it. If you do not know that you are more than enough, 'as is,' the need for posturing is not far away. Witness the proliferation of hoaxes abounding these days. We've got a few of these stories this week: the 'balloon boy' caper, alongside the un-tethered bonuses proposed for the bail-out Wall Street crew, including Citibank, Bank of America, and others. Tone-deaf to the impact of their hoaxes, they go on their merry way unscathed.
What's really going on? Play-acting begins the moment we doubt our worth and connection. When authenticity and interconnection gets dismissed, we end up feeling depleted and don't know why. It's as if we meet behind screens, our innermost merit, masked over. All involved are left 'hoodwinked,' upset, discouraged, resentful. We don't like getting involved in hidden theatrical production. As individuals, and global citizens, we lose our way.
The Good News Those Points to Another Way. Witness the international "Women on the Edge of Evolution" teleconference held this past Saturday, with upwards of 6000 listeners (enrollment is free, 13 weeks remaining). The emphasis is our awakening, a stark contrast to the other news.
Many know how natural it is to go ballistic when we realize we've been duped. When we lose our way, it is all too easy to place hopes for happiness onto the outer world, for fame, money, things. But, underneath our anger, the personally honest realize that we, too, can relate, even if we've kept the whole affair pretty hush-hush. This comes with human nature. In the recently released Red Book, Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, put the findings from his own Dark Night:
"...time and again, I lost the path and found it again where I would not have foreseen it. You upheld belief when I was alone and near despair. At every decisive moment you let me believe in myself...there is knowledge of the heart that gives deeper insight. The knowledge of the heart is in no book, and is not found in the mouth of any teacher, but grows out of you like the green seed from the dark earth...But how can I attain the knowledge of the heart? You can attain this knowledge only by living your life to the full..."
The fact of the matter is that we are content creators. We get to choose whether what we create in the world inspires or destroys not only our own private lives, but our way of relating to one another. Our choice: to honor the best in our heart, or let it die?
One HP reader knows the truth of this: "I am 49, nearly 50. When I was 3 I was given a book on archaeology and from then on forward I have been fascinated by the topic. I was dissuaded from this as a career path by my parents, who said that they would not pay for college if I majored in it because they didn't think I could find work; I wound up dropping out of college. At this point, I'm able to go back but have to start again as a freshman; I'm willing to, and am still fascinated by archaeology, but the problem is that I now have kidney failure and that sort of prevents me from doing things like much fieldwork, which would be required. I am not sure of what to do. It is my first love and still one of my greatest."
How many of us have known this dilemma? I am reminded that the body speaks a truth so much deeper than our monkey mind's chatter. The body does not lie. The real question is: are we willing to do whatever we must to bring forward what is deepest in those 'green seeds,' which are, more often than not, what saves us from a worsened plight.
How do we find our way to living life to the full? Senator Ted Kennedy, in his memoir, called it the "true compass." Barbara Marx Hubbard, now in her 80's, calls it our "compass of joy." Said Hubbard: "...The greatest joy is to find those who want what you have to give." Clearly, both Kennedy and Hubbard have known such a joy. What about us?
Many HP know the imperative of such a compass, as well as the price-tag.
"D." writes: "What I ditched was only my own need to try to fit in. Turns out that's not good enough to be everybody's darling either. It strikes back: even before you find you might be lonely..."
A. added: "To thine own self be true."
Neither I nor most of my family fit the "mold." We have lived outside the box our entire lives. I have read various media accounts of what life must be like for those who are black and poor. Nothing in any of those scripts describes my life, growing up as a black and poor schoolgirl. Even the lives of my slave ancestors don't conform to the usual script for the life of a slave. None of the "cookie-cutter "descriptions of things are accurate for me personally, whether the person attempting to describe things is black or white. There are blacks who have indicated to me that I have not lived the "black experience" (whatever that is). I simply point out that I have lived MY black experience, not someone else's, but consider it equally valid.... Such are the hazards of "pigeonholing" people instead of viewing them as individuals. I've always insisted on being who I really am and pursuing things that interest me."
Readers find comfort in the process of following their own compass.
Whether we find our own joy compass or not, gets down to choice. Are we willing to shift our way of thinking? On October 17th, journalistic reporter Lynne McTaggart, author of The Field, and The Intention Experiment, calls this nothing short of a paradigm shift "...from separation to inner connectedness." This may well turn out to be the long range solution to what ails us as a people. Says Hubbard: "...It's clear that out of crisis an emergence of humanity comes...What's arising in us is the evolving potential."
Interesting timing. Failing to find the means of awakening is at root for the recently reported unhappiness in women. It's also the source of theft, trickery. When we believe we lack sufficient value, the temptation is to seize it from others. McTaggart points the way: "being all connected means getting beyond life as competition and struggle." Interconnection does not mean giving up individuality, but, rather, honing it to a powerfully exciting level. Such tending of this 'green seed in the dark earth' cannot help but bring a global garden. What's within is a life force so powerful; it can completely reorganize itself and emerge in higher form.
Consider this:
1)Enroll in the above mentioned course online, expanding your thinking.
2)Play the game: "What if my heart's desire is my compass? Pretend that you receive lavish resources and time to contribute what's deepest in your heart to those who want to receive your gift. What could you co-create with others?
3)Look for evidence that there's lavish permission for you to break free from thinking that keeps you too separate, and life too stale, or small.
What compass would you like to follow? Which ones have worked the best, which, the worst? What questions are you asking about yours, our country's, and our world's? Thanks for taking the time to read, respond, and pass it along. I wish you beautiful news! Cara