Transitions
are Challenging
“Situations
seem to happen to people, but in reality, they unfold from deeper karmic
causes. The universe unfolds to itself, bringing to bear any cause that needs
to be included. Don’t take this process personally. The working of cause and
effect is eternal. You are part of this rising and falling that never ends and
only by riding the wave can you ensure that the waves don’t drown you. The ego
takes everything personally, leaving no room for higher guidance or purpose. If
you can, realize that a cosmic plan is unfolding and appreciate the incredibly
woven tapestry for what it is, a design of unparalleled marvel.”
Deepak
Chopra, M.D. (The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life;
Harmony Books, New York, 2004)
We are
living through a time of deep transition. Not just lifestyle changes brought
about by the pandemic, or the changing economy based upon fossil fuels and
carbon emissions, not just the adversarial political climate—these are all
symptoms. We are transitioning from one kind of human being to another—but
human beings at all stages of evolution are still here. We still have people
who are "primitive" in their way of life—who live off the land, in the amazon
basin and in many nations around the world. We have, at the same time, humans
who have elevated their consciousness to the point of losing the personal agenda
and adopting universal values—who think in global terms and see the cosmic
relevance of what seems like chaos. Those who are most related to the earth,
and those who have cosmic consciousness are more alike than either is to the enormous
middle, who are still trying to find their purpose through monetary means.
We are
losing one set of values—associated with toxic consumerism—and gaining a new
generation who just want to enjoy their lives. They have jobs that enable them
to do that, but they do not live to work, or define their worth according to
their job status as older generations have.
Deepak Chopra wrote about
Spiritual Materialism (p. 49) in The Book of Secrets, listing the pitfalls that
a seeker in such an environment would encounter: “1) Knowing where you’re
going. 2) Struggling to get there. 3) Using someone else’s map. 4) Working to
improve yourself. 5) Setting a timetable. 6) Waiting for a miracle.” He suggests
that a genuine seeker avoid all these pitfalls, saying, “If you can avoid
these pitfalls of spiritual materialism, you will be much less tempted to chase
after an impossible goal…If you strip away all the [material] distractions of life, something
yet remains that is you.”
True seeking, according
to Chopra, is merely a means of winning yourself back, because this part of
yourself is already home. This level of Selfhood, the one that is unattached to
the struggle of “getting ahead” is calling to us. It wants us to come back to
ourselves in a most fundamental way.
Transitions
are always chaotic and difficult. This one is particularly exhausting because
it is in process of transforming us as a species. Internal and external
changes, changes in consciousness, changes in values, moving toward freedom and
away from the tyranny of autocracy and capitalism. We are moving beyond cause and effect, toward
understanding the great mystery of which we are part. We are part of the
tapestry of life—no more and no less. We are equipped to ride the waves if we
simply trust that the ocean knows where it’s going. It's not personal, it's cosmic.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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