Everyday I have an emotional reaction to the news. So often these days I experience a range of emotions from anger to fear to despair and the like over what is going on “out there” in the world. This week is no different.
In my best moments, I can look “through” the events I witness and see how they might be a call or a step towards our positive evolution as a collective humanity. In my worst times, my rising anger wants me to “fight back”.
I know that I am not alone in these feelings. Everywhere I go, every deeper conversation that I have with others is laced with comments about the state of the world. Beneath the voiced words are those frequently unexpressed feelings of “I’m worried”, “I don’t know what’s going on”, “I wish I knew what to do” and the like.
Many express to me what might be seen as a “fight or flight” response… “I’m going to do everything I can do to fight these [expletives]” or “I’m going to move to another country”.
Both seem like reasonable responses from many perspectives, but there is a higher viewpoint we can take at this moment. We can use our free will within our sphere of influence to further a spiritual revolution on the planet.
What Does That Mean?
What do I mean by “free will”? I mean that you as a spiritual being living in this human experience can choose what you think, do and say at every moment. You are not a victim to the outer world and its events. You have the ability (and the “response ability”) to make a higher and more loving choice.
What do I mean by “sphere of influence”? Imagine yourself as a point of light projecting outward right where you are. Your “light” includes your thoughts, words and actions. Your “light” shines in all directions impacting (positively or negatively) not only yourself but those who are within your reach. The reach of some may be limited while the reach of others may seem vast, but no matter the extension of “our reach” we all create a ripple in the world with every choice we make.
What do I mean by a “spiritual revolution”? Ultimately, I am referring to a shift of consciousness by a significant number of people on the planet where more of us not only see and experience our ultimate unity and oneness but also make our personal choices based on that truth.
If in this moment such a shift of consciousness sounds impossible, it’s important to remember that every “revolution” started through a small group of people. In fact, this spiritual revolution is already in progress!
I have frequently written that there is one core belief on which humanity is divided that I believe to be the root of the majority if not all our problems. That difference is about humanity’s sense of separation or unity.
Here is one way of stating it: are we separate human beings in competition for limited resources, power and control of the planet based on “survival of the fittest” or are we interdependent spiritual beings seeking unity through growing and evolving via a shared human experience of love and cooperation?
Are We Separate or One?
As I have written about many times, we are all on a spiritual evolutionary journey. We were “born of Oneness” but called to experience separation via our human experiences. Our evolution moves us through opportunities to learn and grow but to ultimately “return home to our Oneness” and know it at a deeper level based on our journey.
This journey is not without challenges and struggles that present themselves to us to move through and learn from. We often refer to these moments as “breakdowns for breakthroughs”. We appear to be going through one of those evolutionary challenges right now.
All our human journey calls for the releasing of old ways and old beliefs that no longer serve us. Yet, we can all attest to the fact from our personal lives that letting go of old beliefs is difficult. Our egos cling to the “known”, even with its limitations, over letting go into the leap to the “unknown”. There is comfort in holding onto the “devil we know” over fears of the “potential angel we don’t fully comprehend”.
Collectively, humanity is both moving through such a choice point and experiencing the fear of letting go. Many people cling to the “known” of separation and competition. Their attachment to that belief leads to the human experiences of violence, war, racism, political divisiveness, income inequality and the many other human decisions that cause harm to one another.
Yet, there is something in us that burns for a greater and grander world. Many seek a world where a higher level of care and concern for each other is exhibited, where cooperation is the norm, where sharing is a given, where violence and racism is eradicated, where love is fully given and received. We know we want a world where we treat others as we wish to be treated. “A world that works for all.”
But it appears that we are in that breakdown period where many people (as individual aspects of that one life) cling to the old as many other people (also as individual aspects of that one life) seek to reach higher levels of our spiritual-human experience. Our collective “break though” is pulling us forward while our collective fears fight the change.
We experience this breakdown via the increased “craziness” and “man’s inhumanity to man” that is presented to us in the news. We can choose how to respond to all this stuff by contributing to the “breakdown” via fear, retribution and the like. Or we can choose to move us forward towards the “break though” by working towards a spiritual revolution. What do you choose?
How Can We Be a “Spiritual Revolutionary”?
So, what can we “do” if we feel the need to support a “spiritual revolution”?
Well, a complete answer to that question is beyond the scope of a reasonable length to this article. Books have and will be written on this topic. (In fact, it was the underlying subject of my 2012 book Be Yourself – Evolving the World Through Personal Empowerment.) Yet, I do want to conclude here with a few thoughts on that question. And, I would love to hear your ideas.
Some thoughts…..
Ensure you have personal or spiritual practices that remind you of your unity with everyone and everything. Our experience of the material world tends to reinforce the belief that we are separate individuals. Hence, we need to counteract that by ensuring we take time to experience unity via meditation and other similar practices.
Reframe your view of the world to realize that we are on a spiritual evolutionary journey back to unity and oneness. I personally experienced a major shift in how I saw the world after realizing the process of spiritual involution and evolution. Others have experienced the same. If this idea is new to you, seek out books or online content which discuss it. Many of my materials do such as my book Our Spiritual Evolution but seek ideas from many sources.
Open your mind and heart to the reality that as “individualized expressions of the One”, we are all at different points on our journey and therefore see things differently. I often say that if I had experienced the life of the person with whom I disagree, I might believe as they do. Recognizing we are all on our own paths at different points opens me to compassion and understanding.
Know that when you may need to set healthy boundaries against others who seek to harm or control you, not to take it personally. Yes, as loving and as open as you may want to always be, you will encounter others who are at a different point on their journey and who may act in harmful ways. You need to find a way to both protect yourself in the physical world while still being loving and understanding within your thoughts. Yes, I know, this is difficult. Always remember that their actions are not about you personally even though it may feel that way. NOTE that this frequently does call us to push back against harmful actions in the political arena!
Seek to find what is yours to do and be in the world to further our spiritual evolution and then act in alignment with that urge. Each of us has a calling, a purpose, an inner urge to express ourselves in some way. Get clarity on that purpose and then express it the best you can in the world. When you do, not only will you feel harmony with the universe (which is good!) but you most likely will feel the desire to be of service, to “give your gift to the world”.
After “doing what is yours to do”, let go of attachment to the outcome – surrender to the truth that things will work out alright. Stop worrying, let go of the anxiety, let go of the belief that you need to change the world. In the short term, we may experience less than what we want, but in the eternity of Spirit everything is OK.
Finally, enjoy your life and see every moment as an opportunity to give and receive love. Your life is a gift, and your best experience is living it as a true treasure to be cherished. Every relationship with every other person (as their own expression of the Divine) is an opportunity for you to give your love to them and to be open to their sharing their love with you. Love is truly a spiritual evolutionary force that pushes us along and calls us home.
So, to all you “spiritual revolutionaries”, know that the time is now.
Love and blessings,
Mark Gilbert