The Lights Are On, Is Anybody Home?

Yes, but are they awake? Awake to what they/you really need, awake to what they/you really want, or lost in the need just to survive? When adversity hits, we have to go to survival mode. That is perhaps the most important time to wake up to what we really want, what we really need. Why do I italicize that one word, in those two phrases? Because in our need to survive, and our desire to thrive, we tend to lose track of our deepest most profound, most meaningful needs and wants.

Your mind tells you that you want your vacation in some ideal idyllic place. With good reason. We seek pleasure, it’s our nature. We want to feel good, to feel OK, to feel joy. We are wired for that. And we are wired to avoid discomfort. We survive, and live for another day, and we along the way, we strive to thrive. Along the way, adversity does hit. Adversity always gives us the opportunity to get stronger, to get more conscious. To wake up to our true nature, to wake up to our true purpose. The truth is this: you are a divine soul having a human experience.

That’s a stretch, I know. And, you are connected to all that is: connected to all other humans, no

matter their condition, connected to all other beings, sentient and insentient, connected to all that is. That’s another stretch, especially for us in the West. Our culture in the West is based in valuing the individual with more worth, while in the cultures of the East, the community and the family form the foundation of the support systems. Of course all humans value community and family, it is just that in the West, our status as individual takes a higher priority. And, our independence as Westerners is also valued as a priority, while in the Eastern cultures, there is a stronger sense of interdependence.

Of course, both world views have their strengths and their shortcomings. Either way, the point is this: when we are faced with diversity, or even when we are in the happiest of times, there literally is an urgent need, right now, for you to know who you really are, and for you to tangibly feel the answers. We literally are love and peace, it just does not appear that way all the time. And, even just opening up your monkey mind to that possibility is a great step forward. Taking that step to even consider that that may be true can literally change your world. Yes, your world is sometimes chaotic, violent, scary. And of course your world is also fulfilling, infinitely joyful, and bordering on bliss, now and then.

So, how do we reconcile and make practical use of those contrasting realities? How do we make sense out of the disparity between peace & love and chaos & fear? The most important step is to (1) Notice how you want to make those dualities congruent with your monkey mind. Of course, from the level of the mind, there is no congruency there. So, remember this, per Albert:

"No problem can be solved by the same kind of thinking that created it."

And, then, remember this: you really are a divine soul having a human experience. Since you are a divine soul, then it only makes sense to begin to discern between what your monkey mind is trying to

tell you and what your soul is trying to tell you.

I use the word urgent on purpose. Sometimes our current events reveal more urgency than at other times. Whether or not we are noticing the urgencies around us, those urgencies are certainly there on all levels around us on this earth. Human suffering is at a painfully intense level on this planet right now. At the same time, some of us are way more comfortable than we think we are. Especially in the States, many of us have such a high degree of working, efficient infrastructure that we lose sight of the fact that not everyone in the world, not even everyone in our own city enjoys such simple luxuries as indoor plumbing, or a secure neighborhood to stroll in the evening.

So, what is the remedy? Simply this: begin to notice how much you are already awake to your connection to all that is. I had a slight disagreement with an associate a few days ago, and in the height of that disagreement, I was reminded, through compassion, that even though we disagreed, they held their beliefs on account of what they considered to be very good reasons. So, I simply reminded both of us, “we disagree.” I had started to want to make them wrong, and then remembered, they had their reasons. So, instead, I simply backed off and allowed them their position, and backed off my need to be right. And in so doing, I backed off my sense of being separate, and turned instead to my sense of being connected to them, especially at the level of the soul.

So, notice where there may be discomfort around considering that sense of connection to all that is, especially those parts of all that is that seem to be at odds with who you believe yourself to be, as

separate. And notice whether there may be a message that your soul wants to deliver to your heart that will bring more peace and more love to you, right here, right now. And notice whether there is resistance, or fear, or a willingness to allow more of your divine truth to begin to embrace all of who you really are and all of who you really want to be, really need to be, right here, right now.