One of my favorite quotes comes from Charles Darwin who says, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” In essence, change is inevitable! Ironically, change is the only constant of the universe and of life. The more we resist change, the more we suffer, the more we remain in fear, and the more we get stuck on the journey.
However, another way to view change can be as an awakening. One of my favorite movie lines comes from an old 1980’s film Joe versus the Volcano with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It goes, “Almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know, everyone you see, everyone you talk to. Only a few people are awake, and we live in constant and total amazement.” So when you can begin to see life not as a fearful and dreaded element of change, but as an adventurous, joyous, and exhilarating journey of awakening, that is when you truly start LIVING!
Whether it was the Arab uprisings a few months ago or the current Occupy movement happening both here in the US and globally, one thing is for sure–the new emerging paradigm on the planet is about BECOMING AWAKE. Awake not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense of feeling alive, whole, vibrant, and most of all individually and collectively empowered. On the contrary, the old paradigm we’re releasing was about being ASLEEP by feeling disconnected, isolated, depressed, devalued, ignorant, and disempowered.
Humanity is in a time of tremendous transformation–all the current long-standing structures of the planet are transitioning as we awake to an emerging worldview of wholeness, interconnectedness, compassion, tolerance, and justice. In order for this shift to occur, all the old structures of separation, domination, oppression, nationalism, and fundamentalism have to come up in our collective consciousness so that they can be healed. Basically, “THE SHIFT IS ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN – BIG TIME!” Depending on what side of the fan you’re standing on, that will determine how easily you’ll make the shift. If you happen to be standing on the side that fears all the changes, you might not like it when the “shift starts flying!”
A few weeks ago, I decided to experience this momentous awakening on the planet by spending a night at the Occupy Los Angeles movement. While there, I could palpably feel the energy and power of transformation taking place. People from all walks of life–students, educators, war veterans, architects, doctors, lawyers, and, yes, even a number of business people were sharing their voices by saying NO to the old ways and advancing social change. In essence, what was happening there at the Occupy LA site and what is currently manifesting around the world is an AWAKENING! In Eastern philosophy, the word for "one who is awake" is known as a Buddha. The renowned Buddhist spirtual leader, Thich Naht Hahn, nicely sums up this notion of global awakening by saying that the next Buddha is not going to be a person, but the actual planet and humanity! THE ENTIRE PLANET AND HUMANITY ARE THE NEXT BUDDHA.
Interestingly, the Biblical concepts of the Apocalypse and of the Revelation both derive from words that mean to “reveal, awaken, lift up the veil.” The word “apocalypse” derives from the ancient Greek verb apokalyptein "to uncover, disclose, reveal," which in the Latin version of the Bible became the word revelatio “to reveal, unveil, uncover, disclose.” So for all you doomsday types out there who fear the Apocalypse or the Revelation as the end of the world, to you I say, “BEWARE, THE BEGINNING IS NEAR!”
As more of us become awake, the more this awakening accelerates around the planet. It only takes a small but dedicated few of us to be catalysts for humanity’s great awakening. As the noted anthropologist Margaret Mead once insightfully observed, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Always remember just how amazing and incredible you are, and just how joyous and magnificent life is. The key to navigating these times of change and transformation is to “change” your attitude toward change. Once you begin to understand that the personal and planetary changes are nothing more than humanity’s powerful awakening, you will be just fine! Keep on Living Your Light® as you keep on Awakening Into Your Light!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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