UNITY IN COMMUNITY

THE POWER OF LOVE

After watching a very inspiring tv special honoring the High School Graduates of 2020 I felt a sense of reassuring hope. It seems that almost anyone who is paying attention can see that one of the most urgent needs on a global scale is the advent of leadership. Leaders that are intelligent, inspiring, truthful, committed, knowledgeable, aware and compassionate. They also need to be courageous and creative and are needed in every area of human culture; in education, economics, science, research, climate issues and so much more. The arts have an enormous potential to become an instrument for change. Leadership there is crucial, as we live in a time when popular culture has a very potent influence. Obviously, the need for conscious leadership in politics has never been so dire. Leaders are needed on every level of social organization from families to neighborhoods to the leaders of nations. We humans are at our best in communities. Our opposable thumb and our creative intelligence have worked in concert with our instinctual ability to form social structures that have enabled the human race to survive and to thrive. Hopefully, parents will begin to learn about and demonstrate leadership skills and guide their children in the cultivation of those skills. Before this pandemic, leadership was presented as something one could cultivate in order to excel in a career or other endeavors, it was an option. But now, it seems a matter of survival. Now, none of this is optional!

I would like to take the discussion of community and the urgency of conscious leadership to another level. It is very slowly becoming common knowledge that there is a world wide awakening underway.

I am not referring to the New Age movement which is a repackaging of ancient traditions. The awakening I speak of has its roots in a much more recent past. And, I am only looking at the U.S. as I am sure there are such roots in most cultures. There was a period known as the First Great Awakening, 1730-40’s during which, there was an intense revival within the Protestant denominations. This was the advent of Evangelicalism. It focused on a trans-denominational renewal of personal piety and devotion which included all classes and races. It focused on the power of the Holy Spirit and a strong emotional conversion experience. It helped solidify several protestant denominations and created division in others. This was echoed very closely in The Charismatic Movement in the 1070-80’s.Then there was the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists in pre-civil war America where a collection of various thinkers from academia, philosophy and theology began to explore and express the idea of a Universal Mind or Consciousness. This was a popular yet controversial movement and seeds were planted that have grown ever since. Emerson influenced many New Thought teachers including Ernest Holmes who developed The Science of Mind which took root in California and now has a worldwide presence. Contemporary teachers like Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Joe Dispenza are inheritors of these teachings And, now the findings of new sciences like quantum physics, neuroplasticity and epigenetics, etc. have added their voices to modern spirituality. In the early years of the twentieth century the Eastern teachers came to America; Vivekananda, Yogananda , T.D. Suzuki and others. Yoga and meditation practices and wisdom began to spread. This is a very abbreviated account as there have been numerous teachers speaking of higher consciousness and sharing practices that actualize those attainments. And, especially important, in all of the mainstream religions there have always been an inner circle of practitioners who have seen and experienced directly the bliss of mystical union. At this level the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other mystics have experienced the Unity of Spirit. They see the absurdity of “owning God”. They know that a Divine Spirit pervades all and that it is loving. Sadly, much of mainstream religion has been severely distorted, and this is not limited to Western traditions. None of the World Teachers have encouraged hate, prejudice, greed, destruction of nature or separation. Of course, if one wants, they can find in the various scriptures, sutras and holy books justifications for any of that and more. But for those who have experienced a oneness with God on a deep visceral level, beyond dogma and theology there is no doubt that “God is Love”. They know the truth of unity. They are anchored in unconditional love, universal compassion and often a calling to serve the world in numerous ways.

This current Awakening, which many can now see clearly, is a world- wide phenomenon. It does not belong to any one particular tradition. The First Great Awakening was on the right track they just let their dogma block true inclusion! Wikipedia states that there are 4200 religions in the world. In addition to that there are a vast number of organizations, schools and traditions that are not specifically religions. Many of the Native American nations claim no religion but practice a way of life based on harmony with nature and the Great Spirit. I’m not researching numbers, I simply want to point out that as a human race we have a vast number of belief systems, way beyond 4200. Many of those, of course, think their view is the one true way. The idea that all human beings are expressions of one undefinable Truth is beyond them. They cannot relate to a nameless, formless Source of Being, they are puzzled by the idea that God is Love but has no religious preference. These views are frozen in the dogmatic traditions and are not generally in sync with the Awakening I am discussing. I do think it important to state that such views should be honored and respected. If they can open just a little they can contribute greatly. However, as I have mentioned, in all of these countless spiritual paths there are likely individuals who are moving beyond these limited views and are experiencing the energetic truth of Divine Presence and the Power of Love. The term mystic suggests a union with absolute Truth. The path to this Oneness is nearly always some form of turning inward, some form of meditation of contemplative prayer and a substantial menu of other practices. This is a very personal thing. There is no one size fits all spiritual path. This union with the One is unique and customized for each of us. Based on a quick search on the internet I found that meditation is practiced by an estimated 200 to 500 million people worldwide, that the numbers have increased three times between 2012 and 2017. That meditation is almost as common as yoga. And, the most hopeful of all, 5% of American children and teens meditate and their numbers are growing rapidly with programs in the schools and numerous apps offering meditations and instruction. The main motivation apparently is health and stress release. That’s good stuff but there is so much more. Those are just by-products!

I’m not really trying to present a research paper here. I am trying to make a very, I hope, obvious point. My formal spiritual path began in the late 1960’s when I encountered the energy and teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I dove eagerly into those teachings and meditations and started on my journey that has continued for over fifty years. In that time, countless people embraced those teachings and those of many other teachers. They explored the Yoga systems, Buddhism in its various forms and mystical forms of Christianity, Islam and Kabballah. A sizable aspect of the counter culture was actually a re-enactment of early Christian lifestyle. Perfect strangers were given food and shelter, there was a feeling of community and brotherhood and the famous fixation on peace and love. It was a golden moment. And this was a global experience. For a complex number of reasons this golden moment began to dissipate. But, the seeds of awakening were planted in countless people of all ages and those seeds planted in past times began to bear fruit. Some people were absorbed back into the old world yet many others have allowed those fruits to ripen. The aforementioned Charismatic movement in Christianity reached all the way into mainstream churches. I attended Episcopal churches in Middle America where the Power of Spirit was clearly observable and easily experienced. When the churches started to allow dogma to block inclusiveness, to become political and demonized rock and roll and anything not contained in their narrow book of “What’s Allowed” I hit the road. But, to this day, the Power of Spirit is tangible and ever present.

There are vast numbers of people who are experiencing Oneness with Source Consciousness, with each one’s personal view of God; the quantum field, the Tao, the Holy Spirit, the Creator, the Source, on and on. And this brings us to non-duality and community. With a persistent practice of meditation anyone can raise their frequency to a degree that they resonate with the Oneness, the Unified Field, or whatever you want to call it. They can feel it, sense it and merge with it; entering the state of Mystical Union. This experience is no longer reserved for the renunciates or cave dwellers. It has always been offered to everyone, equally. This simple fact has been hidden for ages but the time has come for the Truth spoken by Jesus and other awakened teachers to become our ordinary reality. Sitting in the silent stillness in the Presence of what we know as God is the Most natural of experiences, although it is a bit intense at first !. We are returning to the origin of our very Being and it has been calling us for immeasurable time. It is our new normal. That call is a Love Song! However, this merger with the One Source Consciousness at first is a very solitary experience and perhaps overwhelming. All that we have thought ourselves to be evaporates, we enter this Unified State as pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure Spirit. We begin to feel the endless vastness of this empty world. This is the essence of the non-dual, “Not two”. In time we know that this unity is the truth of who and what we really are. We experience being one with all that is. The peace, joy, and love are often indeed overwhelming.

If we are one with all that is then we are one with every one that is. We are intimately in union with every person who is even close to this frequency of Awakened Spirit. This is why group meditations can be so powerful. The collective consciousness, the community of those awakened and awakening creates an incredible vortex of powerful energy, the power of love. Many collective meditations are being held all over the world, some in the thousands. With social media this is feasible, I think there was one aiming for a million meditators joining together at the same time. Don’t know how that turned out, but the numbers don’t really matter. There is ample research to indicate that a group of eight people meditating for a specific intention can generate an enormous amount of energy for healing and so forth. These are spiritual communities. But even one person connected to the Source can have an impressive effect on reality. I will not go into it now, but there is ample scientific evidence that focused consciousness can affect specific outcomes.

The Awakening is underway, no doubt. But the energies of the old system are still in the spotlight and people awaken one at a time at their own pace. We are witnesses. Watch for it! The timeline is uncertain but the change is underway.

If we join together in consciousness in all of our diversity, making intentions, prayers and visions of such a world, or however you may see it, then we can contribute to the manifestation of this New World. We can feel a sense of connection, of community in our deepest meditations. There is no need to share our beliefs if we can respect each others. We can relax as we realize that we are not the architects of all this, we are allowing it flow through us. As we connect with the Mind of God and with each other, the Creative Spirit, the Power of Love will manifest this new reality. We are not the message but the messengers. We will receive the inspiration, see the solutions to the problems seen and yet unseen and be a conduit of the Divine, Creative Ordering Principle. Our gifts, talents and skills will be offerings in service to the world. What greater leaders can we have than those guided by higher consciousness? Hopefully soon, this New World will become a beautiful, joyous expression of Divine Magnificence; always a profound expression of Loving Grace! We are a global community, one in spirit, sharing one breath, one earth. If we can inhabit our hearts, letting our minds rest, we can feel the Unity of all Life and Nature.

All we need is Love!