silent practice garden wear meditation practice takes place

New Beginnings

Hello. Welcome to my first blog post “new beginnings” on my — as yet — unfinished website.

New beginnings emerge in our consciousness when we are willing to let go of a positional stance. Energetically, this spaciousness — quite literally — feels like one is learning to fly. There is a sense of “lifting up and off-from”  that sends thrilling flutters through the heart and refreshes the mind with a positivity that defies logic.

New beginnings return us to the mystery: where we came from, and where we return to. Too frequently, we have been trained to place both our trust and identity in the dualistic mind of scientific and/or religious materialism.  In effect, we have been hypnotized by a culture that reifies the physical world through hard science and superficial fundamentalism. The tragic result is a paucity of spirit that sets us adrift in a sea of spiritual confusion and/or habitual neglect of our inherent depth.

The good news or “gospel,” is that we are divine creatures because we are — first and foremost — spiritual beings. We have only temporarily lost our way in this incarnation. On the whole, church and culture serve the status quo of power. As spiritual beings, we have always been called to a different order from the cultural status quo, but the call is especially compelling at this time of global crisis. This makes for a very exciting time in which to be alive! Not only must we seriously and honestly inquire into where we have been placing our attention (historically and personally), but we must be willing to lean into the unknown and discover that which is totally new — that which lies beyond our conditioned minds and hearts.  And this is not a solo-path. (Gone are the days of the Lone-Ranger and the individual hero!)

The new paradigm of evolving Consciousness (necessarily) takes us beyond religious and cultural structures.  It is within small groups  that I have glimpsed a new awakening: small groups of individuals who are both humble, desperate (!), and committed enough to begin to learn and practice something new. People who are stepping beyond the familiar power structures of relationship into the experience of true communion. People who, through experience, know that “loving neighbour as one’s self” is neither hyperbole nor commandment, but a spiritual Reality that is both thrilling and liberating  beyond measure.

It takes wholehearted participation to consciously evolve within a  culture that we have been conditioned by. Otherwise,  awakening to new beginnings easily remains an isolated experience of personal rejuvenation, with little effect on the culture. At present, our social and religious cultures are largely blind to spiritual dimensions. As such, they are ill-equipped for the rigorous transformational processes required for spiritual maturation; and our evolution into higher/deeper/more wholesome states of consciousness.

Discovering, experiencing, and relating from the rich dark soil of our spiritual depth holds an eternal promise for our future. And, whether we  like it or not, we are all in this together. When we choose to enter our chaotic and beautiful world with our feet firmly planted in the future-of-our-collective-becoming, our heart and mind open to new possibilities. New beginnings. Hallelujah!