The patriarchal institutions of wealth, power and dominion, all hidden behind an increasingly transparent veil of engendered apathy and fear, are being threatened by a worldwide ascension of consciousness. A new global community is evolving–one of unity and connectedness with all of life–one that refuses to be divided and controlled by political and corporate special interests, media manipulation, or government officials who do not serve their constituencies.
More than nine million people, the majority of them women and children, are hungry and impoverished in a world that can readily afford to feed and shelter them, while our precious planet and its wild and magnificent wonders are besieged by the ecologically unfriendly and sometimes devastating footprints of industry, despite the availability of greener and more sustainable options. The predatory pricing practices of pharmaceutical companies and their methodical discrediting of cures for diseases that can’t be patented and sold, the inertia of institutional economic dependence on fossil fuels which fails to entice energy companies into developing viable alternatives, and the systemic extraction of wealth through the federal reserve banking system, are all major machinations of this veiled and corrupted monetary paradigm. The global financial crisis of 2008 brought into focus the incestuous infrastructure of national governments, financial institutions, and investment exchanges engaging in unethical practices and manipulations of real estate and stock markets, rendering an unprecedented collapse of the economy that endures to this day.
A Conscious Awakening
The despair and outrage we share at this sad state of affairs, however, has served as an awakening for a growing number of people. Many now see the jaded visage of a corporate owned media that is no longer bound by objectivity or journalistic integrity–a media that propagates the profiteering agenda of the world’s wealth nexus by ‘selling’ carefully crafted and sponsored stories, and sensationalizes racial, religious, and political conflicts, violent crime, natural disasters, and human suffering–all with the intention of purveying the fear necessary to polarize and distract us from the grand pecuniary scheme. Equally disturbing, and what has become painfully evident to everyone, is how politicians fail to represent the collective interest of their electorates due to conflicts of interest created by the dark money of special interest lobbying, which circumvents political ideologies and violates the basic social contract upon which democratic governments function, transforming them from a voice of the people into a commodity of the rich and powerful.
Indeed, more of us than ever see through the thinning veil of this monetary paradigm–a veil which cannot disguise the needless poverty, economic inequities, and environmental crisis of the physical world, or the dearth of individual and collective spirituality. Alas, we realize that to a greater or lesser degree our realities are disturbed and superficial; our lives too often seem hollow, troubled, impotent, and devoid of that elusive deeper meaning and purpose for which innocence yearns–and inspiration thrives. While alarmed at the current status quo, we feel helpless, furious, and uncertain in our ability to effect change. And even though we acknowledge that enlightenment cannot be bought and sold, we still find ourselves caught up in the consumerism that dictates day to day existence. Yet placating ourselves by purchasing and consuming increasingly fails to gratify as the false sense of security into which we have been lulled gradually fades, giving way to our innate compassion, intuitive sense of morality, and instinctive faith in the interwoven nature of life itself. It dawns on us how so many of the world’s woes are mere reflections of ourselves, manifestations of attitudes and beliefs we have learned and adopted–doctrines and edicts and notions sewn with the seeds of fear and avarice–which are being cleverly used to proliferate a paradigm that cannot sustain our planet and its populace.
The Choice Of Love Or Fear
“Every human thought, word, or deed is based on fear or love. Fear is the energy which contracts, closes down, draws in, hides, hoards, harms. Love is the energy which expands, opens up, sends out, reveals, shares, heals.” ~Neale Donald Walsch
Thus we seek to explore and bridge the divisions deep within ourselves, the chasms where old attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, and selfish desires render us vulnerable to the intrigues of money and power, and separate us from our divine connectivity. This growing self-realization, this global ascension of spirituality and higher consciousness, represents profound hope and inspiration.
Considering recent developments in civil rights based on tolerance of gender, race, and sexual preference, all of which have overcome historical cultural and institutional resistance, there is every reason to believe in political lobbying reform, equitable wealth distribution, uplifting of the impoverished, affordable healthcare, and sustainability of our planet, as reasonable and attainable goals. The seachange lies within us as individuals to avoid entanglement in the fences that would divide us–in discovering how to invite and nurture this collective spiritual awakening to our connection with all of life–in finding and giving love amidst the complex personal, ideological, and cultural conflicts that will inevitably arise along the way–and in our endearing faith in human spirit and ingenuity to preserve the wonders of creation. Indeed, we must reach out with all our hearts to those who resist and hold to the old paradigm, accept and embrace them as teachers instead of reacting to them as hated adversaries, and reverently understand it is they who will forge our greatest intention.
Choosing to be unafraid does not insure we will be spared challenge and hardship, but it does diffuse intimidation and polarization. And choosing compassion does not insure accomplishment of all our goals and aspirations, yet it allows the rectitude of vision necessary for discovery of pathways to enlightenment. Ultimately, the solutions we seek begin not with answers but with questions–questions each of us must answer for ourselves.
Are we about the apathy and little-death of fear? Or are we about the nobility and courage of love?
©2014 Shawn Quinlivan, CHT & Cathexis Therapeutic Imagery
Author’s Note: I was moved to research and write this article because so many of my clients, in one way or another, have expressed sentiments similar to those reflected here. Colleagues, friends, and associates have reached out to me regarding the Unitarian Universalist Church at which I am an active member, expressing the desire to find a spiritual connection. My marketing messages, therapeutic approach, and mindfulness training model resonate with the themes of compassion and love as the way to ‘be the change’ we wish to effect in our lives. I believe that consciously seeking the path of empathy leads to spiritual enlightenment, and the decision to cast out fear and greed, to challenge the debt-driven and dark money economic model which plagues our world, to lift the veil of the monetary paradigm and see clearly into an emboldened future where all of life thrives with respect and dignity, begins singularly–within the hearts of each of us.