In light of recent events...
In 2012 the world will end because the Mayan calendar says so.
Not really, of course. But we shouldn't let that stop us having a few panic attacks between now and then. After all, what is the use of a good doomsday scenario if one can’t get a little terror out of it?
Some New Age teachings take the reverse idea and say that 2012 will be the beginning of a new era, a rebuilding into something new. The New Age version is closer to the actual Mayan belief structure. In the Mayan calendar, 2012 is the end of a cycle, and the beginning of a new one.
Yet to put it a bit harshly, both the pessimists and the optimists are delusional.
The ego fears death, and the idea that the end is coming in 2012 is a projection of the ego and its fear of annihilation. But the so-called optimists are also deluded. There will be no renewal, and no mass enlightenment for most of humanity in 2012. The idea of the coming of the glorious age is equally a projection of the ego. It’s a trick that the ego sets up to escape the present moment. And it is only ever in the present, here and now, that Heaven is found. It is not up there, beyond, or coming next week. Enlightenment cannot be achieved or reached. But Grace can be permitted by relaxing fully into the moment.
The greatest teacher of presence that I know is Australian mystic Leonard Jacobson (www.leonardjacobson.com). I have met Leonard on two occasions, and meditated with him. It was a powerful experience that I have never forgotten. His teaching is so simple that many miss it. The ego, in its haste for enlightenment, or the next spiritual fix, will look right past Leonard, and on to the next book, the next, healer, the next New Age.
There is no New Age.
There is only now. Today is the day you allow peace, or it is never. But do you want it badly enough?
Marcus
Good point, Marcus. The ever-present NOW.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. Now, now, now should become our collective mantra.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree. I agree we only have the now to DO something instead of endlessly pontificatiing, or living in a sweet New Age denial.
ReplyDeleteBut what about the scenario of lessons just getting harder and harder, until the person is on their knees, finally accepting action must be taken?(think A.A. etc.)
Couldn't it be possible for a similar shift in conciousness to occur re: end of the world, and consequently an understanding that action must be taken?
NOW?
My understanding of the human psyche is that anything is possible.
Well, Natalie, I don't know what is going to happen in 2012, but on an individual level I doubt things will be much different. It may well be an astrological shift, but such things occur over long or even vast periods of time, so the 'benefit' for you and I will be minimal, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteAs for people learning from the pain, it certainly does happen. The current peace in Europe (in most places) is probably a result of people just getting plain tired of war in the early and mid twentieth century. But there are other cases where the endless suffering doesn't seem to shift anything - take the Middle East, for example.
I recall Danion Brinkley, in one of his books about his near death experiences, 'coming back' with the message that the Middle East would be completely transformed by 1995... Hmm.
That's why the best thing for us to do is work on our presence. That will do much for the human race, as shifts in our energy fields help shift all of humanity too. It helps keep us out of drama too, both individual and group dramas.
Too right.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to get together a 100 monkeys or so.
yes, now is how...
ReplyDeletethis is the 3rd time Leonard Jacobsen comes knocking, time to have a look
some good 'teachings' I've come across just yesterday: http://awareness.tk/
Oh no - are you telling us we've got to work on our own transformation, that some cosmic comet isn't going to blow in in a couple of years and shift us to a new level of consciousness without us having to do a damned thing?
ReplyDeleteTo the hell with that, I think I'll go and watch "The Secret" for the nine millionth time.
There was a man who had a brain virus that bore a hole in the center of his brain. He lost all of his memories and continued to do so. He also had no sense of the future or even what that concept meant. He lived utterly in the present. Essentially, he was a living Buddha. Interestingly, he was happy and had no cares. However, he needed a caretaker. He's dead now, but his life - after the virus - is an interesting look at what it truly means to live in the present. - R
ReplyDeleteNice post. Good words of Wisdom. All we have is Now - so true.... Loving Life & enjoying the Journey :)
ReplyDelete