On December 21, the rumor went, the Mayans predict the end of the world. Remember? I've been reading some new information about that. Some of it seems to suggest that when they figured out how the cycle runs they just didn't bother to repeat it. The calendar doesn't end so much as it has a coda. But it is also the so-called dawning of the Age of Aquarius with a remarkable astronomical phenomenon which will take place when heavenly bodies line up in a way not to happen for another gazillion years. While my jury is still out about astrology, I'm a believer in energy. Does the moon afffect the tides and our emotions? Is Reiki any stranger than Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle? Western science and ancient healing practices all seem to be converging in their ideas of energy as life force.
Collective consciousness is a form of energy. How many of you read or listen to the news? What you are consuming is certainly information, but it's not the only information there is. It is the information that sells. But if that is all we consume, our collective consciousness creates an energy that supports a fear-based world. Here's news you may not have heard:
- Belo Horizonte, Brazil ended hunger in its city because it chose to regard food as a human right. And it is engaging local farmers to help.
- Farming community Wildpoldsried, Germany produces 321% more energy than it needs and is generating $5.7 million in annual revenue, all by choosing to go as green as possible.
- 17-year-old Angela Zhang's after school project could lead to a potential cure for cancer.
Imagine our collective energy if these were the lead stories, and war and corruption were relegated to small items in the backwater of the media. The world could be heaven on Earth.
So rather than think of December 21 as the end of the world as we know it, you are invited to think of it as a beginning. Set aside some time to contemplate, write, or create a ritual as a way to lead you into the world as you imagine it. What do you want to see? How do you want to be? How can you co-create with others? If you need some inspiration, let me direct you to servicespace.org. I'm volunteering with them, and let me tell you, the world is a beautiful place there! Please visit it. Then raise a glass with me and toast the Mayans on "New Age's Eve."
Pax tecum.
What is your life about? What are the core values? What do you want it to mean when it is done? I ask myself these questions on a daily basis. The answers are easy: I want to be of service, I want to lead a more prayerful, mindful life, and I want to be wildly philanthropic. I can't think of a more delightful way to pass my mortal hours than making someone's life a little lighter, putting more wholesome energy into the world, and supporting the work of others to make the world a better place. This is no Miss America acceptance speech; I mean it, down in the bones of my soul. My life is about service through writing, teaching, facilitating, speaking, prayer, and philanthropy. I want to use these gifts so much it hurts.
At the same time, I have to pay bills; I want to participate in society. That takes money. Problem is I've never been comfortable holding down a job. Nine to five, office politics, commuting--all of this just drains me, and it never really allows me to fulfill my mission unless I do that in my spare time. Such a life is not for me, despite the fact that I have spent years doing it. It seems such a waste. I love "working." I want to be supported through my work. I hate holding down "jobs." But I've sacrificed my gifts and desires in order to make money. I've given up my Life to do life.
Exactly two years
ago I quit my job, expecting my dream to come true in a flash. Instead my life went haywire. The paid work I intended to do
did not pan out. Money was running short. I was swinging from inspiration to abject terror on a
regular basis. I knew what I wanted to do, but how could I pull in the money? Stay the course...no, get a job...no, stay the course.... I drove myself to distraction and anguish. How do I get this to sync up? But in that chaos and pain, here's what I learned: When I was able to still the fear, things began to
flow. While the "jobs" I pursued evaded me, money came to me in the nick of time in the form of gifts and
unexpected work.
Another such financial precipice was looming before me recently. Not knowing how I would get through the next few months, I finally surrendered and sent up a prayer a few days ago
saying, "I'm going to trust that things will work out. I've got my
passions for a reason, and holding down a job I don't really want interferes with
fulfilling my mission even if it is taking care of me financially. God, you
have to figure this out for me, because I cannot." And despite not knowing how this would play out, I let go of the fear, the confusion, the waffling, and I trusted. I chose to live my Life on my terms. I chose to be at peace. A few days later, I unexpectedly received some inheritance money that will allow me to do all of the above for the next three months!
This is the fifth time some work or monetary gift has come out of nowhere to help me. Once is an interesting phenomenon. Twice is a coincidence. But five is a pattern, and it's trustworthy. I don't know what will happen three months from now, and I am beginning to believe that's not my problem. Until the end of February, I will be living my dream life, serving wherever I can, being philanthropic, developing a deeper contemplative and prayer-filled life. Because when God answers a prayer, I am obliged to fulfill my end of the bargain.
To lead the life of our heart's desire requires us to let go of fear in order for the Universe to work with us. We read this in many different spiritual traditions:
- In Zen Buddhism we find in the Five Mindfulness Trainings - I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with
the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not
letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting
anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment.
- From the Christ's Sermon on the Mount - Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
- From the Five Precepts of Reiki - Just for today I will be free from worry.
- In Mary Baker Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" - Always begin your treatment by allaying the fear of the patients. Silently reassure them as to their exemption from disease and danger. Watch the result of this simple rule of Christian Science, and you will find that it alleviates the symptoms of every disease. If you succeed in wholly removing the fear your patient is healed.
This fascinates me. These very different traditions all point to fear as that which separates us from our higher self, from wholeness, from fulfilling our purpose, from God. So now I want to live my life as an experiment. If I follow my heart's desire to be of service, to be philanthropic, to lead a more contemplative and prayerful life, does God provide the means? It certainly seems so. I deeply believe it is time to let go of my faith as an intellectual construct and give it breath and blood. One does not live an extraordinary life by being conventional or buying into fears. I don't know what my prospects will look like three months from now. I no longer have to. In the next three months, I will live the life I have longed for, in service, in peace, in congruence with my beliefs and values. I'll let you know how it goes.
If you could reduce your fear, how would you spend your life's energy, your gifts, your time? I'd love to know. Let me invite you to comment here, and share support and inspiration with others.
Pax tecum.
