Years ago, I had a denim jacket with all sorts of badges on it including CND, Greenpeace, etc. It was around the time I met my husband and I think it fascinated and horrified him in equal measure. Over the years I have been on many marches protesting at decisions the government of the day had made. It’s been quite a few years since I felt the need to protest. Some might say I have matured or grown-up. Let me offer a different perspective.
I look back on that young woman I used to be with a fondness for her passion. She was on a mission to change the world, to stand up to whatever she felt was wrong or unjust.
What I realise now was that for all that intensity of feeling, she was coming from her wound. From that place, it is extremely difficult to get to peace because beneath the surface there is an anger in response to the situation. It’s much easier to see this when you take the words from a current campaign – the phrase that comes to mind is the war on terror. Words are powerful and waging war on terror is not going to eradicate it. If anything it will exacerbate and intensify the challenges.
The problem with identity
Let me put it another way: by taking a stand we are creating an identity for ourselves. And then before we know it, we associate so completely with that identity that we forget who we are at our essence. We become lost. I see this over and over again. The world is a playground that our beingness has jumped into because it wants to experience it. And when we do so there’s a danger that we will see our experiences as the sum total of our existence.
The historical perspective
In the Wes, from the twentieth century onwards, there has been a focus on the individual; this has led to individuation. In response to that in certain spiritual circles, there is a view that to live in fifth-dimensional reality you have to banish your ego. As Matt Kahn said in a recent video the ego and the soul are one. That does not mean that they are the same but that they are connected. Notice how much more spacious it feels when we say the ego and the soul are one. In colour we would say love it right, don’t fight it right because in the fight there is resistance and whatever you resist persists! This idea is arising in part due to the recognition that we need to move the dial from me to we.
Why a collective response is challenging
Another element of Matt Kahn’s video I loved was when he said that non-duality and duality are one. This felt very healing to me because what I have observed from many who identify as non-dualists is that they have a tendency to promote only the work of others like them and to recommend solely books on non-duality. In this way, it feels like they are falling into a form of ‘identity’ trap. In my understanding whatever the modality of a spiritual person, the purpose is to reveal consciousness. There are many paths that can enable that intention. For me, non-dualism is a truth, not the truth.
Let me illuminate this further through the use of a reference from popular culture. Have you watched The Mauritanian? It is a legal drama based on the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi. He was detained for 14 years in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp without charge. Under duress, after days of torture, he confessed to having worked for Osama Bin Laden.
Although the second example is more extreme, what lies at the root of both these examples is a fear of otherness and when we apply that to consciousness, identity held so tightly can lead to the exclusion of those who hold a different aspect of the truth. Or you could say that such actions come from leading with the wounded self rather than turning to the wound and exploring what is there.
A way through
Meditation or stillness offers us a way to heal the wound. These kinds of approaches require time and deep self-compassion. And it is contrary to so much of the dominant narrative which is about getting out there and achieving.
Why bother?
Consider this perspective as it may give you the incentive to give it a go. In taking time to drop into your wound and explore it, shifts are possible for you. AND there is also a ripple effect in the collective too, a sigh, a knowingness as more awareness comes in. Will you give it a go?
I love all that you have shared here Zen thank you – it is rich with meaning. Interesting that you too talk about silence here because when we take the word silent and rearrange the letters it forms listen. All the answers are there if we take the time to go within. The issues come when we try and resolve what’s happening to us in the 3D rather than the 5D.
I loved the read and found myself relating to everything and more. I got lucky, sort of, with an experience as a teen (morthershipcafe.com/messy-antics) that opened me up internally like a can of worms and the next few decades were excruciatingly fun. I’m sure you can relate to the latter. My curiosity and vulnerability led me down some rabbit holes few dare even know exist, let alone venture therein. I though everyone did for a time, so my naivety led to greater self awareness and awareness of others, sometimes to my chagrin. When you spoke of identity, it reminded my of my first set of books, ‘Zendor the Barbarian – An Adoptee’s Quest for Identity.’ What I learned was that identity didn’t matter. It’s how we feel and think about who we are and what we do that does. Being our ‘best self,’ to me evolved to understanding that we do have a interesting journey as a seeker of truth because it leads to at least a cursory understanding of seeking a perfected form, fit and function in the world congruent with quantum entanglement in the unified field. It took the spiritual understanding of mission and purpose to a whole new level. What I’ve found is in complete congruence with finding the silence. As the old adage reminds us, ‘In silence is the voice of being.’ Thanks for the wonderful spin.