These titles are really becoming bigger and bigger mouthfuls, aren't they?
Well, so is life and the world, so let's chew. It's probably happened a thousand times before; there were probably humans in contact with ETs via interplanetary multidimensional systems, possibly based on 2001: A Space Odyssey -like energetic relics in constant communication with trans-dimensional space life; technologies on earth that far surpass what we see around us; knowledge, wisdom and understanding that our present process only seems to scratch the surface of. God knows (and She surely does). But nonetheless, how the fuck are we dealing with the madness of the Kali Yuga? The Great Birth we're in, that appears to be infiltrating our collective and individual experiences, gnawing away at us and giving us so much grief as we try, try, try - so hard, as hard as a million rocks flying through space - to remain purely rational in a world that is slowly eating us up as a cute little lesson, a reminder, that we've boxed ourselves in a little. Come on, it says. Play!
Right, I'm glad that's out of the way.
First, I am going to talk about a lot of what I'm seeing around me, and have seen around (and inside of) me for the last few years. In short, a few years ago I, like so many others in the world right now, drank some divine nectar and experienced a process that damn near blew my socks off. And, indeed, as a strong experience can do, I did find in returning to the village with the boon that my feet hard grown quite cold; my socks must have slipped about halfway off, because hot damn I could not for the life of me bring the entirety of those visions into the world, the habits, the patterns, the people, etc., that I had manifested and written in to my life, my drama and my being (i.e. integrate them). "But...but...it all seemed so simple!" Of course it did. When you're dancing about as the two intertwining serpents of your DNA, checking out the solar system, the universe, the layers and layers of conditioning falling away, the massively massive insights, the creative surges - it all! - well, it's a most beautiful thing. But what about integration? There's half a life, if not more - and constant re-inforcements in the present - of powerful fear-based conditioning, welded intricately into my entire system, my entire being - and into the systems around me. And my connections internally and externally, as well - all riddled with influence; and part and parcel of this is a covering up of the heart, its mystery as well as all the guidance it has to give. What makes up the shadow that you get a glimpse at with medicines, with breathing techniques, with yoga, with any of that stuff? What are we viewing? Why are we viewing it?
So looking around and speaking to folk and reading the immense amounts of real-time(ish), frontline, online literature that is presently arising (and being so quickly refined in these technologically fascinating times), I'm finding a strong new pattern arising. I remember reading a while back about how in the 60s, probably a little earlier, when acid rose to fame and Indian philosophy with it, that there was quite an opposition between those acid-frenzied "short-cutters" and those who set foot on a life journey to become conscious, aware beings through ancient practices, long hours of such practices; lifetimes, even. You can see, perhaps, a little bit of a microcosmic metaphor here for a larger theme: "I can do what you're doing in about twelve hours!" And then, the reply: "You cannot take such a shortcut, you are doomed to failure. In order to be aware and to liberate your mind, you must practice!" Now, I think, the two attitudes are coming together more. Not that they're defined, clearly outlined points of view, but people are beginning integrating all sorts of ancient and modern systems together with psychedelic medicines and other powerful experiences that are becoming popular at present. It's a natural flow, I feel. In fact, starting the yoga-mediation path (I'll just call it that for now because it's easiest for understanding purposes) was, for me, largely evoked by experiences that almost literally screamed for a balancing system. Shit just got too hectic.
Which brings me to a stepping stone in the present time which I see a lot of people a little (or a lot) stuck on (though a lot of them may not feel stuck quite yet; and others aren't stuck, they've actually gone in another direction). Let's tell a little story to demonstrate what I'm rambling about.
Billy was a regular young man until one day, he gained miraculous insight into his own conditioned being, the cosmos, God and various other really far-out things that he'd not really had all that much access to before. After experiencing the impossible and seeing that anything is surely possible, Billy saw the world a whole new way and became very excited about it, because he felt free, liberated, like nothing could stop him. Billy was connected! Billy understood the flow of things, and felt it in his heart, and knew truthfully that his capabilities and those of everyone were way, way outside of the box. Wow, Billy thought, and rushed home to tell his parents and all of his brothers and sisters. This, however, didn't quite go to plan, as not all that many people in Billy's life understood what he was talking about, how he was now behaving, thinking, etc. Billy hit a bit of a brick wall, because everyone was asking explanations of him, telling him that perhaps he'd gone crazy - and soon enough, with the rational mind returning to the forefront with all these rational vibrations, Billy even began to doubt it all. Here we can see that "falling back in line" that so many experience when returning to the village, with the boon...
At this point, we can stop and take a look at what all the Billys out there are up to, how they deal with this stepping stone. And let it be pointed out that one need not go back into an old life for these challenges to arise; in fact, one thing that I'll touch on is how people in "conscious communities" can potentially deal with it.
It's very, very easy to become stranded on this type stepping stone, in the bigger, collective context, as well as in a personal journey sense. Without guidance, support, a strong intuition and sense of things, you can really get into strife here. The processes that have been started will roll on, continue to churn and dredge up things, for as long as they need to; the world around you will not adapt to your changes; your past lives on in the life you've built, so going back home (or simply returning to your stasis state) and re-connecting in an ecstatic new way might not go down the way you - or Billy - think or thought it might. Anxiety can grow like wildfire, because shit's coming up, up, up still, and you're not quite sure what to do; and Fuck, you think, how could this be happening!? I saw God! I SAW GOD!!!
Ok, so it's a little dramatised, but let's not leave the comedy out of this human drama. Shit's okay, even if you're in this type of spot - in fact, you're (we're) actually experiencing it in order to learn from it.
Nonetheless - where to from here? Well, people seem to either be struggling immensely with their ongoing processes, and without guidance can feel like they're being overwhelmed by far too much of their darkness and shadow at one time, without the love, help and support that is necessary, that they need and are looking for; or, having had such a self-empowering, liberating experience, can simply become smug, banding together in groups that feign to be conscious communities but at heart, they're a little scared and so need to get together with others in order to fill the hole. This can very easily, in a very real way, lead to conscious smug communities who - and the Lord knows they have a good covering to deny it - essentially feel a lot "better" than everyone else. And, of course, it can simply manifest in an individual believing they "have" things that others don't, their experiences working to fuel their sense of needing to be special, different, rather than feeding a "greater good", a humble, sharing -type spirit.
Or, people seek out systems, guidance, techniques, yogis, guides, and so forth, in order to help themselves the fuck out! It is possible to go about it in a wise, self-helpful way, but it takes some work dealing with these new feelings of truly being a very special and unique being who has had some beautifully wild and insightful experiences, while also remaining humble and open to continuing the process in whatever way you need. And yes, despite the fact that you may now know, feel and understand that you are divine - a perfect-imperfect, glowing manifestation of Brahman - you may still benefit quite a lot from further help! I know, I know - it's a tough one to hear; but getting over this is a very liberating key to allowing for the seeds to grow. For time immemorial, as well as your own personal history, we and others have created support networks. It's a strange and interesting illusion that many of us entertain, that we need to go it alone - yes, we are the guides, the guide is inside, but to clear the way and get in touch with this inner guide, often we benefit greatly from help.
Likely, there are many other manifestations (of the troublesome stepping stone mentioned above) going on. The world is exploding in this sense, so the cutting edge is constantly changing; and of course, the idea that this complexity of the healing scene exists is not new - I would recommend a Google search or, if you're more interested in avoiding a screen and speaking to a being, ask around; go and experience what these people and communities and practices are like. Many people have many interesting ideas on what's going on right now, because it's proving itself notably strong, quite an acceleration of awareness, which seems to be getting faster and faster and without an equally speedy growth of support networks, or applied systems of knowledge, technique, guidance, or what have you, for the many that could benefit from them.
Hence the part of the title, Growing Into Isolation. It is very possible to feel a lot colder and more alone than you did before after having a strong experience with one of the many ancient or modern technologies or teachers that are re-emerging and emerging in the world right now (or spontaneous and other intense experiences, for that matter). We're sort of like babies with new toys; and as such, it's important not to forget Mum and Dad, Grandmother and Grandfather - our many ongoing guides, whoever they may be for us. Babies don't need to be humble; they sort of just are, and they have a naturally strong connection with a sense of extended family or tribe. We baby-adults, however, are in a different spot. We were crying, and now we're being tended to, but when we're sent back out into the world we easily forget and our power can grow out of control, inwards or outwards. Look at it this way: We are empowering ourselves immensely, waking up and remembering so much about the flow of things. BUT, if this growth and empowerment is not guided, tempered (especially with humbleness) and worked with together - well, for the majority of those out there "waking up", it can easily lead to waking up as lucid as fuck in the midst of a very real-ly experienced nightmare.
I know and understand, from experience, that a lot of people out there would look at this piece and look at me and say, "Man, you need to chill out and just go with the flow. Everything is fine; this is a dream and we're all riding it out beautifully." Or some such sentiment. This is an important point being illustrated, both by my irritating metaphorical hippy here, as well as by myself in the following way of looking at this. Friends, be careful in this world right now of egoic oneupmanship. Often, what appears to be a very chilled out tripper, who may indeed be very wise and have had some very insightful experiences and even tonnes of wisdom - well, it's unfortunate, but they can also be quite protective of something they think they "have"; quite fearful of something that may threaten their illusion of spiritual growth, which in many cases presents itself before you in the form of a very insightful, but subtly self deluded, "spiritual warrior". One notable symptom of this is when you try to have a discussion with such a type of person, and find that all they ever talk about is "their experiences", and rarely show any true interest in sharing insights and creating a dialogue in order to co-create together. This is a fairly clear sign, a lot of the time, that such a person is heavily attached to the experience, rather than what it might mean. This as a stand-alone sort of thing isn't a bother; but as a wider symptom of this collective awakening, it is certainly of interest, and is quite telling of something bigger than it may seem.
This kind of thing is hard for me to write, so I would like to qualify some things and clear up any potential mis-interpretations of what I'm nudging at.
What I mean here, in general, is that some people grow very attached to their experiences and the scene of healing and growth. This is a symptom of what I have written about above - when we have nowhere to go in this huge rational world, after experiencing divine nectar in whatever forms, of course we want to hold onto it as though it's a solid, concrete torch of eternity. Well, it actually kind of is; there is a very real sense to it, but you don't just "get" it and that's that. There is a lot of work to do (for most modern people, anyhow); and that is proving itself literally as we speak, as I write, all around me and all around the world. Without putting that work in, fear can arise more powerfully than it did before, because so much has been dredged up through these opening-up experiences. So, it sort of makes sense; without support and guidance, people band together in their confusion and try to work it out together - which is a really great idea! It comes from the heart, as many things do; it is what is helping this whole thing move and grow: people integrating systems like yoga, meditation, communal living, ashram life, alternative medicine systems, with all of these profound new types of experience. Fantastic! But also, there are many who aren't going that way. Still fuelled by the heart, is is possible that they can become misguided. And so, as is recognised in traditional shamanism in Amazon Rainforest, this power can easily turn and manifest in other forms (black magic). Like any great power, it can go in any direction. With the insights people are getting about people and relationships, for example, they can either work that magic to manipulate and exploit people, because they understand people are insecure and how easy it is to exploit that with their newfound power, or they can use that same power to help people overcome boundaries and to grow in a positive way. See what I'm getting at? So going back to our irritating hippy above, we can see that this power can also be transformed into a more powerful ego. How? Well, when I begin to understand how truly beautiful I am as a unique manifestation of God, the Universe, DNA, and how interconnected I am - well, what can this lend itself to? Quite easily to me seeing myself as better than you. Again, this is a tough thing to point out; it won't sit well with many, because - as I have felt and experienced myself - it reminds us of a powerful element to all this: that our insights are what we make of them; and that despite how empowered we can feel, this can still manifest, without the right tools, in a messy, fear-based way.
For me, noticing this kind of thing is a powerful reminder that such potentialities, such seeds, can manifest within in me; and likely, in a subtle way, they do. A beautiful message from this ongoing process is that remaining humble and grateful is a key, and that despite the infinite wonder of it all, the profundity of these experiences, the nectar and the poison are in essence the same thing - it depends on how you use them. To clarify: I refer to the irritating hippy in a playful way. I think at this point the reader might be interested in a personal story regarding this type of thing. At first, when I felt this kind of element in people, I was completely convinced that I was the deluded one, and that surely conscious folk could not fall so easily into the ego-trap of feeling way better than others. Wrong. Here I learnt more and more to trust my intuition on these matters; and time and time over, these sentiments are validated both through experience and through talking with other people. Next came how I viewed it. At first, it was irritating; it brought about something in me that I was uncomfortable with. Letting that sit a while, working on various things to do with perception and how to love such things, I came to understand that this type of thing - spiritual snobbery let's call it - is not something to be judged and looked down upon. Like anything of a fear-based nature, it's a manifestation of a need for love; a calling for attention, as a child does. In fact, it's part of the reason I am writing this. It's something that needs help and support; something that reflects a potentiality in many of us. Christ - could it be that there's an annoying hippy deep within me, crying for help in the guise of a smug-cloud? A tough one to accept, but yes; as is often the case, if it's "out there", there's a likelihood that in some sense it's also "in here" - and in a deeper sense, it's both.
So, let's look into the mirror again and see what we can see. Let's accept it all and ask around, see what folk are doing with it all - because they are doing a lot right now. Many, many great things; mant wonderful re-emergencies and beautiful fusions of the ancient, the modern and everything in between . So, if you're feeling isolated, stranded on an island of irrational beauty and understanding that the world at large, your history, etc., doesn't understand; if you're starting to feel the humbleness slip away and a sense of superiority slipping in; or if you're simply looking for the next step - stop, take a breath and feel it out; remember to be grateful for what you have been shown and to express this gratitude with heartfelt intention and a sense of responsibility. Help is around. If you feel it, seek guidance from the outside to help with the guidance on the inside. Set intention. Go toward what will nurture your insights, not what will inflate your ego and re-create the problems you were initially trying to deal with in newer and more deceiving forms. And remember that sometimes the most comfortable seeming folk are still just as frightened as those who go back into the big rational world and start to struggle integrating the same experiences that fuel the smug-cloud surrounding elitist communities, or groups of people. Distinguish really heart-felt intentions and guidance from the more adulterated vibes floating about the new age scenes.
Truly, you know all this; God just forgot, in order to have some fun remembering again.
Truly, you know all this; God just forgot, in order to have some fun remembering again.
Love.
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