Escape from Monday

"There is no race if the rats refuse to run." 

~ Origin uncertain, attributed to R. Amiton

There it was, out of place yet very much in place, an office building towering over the suburban trail.

So engaged I was in the midst of discovery, so focused on the beautiful beyond, I didn't even see it sneak up on me to one side.  This was yesterday...

Today I walked the trail again.  This time it was very much apparent on a sunny Monday morning, expected as it was.  Remembering another life of mine, I wondered how many eyes shrouded by darkened windows wistfully watched.  How many had watched even on Sunday?

What had they traded to sit there, day after day after day, at the shaded windows with a view? 

What might they trade to be free?

On my walk back, casually playing with shadows, I saw the narrow path.

A few, just a few, had apparently managed a lunchtime escape.

But is that really enough?

What Wings Are For...

"No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings." ~ William Blake

I was about a mile down the trail when a woman approached, wearing a "California State Parks" jacket.

"Did you see the bald eagle?" she asked, her binoculars in hand.

I never bring my binoculars on my walks anymore. I prefer my Nature the natural way - up close and personal. Why I took the binoculars this morning, I really couldn't say, but in my rush out the door, I just knew I had to grab them.

She was also in a rush. She said she had never been to Oregon, and she had to check out of her hotel soon. But she had heard there were eagles here, so she had made a special stop.

And sure enough, even without binoculars, there it was, quietly sitting on a branch. From the stark jaggedness of where it perched, one might think it was a vulture.

I have seen the eagles before, but not every day. When they fly above my head, it is always a miracle. My life is filled with miracles lately, and eagles seem to follow.

And then the woman had to run. I asked her if she had seen the forest. "No."
My sacred forest is a magical place, somewhat like the entrance into Narnia. It doesn't look like much at first until you wander in. It was not something to be missed, even for 5 minutes. And so she hastened off, eager to stop by the forest, leaving me alone.

This time I needed binoculars. Yes, there it was. The eagle. Still as could be. Always distinctive, always impressive, the white contrasting with the black, without a doubt an eagle. I could have stood there and enjoyed that view for hours. Nothing moved.

I shifted my view to the nest. I had seen it many times, far too distant to make out any real details. But I had my binoculars today. I had listened...

And to my surprise, there it was. The baby eagle appeared in the nest, staying safely inside, yet tentatively stretching out and testing its beautiful wings. It was a kind of an awakening, as if easing into knowing just what wings are for. My eyes filled with tears, understanding...

And then I saw her, on a branch below, yet another. "Are You My Mother?" came to mind, a favorite long ago. Was she guarding? Or showing the way? When would her baby fly?

The moment was sacred, as if frozen in time, until I thought to reach for my camera. By the time I had it ready, the baby was suddenly up on a branch. How did it get there? Did it walk? Did it climb? Did it jump? Or did it Fly? The mother knows...

Look closely....yes, there are 3...this is the best my little phone could do...yet perfect.

Photo Copyright Susan Larison Danz, 2014

Leap

Taking a leap into your dreams is easy when you hold hands with the Multiverse.

I happened to come across a video today which carries many lessons.  I decided to just list some random thoughts very quickly since it is once again getting late, yet I'm committed to being here tonight.  Open the video in a separate window to follow along...

Separation.
Dismay.
Yearning.
Quandary.
Hesitation.
Fear.
Indecision.
Doubt.
Innovation.
Movement
Misdirection?.
Following.
Now what?
Lagging.
Couldn't be worse.
Catching up.
Serendipity.
Eureka.
Courage.
Faith.
Leap.
Wayshower.
Reunion.
Yes!
Wow.
How?
Interference.
Inspiration.
Example.
Hesitation.
Consciousness.
Critical mass.
Quantum Leap.
Reunited.
Peace.
Love.
Joy.
Heaven on Earth.

The End of Mindless "Justice"

For quite some time, I have been pondering the way justice is handled in our society, and I have become ever more convinced that what is often viewed as "justice" has more to do with mindless vengeance and fear than what could truly be considered just.

It is ironic that as I was about to express my thoughts on what I really feel is one of the most important topics impacting the world today, the following article just happened to be highlighted on Yahoo: Many willing to cut Afghan shooting suspect slack.

People are apparently concerned that the mental state of Robert Bales, shell-shocked from seemingly endless deployments, questionably "recovered" from a severe head injury and potentially suffering PTSD from the shock of a comrade's brutal dismemberment, may have resulted in a situation that spiraled beyond his behavioral control. This particular case is of course exceedingly complex because an entire war may depend upon the outcome, yet that alone exemplifies why justice is often skewed by circumstance, in this case no doubt to the extreme.

This is not about questioning that a brutal, horrendous act was committed. And the real question we find before us is not just what happened to the mental state of Robert Bales. The real question is if we should be highlighting the state of impairment of the accused in every single case before the courts, no matter what results from such impairment. Is it ever truly just to convict someone based on behavior they could not control? Or is that more a matter of vengeance and fear than true justice? If a shell-shocked soldier from another country had done the same to us, could we feel the same empathy?

An acquaintance a while back told me a very sad story of a relative in prison for speeding and accidentally hitting another car, resulting in a tragedy. Was this person any more guilty than the countless people who speed every day, yet happen to hit no one? Yet vengeance demands "justice" because "somebody has to pay".

Age-old traditions have taught us paths of vengeance and fear, of culpability and punishment far more severe than the intent of the offense. Perhaps the time has come for more people to have the moral courage to clearly convey what justice is and what it is not.

I believe it's time to rid ourselves of "somebody has to pay". Almost all human tragedy and strife has resulted from that mindless statement. More and more of us believe "somebody has to understand", "somebody has to heal" and "somebody has to forgive" are the statements a higher consciousness society would substitute instead. Imagine a society where there is NO "punishment" to fit the crime because punishment itself has become obsolete, replaced by restoration.

It will take a quantum leap to get there. I believe one is in our midst. The surprising outpouring of empathy for Robert Bales is only the beginning...

The First Day: A Story of 2012

I wrote the following short story after what I can only describe as a vivid dream state experience I had in 2002 (a significant part of my own spiritual awakening). You can tell this short story was written around 2002 due to the assumption there would be major terrorist attacks in the years that followed 2001, plus the lack of references to modern social networking tools.

This was at a time when my writing voice was only just beginning to re-emerge, after many years of slumber, but the dream state experience was so powerful, I felt the need to bring the fear and confusion that it surfaced to resolution through my writing. I also was acquainted with many skeptics at the time in the engineering/scientific community, something you can see reflected in the story.

I attempted to publish the story around 2006 (and that is the version given here), but I was a novice short story writer, and it was rejected. In fact, I recently came across one of the rejection letters from "Asimov Science Fiction Magazine". Even so, I did receive encouraging feedback from at least one editor (not at Asimov) on what really was my first attempt as an adult at any sort of fiction.

I thought it was oddly coincidental that the 2012 movie included a relationship between co-workers in India and the U.S., even though quite different in nature. The relationship in my own story was actually based on my supervising an engineer in India around the time frame when I wrote it.

~~~~~~

The First Day
Copyright © 2002-2012, Susan Larison Danz. All Rights Reserved.

On the last day, I awakened to what seemed like a normal sunny morning. But it wasn't a normal day at all. It was the last day. The last day. Although we had known this day would come, the reality of the moment was almost impossible to comprehend. In fact, I was astonished I had slept at all.

On the news last night I'd heard millions were planning to revel until dawn. “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow...” and so it went. I wasn't much into reveling, being a more contemplative and reserved individual myself. In fact, I was relieved things hadn't gotten too far out of hand. I had earlier entertained notions that society would break down in the streets below right before my eyes. But it seems that in the end, the human race was turning out to be more dignified than anyone would have dreamed.

And then of course the news had said millions more would be spending the evening in church, and no doubt the churches would see even the most recalcitrant of souls today. As for me, I had no plans to be among them. Despite a solid Catholic upbringing, I had abandoned that path long ago. We would collectively discover “all that is” or “all that isn't” soon enough, no church required.

For some masochistic reason, I decided to turn on the news once again. I had always been addicted to the news, not really sure why. After the first major terrorist attacks in 2001, I must have watched the news for days. And the sporadic attacks over the years since hadn't helped my addiction any. But the ultimate reality of 2012 had finally stopped even the terrorists in their tracks. No doubt they were reveling in their own way today, delighted that their God was going to do their work for them. Even the governments they loathed had failed in all attempts to circumvent what had now become our inevitable fate.

As I turned on the television, my curiosity was met with “This is the emergency broadcast network. Please stay in your homes...” It didn't look like there would be much news on today, which was quite a disappointment to me.

I walked out on my balcony and gazed up at the sky, but everything looked perfectly normal. On the other side of the world, I would suspect the sight was quite something to behold. But I would see it again soon enough, for a final few hours. After that, nobody really knew what was going to happen. Theories had been popping up like wildflowers, many of them not really new, just repackaged for a curious populace.

Perhaps the most fascinating theory suggested we were all about to be burned alive as a super-heated atmosphere rapidly incinerated the planet. Proponents of that theory pointed to a layer of ash in the worldwide fossil record dating back to about the time the dinosaurs disappeared.

An oceanic event was no longer predicted, but mesmerized by the various movies over the years depicting such a scenario, I actually had a secret fascination regarding the prospect of getting a final glimpse at a monolithic tidal wave breaking over the city.

And then of course there was the prospect that perhaps I feared the most, the notion that this really wasn't the last day, but just the first of a slow, horrific demise, somewhat similar to a nuclear winter. As amazingly stoic as society had proven to be to date, I knew it wouldn't be able to preserve itself in that eventuality. And of course plenty of newly converted survivalists were hunkered down, prepared for exactly that possibility. As if prolonging the agony was really a fate to be desired.

I turned on my computer in hopes that I might actually be able to get on-line. It was hooked up to my satellite phone, so I figured I had a chance at a connection. Sure enough, it looked like I still had internet access. I tried jumping to my favorite news sites, but as usual in these final days, they were basically inaccessible due to the millions of others with the same idea. I tried to check email, but not surprisingly, the server was down.

Communication was indeed a challenge these days. Phones based on land lines or cell towers were virtually unusable as well due to the heavy traffic. And not too many people had satellite phones, which I was fortunate enough to have as part of my work. Besides logging in, there really was no one I needed to call today. An only child, I had lost my parents years ago. And as for relationships and friends, it seems I was mostly a loner these days, except for a few acquaintances at work.

My closest friend had chosen an easier path some weeks ago, a fate shared by many in the past year. But as for me, I was curious enough to stick around for the final show. Hopefully, I would not live to regret that decision. Of course, nobody was going to live to regret much of anything much longer.

My reverie was broken by the sudden alarm of the computer. A co-worker in India wanted to chat with me via our work conference link, although nobody was working today. This would no doubt be interesting...

~~~~~~

Naresh: Chris, what's happening there?


Chris: Nothing interesting to report. So far, it's like a normal day, which I must say is amazing! You would think there would have been absolute chaos in the streets, something like that old “Star Trek” festival episode, but nothing like that has materialized yet.


Naresh: You should have seen the sky out here a couple of hours ago. It reminded me of that scene in “Close Encounters” where the drunk man talks about the sun coming out at night.

~~~~~~

Naresh and I loved chatting about sci fi trivia. Of course, it wasn't a UFO Naresh had seen. I chuckled about all the wildly hopeful theories people had entertained in recent months. One group was intent on the hope of being rescued by intervening saviors from an alien parental race. That's one outcome I too would have found fascinating, but not so surprisingly, intervening spaceships had yet to appear. Alien beings may well exist, but like my favorite old “Star Trek” series, perhaps they had rules about intervening with the primitives, even in the most extreme of circumstances.

Yet another alarm sounded on the computer. An old friend and co-worker in England wanted to join our conversation.

~~~~~~

Lauren: I'm on to something. I just know it. It's key, key. How do I begin to explain it.


Chris: I sure hope you're not going to start with that broken record regarding the Mayan predictions because you know how I feel about that. Yes, 2012 was the end of their calendar, that's old news now.


Lauren: Chris, I'm telling you. Did you even read any of that stuff I gave you on the Mayans? You have it all wrong. It's not supposed to be the end, but the beginning.


Naresh: It sounds like a bunch of superstition to me. And I can tell you, I've had my fill of that out here. It's bad enough on a good day in India. You can only imagine what it's like tonight.


Lauren: Please listen to me, guys. It's really, really important, and I promise you, this has nothing to do with superstition or religion. This is key, key, but I'm not sure how to get you in on it.


Chris: In on what?


Lauren: Did you ever read anything by Richard Bach? Maybe that would give you a clue.


Chris: You know I don't like that metaphysical nonsense, trying to masquerade as science fiction.


Naresh: Well, it may not be traditional science fiction, but I kind of liked “Illusions” myself.


Chris: I read it a long time ago, but I could never figure out what people saw in it.


Lauren: Would you please just listen. This is absolutely key. And so very simple. All you need to do is believe.


Chris: Believe what?


Lauren: Just believe it's going to be ok, no matter how far-fetched that may seem. That's all. It's the key.


Chris: Right, and that's really going to help? Just how the hell do you expect anyone to “believe”, on today of all days?


Lauren: I knew this was probably a waste of time. It's actually a lot easier convincing my religious friends who already believe in prayer. But prayer isn't the only answer, it's the belief itself that's key.


Naresh: I understand what you're getting at Lauren, but it just seems a bit too late. Too much fear is on the loose now, and that makes it tough for people to believe anything.


Lauren: Well, my hope is that it won't take a lot of people. For all I know, maybe it will just take one, one person with a belief strong and pure enough to exercise mind over


Connection terminated.

~~~~~~

So much for chatting with the outside world. I knew I was being somewhat intolerant of Lauren, but I simply wasn't in the mood for such a wildly optimistic approach to life, especially today. We had known each other for years, but we had never been quite on the same page. I hadn't really read the article on the Mayans she had given me; I'd seen enough of that in the news. But since there was nothing else better to do, I decided to take another look at it.

~~~~~~

Mayan Misconceptions?
Much has been said about the ancient Mayan calendar ending in 2012 and their remarkable ability to predict astronomical events. But with the catastrophic approach of asteroid Nemesis, very little has been said about Mayan beliefs in precessional ages, according to renowned Mayan scholar Dr. David Sherwood.

According to Dr. Sherwood, "the Mayans did not believe 2012 was to be the final end to humanity. In fact, their true beliefs were incredibly hopeful. They believed the events of 2012 were to signal the coming of a new precessional age based on their astronomical calendar. In this new age, the Mayans expected a dramatic shift in the consciousness of the planet, as humanity became what they called 'beings of light'."

Dr. Sherwood and an ever-increasing group of followers believe there is no reason to despair as the asteroid approaches. They believe instead that humanity is on the verge of an evolutionary quantum leap, and the asteroid will somehow become immaterial to this reality.

"We don't know yet just how the Mayans envisioned the earth surviving an asteroid this massive. But we have hope that we'll find a way. We must remember that not only did the Mayans foresee the asteroid. They apparently saw much, much more for 2012. So we must find a way to trust that all of their predictions will indeed become true."

~~~~~~

This was indeed a hopeful article, but now that the last day was upon us, the article itself seemed immaterial to the reality at hand. In some ways, I was happy that hope was still alive for Lauren even today. Although I had never understood Lauren, I would have wished nothing less.

I decided to wander out to my balcony again just to sit and try to relax for a while. Reflecting back on my own life seemed somewhat meaningless today, although of course there were things I wish I had pursued before the reality of 2012 became so painfully apparent. It seemed somewhat self-absorbing to be focusing only on my own life right now. Rather it seemed more appropriate to reflect on the whole of humanity and what dreams the human race itself would never live to realize. Perhaps some future race would spring up from the ashes and scrutinize the artifacts we would leave behind. Visions of the shattered Statue of Liberty in “Planet of the Apes” came to mind, although in the end it seems the human race was not the master of its own demise, as so many had expected would be our fate.

I closed my eyes and listened to what seemed to be the much quieter than usual noises of the city. It would be only hours now, yet the city remained amazingly calm. I wondered if this would change once we glimpsed the asteroid again on the horizon. As I allowed my mind to drift, I realized that I was actually feeling rather odd, even somewhat dizzy. Although contemplative, I was never one to truly meditate, yet this was beginning to feel somewhat like what I had heard others report of meditative experiences. How odd to be experiencing this on today of all days.

As I settled deeper into contemplation, I felt my awareness expand out over the city. I felt the fear so very palpable in so many hearts today. And surprisingly, I also sensed a glimmer of hope here and there. Perhaps Lauren wasn't the only one.

“Chris, Chris, can you hear me? Chris? We did it, Chris. It's going to be ok. Can you feel the change?”

I emerged from my reverie with a start. Surely I had now sunk into a state of hallucination since I thought it highly unlikely that I would suddenly be hearing Lauren's voice inside my head. Or else I was simply dreaming. I heard the alarm on the computer once again. It was Lauren.

~~~~~~

Lauren: Did you get my message?


Chris: No, I've been off-line sitting on my balcony.


Lauren: No, silly, I mean my other message. I told you it's going to be ok, and I asked if you felt the change. Do you want me to send you another?

~~~~~~

“Chris, the Mayans were right. They really were. Surely you can begin to see now.”

Sure enough, as unbelievable as it might seem, I really was hearing Lauren's voice in my head. Either this was a very complex delusion, or something truly remarkable was indeed happening here.

~~~~~~

Lauren: How about that one? This is really so cool!!! Or do we go about it the old-fashioned way?

~~~~~~

And what was even more remarkable is that somehow I understood where Lauren was coming from. I understood her optimism for the very first time. And although my own point of view remained for the most part intact, I could view the world from her perspective.

And what was more amazing still was that somehow in my heart, I just knew that the asteroid wasn't a threat anymore, as preposterous a notion as that might seem, I just knew...And I didn't even feel the need to turn on the news to confirm it, even more amazing still. Somehow I just knew...

~~~~~~

Chris: What's going on, Lauren? I feel so very odd.


Lauren: It's the change, Chris, it's the change. It's the miracle so many people were hoping for, except it's so much more than that. So much more than even I expected.


Chris: What on earth happened?


Lauren: It was our hope and belief. We did it! We pushed the asteroid away, just enough, but we did it, I'm sure of it! Don't you feel it? I know not everyone believed, not by a long shot, and maybe it just took a few. I just can't believe it all happened so fast!


Chris: What I can't believe is that this is suddenly making sense to me. Somehow I'm still myself, but I understand you now. And I sure as hell never understood you before! ;-)


Lauren: That understanding is just the beginning, Chris. If you could only feel what I'm experiencing. I mean...what about the telepathy, Chris? Isn't that amazing? You'll be able to do it too soon, I'll wager. Well, I should go now. So many people to talk to!

~~~~~~

After logging off, I sat in a daze for what seemed like hours. I really could feel a change. If I tried, I could begin to reach out to the city surrounding me. I felt the pain of poverty, of living with prejudice, of never being given a chance. This went beyond experiencing the fear of the asteroid, which was dissipating rapidly now as the reality of the miracle was sinking in. Never a metaphysical person by nature, yet I truly did begin to feel a remarkable oneness with the humanity surrounding me. And with that sense of oneness came an understanding that surpassed anything I had ever experienced. I was still an individual, no doubt about that, but now I was so much more than I ever realized I could be. And somehow I just knew this astonishing reality was now true for all of us.

I decided to try an experiment of my own. I settled my mind as much as I could, and I focused my attention on Naresh in India.

“Naresh, Naresh, can you hear me?”

Nothing. No response. I shifted my awareness slightly, almost like trying to change the frequency on a radio, not really knowing how I was doing this at all, and I centered all my focus on the person I knew as Naresh.

“Naresh, am I reaching you? It's Chris. Can you hear me?”

“Chris, I hear you! This is Naresh. Yes, you're getting through! So what do you think of this new reality, my friend? It's really taken hold quickly out here in India.”

“It's astonishing, Naresh, I must admit. It makes one wonder just what's in store for us tomorrow!”

“A new day, my friend, a new day! And a wondrous one at that...”

How could any of us have known when we woke up that morning? Or perhaps I should say that the key was that just enough people did know, just enough to make a difference. The Mayans had indeed been right, as had so many metaphysical and religious thinkers. Not to mention the quantum physicists and evolutionists, as they too had been right. It wasn't to be the last day at all. It was the first. The first day of a new age of humanity.

The Grinch: A True Story of The Shift

The Grinch classic cartoon was on network television tonight. I found it ironic that a cross-generational story which on one level has something to say about transcending materialistic impulses was so poorly chopped and truncated to fit the commercial breaks. Classics like The Grinch should be shown unaltered.

But with that aside, I chose to keep watching because as we experience the eve of 2012, The Grinch has been on my mind for days, a story many of us have loved since childhood. The Grinch is the perfect personification of The Shift, the kind of Shift I choose to believe in, the kind that leaves no one behind.

There is a reason why we love The Grinch...and it's the very same reason why we love all stories of darkness transformed into Light, whether it be the Grinch, Darth Vader or the Prodigal Son. It is the story of Planet Earth, and its contrasts and ultimate lessons are symbolic in every possible way, far transcending the message of Christmas or any particular spiritual or religious path.

In every society on Earth today, even a repentant Grinch would be scorned and jailed for years, maybe even executed.

Let's ponder the crimes of the Grinch. He is not only a vandal and thief of toys, Christmas trees and candy (not to mention an abuser of little dogs), perhaps the parts that enthralled us as children.

No, the Grinch takes every last bit of food, every last log from the fireplaces, tantamount to a genocidal act in that cold, wintry place at the base of Mt. Crumpit. He does it just because he can, for the sheer delight of it, to relish the suffering of others, especially children. Joy is painful to the Grinch, so he chooses to extinguish it entirely. We all know the story well.

But how well DO we know the story??? And how much have we truly allowed the story to expand our own hearts? Yes, there's the part about how Christmas happens even without the toys, that's the lesson about materialism we were supposed to focus upon as kids. As a kid, besides missing out on a Christmas feast, I'm sure I didn't really comprehend the dire severity of the Whos down in Whoville having no food or firewood at the coldest time of year.

So what makes this A True Story of The Shift? First, there is the Light, the Light that rises up the mountain, a Light generated miraculously, solely through the Conscious harmony of an entire people, young and old, singing in Joy hand in hand in a circle. By transcending the illusion of hardship, the Whos have shifted, and they are ready to share. The Light of The Shift is contagious, critical mass attained.

It's far easier to believe in a version of The Shift in which only those who "qualify" make the cut, a version of The Shift which is at its worst, yet another fear-based, non-inclusive version of "left behind" that we've heard so many times before. "You better watch out...The Shift is coming to town..." sums it up quite nicely.

But a REAL Shift, a REAL quantum leap, is not just about shifting the choir - it's about shifting The Grinch, including whatever remnants of The Grinch remain in each of us. It's about dramatic change, not incremental progress. It's about darkness transformed into Light.

No doubt we all remember The Grinch's heart growing three sizes that day, his smile radiating with that same Light which encompasses his heart. But how many of us have really pondered what comes next?

When the Grinch comes barreling triumphantly into town, what does he find there? Does he find fear? Does he find judgment? Does he find scorn? Does he find punishment? No, he finds Forgiveness. A Quantum Forgiveness so very vast that just like the Prodigal Son returned, The Grinch is the guest of honor at the feast, trusted and accepted so very completely, he is placed next to the sweetest, most precious child in town, a guest so very honored that he gets the highest privilege of carving the Roast Beast.

Could you give your worst enemy (no matter how transformed) the keys to your city? Would you honor him or her with a parade? Would you trust him or her with your children?

A lower consciousness society would cling to the past. A lower consciousness society would indeed jail The Grinch. A lower consciousness society wouldn't believe he has shifted and wouldn't really care (or those few who might notice wouldn't care enough to do anything substantial about it). They wouldn't trust. They wouldn't love. They wouldn't accept.

A lower consciousness society bases "justice" on punishment for the past, not on healing and rehabilitation in the moment. A lower consciousness society is focused on vengeance and fear, not on Unconditional Love. What would we do to The Grinch in OUR society now? What would YOU choose to do?

Until we can all understand what it truly means to completely accept, forgive and honor a "Grinch", we don't really understand the Higher Consciousness of the Shift at all. And that includes unconditionally accepting the transformation of the darkest possible soul you can imagine on Earth. And that includes unconditionally accepting the transformation of the darkest part you can find within yourself.

We already know how. Our stories have shown us the way. We don't jeer The Grinch or Darth Vader. We cheer. And the Prodigal Son story has been with us a very long time. Many Christians claim to believe in spontaneous transformation, yet they have made little effort to create a society to match - much like the bitter brother in the Prodigal Son, they still feel the need to punish even repentant wrongdoers and call that "justice". And many of them speak of a "narrow path", the most rigid form of exclusivity, with the other paths leading straight to hell.

At its most profound, challenging level, the in-progress Story of the Shift even includes forgiveness BEFORE apparent Transformation...because it is forgiveness itself which creates Transformation. Did the Whos know the Grinch had shifted when they began to sing?

Some day all of us will understand. The Shift will be so radically transformational, it will transcend our every expectation. I firmly believe The Shift is NOT about "qualifying" for the ascension in any possible way, no matter how many teachers I have admired insist that this is so. When the Light begins to radiate irresistibly on this planet, when it encompasses and shifts each and every heart, nobody will need to tell you to shift - you will simply Know - nobody will need to tell you to forgive - you will simply Know. And that's when the REAL celebration begins...



Image notes:

Grinch drawing obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ted_Geisel_NYWTS.jpg and is part of a collection donated to the U.S. Library of Congress as a gift, with no known restrictions on the usage of this photograph (see Wikimedia entry for more information).

Radiating star image obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PGC_39058.jpg and can be shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Holding hands image obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hold_my_hand.jpg and can be shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Occupying the Shift

As I observe the various images, accounts and contrasting opinions arising from the Occupy events worldwide, I cannot help but ponder that what we are actually witnessing is the tumultuous process of occupying the Shift.

There are many ways to take up residence in the Shift. For some, the streets beckon. For others, it is enough to meditate quietly at home. Still others speak or write in ways that may not mention occupying anything at all, yet the Shift remains.

In a world of true compassion, what many of us are called to occupy each and every day is a path of "We", not just a path of "me" (keeping in mind that the "We" must now honor each and every "me").

Some say we are going the other direction, the direction of chaos, and indeed it may seem that way for a time, as those things that no longer serve pass away, a reality that has been manifesting all by itself for quite some time, long before the first sign in the streets appeared.

If I didn't believe in miracles, if I didn't believe a quantum leap is at hand, if I didn't believe we are ready to evolve beyond our age-old "survival of the fittest" instincts, I would likely agree. In fact, I might even say a very Dark Age was about to begin, if I didn't see evidence of the Shift.

They say that seeing is believing, but believing also leads to seeing.

If you choose to see only darkness in this time, that is what you will almost certainly see.

But if you choose to see the Dawn, you will begin to see the miracles, manifesting a destiny beyond our most hopeful imaginings, where Infinite Love is not just a concept, but a Reality residing in each and every heart.

**"Occupy Your Heart" photo originated from Wikimedia Commons - see the original location for a full description of how it can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

The End of Doublethink

I recently felt compelled to reread George Orwell's powerful novel 1984. Though it was a rather dark exercise, I was amazed at just how prophetic many parts of this 1949 novel have proven profoundly to be, particularly for the Old Earth, that fear-based, power-hungry world which is no longer sustainable.

Of course, Orwell didn't envision a happy ending, and I had forgotten the novel's raw brutality, not the sort of reading material I typically choose these days. I may speak of other themes in future blog entries, but what I want to focus most upon today is the concept of doublethink, described by Orwell as:

"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them"

Doublethink is not at all new, but it is alive and well in our modern world. And today I find myself reflecting upon the concept as I ponder the impact and "spin" of the growing nuclear emergency in Japan.

In so many parts of the world, people have been quelled into believing that nuclear power is somehow "safe", yet I believe we can assuredly say that never has this actually been the case. The problem with nuclear power, as is being so vividly demonstrated in Japan, is that it may appear to work well when it's working, but when it spectacularly fails, the effects are so very catastrophic that it becomes abundantly clear why playing with fire is precisely that: playing with fire ~ even when the fire is contained 99% of the time.

"Safe" and nuclear power as we know it are ultimately mutually exclusive terms, and we can only begin to speculate regarding what the effects of this emergency will be. The pundits on TV have many different tales to tell, from alarmist to obediently dismissive.

Corporate beneficiaries apparently fear what a setback this will be for the entire industry, particularly in the skittish U.S. (and rightfully so, many of us more and more strongly believe). So-called "cleaner" forms of energy aren't so clean if their failure carries catastrophic contamination.

I well recall multiple nuclear facilities I observed during my time in the Midwest, and one wonders if they could withstand an F5 tornado, every bit as possible in some parts of the country as a tsunami or earthquake in others.

Clever spin control is unconvincing if you do your homework. As I heard on one network earlier today, telling us that a CT scan contains more radiation than what has been released so far isn't exactly comforting if you have followed the latest news regarding CT scans, a procedure used much too frequently, putting people (and especially children) far more at risk than they realize. Indeed as a recent MSNBC story described, "getting two or three CT scans of the abdomen expose you to the same amount of radiation as people who lived near the atomic blast that ravaged Hiroshima in 1945 but survived".

Even in this very moment as I speak, CNN in the background is reporting a blast and "white smoke rising" from yet another reactor in Japan.

So how are we to respond? Is fear the answer? Or is it a catalyst?

Many of us in the spiritual community have known for quite some time that to awaken, one must often be jarred from sleep. We have experienced this intensely on a personal level. And perhaps now it's finally time for the worldwide slumber to dramatically come to a global end.

Our slumber is coming to an end when we realize unethical, profit-focused corporate interests (not to be confused with the growing contingent of enlightened business leaders) have been taking the utmost advantage of doublethink to introduce any number of wonderful "advances", while paternalistically downplaying the health effects on the general populace or the Earth.

Indeed this includes the medical community's cavalier use of CT scans, repeated mammograms and extraneous expensive tests and surgeries, designer pharmaceuticals with risks far exceeding benefits, and countless products and food items with risks we would blissfully prefer not to know.

Doublethink kept almost everyone asleep as those consumed with greed in our financial sector robbed us blind, even now strategizing loopholes and finding other ways to keep the profits rolling in at the expense of consumers.

And the very term "jobless recovery" is the epitome of doublethink in two words combined, but we would prefer not to know the implications of worldwide economic woes, rising food and fuel prices and growing income disparities in the U.S., beginning to resemble more of a third world Banana Republic than the Land of the American Dream. We would rather not hear that our infrastructure is crumbling and our educational system failing.

Doublethink leads us to ignore the countless deaths due to lack of health coverage and the countless deaths due to over-aggressive, greedy or negligent treatment, quite a contradictory quandary we would prefer not to ponder at all.

We drink doublethink when we daily ingest polluted drinking water, whether from the tap or the bottle, and blithely ingest chemical-laden and addictive food in contaminated containers.

Doublethink has diverted our attention from the lingering contamination and illness in the Gulf (reminding us that other forms of energy production have their perils too).

We have been trained every bit as effectively as H.G. Wells' blissfully ignorant Eloi, dutifully serving our masters every day, not even aware of the slaughter among us, with stunningly increasing cancer rates, not to mention other diseases, telling the tale.

Doublethink has been used by many religions for centuries, somehow making the concept of a loving, yet unspeakably violent God palatable to those who can't see through the contradiction. And the most horrifying type of doublethink was no doubt in play when witches were burned, slaves were kept or ethnic cleansing was speciously justified so many times in the darker parts of our history.

Doublethink keeps us inevitably at war, just like in 1984, mistakenly thinking the often vengeful killing of others will lead to safety and security, with huge corporate war machines financed by doublethink itself, bleeding the very foundations of society into utter oblivion.

Doublethink helps us justify the ever more intrusive security procedures claiming to preserve the very way of life they inevitably destroy.

Doublethink keeps the people disempowered, when in fact the power of the individual is grand beyond measure.

Doublethink is comfortable in a highly contradictory way, indeed invoking doublethink itself to justify the conveniences of our modern world, with selective amnesia whenever it suits us or our overseers. Is doublethink really worth the price?

The darkness of doublethink is coming to an end. That's what happens when the world is jolted awake from its slumber.

There are those who will say that I am engaging in doublethink when I say I happen to have faith that a New Earth is dawning, when I happen to see the signs all around us that the old familiar world is passing away, signs foretold time and time again and becoming more obvious by the day. Faith is another form of doublethink altogether.

There is only one course for us now. A Quantum Leap in Evolution. As the symbolism and eerie reality of 2012 draw ever closer, this is about to become abundantly clear on the planet. Our only path is an expansion in Consciousness so profound that we transcend the old, broken ways forever.

Call this yet another form of doublethink if you like, but more and more of us are in the process of making it happen, no more doublethink than Dawn contradicts the darkness of the night.

Does "Darth Vader" Qualify for the Shift?

A long, long time ago in my youth far away, I spent many a day reflecting on the first "Star Wars" trilogy, a young person (and admitted "Star Wars" geek) already on a spiritual path much clearer to me now than it was then.

And what perhaps reached me most as the first (and best) trilogy drew to a close was the story of Darth Vader, a villain ultimately not vanquished by vengeance, but redeemed by Love, in the end shown healed and restored, shining in radiant angelic brilliance, in harmony with his fellow Jedi Masters.

What is so very remarkable if you ponder this outcome is how the need for retribution was not a factor in the least, nor was the demand for "just" punishment of his crimes. In the story, Darth Vader was responsible for the brutal, callous deaths of many. Yet in the end, there is only Transformation, a transformation so very profound and powerful, a redemption so instantaneous, that all we can do is cheer.

The story of "Darth Vader" holds a very special lesson, one that only enhances the underlying "Star Wars" theme of finding the hero within.

Ultimately it is the story of Transformation, the story of the Shift.

In the end, it was the enduring, unconditional Love of a son that was the catalyst of Transformation for the "evil" father, who turned out not to be quite so "evil" after all.

And this is what I believe the Shift awaiting Humanity is actually all about. There are those who claim that the Shift will only be available to those who qualify, those who hold enough Love in their hearts at a particular point in time. Even though I have dear friends and mentors who insistently assert this is the case, the concept has never resonated with me, not for a moment.

Something that bothers me about the partial shift theory is the fear it ignites in some of its followers, not to mention the almost irresistible sense of vindication so familiar in our fear-based world. There are those who attempt to justify the theory in love-based ways, but to me, it's just another version of "Left Behind", a tale I know well from the teachings of my youth.

When the Shift truly takes hold, I believe there will be no need to convince the Darth Vaders of the world why Transformation is the One and Only Way. They will know already. They will simply know. And as another line in "Star Wars" conveys, they will realize that somehow they have always known.

For there is no path so dark that it cannot be instantly illuminated by the Light. Many tears of Joy will be shed on that day, a day so very revolutionary that even forgiveness itself will be transcended.

One of the most difficult questions we face in the world is why "evil" occurs and how to deal with it. If you choose to empower "evil" like the Dark Side of the Force, then what follows is Fear. And if you choose to live in a world of punishment and retribution, the fear-inspired vengeance goes on and on and on in seemingly endless cycles of pain. The same is true of "justice" based in punishment instead of rehabilitation.

But if you choose to empower and embrace Love instead, if you choose to accept that nothing is more powerful than Love, if you choose to understand that unconditional Love is the ONLY foundation that matters, it is then, only then, that you understand why "evil" is no more than an illusory nightmare of Fear.

Like Luke "Skywalker", I choose to walk a path above the fray. I choose to walk above vengeance and fear. Even forgiveness is eventually superseded on this path because I know some day, there will no longer be anything left to forgive. There will only be the Peace and Joy of the current moment.

Forgiveness is all about the past. True transformation reveals itself in the moment. It does not account for wrongs yesterday or long ago. Unconditional Love doesn't work that way. Unconditional Love first forgives, then miraculously heals, making the events of the past immaterial to the present.

When we celebrate Darth Vader's ultimate rise to the Light, the past is gone. All that exists at the end is the radiant Now. When you can consider every "Darth Vader" who has ever walked this Earth miraculously transformed and restored, it is then that I believe you will truly understand what the Shift is all about.

In peace,
Susan Larison Danz

Note: For more on this topic, listen to today's "The Frontier Beyond Fear" Blog Talk Radio broadcast Shifting Darth Vader.


Darth Vader Footsteps photo released under a Creative Commons 2.0 license from Wikimedia Commons. "Star Wars" quotes from "Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (1983).

The Gulf Between the New Earth and the Old? Just a Few Miracles...

"I never did believe in miracles,
But I've a feeling it's time to try.
I never did believe in the ways of magic,
But I'm beginning to wonder why."
~ Fleetwood Mac

I am finding it increasingly intolerable to think about the problems on this Earth in any sort of traditional way. We are running out of Old Earth solutions to Old Earth problems, and these problems have been with us a very long time.

The last gasp of the Old Earth is looking quite grim right now, particularly for those who have no faith or knowledge of the New Earth that is truly dawning.

When I first heard about the immensity of the Gulf Oil Spill, another oceanic tragedy immediately came to mind: the Titanic. If greed-based business interests hadn't insisted on excessive speed that night, the Titanic would not have gone down at all. And we have all heard about the lack of lifeboats. Sound familiar?

And then there is that other Gulf so many try not to think about, that Gulf in the Middle East, where the corporate war machine stokes the frenzied flames of fear to just keep going and going and going, with precious lives the price. Fiercely loyal nationalism and fear-based religious exclusivity express the selfishness and pride ever more ~ the world itself would be the price if they continued unabated.

The Gulf Oil spill is a vivid reminder of the plumes of poison we can no longer choose to ignore, poison that has silently infiltrated almost every aspect our lives and our deaths. We would prefer not to know. We would prefer to enjoy the comforts and not think about the price. Even the medical/pharmaceutical establishment, the churches and the paternalistic government we might turn to in times of need have the disease, with not much real relief to be found.

It is the price of progress, some say. Ironically even progress itself is often brought to a standstill. How many innovations, how many dramatic cures, have been stopped in their tracks by those whose interests might be infringed upon? How many peace-based solutions have been stymied by nationalistic pride?

Yet we so often fail to see it, so busy so many of us are marching off day after day to passionless jobs which occupy not only most of the hours of our days, but most of the years of our lives, in businesses with "leadership" structures more like authoritarian dictatorships, where even asking an honest question can be an inexcusable offense. Governments can become much the same. But so few of us dare to question and accept the norm as unavoidable, while those we allow to take advantage of us waltz their way to the halls of power and the bank.

Until we find the courage to JUST SAY NO. And JUST SAY YES to something New. Some of us are choosing a new way of life. Some of us have struck out on our own, and we aim to do more GIVING than taking. No longer will we invest our time and energy into those things that no longer serve our world. We have discovered Love in our spirituality instead of fear and intolerance. And no matter how sentimental we may be about the place we choose to live, more and more of us value worldwide Peace and Harmony more than selfish nationalistic pride.

Yet still that is not enough. It is just a step beyond Old World thinking, not the quantum leap required to reach the New.

What will be required? How do we find this New Earth many of us know is already dawning in our midst?

It's really very simple.

Do you believe in miracles? Maybe it's time to try. And some day the miracles will find you even if you don't...

The Lost Keys

Not long ago, I was convinced I had lost my keys. I searched high and low throughout my belongings, even using a spare car key for a short while. Just to discover they were somehow in my purse the entire time, never lost at all. As my significant other Bryan and I had searched, shaken and emptied my purse multiple times, we joked afterwards that maybe they fell out of space and time, perhaps to that interdimensional place lost socks like to live, just to return when I was ready. Or perhaps that new semi-designer purse I was so happy to snag at TJ Maxx is of the magical "Mary Poppins-style" variety. If all the lost socks return next, I'll need more drawer space!

My lost keys represented a lesson I needed to hear. And for a time, I contemplated the many things I had "lost", including a great deal of writing from my youth, something I had tried to preserve, yet had somehow mysteriously vanished years ago.

Or the box that apparently fell off the truck during my last move, containing more writing still and all my precious piano books with the songs I actually know how to play. Anyone who once played the piano, yet fell out of practice, knows of what I speak.


Or the backpack of my son's precious things stolen from my car a few years ago, including what was arguably one of the most beloved possessions in our entire home - the stuffed animal from his childhood. In a fire, I would have said it was the possession in the house I would have rescued first, right after the people and the pets. Yet one day it was gone, along with every single item my son held dear enough to transport from house to house, lending the consistency children of divorce often require. What a lesson THAT was for both of us, and imagine the challenge I had later that day sharing the news.

So what lessons are these seemingly trivial losses of possessions teaching me? Yes, I could venture into exploring even greater losses and grief, but this particular lesson starts with attachment to things, as well as finding peace in the present moment, no matter what surface-level annoyance attempts to cause a stir.

Attachment is often about fear of change. When we cling to the things in unhealthy ways, what we really fear is the disruption of change. Sentimental and familiar items anchor us with a sense of security, and there is nothing wrong with sentimentality, but the key to peacefully co-existing with such things is to know that we can be at peace even when they are gone.

Society can be sentimental too, clinging not only to things but to ideas, even preserving particular ways of doing things which may no longer serve us well. As I have said many times, the Earth is experiencing a quantum shift. I happen to believe that many of the things we have grown accustomed to are in for radical change.

If we "lose" aspects of our way of life that no longer support our evolutionary growth, do we view it as a tragedy? Or do we celebrate the possibilities? It's our choice.