The Fall of the A-Write-ocracy?

This morning I relished with somewhat devilish delight a provocative opinion piece appearing in today's Huffington Post entitled New Rules for Writers: Ignore Publicity, Shun Crowds, Refuse Recognition and More.

Though some have speculated that this article may actually be satirical, it echoes many of the sentiments genuinely expressed by writers consciously choosing to bypass the disempowering aspects of those in the traditional writing establishment who are not enlightened or progressive enough to empower authors. I happen to know because I'm one such writer.

The push and pull of differing opinions on this topic come up regularly on weekly #writechat discussions on Twitter, with today no exception. In fact, last week, the topic was so very raw, afterwards I may have been the first to coin the new term "a-WRITE-ocracy" to describe the elitist attitudes that are unfortunately so commonplace in the established writing world, with the many writers in waiting circulating around its ivory palaces.

No matter how shrill the denials or condescending comments, there is no escaping the fact that a genuine writer's rebellion has been underway for so long, it is essentially a fait d'accompli.

The rebellion is actually not quite as revolutionary as we may think. Although not as accessible in the days of old, its seeds were already present in everything from cheap broadside ballads, chapbooks, almanacs and alternative news sources to the unconventional approaches of the talented 19th century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Self-publishing is the writer's entrepreneurship, not all that different from the choice to seek freedom as an independent business owner instead of a paid employee. Self-publishing need not only describe the publishing of a book. It can also encompass many forms of online writing, from blogs to discussion forums to entire web sites.

Traditional publishing may carry its rewards, but so does freedom. As with progressive employers, the most progressive publishers will survive and thrive, but only those that emphasize the empowerment of a true co-creative partnership, only those that recognize that writers really do have legitimate choices these days.

In truth, nothing can silence the voice of a writer, whether assessed by some as "talented" or not. Free, unhindered expression is writing in its purest form. And no matter how forcefully some attempt to bar the gates from the threat of the "writing rabble", the true gatekeepers are now the readers, not the publishers.

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 Phantom Price of Authenticity

There can be a very real, tangible price for choosing to be authentic. But what often goes unexplored is the phantom price, the price we pay when we let our perceived opinions of others limit the person we allow ourselves to be. The phantom price exists only in our minds. Yet its impact can be very real indeed.

The past two months have been my busiest and boldest yet since choosing to act upon my own authenticity. Besides speaking at three conferences in October, I also started my new Blog Talk Radio show "The Frontier Beyond Fear".

It is indeed the radio show that has brought me face to face with my own lingering phantoms related to authenticity. The pilot episodes were unflinching and straight from the heart and conscience, basically an experiment in thinking out loud live on the air, all while becoming adept at various logistical details.

In retrospect, the monologues that resulted may have the appearance of being somewhat narcissistic, but I realized that the only way to get the hang of talking live online is to do just that - talk live online.

Even so, I do look forward to interviewing a wide range of guests in the shows to come, in an open and honest format exemplified by the most recent show A Discussion with Su Elliott, organizer of Portland Christians with Questions. Su's group in Portland, Oregon unabashedly takes on questions conservative Christians are often afraid to ask in church, questions such as whether they truly do believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. I know from experience that such doubts can cause intense silent anguish, and Su has created a safe setting where they can be explored, free from judgment.

The recent election pushed me very hard to stand in my own authenticity with regards to openly stating how I feel about the Tea Party movement's dangerous dance with theocracy. For a movement which claims to be all about individual freedom, it is highly ironic that these freedoms only go so far when you closely examine some of its most passionate agendas, constrained within very particular dictates of conservative theology.

Or could it be that a significant portion of the movement isn't exactly about freedom after all? This is what it means when people say they want to re-establish what they think has always been a theocracy - a "Christian nation". What many in the Tea Party have apparently failed to see is that freedom of religion in this country has produced precisely that: freedom of religion - indeed a wide diversity of religious and spiritual faiths, including a wide diversity of opinion on what personal liberty actually does convey. Assuming just one particular faith should be paramount in determining restrictions related to the choices of women or the marriages recognized by the state, for example, while still claiming to be all about individual liberty, is a highly inconsistent message.

Then to top it off, I have started reading a book called "Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement" by Kathryn Joyce. I am only a little way through the book, and I already find it to be addressing the rawest of topics of the utmost importance, topics also related to my own authenticity in choosing to speak, topics that too often people are afraid to talk about at all.

In the most extreme of cases presented in just the very early pages of Kathryn Joyce's book, we are told of women and young girls essentially taught to be slaves, being told that they must "die to themselves" and serve the men in their homes, calling their fathers and eventually their husbands "Lord".

Freedom of religion is paramount in this country, but is the freedom to completely brainwash and enslave someone from birth included? It's a very challenging question. People are afraid to even talk about such things. It's much easier to talk about abuses happening in other parts of the world, instead of looking at what is occurring right before our eyes.

So-called "complementariasm" and other kinder, gentler versions of justifying the diminishment of women using the Bible will never get a free pass from me again, at least when it comes to the expression to my own opinions on the matter. At its best, it is feeding an outdated, disempowering form of indoctrination to young girls (and boys). These views are not just isolated to a particular group either, not if they have an agenda to pass legislation regarding the rights and choices of women.

At its worse, what appears to be the indoctrination and outright enslavement of some (if not all) Quiverfull young women, many never taught to know any better, may very well be a civil rights violation, indeed a human rights violation, and I really don't think that should be ignored, with hardly even a word of criticism. I sometimes think that many today are so very cautious and politically correct, they would have remained silent even in the midst of slavery in the South, so as not to offend or infringe upon the religious choices of the slave owners. Slavery back in those days was justified using the Bible too.

Considering all of this has led me to ponder some very challenging questions related to my own faith in the dawn of a New Age. I can only hope that as Consciousness expands, people will simply come to realize that the subjugation and diminishment of women is an ancient tradition that must come to an end. That's what an expanded Consciousness delivers after all. Enlightenment doesn't force its way on anyone. One day you simply wake up astonished that you ever could have believed anything less, and the old beliefs fade away.

I felt this way on the day I looked back in true horror on how I could ever have even entertained the notion of a fiery (or even non-fiery) hell. More and more people are awakening to the truly unconditional Love of our Creator, a Creator who values men, women and people of all cultures and religions equally, with no one sex or creed placed in absolute authority over anyone else, and that is where I place my faith.

But we must never allow ourselves in the midst of political correctness to suggest that what we all believe will not be shifted by the transformation of Consciousness taking place on this planet. I believe that a day will come when any belief based in fear or disempowerment simply will no longer make sense, not to anyone. Only the unconditional Love will remain. There will be no loss on that day, not even the need to persuade, only astonishment, acceptance and Joy. We will simply Know.

I have to say that I was encouraged by a Glenn Beck program I happened to catch one day where he talked about "I AM that I AM" as the name of God and then applied that to each and every one of us. Amazingly reminiscent of a standard "New Age exercise", Glenn proceeded to write the words "I AM" on his chalkboard, followed by a blank. Then he filled that blank with several positive affirmations, all affirming positive qualities of human individuals. It is this sort of thing that demonstrates how Consciousness is indeed expanding in the most subtle of ways.

But until that day when we are certain the quantum leap in Consciousness has taken full effect, the only way many of us can continue to share what we believe is by authentically expressing who we are and what we feel. The sharing of information is another way to gently shift Consciousness. The judgment of others who believe otherwise, whether phantom judgment or real, cannot deter us. For me, my own choice to be authentic is an expression of pure conscience and Love. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe, and when you choose to stand in the Empowerment of Love, you can never go astray.

Forgiving and Forgetting: What We Truly Need to Remember About September 11

Like most Americans on that dreadful day, I watched with horror on September 11, 2001 and felt the very foundations of my day-to-day reality rocked in the days, weeks, months, even years that followed.

I was quite a different person back then, a person who stressed about all the little things in life, not to mention the big things. And this was a VERY big thing to me at the time.

We were living in a semi-rural area of Kansas in those days, and fear was running rampant, with no way of knowing at the time what might happen next. I recall well in the days that followed the sound of fighter jets overhead, the only planes flying at all, no doubt heading to and from nearby bases. And I must have watched the twin towers fall almost 50 times, addicted news junkie I was at the time.

When the "shock and awe" of war quickly followed, it seemed unavoidable. Like other mostly patriotic Americans, one who had actually been persuaded into voting for George W. Bush not long before this happened, I accepted the inevitability of war, though I do recall feeling uneasy about it at the time. I can still remember the palpable fear and uncertainty of those days. I was so very paranoid I was almost afraid to open the mail in the Antrax scares that followed. Yes, I was a much different person back then, a person ruled by fear. But fear was the rule of the day. Fear, righteous anger and revenge.

And the fear did not really let up throughout the year that followed. It was during September 2002, when anniversary fervor was reaching a fever pitch, that I had to confront a personal crisis, a thankfully brief, yet intense health scare that ultimately resulted in my own spiritual awakening. No doubt the crisis was made even more intense by the year following September 11, but in a way I felt like the entire nation was facing what seemed like a continual prospect of cancer, not just me. We had all been given the bad news a year ago, changing us forever.

I find it interesting that only in this very moment did I ever make the connection between the fear surrounding my health scare and September 11. For it was this time in my life that indeed led to a very dramatic spiritual awakening about 8 months later, an awakening that finally freed my life and my writing voice.

As with many personal awakenings, mine was the result of intense turmoil facing my own mortality, the turmoil of a person with no trusted spiritual anchor to rely upon, so great were my doubts about the evangelical beliefs instilled in childhood. I felt like I was standing at the very brink of hell. My confrontation with mortality was not just related to the state of my health, but the fear-based state of the entire nation.

In retrospect, I now realize the tremendous gifts fear gave to me. It was fear that led to my heartfelt prayer to the Creator of the Universe, tearfully begging to be shown "the way", whatever it might be.

And the way was indeed shown, though it took years for me to begin to understand, a journey of progressive understanding that continues on this September 11 too, nine years later.

The way had to do with unconditional Love. The way had to do with unconditional Forgiveness. The way had to do with lasting Peace.

I have not forgotten what happened on September 11, 2001. I have not forgotten on a personal, national or global level. I have not forgotten the many people who died that day. I have not forgotten the many people who died in the days and years that followed, on all sides of the resulting wars, including many innocent children and civilians, in addition to soldiers. But there is a difference between forgetting and letting go.

I am finally finding a way of letting go the fear of those days. And it's been quite some time since I have felt any need for vengeance. Instead I have discovered understanding. Instead I am really beginning to see what true faith, forgiveness and unconditional Love actually ask of all of us.

When you begin to look through eyes of understanding, you realize that the entire event on September 11 (even if you believe in alternative theories on the subject) resulted from centuries of fear and vengeance, something that drove a few misguided people to commit an act they felt was justified by their own convictions.

We can question those convictions of course, but can we even dare to try to understand what might have made them feel this way? Can we even dare to end the silence of tolerance (which need not be silent at all)? Just as we expect the tolerant in other countries to take the lead in educating those in their midst, can we dare to take on the responsibility of educating and enlightening those in our own country plagued by eerily similar fears?

Wars breed more wars. Any student of history can see that this is true. Fear breeds more fear. Vengeance breeds more vengeance. Blame breeds more blame. Anger breeds more anger. Death breeds more death. This is true on both sides of any conflict. And sometimes the cascading domino effects of war go on for centuries. This is what happens when we choose not to forget, when we choose not to let go, when we choose not to understand, when we choose not to forgive, when we choose not to Love.

We have a choice. We can indeed choose to Love. We can indeed choose to Trust. We can indeed choose to Understand. We can indeed choose to Forgive. We can indeed choose to place our Faith in the Love that binds us all together on this Earth.

That is where I place my Faith tonight. I have released the angst of September 11, and I no longer believe reacting in fear has anything to do with Faith or Love. I have not watched a single news report today. I honor those who died, just as I honor those who died on every horrendous day, days that continue in some parts of the world, impacting people of many nations, not just ours.

I'm going to dinner in a while. I choose to visit a small family-owned restaurant run by a Moslem married to a Christian (not sure if she converted, either way is fine with me). I happen to know that these people have personally felt an impact from the fear and unreasonable bias that still have a strangle-hold on some who claim to be all about forgiveness, but are actually more interested in judgment, vengeance and a a skewed nationalistic furor instead (something that has led to more wars and death than can be fathomed). I look forward to a nice meal of spicy lamb tajine, a favorite of mine.

I invite you all to dine with us at the table of Universal brotherhood, sisterhood and Unconditional Love.

Understanding breeds more Understanding. Tolerance breeds more Tolerance. Forgiveness breeds more Forgiveness. Love breeds more Love. Joy breeds more Joy. Peace breeds more Peace. Faith breeds more Faith.

I have unwaivering Faith that true Peace on Earth will soon be in our midst.

In peace,
Susan Larison Danz (aka BridgeBuilder)

A Sneak Preview of "The Frontier Beyond Fear"...

Nothing is more motivating as a writer than to see a beautiful preview of the book cover art created by talented artist Richard Crookes.

Have you visited the new frontier?

It is not a place.

It is a way of life.

One life, one moment at a time...

Join the new pioneers.

The Frontier Beyond Fear...a new book by inspirational writer Susan Larison Danz.

Coming soon...

A Dialogue on the New Age Between Evangelical Christians & "New Agers"

There is a profound and fascinating dialogue that has been underway for about a week on the Oprah spiritual forum regarding defining what is meant by the so-called "New Age". I did not initiate this dialogue, but I am actively participating. Like myself, there are those participating in the dialogue whose journey led them to the New Age after experiencing evangelical Christianity to various degrees. There is also at least one person participating in the discussion who was once a New Ager and is now an evangelical Christian. Others have a diversity of views, including at least one atheist.

Whether or not we agree regarding our particular points of view, I believe dialogues of this nature are essential to mutual understanding. I know that my evangelical friends and family, both online and otherwise, would lovingly like to see people like me led back to what they see as "the Truth" of the Bible. By the same token, those of us who can no longer fathom fear-based notions such as hell or the violence attributed to God in parts of the Bible hope that others will one day come to see that there is no exclusive path to the truly UNCONDITIONAL Love of God.

Often there are misconceptions about what people actually do believe, and only through dialogues such as these can we begin to find understanding. Such dialogues most certainly do NOT require that everyone agree, and indeed they can be quite empassioned, intense discussions, where everyone authentically and openly expresses their sincere beliefs and spiritual journeys.

Since I only have permission to share my own contributions to the discussion in this blog, I'm going to post two of my posts to the thread. You can read the entire dialogue (which continues to evolve) here: http://www.oprah.com/community/thread/140201.

My first post is in response to a very dedicated Christian who claims New Agers lack "conscience":

Since I consider myself a "New Ager" now (despite the many different confusing connotations of the label), I will respond in a moment to the overall question posed by this thread.

However, I did want to specifically respond to this notion of New Agers lacking "conscience". Personally I think more people need to find their conscience when they ponder the notion of a violent God who would actually choose to torture or abandon most of humanity for eternity, behave in the violent manner described in the Old Testament or engage in the promised wrath of the End Times. The reason I am now a New Ager and not an evangelical Christian actually has EVERYTHING to do with conscience (as well as courage). Other people leaving Christianity attest to much the same.

In fact, the reason I ALWAYS had doubts, even in the years I was trying to believe in the entirety of the Bible, was because of my conscience. I also find it fascinating that as I travel in New Age circles, many of the teachers and friends I encounter were once on the conservative Christian path and left it.

Personally I couldn't even fathom following a violent "god" anymore, and that has everything to do with conscience. I now know that Love is what matters, not harsh judgment and threatened punishments. God is SO much greater than that. When I used to sing "How Great Thou Art" in church, I could never fully accept it because of the violence in the Bible. But I get the concept now. I wish more people could know just how great God actually is and what true Love and grace actually are, abandoning NO ONE ever.

If you are being told something that violates your conscience (and I can surface any number of horrendously unconscionable concepts in the Bible), if it just doesn't really make sense to you that a Loving God could also be a harsh and violent judge and war-like entity, those doubts are actually God speaking within your heart. I hope you choose to listen some day, as many of us already have.

In my second post to this thread, I endeavor to define how I interpret what it means to be a "New Ager". Just to give you a little bit of context, I also refer to a question asked about the "New" Age actually being a "Middle" Age, as defined by writer Carolyn Myss.

Since I now consider myself a New Ager, and I have become quite active in New Age circles, I will tell you my impressions. I doubt I will get all of this in to one post. An entire book could probably be written on this subject.

I'm not sure about this concept of "the Middle Age" Carolyn Myss refers to (although I am familiar with some of Carolyn's work), but I will say that many view the New Age as very old. There are parallels to Gnostic interpretations of Christianity, but it even goes back farther than that to what some might call pagan roots (keeping in mind that Christianity also has many pagan roots). One concept of the New Age that is very old is the concept of the feminine aspect of the Divine (not just the masculine).

I believe I gave Biblically-based Christianity every possible chance to transform my life and show me the way to God. In fact, I cannot begin to describe my distress over the years, even starting as a young teen, regarding why others seemed to experience dramatic effects from Christianity, but I never did. As recently as about 8 years ago, I was sitting in church and Womens Bible Study trying to believe with all my heart (even after being exposed to New Age concepts) - I can't begin to describe my heartwrenching prayers over the years, begging God to assist me with my doubts, asking to be shown the way.

But ultimately it was only New Age concepts which transformed my own life for the better, not Biblically-based Christianity, and I do know many other people in New Age circles who have had much the same experience. So if you think New Age concepts are not life-changing, you are wrong. People have personal testimonies of miraculous transformations every bit as dramatic as any Christian conversion story I ever heard in my many years of being around evangelical Christians.

But I will say that New Age life transformation is different (yet in some ways the same) as what Christians report. For a New Ager (and many would choose NOT to use that label at all, but I'll use it), it is more about empowerment than disempowerment, not in a prideful way challenging God (as is often misconstrued), but such that you are on the path to becoming EVERYTHING your Creator intends you to be. God doesn't want us on our knees. God gently lifts us off our knees and then teaches us how to hold the keys to the kingdom, in full PARTNERSHIP with the entirety of God. And just like what many Christians report, God gently shows us the way to becoming a far more loving, giving, compassionate person in the way we deal with our fellow humanity. This is not at all a path devoid of conscience as some seem to think. I am a far more giving person now than I ever was before.

The most fundamental belief of New Agers, shared by almost all of them in my experience, is that we are inseparable from God, that we are aspects of God having a human experience, not yet fully conscious of Who We Are. Once they begin to have an increased awareness of this reality, people often have profound "One with the Universe" experiences. Often the Love conveyed in such an experience is completely overwhelming. It is not at all impersonal (even though some on New Age paths have a less satisfying impersonal view of God). What some might call "miracles" also occur, including dramatic healings (which I have personally observed) and other amazing "coincidences" (which New Agers call "synchronicities"). Many New Agers approach the dire news of the economy, wars, terrorism, the oil spill, etc., with far fewer fears than the average person. I know I wouldn't have handled it well years ago, as I was a very fearful person. I can see the transformation on a daily basis within me, more and more each day. I place my trust in God.

The dawning of the "New Age" itself is that process of more and more of humanity becoming aware of their Divine natures, precisely as our Creator intends. Many call this "expanded Consciousness". Some with Christian roots like to call it "the Christ Consciousness" because they believe mainstream Christianity has misinterpreted (misled by early saboteurs) what Jesus actually said and did. Many New Agers can point to verses in the Bible supportive of their views (though not in the entirety of the Bible).

What is the "New Age"? In many ways it isn't all that much different from what Christians look forward to on the Earth, a time of Love, peace and complete communion with your Creator. A Golden Age. An Age of fully knowing the unconditional Love and omnipresence of your Creator, including within your own heart. It is dawning already for many of us.

We would welcome more contributors to this dialogue, no matter what your point of view. Keep in mind that the Oprah forum requires respectful dialogue, even though it supports the notion of healthy debates. "Respectful" doesn't necessitate that everyone agree, and people do very honestly express things that sometimes others may not want to hear, what some might call a form of "tough love". But it is important to realize that LOVE for others is indeed the primary motivation behind the posts of almost ALL participants, no matter what they happen to believe. Many of us have discovered lasting online friendships on the forum with people of much different beliefs than our own. We may debate each other, but at the end of the day, we still love and care for one another, which is why we are engaging in the discussions to begin with.

If you do wish to participate in the discussion, registering for the Oprah forum is quite straightforward, and my experience with the forum, its privacy and email policies, etc., have all been very positive. I have been an Oprah forum member for several years, posting very honestly and authentically under the pseudonym bridgebldr. Over the years, I have found that hiding what I believe, just because some may not agree, serves the purposes of no one. To have authentic understanding of one another in this world, we must not only BE authentic ourselves, but we must allow OTHERS to be authentic too. Nothing undermines genuine dialogue and understanding more than the judgment or suppression of ideas and beliefs. What is so refreshing about the Oprah spiritual forum is that people do find the courage to express what they actually do believe, whatever it may be.

Here once again is the thread containing the ongoing dialogue: http://www.oprah.com/community/thread/140201.

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...