This world has undoubtedly had its challenges in recent months. We are still reeling from the devastation COVID-19 has caused on many fronts. While we try to make strides to unify, heal and stand in solidarity. Above all our country is slammed with acts that highlight that separatism and judgement have stronger undercurrents than we may have realized.
When we peer at the recent events plaguing our nation and our world through spiritual lenses, we begin to see that these experiences, challenging as they are, are studded with opportunity for expansion. Humanity has received its wake-up calls.
I believe that we will come back stronger and more connected than ever before. I have faith that humanity will make shifts away from fear and into faith, away from separatism and into unity, away from hate and into love, and away from unrest and into peace. To heal it will all starts with small acts of kindness, love, and acceptance, rooted in the belief that all life is sacred and valuable.
The State of Collective Consciousness
Collective consciousness is the general state of awareness of humanity. It’s the unified set of beliefs, values, customs, and ways of operating that all weave the tapestry of this unified energy field.
In Chapter 2 of my book SOAR, I give my appraisal of the current state of collective consciousness.
“We live in an incredibly exciting time, as we are just on the cusp of collective consciousness starting to make a huge shift. People are starting to wake up and look at their lives in ways that they haven’t before. They’re making attempts to get to the core of who they are. They’re not only evaluating their lives by superficial criteria related to “success” anymore, but by indicators related to “happiness” and “fulfillment.” We are witnessing paradigms that served prior generations quite well for decades start to break down. The whole energetic landscape is changing and we must make changes in our daily lives to keep up with it and play a part in propelling this collective expansion.”
“We see these shifts starting to take place across the entire spectrum of humanity, from relationships to the food choices people are putting in their bodies. They are starting to do things with more mindfulness and introspection, and as they make more conscious decisions, they are impacting not only their own lives, but their shifts in consciousness, insignificant as they may seem, have a ripple effect that reverberates its way through the collective consciousness.”
Collective consciousness is such a grandiose, all-encompassing, lofty sounding term. You may be thinking “What does this mean for me?” How can I have an effect on collective consciousness? How can I play a part?”
The Ego and the Soul
The recent events in our nation and world have revealed that the ego is still alive and well. We’ve seen fear and hate- that’s ego. Judgement and racism – that’s ego. We’ve seen separatism and anger – that’s ego. We have seen negativity – that’s ego.
We also have much evidence of the strength of the soul. We’ve seen kindness and love – that’s the soul. We’ve seen connection and humanitarianism- that’s the soul. The acceptance and faith – that’s the soul. We have experienced peace – that’s the soul.
In order to expand as individuals and as humanity, we must challenge ourselves and make choices that support our expansion. If we don’t, we will remain stuck. We will remain in contraction mode. In this place, hate never goes away. Separatism never goes away. Racism never goes away. Judgement never goes away. The issues we deal with as a collective and as individuals will continue to perpetuate until we make a conscious decision to live life from the soul.
In Chapter 3 of my book, I discuss ego and the soul in greater depth, and give some guideposts for directing us toward the soul. Here is a brief excerpt:
“Start asking yourself, “Does this action feed my ego or does it feed my soul?” The soul promotes a feeling of wholeness and contentedness, whereas the ego promotes a competition mindset and tries to keep us distracted and unfulfilled. Your intuition and the way you feel in each moment are the best indicators of how a particular experience is or is not serving you.”
Love is the Answer
What Would Love Do?
Love is one of the highest vibrations in the universe. This is precisely the question that will guide you into the heartspace, and will propel your journey from your ego into your soul.
We must commit to choosing love every moment of every day. It’s easy to choose love when things are going our way. To choose love is when we are challenged, hurt or betrayed. When we’ve been overlooked. This is where tremendous opportunity for growth lies.
In every moment, we must resist the urge to react how we may be accustomed to reacting, and reprogram ourselves to respond differently. Step into someone else’s shoes and try to see the experience through their lenses. Take the high road. Set the tone of love, and encourage others to do the same.
We Are All Healers
SOAR ends with an invitation to heal. Chapter 29, called This World, begins with:
“This world needs healing and it needs you. There is so much despair, suffering, disconnection and separatism. It needs you to become the best version of yourself. Rise up not only meet your obstacles, but to overcome them by healing yourself first and choosing love every single day. By virtue of simply being our authentic selves, our spark will naturally ignite the flame in others.”
“The healing that needs to take place first is whatever you have right in front of you. We are all dealing with something. If we weren’t, we would have already transitioned from this Earthly classroom. None of us are exempt from that. We all have experienced pain in the past, may currently be experiencing it to some degree and can expect to feel pain in the future. Our efforts must be directed not toward avoiding pain, but toward transmuting our pain. This will give rise to growth and transformation and will give us the strength and confidence to claim our own personal power.”
Start to Heal Yourself
In order to understand how you can make an impact on such a broad-scale concept, we must first understand how we can change our life on an individual level. Healing the world may sound like a lofty endeavor, but it all starts with small acts of kindness and healing that each of us can do every day.
We can make strides to heal ourselves. We can extend our reach to others, playing a part in their healing. The good news is that there’s no special training or certification required, and you can make healing part of your lifestyle.
Here are some ways you can begin to heal yourself and the world:
- Practice love
- Smile at someone
- Actively listen to someone’s story
- Hold someone’s hand
- Hug a loved one
- Practice compassion and empathy
- Release judgement
- Do acts of kindness
- Make a meal for someone
- Express appreciation
- Write a handwritten note
- Share your knowledge
- Commit to growth
Every day we have opportunities to heal ourselves and heal the world. By committing to choosing love every moment of every day, we make huge shifts in our personal growth and transformation. Those choices we make daily play a role in humanity’s collective expansion.