What’s It All About, Alfie?
A favorite time of year for me, a time to refocus on seeing the divine in everything I perceive and on a new beginning of experiences as a separate self in time, space and form. I love the idea that all that is, is god (whatever you perceive god to be) manifesting the truth of infinite unconditional love. So that all is love and in turn, my peace of mind is ensured when I align with this truth. That this body-mind cannot extend the love that I am in truth unless my mind is at peace.
The title of this blog is from a song from a few decades ago. We as human beings seem to have been asking the same questions for thousands of years. What am I, why am I here and what is my purpose while I’m here? What is the meaning of life and how can I live a life that is full of peace, love and joy? In other words, what do I need to do to be happy?
Upon reflection we seem to be the only species on the planet that does not know who we are and why we are here. Every other living thing seems to be just what they are. They do not seem to question their beingness and constantly judge other things as good or bad. Everything just is what it is. This is accepted and life flows and moves on. Everything seems to be in the present moment.
We humans however have stories of who we are and where we’ve been and where we’re going. We learn that we are intelligent and self-aware and that is what differentiates us from all other living things on the planet. And as intelligent self-aware beings we have a higher consciousness than other living things on the planet. This may have led to attitudes of superiority and/or stewardship of the planet. The former may have led to some misuse of the planet and treatment of other species and the later may have led to attitudes of over-protection of the planet and other species. We have yet to reach a balanced state on this subject. We are finding out that other species do have intelligence, but we seem to be holding on to the self-awareness trait to keep us separate from all other living species on the planet. We are so important! Really? Who knows what we may learn in the future?
For most of our time on this planet human beings relied on mythology and religion to understand the physical world. In the eighteenth century, science and reason had seemed to eclipse mythology and religion in the Western world and we entered a period known as the Enlightenment. Those educated in science and reasoning laughed at the beliefs in mythology and religion as backward and uneducated. That mankind had evolved to a point where science and reason could explain our existence and these new abilities were primary to define our morality and philosophy as we moved forward. Human beings did not have rights granted from some invisible being, but human rights were determined by the human collective. By the middle of the twentieth century, after over a hundred million humans were killed by governments attempting to bring utopian states into being through communism, some philosophers said it was time to move on from science and reason because they no longer could be relied on to bring us the understanding of human life. This new philosophy is called Post-Modernism. This philosophy is apparently still in pursuit of a utopian world of peace and harmony but professes that the only way to get there is through power. And this has led to a belief that the end justifies the means. This philosophy has been taught in most Western universities since the mid nineteen nineties and apparently has led to the “cancel culture” we have seen over the last few years. The morality (from mythology and religion) and the knowledge (from science and reason) that had been primary and once brought some stability to society was no longer seen to be the primary rationale or philosophy for the human race moving forward.
So, what seems to be missing here? Where is spirituality in all of this? Have we thrown the baby out with the bath water? For hundreds, if not thousands of years, we have had mystics, shamans, indigenous beliefs, etc. that proclaimed powers greater than the physical universe and experiences beyond the physical that led to moments of ecstasy and bliss. They professed that we were not the body-minds we thought we were but spiritual entities at one with all that is. But very few humans listened to these enlightened beings. They were seen as “cave dwellers” and out of touch with reality. And unfortunately, many still see them this way. But here we are in the early 21st Century and the world many of us grew up in seems to be falling apart. Many may be confused because the way they were brought up doesn’t seem to be working or accepted now. Human societies, particularly in the West, are changing dramatically and very fast. There also seems to be an acceleration of awakening and consciousness growth taking place and many on the spiritual path are experiencing this on a daily basis.
Many of us are awakening to the truth of our true nature. Some are actively following one or more spiritual paths. I believe we are all awakening, as a race, to our true nature. This can be very unsettling for many and confusion of where the world we thought we knew is going. We are hearing phrases like, The Great Awakening, the Great Reset, etc. and there seems to be an abundance of teachers to help others who are seeking the Truth. About ten years ago I opened my mind to other teachers such as Eckhart Tolle, Mooji. Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille to name a few. Most of these teachers teach the Direct path. It has helped to refine my beliefs and to adjust my perception of the world I am experiencing. Thank god for these teachers and for forgiveness as taught in ACIM! They have been key to my remaining at peace.
I like to believe that those that have chosen to awaken to the true Self and grow spiritually and consciously are the stabilizers as mankind evolves going forward. We all seem to want to have experiences with all that is and have experiences of bliss and harmony and love for all things. But for most of us we still have the experience of being a separate body-mind (of course with our ever-important stories) within an illusory world of time, space and form. Some say we are being lived and everything we experience is just awareness, consciousness, god, etc. being itself and if the separate self wants peace of mind, we just need to let everything be what it is, without all the labels, and just go with the flow. So, I see us all as human body-minds that have chosen to be of service to the human race by allowing our dreams to unfold as they will and did. We focus on keeping our minds at peace so that when perceived others may come to us with confusion and possible suffering, we can extend the unconditional love that we are in truth. Our spiritual practices, master classes and other teachers help us to refine our beingness and, in turn, our experiences so we can be truly helpful to all we encounter whether it is person to person or sharing in a virtual environment like a zoom meeting.
“All are called but few choose to listen.” (FIP ACIM, T-3.IV.7:12). Thank you all for listening!
I love you all and I wish you a joyous holiday season and a glorious loving new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Peace, love and joy Richard
About the Author:
Richard has been a member of the Teachers of God Foundation Evolve community since 2020. He is a student of non-dual metaphysics, primarily "A Course in Miracles" (ACIM). ACIM is a non-dualistic self-study approach to spiritual growth using Western Judeo-Christian language to explain a universal curriculum. He has hosted a weekly ACIM study group since 1993. He is a former USAF Lt. Colonel, a former executive at McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing and a former Executive Director of a local Chamber of Commerce. (Can’t seem to get rid of my story!)
