Start Where You Are

Start Where You Are

Recently there was a local event here for “seeing ghosts”. There was “measuring equipment” and phenomena occurred such as lights going on and off as well as the “measurement equipment” buzzing. Some of the ghost busters were there to interpret what was happening with the ghosts for all the participants. There were forty people there.  Earlier in the week there was a presentation with music, drumming, visualization and reflective art or writing, all with a music therapist with over 8 years of training and education and experience in using the vibration of music (the science of  music and its vibrations as well as the energy and spirit of vibrational music) and there were 8 people there.  I was profoundly confounded until a later conversation with someone who sponsors “new age events” (including hosting the ghost busting event) helped me to clarify. As she put it, people like entertainment; they do not like doing any work. So if you can offer an “experience” that one can have “done to them” people will pay. If you offer something where people actually have to participate, do some work, feel something, or learn something, people will not come.”  I reminded me of prostitution, where you pay to have it “done” to you vs any kind of relationship, where you need to actually be present (at least somewhat) and participate (or at least pretend to).   I asked her how she felt about that and she said “I don’t give a sh*t. That’s what people pay for and if that’s what they want, they should get it.”  She encouraged me to do a session of Past Life Readings.  I mentioned I have some ethics about that as I believe that hearing some story from another person about a supposed past life you might have had A) Is of no benefit whatsoever other than that of feeding another person’s ego, and pure entertainment and B) Will corrupt any future attempt at a past life regression as now the person has an idea of a past life planted in their brain from a story told to them and will never know if what comes up in the regression is true or influenced by the story they heard from another. The mind, and ego, are powerful and can corrupt regressions.   Her response was basically what’s wrong with entertainment?

That’s a good question and it made me think.  I don’t have an answer other than some people can do one night stands or pay for “it” and others cannot.  The danger is for people to confuse paying for it with love or a relationship. The danger is thinking that if you wield crystal tables, oils, or sound bowls etc. in order to give yourself or others an “experience” and confusing that with the notion of a relationship with your Soul, a relationship with Source.  Entertainment is entertainment.  Meaningless or energy-less sex may be a mechanical rush, and that might be what you crave, but then call it what it is, fun. That doesn’t mean relationships and learning can’t be fun, they can be but they are also something more. Be clear about your choices, and own your choices.

Photographing 1:11, 3:33 (etc. and posting it), the sacred worn as every day wardrobe, hallucinogenics taken as party favors instead of in ceremony, excusing or explaining all behaviors as “it was meant to be” even if it includes betrayals, false love, irresponsible communications, tools instead of touch, presentations instead of interactions are all now considered “normal” (albeit new age or “spiritual”) behaviors.  The sacred has become the mundane, and even entertainment, and definitely exists in part, for profit.  Not just in this millennium, the study of  human history reveals over and over again that these kinds of evolutions are part a parcel of the seemingly endless cycles of the rise, decay, and then crumbling of each “civilization” thus far on Earth. (Relevant reading on this, the award winning book: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.). At the peak of decadence, begins the subtle signs of decay. Pedophile priests and gurus, human sexual trafficking, and just about everyone declaring his/herself to be “gifted” in the new age industries.  What you say? The last is not at all comparable to the first two. But for those of us working with helping the “victims” of the new age to recover and get back on track from psychological and sexual detours that can burn out years, even decades of your life, some of us add it in as extremely damaging. This is a complex subject. The point being, how do you live in these times? Every civilization has fallen. Every one, and no one civilization ever declared itself to be on the brink of decay. It is only history that is brave enough to declare that.

How to live as an awakened being is a question that arises in all eras. During slavery, did you “go with the flow” or help run the Underground Railroad to bring human beings to freedom?  And which is the “better” choice?  Did you choose to remain friends with slave owners and exchange pleasantries at social gatherings, or did you choose to discretely distance yourself and walk down another path?  If you were white, and privileged, did you even notice enough to ask these kinds of questions?  And does it make you a better person if you do? Or does it make you  a drag”, party pooper, or nowadays, a “negative thinker”?   Mindfulness, awareness, critical thinking skills, self-sacrifice, personal gain, and more are all your choices. Do you own these?

This is not a question of right and wrong as each side can argue and defend their position. It is more a question of personal awakening and personal responsibility.  Why not own your racism or prejudices? Why not tell people I prefer fun to commitment or making money is more important to me and my family than “making a difference”, or I love eating too much to eat healthy or work out, or I prefer to be on oxygen and keep smoking than stopping, or I would rather stay on disability than work?  You cannot start to really live your life, the one you chose and designed and jumped into via your current human body and family and circumstances, until you “own” where you are now. Who you are now, and the choices you have made and are still making is your starting place for any change, any evolution.  (Pema Chodron has a lovely book titled Start Where You Are).  If you are making up new age stories to justify your embarrassment, shame, laziness, “mistakes” etc. you are hiding from your toxic emotions and living on top of toxic emotions. This means all of your decisions, choices and reactions will be an attempt for you to stay away from these toxic and often unconscious emotions. You will not be making choices at all, you will be reacting to defend yourself from pain. You may have been doing this for so long that you no longer even realize this way of living, of operating, is very far away from the real you, your authentic self. If you can own and speak and answer questions regarding your choices with no defensiveness, no excuses, and actually feel free to discuss it all perhaps even with some humor and definitely with some humbleness that is a good sign (evidence) that you are living your life awake, aware, and mindful.

Everyone is on a Spiritual Path. Just like everyone is ruled by the laws of gravity, whether they believe in it or not, whether they think about it or not.  Having a fabulous new age life does not necessarily mean you are more evolved. It just means that the new age culture is fun for you, for sure.  You prefer it and the stories and the tools and accoutrements rather than say the hip-hop culture.  Just like using “gangsta” rap, does not make you a gangster and saying  “peace out” does not make you an activist helping to stop the current wars the USA is engaged in not on the home soil but in other countries. Just like calling your behavior polyamorous doesn’t change the behaviors from looking like being single, with a new name on it. Pedophiles also publish “research” that justifies child love as valid and nurturing.  Yes “past lives”, karma, and all the other spiritual factors are real, but so is this life, so live it and have the courage and honesty and authenticity to look at your choices. Leave the jargon, you can use it to hide from your authentic self and from observing what is really happening. Instead be specific. Describe your choices with no cool vocabulary. Look at the consequences of your choices, to you, to others, to your family. Even if it was “meant to be” and you “know” you were “guided”, you should be able to do this. If not, it is a red flag.  After all, you chose this life, your race, sex, income level, country you live in, for a reason.  Everything you do, everything you don’t do, does have consequences. It is, after all, Earth, three dimensional Earth and everyone has feelings, reactions, and makes choices. You are not exempt. Start where you Are.

Journey On