“Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
the falcon cannot hear the falconer;
things fall apart;
the center cannot hold;
the ceremony of innocence is drowned;
the best lack all conviction,
while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
‘The Second Coming’ ~ William Butler Yeats (1919)
To be honest, in our heart of hearts, we’ve always sensed it would be an unwinnable race against time – a deep inner knowing that the waves of change set in motion by our polarizing beliefs and unrefined behaviors would eventually create a psychological tsunami. This tidal wave of consequences has now reached the shores of daily life and is causing massive disruption. A time of collective reckoning is upon us as our ‘karmic chickens’ from the distant past have finally come home to roost!
Many are wondering if it is too late to stem the tide and ward off the inevitable results of our choices made over countless decades. Viewed from a perspective presented to us through the global media, it appears our society is in free-fall and very soon will hit the rocks. In this possible scenario, there may well be three eventualities, and perhaps all three could be present and in play simultaneously.
Depending on the degree of spiritual alignment acquired and embodied, individually and collectively, I can easily imagine that we will either “Bounce, Bruise or Break.”
Bounce – as a result of our lives already having acquired ‘buoyancy’ and an upward trajectory toward living spiritual values and embracing soul qualities…
Bruise – although full of aspiration and a measure of goodwill and seeking to be of service, we still remain somewhat attached to insatiable material needs, ever-hungry emotional patterns, and less-than-flexible belief systems. Thus, a somewhat bumpy and bruising ride of personal purification, healing and transformation is guaranteed to help us become liberated and to grow…
Break – whenever personal identity, security and survival are tied up with the preservation of form life – be that of a physical, emotional or mental nature - and takes precedence over the liberation and free expression of the indwelling Life, we unavoidably chain and anchor ourselves to the deep ocean of matter. Whenever we cling to the life raft of any outer temporal form for safety and security, it is inevitable that we will one day “go down with the ship”…
So, do we possess the necessary skills, and is there sufficient time at hand to arrest, or even slow down, the rate of free-fall and thus counter the downward trend driving us into the ground? We may not be able to mend the broken weather patterns, but we do have it in our power to mend the fractured body of our human family – one broken relationship at a time.
At first glance, this essay might resemble the foreword to a ‘Survivalist Handbook’. This is most assuredly not the case. In addition to addressing the obvious need to survive the chaos of transitory times, these words are intended primarily as a hope-filled statement of encouragement to create something new – a reminder of the compelling call to ‘thrive’ and ‘revive’ that constantly resounds at the very core of our being.
Spoiler Alert: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within!”
We carry the sacred seeds of the future in our heart – they are safeguarded at the deepest core of our being. Like a lotus flower, the future is waiting to be revealed one petal at a time. The lotus has its roots in the mud at the bottom of the lake and a stem that rises through the waters and pushes into the air to hold itself upright as a bud that, when facing the Sun and bathed in this Solar Power, begins opening to reveal the full flowering of the original promise contained in its own secret heart. In a similar fashion, we are each soul seeds planted in the Earth Garden of time, space and substance that through the procession of the seasons we call the cycles and rounds of incarnations, gradually grow out of the dark womb of matter into the light of day to finally flower and reveal the Truth, Goodness and Beauty contained in the original seed-atom of our Essential Nature as a species.
We are here to grow and flourish within the evolutionary scheme of a sentient Being we call Planet Earth: “in Whom we live and move and have our being”. At the moment all is not quiet in the Garden of Gaia. We are witnessing the raging of major global storms with a great churning of the waters, a shaking of the earth, swiftly-moving and unbridled conflagrations in the form of wild fires and severe buffeting by wild and ferocious winds of change. A convulsion of the elements is occurring as one season passes and another takes its place. This is the nature of our present times and we are called by Life to be Soul gardeners of Gaia in these extreme weather conditions.
This turbulent period can also be viewed as an opportune season for tilling the soil and for turning the earth in preparation for the sowing of new seeds. This is why we perceive both aspects of Life – composition and decomposition – living side-by-side as neighbors in the same garden. These two aspects of the ‘regenerative cycle’ represent the enriching of the soil through the composting of old and outworn forms and the emergence of tender green shoots that are destined to grow and show a new and more expanded expression of our true nature. What happens naturally in nature is also taking place organically inside the ecosystem of our global community.
What will make the real difference and help turn things around? At Meditation Mount we firmly believe there is a tipping point that happens when we shift our focus and locus of living from investing energy in the dominance and survival of the separated self and make the needed re-investment of life-energy to serve and support the Good of the Whole.
This is more than a belief – it is a shared knowing founded on a deep understanding and appreciation, over many years, of the power of Creative Meditation and the practical necessity of building a solid spiritual foundation upon which a new era is to be constructed. We have witnessed that everything is created from the inside out and, as “energy follows thought”, potent inner dreams naturally precipitate into tangible forms.
The outward work can never be small if the inward one is great,
and the outward work can never be great if the inward is small.
– Meister Eckhart
Meditation Mount is dedicated to equipping people with the tools and spiritual wherewithal for building this preferred future. Creative Meditation is a toolbox of techniques and practices that supports the subtle work of shaping our dreams and aspirations and bringing them into manifestation as a positive response to the present world crisis. Inside this toolbox you find such techniques and practices as: Imagination, Affirmation, Receptive and Reflective Meditation, Concentration and Telepathic Radiation or Blessing.
Creative Meditation serves the Common Good by aiding in the construction and precipitation of those new and hope-filled thought-forms that represent the seed-ideas and promise of something finer waiting to be revealed.
Our work is to also make known the three Principles of Essential Divinity, Goodwill and Unanimity that live at the heart of the practice of Creative Meditation and form the foundation and ethical bedrock upon which the new will be built. Viewing this trinity through the lens of the heart, we understand that the Principle of Essential Divinity declares that inside each person burns the fiery Presence of Eternal Love and that life is a continuous journey of revealing that Presence. Each one of us is a unique and sacred fractal of the One Life.
The Principle of Goodwill affirms that Love is the lifeblood flowing and circulating throughout the entire Universe and forms the sublime substance which nourishes and sustains all Creation. Goodwill is how you and I demonstrate that Eternal Love through the daily practice of mindfulness and heartfulness in all our relationships and dealings. The Principle of Unanimity asserts we are each integral aspects of one coherent web of life, glued together and held in place by the power of Unconditional Love.
The three Pathways of Spiritual Approach, Right Human Relations and Group Endeavor help lead us to a lived experience and a realization and application of these three spiritual Principles in the daily round of life.
The Pathway of Spiritual Approach is the Upper Way of striving to our highest potential, Right Human Relations activates the natural urge of the soul to connect and commune lovingly and respectfully with all life and Group Endeavor allows us to honor and celebrate the interdependency of Creation through our concerted and wholehearted efforts as we work together in support of the Common Good.
These Principles and Pathways stand as pillars at the heart of the Mount’s Mission and work in the world. Choosing to serve the Good of the Whole is a benevolent heart-centered act-of-will that places a wayward society, and our straying feet, firmly back on the path toward health and wholeness where the part does not exploit the whole but adds to the wellbeing of all. Simply stated, the saving force needed right now is loving kindness, unconditional cooperation and joyful daring.
Groups of citizens around the world are working hard to live in harmony with each other and with the whole multi-dimensional eco-system of Gaia to create a society that is truly coherent and sustainable. We are busy exploring what sustainability means in practical terms from re-cycling, harnessing solar power and reducing carbon footprints to cultivating plant-based proteins, employing earth-friendly farming methods and by strengthening our sense of community.
There is, however, an element often overlooked by this pioneering movement because it is invisible to the naked eye but, thankfully, not to the caring heart. We are talking again of Love. Love is the most powerful sustaining force in the Universe and, according to the Ageless Wisdom teaching, is the pre-existing and prime motivating force behind all Creation. Love burns at the fiery heart of the coming civilization and without Love, a truly sustainable future is not possible.
If we are to believe the Scriptures that, “In the beginning was the WORD” then this originating ‘intentional formative sound’ constitutes the sustaining note of all that exists. It holds the Creator’s original and limitless loving intent that guarantees the continuity of Life and provides cohesion and coherence among and between all elements of Creation. If Love were to stop Her singing, the world would surely cease to exist.
Our clear task in the coming months and years is for each of us to cultivate an open and radiant heart wherein the inextinguishable flame of the Fire of Love may burn ever-more brightly. It is the courageous awakening of this loving heart which provides the necessary regenerative power for change and offers the needed inner security and assurance during these testing times of turmoil and transition.
As one era passes and a new one takes its place, it is vital to our survival and to our future ‘thrival’ as a species and as a planet, that a fiery and loving heart is a fully functioning force for good and acts as the guiding and governing force on Earth.
“Thank God our time is now when wrong
Comes up to face us everywhere,
Never to leave us till we take
The longest stride of soul we ever took.
Affairs are now soul size.
The enterprise is exploration into God.
Where are you making for?
It takes so many thousand years to wake,
But will you wake for pity’s sake!”
‘A Sleep of Prisoners’ ~ Christopher Fry
May we stir from our slumber and respond to the urgent inner call for heart-centered living – playing our destined part with joyful resolve in this continuously evolving planetary project of renewal and revelation.
May all that we think, say and do ensure that the tendency towards selfishness and the lure of the ‘love of power’ be swiftly replaced by the Power of Love. For Love and Kindness are the prevailing qualities and characteristics of a heart-centered society. So be it!
Michael Lindfield
Board President
Meditation Mount