These past few years have proven to be unsettling times for many. The disruption to our normal rhythm and routine caused by the spread of Covid, civil unrest and war in various parts of the world, an alarming environmental crisis plus a general sense of precariousness has left large portions of the population in a state of uncertainty, apprehension and bewilderment.
It is as though the normality we counted on for reassurance is disappearing. In conversations, people are constantly asking. “When will things be returning to normal?” My clear and simple answer is, “NEVER”.
Here at Meditation Mount we are not advocating a return to the old ways but, instead, are sounding an invitation to shape a radical new normal together. Norms are the principles and values upon which we choose to build our society. In one respect, we could say that, “everything is always normal” and that it is precisely the norms associated with this current state of affairs that urgently need to be replaced and then continuously upgraded for something more wholesome to emerge.
It is evident that what we have in place at the moment does not really serve the health and wellbeing of the whole of humanity. It is a non-sustainable model and a radical shift is required for the necessary deep transformation to occur. One simple ‘systems health’ test is to examine what our individual quality of life would be like if we were to employ the values and economic models that currently govern society.
If these economic forces and socio-political patterns were running our ecosystem of Self then we might well end up becoming seriously ill. Why? Because when individual cells grow disproportionately and take over the body for their own ends, it creates dis-harmony and dis-ease and often results in some form of cancer.
Building new structures upon an old bankrupt and crumbling foundation is merely a cosmetic change. It is akin to sticking a couple of wings on the back of a caterpillar and unconvincingly calling it a butterfly. With the creation of a radical new normal, we are talking about a process of profound change that only occurs once the old forms break down and dissolve. A radical new normal will better express the deep truths of our spiritual heritage. What does this mean?
Back to our friend the butterfly. The caterpillar goes through a natural transformational process which begins by entering the pupae and becoming green soup. There it enters a state of a total dissolution of its old form. Inside this green soup we have been told there are imaginal cells that carry the pattern and promise of the butterfly.
In fact, these cells were present in the caterpillar and are now alive inside the green soup and they guarantee that the awaiting form will reflect and resemble the original promise hidden in the essence of that creature. Likewise, so it is with the art of imagining a new model of society. The imaginal cells of Truth, Goodness and Beauty that have always lived inside the collective heart of our humanity are the guarantee that, in the end, we will be able to grow the consciousness and the capacity to construct and birth a society that delivers fully on the deep promise of this ancient trinity of attributes.
At Meditation Mount we are tuning into these imaginal cells that permeate and suffuse the One Soul of Humanity and through the power of focused group thought, imagination and a loving and caring heart, we fashion the memes of a preferred and promised future. We are proposing and promoting a radical rebuilding of society based on a spiritually-rooted set of guiding Principles and Pathways and by utilizing the regenerative power of group Creative Meditation. This is the heart and soul of our mission in the world.
We invite each of us to imagine and dare to live into a new reality where the Principles of Essential Divinity, Goodwill and Unanimity form the foundation upon which an enlightened society will be built. Please ponder these questions:
What kind of world will flower when we acknowledge that each person and each aspect of creation contains a spark of the Creator (Essential Divinity) – affirming that all life is sacred and is to be honored and respected?
What new model of right living will a emerge when Love flows freely throughout our lives (Goodwill) – duly demonstrating this spiritual force as the lifeblood and true currency that gives value to all relationships as well as the glue that holds all things together? Can we imagine a world where cooperation and not competition is the dominant behavior?
What will it be like to live in a society where everything and everyone is perceived and held to be an integral, intimate and interdependent part of one seamless web of Life (Unanimity)? Can we imagine living inside a multi-dimensional ecosystem that nourishes the whole and is a far cry from some clever multi-level marketing scheme that exploits the resources – where the top of the pyramid is successful at the expense of those on the bottom?
The good news is that each of us has the power to choose something different. We are being urged by the call of the soul to move from an ego-centric to an eco-centric model of living where we know ourselves to be integral aspects of a multidimensional ecosystem called Gaia. A Gaian society is where everything serves and supports everything else as part of the One Life.
Do we dare to unhook ourselves from the dependency of a non-sustainable model and plug into a greater renewable source of Goodness that nourishes all?
In this radically transformed society, may it be normal to care for one another, normal to give and forgive and normal to see each person and each living thing as vital and valuable aspects of one living system. May all life be held as sacred and thus be respected, honored and celebrated.
This is the radical new world of caring and sharing which we are seeking to build together out of the ‘green soup’ of our highest aspirations and imagination.
In the Spirit of Freedom,
Michael Lindfield Board President Meditation Mount
Please see the recording of a recent View from the Mount broadcast on this theme: https://meditationmount.org/view-from-the-mount-recording-may-8-2022/