Our society appears to be standing on increasingly shaky ground with every passing day. Many of those things in life we counted on for reassurance are now falling apart and unravelling. We are facing multiple challenges – from extreme climate events to divisiveness caused by hatred and polarized beliefs – and these are causing great fear and consternation.
A vital question we might be tempted to ask is, “Just what do I hold on to that will guarantee security when the world is this wobbly?”
We find in the various spiritual teachings, a common theme declaring that the world of outer forms can never offer us true sanctuary and security. Security is discovered by learning to stand in the light and love of the Soul where the inextinguishable flame of the sovereignty of Self resides. Buddhism wisely reminds us of the impermanence of form life and encourages the practice of non-attachment as a path of liberation. Perhaps the only secure ground is to be found inside the stillness of a loving and soul-centered heart that is rooted in a deep trust of Life.
Many of us around the world live in earthquake country and know from first-hand experience that at any moment the ground may move and buckle beneath our feet and cause enormous upheaval in our communities. Earthquakes constitute known yet unpredictable threats to our physical safety and psychological stability and we have prepared as much as is possible for these geological events. However, in all honesty, are you and I prepared for the unleashing of a SoulQuake?
Stromboli Volcano
This life-changing event also causes great upheaval and radical change in our lives. A SoulQuake occurs when we say YES to life and the desire of the Soul to express itself exerts an irresistible and unrelenting pressure on the personality – its incarnated agent on Earth. If this compelling inner force encounters a mental, emotional and physical body that is not sufficiently aligned and integrated and able to gracefully and skillfully respond to its call, then an uncomfortable and unnerving build-up of pressure ensues until it reaches an inevitable breaking point.
Any time the Soul is invoked and meets with resistance, or encounters aspects of our personal life that are not in alignment with its core purpose, it will shake us until we conform to its newly sounded set of inner requirements. A SoulQuake guarantees that all unnecessary and outworn parts of our lives will be reconfigured or refined and, in dire circumstances, may even be reduced to rubble. A SoulQuake is a time of great perturbation that clears a space for the new Soul-directed life to begin – one that is more in alignment with our essential nature and spiritual purpose.
So how do we best prepare for a SoulQuake? Here are three crucial tips:
In a SoulQuake, we don’t run for cover – we stand in the unshakable stillness and security of the Essential Self.
In a SoulQuake, we don’t hoard or hold on – we let go of all baggage, belongings and beliefs that no longer serve us.
In a SoulQuake, we don’t practice survival – we enter the fiery crucible of a deep transformative process that eventually leads to renewal.
The seismic gift of a SoulQuake is that it breaks open a heart that may be encrusted with bitterness or frozen with fear and it liberates a crystallized mind that might be clouded by separative thoughts so that the true beauty and splendor of the indwelling life can finally reveal more of itself.
Looking around and reading the signs, it would be fair to say we are going through a collective SoulQuake of great magnitude that is rocking and breaking apart the foundations of our society. It is as though the over-lighting Soul of Humanity is seeking to manifest more of its promise and is creating cracks in a society whose present structures and ways of being are inadequate to the task. It may be helpful to recall Leonard Cohen’s pronouncement that, “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”.
Fifteen years ago, while living near Seattle, a section of my morning run passed through a wooded area. One day, this dirt trail was paved over to provide safer footing for the residents of a nearby housing development. A year later, I noticed areas of bulging on the path that then changed into recognizable bumps. These continued to grow until one morning, a bump burst and the tip of a fiddle-head fern broke through. I stopped and applauded this awesome display of spirit over matter. I was humbled and stunned to think that this delicate fern had just pushed its way through two inches of blacktop without sustaining any damage.
This episode demonstrates and reinforces that the real and lasting power for change and forward positive movement always comes from the inside. Seen in this light, a SoulQuake is not a pending disaster to be feared but a spiritual necessity to be welcomed.
Michael Lindfield Board President Meditation mount
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