What is “The Shift” All About?
By Joan Kistler
ISIS Class of 2013
By Joan Kistler
ISIS Class of 2013
*
As the end of the Mayan calendar – December 21, 2012 – draws
near, more and more people are asking, “What is going to happen?” There are
many predictions: increased solar activity, a polar shift, an automatic human
DNA upgrade, and the cataclysmic end of the world. Of course, there are also
those who say that nothing extraordinary is going to happen: The end of the
Mayan calendar is just a superbly opportune date for End Times enthusiasts to
launch yet another Doomsday campaign.
On the other hand, there are those who say that something is
going to happen – something that has been slated to occur since the beginning
of time: the evolution of human consciousness from Ego-Centered to Cosmic-Centered
consciousness. This higher level of consciousness is also known as
Christ-Consciousness, Buddha Mind, Higher-Consciousness, and
Self-Actualization. Rather than focusing on what is going to happen “out there”
in the world, these predictions focus on what is going to happen in our inner
world that shall then be reflected in our outer world.
Perhaps these outer world predictions are just the reflections
of our predicted inner world transformation: increased “Son” activity, a total
change of direction, a total transformation in the human species, and the destruction
of the ego-centered systems which for thousands of years have inflicted untold
suffering upon humanity.
We can see it happening now: the crumbling of economic
systems based on greed, the destruction of political systems based on the
absolute power of a single individual or an elite group, and the collapse of
religious, educational, and social institutions based on hypocrisy, deception,
and injustice. We are now yearning for a world where love, peace, and
prosperity for all living beings can be realized, and a New Age is riding upon
the wind of our yearnings.
If you are here now, experiencing these turbulent times,
then your Spirit volunteered to help usher in this New Age. Everyone who is
here now has a part to play in this great evolutionary drama, and it is by
being here now – by being Present – that we realize our True Selves. We are the
observing Presence that is watching everyone play their roles – both the heroes
and the villains – without judgment. There are those playing roles designed to
show us our True Self, and those playing roles designed to show us our false
self. Now, it is time to choose again.
We have chosen to live out of our false self for thousands
of years. As our human consciousness developed, we became increasingly
impressed by the perceptions of our five senses and our ability to use our
logical minds to evaluate and judge our experiences. In our ignorance, we began
to believe that only what is “out there” – what we can perceive with our five senses
– is real. As a result, we shut down our “sixth sense,” our conscious
connection to our True Self as Life itself, and we became trapped in form
identification. In the Bible, this process is symbolized as Adam and Eve
listening to the lies of the serpent and eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge
(Genesis chapter 3).
When we became aware of our physical bodies, we saw
ourselves as these tiny, miniscule bodies all alone in this big world. Thus, we
lost our sense of oneness with our Mother, the Earth. She became “the other.” We saw “other” bodies
out there too. Thus, we lost our sense of oneness with all Living Beings. But
the greatest threat of all was this almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent power –
our Source. This was the insurmountable “other” against whom we were powerless.
Genesis 3 tells what happened as a result of our fear: Adam and Eve hid from
God, and they were cast of Eden. This symbolizes the loss of our experience of
Oneness with our Creator and the illusion of separation taking its place.
Ego-centered consciousness was born. This was the “Original
Sin” that was really nothing more than a mistake in perception and a fearful
reaction. The loss of our natural sense of Power as One with All That Is led to
our striving for a false sense of power through competition with the “others.”
Our will was usurped by the illusion of separation, and we began to seek power
through the dominance, exploitation, and/or destruction of all the “others,”
who became our enemies. In reality, there are no “others.”
We are fighting ourselves – Life Itself.
This was the first layer in the veil of separation – the
first layer of the onion. As we went through life experiencing ourselves as
separate entities, and our sense of “I” became stronger, numerous other layers
were added as our human, cultural, family, and personal “issues.” As we
perceive with our five very limited senses, we make evaluations and judgments
based on a very narrow – and therefore ignorant – view of reality. How can
“you” do “this” to “me?” We ask this question and others like it because we are
groping around in the darkness of our limited perceptions. Our logical mind
tears reality into pieces like “you and me,” “this and that,” and “good and
bad.” Because of this, we cannot see the unified fabric of reality – the
interdependent web of existence.
How do we return to the awareness of our Oneness with All
That Is? How do we shift to Cosmic-Centered Consciousness? Carl Jung was the
first psychoanalyst to recognize the existence of both a personal unconscious
and the Collective Unconscious in all humans. The Collective Unconscious is the
impersonal unconscious force that is both the guide through and the goal of the
entire individuation (or self-actualization) process. This impersonal
unconscious force is our True Self, and it is this that holds the memory of our
Oneness with All That Is.
Our Ego, or personal self, can never integrate our True Self
because of its unconscious, transpersonal nature. However, the ego can learn to
surrender to the True Self’s guidance by recognizing its superior wisdom.
According to Jung, there are four steps in the individuation process: the
integration of the shadow, the integration of the anima or animus, the
integration of the Wise Old Man or Great Mother, and finally, surrendering to
the True Self. If enough of us complete this process by December 21, then on
December 25, we can all celebrate the birth of the Christ-Consciousness into
this world, which is the true gift of Christmas.
Next blog by Joan
Kistler: Step One – Integrating the Shadow
*A full-sized poster of the Mayan Calendar image above may be purchased at the following web link: http://www.zazzle.com/mayan_calendar_poster-228361897397970126
Very good understanding of The Shift as presented by Barbara Max Hubbard. I like your idea of Original Sin. In "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" it is called "avidya" generally translated as "ignorance" but it can be just as easily translated as "without wisdom." In that ancient text avidya is called an obstacle to living and is followed by a list; ego, attachments, aversions, and clinging to life.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if our earlier move to ego was not a move toward something better for its time. Maybe the development of ego was necessary, as it is necessary for children to learn boundaries and protection. Now the next move may be necessary for our survival as we grow into a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Namaste and thank you Joan for your insight here. I would agree John that when I read this I was reminded of the Hindu path that teaches us that when we are in "ignorance" we are in the illusion and that this illusion is the "separation" from knowing who we really are........In that separation and ignorance we then operate from a belief system that our EGO is all that is - when in fact it is quite the opposite. All that we are (truly are) is the essence of SOURCE and the body - the ego - the senses - the material realm is non existent. All that really exists (always has and always will) is what Joan is speaking of as "this True Self that holds the memory of our Oneness with All That Is." Wonderful discussion!!!! Keep it coming!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNamaste John, Joan and Grace! The teachings on The Tree of Sankhya (the Yoga theory of creation) also align with what Joan writes here, and there is not so much of an emphasis on the physical world being an "illusion" or "non-existent" as there is a focus on shifting from the unmanifest to the manifest and back again, from the subtle to the gross and back again in an ongoing dance that sees creation itself as the method by which pure seeing can be revealed to itself. So the Source, the One, called Brahman in Hinduism, split into Purusha (the true Self, the divine Self in everyone) and Prakriti (form, matter, and everything that is not pure consciousness) to see itself, to experience itself. I love this theory, and it works perfectly as a framework for talking about "The Shift." I also think of the Tantric teachings that show us how to work with the physical world and with all emotional and physical things that we may see as limitations... we can work with these things on our path to liberation, and we don't have to see the physical world as something inferior or unreal. The Hindu saying, "Man me Ram, hath me kam," In the mind God, in the hand, work, shows us that we stay rooted in Oneness and complete our work in the world. This is similar to what Krishna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. We don't have to fear the Ego or the Ahamkara, because it has a purpose, too, and it may still have a purpose as we evolve. We can develop non-attachment and transcend the ego and become free. "Keep the heart in God and the head in the world. If you know how to put your heart in God, you can rest there always and still play in the world. It will no longer be a hell to you, but a beautiful playground." (Sri Swami Satchidananda)
ReplyDelete