It’s been some time since my last post and it seems that a lot has happened in the last month or so. Of particular note is that a great teacher has been ‘thrust’ upon the world stage; Ekhart Tolle has been collaborating with Oprah Winfrey on a weekly Webcast that’s scheduled for ten weeks. It’s an unprecedented event in many respects. The basis of the event is Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose”. It’s difficult not to see this as being a significant event in the context of the spiritual or consciousness evolution of the planet.
Oprah Winfrey has become such a major force of inspiration for so many people that I am so very happy that she has taken this latest step in her quest to help as many people as possible given her position, resources, and estimable character. I only wish that others in the media spotlight and of the financial means would take advantage of them for the good of all – rather than the good of the one. Oprah Winfrey is raising-the-bar for many celebrities and setting an example for us all. These facts will surely be her most significant and lasting legacy.
March 20th was the vernal equinox or the first day of Spring and with the season’s change I am inclined towards thoughts of potential or the future. Remaining grounded in the moment is difficult for me during this period. I’ve noticed a pattern in my life since having begun diligently practicing yoga that the transition from Winter to Spring is the most difficult for me. My body just wants to seize-up and I find it a challenge just to get out of bed in the morning. I usually get sick around this time as well – as I am right now while writing this post. I’m traditionally laid-low by a nasty cold or flu-like bug around this time of year. I always think it’s related to the crazy temperature fluctuations of the Northeast exacerbated by even crazier fluctuations inside the old NYC buildings I typically work in. I can go from freezing cold to out-and-out sweating several times a day – and that’s even when I’m feeling well. So, much of my thoughts are geared towards ‘fair weather days’ in the literal as well as the figurative senses.
Spring is the time of awakening from the 'slumber' of Winter. Its coming heralds the change of the landscape and this change reverberates throughout our lives and throughout our consciousness. It is the proverbial time of new beginnings and of being reborn. Never in my life have I been so aware of this shift. And it’s reflective of the fact that never in my life have I been so aware in general. Seeing change as it comes-and-goes, actually experiencing it, feeling it, and then having it pass – all the while remaining aware of the phenomena is a significant step. The next and more difficult step is to not be attached to the experience. That’s the trick isn’t it? Yes, indeed.
The tool that I’ve come to believe in with regard to attachments to experiences – attachments to the outcomes of change – is intention. If I am able to visualize a particular outcome and create an intention for a particular outcome, then I can ‘put it out there’ (in a myriad of ways) and then simply let them go. This is my exercise around attachment. As Eckhart Tolle and many of the spiritual masters tell us, present moment awareness is the only true place of being. So, we must each find our own ways to keep ourselves grounded in the moment, but not completely shut-off from skillfully living into our dreams and aspirations.
During this phase or transition, I’ve noticed that events in my life have seemingly sped-up to a great degree. It’s as if things that have laid dormant have all-of-the-sudden burst forth or otherwise come to fruition or resolution (or close to it). I’ve been told on good authority that things are speeding up for me, but I feel it’s true for all of us. My task is to just try to be the best person that I can be, do the absolute best that I can, and to be open to alternative points-of-view.
I want so much to be able to help others. This generalization is difficult to explain, but it is represented in multiple ways or examples in my life: I want to help Dana and I buy a house in the country or by the ocean, I want to help myself heal old wounds and live as a completely authentic being, I want to help my family and friends in any way that is needed, I want to help my immediate family (Dana, Lefty and I) live our lives in such a way that promotes peace, health, happiness and prosperity, I want to help inspire others to look deep within themselves for the answers that seem to always elude them, I want to help leave our dear Mother Earth a better place than when I came here, I want to help catapult the evolutionary shift in human consciousness to the next level. Baba Ram Dass explained it best when he says, “My karma is my dharma; meaning that what my life is presenting me with is the vehicle through which I can become free.” He explains further that his particular path is one of service or of that of a karma yogi. And Baba Ram Dass has been of great, great service to us all.
I want to end this post with a mention of another of my great teachers and inspirations, Terence McKenna. He is probably my greatest teacher in that he has inspired my thinking and my desire for empirical knowledge in terms of spirituality and human consciousness (my own consciousness) more than any other human being. I take great joy in hearing his archived words (props to Lorenzo at The Psychedelic Salon) and am constantly amazed at his seemingly bottomless wellspring of wisdom, courage, compassion, humor, and vision. I wish he was still among us. He was in my humble opinion, one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time – and probably the most important for the evolution of our species. A giant among giants. If I am to be ‘awakened’ one fine day, it is with all due credit to unsung heroes such as him.
OM Shantih,
~b