
The end is near. In our gut, we know something is wrong with the way things are. We feel it. The world is in crisis. People are suffering. The environment’s a mess. Our trust in our leaders is failing.
People everywhere are talking about the end times. When discussing the weather, one woman I know referred to it as apocalyptic.
There is no hiding from the challenges we’re facing. We live with the awareness of it and carry around with us everyday.
The problem is that few of us know what to do about it, so entrenched in the daily grind that we surrender to the complacency and passivity that is our lot in life. We don’t have time to think about the world’s problems, because our lives are literally being consumed by the details of survival.
Even on a personal level, our relationships, our families and our communities are strained to the breaking point. Not only do we not have time to self-reflect and build a foundation of relationship with the self, our relationships with others are under constant attack. Consumer society and the need for all of us to keep this great machine going, by necessity, requires us to sacrifice the very things we value most: our closest relationships.
We know this and yet, we cannot seem to escape it. Like prisoners, we try hard to accept the limitations that constrict our lives. We make the best of it. And when we can’t make the best of it, we try every available means of escape: we eat, drink, have sex, watch TV, shop, travel, anything to change the way we feel and give us temporary relief from the stress of the daily grind. And when that doesn’t work, we go to our doctor and ask for a drug to help us to cope and get through the day.
Not exactly a formula for a successful life. Pretty insane when you really look at it. Why aren’t we all in the streets protesting our captivity, screaming about the sacrifices we’re expected to make? Because, and here’s the slippery part, we don’t think anyone who can do anything about it will hear us. We don’t think anyone cares. And on one level we’re right. Why should our jailers want things to make things better for us, when we’re so good at making it better for them?
Did I just say there are people benefiting from our captivity? Absolutely. That’s exactly what I said. Think about it for a minute. This is nothing new. There have always been the lucky few who benefit from the hard work and sacrifice of the many. The only reason that this continues is that we allow it. We see it, but in truth, we’d rather not think about it. So we become passive and allow ourselves to be hypnotized by the belief that nothing can change. We give in to the agreed-upon mass amnesia that surrounds us and is reinforced everywhere we go, because we don’t want to cause trouble, we don’t want to attract attention, we don’t want to be perceived as abnormal or crazy. So we shut up and put up with the way it is, even though deep down inside we know something’s terribly wrong.
Well, I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be this way. The only way that we can agree to being miserable is because we’ve forgotten something very important: we’ve forgotten who we are. The only reason this game of limitations can be perpetuated by those who are benefiting from it is if we agree to play it. And the only reason we agreed to such conditions is because we believed we didn’t have a choice. That is precisely what those in power are banking on.
But we do have a choice. Because we have the key to the prison door. We’ve always had the key, but we forgot where we put it.
Think of it this way. We were born as human beings. We were given this incredible instrument to play that has capabilities beyond our wildest dreams. We’ve been told we were made in the image of our creator, which essentially means that within us, we each have the same capabilities as that which created us. The problem is that even though we have this instrument, we weren’t given any instructions, so we don’t know how to play it. Our parents and our teachers teach us many things, but for the most part, the full range of the instrument is left un-utilized. Being mostly self-taught, we only know how to use a small percentage of the instrument (for most of us it is only around 10%). This keeps our range of experiences in life extremely limited. Our beliefs are limited so we develop limited habits of thinking and behaving. Our focus is mostly on the world outside of us, and because of that, we are heavily influenced by the thoughts and beliefs and actions of others.
This is a trick. This is how the odds of the game got so highly stacked against us and our freedom. The only way out of this endless loop, this nightmare, is to learn how to play the instrument we were given, to learn its capabilities.
Now here’s the tricky part. Where are we going to learn this? Who are we going to trust? Well, truth be told, there are a lot of smoke and mirrors out there, decoys and distractions and disinformation to throw you off the track. Why? Because as I said earlier, if you learned how to play your instrument, if you learned who you are, you would be free, you would be able to do those amazing, mind-blowing things called miracles, and you would be never see yourself as limited again. Essentially, if you knew how to utilize the other 90% of your capacity, you would become unstoppable. Your life and the lives of all human beings would change dramatically. Those in power would no longer be able to hold onto that power; and they would no longer be able to maintain the game they’re playing.
Without a doubt, it’s dangerous to talk about this. The risks are great. The infinite minefields that have been set up to keep all of us in prison are insidious and subtle and almost impossible to navigate through without help. But, given how close we are to destroying each other and the planet we live on, silence is no longer an option.
The bottom line is that we’ve been duped, duped into believing that bondage is the normal state of things and freedom an idealistic fantasy, duped into believing that things just “happen” to us, duped into believing that this is the way it is and we should simply accept it.
We’ve been told we’re sinners and weak and powerless and that salvation lies in a far-off place called Heaven. We’ve been sold a bill of goods and given a set of rules that will allegedly insure this salvation.
But at some time in your life haven’t you wondered what kind of world would be set up this way? Isn’t there something so inherently flawed and wrong with this picture?
Most of us don’t question things until we’re faced with a crisis, or even more likely when we’re facing our own death. Then the questions swirl around us en masse. Some of us decide to become seekers and try and find answers to the big questions, why are we here and what does this all mean?
Even with a passion to know the Truth though, the odds are against us finding it. Why? Because the world has been designed to keep the truth hidden and elusive. Most answers only breed more questions, leading to frustration and despair. It is so much easier to stick with what we know and do what everyone else is doing. There is very little support for real solutions to the human dilemma.
Then, even if we find what we think are solid answers, they don’t help, because most of the answers get stuck in the intellect and we cannot find a way to translate them into action or real change. So we spin around in circles trying to sort through the endless information and promises of freedom, enlightenment and salvation.
The answer is much simpler and more obvious than we think it is. In fact, it’s right under our noses. It’s within the instrument we were born with. Imagine if you will, that contained inside of this instrument is the very key that will set you free, answer all the questions you’ve ever had, and give you all the capabilities to change whatever circumstances in your life that you wish, a veritable magic box that holds within it the secret of who you really are, without limitations, a box full of miracles and all that is required to open it, is a willingness to do so.
Human beings are capable of extraordinary things. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we forgot this. It’s time to wake up to our Divine Nature and stop betraying ourselves. The self-sabotage has to end here and now.
The first step is to acknowledge that we are truly powerful. The second is to listen to ourselves above all others. The third is to trust that freedom is our birthright and cannot be denied to us.
Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? The world will keep reinforcing the lies to keep you off balance and send you down endless dead ends. It is akin to battle, but once you remember who you are, the odds are very strong in your favor.
The only way to find the Truth is to stop listening to the world around you, for at least part of every day, until the Truth gets stronger and stronger and begins to convince you that you’re on the right track. The power of the world will lessen, the images will dim and the sounds will become muted as you begin to listen to your own inner voice. Eventually, you will discover that the things others are affected by no longer affect you, and you’ll establish a foundation of meaning in the world beyond appearances. The bondage will start to come off when you realize you have a say in what manifests around you, not because you change your actions, but because your thinking is changing.
Yes, it is slow, but accessible. It takes practice and persistence and commitment to the Truth. At times, you will be tempted to regress into the world of appearances; for its pull and its promises are seductive. You will question the validity of what I’m saying again and again and again. You will doubt and curse and feel despair.
But believe me, it’s worth it. Think about it. Think about the limitations you live with everyday. It isn’t so bad you say. I can live with the way it is. Today perhaps. But what about tomorrow when something unexpected hits your life? Then what? Then I suspect that some of this may start to make sense. The Truth will be illuminated in such as way that you can never forget it. It will be there to anchor every thought and action you make.
What have you got to lose?