We have been future shocked. In our time, before our eyes, the world has shifted to extremes. It’s really a lateral move, nothing new, simply a move to the outermost edge of the known, a comic book version of a familiar world.

We have become an alternative permutation of the reality we once knew, now overtly dominated by impulse and self-importance, supported by the speed and breadth of social media’s reach.

As a therapist, I see the pall of powerlessness and depression run through the lives of many. Often, I point out this collective dimension of these mood states, which many people tend to locate more in the immediate events of their own lives. The animal within us feels the threat we all live with, the mind interprets it more personally.

The truth is that we are in a time of great change. The wild politicians merely reflect the wild natural forces transforming the globe. The world is being reshaped into a sustainable homeostasis by nature itself. Humanity’s inflation is being schooled.

As individuals, what can we do? First, see the truth of the bigger picture. The Earth is transforming. The UN report on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, released last week, states that at least a million species are on the verge of extinction.

The human species, though hardly on the verge of extinction, is more than double what the Earth can sustain in a balanced way. The great migrations of our time reflect this truth, as natural resources dry up. Unlimited growth is not only not an option but is already being curtailed by nature’s storms.

Seeing these truths, we must practice compassion, detachment, and self-regulation. The Earth’s transformation is causing great suffering.  Compassion and kindness lessen the suffering and warm the heart. Detachment, with love and empathy, gives sanctuary to the Spirit, so vital in guiding us in these dark, uncertain times. The Spirit is optimistic, as it sees the relativity of now: all things must and do change.

Self-regulation is mind, the mental body, in partnership with its own Earthly home base, the physical body. The mind that acquiesces to right action for the self, limits the desire body’s control of the physical body. Unburdened by unnecessary wants, the physical body is available to exercise its magical abilities under the direction of consciousness.

The ego-Soul, under the mentorship of the heart chakra, can tell the body to extinguish unhealthy habits and institute evolutionarily productive behaviors. This was the real reason humans became conscious, to speed up nature’s decision making in a responsible way. At present, the ball has swung back into nature’s court, as humans have yet to mature into this privileged position.

Finally, at the heart chakra we know that we are all inseparable parts of the same whole, individual cells of the same body. As such, we have the power to influence the whole, through the living of our individual lives.

One person who finds true balance in the context of their individual life, sends out a balanced energetic wave to all who surround them. That person, as well, becomes an energetic partner of healing at a subtler level, with all the healers of the world. You may never physically meet those other healers, but energetically you are connected to and contributing to the greater good.

Yes, the change has come. See the truth, live the truth, and be empowered to advance true healing.

With eternal optimism,

Chuck