Change happens all the time, in both subtle and abrupt ways. On all levels, whether you can see it or not, change is happening. By your intent you can affect change. With your spirit’s help and your heart centered focus bring about change that is productive, healing, and helpful. With love as your anchor intend a more loving, inclusive society, a more balanced world, a safer environment and a shared vision where all have the ability to prosper and grow. With love in your heart you can change anything, even yourself.
“To seek freedom… be like the flame of a candle, which, in spite of being up against the light of a billion stars, remains intact, because it never pretended to be more than what it is: a mere candle.” – Don Juan Matus, from The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
It’s a mighty challenge to be born into this life as an ego, a limited point of consciousness, separated from its greater wholeness. This limitation is the price we pay to exclusively explore one facet of the fuller diamond we are, in a life that begins and ends in space/time.
Ego has risen beyond the control of its own instinctual nature into a being capable of making its own decisions. This evolution beyond the strict control of its subconscious programming has given rise to civilization and human domination of the Earth.
This moment we are now living in is the ultimate exploration of ego’s freedom to consider only itself —its wants and needs— as the basis of its governing decisions. The sky is the limit for the ego of now, much like Icarus, whose intoxication with flying on his wax wings drew him higher and closer to the sun.
It’s inevitable that ego test the limits of its power. Simply observe the toddler testing its newfound powers of locomotion. Caution is thrown to the wind in the thrill of discovery and autonomous movement. This same excitement of power and mastery accompanies ego at all stages of life.
Truthfully, however, underneath it all, ego knows it is inherently inadequate. How could it be otherwise? Ego is but a fragment of its greater wholeness. Ego’s underlying instinctual programming has heralded evolution, devoid of consciousness. Ego’s now conscious ability to negate that programming is a tremendous feat, but ego also lacks the wisdom packed into those archetypal programs. Managing the survival of the planet requires more wisdom than ego can possibly amass in its limited time on Earth.
The evolutionary challenge now posed to ego is to rise above its egoism and discover a higher authority within itself that can teach it the path of right action. Ego must silence its own internal dialogue that incessantly attempts to keep it secure in its knowing of everything. In the silence beyond that chatter is the voice of wisdom that resides in the mature heart.
Ego needn’t feel ashamed of its objective inadequacy. Ego has the unparalleled gift of consciousness, but it must discover how to exercise its powers in the service of the greater whole that it is but a fragment of. Ego is not yet convinced it can’t simply go it alone, hence, it is currently testing the hypothesis that it is all that there is.
After the fall of this experiment, ego, like Icarus will come down to Earth with the humility proper to its status. This is the ego that will accept that it is indeed but a solitary candle amidst the light of a billion stars. However, this acceptance of its smallness, lacking any illusory inflation, is the attitude that will protect that flame from perhaps ever blowing out.
May we all find our way to the smallness of a single candle flame. With such humility, we connect to the wisdom awaiting us all in our mature hearts.
Do not get discouraged but remain heart centered in all you think, do, and say. There is no need to despair for all is in the predicted unfolding, in the flow of natural events. Just as nature experiences cycles, a natural unfolding, so do the events taking place in the lives of all of you experience cycles of change. That’s what’s happening now. You are in a cycle of great change. Steady hearts will keep the equilibrium no matter the nature of events. Remain centered in a calm and loving heart.
Let love rule over hatred, kindness over anger, compassion over fear. Find love for the self and love for others as the antidote to that which disturbs. Love in one heart brings peace to other hearts and the more hearts directed by love the better the world will be.
Keep a strong heart and a firm hand no matter what comes to shake your world. Though there may be turmoil and strife, natural and manmade, though there may be cataclysmic and apocalyptic events that no one can stop, remain strong hearted and firm handed, so that all is not lost, so that with your strong heart and your firm hand goodness and kindness may prevail, so that love and compassion may rise up as the leaders of the future, so that a new beginning, based upon that which is truly right for all, may provide the necessary fodder for prosperity and freedom in a future designed for all to prevail with dignity, respect, and loving kindness at its core.
