Today marks a change, whether symbolic or otherwise does not matter. What matters is the opportunity it offers. Take advantage of its power to enact change in your own life, a time to step in a new direction, to start something new, to change the self in some profound and meaningful way, something you have long put off perhaps. It’s never too late to change. Let nature be your guide. Note how in nature things change daily, and note as well how this is also true of you, you too change daily. Make today different, change intentionally. With intent everything is possible.
Inspiration for this blog comes directly from my reading of my dear friend, and noted Jungian analyst, Michael Gellert’s recently published book: Far From This LandA Memoir about Evolution, Love, and the Afterlife, which includes his soul’s profound interactions with the spirit of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. His book also provides a serious exposition of Jung’s technique of active imagination, in combination with dreams and visions, to interact directly with the inner contents of one’s psyche, as well as the greater Spirit.
Rest assured, this is not a dire blog. The Greek roots of the word apocalypse are apo, meaning away and kalyptein, meaning to cover. To take away the cover of something is to unfold its inner truth. To remove the shell of a nut is to reveal the seed of new life. Apocalypse is, literally, the action of the unfolding of truth and new life.
The dark foreboding cataclysmic connotation of such a pure and promising event that the word apocalypse actually depicts can be traced to its biblical usages. The ancient title for the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, is Apocalypse. This book depicts apocalypse as Armageddon, imbuing it with end of the world scenarios.
Certainly, the unfolding of new life can be a violent process. The labor that brings forth new human life is often accompanied with cataclysmic contractions, perineal lacerations, and bleeding. Sometimes, thankfully rarely, the unfolding of new life can be fatal for both mother and fetus.
Indeed, the apocalypse of birth is not without great risk. Nonetheless, apocalypse, with all its lethal propensities, is the bringer of new life, not the consummate punctuation of life’s end.
The apocalyptic chaos of birth is the condition addressed in hexagram #3 of the I Ching: Difficulty at the Beginning. The images that form this hexagram are thunder and rain, the elements that combine to generate a great storm, the prelude to a change of conditions.
“Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to take form. Everything is in motion: therefore if one perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger.” –I Ching, Wilhelm edition, p.16
Hurricanes, fires and floods abound. Great migrations of people escaping uninhabitable environments or conditions of aggression dominate world decisions. Threats of viral infection impact every world citizen. To remain persevering in this time of obvious apocalypse is to maintain an attitude of awe and love as these rigorous energies, channelled through nature and human nature, bring forth new life.
To succumb to the current apocalypse, as if it were armageddon, is understandable but misguided. Indeed, there is much in the world that must change. We must let go of old ideas and ruling principles that are unsustainable. The unfolding of our new world will, and is, shaking off that which stands in the way of necessary growth.
However, one ruling principle is far from being shaken off—in fact, is ever refining in this current time of apocalypse—and that is, the rule of love. The obvious polarization of people, even intimates within the same family, is merely the clash of energies generating irrationality in this time of great change. These polarized opposites are stages of differentiation and refinement that must, of necessity, find ultimate union. That can only happen through the refinement of real love.
Love based upon the truth and the interdependent needs of all is the seed that is being planted from this current apocalypse. Nonetheless, the shell of that seed is one tough nut to crack!
Hold on tight, for love is, indeed, coming to us all.
Every ending is a beginning, every goodbye a hello to something new. When the changing times come do not mourn the loss of the old but greet the new with open arms and a warm smile, for new life is what is always ahead if you look for it, expect it, and desire it. With an open heart greet each day with the words, “I wonder what will happen today?”
Nothing is certain and yet everything is possible. It’s up to each individual to make certain that which they desire. Intent is the energy behind making something a certainty rather than just a possibility. It is only with concerted effort and focused intent that a thing will manifest. Place your energy and your intent where it is most useful and meaningful to you and watch the possible manifest. It’s your life and your destiny, and it truly is in your hands.
Do not let the mind take you on jaunts into fear, worry, paranoia or skepticism. Turn the mind into a calming machine by toning down the unwanted chatter of busyness and the kind of annoying games the mind likes to play with meditative exercises and sitting in the stunning silence of nature. In this manner, calm your whole system so that you are better prepared to withstand the conjuring mind’s assaults. Turn to calming breath, focused mantra and heart centered attention, where the power of love may find you.
