A discussion of crisis, opportunity, and being in the storm of change.
Sovereignty and Control
Is it hitting the fan? The storm forecasted and expected for some time. And is now beginning. A theme is when you can’t control what’s happening, the challenge is to control the way you respond to what’s happening. It is your sovereignty, power, independence, and responsibility. The concept of sovereignty or self-ownership is also self-responsibility. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-ownership
The storm will challenge everyone to determine “who am I?” Evidenced by their response to what is happening, i.e., what will I do? There are only two responses. The reactive response of acting out of fear. Or a strategic response of what can I do? It is helpful to have some “situational awareness” of what is happening and why. Enabling you to triage, i.e., what you can and cannot do; thereby, arrive at a what might be effective.
The “Serenity Prayer is an invocation by the petitioner for wisdom to understand the difference between circumstances (“things”) that can and cannot be changed, asking courage to take action in the case of the former, and serenity to accept in the case of the latter.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer
At one level, it is about situational awareness. “People with the highest levels of SA have not only perceived the relevant information for their goals and decisions, but can also integrate that information to understand its meaning or significance, and can project plausible future scenarios. These higher levels of SA are critical for strategic decision making in demanding environments.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_awareness
“Triage is an imperfect practice, and is subjective, especially when based on general opinion rather than a score. This is because triage needs to balance multiple and sometimes contradictory objectives simultaneously, most of them being fundamental to personhood:…” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage
Back to who am I?
An easy way to think about this, is there are three levels. It’s easy to say, “I am me” and describe our appearance, roles, actions, behaviors, what we like and don’t, our attributes and abilities, etc. This is the first level. It is the superficial information that is easily changes depending on the situation. Like the masks of roles, e.g., an employee, boss, during dating, as different family roles, etc. It is who you are, name, age, gender, role, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, etc.? These are mostly cultural accoutrements that were hoisted on you or that you picked up. Wearing these masks and costumes enables you to experience and navigate the worldly realm.
The second level is the dynamic your psychological profile and/or your qualitative characteristics of being and interacting in the world. Often a person feels an affinity to an archetype. A symbolic representation of how they see themselves across/or underlying the various costumes that they wear. These are the dynamic characteristics; mostly a mode or operation, e.g., thinking, feelings, behaviors and interacting. It is your being in, of and with the world; both internally and externally. Such as being heroic, compassionate, nurturing, destructive, creative, warm or distant, etc. In a sense they are themes or archetypes that a person identifies with, operates from and presents to their world. It is their existential meaning, purpose, and “why” of being in the world; It is the context of fitting in their world.
The third level involves peeling the onion. It is the deep introspective dive beyond the superficial accoutrements and beyond their existential meaning and purpose. Various metaphysical and spiritual traditions note this as touching the divine, the second birth, meeting the creator, non-dual state, the clear light, etc.
What are you going to do about it?
This is the essential question after rebirth and as the phoenix rises out of the ashes, etc. Now that you have stolen fire from the gods (Prometheus), what are you going to do with the fire… destroy or create? Now that you are a new being, what are you going to be, create, and do? Rising from death and being birthed (the second birth) as a sovereign creator a person claims, “I am…,” This is my existential meaning and purpose. And this is what I do… so it is or so be it! You will know me by my actions. It is the audacity of being.
Control to Flow
Control becomes non-significant. Why would you ever try to be in control? The precedence becomes flowing. How does one flow? By noticing the insanity of control (which notes the controller and what is controlled). Arriving at this conundrum, one surrenders into the flow. It’s not about what happens. It becomes how you flow to what happens. Eventually you notice you are the question itself? You can never know the answer; it is futile. Realizing you are the question? And by being, you become the answer.
It’s not about control or direct control in the normal sense. Yet you note “is what you truly are? Perhaps you are the question itself? That is part of it, you are the question, the questioner, and the answer. Grasping and understanding this, you are in a position of control, via the question(s) which you ask. Often, we ask poor superficial questions about what, when, why and how. And we forget to ask “who asks” the question and a bit of why. In determining “who asks,” i.e., “who am I?” Then all the other questions and pieces of why, easily flow into place. Therefore, all there is, is audaciously flowing with all that is. The shortcut or practice is to ask yourself “who am I?” Yea this is circular or spiraling eddy from the perspective of logical back flow of not taking part in the flow of being. Let go of the backflow of the eddies… and flow.
The Challenge of the Storm
The enormous challenge in the storm, is what to do, as the storm rages? The storm has been forecast and expected. Hopefully we have prepared, batten down the hatches and found safe harbor. As the storm bears down and rages upon us. By doing nothing, you are doing something. And this something is calmly riding out the storm; knowing that this too shall pass. As a kid growing up in Nebraska, I had quite a few occasions experiencing tornados. And when those suckers are close by or on top of you there is nothing, you can do. You are at the mercy of the storm. And if you do something stupid, unnecessary, or panic; you might not survive.
You can’t think your way out of a storm. You feel your way through it. Feel it coming, feeling it bear down, and you can feel it pass. Sometimes you hold on, other times letting go, but mostly you calmly (equanimous) float, i.e., feel the feelings and yet abide in the gap, i.e., always being.
If you need to do something, you might as well be kind, compassionate, and graceful; instead of making more froth. Even just a smile, hello, or a few moments of listening to another is an acknowledgement and demonstration that there are other ways of being. Many times the smallest kindnesses are grand yet a humble gesture. Besides, it’s easy to offer many small kindnesses instead of one grand gesture.
Progression
More than hope is faith. More than faith is belief. And more than belief is doing. And more than doing is being. Be hope, faith, belief, doing, and be. As you are, you are being. As you are being, you shine and share and all flows. It’s the mystics’ journey or pattern of being. Van Morrison elegantly sums up the quest in 1969; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Mystic#
Be of Service
Storms herald change. The issue, when we are not paying attention to the gathering clouds nor forecasts. And then suddenly we recognize we are in a storm. As a kid working on farms on the Great Plains, you just learned to watch the weather coming. Watching the clouds form a front, the sky would turn dark, you could smell the rain and even feel and hear static sizzling before a crack of lightening. Storms of change have both aspects of destruction and creation. Destruction clears the old for creation and emergence of something new. Storms are both a curse and blessing. But more importantly, they are an opportunity to alignment with the flow of what is emerging. The question is, what do you want to emerge? And whatever you determine that to be, is what you need to be. This is your sovereignty, your choice, your power and your responsibility to be… or not.
Softening Time
Time quickens, softens, and becomes ripe. When time opens, it calls and invites… that it is ready to receive. In that reception is the opportunity to conceive. A conception to create something new… or not. However, conception can be wild, volatile and energetic and storm-like. Or it can be calm, mindful, and energetic; much like purposefully planting a seed.
Are we ready? Most are wild and passionate like a storm. Yet being mindful and conscious we are able to bring into being a creation of what we are to be? This is simply, bring our body, mind, heart and spirit into being with another. What shall we conceive? Where two or more are gathered… flow will be there. The storm softens, ripens, and opens the egg of opportunity to be fertilized. This pulls in, wrestles, and determines what is worthy to be conceived. It is consciousness that influences what is birthed. But it takes two. Being within you, enables to be with others, which creates what will be.
The Workings
Your body is the tool to interact with the physical. The mind/ego is a tool to work with the physical and the matrix. Your heart connects to the variety of dimensions via feelings. And your consciousness enables you to work with all the above… which also able to confer with the soul and divine. The body is an elegant vehicle and instrument that is a transceiver; able to receive and transmit. The mind decodes, encodes and can transform energy via consciousness. It is much easier than being at the mercy of things.
Blessings,
Tim