by Charles Eisenstein (a summary by Pat Evert)
– Separation
If you live a responsible life you would be happy and forward humanity in its progress. Yet a wrongness is felt in the world, many hardships and evils sabotage our success. The turnabout we long for continues to evade us. A profound sense of separation controls us. The story of our world is as follows: you are a separate individual, a soul, separate from others, random forces are actings upon us all. We live in a hostile universe, love is a hormonal chemical, self interest is required for survival, some will win at the expense of others’ loss. God lives high above this world, in the realm of spirit and the sacred. We are a special kind of animal. We alone possess consciousness. We have evolved from ignorant animals to those of large brains. We need to escape nature and leave it behind. This is the story of separation, the old story. We are close to a transition into a new world, a new story.
Breakdown
The transition between these two worlds is scary. Globally we have innumerable, insurmountable problems. We no longer believe our story tellers. Multitudes are exploited or masacered. Goodness comes through control? Things were supposed to get better. Are more turbulent times ahead? Is there a new story possible?
Interbeing
A new society is emerging. My being partakes of yours and vice versa. We are fundamentally inseparable in our purpose and interdependence. We are in service to a bigger purpose, learning to effect change together. It is something we can feel together. We are seeking the wellbeing of the whole. More and more people are living from a new story. The desire to transcend serving the separate self, having a oneness and we are greater than we once thought. Many of us feel the pain of humanity. We are greater than we have been told. We cannot see ourselves as better than another in the truth of non-separation. Greed of wealth and power is a substitute for satisfaction. Union, my being is for your being. Interbeing is the new story in contrast to that of separation.
Cynicism
What is the motive of our activism? Money…? In the present transition we each inhabit two conflicting stories, old and new. Underneath all our arguments something is hurting. How do we respond? Cynicism can keep us from unity and wholeness. Do we mistake cynicism for realism? Are you sheltering a wound? Are we complacent and paralyzed? Naive hope inspires me to action. Do I need evidence to prod me? Which story is most aligned with who I am and want to be? I am involved in a group activity, that of the universe.
Insanity
How often we find evidence to prove our beliefs. To live in the new story can be arduous and lonely. One’s sanity is questioned for believing interbeing. Isn’t it insane to think I am right and everyone else is wrong? It is not you but the world that has gone crazy.
Force
We all learn to do that which gets the approval of others and apply force to get others to do what we want. We only create more separation. We need surrender control-based thinking. Such thinking only wants us to stay small, safe, etc. Only by relaxing our guard of the separate self can we tap into the power beyond its kind. We become capable of things that are impossible.
Science
The story of separation and it’s way of force is crumbling. If one species goes extinct the balance of nature is that much more fragile. All our efforts of force gives little effect. Who knows who or what we need to sacrifice to the cause?
Climate
The survival of our species and planet is what is at stake. What are the root causes of our dilemmas? The separation story? Spirituality is at the core of this. What are our motives of saving such and such? We need to appeal to our love of earth. We are not separate from nature. What we do to earth, we do to ourselves. Forests and oceans are complex life systems.
Despair
The call of the heart might just contradict practicality and logic all together. Despair is part of the territory we must traverse, but don’t give up.
Hope
A hope of something that is true, the new story. Heart and mind no longer need be at odds. Who knows how our choices will change the world.
Morphogenesis
Each of us here is doing a work, or experiencing something for the whole of us all, it effects us all. Changing a bedpan can change the world if done in love. One drop in the bucket, but one of billions. What an ingenious and hidden way of transformation. It’s not the big public demonstrations that save the world. We walk an invisible path without maps.
Naiveté
We are entering unknown territory. How does it happen when we don’t know how? The knowing comes as a gift. We see the goal but don’t know how to get there. This is a call for naïveté. Maybe we need to believe in the good of one in which you cannot see it. Maybe a synchronistic miracle, something greater than the world of force.
Reality
How do we know if we are pursuing reality or a mirage? Only when we believe we can do it will we go thru the work necessary. Receive the vision instead of creating a vision. Heal the wounds and doubts that vision illuminates. Bow into service to that which wants to be born. Believe it into existence for others. Recognize your delusions and what could be.
Spirit
Spirituality is not the removal of all that is material. Spirituality is going thru a transition as is all else. The universe is intelligent thru and thru. Spirit and matter are reuniting. Working on self and the world, both are needed.
Orthodoxy
We are not yet ready to release control from the authorities to the common people. We are on the brink of a universal metamorphosis. If it were up to technolology to save us, it already would have. A social or political revolution could do it. Every such system is rife with separation.
Newness
A new story. Separation, was a journey with a purpose. We might become lost and not return. Three seeds were planted to preserve the truth of the world. Wisdom lineage hidden in each religion. We are ready to hear the truth now. The sacred story of folklore, our origin and destination. The indigenous story, living examples of how to be human. Separation carries with it the seeds of its own demise.
Urgency
A global urgency is beyond our abilities. An increasing busyness is not a solution. There are too many calls to desperate need.
Scarcity
Our old habits pull us back into the old story, scarcity and struggle. There is so much waste, which seems to be more of a problem than scarcity. The distribution of resources an even greater problem. And when millionaires see themselves as still in need of more, is it just a matter of perception?
Doing
A scarcity of ‘being’ can drive us to do and control. There is a time for doing and non-doing. When the time is right, this is a key. Don’t devalue those times of pause and reflection. Stop and realize you are already there.
Non-doing
The issue is not whether we are doing or not, it is what is prompting us to act. Do not be afraid of the empty place. The old story has fallen apart and the new has not yet been revealed. You feel confused, but also a freedom. Having lost what is most valued to you and you find that you are still okay. It is not progress to solve one problem while creating another. The old story no longer motivates you, nor makes sense any longer. Act only when the time is right.
Attention
We reenact the old story out of habit. Where are our choices really coming from? Personal improvement, conscious change? Will power is just a way of force. Petty ego motives, self deception? Selfish goals will only produce more of the same. Separation, cut off from intimate connection. To give attention to our unconscious habits weakens their motive. If we want self approval we will get it. Being good is part of the old story. We must give up the quest of being good people. I don’t have to do anything, the changes are already happening. Trust yourself, you will know what to do and when. Everything you do must come from pleasure, from connection.
Struggle
Struggle should not be the default state of life. We are in the habit of making everything difficult, like the urges of the body. The separate self can never have enough. Perpetual sacrifice is required, desire is not to be trusted – the story of control. What is the virtue of self restraint? That is the old story. Desire comes from unmet needs and leads to judgment and control. From this arises addictions and force is insufficient.
Pain
An unmet need hurts. Pain is the call for attention. We discover what we really want through pain and pleasure. Joy and well-being exceed that of pleasure. There are 4 billion medical prescriptions made annually in the U.S.
Pleasure
The satisfying of a need. The more powerful the need the greater the pleasure. What is pleasure in comparison to real freedom, intimacy, connection and service to others? Maybe joy and pleasure are on the same continuum. What is the best gift to myself? Give yourself permission and find out if it is what you truly want. The power of attention is far superior to that of restraint. Discipline does not reduce the desire, but rather causes it to flourish. We are not looking for a world that we enjoy less and suffer more, but more joy and celebration. The things we sacrifice are not half as good as what we will discover, to fully inhabit the new story.
Judgment
Self judgment is another habit of separation. Judgment is separation. It says you are different than me, I am better. There is no such thing as good and bad people. All things being equal you would do the same.
Hate
When we hate another, we are hating ourselves as well. All the violence we endure is a reflection of the violence within ourselves.
Righteousness
Thinking the world is evil is due to our need to be right, part of the ‘in’ group. Self acceptance is the real need. Elitism and superiority is not an improvement to whatever cause we are defending. Acts of truth telling and kindness without self righteousness is what will change the world. Would you be willing to give up your belief if it will help the community? Our righteous anger will help no one.
Psychopathy
When do we become cold and unfeeling, seeking our own desires at the expense of others? Does the psychopath have empathy? Why is ‘cool’ regarding emotions considered good? Many psychopaths have many of the characteristics of spiritual masters.
Evil
Evil is a response to the perception of separation. Every act of kindness is an invitation to kindness. Remember your inherent wealth in interbeing. The greatest tool of the devil is that there is evil. How does one transition from the story of separation to that of interbeing? Evidence and logic will not prove the existence of evil.
Story
Humans are pressed to logically explain life and to justify their actions. We need not see our planet as a mere source of resources. You can kill the haters but not the hate.
Disruption
To be an agent of the new story is to be a disruption of the old. To create a new world is to have a new set of values, patterns of relationships, emotional tendencies, etc. Be open to facts, don’t close. Beliefs come from the resonance of the totality of our life experiences. Do we want to make change or triumph over the ‘bad’ guys. There are not two sides, we are one. Build a new model that obsoletes the old. Unconditional acceptance?
Miracle
We’ve tried all possible, now we need try the impossible. Miracles are our greatest fear and our desire simultaneously. A larger reality is coming soon, that of miracle workers. When one appreciates the mystery and connectedness of the universe, and sees time as abundant, we become patient.
Truth
Where do we find the truth? Everywhere we look. Truth is finding us, it comes as a gift. Create a space into which the truth can emerge. It’s not something we can figure out. Once it comes out there is nothing else to do. The new story is reaching critical mass.
Consciousness
Do we see enlightenment like money, as a way to satisfaction, a meeting of all our needs? Do we see some as more conscious than others? We are all conscious in some ways and blind in others. It is not that some are on their way to 5th dimension while others are stuck in 3rd. One can live some of the new and the old simultaneously. Enlightenment is a group effort. The transition is happening to so many in so many ways. The second coming of Christ will be a collective process.
Destiny
This beautiful world our heart says is possible, our minds say it is not. It is up to us all. There is a new generation much better prepared than previous generations. The universe is doing this, let’s all give it our best. Our healing will come from the margins, the least expected. We are living between two worlds.
Initiation
You get to choose the story you wish to live in. In depends on who you think you are. Am I everything? You must choose without proof. There is no objective answer. Am I/are we the Divine One? Can I do this? Dare I follow my heart? Once you choose you become strong in the story.
There is a world that needs our help. Who would like to volunteer? You will feel lonely, but not de alone. You will feel you are crazy, but will be far from it. You will feel incapable, but will do it. You will feel great loss, but gain everything.
Earth’s call for help
Hidden in Plain Sight 