And I know it's all possible if we can come to some sort of agreement about some basic ideas instead of pointing fingers of useless blame and compounding the ugliness of matters.
The Villain
Many years ago, I read an obscure book written in the 1930s called "The Urantia Book." Half of the book was dedicated to spiritual ideas and entities, and the other half was about the creation, evolution and history of this planet Earth and its human race.
Two ideas expressed in the book really resonated and stayed with me through all my own experiences. One is the astounding faith and hope that we humans have developed, and the second is a picture of an exact same scene but with two different perspectives:
The first picture is a close-up of an ugly, horrifyingly demented and evil-looking caveman. He doesn't play honorably. He plays dirty, wailing and flailing and lashing out every which way.
The second picture is a wider perspective of the scene, and it shows that that awful, crazy man is actually backed into a corner and is trying to protect his family as a huge saber-tooth tiger readies to attack. The terrified man is caught between a rock and a hard place.
If you look closely and feel into deeply beyond the surface mask of any villain you will see a deep-asleep, scared and alone-feeling Little Human who is just trying to survive by any means in a world he or she perceives as a harsh, cruel world. That is called the survival of the fittest mentality, and fear is the core issue driving it...and...we, the human race, as a collective, have chosen to move out of that consciousness into a higher awareness of who we really are.
Do we seem to have an over-abundance of villains popping to the surface these days? Every single trending headline in our local news today is focused on some villainous character or tragedy. Then when interacting with others in our community, people often commiserate with one another over the sorry state of our world and how bizarre people are. Is that a solution in any way, shape or form?
For every dark story out there, I can tell you about some amazing people and stories at the other end of the spectrum happening at the same time--and usually within that same story. It's all about where we place our sense of focus.
And in order to heal ourselves and our planet, we have to first allow our villainous dis-eases to come to the surface in order to allow them to be addressed and to then leave us for good.
Awakening: "Bring that which is hidden into the Light."
As for the villains in our headlines and gossip--I believe many of them are being forced to uncover parts of themselves they are afraid of as they are starting to awaken to who they truly are. It's like putting something in our status quo, boring human life that grabs us by the shoulders--or slaps us upside the head, and yells, "Wake up!!!" This phenomena is called The Dark Night of the Soul.
It causes a person to do some crazy stuff--believe me, I know. Awakening is not an easy process, because with it comes an Unrelenting Self-Forgiveness that leaves no aspect or demon or shame unaddressed. Your entire identity--any idea you have of "this is who and how I am" is ripped to shreds and nothingness until you realize you weren't any of the human costumes you played. You're just a pinpoint of eternal, highly-creative conscious awareness who realizes, "I exist!"
When I first began hearing that knowingness voice of self-awareness within me, it comforted me and helped me shift my perspective to more clearly see the broader picture of whatever drama-trauma concerned me at the time. But it also brought up my dark issues--my personal demons and dragons. I had to allow every little secret that I had buried away out into the light of day--and it wasn't easy, especially in the beginning.
The last thing I wanted to look at were the things I regretted and was ashamed of having done or said. I was miserable in my shame and guilt, and it weighed heavily on me in the form of how I carried myself--emotionally, physically, and spiritually--in my daily life and radiating demeanor. I walked around in a prison of my own making that I couldn't seem to run from, avoid, repress, escape. Awakening made me take another look or two or more--whatever it took--until I revisited every single shameful, guilt-inspiring moment, and realized so much more was happening at the time than that one tiny slice of negative part of me that I remembered.
As beautiful and freeing as it always ended up being, when stuff first began surfacing I, too, felt like a cornered, crazy beast who believed she was just a Little Human trying to survive in a cruel world.
And the unrelenting self-forgiveness never let up until I not only forgave myself with compassion, but until I also felt gratitude for the wisdom distilled for my soul from that experience of playing the lost human being that I was.
For anyone going through a dark night of the soul event, I would highly recommend disconnecting from your loved ones and friends and community for a bit. We have a tendency in our hometowns to get typecast as being a certain way and having a certain type of personality, and it's hard to let go of our stories when we're constantly playing in them. Go to a space you've made safe and sacred--where you can be alone with yourself to honestly reflect on and feel through the difficult things in your life without feeling defensive or as though you have to keep up a performance.
I have hugged and held myself, and been compassionately and unconditionally accepting of myself through many a dark and stormy night of the soul. I've learned the importance of playing the role of actually being my own best friend--with whom there is no need to justify my words or actions.
Suddenly, I realized that I was just lonely and scared, trying hard to fit into a world in which I didn't feel as though I belonged--and that I was really hard on myself. Any person being mean to me was just a mirror reflecting back to me how hard I was being on me, within myself.
Once I realized that, harsh words said by others started to not really matter. I still have sensitive days, but I don't dwell on such stuff for long anymore.
Jesus was not pointing a finger of accusation and condemnation at us when he stated, "Judge not, lest you be judged the same." He was reminding us of our own Creatorship and how each of us is creating the realities that we find difficult for our self to be in.
After a few realizations like that, you'll find as I did that a person is less likely to harm oneself or any other because of that. You turn into something of a benevolent rebel...
Jesus's Parable of The Prodigal Son
Jesus's parable of the prodigal son speaks to me of this whole process of awakening. The son sets out in a human costume on a journey of experience, forgetting who he is, getting lost, doing all kinds of things to just get by, until one day he remembers or realizes that he's more--that there's more to life than just trying to survive it. And he returns to his soul (his father) who welcomes him home with open arms and a feast and party to celebrate. There is no judgment of the son whatsoever. There is no condemnation nor need for justification by the soul.
There is a bit, however, of regret and guilt of the Little Human that lingers within the son from his many experiences. He's afraid of trusting himself because of the dark things he did while asleep in the human dream. That part in the story is played by the "good son" who never left home in the first place to discover himself. Who was a pleaser of others and the follower of traditions and rules no matter the cost to his own freedom and realization. He was unwilling to acknowledge his own perfect imperfections. He knew nothing of what he was talking about, and the father--his wise "I am that I am" soul--admonished him for his self-judgment and lack of self-compassion.
The path of Self Realization is wide enough for only one--it is yours, and yours alone, and you're the only one who can make it easier, or more difficult, for yourself.
The Gossip
I don't have much tolerance for people who prattle on about other people and their crazy behavior. Frankly, it hurts...because not only do I not like hearing about how bad and dark people can be--regardless of whether they are some politician, celebrity or loved one--I feel the fear and self-unworthiness of the one playing the role of Gossiping Villain. I know they are just trying to direct scrutiny away from themselves for fear of being found guilty, lacking, anything that may cause one to be rejected by his or her peers.
I'm not about pointing fingers at gossips. I know that any finger-pointing judgment I make about any others out there just does a 180 and ends up landing on myself. Been there and done that--and the experiences of it made me compassionately wiser and more unconditionally accepting. You can't play in the Lost Little Human game very long without participating probably at least once in the vice that is called gossip.
We're awakening together, my friends, and the easier we make it for oneself and each other to do so, the smoother and more graceful this process can be.
This was my way of creating a bit safer and more sacred space for those who feel afraid and unworthy. It takes a brave being to play the human game. It's not for the faint of heart. You--your existence, your life experiences--it's all a GIFT.
Wake-up, my friends...wake-up...and know you're not alone.
One of my favorite parables came from Neale Donald Walsch's "Conversations with God" books. It was made into a children's book: "The Little Soul and the Sun."
After realizing who she truly was, the little soul wanted to experience forgiveness, but in order to do so, she needed another soul to play the role of betrayer for her. Out of the greatest love, another soul stepped forward and offered to play the part here on Earth in human costumes. The second soul, however, had one request. In order to betray, the soul had to go deep into the darkness and forget completely who he was. He asked that once the first little soul experienced forgiveness, that she help him remember who he truly was--the loving soul who played a most difficult villain all out of love for her...
It's out of Love we All come, and it's unto Love we All return.
What a different world we'll live in when we remember that...
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