The End Times

It feels as if we are being overtaken by chaos.  The massive, scary and often, violent events in the world seem as if they are happening in more rapid succession than ever.  Shootings, bombings, coups, Brexit, riots; a global primal scream that we can watch in real time, all over the world.

My husband mentioned Armageddon or apocalypse the other day while we were watching the news out of Nice, France and then Turkey the next day.  I started thinking about that.

Many have predicted ‘the end times’ in scripture (not necessarily Christian, but that too) and various prophesies.   They usually have a similar theme: “God” sends a flood or famine or wars or Christ, etc. to cleanse us, so that we can begin again with a kinder, gentler humanity.

So, maybe that IS what’s happening.  Maybe this IS Armageddon or some sort of ‘end times’.  It all feels very Old Testament right now.  Wars, retribution, tribalism, closing borders, shutting down, pulling inward. FEAR, FEAR, FEAR!  ANGER, ANGER, ANGER!

We hear calls for ‘tougher’ leaders.  Someone who will shut us in our castle and fill the moat with alligators and land mines to keep the bad guys out.  We’ll close ourselves off because the rest of the world doesn’t have our best interests at heart.  THEY WANT TO KILL US!

Tribal.  Low energy.  Not taking responsibility for our past actions.  Not recognizing that our aggression and arrogance may have caused and fostered much of this violence.

There are many stories of these types of societies and kingdoms in the Bible and they are usually beset with horrors from God as punishment, until they are eradicated or they repent.

So, is this what’s happening?  Is this the proverbial flood that washed the earth clean for Noah?  It’s interesting that many of the most devout are not seeing their culpability in many of our current conflicts.  It’s ‘everyone else’.

The ‘end times’ are supposedly paving the way for the return of Christ.  But, many feel that he will not return as a man or a woman or a human, but instead as a consciousness.  Christ Consciousness.  We carry this consciousness and can all become Christ like.  We love, forgive, realize our connections to all that is.  We care for everyone and everything. We see the earth as a living, breathing entity, rather than something to pillage and crap on.

We truly love our neighbors, even if we don’t much like them or agree with them.  We treat them with empathy and respect.  All of the things that Jesus taught us the first time around, will flower in the consciousness and energy of man.

This is also the prophecy of ‘the new age’ that many feel is upon us.  Maybe this is the complete chaos and degradation that has to happen in order for us to rise from the ashes.  We have to get so sick of the dysfunction, lies, violence, anger, hatred, barbarism and hypocrisy that we finally surrender; we ‘see the light’, we alter our outlook and reactions and begin to see that love is our true nature.

It’s what all of the ancient texts of every religion and spiritual teachings say.  Love yourself because God loves you.  Love your fellow humans, love the earth, love nature, love your enemies.  Can you imagine what would happen if we all just followed the basic rules laid out since the beginning of time?

What if we stopped digging in our heels about our political beliefs?  What if we began to find our commonality?  What if we all just admitted that we’re scared shitless right now and that we know in our gut that in order to change the world, we have to heal ourselves, first and foremost.  What if we just admitted that we know damned well that no politician is going to fix this huge, monstrous, complex, corrupt, crazy world?

Again, I will use this word: surrender.  Surrender to your inner light that says more love is necessary.  That anger and hating makes you feel awful and is the real root of our collective pain.  We WANT to love and be loved.  We want to live peacefully and in order to do that, we have to surrender to our true nature.

Yes, I’m a dreamer.  I know that you’re saying I’m naïve and it’s ‘kill or be killed’.  But at some point, we do have to alter this path of escalation and retribution because it’s causing more and more and more trauma and trauma causes people to behave badly.

We are processing thousands of years of human history right now.  That’s what’s happening.  We’ve reached a breaking or tipping point where the vast majority of humans on this planet have collectively realized their ancestral pain and have begun expressing it.  The light bulb has gone off and they see that they are not benefiting from modern life in the ways that they were promised.

All of this chaos is necessary.  It’s shining a light on people’s pain and suffering; we can’t fix that, until we  acknowledge it.  So, here we are, all of us standing in that bright light and we can’t get away.  That’s as it should be.  Allow the light to cleanse and infuse your spirit and then go shine it on the world.

 

Talking to myself

I was reading something about my natal astrological chart and the placement of a particular planet or asteroid.  Thanks to this placement, it said I was very good at giving advice…to other people.  The article suggested that I sit down and give myself the same advice that I would to a give a friend in my situation.  That’s not so easy, eh?

But, here goes:

Jane:

First off, you need to lighten up. You just don’t laugh like you used to.  In fact, you walk around with creases in your face, looking as if you’re deep in worry or concern or even agony.  Not a good look for you.

You can’t solve all of the world’s problems.  I know you feel called to speak up and call out what you perceive as ignorance, injustice, foggy thinking, hypocrisy, blah, blah, blah, but sometimes people enjoy the confusion.  Or maybe the people that you think are confused, are actually wiser than you.

We all look around us and see ‘other people’ screwing up.  It’s their fault that there isn’t more love and peace in the world.  If only ‘other people’ would seek enlightenment; if only they would awaken.  Well, some will and some won’t.

Jane, you can only fulfill your own destiny.  You can only walk your own path and your overwhelming need to control your own path bleeds out into needing to control everyone’s.  That, my dear, is not enlightenment.  That is suffering and confusion and pure futility.

You’re also way too hard on yourself.  The striving for perfection in your diet, your intellect, your pet guardianship, your finances, your….well, your life, is paralyzing you.  You are on a constant and exhausting search for the holy grail that will transform you into this being of glowing health and light.  This striving is what is actually KEEPING you from attaining this.  STOP striving!  Stop grasping and controlling and gnashing your teeth.

Jane, the dogs and cats will be fine.  Allow them to just ‘be’ without the constant worry over their diets, well-being and activities.  The same goes for your darling husband.  Let him be who he is.  Don’t micro manage his diet, his clothing, his TV/media consumption.  Let that shit go.

You have to trust more.  Life will flow as it flows, just like the water that embodies your astrological sign of Scorpio.  You have a lot of water in your chart, along with a fair amount of fire, but you need to give the water freer rein to tamp down that fire that compels you to be constantly ‘workin’ it’.  Flow, Jane.  It’s all any of us can do.

The bottom line is that you know all of these things.  You’ve studied and read and ruminated and immersed yourself in the metaphysical and the spiritual.  You meditate, do energy work, call upon your guides, spend time in nature and attempt to give it all up to The Divine/Source/Spirit/The Universe and yet, you still suffer.

So, finally, here is my advice to you/me:  Listen.  To you, to me, to Source, to nature, to your gut.  All of the guidance, help and comfort that you seek is in you.  It’s already here for you.  Listen and don’t question EVERYTHING.  Listen.  Allow.  Then, be.