Do individuals make any difference to the bigger picture, or influence the wider societal trends in anyway?
This question has been rumbling around for years, at least as long as the movement towards self- development. However, many people are not clear on the answer. We do influence the bigger picture, but few would imagine the immediacy of that influence, or the extent of it.
If we look at human beings as separate creatures, with independent will and deliberate choice, then this framework (and all the assumptions tied up in it) make it hard to see the flow of influence. (There are, of course, exceptions; examples of those who have seemingly single-handedly caused a series of events to unfold as the direct result of their actions – Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler come to mind – but even these characters, as prominent as they were in their time, still formed part of a larger movement at work).
What of the less visible human being; quietly going about his or her life, unrecorded by history? What difference do we really make? And do we even need to try?
To begin that enquiry we must go beyond the commonly-accepted understanding of a human being. If we penetrate the veneer of apparent separateness represented by our physicality, we immediately encounter a very different world. The quantum level of our being does not, and cannot, register any separation. At that level we are wholly unified. Not just with other human beings, not just with other species on Earth, but with everything (and we mean everything).
There is no place w
here we definitively end and the rest of life begins. And while we’re on the subject, we better also tell you that there is no place where you can lay claim to any substance.
"If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” Niels Bohr
So, what are we left with? Energy!
To really understand how life works (and how we work as a consequence) we have to understand the energy from which everything is made. And what’s more, we have to understand it on its terms (and not try to impose our own!).
The root cause of suffering in human beings is the disconnect between how things really are, and how we assume them to be (and then we behave according to our assumptions and not reality). Even the most basic knowledge of energy and its inherent traits, allows us to realign our thinking and behaviours to work with it, and not inadvertently against it (through persistent misunderstanding). The latter leads us down the road of lifelong struggle.
“Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial - mental and spiritual” Richard Conn Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University (quoting Sir James Jeans “The Mental Universe”)
Energy is designed to give us maximum joy when interacting with it. Its innate structure, properties and qualities guarantee this. There is no inherent ill in energy. There is no existential provision for it. As a source it is wholly pure (and therefore a 100% reliable carrier medium, as it doesn’t overlay its own intentions on how we use it). We call this carrier med
ium – Natural Intelligence.
Our use of thought imprints our intention onto the energy and the Natural Intelligence innocently carries out the request. Our use of thought is based on our understanding of what is, what’s possible. This in turn becomes belief and assumption. This affects our perception. Which then directs our speech and actions. So, any contraction, negativity, discomfort or pain is introduced by us through our thoughts acting upon our energy.
"The major problems of the world are the result of the difference between how nature works, and the way people think." Gregory Bateson
Conversely, if we use our thoug
hts in such a way as we recognise the structure, properties and qualities of energy, our interaction unlocks the inherent benefits that have been encoded into it. Not only that, but the renewable nature of the energy means we have access to an unending source (we cannot exhaust it) and the unified design means our influence goes far and wide (the zero point energy field is infinite).
Sadly, we don’t find such explanations in biology or physics. The realm of modern science has yet to fully embrace the juncture between science and spirituality. There are some early signs in neuroscience but even this discipline is still anchored in mechanism (our brains create our thoughts).
"…the relationship to the world that the modern science fostered and shaped now appears to have exhausted its potential. It is increasingly clear that the relationship is missing something. It fails to connect with the most intrinsic nature of reality and with natural human experience." Vaclav Havel, The Need for Transcendence in the Postmodern Era
One refreshing exception is the remarkable work of HeartMath™ near Santa Cruz. They have created a way to measure and explain the interactions of individuals with themselves, each other and their wider environment though the monitoring of electromagnetic fields. Their work is truly a breakthrough for our times, and a growing body of evidence for N
atural Intelligence at work.
In his article, Coherence: Bridging Personal, Social, and Global Health, Dr Rollin McCraty of HeartMath Institute explains:
Research conducted in our laboratory has confirmed the hypothesis that when an individual is in heart coherence, the heart radiates a more coherent electromagnetic signal into the environment that can be detected by nearby animals or the nervous systems of other people.Of all the organs, the heart generates the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field, one that is approximately 5000 times stronger than that produced by the brain. This field can be detected several feet from the body with sensitive magnetometers.This magnetic field provides a plausible mechanism for how we can “feel” or sense another person’s presence and emotional stat
e independent of body language or other factors.
A growing body of evidence suggests that an energetic field is formed between individuals in groups through which communication among all the group members occurs simultaneously. In other words, there is a literal group ‘field’ that connects all the members.
If we truly understand our being, if we truly embrace what Natural Intelligence is showing us, we will not continue with the same thinking and behaviours that currently bring us so much discord. We will consciously create a way of being that acknowledges and utilises the beautiful, abundant provision that we have been gifted.
We will explore all these themes in our upcoming retreat in September, and work towards a practical approach that has the power to create a future we actually want.
To learn more about our retreat Understanding Life at the Multiversity campus near San Jose, click here. 13-16 September 2018.