"…what is that to thee? Follow thou me." – John 21:22
It only lasted for a moment, but it changed my perspective for a lifetime. It happened thirty years ago. I was walking down the street to where I lived at the time, when suddenly everything around me collapsed into a sea of oneness, and I temporarily pierced the veil of separation. In that instant, I was not separate from anything or anyone around me - not from people, not from my environment, not from the future, and not from God.
It was an experience that remains beyond my ability to put into words. At the time, I didn't know what to make of it or who to speak to about it. Nevertheless, my view of "reality" was altered from that moment on. It was a brief experience, but it eventually became the golden thread that defines my personal perspective about life.
Mona Polacca, a Hopi Elder and author, noted that it had been the cultural philosophy of Native Americans that all people, plants, animals, and even the forests and fish are our relations. As a result, this belief guides their actions in a way that is life-sustaining and enables them to have a worldview that is open and inclusive.
A central tenant of the Ancient Wisdom Teachings is that we are all interconnected. However, we often forget that connection. As we witness the problems of our day – environmental breakdowns, a worldwide pandemic, acute political and cultural polarization locally and internationally, severe economic inequality, racial injustice – now more than ever, it is the time to re-imagine and construct a different world.
The good news is that the principles of Ancient Wisdom Teachings are re-emerging to address the challenges we are now facing. It has taken a couple of centuries for the Wisdom Teachings to mature. In the beginning, the teachings were primarily about personal healings – healing one’s body, healing relationships, one’s personal well-being, and visualizing things into existence. Now, it's about collective healing.
To transcend the collective common that is interconnected before us, we must move from "me" to "we" in our transformation. That's because what is out-picturing in our world is nothing more than a reflection of the group's soul. The Ancient Wisdom principle reminds us, "as within, so without." This work will always begin with you and me. The Wisdom Teachings are part of the body of thought that realizes that we must first change not the external world, institutions, or governments. Then, as we weave our transformed selves into the fabric of our world, our planet is transformed as well.
As we change, grow, and expand individually and collectively, and identify with our true nature and being, we become the leaders who create a world that works for everyone. By recognizing and operating from our interconnectedness, we can be part of the collective change that the world is thirsting for.
Peace and Blessings,
James