The Conscious Human Life

If you want to go down with the ship, I respect your decision, but I consider it a romantic notion. In this new century there are so many wonderful ideas on how to live our lives in cooperation with our environment and with each other. If you ask me I will teach you, I will listen to what you say, I will learn from you, and we will inspire one another. We will remember what it really means to be human, to be conscious in our lives.

Too long have our societies the world over been shaped and influenced by the biggest, the strongest, the richest. But the problem with being the biggest, the strongest, and the richest is that the world begins to look too small, too weak, not enough. When we become entwined with the idea of being the biggest, the strongest, and the richest, we think less of those who are not, we separate ourselves from one another, we separate ourselves from Nature. When we imagine ourselves as separate from one another and from our environment, the path of fear and violence presents itself as a justifiable course of action in order to continue getting bigger and stronger and richer. The world ruled by the biggest, the strongest, and the richest will never have enough. It is a world of sickness and struggle and suffering.

Thankfully that is not the only way of viewing the world, but seeing beyond the material influence of the world’s biggest, strongest and richest is not an easy path. First we must strengthen our faith in the theories of modern physics which claim that everything is energy cycling through the Universe. From rainfall to the cells in our body, from the spiral of galaxies to the spark of thoughts flashing across our minds: everything we can sense and perceive inside and out is energy. We are energy, same as the natural environment, bound eternally to this Universe by our essence: pure energy. We breath it, drink it, eat it, make it, leave it. We let energy flow and we try to hold it back, get tied up in the energy of our emotions and release energy in jubilant celebration. Each one of us cycles energy inside and outside of ourselves throughout our lives and the world around us reflects the flow of that energy.

The biggest, the strongest, and the richest have a lot of power and influence and operate on a scale beyond what most of us can imagine, but they still depend on a flow of energy to maintain their daily lives just like everyone else. When we forget about the flow of energy and our intricate connection to natural cycles, it is easy to pollute the water, soil, and air. When we strive to be the biggest, the strongest, and the richest, blocking the flow of energy can have exponentially large effects on the contamination of environments and on the emotional welfare of their inhabitants, well beyond the direct impacts of what can be seen on the surface. We all need a flow of energy and we each have a responsibility to cycle our energy positively for the use of others including the natural environment and ourselves.

Pulling energy from one area of the earth without replenishing its natural flow causes disequilibrium in natural energy cycles. Dumping energy in excess causes similar blockage which can manifest in sickness, injustice and anger. However, when we use and release energy in harmony with the world around us, allow the energy which sustains us to cycle through and beyond us, we inspire abundance and growth, creativity and cooperation. Instead of seeing the world as limited, separated, and isolated, we begin to understand the miraculous connection between our actions and the world which surrounds us, how the energy of our intentions affects our perception of physical phenomena, including our emotional relationships. We observe Nature, learn from her, share our collective energies, and we worry less about getting bigger or stronger or richer. In fact, we begin to each cycle less of our precious daily energy into the flow which sustains the world’s biggest and strongest and richest, our energy which they need to get bigger and stronger and richer.

Becoming familiar with the flow and cycle of energy that we are connected to each day helps us create intentional relationships with our energy sources, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our awareness of our energy flow helps us protect and nurture the energy we receive and the energy we give, keeping cycles healthy, positive, and in harmony with our personal principles or ethics. Consciously connecting our energy cycles with intentional responsibility is not the easiest path. The world’s biggest, strongest, and richest depend on our unconscious cycling of energy consumption, our ignorance at the true energetic costs behind low prices, our lack of time and self-love to find a better way. They expect us to continue cycling our energy towards their sustenance despite environmental degradation, human rights violations, health epidemics and widespread anxiety that the natural resources on which we base our lives are depleting faster than they can reproduce. The world’s biggest, strongest, and richest expect us to go down with the ship, distracted by the band playing on, the flashing promotional lights, the allure of food served at the table, the romantic image of enjoying a well-deserved sunset from a balcony adorned with white curtains dancing in the breeze. It is easy to be carried away in their dream. But that is why it is so important to dream new dreams, unique dreams, our very own dreams, out loud, right now! 

If we are responsible with how we cycle our personal energy and how our energy needs flow through and beyond ourselves, the world around us will begin to reflect that change. It may begin as a small amount, but all things in this Universe begin small and then expand over time, from a tiny seed to the stars that eventually form new galaxies. The key is making the conscious decision to grow. All over the world there are farmers rejecting the poisonous promises of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, choosing instead to grow diverse crops with natural practices. There are fisheries protecting wildlife sanctuaries for fish to spawn and migrate. There are foresters defending watersheds from over-harvest and villages holding back deserts, creating oasis with carefully placed stones and regionally appropriate plants. There are cities reutilizing rainwater, houses that are heated by the sun, and whole islands recycling their organic waste into vibrant, healthy soil. What diverse kinds of human settlements could we create if we focused less on being the biggest, the strongest, and the richest? What kind of intertwined, multi-generational social relationships would we create if we changed our focus to be more inclusive, supportive, and cooperative? To be humble instead of arrogant, to share instead of compete, to respect one another as capable and responsible parts of our collective whole, these are the values of a conscious human life in connection with the environment, channeling energy positively through the world and the Universe beyond.

But, in the end, if you still choose to remain on course with the biggest, the strongest, and the richest, if you are truly prepared to go down with their dreamy ship at sea (because it is sinking), I suppose I must respect your decision as long as you choose so consciously. The world as promised by the biggest, the strongest, and the richest requires a constant energy flow from those who are only by comparison small, weak, and poor. Individually we are each a light in the Universe capable of channeling boundless energy in connection with the world and the beings which surround us. Attempting to separate ourselves from this cosmic fabric is only an illusion, an illusion which the biggest, the strongest, and the richest have manipulated in order to gain their power. We can continue to sleepwalk in their dream or awaken into dreams of our own making, and though you may choose a present path of comfort, do not be surprised that your neighbors or your children may choose differently. In the end we each pass our days in the dream worlds of our conscious making. I wish you well from my dream world to yours and to the infinite possibilities in between.