GETTING OUT OF THE WOODS

  So let me ask you, which is more important, to change the world or to change yourself?

  Well recently, a good friend of mine was bemoaning that the country was heading in the wrong direction.  I said that I was watching the same cosmic movie he was and that that was not what I was seeing.   

 So we discussed the age-old dilemma about government?  When is it too little and when is it too much.   And when is it just… right? 

  Does that last sentence trigger any childhood memories for you?  It does for me.  You’ll remember her.  She’s the little blond girl that had that encounter with those beasts in the forest.

  You remember her,… Goldilocks!  That’s right!  Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

  “This bowl of porridge is too hot.”  “This bowl is too cold.”  “But this bowl is just… right!” “Ahhh!” 

  And so in her little adventure in the forest Goldilocks mirrors the human condition of us all.  And that is that we all want our lives to be, just… right!

  So after a while my friend wanted to dive into what we need to do in the next election to head the country back towards “just…right”.  But that was where I felt we needed to refocus our conversation to what each of us should actually be doing in this world.  Should we be putting our priorities into changing the world or should we be focusing on changing ourselves first?  I frame it as a question of Consciousness versus Conditions.

  Though we all would agree that striving to improve the human condition is always going to be an important part of what every society in every age has to grapple with.  I would offer that there is something even more fundamentally important that life is asking of us. And that is life is asking us to uplift our consciousness, to make consistent efforts in those things that will make us better individuals.  What I call soul progress.

  And I would argue that by first putting our attention on self-improvement, on lifting our consciousness, we can then make even more valuable contributions to improving our world, because the more evolved our consciousness is the wiser and more all inclusive our insights, decisions and actions will be.

  So whether it’s dealing with bears in the woods, or bear markets or an unbearable personal or national problem, the more wisdom, the more unconditional love and the more compassion we can bring to bear on the issue the better will be the outcome. 

  Just look at the difference one person with a higher understanding and purer motive can make in the world.  Could anyone have done a better job in keeping the hopes of a new nation alive during its darkest hours than George Washington?  And look at the patient love based wisdom Abraham Lincoln expressed in guiding our torn nation through its second great calamity.  And how many lives were spared in India’s colossal struggle for freedom by the exalted life of their saintly leader, Mahatma Gandhi?   

  And finally for you scientists out there, let’s look at this from a vibrational point of view.  In his consciousness-altering book, Power vs. Force, David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., starts with the fundamental principle of theoretical physics, which is that “everything in the universe is connected.”  And from there he points out that the positive, powerful and evolved consciousness of even one person can dramatically offset the negative thoughts and feelings of hundreds or thousands or even millions of people depending on the degree of that evolution.  Gandhi’s enlightened consciousness of non-violence offset the ignorance and hatred of millions during his lifetime.

  So now let’s take it down to your living room.  When you change your consciousness from anger to forgiveness or from expectations to unconditional love what happens in your world?  You already know the answer.  It gets better, and not just better for you, but also for all those around you because… we are all connected!

  And just that simply then, you change the world for the better.  So as we all strive to do our part in making this a better world, let’s remember where it all starts.  It all starts with the relative nobleness of your own heart’s intentions.

   I’m John Johnston.   See you next time, here, On The Cosmic Porch!