While I believe the longing for connection to something greater than our limited selves is universal, and has always existed throughout the ages and across cultures, it appears we are at a time when we are collectively suffering from the walls we have built inside ourselves, walls that separate us from our deepest nature, from our brothers and sisters, from the natural world, and from God.
As we increasingly experience the pain and frustration of these walls, it is easy to feel hopeless.
Overwhelmed with despair, it is easy to turn our backs on God, certain that religion and spirituality have lost their relevance. Or maybe we turn our backs on politics, certain that we cannot possibly make a difference in such a corrupt system. We may turn our backs on our ourselves and our own responsibility to examine how the pain we may have experienced in our childhood is affecting the life we are creating today. We may also turn our backs on each other, certain that we are facing an enemy intent on destroying us.
These voices of hopelessness and despair are not telling the truth.
They are the voices of our Lower Selves seducing us into submission and enticing us to collude with evil. They are encouraging us to betray the best in ourselves and build our walls taller and stronger. They are trying to manipulate us into justifying our defenses and our pseudo-solutions.
We don’t have to listen to these voices. They are not commands we have to follow like lemmings careening over a cliff.
There may be great divides in our own psyches, in our relationship with others, in our society and our world, but we have the power to tear down these walls and begin building bridges. In so doing, we can call on our courage, love, and deep wisdom to usher in a new world created out of a consciousness that aligns with love and unity instead of separation and suspicion.
Underneath all the chaos and division we are experiencing, I believe we are being called to give birth to a new way of being that we have not yet met. And amidst the pangs of childbirth we are reminded to breathe and push, and breathe and push.
Once labor begins there is no turning back, there is only the choice to contract in resistance or surrender to the miracle of another life entering this world through you. In spite of the pain, the blood sweat and tears, the tremendous new responsibilities and the fact that your body will never quite look the same again, the process of giving birth is a profoundly meaningful and life changing experience.
And today that opportunity is being offered to all women and men who choose to consciously usher in this new manifestation of Spirit.
So how will you choose to participate? Will you suffer in resistance, scream for an anesthesiologist to numb you from the experiencing the fullness of the moment, or will you participate willingly and actively in the emergence of a beautiful new world that you cannot yet begin to imagine or comprehend?
I know it is hard. And scary. And painful. And I have heard those voices of hopelessness and despair inviting me to just give up. But something inside me won’t let me turn my back and betray that longing for something greater that my heart whispers is possible.
So I invite you to help me silence those Lower Self voices with a chorus of your voices, sharing in the comments below how you each are tearing down your walls and building bridges — brick by brick, stone by stone — in the everyday, ordinary and not so ordinary moments of your life. Share your vision of the new life you are giving birth to.
And if you live locally, I want to invite you to join together with me and a group of kindred spirits for my upcoming Pathwork group “Bridging the Divide: A Shared Journey to Reveal Our Fundamental Unity.” We’ll be exploring the many ways we build walls that surround our hearts and prevent true connection. We’ll begin taking down our walls and begin building bridges.
The registration deadline is Feb. 21st, so reserve your space today! Read more about the group here.
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Beth, you’re such a gifted writer! I love the metaphor of birthing and feel too, that is what we’re going through.
I’m in Oregon, keeping my heart open and standing up for what is loving as best I can in my little community.
I wish you all the best and send you love ❤️
Denise
Thank you, Denise! Standing up for what is loving is my current practice as well, and one I am a humble student of! Connecting our energies through sharing like this feels so uplifting! Sending you love right back!
Thanks Beth! Beautiful post.
I am building bridges with those parts of myself that are feeling uncomfortable, those parts that scream for attention when I project them in the world, those parts that are not yet healed.
I dissolve the walls having compassion for myself, falling in Love with myself and hugging those parts that feel hurt… day after day… week after week… month after month… whenever they want to be noticed and acknowledged. A caring and loving process with myself to myself.
This is so beautiful, Silvia, thank you so much for sharing your process with us. Yes, it can be uncomfortable and I honor the compassion your bring to the process. A great reminder for us all!
Thank you Beth. This is a beautiful piece of writing. I practice paying attention to what emerges within me, from the higher and the lower selves and just allow it to have its say, listen and let go without feeding it. When I can remember, I let my consciousness just spread out and expand into the greater field of all consciousness. This feels really good. Then I just come from there with others. Otherwise I come from my smaller self. But I’m accepting of disagreements in opinions and not at all afraid or stressed or triggered by the current administration, just wildly entertained.
Amy
Thanks, Amy!