by Robert Wilkinson
Today we get a larger perspective on what it means to be a human being moving through a time of radical transformation in how we regard time, space, life, matter, energy, light, and electromagnetism. This provides some insights and tools for navigating a rapidly changing reality.
I last gave this to you about 19 months ago. Everything here is as relevant today as it was then. At the time I titled it “Dancing On the Razor's Edge of Change At The Dawn of A New Age.” Hopefully what I’ve added or subtracted can make it clearer just how much power we actually have in maintaining a cheerful equilibrium as we move through experience in a time of incredible upheaval.
For your consideration:
There is never a moment in life when things are not changing. Though we long for and clutch at comfort and predictability, still events move forward within the medium we call time. Time is how we measure our experience, our movement between our evolving points of view and the understandings that follow, and ultimately the medium in which we learn to live in the Eternal NOW.
Some times seem more predictable. Other times we seem to be riding the wave of dynamic change, with little or no clue living on the edge of changes that throw us into unknown futures as to what is coming. Actually, whether we think we know what's coming, or are, we're still changing. The trick is to see how we are evolving while in the midst of the process.
Whether our minds are confident or confused as we move with the trajectory of events, we still have to live with our changes and move through the experience with as little confusion and error as possible. This is about learning to experience the changes directly as we move through them with a degree of detachment, discrimination, and dispassion regarding our own ups and downs, hopes and despair, confusion and enlightenment.
As an astrologer (and critical thinker!), frequently I know what’s coming, but I still have to live through it, move with it, do the best I can despite my feelings, my uncertainties, my humanness. We’re all learning to do what we do, living our awareness of higher things the best we're able. Ideally over time we get better and better at doing our Being with more and more skills and understanding being learned daily, weekly, monthly. And still many unknowns persist.
We’re all in this boat together. Part of being human is that regardless of our knowledge, we still have to live our lives within the collective reality we share. And sometimes this reality can get very weird. That's why it's helpful to develop an ability to depersonalize from the field and examine what is truly our experience versus what is going on in the collective field.
Here I must emphasize that we do NOT "create our reality." We do create our experience of the reality we’re in, but remember that the circumstances of our material world were created and perpetuated by people we do not know who set the patterns long before we came upon the movie and chose to enter the theater. We usually don't have much influence over large scale global events, but we do have the power to position our consciousness and view the movie with the eyes of compassionate understanding and relate it to the wisdom we're forever learning.
In fact, this reality is a dream, a movie, as is everything we believe to have substance. When we are born we awaken inside the movie, and through our lives we view every element of the movie as nightmares, boring wastes of time, or dreams come true, depending on our point of view. And sometimes believing in magic is enough to make magic come forth. That seems to be the challenge for many of us riding the waves of change through these critical years into the beyond of existence.
Throughout our lives, as we live inside the movie, we continually choose our responses to perceptions and seemingly real events in that movie. However, we should not assume we “caused” that which presents itself to our senses and our minds. Correlation is not necessarily causation. Just because something passes across our perceptual radar screen doesn't mean we directly or indirectly "caused" it. That puts too much personal responsibility on transpersonal events set into motion long before we showed up at this particular movie.
For example, no one I've ever met that has any higher awareness or conscience would have created or perpetuated such things as war, famine, slavery, fear, violence, and other plagues that are the diseases of humanity. But a while back I chose to look at these elements of the movie we share, and committed my life to doing all I can to learn how to mitigate these, the best I am able, given my skills and my limitations. This is an adventure for all of us who share these values, and all who care about making sure the world is a better place 30 years from now than it is today.
One facet of the reality we all share in the movie of apparent human existence is that through it all we feel. We feel intensely, deeply, and yet even those apparently "real" feelings are also in constant change. Since these are hard wired into our humanness, it leads us to greater experience and often enjoyment of the stimulation we get from the intensity of the changes.
The reason we find any enjoyment of intense feelings that are in constant change is that these intense changes actually remind us of our ultimate freedom, and the endless explorations our eternal Self experiences throughout all our existences. We are more free than we imagine, once we cast off the chains of society, family assumptions, and associates who do not have to walk our walk.
That's why we must walk OUR walk, and not try to live anyone else's reality. Discovering the unique qualities of our life walk is a grand adventure, and I've found it's a happier experience to take a dispassionate look at the evolving wisdom of my path rather than compare the relative advantages of someone else's walk with mine. Our unique purpose may or may not have common elements with anyone else's. Each of us has the ticket to ride our own unique Dharma into Eternity.
In this impermanent "reality" we all share as humans, the what, how, and when of our experiences are always in flux. People and creatures, ideas and experiences, are always moving onward through time, fading into our rearview mirror with more experiences in our faces, here and now. That’s why it’s good not to get too attached to what seems to be happening, whether pleasurable or painful. It’s all grist for the mill of Soul.
So in this Cosmic moment of discontent, uncertainty, strident bloviating, paradoxical thinking and irrational behaviors, take a breath, take a moment, take a bow, for the Eternal Being that you are, were, and will be, who persists in your quest for Truth despite the passing noise of the eternal soft parade inside the gold mine. You are beyond what you imagine.
Copyright © 2006, 2011, 2014 Robert Wilkinson
(ps – In the past there have been a few who disputed my assertion that we do not create elements in our larger collective reality. If you insist we "create our reality," and want to argue the point, please reference the comment stream in the 2011 article before posting an objection here. I addressed all your concerns there.)
Thank you for this...a much needed shift of perspective!
Posted by: Elizabeth McAlister | July 15, 2014 at 08:23 AM
I am curious as to your view of prayer and mastery.. maybe a post for the future!? xx
Posted by: Debra | July 15, 2014 at 09:58 AM
Great post. I fully agree that we do not create our reality (our reality for that matter, for where does "one end and the other starts?). I also agree with you that we have a choice as to how we "position ourselves in the flux of events.
Yet, the best part was briefly and elegantly mentioned: "And sometimes believing in magic is enough to make magic come forth. That seems to be the challenge for many of us riding the waves of change through these critical years into the beyond of existence."
Blessings be.
Posted by: Nic | July 15, 2014 at 10:47 AM
Thank you Robert. This is timely, very helpful and much appreciated.
Posted by: ann | July 15, 2014 at 05:05 PM
And I thought this post would be directly about Jupiter entering Leo tomorrow which should have all the fiery denizens of the cantina overjoyed!!
Posted by: Matt | July 15, 2014 at 06:19 PM
Thank you for the encouragement and insights in this post, Robert. For me, this pairs well with your post the other day about not getting discouraged in a long job search...both so timely and helpful. I appreciate your sensitive support and generous sharing of your heart-centered wisdom.
Love & light to you.
Posted by: Sara | July 15, 2014 at 09:29 PM
Thanks so much for reposting this Robert. Just what I needed to hear to reframe my outlook. I'm so grateful for you sharing your knowledge with all of us.
Posted by: Diane S. | July 16, 2014 at 06:12 PM
dear Master
it is so clearly and effectually said that I'm going to translate this piece of purest wisdom to my 11 yo daughter who's still not that proficient in english to read and ponder thanks
Posted by: pierrette | July 18, 2014 at 04:50 AM
Onward through the fog!
Posted by: dcu | July 21, 2014 at 08:47 AM
Dear Master
Here’s my translation of Your lectio magistralis for any Italian speaker to enjoy for free no limits, paragraph after paragraph, and thanks again
Dancing On the Razor's Edge of Change At The Dawn of A New Age.
Danzando sulla lama di rasoio del cambiamento all’alba di una nuova era.
There is never a moment in life when things are not changing. Though we long for and clutch at comfort and predictability, still events move forward within the medium we call time. Time is how we measure our experience, our movement between our evolving points of view and the understandings that follow, and ultimately the medium in which we learn to live in the Eternal NOW.
Non c’è mai un momento nella vita in cui le cose non stiano cambiando. Anche se desideriamo e ci aggrappiamo alle comodità della prevedibilità, sempre gli eventi si muovono in avanti in quel mezzo che chiamiamo tempo. Il tempo è come noi misuriamo la nostra esperienza, il nostro movimento tra i nostri punti di vista in evoluzione e la comprensione che ne consegue, e, infine, il mezzo attraverso il quale impariamo a vivere nell’Eterno PRESENTE.
Some times seem more predictable. Other times we seem to be riding the wave of dynamic change, with little or no clue living on the edge of changes that throw us into unknown futures as to what is coming. Actually, whether we think we know what's coming, or are, we're still changing. The trick is to see how we are evolving while in the midst of the process.
Talvolta le cose sembrano più prevedibili. Altre volte ci sembra di cavalcare un’onda di cambiamento dinamico, vivendo con pochi o nessun riferimento sull’orlo di mutamenti che ci gettano in un futuro di cui ignoriamo cosa ci riservi. In effetti, sia che crediamo di sapere cosa ci aspetta o di non saperlo, noi comunque cambiamo. Il trucco è renderci conto di COME cambiamo nel mentre del processo.
Whether our minds are confident or confused as we move with the trajectory of events, we still have to live with our changes and move through the experience with as little confusion and error as possible. This is about learning to experience the changes directly as we move through them with a degree of detachment, discrimination, and dispassion regarding our own ups and downs, hopes and despair, confusion and enlightenment.
Che le nostre menti siano o meno confuse mentre ci muoviamo nella traiettoria degli eventi, dobbiamo comunque convivere con i nostri cambiamenti e muoversi attraverso l’esperienza con la minor confusione ed errore possibile. Ciò significa imparare a sperimentare i cambiamenti in maniera senza intermediazioni mentre ci muoviamo attraverso di essi con un certo grado di distacco, discriminazione ed equanimità riguardo ai nostri alti e bassi, speranze e disperazioni, confusione ed illuminazione.
As an astrologer (and critical thinker!), frequently I know what’s coming, but I still have to live through it, move with it, do the best I can despite my feelings, my uncertainties, my humanness. We’re all learning to do what we do, living our awareness of higher things the best we're able. Ideally over time we get better and better at doing our Being with more and more skills and understanding being learned daily, weekly, monthly. And still many unknowns persist.
In quanto astrologo, ( e pensatore critico!), spesso io so cosa sta arrivando ma devo comunque viverlo, muovermi con esso, fare il meglio che posso a dispetto delle mie emozioni, delle mie incertezze, della mia umanità. Stiamo tutti apprendendo a fare quello che facciamo, vivendo la nostra consapevolezza delle cose più elevate al meglio che possiamo. Idealmente, col passare del tempo, miglioriamo costantemente a realizzare il nostro Essere con sempre maggiori abilità imparate giorno dopo giorno, settimana dopo settimana, mese dopo mese.
We’re all in this boat together. Part of being human is that regardless of our knowledge, we still have to live our lives within the collective reality we share. And sometimes this reality can get very weird. That's why it's helpful to develop an ability to depersonalize from the field and examine what is truly our experience versus what is going on in the collective field.
Siamo tutti insieme in questa barca. Una delle caratteristiche dell’essere umani è che indipendentemente dal nostro grado di conoscenza, dobbiamo comunque vivere la nostra vita all’interno della realtà collettiva che condividiamo. E qualche volta questa realtà può diventare molto strana. Ecco perchè è utile sviluppare un’abilità di depersonalizzarsi dal campo collettivo dell’esperienza e di esaminare cosa è davvero la nostra esperienza personale in contrapposizione a quanto sta accadendo nel campo collettivo stesso.
Here I must emphasize that we do NOT "create our reality." We do create our experience of the reality we’re in, but remember that the circumstances of our material world were created and perpetuated by people we do not know who set the patterns long before we came upon the movie and chose to enter the theater. We usually don't have much influence over large scale global events, but we do have the power to position our consciousness and view the movie with the eyes of compassionate understanding and relate it to the wisdom we're forever learning.
Qui devo enfatizzare che noi NON “ creiamo la nostra realtà”. Noi creiamo la nostra esperienza della realtà in cui siamo ma ricordate che le circostanze del nostro mondo materiale sono state create e perpetuate da persone che non conosciamo che hanno stabilito i parametri prima che noi ci imbattessimo nel film e che scegliessimo di entrare nel cinema. Solitamente noi non abbiamo molta influenza sugli eventi di scala globale ma abbiamo tuttavia il potere di orientare la nostra coscienza e guardare il film con gli occhi della comprensione compassionevole e di metterlo in relazione con la conoscenza che apprendiamo continuamente.
In fact, this reality is a dream, a movie, as is everything we believe to have substance. When we are born we awaken inside the movie, and through our lives we view every element of the movie as nightmares, boring wastes of time, or dreams come true, depending on our point of view. And sometimes believing in magic is enough to make magic come forth. That seems to be the challenge for many of us riding the waves of change through these critical years into the beyond of existence.
Infatti questa realtà è un sogno, un film, come qualunque cosa noi crediamo abbia sostanza. Quando siamo nati ci siamo svegliati nel film e attraverso le nostre vite noi guardiamo ad ogni elemento della storia come ad incubi, noiose perdite di tempo o sogni che si fanno realtà. A seconda del nostro punto di vista. E qualche volta credere nella magia è sufficiente a far sì che la magia accada. Queste sembrano essere le sfide di molti di noi che stanno cavalcando l’onda del cambiamento in questi anni critici verso l’aldilà dell’esistenza.
Throughout our lives, as we live inside the movie, we continually choose our responses to perceptions and seemingly real events in that movie. However, we should not assume we “caused” that which presents itself to our senses and our minds. Correlation is not necessarily causation. Just because something passes across our perceptual radar screen doesn't mean we directly or indirectly "caused" it. That puts too much personal responsibility on transpersonal events set into motion long before we showed up at this particular movie.
Lungo tutte le nostre vite, mentre viviamo dentro il film, continuamente scegliamo il modo di reagire alle percezioni ed agli eventi apparentemente reali nel film stesso. Comunque non dobbiamo assumere che noi abbiamo “causato” ciò che si presente ai nostri sensi ed alle nostre menti. La correlazione non è necessariamente causalità. Solo perché qualcosa passa attraverso il nostro radar percettivo non significa che l’abbiamo causato noi, direttamente o indirettamente. Ciò caricherebbe troppa responsabilità personale su eventi trans personali che sono stati messi in movimento molto prima che noi apparissimo in questo particolare film.
For example, no one I've ever met that has any higher awareness or conscience would have created or perpetuated such things as war, famine, slavery, fear, violence, and other plagues that are the diseases of humanity. But a while back I chose to look at these elements of the movie we share, and committed my life to doing all I can to learn how to mitigate these, the best I am able, given my skills and my limitations. This is an adventure for all of us who share these values, and all who care about making sure the world is a better place 30 years from now than it is today.
Per esempio nessuno di coloro che ho incontrato che erano caratterizzati da una elevata coscienza o consapevolezza avrebbe creato o perpetuato cose come la guerra, la fame, la schiavitù, la violenza o le altre piaghe che sono i malanni dell’umanità. Ma tempo fa ho scelto di aprire gli occhi di fronte a questi elementi del film che condividiamo e di dedicare la mia vita a fare tutto quello che posso per imparare come mitigarli, al meglio delle mie possibilità, date le mie capacità ed i miei limiti. Questa è l’avventura di tutti noi che condividiamo questi valori e di tutti coloro cui importa far sì che il mondo sia tra trent’anni un posto migliore di quanto è adesso.
One facet of the reality we all share in the movie of apparent human existence is that through it all we feel. We feel intensely, deeply, and yet even those apparently "real" feelings are also in constant change. Since these are hard wired into our humanness, it leads us to greater experience and often enjoyment of the stimulation we get from the intensity of the changes.
Uno degli aspetti della realtà che noi tutti condividiamo è che attraverso tutto questo noi proviamo emozioni. Proviamo emozioni profonde , intense eppure persino quelle emozioni apparentemente così “reali” sono in costante mutamento. Siccome esse sono inerenti alla nostra umanità, ciò ci porta ad una esperienza più profonda e spesso addirittura a godere dello stimolo che deriviamo dall’intensità dei cambiamenti.
The reason we find any enjoyment of intense feelings that are in constant change is that these intense changes actually remind us of our ultimate freedom, and the endless explorations our eternal Self experiences throughout all our existences. We are more free than we imagine, once we cast off the chains of society, family assumptions, and associates who do not have to walk our walk.
La ragione per cui deriviamo un qualunque piacere da emozioni intense che sono in perenne mutamento è che questi intensi cambiamenti in effetti ci ricordano la nostra intrinseca libertà e le infinite esplorazioni che il nostro Sé eterno sperimenta attraverso tutte le nostre esistenze. Siamo più liberi di quanto immaginiamo una volta che abbiamo gettato via le catene delle aspettative sociali e familiari ed i compagni di strada che non sono tenuti a fare il nostro stesso cammino.
That's why we must walk OUR walk, and not try to live anyone else's reality. Discovering the unique qualities of our life walk is a grand adventure, and I've found it's a happier experience to take a dispassionate look at the evolving wisdom of my path rather than compare the relative advantages of someone else's walk with mine. Our unique purpose may or may not have common elements with anyone else's. Each of us has the ticket to ride our own unique Dharma into Eternity.
Ecco perchè noi dobbiamo fare il NOSTRO cammino e non provare a vivere la realtà di chiunque altro. Scoprire le qualità uniche del nostro cammino di vita è la più grande delle avventure, ed io ho scoperto che è un’esperienza più felice dare uno sguardo spassionato alla saggezza in evoluzione del mio sentiero di vita piuttosto che comparare i vantaggi relativi di quello di qualcun altro rispetto al mio. Lo scopo della nostra esistenza, unico ed individuale, può avere o non avere elementi in comune con quello di chiunque altro. Ognuno di noi ha il biglietto per il proprio unico Dharma verso l’Eternità.
In this impermanent "reality" we all share as humans, the what, how, and when of our experiences are always in flux. People and creatures, ideas and experiences, are always moving onward through time, fading into our rearview mirror with more experiences in our faces, here and now. That’s why it’s good not to get too attached to what seems to be happening, whether pleasurable or painful. It’s all grist for the mill of Soul.
In questa “realtà” impermanente che noi tutti condividiamo in quanto umani, il cosa il come ed il quando delle nostre esperienze è in continuo fluire. Persone e creature, idee ed esperienze si muovono continuamente in avanti nel tempo , sparendo dal nostro specchietto retrovisore e lasciandoci con più esperienze da affrontare qui ed ora. Questo è il motivo per cui è bene non sviluppare eccessivo attaccamento a ciò che sembra stia accadendo, sia piacevole che spiacevole. E' tutto grano per il mulino dell'Anima.
So in this Cosmic moment of discontent, uncertainty, strident bloviating, paradoxical thinking and irrational behaviors, take a breath, take a moment, take a bow, for the Eternal Being that you are, were, and will be, who persists in your quest for Truth despite the passing noise of the eternal soft parade inside the gold mine. You are beyond what you imagine.
Così, in quest’ora Cosmica di scontento, incertezza, stridente blaterare, pensiero paradosso e comportamento irrazionale, prendete un respiro, prendetevi un momento, chinate il capo, per quell’Essere Eterno che voi siete, fose e sarete, che persiste nella ricerca della Verità a dispetto dell’eterna “dolce parata” dentro la miniera d’oro. Voi siete ben oltre ciò che immaginate.
Copyright © 2006, 2011, 2014 Robert Wilkinson
Posted by: pierrette | August 10, 2014 at 03:07 AM
Hi pierrette - This is quite astonishing. I hope the computer translator got this right: MILLE grazie per l'ottima traduzione. Mi auguro che la sua figlia riceve molta saggezza, e che aiuta per tutta la vita.
Posted by: Robert | August 10, 2014 at 07:03 AM
dear Master, namaskar. your words are so worth spreading i appreciate your grazie but really it's me the one who give thanks for your clarity, and for your wishes for my daughter, that i will treasure dearly
Posted by: pierrette | August 11, 2014 at 04:15 AM