Are you aware of the greatest illness we all suffer from? It's the dis-ease that lives in our present collective consciousness, the illusion that we are separate, from nature, from each other and from Spirit.
We keep ourselves in this space of illusion through how we live, these systems, stories and structures of our lives and we reinforce this hallucination through our thoughts, judgments and fears.
How does this manifest locally and globally? With the illusion that India's problem is India's problem, that the Israeli-Palestine conflict has nothing to do with us, that the national epidemic of childhood suicide is not in our backyard.
That we can do nothing to change to the global proportions of climate change, that it's too difficult to confront insidious racism and the pain of our brothers and sisters, and that we need to keep re-teaching the old paradigms that tell us that more is better and that cutthroat competition is the only way to get ahead. We hide our shame, judgment, comparison, doubt and the troubling feeling that perhaps we truly are alone, not belonging to anyone or to anywhere.
Beyond all this confusion and separation there is a much deeper truth.
It is the deepest truth, that we are never alone, that consciousness is radiating and shining through each of us and is all around us.
We are human beings living and sharing this home, the planet Earth. The air we breath connects us, to each other and to all things, past present and future. The firm ground beneath our feet holds us up, keeps us steady, rooted and nourished. Our blood, just under the skin, looks and flows the same way in all nations and all races. Each and every one of us comes from water, the waters of our mothers, connected to the waters of this planet, the rivers and waterfalls and grand oceans. And all of us have ancestors who at some point in our past gathered around fires, to share, connect and listen to each other. Perhaps we're still doing so.
It is up to each and every one of us to swim against the current and illusion of separation. To find coherence and connection. To listen and to be together. To create a culture of belonging;
To ourselves, by reclaiming our bodies, our thoughts and our hearts. (Not having someone else tell you how to relate your body, or tell you how to think, or feel. This one goes deep.)
With each other, by reaching out, helping out, extending a hand or a smile or a hug. By asking - how are you today? How can I serve you? How can I see you as the part of me that I don't yet know?
With this beautiful planet earth, by remembering that this is our home to take care of, that we belong here, that we're fed by everything that grows or walks on this soil, and that one day we too will go back to earth.
For me, to reclaim myself, it's essential to connect to the place beyond thoughts and feelings, in the space of deep meditation. Every spiritual practice I know of has some form of meditation, a profound place of stillness we can connect to dissolve our sense of individuated identity. I invite you to join me each Wednesday at 9:30 AM to experience this space, Click Here to sign up.
For me, it's important to watch the tides and rhythms of the moon, to understand my place in all things, and to dream, pray and to wish upon a star. To gather around the fire, to share stories and laughter, pain and grief so that I and you and We can feel into the great pulse of humanity. I invite you to join me in a full moon ritual or other gathering, whether virtually or in-person. See my Events Page to find out more.
For me, it's essential to go outside, to watch the birds and the things growing and the worms and the cycles, to remember that it's such a short and precious time we have here. To let go and to be fully available to the present moment, and to continue to Return to Wholeness. One of the ways I do this is by practicing Qi Gong. I invite you to join me every Tuesday and Thursday at 9-10 AM EST for a class. Join us here.
We're in this together,
Dr Kelly Jennings
