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The Tsunami, Terrorism
and Trusting the Timeless Angels
by Darryl Pokea
As our lessons transcend time and events, I begin this article with two very human
quotes, one current from Asia, and one in the past from the United States:
"We search not only for the meaning of life, but the purpose of our individual
and collective experience as we have created it -- and we look earnestly for ways
in which we might recreate ourselves anew as a human species. The hour has come for
us to demonstrate at the highest level our most extraordinary thought about Who We
Really Are." -- The Dalai Lama
"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living
heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the
Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
-- Final paragraph of Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address two weeks before Jefferson
Davis became leader of the confederacy in 1861
We have all witnessed the shattering of so many lives in the recent tsunami. Before
this event, terrorism was a daily story presented as clusters of events of seemingly
never-ending destruction. In Iraq, the land that was once the seat of civilization,
people are attempting to live without painful remnants of the genocide of old regimes,
a painful war and the immediate entanglements of terrorists and insurgents. There,
simply living and being are disrupted daily. Images of their painful struggles continue
to be placed before our eyes.
All these images, and the ones showing the effects of the tsunami, illustrate the
genuine desire we all have to just live peacefully among our fellow human beings.
As videos and photos of these events are repeatedly brought to our minds, our religious
and spiritual beliefs clatter and vibrate. We stutter as we attempt to express our
thoughts and words in understanding these intense events that rattle our consciousness
-- particularly when we have fixed illusions about our very human condition. As deeply
as earthquakes undulate through the surface around the earth's core, we are further
shaken when the image of a tsunami's overpowering waves of motion flood our minds
and bodies with so much emotion.
All of our comfortable sets of coping routines and habitual activities, which we
thought were secure, are shaken. Just as the tsunami shifted and altered landmasses,
the core of our human consciousness has been twisted. Our attention has been profoundly
redirected -- both inwardly and outwardly. Now, with the sunrise that begins each
day, we must begin our reflection anew of who we think we are -- personally and collectively.
All the dislocations and change, some suddenly apparent and others more subtle, illuminate
our minds and teach us viscerally how alive our planet is as it nudges our human
species to evolve.
Quiet reflection
We are called upon to pause from thoughts and words. We may fumble for words and
then return to quiet reflection and let it be; that is all that is required in these
moments. Following such intense reshaping of the earth and ourselves, we silently
observe our personal evolution. We again witness our valuing of one another, and
in our many flickers of light and courage we realize again that the living earth
hosts us.
Some people and many animals were attentive and attuned before the tsunami arrived.
Many of us have been moving too quickly, without reflecting on our actions and our
deepest feelings. At some level of consciousness, we all move mindlessly at times
as we consume Mother Earth's life-sustaining resources. Perhaps tsunami waves, moving
at 500 miles per hour, are required to mirror to us what we ourselves have been doing
-- and catch our attention. Have we forgotten to attend to the deepest feelings that
surround our inner core? Can we learn from all this that the gyrations in the waters
and waves of our emotional being require conscious attention so we do not end up
needlessly hurting one another?
Through all this, Gaia (Earth) nudges the consciousness that we share with her. She
is keeping us alive generously and courageously -- and with forgiveness. She is one
in her being with our human species. Unfortunately, our species often has neglected
to fully connect with her. Like the earthquakes reverberating the earth's core, courage,
generosity and forgiveness from inside our core now are called to pour out. These
virtues may touch wherever the tsunami waves have swept away human beings and plant
and animal life. We are all made of the same stuff; we're all part of Creation, all
part of Mother Earth. Her virtues remain constant over time. At unexpected times,
they sometimes flood us with waves and gyrations of intense emotion, awakening us
to the understanding that we do not realize what we do to her -- or to one another.
Response of terrorists
Terrorists are not responding with courage and generosity towards the many human
beings who have suffered the tsunami. In their group mind, perhaps they view themselves
as teachers with lesson plans that violently disrupt us, but they are teachers who
are so self-occupied with generating fear that they remain trapped within it. Their
mutilating and self-mutilating actions attempt to destroy civilizations and cultures,
while the rest of us are just trying to live and evolve. Their own unmastered fear
within keeps them generating fear without. Pseudo thoughts of mastery consume their
conscience, and they are unaware of anything else except "teaching the world
their bitter lesson." Their fear-based teachings and destructive events will
dissolve in time. What lingers, though, is the pain they feel, deep within, and the
pain they pass onto others.
The terrorists, who ignore their own internal pain by promoting blame and shame,
use innocent people as containers for that unprocessed pain. All of us, to some degree,
have used the earth as a container for our pain, in much the same way. We pollute
the earth when we ignore the pollution in our own minds that has yet to be mastered.
Fortunately, many of us are awakening to understand again that what we do to the
earth, we do to ourselves, and what we do to one another, we do to ourselves. These
lessons in our times are timeless and will survive in all our learning, transformation
and evolution.
Some of us are not yet able to participate in the learning, evolution and transformation
that arise from all events affecting our species, including natural disasters. The
earth-shaking events and huge waves of human emotion that we know deeply within ourselves
have not yet stirred others among us sufficiently. Even when the earth violently
provides the lesson for all her students, not all of them are moved to reflect upon
the greater meaning.
Those who practice overt and covert (disguised) terrorism ignore the internal rhythms
of life and the lives of everyone else and the planet. The opportunity is here, now,
for them to change their minds and begin constructive actions of generosity and service
towards their fellow humankind. They have an opportunity to shift their attention
as the Earth helps to shift ours. May they become concerned about their own healing
and practice generosity and service to heal others. May they continue their self-development
by extending service and their resources generously to all on our planet. There is
plenty to attend to for the homeless, hungry and destitute, those who are unemployed
and others who have little opportunity for education.
Covert terrorists must mourn what they have done to contribute to pollution, the
extinction of species, over-consumption of earth's resources and global warming.
They also must mourn the unequal distribution of wealth that leads to much poverty,
unemployment, poor education and loss of the opportunity to pursue happiness. As
they mourn the effects from their previous lifestyle that was dominated by poverty
of spirit, may they reverse their spiritual debt and lessen the consequences of their
previous actions and inactions.
Just as important to curing their own poverty of spirit is recognizing spirit in
all human beings and life on the planet, including our Earth, a living being.
We must collectively remember that our civilizations and cultures may be imperfect,
but human beings are continually moving closer to becoming harmonized, peaceful beings.
Even now, the Earth is forgiving our disharmonious rhythms with her, with each other
and with all forms of life on this living planet.
Accept courage
All of us have these lessons, including the gatekeepers who may have become covert
terrorists or overt terrorists. As they, like us, accept courage to embrace their
fears within, great transformation may take place, just as suddenly as earth quakes
and the tides grow. They may begin each day seeing the reflections of light in the
desolation and devastation they participated in creating. Then they may begin to
serve their fellow human beings and the Earth again. The antidote is simple and the
same for all overt and covert terrorism. The remedy for the poison is the same for
every human being, whether they are the perpetrator or the receiver: Always be careful
-- and in all ways be filled with care.
From the core of each of us as conscious beings, we may know that the better angels
in and throughout our species always remain. In the midst of all these seemingly
unconscionable and devastating events, there are many throughout all of our nations
and diverse cultures who contribute what they can to lessen the pain and suffering.
Such courage, caring, generosity and self-forgiveness may not yet be possible for
all the terrorists, but all these events invite them back to the classroom to learn
and work and grow.
The better angels of our human nature will never be destroyed by any tragic event,
as they remain timelessly within us. As most of us are shaken to our core, the better
angels of our nature always come forward in wordless, careful and caring actions.
We all can remember and learn again the lessons that arise from life events that
challenge our souls.
Lincoln, both before and after the terrorizing events of his era, invited all human
beings in his timeless inauguration words back to union. Perhaps we are revisiting
these timeless ideas. The deepest rumbling and rattling are getting our attention
so we may consciously receive and remember these deep lessons as we evolve. Even
with these most life-shattering lessons, we may live in union with all human beings,
with all forms of being, and with our living planet, Earth.
Dr. Darryl Pokea (pronounced "Po-Kay") is a professional speaker and
author on Mind, Body and Spirit Interconnectedness and Complementary Medicine. Dr.
Pokea invites you to his website to view synopses of his presentations and listen
to samples of his healing music and soothing voice in his Meditation and Relaxation
CD's at www.drpokea.com
Copyright © 2005 Darryl Pokea. All rights reserved. |
| February 2005 |
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