COLUMN: The world is in a state of disaster friends, clients and acquaintances exclaim over and over again. Right behind this dialogue is the speculation on why this all happened, how long it will take to turn things around, what they are going to do in the mean time.
I have said and will continue to say, not only are we fine, but that we are doing exactly what we should be doing to prepare for the eventual move to a world wide evolution in human development. We are on the forefront of a great awakening, a leap for humanity to a spiritual and personal evolution like no other, that is, at least some of us.
What have we been doing over the past 30 years that leads me to this perspective on life? How can I make a sweeping statement like this? Let’s curb the, “we still have war, crime, rhetoric for some reflection from a different perspective. Now I want to clarify that there probably will not be a utopian planet called earth any time soon, however, let’s give ourselves some due credit.
I like to begin such reflections with what I know, from personal documentable experience. Let’s look at some things that one might consider inspirational and encouraging from the past 30 years, which provides me this sense of hope for humanity. Not a laundry list of who did what good or what was built that is exceptional or the latest in life saving drugs. This is not what I want to offer. I want to point out a couple of things that demonstrate that we are indeed evolving as a civilization.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust.
The first book I read sometime in the in the late 80’s that suggested that things might shift from the proverbial status quo of war, crime, drugs and altogether bad stuff, began this new perspective. The book was entitled Megatrends 2000 by John Naisbitt, and it stayed on the best seller list for sixty weeks. This author, business consultant and researcher of trends predicted that there would be 10 transformational changes in the year 2000. He also predicted a movement towards growing religious activity. Not surprising, when things are in transition, people look for structure. However, as we have seen with an increase in organized religion, corresponding with people more inclined to think outside the box, spirituality can and will thrive. Mainly because those who look within, open to changes that lead to this shift or awakening in consciousness. This is happening in a big way and I am going to show you how this is true from one piece of the landscape, but there are many more.
First, I want to tell you a story that set the stage for Megatrends to mean something to me. Somewhere in the late 70″s I was living alone in my little townhouse in Stockton, CA attending psych-tech school at our local state hospital in cooperation with the college. I worked full time and went to school full time, completing my first degree in human behavior. I came home exhausted and desperate for alone time on a daily basis. One night I decided to watch a little TV to zone out a bit and switched on a PBS special featuring a little known guy (at the time) who was gaining momentum publicly. Dr. Leo Buscalia was a professor at UCLA and spoke and taught eloquently on love; not sex, not relationships, not romance: LOVE.
That night I had an epiphany as I watched him speak to an enraptured crowd. Sleeves rolled up, perspiration dripping from his face; he anguished over the resistance from colleagues as he taught this class on love. There wasn’t even a book in the library on the subject of love, he lamented. However, he persistently spoke, taught and wrote on the subject of love and what it meant to him. Those stories were peppered with his life as an Italian emigrant growing up in Los Angeles, CA. I might add that his siblings told people later he must have lived in some other house, because they don’t remember life as rosy as he painted their world. Well, I think life is all about attitude and perspective. We get back from the Universe what we think about, how we experience life and view the world.
One might ask should we walk around with rose-colored glasses. Medical people say yes, those who walk around with rose-colored glasses, live longer, healthier, happier lives. Does that mean that people should disregard their feelings? Not at all, feelings are signposts; they are important indicators that we need to pay attention. So we feel feelings, reframe the thoughts behind them or take action, whichever fits the situation best. Now fast forward to our present day, what new changes and challenges have we embraced today that can inspire us? Well there have been many, although I want to offer only one significant sign of the times, since this is a short article.
One marker had a dramatic impact on me. Recently I was having brunch out with my husband. He bought a newspaper to look for an ad; this was unusual because we don’t read the paper regularly — too much negativity. I began the nostalgic reading by turning to my favorite, the comics. There before me I was amused by the familiar and mesmerized by an unusual dotting of a new and different type of comic panels integrated within those pages. There in glorious ink colored panels were 3 comics that caught my eye immediately. These comics had a theme of soul or spirituality. Actually wrote the words out in print!
I was stunned with this is a simple statement on where we are today, an indicator of change. Only 30 years ago the mention of love was nowhere to be found. Now books on love, spirituality and community building are prevalent in libraries. There are even books on spirituality in business. This in itself, marks a passage into another way of thinking about life, we are evolving slowly but surely towards a humanity who not only buys and read books looking for information on love and spirituality, but practice the concepts.
Leo, I think you would be as proud as I am at how far we have come today.
