“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
“When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”
― Rumi
As the world moves into increasing complexity and confusion, the lightness of nuanced language will be necessary to navigate the darkness. Because nuance is the language of the whispering, mysterious soul, and these are mysterious times.
At a time when there is a platform for every person to shout from, and an ever-saturated supply of all sorts of conflicting mainstream and alternative information, there is a pull, for so many, to write and speak to our growing collective uncertainty. To toss their opinion into the widening arena of debate and conjecture. As many of you clearly see and feel, the language and arguments carry the strong scent of rational certainty; often righteousness and fanaticism. As if one can make sense of these mysterious times with facts and reasoning. As if you can be that sure without the mature presence of the soul informing you, let alone a wise elder or teacher!
Overlooked is that we cannot decipher the immense immeasurable complexity and uncertainty of this day and age with a limited mind that dwells in quantitative, linear, and literal analysis. We cannot convey truth if our source is limited to research, history, statistics and trending material, and not the wizened Source of our Oversoul. Humility that comes from a seasoned heart knows this. Only the soul in its wisdom and natural capacity to dwell in uncertainty can navigate the chaos, not the misleading and binary nature of information.
Information, alone, will lead us where we don’t want to go, and away from where life summons us now, with increasing intensity. Information is a sliver, a pointer at best, and that is all. Disconnected from soul, and localized to the mind, it is by no means a Way shower. And yet this doesn’t stop the masses from cavalierly wielding swords of conclusive facts and figures in their social media and blog posts, conversations, and elsewhere. They do so because they haven’t done the hard labor of earning the sword of discernment that only arises from the depth of one’s direct experience of and initiation into the numinous. A sword that discerns truth from fiction, love from fear. A sword that resides in the quantum space between the finite dots and datum and dwells beyond the dual and divisive nature of disembodied information.
Though we try with ardent mentation, we cannot solve this riddle. No matter our collection of mainstream or alternative, left, right or middle-ground information, we will not make sense of it. The way out is through deep and difficult surrender, a surrender that comes from years, lifetimes of courageous inner work and self-mastery; a surrender to what information cannot even touch, and into which it dies.
A surrender to that which few wish to give themselves to because it asks that much. Hence, the reliance on the comforts of accumulative information, making it the master instead of the nuanced and ineffable dimensions of uncertainty.
“To explore the unknowable, bow to the Universe within you and confess that you know nothing.” ~ Kaia Ra, The Sophia Code
Information is not the problem. We need information. We need informants! I’d be a hypocrite if I stated otherwise. But we need information and informants nuanced by the higher wisdom of soul—a soul that softens the divisive edges of disconnected rationale while holding contradiction; a soul skilled in using the sword of discernment. This kind of teaching is rare, though, just like true elders are.
Without soul and proper eldership (leadership), we witness and experience the relentless battleground arena of immature opinion that we have today. Played out in person and online, the multitude communicates its message with assuredness that often crosses into arrogance and aggressiveness. This is true even amongst certain ones who claim to be spiritual or have direct channels to Source intelligence (which I see misleading so many). A concrete example is the amount of back-and-forth bickering seen on Facebook these days. People drive their agenda in such a way that disrespects and excludes the person they communicate with. Far from inclusive in tone and language, how they express their message pushes the reader or listener away.
What’s missed is that this is the moment—here and now—to create unity, to bridge people together. This moment is all we have! An overzealous, intellectually dominant and disembodied mind fails to see this, making information more important than harmony. It will seek to self-aggrandize itself through winning facts (I’m right, you’re wrong) at the cost of connection and unity—the very things it claims to want.
Ending divisiveness ends here and now. It’s where we begin. It starts in this conversation, this Facebook encounter; with how you are being with me, moment-to-moment; with how well you express yourself, listen, learn, be present, despite differing points of view. It starts with how well you and I remain connected even though we may disagree. For, connection is not dependent on agreement; and yet we find agreement more easily if we can first learn to tolerate, through listening and empathy, differing views.
Connection to others is rare and difficult when trauma is at play. For most, if not all of those dwelling in the battleground arena, unprocessed trauma is unconsciously entangled with the information stored and communicated. Let’s remember that the nature of trauma is a split within. It’s a disconnection. As Steve Porges, author of The Polyvagal Theory, writes, “Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others by replacing patterns of connection with patterns of protection.” Without enough trauma resolved, this inner divisiveness, or split (inner protection), extends outwards in how we express and relate in general. Simply put, and without going too much into the nuances of trauma and psychology, our inner divisions are projected outward, thereby contributing even more to the partisan world state. We struggle to connect outwardly because of chronically unconscious inner disconnection and protection.
And when someone has depended on the intellect to survive adverse childhood experiences, to cover and compensates for deep feelings of inadequacy, this then fuels, even more, their need to launch into the battleground arena of disembodied, disconnected and divisive information. To protect themselves via stoically protecting their opinions by attacking others. Indeed, the intellect, detached from soul, becomes a harmful weapon that instigates shame, blame and apartheid.
The rigidifying psychophysiological affects of trauma create binary or absolutist thinking, and for good reason. For example, traumatized individuals will often believe that all men are bad, the world is a dangerous place, and everyone should be vegan. There is far less room for grey and thus nuance. And little room for discussion. It’s the way it is. This level of rigid thinking makes sense, though; for, when survival is at stake, when we have one shot at escaping, one shot at pleasing our angry father, we need to get it right. Grey is not an option.
And so I bring us back to the soul, again and again. The dual mind stills there. Divisiveness ends in its presence. The polarities of partisan thinking dissolve into the unified field of its magnanimous truth. Trauma melts, through hard work, into the light of its love. That’s where we’re being summoned now. Only the soul can take us there.
Take a moment when writing or speaking to see where your words come from. And if reading an article/book or listening to someone communicate, sense in your instinctual body if this person carries the maturity of soul into their message. (Even if they claim to be spiritual.) You’ll be able to tell by how well they hold complexity and refrain from “this is it” literalism and conclusions about what is happening these days. You’ll sense the fluidity, openness and nuance of their words and tone. They’ll lack the righteous rigidity and combativeness so many have.
The medium will match the message. Meaning, how a person conveys information, energetically, will match their message. Those are the ones I personally give my time to. I can feel them as they speak and write. I can feel the maturity, grace, humility and wisdom in the space between their words.
Most importantly, I strongly invite you to commit to the age-old inward pilgrimage where still truth resides. The “field”, as poet Rumi bespeaks, “beyond all wrongdoing and rightdoing.” Meet yourself there in this fertile field of wisdom, which softens the black and white edges of information into infinite shades of grey the conclusive mind finds harder and harder to grasp. Rest there a while. Become intimate with its whispers and fall humbly into its service so that the words you share are saturated with love and wisdom and bestow a living gift to others, and the planet.
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Healing With Starlight: My offering to you, if you wish to heal and feel empowered, is to participate in my energy healing sessions. Done in person and remotely, I heal people at the quantum or cellular level using starlight. Click here to watch the short video and begin your journey of health and empowerment.
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Check out Vince’s book: Wild Empty Spaces ~ Poems for the Opening Heart
