As spring is bursting out in an array of blooms there is another re-birth that is touching people in all parts of the world. More than 2 million people, in all corners of the planet, are actively participating in A New Earth webcast. This virtual classroom, featuring Oprah and Eckhart Tolle, is providing clear instruction for each of us in expanding our consciousness and transcending our ego-based point of view. For it is our ability to shift from our attachment to our ego to seeing through our spiritual eyes that is the foundation of forgiveness.
The reality we each experience is a product of our programming. Our programming is composed of the thoughts and beliefs we have internalized as truth. Most of our programming was installed when we were children by our parents, teachers, the popular culture and the collective consciousness of the time. We learned to judge what was right and what was wrong; who was good and who was bad. We learned the filters through which to view the world. While some of this information continues to be valuable – knowing it is best to stop at a red light and that touching a hot skillet can burn our skin – an inherent aspect of our programming is that of separation. I am not You. This consciousness of separation results in our judging ourselves and others based on our programming. With this judging comes the experience of jealousy, envy, anger, resentment and a full range of feelings that result in unhappiness, suffering and violence towards ourselves and others in our thoughts, words and actions.
It is important to keep in mind that there is no one to blame for this programming that puts our ego into the drivers seat. The programming is based on a set of beliefs, a point of view, a paradigm that defined the human experience through a particular set of thoughts and ideas. A central theme of our ego-based consciousness is that to be human is to be separate from the Divine, from God, from the Limitless Loving Consciousness of the Universe. In some religious traditions this meant that there was a Supreme Power up in Heaven, somewhere, separate from us, who was judging our behavior and at the end of our lives we would be faced with the ultimate judgment as we faced heaven or hell. And since this Supreme Being, God, was judging us then our behavior toward ourselves and one another was also based on making judgments. If you are like me you are good and if you are not like me you are bad. It is this ego-based point of view that has led to violence and war within ourselves, in families, communities and among nations.
Rather than judging this egocentric point of view, which is then a continuation of our ego-based consciousness, we now have the opportunity to transcend and expand our consciousness to one of holism. To shift our perspective from either-or to both-and, from exclusive to inclusive. And what is so exciting and evident through A New Earth webcast is that people all over the world are actively engaged in this shift…right at this moment, as you read this, as you are aware of when you are seeing through your ego eyes and your spiritual eyes you are contributing to this shift, in your personal life and in the collective consciousness of our planet.
In WITH Forgiveness ~ Are You Ready? we wrote about this shift as follows: “As with all changes in consciousness our thinking and what we have counted on as truth is challenged. The fundamental shifts taking place today are:
“We are eternal: Rather than viewing death as the enemy robbing us of life, we can recognize that our physical existence offers us the opportunity to savor, enjoy, celebrate and honor the mysterious gift of human experience. At the same time, we can recognize that there is neither birth nor death, our divine essence is eternal and it is our human experience that is finite.
“We are one: While we look separate, as though there is space and distance between us, we are all moving through the world breathing the very same air. I walk toward you, I exhale, and your next inhalation includes air that just moved through my body. At the same time, let us acknowledge and embody that we are one – an interconnected matrix of consciousness.
“We are creators: While it has been a common belief that we have limited ability to make changes in our physical world, it is actually our innate birthright as creators to have the power to project our entire reality into being. We can create anything the human mind can conceive, from the horrors of war to heartwarming harmony. This is the process of Spirit moving through us expressing itself as form and matter.
“It is crucial to remember that duality is not bad and holism is not good, they are simply different points of view. Holism is a natural progression, the expansion of consciousness. Knowing this affords us the opportunity and the responsibility to forgive all beings for any failure to consciously create experience based on compassion, unconditional love and harmony.”
So when you notice you are judging, acknowledge and congratulate yourself for your awareness, focus your attention on the present moment by turning your attention to your breath for thirty seconds and then have a new thought that embodies love, kindness and compassion.
You are welcome to reprint this article with the following information at the conclusion of the text:
Susyn Reeve M.Ed. and Sheri Rosenthal DPM are co-authors of WITH Forgiveness - Are You Ready? and co-creators of the WITH Forgiveness program at www.withforgivenessmovie.com. They both enjoy giving workshops, lectures and taking folks on spiritual journeys (you can see them at www.journeysofthespirit.com ), and being extremely happy! You can reach them at www.withforgiveness.com.
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