by Leonard Jacobson: Each of us makes up the collective. Whatever is happening at the collective level is a reflection of who we are as individuals…
If you want peace on earth, by all means march in peace rallies, write letters, become politically active. Empower yourself and others as much as possible. But first, confront the dark within yourself. When you are in denial of the darkness, it manifests unconsciously in many ways, not only in your life but also in the world. When you own and acknowledge the darkness within yourself, without judgment, you transform it. You transcend it.
As you transcend the dualities of good and evil, and right and wrong, you awaken into Oneness. It is the only way to really make a difference and bring lasting peace into our world.
If you see yourself as being on the side of good, and your opponents on the side of evil, you are a part of a battle that can never end. There is no good without evil. They define each other. They perpetuate each other. It is a cosmic play that will continue forever. It is the very nature of duality.
When you are too involved and identified with your cause or issue, you are lost in a dream. It is far better to awaken out of the dream, than to play a good role within the dream. Your enemy is just as convinced as you as to his or her righteousness. Who is right? Who is wrong? It is all determined by our conditioning.
There is no right or wrong. There is only consciousness or unconsciousness. It will take many individuals to transcend duality and awaken into Oneness for it to have an effect at the collective level. There is a critical mass that must be reached. Until that critical mass is reached, do whatever you can to end cruelty, injustice, inequality and abuse in our world, but always act from love and awakened consciousness, not from fear, hatred or anger.
If you want to change this world, you will have to change yourself. If you want to bring an end to pain, suffering and conflict, you will have to bring all that is dark and painful within you into the full light of consciousness.
At the very least, your own life will be transformed as you bring awareness to your ego and confess every aspect of pain and darkness hidden within you. It will lead to a deepening into Presence and your life will be transformed.
If enough of us awaken, then the world will be redeemed.
(Excerpt from Journey Into Now by Leonard Jacobson pp. 217-218)
About Leonard:
Leonard Jacobson is an author, teacher and mystic, who is deeply committed to helping others break through to the joyous experience of living in the NOW. For more than 35 years, Leonard has been teaching people how to become fundamentally present and arise in mastery of the mind and ego.
