Ida Lawrence, Contributor
Waking Times

Oh the obstacles to seeing things As They Are…

Let’s start with a debunked idea: the Natives couldn’t see the ships of Christopher Columbus because their minds could not comprehend something so far out of their range of experience. They looked at the sea and saw nothing approaching.

Very imaginative but not likely. People can see strange and unfamiliar things, but they do sometimes try really hard not to. Especially if what is on the horizon smells of hell.

It seems that if we see what is, we know, and to know makes us accountable. Accountability is not often wanted, even if it ultimately leads to something that benefits us. So we have learned how to allow ourselves a blind eye.

What we see might contradict our beliefs. Or, we may have to do something about the situation, and that could be troublesome. It could make people angry, or be embarrassing, or worse yet, we may have to part with money. Change is always challenging, and we’re just too busy or too weary to be challenged. So it’s best to not look, or pretend you didn’t see, pretend you are sick, decide it’s someone else’s business, or point a finger at the hurting one.

In this reluctance, our minds are cooperating with the ‘system’, which is part and parcel of the collective human shadow. The system skillfully manipulates every human weakness there is… and it works. It has worked so very well. Can we begin by seeing the indulgence of all that devolves in our collective shadow?

I’m fine with the notion that we didn’t come here for an easy time and we did come here for experience, for making choices, and ultimately for evolution. If change is coming, and it is, people who choose to turn a blind eye will be forced to experience it anyway. So it’s better to be open and have a look. But a word of caution: stay on the middle road and try to stick with what not only feels true, but what is woven through with love for us.

Many of us see the manipulations and workings of the system. We also participate in the expansion of human consciousness. As we work through our own shadow aspects, and embrace a more liberating intent, we’re less likely to be deceived by new situations that will arise. I know that it takes courage and a wellspring of personal power in order to look at and accept what is, and respond to it wisely, not hiding, not reacting, not making it more than it is.

May I accept what truly is, and may I always be who I truly am.

It seems to me that’s where our road is headed: we want to see clearly, and we want to be our best self, for what we are is beautiful beyond words.

Denial is on one side of the road, and on the other side is our tendency to mix thinking and emotion. The human mind really likes to push forward and follow thought tracks here and there: analyzing, imagining what if’s, collecting information, speculating, complaining and dreaming. But the mind’s push and emotional excitement can get to be a problem.

There is a phrase that has been around for a while, referring to theories or teachings that go beyond anything that is, in any way, verifiable. We call it a ‘366’. It’s a way of saying, “Check and see if you took it too far… 360 is good, but your 366 is a little bit over the top.”

Here’s a really simple example: recently I watched a ‘so in love’ young woman follow her imagination when her boyfriend was a couple of hours late in coming home. By the time he walked in the door he had committed so many insults and crimes against her, in her head, that her beliefs at that point were comical. Turns out he was involved in a video game at a friend’s house and lost track of the time: inconsiderate, yes… criminal, no… the truth, most likely.

Excited emotions and the thrill of ‘thinking and solving’ lead to great works of the imagination. Imagination does have a very good side if we remember that the mind is a servant of the heart, and not the ruler.

Let’s now return to the Natives watching the arrival of the ships of Columbus. That arrival signaled the final stage of a takeover. The control system would reach its fullness in the next few hundred years, here in the Western world. Like everything that arises, this too has a purpose. The ‘shadow in charge’ time period has shown us many things, and it has forced growth, like an evolutionary hot house.

After the fullness of power comes the decline, and it’s clear we are in that time now. I don’t have visionary insight into what’s coming and when, but I do trust that others who are skilled in those areas will offer the best that they have.

What I can say is that an avenue away from the smell of hell will feel like love, and there will be clarity in the air, kindness, and respect for oneself and others. There is no antidote for the shadow in charge but the light in charge.

In our quest to see things as they truly are, the middle road seems to also be the high road. Speaking from the heart bodes well for us too. And so does intuition. Intuition is not a function of the mind, and therefore not subject to the tricks or ramblings of the mind. It’s a ‘direct knowing’ of what is, and it operates best when the obstacles are removed.

About the Author

Ida Lawrence is an author, blogger, copywriter and editor based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has authored two books on racial justice and human rights, and numerous articles on human rights, self-empowerment and related subjects. Ida is also a certified Tai Chi instructor with a special interest in helping seniors and the disabled with Tai Chi and Chi Kung practices modified for their use. Her goal in life has been to find answers to the question of ‘why’ and then to explore the question of ‘what is’. More of her work is available at her personal blog, http://talk2momz.com/.

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