The crucial question and what you can do about it

What is the crucial question facing the world today? Is it sociopolitical: government corruption, human rights, sexual inequality, overpopulation? Is it sociological: religious, racial, political divisions, immorality, violence, permissiveness, family breakdown? Is it economic, excessive consumerism, materialism, unemployment, the collapse of the economy, globalization? Is iteco-global: poverty, war, terrorism, natural resource management, global warming?

What if instead of choosing from this seemingly endless list, we view these problems as symptoms of a deeper malaise? What if we consider that it may be less the problems themselves than the way we choose to respond to them? Do we choose to respond to them out of fear, helplessness, and despair or out of empowerment, love, compassion, and empathic engagement? Will not our future and the future of humanity depend on how we respond, where we respond from and what actions we take now?

Thousands of years ago humanity understood that being precedes doing. Our sense of presence, of beingness, aligns us with powerful forces. The state of the world today is a reflection of internal turmoil, violence, unrest, and uncertainty. If human beings seriously looked inward, as a collective act, and assumed a sincere commitment with a new intention to live together in harmony, intelligence and joy, the world would be transformed. But first we must understand the relationship between the inner and outer worlds. Being precedes doing: what we think, feel and understand within us is reflected in the outside world.

Therefore, the crucial question for humanity today is: will it awaken? Will we awaken to our true nature, to what is possible and inherently human, to a life of wisdom, compassion, empathy and kindness? Will we choose to realize our higher nature, the True Self?

What can we do? Where should we start? How can we start?

As always, we begin slowly, steadily, and resolutely with inner conviction and resolve to overcome obstacles, persevere, become… ourselves.

First, a little discipline. Not remaining slaves to our desires and our fears, choosing the best way to spend our day wisely, seeking balance in our life activities, thoughts and feelings, sometimes willingly doing what we do not want to do, persevering and persevering in wise and skillful ways and striving hard towards the spiritual, the transcendent and the divine.

These basic practices serve as the foundation for continued development.

Second, feel the world. This means letting in the experience and intuition of ordinary states and responding to and allowing them to affect people, events and phenomena in the outside world, becoming emotional, not in the conditioned sense but in the deeper sense of abandonment to naturalness and love.

This commitment aligns you with the world in an authentic relationship.

Third, increase awareness what it means to stay awake, alive and receptive; seeing what happens at all levels of human experience and taking nothing for granted, but staying intelligent in the true sense of the word, witnessing, not criticizing, accepting, not in a silly way, but in an expansive and loving way that discerns when things are good and when they are not.

Separation from the judgment mind frees you from prejudice and bigotry to meet the world with deep compassion.

Four, keep your eyes wide open and your heart wide open. Combining your work of deepening awareness and non-judgment with your ability to feel the world more and more deeply leads to an opening of the heart that transforms your inner world (and eventually your outer world).

When the heart becomes truly available and fully present, the transformation must follow.

Fifth, let yourself be affected by the world, touched by people and events. Awareness deepens into a profound responsiveness that is less sentimental and more loving, less conditioned and more spontaneous.

In time you will have reached the threshold of spiritual surrender.

Finally, be present and breathe. The breath connects your energies and is itself the direct experience of enlightenment: the living truth.

These radical practices are central elements in the process of human awakening, psycho-spiritual practices concern, healing and therapy. At some point you will surely need help, guidance and support in your personal and spiritual development. This is the time when you should seek out a therapist, counselor, or guide who is familiar with and has the ability to guide you wisely.