Saturday 12 November 2011

The Abdication of Self-Belief


Yesterday had been long heralded by certain branches of the spiritual community as an immensely important day on the cosmic calendar, second only to 21st December, 2012 - the event of which will mark the end of the world, the beginning of a new era of perception for mankind, or the day before 22nd December, 2012… depending on who you listen to.

At 11:11am on 11/11/11, it was said there would be a shifting of human consciousness, opening the gates to a higher vibrational energy flooding the planet.

In numerology - the study of the meanings of numbers and their influence on life – the number 11 is a Master Number, and of great significance, so to have so many of them repeat on a single date was deemed particularly auspicious.

Indeed, the only other time in recent history where so many ‘ones’ were lined up was on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, shortly after William and Kate were married.

A very prominent angelologist wrote on her website:

“It is time to relax and call on Archangel Gabriel for purification so that you are ready for the first cosmic moment on 11.11.11 at 11.11.  At that moment the portals of heaven open so that Source energy bathes Earth and everyone on it for an instant. 

Many people will be opened up spiritually and psychically and huge numbers will shift from the third to the fourth or the fourth to the fifth dimension.  Heart chakras may open.  Miracles and unexpected things can happen.”

She was one of many, many people who wrote about this occasion…

… but, just like both of Harold Camping’s ‘Rapture’ predictions earlier this year, nothing of any great note happened… no sudden, joyous stumble into a bright, new, peaceful world…

I wonder, now, if an Emperor’s Clothes effect will kick in and these same people who preached and prophesised with such conviction will tell their followers that it actually did happen, but they may not be able to feel it because they weren’t properly attuned – but not to fear, they can gain attunement by buying a copy of their new book ‘Attuning to the Golden Light of Spirity Love’ or going to one of their seminars.

It seems, as with Camping, that the truth is always another step away… like false peaks when you’re walking up a mountain. As you pant and push yourself over the crest of what you believe is the summit, you see a higher point in the distance: some place new to struggle on to that is in some way more important than where you are right now.

For as long as our species has deemed itself to be civilised, we’ve been placing these supernatural markers ahead of us as beacons of hope, drawing our thoughts to the light of a better life to come.

Even here in the 21st Century, otherwise rational people have a deeply superstitious nature – for example, it’s reported that 56% of women believe in ghosts. That’s higher than the percentage of women who believe in men.

So why do we – in societal terms - continually allow ourselves to be led towards these false dawns, or to believe in things that we haven’t actually experienced first-hand – such as angels, unicorns, mermaids, national enemies, gods and goddesses?

Most of the British people alive 100 years ago would never have met a German or known much about their way of life, but three years later, they’d be fired up to wage war against them. Likewise, the average German wouldn’t have cared about the trials and tribulations of the British.

Yet, it took just a small group of people to convince 65 million others to go to war, leaving 15 million dead at the end of it, where all who survived went back to where they wanted to be in the first place… just trying to lead a peaceful, happy life.

It’s as though we have a need to be led… or perhaps we have been conditioned to seek the wisdom of leadership rather than fully believe in, and lead, ourselves?

The same angelologist I mentioned earlier also has this on her website:

“I met my first unicorn when I was sitting on the lawn with my laptop on my knee.  A beautiful white presence appeared by my side and I was amazed to realize it was a unicorn.  It gave me information about the unicorn realms and told me that they are looking for people of high energy who want to help the world.”

Of course, in an infinite universe with infinite possibility, there must be unicorns… somewhere. There must be a world where police officer in top hats ride round on the backs of combat-trained velociraptors that carry knives in their little hands.

Just… it’s not here… sadly.

If you believe in unicorns because someone tell you that there are unicorns, and that they’ve seen unicorns, but you’ve never seen a unicorn in your life..?

I guess I could be seen as a ‘Doubting Thomas’ - the disciple of Jesus who didn’t believe that his dead friend had been resurrected.

“I’m sorry, Jesus. It’s just that I’ve never seen or heard of anyone rising from the dead before. I thought they were taking the piss when they told me.”

“No worries, Doubting Thomas. I wouldn’t have believed it, either. It’s cool and I don’t know why the rest of them are making such a fuss.”

One of the greatest steps forward we could make, as a species, would be to believe in ourselves and our own, individual potential as a benefit to our collective, community strength – rather than continue the mind-set that we are a disempowered fraction of something larger and better that we will always be subservient to.

If we lived in the now and appreciated the brilliance of the life that is hidden in plain sight, we wouldn’t need these beacons of hope. We’d be building up our dreams from the firm foundation of the present moment – making and working on plans rather than fantasising about reaching some distant goal.

But now, despite this damp squib of a non-event, 11.11.11 gives way to the anticipation of 21.12.12 and, so, the hysteria will continue and be greatly amplified as we approach the feared and revered possibilities of that day.

And on 22nd December, 2012, millions of believers will be screaming and hacking their way through department stores, buying gifts they never thought would be needed, maxing credit cards they never thought they’d have to pay off, feeling pretty pissed off that the end of the world didn’t come.

And then they’ll set their sights on some other day, in the future, when life will be better.

Life is now.

25 comments:

  1. At 11:11 am yesterday 11 11 11 fate delivered its life altering course when I made a birdie on Hole 11. Then I get to rub elbows with Jeremy Piven and, after that, hopped like a kangaroo to buy a slupee at Seven Eleven in Melbourne, Australia. Well after spending some time regarding Life is a beach on the Chilean rugged coastline, I have a much different outlook or feel about it now that I've survived the hoopla of 11 11 11. I didn't win the lottery as expected and I'm still brokenhearted from, oh, so many things... I guess if I had depended my life upon numerology, I'd probably be spending my time with the Dalai Lama now, or on top of the world in Mt Everest where I won't frantically wait on the 11th hour for things to unfold and whatnot...

    If every number has a meaning or greater importance to each and every person, I suppose these are just mere coincidence or may have happened at a time when things are actually falling apart, not by some divine intervention or by the shaking of earth caused by the tiles on the mahjong tables in Macau or the heavy beating of percussion in Bandung, Indonesia hahaha...

    Life is not really a bitch. Well, at least, sometimes. Life is all about hard work, honesty, determination, dreams and happiness... If a person sits in his living room for the whole 24 hours every day of his or her life and don't do anything but build fats by being a couch potato, can we literally and figuratively blame that on numerology?

    You're right. Life is now! And should be celebrated with a sense of responsibility, knack and worth. Living and leading life to the brim. Happily, full of hopes, enthusiasm and zest for life. It's foolish and very absurd to live it based on how the moon looks at night, or through some shady advice of Madam Selya in Jamaica, or a voodoo in Haiti.... Life is best lived if you know exactly what you're doing and where you're going... it doesn't stop when a meteor passes by earth or because it is Friday the 13th. Numbers do not determine our success or failure, it's what we do in life that counts most and will shape our future.

    Otherwise, if numbers are really harbingers of things to come, then can they (numerologists, seers, gifted people, etc etc) tell when the Almighty is coming.

    I'd love to see one Inca tell me when, exactly, is the world coming to an end. I've been to Peru many times but just as the pyramids of Egypt couldn't tell, so are the carvings there.

    I am more on the realistic and pragmatic view of life. Any thing that doesn't provide roof over my head, bring food to the table, a job that covers travel insurances and expenses considered inequities to human existence that may outrightly lead to destruction. Numbers are used to calculate amounts, speed, distance... I'd be more happy if I get to my destination on time because the GPS provided a more accurate information. And not because a whole phony blarney of numerology was used to determine when I will die, or will be separated from my one and only hehe...

    And just so you know, by 11:11 pm, on 11 11 11 I was still wondering when am I going to have a pay raise, and breach the 1,500 mark on twitter. So to make it less painful to wallow on such thinking, I opened a bottle of wine, and we drank like we never ever had one in our lifetime; not even worried if the glass was half full or half empty. By 12: 12 am, on 11 12 11, the bottle found its way to the rubbish...

    Oh yes, the world shook. So did the bed. Hahaha... The horrors of 11 11 11 ended with a big bang... I'm still reminiscing its climactic sayonara up till now. A witty explosion of volcanic proportion is worth remembering in the last 24 hours. Now that's a real number.

    Numbers should not be treated as an adversary. Nothing could be more ominous than a neighbor whose business spans beyond the bridge of his or her nose; or some bug spreading a bad blog about you in virtual world. :))

    Life is good.
    Ciao....

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  2. Surely even in an infinite universe, stuff doesn't "have" to happen, its just possible?

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  3. During this so-called auspicious time, I was listening to Pink Floyd's "Us and Them," remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice in past wars.

    Unicorns could not be further from my mind.

    eden

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  4. The interesting side of incredible beliefs??? We can choose to own them, until we choose not too.

    Opinions, ideas and attitudes, are what we fail to see in ourselves, while on the other hand, others might see them quite clearly.

    It makes no difference though, because everything is in constant flux. One day we believe this, the next day that... Things happen in the only way they can happen given our present state of consciousness, which is more a state of chaos rather than order.

    We fail to see the "I" that speaks, acts, decides in any given moment. We almost always react, rather than act in response to incoming impressions, according to ones opinions, beliefs and attitudes.

    Take away a person's belief, you take away his or her power until,,, they develop another one...

    We are all mimics in some fashion or another...

    Thanks again for the read and reflection.

    Eso

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  5. Wars have solved all our problems and numbers have magic powers. Here's the real numerology driving civilization: Half the population have an IQ lower than 100. People want simple explanations and simple directions, and are willing to listen to people willing to offer them.

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  6. Numbers are a human creation so to assign them some sort of otherworldly power just makes no sense. I wished we believed in ourselves half as much. For the record, I completely forgot about 11-11-11. Too busy living my life!

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    1. Numbers were not invented by humans. They were discovered. Take something as universal as pi the ratio of a circle's radius to its diameter. It couldn't be described without numbers and yet it is fundamental characteristic of the universe. Having said that, numbers are just a language for describing some thing in the universe.

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  7. If believing in special numbers causes folks to question their motives and move toward a brighter future, why not?

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    1. Because it's delusional, and normally we give delusional people medical help in case they hurt themselves.

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  8. Hello Les:

    These date. Another form of self promotion and ego glorification. Events happen when one makes a firm decision for change and opens oneself up to their own inner help and guidance.

    Each date start new ticket sales for material goods not for the wealth of Spirit.

    Take care,
    Mike

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  9. there is no time there is only now
    the storys of Jesus are alligorical storys if you pick the magic mushroom it will rise again the Jesus storys reprisents the magic mushroom a tool to help get us into the now explore our inner self & SEE through mushroom eyes how we can save our world from conditioning.

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  10. So you haven't seen a unicorn yet?? LOL Just kidding...

    People interpret things how they want it to make sense to them, regardless how irrational it may seem to others...

    I for one am not going to live my life based on doomsday predictions like the many we've had and the big one coming up next year.

    Whatever will be, will be right? I embrace whatever life brings and if I start to see unicorns, well....that's another story :-)

    ~Kesha
    @uncommonchick

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  11. The bigger question...What if...

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  12. well d*** I missed the moment - because I hadn't realised it was going to happen - missed that bit of news - just think I could be a . . .a . . oh I dunno what I could have been - might have been nice to see a unicorn tho:(

    people basicaly want to be told what to do- how to think - we must encourage self thought in the children- beat our awful education systems and get the next generation at least, thnking!

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  13. Would it just kill ya if I told you that I see what you are saying here as a sign that we are on the cusp of something . . . I'm not sure quite what. But you are seeing more and more people standing up to say things that are true, both practically and spiritually. I'm glad to see it. It gives me hope. ;)

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  14. Okay, I guess the world will end 13/13/13. Fine with me. Uta

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  15. ♥ ThankU Les ..
    ~Special Blessings of Love2U ...
    ~Debbie:)

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  16. Brilliant sir! I love whatcha write!

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  17. Right thing at the right time as always. Thanks.

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  18. Very well said! We are learning how to trust ourselves. That is the big one in front of so many right now. The heart's got it all over the head, so we are learning to identify with the will and the wisdom of the heart. Which is not to say that the head is going down without a major fight! www.YourPauseButton.com

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  19. Misinterpretation of omens, portents & spiritual messages has been a common historical problem. We are in the fortunate position of being able to discuss these dates without fear of being persecuted or burned at the stake. Maybe the significance of these dates is as a cosmic 'ice-breaker' which is obviously getting many of us talking about improving the world and spiritual matters. Maybe we have to DO something, perhaps starting with a conversation, then a small kind gesture, then more and more to change our world rather than just sitting back and waiting for an outside force to change our world for us. Afterall any major change imposed upon us would just empower the critics with the strongest voices not the people who are truly good and kind.

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  20. yes, walk in the light...the one that is one and, in you, so very uniquely yours to shine. thank you, Les. I've just found you and now you appear to be everywhere! blessed be :-)

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  21. Louisa Teish said that superstitions are rites & beliefs cut off from their roots. I agree. In individualist, rationalist western culture we are spiritually bereft. "Religion" or simply a spirituality of connectedness is pitted against empiricism rather than being seen as another meaningful perspective of the human experience. To take these "beliefs" at face value, out of context, misses the point. Belief belongs to the realm of science. Experience belongs to the realm of spirituality. As for consumerism & the end of the world, have you seen this? It is not what you think, check it out:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwvpsVsawMg
    I would also urge to to check out: http://calloflife.org/
    There may be things that tribal peoples knew that we did not, as Tara Waters Lumpkin wrote, we are losing perceptual diversity & do not even realize it because we are locked into a paradigm of western thought that reduces reality to a small portion of what we could experience. See her article & what I say about it here:
    http://www.livemythically.com/2012/12/winter-solstice-transformation-rituals.html

    Thank you for providing this forum for discussion!
    Circe

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