The Best Thing That One Can Do


This is the conclusion of last week's message, but I am hesitating to send it. In this message, Ishvara speaks of the recent natural disaster in Asia, and how it can be seen as part of the intelligence of Life. The problem is that during the past several days, many religious commentators have weighed in on the subject, saying how the disaster can be seen as the act of a threatening or angry God. I am reluctant to send this message because of the risk that Ishvara could be understood as being part of that kind of separative thinking. In an attempt to prevent such misunderstanding, I will offer an explanatory introduction.

Ishvara sometimes uses the following analogy to describe what can occur with the planet: Suppose a young child has parents who are continually in conflict, constantly on edge and bickering with each other. The child in turn becomes a disruptive, even violent presence, destroying physical objects and fighting with other children. The child doesn't know any other way; the child is simply reflecting what he experiences from his parents; his behavior mirrors theirs.

The same dynamic can be seen in the earth; it too can mirror the energy of its human inhabitants. War involves deliberate murder on a mass scale. At the present time, we have seemingly unrelenting war in the world, as well as the accumulated energy of countless wars that have gone before. Some leaders have proclaimed that the current war will be trans-generational, or "never ending." On top of that, there is the escalating harm caused by human greed which is polluting the planet and exhausting its resources. These are just a couple of examples of the devastation being wrought by humanity's belief in separation. How can the planet not be affected by such massively destructive energy? It can't; it will reflect what humans are doing.

Ishvara speaks of the recent disaster in Asia in terms of the planet dealing with the imbalance created by human belief and separative activity. Understood in this way, the disaster is not the act of a controlling or vengeful God, but a reflection of how powerful we are. I have transcribed and edited Ishvara's words from talks he gave on December 28 and 30, 2004. - TG.

Ishvara:

All that exists is intelligence. This is true even of tumultuous events like natural disasters. I have been saying for some time that if humans don't start to wake up, there are going to be some unpleasant shifts. Human beings are stubborn in holding onto beliefs, clinging to division, perpetuating conflict. It sets up an energy field with which the planet must contend. That field is going to erupt somewhere. Nature does not make a choice as to where that will occur; it simply happens where it does. One might wish that Nature would be more selective, and inflict the disaster only on the responsible parties, but it doesn't happen that way. Eventually, the earth will respond to that field, that energy, in some way. When a hundred thousand people are killed by tsunamis, we don't see it as war or murder, but the energy is the same. Essentially, there is no difference between people being swept away by a tsunami, and people being bombed to death in an armed conflict: in both cases there is suffering, despair and loss, there is calamity that causes destruction and death.

The earth is shifting in a natural disaster, in a sense trying to draw attention to the energy it is contending with. The earth will take the necessary steps to bring about transformation, but that could come on the heels of a mass annihilation of human life. Humans have been voracious in their consumption of the earth's resources, but the earth is eventually going to keep that in check. The earth will move to balance the raw materials that are available with the people who are on the planet to use them. If humans don't take the initiative in their use of resources, if they fail to be conscious of how their actions are affecting the planet for thousands of years to come, the earth will take the initiative in the way of earthquakes, volcanoes, disease and other disasters, and thus forcibly bring about a balance. Humans can facilitate a gradual transformation through a sense of connection, or they can continue to blindly go about their life and experience the consequences.

The recent disaster in Asia is like a warning, a red light which says: "Pay attention, or else." More events of this kind will be happening if people don't wake up. I see it as the beginning of a cycle of wake-up calls. Those who are awake will be in the right place at the right time, so it is very important that people begin to put into practice this awareness and presence.

At this level of awareness, we can't direct what Nature does, but we certainly can influence what humanity does. By preventing the disasters--such as war--that humans create, we can better help Nature to prevent natural disasters. Increasingly, Nature reflects the energy that humans generate.

Now, when a natural disaster occurs, it raises people's level of compassion. It causes people to transcend religious boundaries with the result that there can be Christians, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims working side by side to assist those in need. A disaster can cause people to get out of their self-centeredness for a while, and become helpful to those who are suffering; that provides a bit of a reprieve for the imbalance that has been building up. The events of September 11, 2001, brought up a lot of compassion, but a lot of revenge as well. A human-designed catastrophe brings about the need for revenge. On the other hand, a disaster that is caused by Nature tends to leave compassion in tact, so in a way this latest disaster is balancing the sense of revenge that arose earlier, giving people an opportunity to be unselfish, not security-oriented, but compassionate. It is an opportunity for "those who have" to exercise great compassion for the have-not's. It remains to be seen how long this compassion will last. It will require a lot of money, ingenuity, and vigilance to help the people who suffered the disaster to get back on their feet, and the world can become a better place because of that.

Perhaps fewer people will return to being selfish; maybe more people will take the initiative to see what is really happening on the planet. Once a human being experiences authentic selflessness, and sees the possibilities that can arise from that, it is hard to go back to being selfish. Each time a disaster like this occurs, it changes the consensus, the psyche of the world, to some degree.

Also, a disaster can force people to face their mortality and to realize that, try as they might to ensure their survival, there is no security, no assurance that they will continue. It is a strong message from the earth that, "No matter what you are doing to make sure that you survive, it is not working." This can enable people to realize that the preoccupation with creating security is a waste of energy. Perhaps people can realize this; perhaps they can see that "We have to flow with Life, flow with the earth, flow with the energy, make do with what we have, and take care of things." That is the high point of what can come from a disaster. The low point is that people would become more separate, more stingy, more selfish, and in that case they will continue to suffer the repercussions.

It can be helpful to hold the possibility that people will gain from this experience in Asia, that people can wake up because of this, that they will experience greater connection as a result. Yet the most beneficial thing that anyone can do is to be centered in awareness, in The Consciousness, and be a living example of the new species, because it is through example that people learn. Words don't bring lasting change, but example does. To be a living example of higher possibilities is the best thing that one can do. Just a few who make the connection can hold things in place for the rest, giving more time for the rest to awaken. This awakening is a movement of the intelligence, the connectedness, of Life.

Written and transcribed by Terry Grant

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