We worry about the condition of the world we will leave to our children, while our children worry about how they will clean up the messes we will leave behind. Changing our large, complex systems can feel like a monumental task, yet we sense it must be done.
We are in a time of great transformation, and it is profoundly unsettling. As we deal with the demands of a continuously changing world, we often find the nature of the changes to be distressing, as shown by high rates of depression, anxiety, mental illness, and spiritual malaise.
Increasingly, people all over the globe are coming to the conclusion that we must make radical changes in many of our institutions and customs, and that to do so requires creativity and vision. In short, what we need is a new story to bring into manifestation.
Writing a New Story for Society
How do we begin to write a new story for the human species? Each of us as an individual can envision what concrete changes we would like to see made in society’s story, then ask Source and its various emanations for help in achieving them. As we do so, it is helpful to consider the following questions:
- What changes would you like to see brought about in health care, education, economics, and the environment?
- How are you of service in the world? How would you like to be of service in the world? What is stopping you from being of service, or from serving in a way that is satisfying to you?
- How do you feel individuals can affect society most effectively? How can they draw strength from society rather than feeling overwhelmed by global ills?
- What new story would you like to see society give birth to? What can you do to help make that happen?
One Caring Person Can Make A Tremendous Difference In The World
There is no question that the world in which we live has problems. Rather than be daunted by their magnitude and complexity, however, we can choose to maintain our sense of connection to Source, make incremental changes in accord with the dictum “Pray globally and act locally,” and attempt to bring about societal changes through changing our own stories.
Every individual has the capacity to access the spark of Source and find the wisdom, opportunities, and energy to bring about the seemingly impossible and affect the larger story. As the Japanese proverb says, “Who will do the hard thing? Those who can. And who will do the impossible? Those who care.” One caring person can make a tremendous difference in the world.
We can provide a model for society by changing our own stories. As we learn to recognize our negative shadow parts and become more conscious of our complexes, we will be less likely to have our complexes triggered or be bothered by negative qualities in other people. Then, we will be better able to stop ourselves before we become disrespectful or aggressive toward others.
Putting Love into the Matrix: Fostering Love Between Ourselves & Others
Every one of us has the ability to vibrate with the frequency of love. We can put love into the matrix by letting it flourish in ourselves and by fostering love between ourselves and others. If enough of us do that, many positive changes will occur around the globe. As we change, so does the matrix, because everything is interconnected.
We can be of service—even if we do not do something revolutionary or that has a big impact on a large number of people. Our service may seem small and humble but may be of great significance to ourselves and to those we serve. One woman discovered that to be of service, she could assist others in expressing themselves:
My idea of service has been evolving... I am not sure yet what it is evolving into. I have learned that I can be of service by really listening to people. That is something I sort of knew, but my perception has changed a bit. I also received a strong message that creativity was a way to be of service. I do seasonal rituals, which seem to be a way of combining creativity with service. I helped a person write a play about her experience dealing with bipolar disorder. And I am currently helping a person edit a book based upon her journals.
Fueling a New Collective Story Where the Essence is Love & Joy
Most of us want a world where the essence is love and joy rather than fear, violence, and negativity. But at an energetic level, there is a battle between those who want to sow and harvest crops of negativity and those who wish to sow and harvest positivity.
Instead of becoming caught in negativity, we can choose to work with more positive energies. We can give and receive love, and learn to forgive ourselves and others. By forgiving, we release the negative energies we direct toward others; resentments and grudges can dissolve.
Holding on to negative feelings does not serve us, others, or Source. Those feelings can make us physically ill and psychologically distressed. They can also derail our life plans. When we are in ayni, right relationship with ourselves and the world around us, we are much better able to set in motion changes that will benefit our communities and society.
We Always Have The Option of Making Different Choices & Changing Our Stories
Source loves us so much that it gives us free choice. It lets us choose to live in ways that are harmful to ourselves and out of harmony with the essence of Source, which is love. Many of us know which choices best serve us and which honor Source, yet we continue to make other ones. We choose to consume food and drink that damage our bodies. We destroy relationships and give in to anger and bitterness. We devalue a relationship with Source and the role of service in our lives. Yet we always have the option of making different choices and changing our stories.
People who approach the world as being a fundamentally good place will generally have their expectations of the world met, even though bad things will happen to them and others at times. Conversely, people who believe the world to be a bad, dangerous place will generally have their expectations met, even though good things happen to them and others from time to time.
One time, a shaman and I made a sand painting together. As I divided the sand painting into quadrants, the shaman commented on the precision with which I made the divisions. I said, “Well, after all, I am an engineer.” He laughed. Letting his intuition guide him, he drew a dove in the sand painting, and I, also guided by intuition, drew a dragon. We wondered how the dove and dragon could coexist. Would the dragon devour the dove?
Many of us have consciously and unconsciously created dragons that have eaten the dove of peace. We have not always acknowledged how we have treated others or how we have fanned the flames of conflict. Change will not occur until we realize the consequences of all of our thoughts, words, feelings, and actions, and then, as best as we can, consciously choose new ways of operating that promote peace, love, and harmony instead of conflict, hate, and destruction. Making the choice sets up what we will create and feed on.
Making Meaningful & Heartfelt Changes In How We Think & Behave
Many people feel ensnared in uncaring bureaucracies, perhaps at work or in the health care system, or they are in family situations in which they feel discounted. When we feel our needs are unmet, we tend to reject new ideas and become more cynical, fearful, and angry and less likely to help society. We are more likely to want to help society when we find new ways to have our needs met.
When we discover how wrong some of our actions have been and how we have contributed to the problems, we might find the impetus to make meaningful changes in how we think and behave. Such changes must be heartfelt, however, or we risk falling back into our old habits of thinking and acting. We need to fuel our new stories with positive, never negative, energy.
Acting In Ways That Benefit The Larger Whole
We can’t be truly spiritual until we attend to injustice and inequality in our day-to-day lives. Even with the best intent and spiritual evolvement, it can be difficult in the moment to move beyond the primitivism and violence that lies within each of us.
However, it is not enough to take a stand against the negative energies that surround us. We need also to affirmatively promote the good. For example, we need to protest against violence, unjust economic inequality, and environmental degradation. We also need to take active steps to create a world where violence is not an acceptable answer, and where those who have much share with those who have little. We need to restore our environment to ensure that it is cleaner and more sustainable. We need to focus not just on problems but also on solutions, and on spreading information that can help others. Social media and the Internet can be used for this positive purpose.
A shamanic worldview and new stories, written and brought to life as a result of using the techniques in this book, will cause changes in the larger, collective story. Remember that we must be careful not to use shamanic techniques only as tools for better knowing ourselves. We have an obligation to take what we acquire as a result of journeying, doing ritual, and the like and bring it out into the world instead of simply enjoying the experiences as individuals. We have to act in ways that benefit the larger whole.
* subtitles by InnerSelf
©2014 by Carl Greer. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Findhorn Press. www.findhornpress.com.
Article Source
Change Your Story, Change Your Life: Using Shamanic and Jungian Tools to Achieve Personal Transformation
by Carl Greer.
A practical self-help guide to personal transformation. The exercises inspire readers to work with insights and energies derived during the use of modalities that tap into the unconscious so that they may consciously choose the changes they would like to make in their lives and begin implementing them.
Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.
About the Author
Carl Greer PhD, PsyD is a practicing clinical psychologist, Jungian analyst, and shamanic practitioner. After focusing on business for many years, he earned a doctorate in clinical psychology, and then became a Jungian analyst. He has trained with Peruvian shamans and through Dr. Alberto Villoldo's Healing the Light Body School, where he has been on staff. He has worked with shamans in South America, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ethiopia, and Outer Mongolia. Carl Greer is involved in various businesses and philanthropies, teaches at the Jung Institute in Chicago, is on the staff of the Lorene Replogle Counseling Center, and holds workshops on shamanic topics. Visit his website at http://carlgreer.com/
