103 Comments

I really needed this right now as I am in the process of deep grief of the planet and being removed from the society and systems that ironically, I never truly felt a part of anyway.. trying to navigate my way to rise to co-create this Beautiful World as everyday it seems relationships are either deepening or falling away. Thank you for your magical words of hope 💜 (from Australia)

Expand full comment

Same here, Bel. The challenge is going to be finding each other. The beautiful world we want to create is not online but in person. We need to find a way. 💜 (fellow Aussie)

Expand full comment

Joining you in our Oneness Bel. We are creating a New Earth and New Everything, therefore the sadness of the things that were, is so quickly replaced that is is difficult for me to catch up. Learning at the speed of Light is possible for us now, like never before.

The support we have is immense. It is a process to recognize it...

Much love and compassion to you!

Expand full comment

"I really needed this right now as I am in the process of deep grief of the planet and being removed from the society and systems that ironically, I never truly felt a part of anyway..."

Nothing like a 2-year-long kick in the butt to get us moving in a different direction. Necessity is the mother of invention...

Expand full comment

Thank you for your comment Bel. You have put into words how I feel. "I never truly felt a part of it anyway". I am in England and I send you love and support as we find our way together even though we are on opposite sides of the world.

Expand full comment

well i deeply feel you.

sending some harmony around the globe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FU6oBV6iIKk greetings from the netherlands 🌻

Expand full comment

I woke up in a funk. On my way to grab some coffee from the local shop, I was noticing all the trash along the roadside, which didn't exist in such a volume before 2020. The recent diaspora from the major metropolitan areas has my little rural town seeing a huge boom and tons of development, meaning tons more waste and in a place that doesn't yet have the tools to manage these things. I've been keeping my heart centered on this idea that you and I both share of a new story emerging, so as not to fall into the nihilism of "humans are shit". It simply hurts to watch the desacralization of the beautiful forest I have lived in my whole life. In general I don't struggle too much with centering, but some days are better than others. Today is one of the worse ones. This article helped me climb back up on my horse. Thanks Charles. You are legitimately one of the only people whom I feel understands my own perception of this story as it plays out. For that I am deeply grateful. Bless 🙏

Expand full comment

beautifully said :)

reminds me to appreciate https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwqm6ic14tU lovely greetings from the netherlands 🌻

Expand full comment

I always appreciate your articulation Charles and your championing of a collective movement towards a better future. I am hugely optimistic and largely in part because of your writing, the communities I have chosen to align myself with over the past 10 years make me feel directly connected to the groundswell - there is a collective spirit at work. Old structures falling away are a necessary part of the transition and I am awed to see how that is happening on a global level in a way I always sensed was necessary but could never imagine happening. I dont fear it but I have had the good fortune of 15 years to prepare for it since I actively and consciously chose to step out of paradigms of separation and competition.

Expand full comment

If only we could retire the word "collective", which I do not read into this essay, and use your better word "community", I can probably understand. Still, I struggle even with "enlightenment" because it also has been co-opted. In current parlance, neither one of those concepts obtain to a More Beautiful World.

Expand full comment
Jan 21, 2022·edited Jan 21, 2022

"Community" was a buzzword of Germany's Nazi movement. They were against the word "collective," too. Oh yeah, and the Nazis were mystics, too!

Expand full comment

Yeah, most of this has been heard before, hasn't it. Kind of like biblical...

Expand full comment

Humanity repeats the same old-same old, again and again. Only now we add deadly technology into the mix. Seems 'human evolution' is bogus...

Expand full comment

Filled my heart this morning. Thank you.

Expand full comment

I really appreciate this. It is so comforting to know that I am not alone in how I feel. Grateful for your words.

Expand full comment

Yes! Not feeling alone is what counts!

Expand full comment

Thanks for fueling the spark of my dwindling optimism.

Expand full comment

Reading this strengthens my hope and reaffirms my convictions. Thank you.

Expand full comment

A beautiful introduction. So many of us have reached the same conclusion and understanding. A new emergent world of abundance is forming right before our eyes.

Expand full comment

Certainly in its infancy, but still, we hope...

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

hopefully the world enlightens sooner than later. all the best keepin up your inner harmony https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FU6oBV6iIKk lovely greetings from the netherlands 🌻

Expand full comment

"Enightenment is a group activity." Yes! What is discovered between us will help us move beautifully through this space in between💗

Expand full comment
Jan 26, 2022·edited Jan 26, 2022

"Enightenment is a group activity."

Interesting play on the spelling error there.

'E-night-enment' is definitely a collective activity... groupthink/collectivethink is what creates the horrific Dark Night evidenced countless times throughout history.

( https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM )

Enlightenment, however, is most certainly a personal, individual process. Indeed, it is the most radical, mind-blowing, individual breakthrough process imaginable... one that is impossible by its very nature to ever happen collectively.

It's a one-person-at-a-time deal, no exceptions.

Expand full comment

I love this Charles. I also love how you shared Novak's artwork. I feel images are very helpful to kindle hope and inspiration. If you ever want to use any of my artwork, you're welcome, free of charge. See www.emmaburleigh.com for example work.

Expand full comment
author

Wow, you are quite an artist! I have decided to use original artwork in every post from now on. I'd love to use some of yours Emma.

Expand full comment

Yay Charles, thank you for supporting visual artists! Here is a link to my husbands artwork, a bit visionary and fantastical: https://www.spalenka.com/collections/prints

Expand full comment
author

Wow, those are awesome too. Can you email me so I don't forget? I"m not on my home computer now. My email address is my first name, dot, my last name, at gmail.

Expand full comment
author

All right, I'm using one right now. I hope this comment constitutes proper permission :) I put your name and website in the caption.

Expand full comment

Yes, I agree Emma! Imagery, as well as all the ARTS really, deepen us into an altar-ed state where we are connected to the creative force. Your water colors are very soulful, thanks for sharing xo

Expand full comment

I also love the Novak artwork, and your artwork is amazing too, Emma. I will be looking at your Etsy shop today!

Expand full comment

Oh thank you so much 😊

Expand full comment

Yessss! Enlightenment IS a group activity!!! My prayer for years has been that we create a golden age of enlightenment achieved through the arts-- a renaissance for this age. It takes the artists and pioneers to take the dream and make it with their hands, words, dances and images. It takes more than hoping or praying to get us there, it demands passion and creative action.

Expand full comment

I suspect you are even more right than you think. A more beautiful world our art knows is possible :-)

Expand full comment

I've seen it in the underground scenes I've incubated over 20 years. Culture is the soil our consciousness grows in-- it has to be organic and made with love.

Expand full comment

Seems there is a misunderstanding here of what 'Enlightenment' is.

What's your definition?

Expand full comment

Well, my version doesn't start with a capital E, mine is lower case. I believe it means to provide knowledge and instruct-- enlighten. Also to relieve the burden.

Expand full comment
Jan 28, 2022·edited Jan 28, 2022

To enlighten, IMO, is exactly as you say. Enlightenment is usually considered to be a permanent state of awareness unencumbered by ego, with all its false beliefs and survival desires.

Expand full comment

I don't think is as a state of perfection, but a state of higher awareness, with all of its imperfection.

Expand full comment

Agreed - no perfection involved. But it is a helluva large obstacle removed. It's kinda like The Matrix movie - you don't even realize you're in a prison until it is removed.

Expand full comment

A lived awareness of the illusory nature of the separate self.

Expand full comment
Jan 26, 2022·edited Jan 26, 2022

Running with that working definition, how could such an awareness be 'collective'?

Each individual 'self' can only be aware of its own ego, aka separate self. I cannot perceive, nor am I mentally aware of your ego, and vice-versa.

The idea of collective enlightenment is false.

Not only false, it serves to encourage subsequent false ideas about how 'the collective' might successfully achieve 'collective enlightenment.'

We each work on our own individual spiritual growth. Once we have a good number of fully awakened people, then we can see what happens...!

p.s. - I'm right with you about art, and what it can do!

Expand full comment

We all dream together at night. We all breathe together in the day. We are, quite literally, connected to the same Motherboard. It's insane to me that we keep thinking we do ANYTHING alone or that human beings can fix anything without Spirit.

Expand full comment

A collective experience or consciousness can facilitate our awareness of non-separation. For many of us, it might be necessary. It's awfully easy to embrace the story of separation when focused on individual growth. We all still have to do our work, but doing it in the company of others is very helpful - & more fun :-).

Expand full comment

It's literally the reason we are here-- to work it out together. It's ridiculous to think we have the answers alone.

Expand full comment

Yes, no one has the answers alone. In fact 'looking for answers' actually gets you nowhere, but everyone likes to do it because it's fun, and can be a shared experience (such as satsang).

Rather, it is the deep self-inquiry process of being ruthlessly willing to question, examine and dissect one's beliefs to see if they are true or false. That might sound innocuous, but believe me, it's brutal. Everything that you think you were, are and will be is demolished. If one is willing to go that far, the result is a clean (ego) slate, with the added benefit of maintaining all ones memories, abilities and knowledge.

Expand full comment
Jan 28, 2022·edited Mar 1, 2022

"A collective experience or consciousness can facilitate our awareness of non-separation."

Definitely.

But it doesn't stick.

The only way to make awareness of Oneness stick permanently is to first remove the bulk of, if not all of one's own blocks, false beliefs, self-identifiers, etc. It's a long, grueling process... the most difficult thing anyone can do. But when intention is right and grace manifests, then the final breakthrough process may begin. The core beliefs and supports of self-identity (aka ego) are carefully and surgically disassembled and eliminated. Awakening is then permanent.

Contrary to popular belief, collective awakening is a false belief. It's a solo process... but of course other supportive people can assist along the way.

Collective fun and shared experiences are wonderful and can give a glimpse of the awakened state. But, collective psychological states (whether spontaneous or manufactured/controlled) can also be severely destructive - witness the Mass Formation Psychosis (MFP) being expertly manufactured around the world right now. If one in already in the MFP, already a part of the 'MFP collective,' then seeing what is really going on is difficult. The stable, independent individual, however, was never infected by the MFP disease.

Expand full comment
Jan 26, 2022·edited Jan 28, 2022

I get your point, Bill. But what I am saying is that a collective 'anything' is, and can only ever be, a construct in one's mind. It's only a thought, with no actual reality to it. Even if I were with a group/collective of one hundred other people, and even if those 100 were literally clones of me, I cannot perceive, feel or know what they are thinking, feeling or believing.

Pick a collective, and then introduce me to it, literally. IOW, for example, 'govt'. Everyone thinks 'govt' exists, but when you go to speak to 'govt' or shake his hand, there's nothing there... it's only other people. If you say 'govt' did this or did that, the truth is that it is only other people doing this or that... people who believe they have powers over you that you do not have. The concept of 'govt' is just a figment of our imagination. That wouldn't be so bad if harmless, but the almost universal belief in the existence of 'govt,' belief in its 'powers,' and belief in its (il)legitimate authority results in nearly limitless evil and problems.

There are only individuals, with their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs. I can empathize and sympathize, imagining how you might be thinking or feeling, but that's as far as it goes... at least until we each develop telepathy. And yes indeed, joining up with others as we do our work from time to time is wonderful and fun. But that does not make me part of a 'collective' with them, except as a figure of speech. I, as in individual, am choosing to voluntarily partake in the fun of activity with other individuals. By seeing it this way - as being a fully voluntary action of an individual - the issue of 'losing oneself in the collective' is easily negated and bypassed. Other negatives, such as trading one's individuality for a spurious group identity and its mobthink, are bypassed as well because each individual accepts full accountability and responsibility for their individual actions... as all adults should. There is no pretending 'the group made me do it.'

Expand full comment

Thank you for sharing Charles, the book does indeed sound very 'of the moment' within the repeating cycles we have been witness too. I'm sensing it's important we put razor sharp focus on "a future built on a new-and-ancient story of interconnection, trust, synchronicity, and healing." Since we are the ones who can see beyond the veils, then it seems that we are the ones to re-vision and begin building the new Earth in each and every sacred moment.

Expand full comment

Charles, please continue to feel encouraged. We appreciate your role in empowering our imaginations towards manifesting the "more beautiful" world. The increasing numbers of hopeful and loving are more than what it seems.

Expand full comment

Yes. Religion will not bring back the "good old times". It was just another control system. The eye in the sky was as orwellian when it was "god" as it is now with science.

https://youtu.be/7dimO83BtyY

Tears for Fears - Break it Down Again

------

Break it down again

So those are my dreams

And these are my eyes

Stand tall like a man

Headstrong like a horse

When it's all mixed up

Better break it down

Oo, oo. Oo, oo

In the world of secrets

In the world of sound

Oo, oo

It's in the way you're always hiding from the light

See for yourself, you have been sitting on a time bomb

No revolution maybe someone somewhere else

Could show you something new about you and your inner song

And all the love, and all the love in the world

Won't stop the rain from falling

Waste sleeping underground (break it down again)

I want to break it down (break it down again)

Break it down again

So those are my schemes

And these are my plans

Hot tips for the boys

Fresh news from the force

When it's all mixed up

Better break it down

Oo, oo. Oo, oo

In the world of silence

In the world of sound

Oo, oo

"No sleep for the dreaming" say the architects of life

Big bouncing babies, bread and butter can I have a slice?

They make no mention of the beauty of decay

Blue, yellow, pink umbrella, save it for a rainy day

And all the love, and all the love in the world

Won't stop the rain from falling

Waste sleeping underground (break it down again)

I want to break it down (break it down again)

Horsing around

Pray to the power

Play to the crowd with your big hit sound

And they won't simmer Won't simmer

Won't simmer down

Play to the crowd

Play to the crowd

It's in the way you're always hiding from the light

Last off to heaven just like moses on a motorbike

No revolution maybe someone else somewhere else

Could show you something new to help with the ups and downs

Break it down again

I want to break it down Break it down again

Break it down again (break it down again)

Break it down again (break it down again)

Break it down again

No more sleepy dreaming

No more building up

It is time to dissolve

Break it down again

No more sleepy dreaming

Expand full comment

You see this as a failure of religion (the institutions of which I will stipulate have been no bit-players) and not of secular humanism?

Interesting perspective, given that’s been the dominant religion for at least 100 years. Maybe it just wasn’t done hard enough?

An enduringly better world won’t be built on misty-eyed sentiment any more than it was built on gross materialism or on jack-booted ecclesiastical totalitarianism.

Expand full comment

I think you may find 'misty-eyed sentiment' here as the starting point. Expressing our hopes is the beginning of the path to actions. It's easy to see it as a weakness and on its own it won't achieve goals but it connects and leads back to the deepest source within us that, when allowed access, will naturally manifest the actions needed to create something better. Maybe we need to go in further at the softest point and just let things flow from there. Maybe the endless trying is not working. Try less, feel more. Maybe?

Expand full comment

Hi Charles - can you provide a link to the artists website or work? I LOVE it! And as an artist always appreciate when this is done for my work when images are used. Thank you - Kara

Expand full comment

Hello 👋 it is Agnes here, painter of the artwork above. Thank you for your enquiry and also receiving my painting. I appreciate it 🙏

Charles asked me if he could add my website but I said that crediting my name was enough as I don't have one at the moment.

Most of my works are being uploaded into a public folder on FB, which is accessible even without a FB account (https://m.facebook.com/agi.novak.779/albums/108691525841719/ ), so that is the place to find them currently. I am also very approachable 🙂 I may create an easier format and share it at the same place at some point, as I can see the gifts of having different publicity too...

Thank you, wishing ease and thriving to All

👋🌸🦋🦌🌳🌹💗🎶🌟

Expand full comment

Hi Agnes. You can make a free website on Wix.com. It's easy to do, but if you need help, I can offer it. No charge to fellow artists who are planning the new world of beauty, peace and harmony.

Expand full comment

Great! Looking forward to seeing your website (I don't have Facebook). I also create mandala style paintings and more. Keep in touch - Kara www.kararane.com www.cosmiccircles.com

Best wishes!

Expand full comment

Your mandalas are beautiful. Thank you for creating.

Expand full comment

Yes, please!

Expand full comment