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Why would anyone
argue in favor of disaster when he or she could make a stand for well
being?
We don't need to scare ourselves to get together¼ We can look
fear in the eye and ask, "What is the deeper lesson here?"
The question du jour
is not, "What do I need to do to protect myself from the coming disaster?"
but, "What part of the mind, individually and collectively, would
take something as bright and beautiful as a new millennium, and try to
turn it into a tragedy?"
A Course in Miracles teaches that "pure love calls forth everything
unlike itself," and likewise, to the fearful mind, great change is
always perceived as a threat. But the Course also tells us that "all
change is good" and that "trust is the bedrock of the entire
thought system of the teacher of God."
As I hear more and
more talk of chaos on the eve of the millennium, I see en masse a pattern
I have noticed in my own life and that of participants in my workshops.
Whenever I am about to make a quantum leap spiritually, socially, or materially,
a streak of resistance bubbles forth, screaming, "You can't do that!
You're stepping into the unknown! Hold onto the familiar while you still
can!"
When I have the presence
of mind to move ahead with faith, that shrieking voice is revealed to
be not that of divine guidance, but ancient fear. So I have learned how
to make fear my friend: when it shows up, I know I am about to step out
of the circle that once circumscribed my world, and discover a bigger
universe.
I am not surprised, then, that the changing of a year, decade, century
and millennium should call forth massive unrest. I am reminded of a time
when I was about to move from one house to another, and I had cleared
all of my furniture out of my living room. My dog, sensing that the world
she had known was now in disarray, became extremely nervous, and, in an
uncustomary manner, chased my car down the driveway when I made a simple
trip to the store. She did not realize that all was well, the change was
good, and the next home she would live in would offer her an even bigger
yard and more room to play.
What does surprise me is the extent to which spiritually-minded people
are selling out to hype and hysteria. Recently I attended a party where
Y2K took over the discussion, and quickly the energy field became infiltrated
with the vibration of sensationalism, self-defensiveness, and small-mindedness.
In contrast to the loving and empowering discussion that preceded it,
suddenly lack, powerlessness, and personal interests dominated, and speakers
took macabre pleasure in gloating over alleged statistics of the backlog
in generator availability, how much money Bank of America is paying to
ward off Y2K woes, and minutia of previously obscure computer failures.
Calmly, I left the room.
I have come too far on my spiritual path to meander down the highway of
fear. Many years ago I studied with a psychic teacher who made many authoritative
predictions about the end times to come. Claiming to have been psychically
visited by Nostradamus, the teacher issued dates and gory details of many
worldwide calamities and disasters to take place between 1981 and 2000.
Motivated largely by fear and self-protection, over a hundred students
got together and formed a survival community. We bought land in a remote
area, dug and built underground bunkers, buried huge gas tanks, and bought
tons of survival food. I was personally responsible for ordering the food,
which eventually filled a barn. We worked long and hard to ready ourselves
for economic collapse, worldwide famine, and nuclear fallout. Thank God
we never got guns.
One day after about five years, I had two sudden realizations: (1) I had
sold my faith out to fear, and as I immersed myself in protection from
a future disaster, I was missing out on the beauty and abundance available
in that moment; and (2) the predictions that the teacher had made for
that time period had not come to pass. I decided there had to be more
to life than living in a cold dank bunker, and that I would rather live
in joy, appreciation and celebration, rather than protecting myself from
a looming doomsday. Peacefully, I left.
Twenty years have come and passed since the day the end of the world was
announced. None of the teacher's predictions have materialized. The teacher
was sincere, and truly sought to help the students to build a better world.
But the information was incorrect. Either it came from a faulty source,
or there was a consciousness shift that changed the dynamics of the game.
But there was a hidden blessing. I loved being a part of a spiritual community.
I felt deeply enriched working side by side with my peers, and, aside
from the disaster scenario, we had great times: we sang, meditated, laughed
and grew together as a family. I look back on those community years as
some of the most nourishing of my life. Now I think hardly at all about
the survival element, and think very fondly about the family element.
So in the long run I gained a great deal - not from the disaster, but
from the love.
We don't need to scare ourselves to get together. Been there, done that,
bought the t-shirt, and it's too small. But we can look fear in the eye
and ask, "What is the deeper lesson here?"
My friend Jerry spends his days in a wheelchair and receives modest financial
support from the government. Jerry told me that he was feeling anxious
about Y2K, for if government computers go down, he will lose his source
of support. I suggested to Jerry that he has a source of support far more
powerful than the government. Since his injury five years ago, volunteers
from our community have provided Jerry with help every day, and organized
massive fund raisers. Jerry is supported by the Almighty God, currently
channeled partially through the government, and much more through friends
and other miraculous avenues. If God has taken such good care of him thus
far, I told Jerry, I have every reason to expect that goodness and mercy
shall continue to follow him.
And so will it be for all of us. All is well, and there is nothing to
fear. As divine beings, we are imbued by our Creator with wisdom, guidance
and creativity via our internal spiritual computers; time and again we
have demonstrated awesome ingenuity. We engineered our way to the moon
using a computer no more sophisticated than an old Commodore 64 (a toy!)
and later wrested Apollo 13 from the jaws of disaster using socks and
chewing gum. Since we invented the computer, I figure we can easily solve
a problem as minute as a couple of computer digits. The solution may take
a few bucks, but we can afford it. We live in a prosperous universe, and
if God gives us a task, God will give us the means to accomplish it. Y2K
is easily solvable if we keep our head in the right place and refrain
from using it as a distraction from the Kingdom at hand.
We can use the fearful Y2K scenarios presented to us, to practice either
the presence of God or His/Her/Its absence; we will make of it whatever
we choose. Why would anyone argue in favor of disaster when he or she
could make a stand for well-being? For two thousand years we have kept
Jesus on the cross by emulating and reenacting his crucifixion in our
lives -- a practice entirely in contradiction of his teachings. I think
the 2000 year point would be a perfect opportunity to finally take Jesus
down from the cross, and ourselves along with him. We do not have to create
a drama of suffering to earn salvation; we need simply to acknowledge
the perfection within and around us.
So I say, "Bring on the Millennium!" My vision is that we will
open our eyes on the morning of January 1, 2000 and live not in a darkened
world, but a brightened one. The light by which we live is produced not
by electric companies, but by the radiance of our hearts, minds, and spirits.
Jesus advised us, "You are the light of the world; do not hide your
light under a basket." Or a computer.
Alan Cohen is the author of the bestselling The Dragon Doesn't Live
Here Anymore. To order Alan's new book I Had It All the Time or request
a free catalog of Alan's books, tapes, and workshop schedule, write to
Hay House, Post Office Box 5100, Carlsbad CA 92018, or call 1-800-462-3013.
For information about Alan's Mastery Training held in Hawaii and focusing
deeply with twenty-four participants, write to 430 Kukuna Road, Haiku,
Hawaii 96708 or phone 1-808-572-0001.
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