by Hilary Bowring
Here we stand on the great divide. Is reunion possible?
We are now in the dawn of the Age of Aquarius; remember the old song lyrics “Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding, Aquarius, Aquarius “. Suggesting cosmological hope for this Age.
As a hopeful person I search for ways to handle the divisions between us. In the past I’ve been on peaceful protest marches against government policies. Marching is still a great way to show solidarity for things we believe in, like freedom of choice, but too much anger can deepen the divide of public opinion.
Looking to Eastern tantric philosophy for new ideas.
Eastern philosophy purports that we are One Consciousness fractalized in diversity and
considers the human journey to be one from separation to reunion. So the exaggeration of the divide is potentially speeding up the journey, to both reunite and express our unique selves.
There are several phases on the journey to wholeness.
1. Birth —Ejected from the safety and coziness of the womb. We scream with protest at being thrust out on our own. The separation begins; yet paradoxically the gift of life is our individuation which requires singularity..
2. Coming of age. Opens with the turbulence of puberty the emotions that disturb and confuse us and then we expand into maturity. Learn how to live life as an adult with all its problems. Forced to fit into a society that relies on money as the means of survival and success. Forced to follow the status quo despite rebellious tendencies. (not everyone makes it through this phase)
3. Often followed by Marriage. Marriage generates excitement and optimism because it promises love and reunion. Solemnly partnering with another human being to satisfy our desire for intimate connection and unconditional love. However the level of intimacy we seek at a deep level is rarely found in even the greatest of marriages. The Eastern suggestion is to go within, and find the love we seek inside.
- “Now What?” (Douglas R Brooks, Rajanaka yoga). If we get to this stage on the journey we are very blessed as most of our ancestors rarely got beyond handling survival before death and the ultimate reunion. Nowadays many people are lucky enough to be experiencing a phase of reflection about the meaning of life. This opportunity to see the wisdom gained from the difficulties and challenges on the journey may bring us closer to understanding our Oneness.
Spiritual Journey perspective:
The earth plane is set up in a binary model with the polarities of hot and cold, grief/ joy, love/ hate etc. Currently there is an exaggerated polarization of the rich and the poor and strongly polarizing views re the pandemic; Control and Vaccination in particular. These schisms can create deeper separation for humanity that power brokers can capitalize on. Paradoxically we need to become reunited in order to have our individual autonomy built and empowered.
Evolution to Unity Consciousness
- Becoming aware of the fact of the polarities. Awareness itself is alchemy. Start to reflect and see there is always the other side of the coin, there is always movement along the polarity. Feel one side feel the other—feel grief and then feel joy. Love and hate the same person.
- Seek Freedom from the emotional control of the polarities. Allow feelings to flow, rise and wane without taking action. The respond versus react idea. With practice we can break free of the endless emotional turbulence, avoiding violence and rejection of one another. Allow different views to coexist. Moving to Compassionate Neutrality.
- Reflection. Gain a new perspective. Appreciate that our disagreements and wounds can expand our understanding and compassion. How some of the things we abhor in others we actually do ourselves, to varying degrees. Stop blaming and shaming those with whom we disagree. Don’t call someone a liar with hatred as we have all lied. Or someone controlling when we control.
- Accept that there is a dark side, and learn how to handle it.
Most philosophies and religions and current epic books like ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the Harry Potter series acknowledge the power of the dark side and offer ways to thwart its destructive aim. Some New Age ideas override the power, saying everything is Light which although true at ultimate source, avoids dealing with this dark energy inside and outside. ‘Spiritual by-passing’ is a term used to describe this avoidance of the dark side. Glossing over problems.
Eastern Philosophy View
Sri Vidya, a southern India Goddess tradition poses that through our own will power we have collectively created dark toxicity that cannot be digested and extinguished because it keeps evolving.
In another tradition the toxicity is held by Lord Siva in his throat, not swallowed, not expressed. The masculine approach of suppressing the darkest shadows in humanity. The unspeakable thoughts. However toxic energy can break through like a volcanic eruption of dangerous anger and wild rages. How to prevent this destructive possibility …..
Help from the Goddess, the Divine Feminine
Many cultures have been dominated by Masculine energy for at least 2 thousand years with distinctly aggressive ways of handling problems. Confrontation and debate chosen to handle disagreements, in worst cases wars have been waged. No-one wants more wars. Time to explore another way. Time to revive the powerful energy of Divine Feminine which advocates a more creative, nurturing way of supplicating our differences. In Sri Vidya the supreme Goddess, is Lalita Tripura Sundari, the Goddess of Enlightenment. Studying her Archetype can help us deal with our personal shadows and the demons in humanity at large in a non confrontational way
Lalita Tripura Sundari.
Her name means the Beautiful, Playful Goddess of the 3 cities. She overseas the different states of consciousness, the physical, dream and deep sleep states. She is the Archetype of powerful feminine creative energy, sovereign of herself. Beautiful, playful and fierce yet nurturing to all her children, she seeks evolutionary growth for all. She loves all aspects of being human. Her creativity is extraordinary and responsive to change. Capable of managing the toxic shadows and demons with counter intuitive playful methods.
She understands the fractalization of Consciousness, how in truth we are all part of One Consciousness thus we are all the characters in the play.
Managing Demons in Ourselves and in Society
Lalita manages the dark side with great cleverness and compassion. She engages with the enemy, befriends the enemy, rather than shaming and blaming. She acknowledges their power and creates structure to contain them in her world as we are all part of the same One.
Being a force in our Enlightenment she knows education and conversation can inspire change. She opens up dialogue and creates activities to channel dark proclivities in ways that absorb the ego, avoiding real damage. Like Twitter, Social media, Dark internet movies and videos.
She opens up rabbit holes that entertain yet contain.
We all have shadows, even poisonous streaks that remain shut down and avoided. We are here to evolve and be fully in our bodies including our shadows, this containment approach is something we can adopt too. Create space for our own demons in safety. Indulge our fantasies, in literature, edgy comics and cartoons, horror movies, Video games, The squid game, Sci-fi, TV shows, porn for some. And allow that in others.
Liberation is to love ourselves and the beauty of our imperfection.
Being a force in our Enlightenment she knows the power of music and art both to allow expression of our shadows, our anger and evoke an experience of our Oneness. The moments of shared silence when we are truly touched as our individual stories and masks are dropped. Apparently Dolly Parton songs are reuniting the divisions in the US! Here in Canada, Leonard Cohen’s Alleluia draws people together.
Quantum ways we can transmute the dark side, change our own vibration:
- Connect with the powerful Lalita Archetype using Mantra. Listen and chant the transformative syllables of her mantra. With chanting our vibration becomes the mantra, emanates outwards and creates shifts in Consciousness
- Use energetic transmission in Meditation. Our hearts are powerful transmitters of energy. Here is a heart centred meditation ‘Blessings to the World’, transmitting Loving, Unification energy.