2012, the Global Awakening, and the Apocalypse

It’s time to take a crack at some of the big things that people are talking about. I normally don’t blog about 2012, the global awakening, or the Apocalypse because it really doesn’t have much of anything to do with how you live your daily life. Most of this stuff is a lot of conjecture and theory, and while it makes us all feel good to think we’re part of a greater shift in humanity, the real work of the spiritual path comes inside our own hearts. That’s why I don’t like to talk about this stuff too much; it gets you thinking about stuff going on elsewhere. It moves your focus away from yourself to some other unworldly, huge thing that is kind of beyond the scope of daily life. If we get lost to that, then we are all just getting lost again. Awakening doesn’t come through the idea of awakening and of others having this shift. It comes because we become extremely present to this here and now.

2012 and Why It Doesn’t Matter to You

As I said, it’s exciting to be part of something bigger, but the truth of awakening and the spiritual path is that we are already interconnected. So you don’t need to be part of anything bigger or look towards a bigger shift for some kind of encouragement. Most of that desire for something bigger is part of a much deeper need to feel connected to others. It’s projecting itself out there as a great global awakening. This is fine so long as we don’t get caught up in this new myth that we’re spinning. I hear in the voices of so many people this strange hope that in less than two months, Utopia will be here. We’ll be surrounded by rainbows and equal wealth distribution in a land of honey and milk. It’s not going to happen that way. It’s not how we learn on this planet. We primarily learn through pain.

Bringing the Apocalypse Down on Your Ego

You know that I’m not a proponent of suffering, but I tell my students and I write on this blog that this path takes you through pain. Your pain cannot be avoided, but it can be released. In releasing it, you no longer have to suffer. But in the process of turning towards our pain, it feels like the world is ending. Everything comes crashing down. So in many ways, the Apocalypse is a very personal thing–how much it translates on the grand scale of global economies and the affairs of state remains to be seen. But as I said, I’m not much concerned with that because I know that the real awakening is always an individual thing. Sure, the more of us that wake up, the more there’s this energy moving and shifting and influencing others. But once again, don’t get lost in that. Stay present to you and where you are going. In the process, you’re going to find a lot of your world that doesn’t fit. Consciously letting go of things makes your personal Apocalypse much easier. Holding on to things that don’t serve you will make you feel like you’re being whipped and quartered by the 4 Horsemen.

Global Shifting Within Your Heart

As you come to understand how interconnected you are, you’ll start to appreciate that when you shift how you are, you change the world. That’s the only way a global awakening can occur. It happens when you have a greater dedication to your love and your heart. You don’t have to fly to India or start a non-profit. Just be more kind and loving and present in your daily life. That’ll affect a couple dozen to hundreds of people. You change the ripple of energy you send out when you let go of grudges, grievances, and sadnesses, and that has an effect. Just because your ego may not readily see it doesn’t mean that it’s not there, and you shouldn’t be looking for that outside verification anyway.

The more you look for validation, the more you’re really looking for your own self-love. Validation for your experiences and proving to yourself that you’re doing good is just another ego game. Many of the great influential people in the world have been hated by more than a few people (seriously, I don’t think Gandhi was all the popular with the British). Clearly, he wasn’t looking for external validation.

In general, living your life in loving kindness has a profound influence on others, and you can’t look to please everyone by following a spiritual path. That’s just not how this world operates.

The 2012 Global Awakening and the Apocalypse

If you really want me to talk about the macrocosm of all this stuff, the global awakening and the Apocalypse are the same coin. They’re different phases. One is tearing down an old dilapidated structure that is rotted out with fear, hatred, anger, despair, and sadness. The other is rebuilding a newer structure that is eco-friendly, air-conditioned, and has a spa area. 🙂 Seriously though, you get the point. The new building, however, won’t be perfect. Rats and other vermin may infiltrate it again, and then this one will have problems. It too may need be torn down and replaced at some point.

In so many ways, awakening is an alive and ever-rolling wave. We’ll go through highs and lows. We’ll make mistakes, and we’ll have successes. The end of the world isn’t the end of our world. It’s the end of a certain way of living and being in the world. For those people hooked on money and greed, this will be traumatic. I can’t imagine having a business that you’ve poured your whole life into suddenly go defunct is any fun. But as those of us individually wake up, we will want to live in the world in a different way, and we’ll want to support different types of businesses and governments. The old structures crumble (lay-offs, firings, bankruptcies), and new structures have to be build. Some of the new won’t last because we’re creating something new, and life in its early stages is fragile. But over time, some things will be built with the foundations that they need to withstand the currents of life, at least for a little while.

What You Can Do to Prepare for 2012

In my opinion, we’re already in the midst of 2012. I feel like the energy has been shifted for some time, but regardless, I would say you need to live your life. You need to follow your heart. What else could be more important? Prophecy will attend to itself. It’s of no real concern to us. We don’t need to predict the future, and getting caught up in that future-focused attitude is just another ego game where we try to control things and find safety. The world is not safe, and perhaps if anything, in the next couple of years, the world will show all of us just how unsafe it truly is.

Which is why love, compassion, and community will be so important. We’re going to really need to support each other on this path. For all those waking up, I know just how much love and community you need, and hopefully, you’re doing your work to find others to connect with you and support you. For those who are building your spiritual path, you’re going to have to continue to open your hearts bigger and bigger to all the pain and joy out there. You can’t be selective. It’s all part of this world, and you can’t avoid it any longer. No one is going to be able to avoid what’s coming, and hopefully with a little luck and a lot of love, in the times to come, this world will be transformed into a more peaceful and loving community and many of the wounds of the millenia gone by will be healed.