In a classic scene in The Graduate, young Ben is at his college graduation party when a friend of his parents takes him aside and earnestly whispers, “plastics.” That industry will be the next rage, the fellow hints, and if Ben is smart he’ll get in on the ground floor.
Fast forward to 2012. A young acupuncturist phones my Hay House Radio show, “Get Real,” and confesses her fear that she will not be able to earn enough money to provide for her family, including her little child. I whisper to her, “Transformational Services” and leave a pregnant pause for the message to sink in.
I go on to tell the woman that in the years to come we will see increasing change, disorientation and turmoil as many social systems and institutions will likely disintegrate. They will be replaced by new systems rooted in truth, vision and service rather than fear, greed and illusion. As people are pushed out of old comfort zones and lifestyles, they will be hungry for answers, relief and skills to shift into more authentic and rewarding careers, relationships and living situations. At such a time anyone connected to spiritual principles and tools will be in high demand and of great service.
If you are a teacher, healer, massage therapist, coach, speaker, minister or counselor offering services to uplift individuals or groups, the universe has a job for you. In the world as we have known it, where many people are clinging to methods and systems based on shallow values and false security, you may not be sought out, acknowledged or paid well for your work. But in the coming epoch in which people need integrity more than hype, they will be happy to pay you to soothe their journey and accelerate their evolution.
Until the deeper consciousness is established, faith is required. The old has died away, or is dying, and the new has not yet come to replace it. Imagine you are at a party where you have grown tired, bored or disillusioned with the people and conversations in the room. You step out of the room in search of new friends and peers who match your values and offer stimulating, empowering interactions. In the corridor, you can faintly hear people in another room, but you cannot see them. As you transition between rooms, you may feel alone, insecure or frightened. You might be tempted to turn back — but you couldn’t even if you tried. The genie is out of the bottle. So you have to just keep moving ahead, trusting that you are on your way to higher ground. The trail will become wider and you will find your “just right” tribe.
Regardless of apparent chaos, a grand design is unfolding. Upheaval is the turning over of the ground in preparation for planting new seeds. The winter may have been harsh and cold, but the spring will soften the soil. The ego resists change, because it has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, even if the status quo is dysfunctional. Yet, the higher mind or inner spirit recognizes that anything taken away is replaced by something greater. As Rabindranath Tagore noted, “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”
To clarify your role in the coming world, ask yourself, “Where does my passion call me? How can I serve others in the highest way possible? What tools can I offer that will bring them greater peace and aliveness? Regardless of what I was told about how the world is supposed to work, what do I know, from inside out, about how life really works?”
During this crucial shift, we are taking back the power we have vested in external institutions. The only real authority resides in the wisdom and power within you. As you trust your heart and vision more than dogma and dictates, you will have all the guidance you need and the ability to help others access all the guidance they need.
A Chinese blessing suggests, “May you live during interesting times.” That we do. In many ways, our times seem unstable and worrisome, but they are also rife with the possibility of change for the better. A Course in Miracles tells us, “All change is good.”
In another classic film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris phones his friend Cameron to ask him if he wants to skip school and go out and play. When Cameron complains that he’s too sick to get out of bed, Ferris tells Cameron that he just can’t think of anything worth getting up for.
If the world or your life seems sick or tired, it may be only because we have accepted a world that doesn’t offer us anything to get up for. But if we recognize that something new and wonderful is calling to us, we will find the energy and means to create what we would choose rather than what has been cast upon us.
Transformational services. Tools to awaken. Deeper connection and expanded aliveness. The New Plastics. Get in on the ground floor.
