If the focus of the government was to teach mindful meditation, to focus on increasing critical thinking, to encourage debate of the difficult issues without hatefulness, to support spiritual practices especially those that are inclusive, to align with the underdog without divisively turning against the overdog…then a real shift in temperament and an elevation of consciousness, a spiritual ascension in knowing and being, would follow.
We would experience an eruption of empathy, connection, kindness, collaboration and altruism.
Ascension is the elevation of consciousness so that one can see how the human species is all connected to one another and humans are intimately connected to other species and the natural planet. This perspective is an active expression of ascension and allows for a conversation to raise the consciousness of the planet.
In a movie by Disney, Chimpanzee (2012), you can observe this phenomenon in action. It follows Oscar’s development in his chimpanzee community. The film shows how his mother is killed when an outside group attacks his community. Oscar became an orphan. The immediate response in his community by the other mothers was not enlightened. It was a fear-based reaction…none of the other females would take him in. But Oscar was a resourceful being, and he started to follow around the alpha male who ultimately took Oscar under his care and showed him how to live in the society. Such an act by the highest member of the group caretaking over the lowest-status member of the group was unheard of and unseen in previous observations of chimpanzees over the last forty years. The alpha male recognized the need to shift his attention within his community to save them.
This change in behavior prompted me to feel a sense of possibility for the elevation of consciousness within the human species. If humans can respond to stress without aggression toward each other, without in-group and out-group fighting, the planet, and the species that populate it, might have a chance to not only survive, but thrive.
This is a big if. So far, with our “big brains” we have learned how to manipulate others…but there have been a few who have understood the importance of seeing how we are all one, connected. Those who taught turning the other cheek, rising above, seeing self in other. I am referencing the larger-than-life characters like Buddha, Sri Krishna and Jesus…and there have been other leaders — male: Sitting Bull, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandhi, Nelson Mandela, The Dalai Lama; and, female: Eva Peron, Augn San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, Betty Williams, and Mother Teresa.
Humans are soft-wired for sociability, attachment, affection, altruism and companionship; there is a drive to belong…this has been proven through scientific study of the brain and the mirror neurons in the human brain. This is how humans learn how to relate to one another. Other big-brained mammals may also have these — certainly there is a pull toward sociability in these groups — think about the pod, pack, and community-relational aspect of these mammals; it appears that this is also something observed or understood to be part of the dolphin, dog, elephant, and primate brains, too.
Recognizing that we are not only connected to those within our species group but also to each other, and the living systems on the planet, is the next step — and it requires a type of ascension.
“We are all connected.” That idea is what has driven the heroic actions that saved many lives on the tragic day of September 11, 2001, in America, as well as other stories of understanding during the Civil War, the Holocaust, the Reformation period, and other cross-caring-across-species-stories throughout the ages.
That kind of message rights and resets a course that appears to be spinning off kilter. Here I am referencing ascension as elevation of consciousness, and I believe it could positively affect the population of the world.
To rise above aggression, the concepts of connection and collaboration must have a higher value. It is necessary for the attacked to discern a way to respond that does not escalate a situation. This is active, not passive.
Albert Einstein said, “You cannot simultaneously prepare for war and plan for peace.” This quotation relates to the mindset required for each as being very different.
How to respond to attack is the most important aspect in a fight:
- When the parties are in sync with each other and connected, the attackee need not be defensive but rather work to discern the underlying cause of the attack and seek to right that issue. Thereby the fight can be deflected, deflated and redefined.
- When the parties are not in sync with each other, how the attackee responds is of the utmost importance. This requires a mindful, multidimensional response of deflection, deflation and redefinition. It is in this arena that governments get stymied, for they must defend while also working toward peace…which is a difficult process. Still, it is important to remember those mirror neurons, to remember that humans are all of the same species and it is the cultural differences that separate humans from each other, creating in-groups and out-groups. Drilling down to discern where and how the groups are related is the key, to focus on connection and reset relationships from this space.
The elevation of consciousness, ascension, having heart and spirit guide action…yes mindful, where mind is following heart and spirit, mind creating a plan to create the goal of spirit and heart…this is the elevation of consciousness. We are all bigger than just human secondary drives of mind and self…bigger than one self or one community or one species, but big enough to include the entire set of species that inhabit the planet, all humans and the natural environment that nourishes all of us physically.