I have been listening to the Awakening The Impulse To Evolve conversations at: EvolutionarySpirituality.com. I am greatly encouraged that there are many of us exploring this evolutionary edge. Humanity is evolving. Can we grow to be the critical mass that is needed to breakthrough? Will we do it in time? Am I doing my part? What is my part?

At the same time I hear other messages. That: this is the last generation. Souls will no longer need human vehicles. Physicality is evil. Suffering is good. The more people there are to suffer the better. Basically; Trash the place we are on our way out. Or: We will leave in rapture and everyone else will be left to suffer a horrible end. Or: We are a malignant species killing our host planet therefore we deserve to die. Human species physical extinction? Spiritual evolutionary success or failure?

What a way to go! We are all connected. To the degree anyone suffers I suffer. The extinction of the human species could be really good for the planet but I doubt that doing it this way could be very helpful to our spiritual evolution. Evolution demonstrates increasing complexity and cooperation. The wisdom traditions point to inclusivity, community, kindness, forgiveness and love. Extinguishing our species through cruelty, neglect, abuse, and other manifestations of our inhumanity would seem to be a major setback to our spiritual evolution.

As I delve deeper into my spiritual evolution I am finding that somewhere in my early years I must have sworn to hate my father forever. Now as I care for this 93 year old, as I hear of the horrors of war, the unfairness of life, and as we both regress to our two year old selves, I find my two year old hates him. Like all my years of dysfunction come out of that oath. Intellectually I can rationalize that this vet had been traumatized, had a short fuse, and deserves to be forgiven for his violent rages. Emotionally, when he gets upset, I still can feel the explosion coming and want to run and hide. I still have the rage inside that kept me going when all I wanted was to die. When I agreed to care for him I knew I had healing work to do. I didn’t know it would be this hard. It feels like my spiritual life hangs in the balance.

I recently wrote that we are called to bless everyone and every situation. I would like to have no resentments, no regrets and no unfinished business (Michael Dowd). I would like to see the Universe as friendly (Einstein). I would like to be awake to the beauty of existence and drawn into intimacy and trust (Brian Swimme). To some degree I do feel I manage to be in a place of always learning (Duane Elgin). I hope I move the evolutionary action forward (Andrew Cohen). I hope I change the universe by the change I am (Cohen). I want to rise above my personal particulars to universal capacities, awakening to context (Jean Houston). All these wants and hopes feel like the long forgotten memory of the future (Houston). We know we can have a world that works for everyone. Everyone includes me, stepping into each new day, free of fear, free of rage, free of hate, full of gratitude, blessed and blessing everyone and everything. Ah! Forgiveness work!

Tags: Community, Inclusivity //