Contemplation And The Collapse Of Global Civilization

You don’t have to spend a lot of time on social media websites like Facebook to realize that most people are not acknowledging the possibility of an economic—or any other kind of—collapse. There’s still a very small number of of us who have spent time contemplating just how fragile our energy, environmental, and economic systems are, and although our numbers are growing, there’s a lot more to being prepared for some sort of breakdown of these fragile systems than just stockpiling food, guns, and ammo.

In previous writings, I’ve repeatedly pointed out a myriad of reasons why this is all happening and the importance of preparedness, including physically, emotional, and spiritual preparedness. Throughout history it’s been proven over and over that people who make even the smallest preparations have typically fared much better than those who haven’t prepared for the gathering storm clouds that are descending on our so-called “civilization.”

If you don’t already have a “spiritual” practice of some sort like I’ve mentioned above, you might want to consider developing one. I’m not necessarily talking about a belief in a formal religion or even God, although it may very well be that. I’m talking about an awareness of your place in the Universe.: how do you fit in? Who do you want to be in these changing times? What are you here to do? Is there a “big picture” for you, something larger than yourself? Maybe you’ll even find your sacred purpose and there’s something you can do that no one else can.

While it may be different for you, one of the essences of a spiritual—or contemplative—practice for me is simply my connectedness to the Cosmos, God, Spirit, the universe, whatever you may call it. Whether you believe we evolved from the primordial soup over a billion years of time, or believe we’re the product of creation, intelligent design, or “the Hand of God,” it’s possible, even in these chaotic times, to find a place of peace, of quiet, of solace. A contemplative practice can allow anxiety, stress, and anger to drop away.

If you don’t have a practice of some sort, I highly recommend developing one. Adyashaniti has free  basic teachings videos, along with his free 50-page PDF e-book Way of Liberation). I like how he gets to the point, his candor, his articulateness and his humility. He basically suggests meditation as one of three related core practices, which I’d summarize as follows:

1. Meditation|Being Still: Dropping resistance to the present moment, and relaxing into the silence of being and awareness; realizing that your mind and its egoic consciousness is only a part of you and reliquishing its control over you, and realizing you are a connected part of everything.
2. Inquiry: Questioning who/what we are (the answer is not a noun/thing and can’t be put into words) and what is real, from that still state, discarding the ego’s intellectual preconceptions and emotions (you are not your thoughts or your feelings or your mind), and going deeper and questioning everything (is it true/real? that is meaningful/important to you).
3. Contemplation: Holding a phrase/idea/question in your awareness openly and non-analytically until meaning emerges, e.g. contemplate why what we do and what we think we want to do are different; a “letting come” process less intellectual than inquiry.

From my perspective, these practices are not for fixing things or changing the world. They are about awareness and surrender, two practices we’re going to need to get through what is coming. Awareness that we’ve come to a place where we’re not going to ‘fix” what’s wrong. What’s wrong isn’t the result of an evil and pyschopathic 1% who’ve messed everything up. We’re all to blame because we can’t let go of our addictions. As Keb Mo, a contemporary blues singer writes and sings, we are the “victims of comfort.” We’re not going to be able to challenge our way out of the matrix; we are the matrix.

Our leaders don’t have the political will or desire to change. They are too busy being bought off by money, disaster capitalism, and corporations. We no longer live in a democracy and the voting booth no longer matters because the differences between the candidates no longer matter. We don’t have to change anything except ourselves and our communities. Our future is not about preservation or conservation, but about being able to face and handle what is coming, the unintended consequences of our actions.

The changes are coming; the question is whether we will be prepared. Prepare rather than trying to change it. Get well. heal yourself, heal your life, heal your soul. Don’t fear death. We all die. Relax into the coming changes by being one of those who has prepared the best you can. Then surrender into the great unknown, enjoying this beautiful world as long as you can.

Collapsing Into Consciousness