Be kind to yourself
Back in 2016, I wrote the following blog, but didn't publish it. My personal experience since then, and the magnifying glass of current events, has strengthened my view that at the root of humanity's problems is a spiritual crisis. These 'problems' can be averted. I offer the blog (as it was written four years ago).
If any of this resonates then please reach out and connect.
We need to be smart, self-aware and kind to ourselves, here's why:
We live in an intense, frenetic age. Most people in the Western world are herded into cities, living on top of one another. Our biology and evolution has not prepared us for this environment and these living conditions. Being estranged from nature, it's all too easy to have unhealthy lifestyle. The pace of change is unprecedented in human history, and it is taking a massive toll on our wellbeing.
It doesn't have to be like this.
Our lives are dominated by technology that is moving faster than our ability to keep up. This tech explosion has not led to a corresponding expansion of personal happiness. Overload is the norm and it's everywhere - as a result people are highly stressed. This means the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight) is strained to the maximum, while our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation) lies dormant and under-utilised. This goes unrecognised in most people.
You can change yourself and things around you.
The 21st century Western capitalist model is creaking at the seams. Despite this, the rest of the world is racing to catch up with our 'advanced' model of consumerism, materialism and greed. Junk food, negative emotions, and prescription medication fuel this world. The context is exacerbated by powerful advertising, creating unhealthy expectations of how we should think and how we should feel. We are living longer, but this longevity is not accompanied by a corresponding improvement in quality of life. This doesn't mean I advocate an exodus from cities and abstinence from electronic devices to solve our ills - and in any event we would take our frenzied minds with us wherever we went.
It's intelligent to have a positive attitude, even if humanity is beset with a multitude of crises:
Environmental destruction
Global warming - climate change
Nationalism, partisan behaviour and terrorism
Wealth disparity between the West and developing countries
Physical health epidemics - obesity, diabetes, cancer, sleep deprivation
Mental health epidemics - depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar
Brain disorders - dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
People living virtual rather than 'real' lives
Personal change and growth will change society.
What each one of us does really matters! These symptoms each represent significant problems in their own right, and yet the root cause of all these crises can be traced to another deeper factor. We are in the midst of a spiritual crisis. We need to recognise our present state: a deep disconnection from our bodies, minds and inner wisdom - lacking a real understanding of our true nature. This leads us to a sense of separation, competition, isolation, and lack of community.
Perhaps counter-intuitively we need a return to ancient wisdom to address the problems of today.
The Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita are the mystical poems left to us by our ancestors that communicate - as best as is possible in words - the nature of deep reality. These texts (and others) are the authentic sources of Advaita Vedanta and Yoga - articulating the path to self-realisation and spiritual freedom. Perhaps the most difficult message for us to receive, and truly assimilate, is our divine nature. Shakti is you and me. Spiritual enquiry and practice is to verify this in our direct experience i.e. with no reliance on any outside agency (including me).
Please take this as an opening statement that I will articulate further. I hope to connect with people that have similar interests.
