Living As A Soul: A Strategy For These Times

A news bulletin came across the airwaves recently like a flash of lightning. Its psychological impact is not yet knowable, but it appears to mark a watershed in our collective evolutionary journey. On April 26, 2009 ABC News Now reported on a study of children between the ages of 6 and 11 who had encountered hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and mudslides. One-third of these children expressed the fear that "the earth will not be here" when they grow up. This report raises the specter of loss overshadowing our planet to a whole new level. In a few years' time, we've grown accustomed to daily accounts of people losing their homes, loved ones, and livelihoods. We've been learning to adapt to the disappearance of regular seasons, of entire species, and of landmarks—from the World Trade Towers to large sections of New Orleans; from coastal villages along the Indian Ocean to a major city in China. But the notion of children thinking that the earth itself may not "be here" when they reach adulthood adds to the current disorientation by a staggering degree. And yet the fear of loss expressed by these children contains a paradox. On closer examination, it appears they may in fact be calling forth another dimension of the human being. They are saying, even if unconsciously: the very ground under my feet may no longer be here when I grow up, yet I will be here. By implication, the study seems to suggest an intuitive awareness of another level of reality and another self: a self that exists beyond the physical realm of time and space—the true Self—the Soul. The spiritual aspect of ourselves is moving closer to the foreground of human consciousness as external forces wreak havoc with our lives. Change in every aspect of existence is accelerating: from the rate of expansion of the universe to the melting of polar ice caps on our planet; from the scale of natural disasters to the outpouring of humanitarian responses; from the stripping away of material foundations of life to the awareness that a higher self exists within the human form. Outer events are actually forcing us to shift our consciousness from the personality plane—where reality is identified with matter—to the plane of the soul where identity is derived from the spirit within the form. Increasingly, we are being called to live as souls. What does it mean to live as a soul? It is to realize that everything of a material nature is transitory, including our physical bodies; things pass away but the soul never dies. To live as a soul is to be aware that we have incarnated before and will do so again and again, on the journey toward spiritual perfection. It is to know that on the plane of the soul, each of us has chosen to be present on Earth at this crucial turning point in evolution. The particular purpose to be served awaits discovery as the journey unfolds. But learning to live as souls, collectively, is the next evolutionary goal for humanity as a whole--according to the modern wisdom teachings. In light of this fact, it appears that the Universe has conspired to teach us the Way of the Buddha at warp speed. To live through this time of constant upheaval with even a small degree of equanimity is to learn detachment. Unlike previous eras, when Buddhist monks spent entire lifetimes studying the Four Noble Truths and practicing the principles of the Eightfold Path, our learning cycle has been compressed and intensified. The escalation of human suffering challenges us increasingly to confront the causes of suffering and to practice the means of overcoming it, just to survive the tide of events engulfing us. In the wisdom teachings, as stated in When the Soul Awakens, suffering is seen as a prod to spiritual growth. Its purpose is "to rouse us from the illusion of our separate, form-based ego identities and awaken the true spiritual being within—the soul." Once awakened, we set forth on the spiritual path, learning what the Buddha taught about detachment from material conditions and "right relationship" to all living beings, further enabling the light of the soul to enter into awareness. That spiritual light can become a lifeline for navigating uncharted waters, such as those we are now entering. The Ageless Wisdom is invaluable in helping us to see where we are right now in the scheme of evolution. For millions of years, the incarnate human soul has been identified with its outer form (or personality), in the goal of gaining experience on the physical plane and acquiring knowledge. That identity begins to shift when the soul awakens and the path of return to Spirit unfolds. On that path—the path of transformation—a "role reversal" takes place. The personality grows increasingly more identified with the true self, the soul, becoming its vehicle of service in the world. A core method for achieving this transformation is the discipline of detachment. In the Buddha's teaching, there are 3 aspects to this discipline; together they transform the personality into a conscious soul. Through the practice of detachment, awareness is withdrawn from the physical world of the senses and attuned to the subtle world of spiritual realities. Through the practice of dispassion, indifference to emotional desire is developed, enabling the light of the soul to illumine one's thinking. Through the practice of discrimination, the mind learns to distinguish the real from the unreal and the individual is increasingly drawn to "the good, the beautiful and the true." By practicing detachment, dispassion and discrimination, karmic patterns established over lifetimes are dissolved and the way is cleared for "a new birth"—a spiritual rebirth or awakening that brings the soul into conscious awareness. Treading the way of the Buddha generates the light needed to live consciously as a soul, to become a living expression of the Buddha nature or Christ consciousness. Through the process of transformation that follows awakening, we become identified with other souls and impelled to live out Christ's message of love (of neighbor and of self)—the higher octave of love that will underlie the coming spiritual civilization. Not very long ago, many of us sensed that events were prodding us to awaken and attune to the evolutionary flow. Now it seems we're being shoved into consciously entering that flow. Powerful forces are propelling us toward the next stage of evolution. With the collapse of the old order and the stripping away of many forms of material security, the lessons of detachment are becoming woven into the fabric of daily living. As the earth itself undergoes dramatic changes and outer landmarks disappear, we are challenged as never before to rely on the inner light of the soul. By doing so, each of us can add our individual spark to the gathering wave of light that will flood the earth as the new age dawns.