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Habit is an automatic tendency, an invisible fence that guards our actions. This helps us to perform many tasks in life without having to re-learn them each time. By the same token, this invisible fence of habitual structure can also become barb wired. When a habit is obsolete, it turns into an obstacle to evolution.
In this time of rapid change old patterns are coming to conclusion, and new ones are randomly emerging. This requires the courage to let go of habitual, yet familiar ways of thinking, behaving and acting. Unquestioned beliefs and subconscious emotional responses are the paw marks of what went before. They ensure that we keep retracing the same steps, even if these steps are no longer helpful. When the same issues continue to appear, it becomes important to change some of the primary outlook on life from within our own psyche.
The driving force for all impulses and actions originates from the soul. The soul is not the body, mind, or emotional content, but rather the consciousness that gives rise to all of them. It is the core, the energetic entity that merely changes form. Within one life we undergo many changes. Hopefully we also evolve our consciousness through wisdom. After death the soul prevails in the astral realms until it is ready to take on human life in another body. This process continues until all desires for earthly experiences are fulfilled.
The situation the soul chooses to be born into is predetermined by the circumstances of the last life. Consequently, there are no victims, only choices. Although not conscious of it, memory of the past prevails. The amount of work a soul decides to accomplish in one lifetime depends on many factors. Some people are living examples of what happens when all earthly desires are fulfilled. They have remembered that the Source is the only activating power, and that the value of all their life’s experiences lies in this realization. Such people embody the infinite essence of spirit beyond the limitations of time and space. They are living examples of love, compassion, joy, and vibrant energy. Throughout life’s many conditions of suffering they appear blameless as well as fearless. These qualities prove that their soul has completed its evolutionary journey. Since it has reached fruition within the human life form, no further incarnations are necessary.
For the rest of us the question remains: why do good things or situations we intend to draw into our lives often not manifest? What we know as karma is the law of action and reaction. It is intrinsic to nature, and quite scientific. What we sow is what we reap. The problem begins where this thought is confused with reward and punishment. This is now no longer a naturally occurring phenomenon, but a man-made principle. As such it is subject to delusion and distortion, the reflection of a negative psychology displayed in guilt, fear, anger, manipulation or revenge.
Although intrinsic to human nature, negative emotions breed negative actions. When we act from such premises, we can expect to receive the same negativity. We may intend for good things to happen, but as long as there is an underlying sense of fear or anger, the law of karma will reflect it. Interpreting this as punishment shows oblivion regarding the imprints of our own psyche. The important point is to recognize that the soul’s intentions are not only highly individual, but also conditioned by collective issues. Just as we do not see the air we breathe or the space we move in, so are we unaware of our subconscious conditioning. If we do not want to keep repeating the same mistakes of the past, it is necessary to first recognize, and then destroy the old mold. Only then can we build a new one.
So how can we recognize the old mold? Many people are constantly waiting for the second shoe to drop. Like a deer in the headlights, impeding danger mesmerizes them. An invisible threat of punishment seems to lurk from deep within their psyche. Negative subconscious programs are part of the old mold. They originate from false beliefs and doctrines invented by people. Revenge and manipulation are not concepts that stem from good intentions, and neither are guilt or punishment. Because they instill fear and isolation, such concepts are nevertheless effective tools. Once people are afraid, they lose their sense of self-empowerment. Then those who desire dominance can control them easily.
In order to understand why power, greed, and selfishness became prevalent, we need to go back to another time. It was a time when all roles within society were valued equally. Therefore, all members were equal in status as well. Such models of social order allowed for balance, mutual respect, justice, and shared responsibility in the well being of all. What is more, these societies regarded the entire creation as equally relevant and sacred. Through specific rituals pubescent members of the tribe were initiated into adulthood. This had a very distinct effect in that it allowed the young adults to mature emotionally. Such rites also created opportunities to build courage. Through experiencing and mastering their fears the adolescent members of the tribe grew emotionally independent. They learned how to derive their sense of security from within themselves.
Then a shift occurred during which the main motion of social evolution gravitated toward individualization. While moving away from a sense of coherence and connectedness, the experience of separation was augmented in all aspects of life. Actions related to the intellect were now considered superior to actions associated with the emotions. While rational thinking brought much progress in many areas of life, it eventually crowded out intuition along with the feeling of wholeness. The heightened sense of isolation triggered the primal anxiety of separation from the womb each human being encounters at birth. Although individuation equaled progress, the specific ways in which this occurred resulted in a loss of nurturing, emotional cohesiveness, and inner security.
Because rational thought views and processes everything by being apart from it, this mental mode of operation was consistent with the sense of separation that was fostered and progressively mirrored in all areas of life. Most rites of passage lost their communal sense of belonging and organic wholeness. This psychological syndrome also brought about disrespect for the environment, and life in general. People were no longer allowed to live according to their true nature. They began to suppress a part of their being. The ensuing trauma further augmented social alienation. After abandoning their inherent impulses, these people became increasingly more susceptible to the negative emotions of fear, anger, or sadness and despair. This enforced the twisted psychology of victimization, blame, futility, manipulation, and punishment. The resulting confusion served to feed the hungry beasts of power, control, greed, and exploitation.
This widespread human syndrome needs healing now. With its recognition, the old mold can be destroyed. Then it is possible to step out onto fresh and healthier ground. When the natural principles of caring and respect for all life are embraced once more, the process of reintegrating a felt sense of interrelatedness can occur. Individuation in tandem with assimilation of pertinent ritualistic components moves evolution past trauma and fragmentation. Over time our innate sense of unity can develop in the direction it is intended and most beneficial. Thus a new mold of positive habits emerges. They help us to love, seek, and respect life. One by one we find these qualities increasingly reflected in our environment as well.
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