9 August 2012
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A reconsideration of the inherent mystery that surrounds our individual lives on this planet.
We experience mysterious coincidences which show us that there is
another side of life we have yet to discover--some other process
operating behind the scenes.
A world transformation is taking place now because the number of
individuals conscious of such coincidences is growing dramatically.
Once we reach a "critical mass" of such individuals, the culture will
begin to take these coincidental experiences seriously, and we will
wonder, in mass, what mysterious process underlies human life on this
planet. (From Laura Bryannan)
A profound sense of restlessness always precedes a period of wakefulness
or sleep. When we are asleep and our body is ready to wake up, there is
a part of ourselves, however small, that would like to remain in the
current state of sleep. For that period, we are in a state of limbo the
text calls restlessness. On the other hand, when our body is ready to
rest for the night, there is a part of us, however small, that would
like to remain in the current state of wakefulness.Even as adults, we
fight sleep as if we are children. We therefore cannot assume that the
state of restlessness as described in this chapter will mean that
everyone, or even the majority of people, will suddenly wake up to a
state that is hyper aware of life, its purpose, and its workings. We as a
species may be approaching another evolution which is not so much
physical as in time past, but mental, psychological, spiritual. The
powers that be have created the state conducive to evolution, but there
is a reason Darwin called this phenomenon “survival of the fittest”. As
the woman said in this chapter, these insights are not new, this has
happened before.
We should not, therefore, become concerned if the majority of people
continue to live in a zombie state of sleep even if they feel this
restlessness. This restlessness may create even more pressure in people
to get and consume hoping to fill the void created by the restlessness.
I recall beginning to feel this state of restlessness in high school. At
the time I was just entering tenth grade or so. It was my summer break.
I remember searching so hard for something. Whatever it was, I didn’t
find it even after high school or well into college. My friend Anton and
I used to always tell one another that this life was a dream we were
set to wake up from at any moment.I have just learned that the point of
the restlessness may not be to find something. That is to say, not to
“arrive” at a place, but to find pleasure in the journey, to enjoy each
point in the journey. Let us take the example of marriage. Marriage
carries with it certain notions, certain ideas about how things are
supposed to be. Yet, marriage is simply the joining of two beings that
have decided to spend their life together. What that means could be
different for each couple or for the individuals within the marriage.
This is clear in that argument scene in the book. The woman walks out of
the restaurant complaining that the relationship just isn’t working.
The truth is, it isn’t what she expected it to be. This is the source of
the restlessness. Who is at fault, the person who did not rise to the
expectations or the person who had the expectations in their mind? By
setting expectations we lose respect for the mystery that surrounds
life. The student with high expectations may forget what a joy it is to
learn and may therefore become restless. Those that work with tremendous
pressure on the job may lose the spark which drove them to pursue this
field of work. This also produces restlessness.
The coincidences the chapter speaks about are not happening more
frequently, but we are paying attention more allowing us to see them. In
life, nothing is coincidental. We are a part of a larger consciousness ,
each person sending out waves knowingly or unknowingly that attract
things, people, events. We create coincidences as it were. However,
coincidences imply that we did nothing to create them, which is a lie.
The more we call things coincidences, the less likely we are to take
them seriously. The fact of the matter is that there very well may be an
underlying power to all that goes on in the universe. This may be the
power called thought. However, in this day and age, we spend so much
time on auto-pilot that we seldom have time to really consider the
thoughts we are projecting on to the universe. It is us who are waking
up, who are seeing the world as more than a collection of coincidences,
who should be taking control of our mind.
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