I originally wrote the following in October, 2008, prior to the election. Re-reading it now indicates how little has actually changed since then.

*  *  *

I’ve spoken to many people over the past few days about their feeling of restlessness. Several have had trouble sleeping, have experienced troubling dreams, or even nightmares. Most often, this is very unusual for them. They wonder to themselves “What is up with this??” but keep it to themselves thinking that it is a purely personal issue.

But it’s not.

Many of us are feeling it: that low-grade, just-beneath-awareness hum of anxiety. And why wouldn’t we? When you take a step away from the everyday doings of your daily schedule and look at the bigger picture, it can be unsettling. Financial markets are struggling in unknown, fast-moving waters toward an uncertain future. The political arena has devolved into an incredibly negative, and some would say dangerous, vibration of rage and fear. Wars worldwide continue, and seem to grow increasingly more violent, with no real end in sight. Drought, famine, disease, ethnic turmoil … the list goes on and on.

What is an Aware Soul supposed to do?

Our journey circles have done quite a lot of exploration on this question, and the responses of Spirit are consistent. Clearly and not surprisingly, we are in the beginnings of a significant global transition. Those who are even partially awake know this already, though for the most part we are not fully comprehending the enormity of it. One person in a recent Circle received the message that following years of pregnancy (during which time we were all getting hints of something big around the corner) Mother Earth has now already re-birthed herself; we are the midwives and birthing partners. It is done.

If that is so, and it seems a very useful metaphor if nothing else, now we need to reorient ourselves to nurturing this New Earth and working out what that means and how to do it. The good news is that we have already begun that process. What we are called to do now is really focus. In a sense, we no longer have the luxury of waiting for something to happen .. it already has.

Getting Grounded

Before we can be at all useful in the transition, we need to be grounded ourselves. That means, at the very least, to find and participate in a community of people who are spiritually oriented. There are many such opportunities, including traditional places of worship as well as non-traditional groups. The only significant criterion is an openness to moving forward together into a new paradigm. ANY group that perpetuates separation, fear, and rage is counterproductive.

Grounding ourselves also means taking more time for feeding ourselves spiritually. We have a LOT to learn about how to surf these times. My intuition has repeatedly pointed out that many of us — if not the vast majority of us — have been through times like these in past lives, in many civilizations. We KNOW how to do this, if only we can tap into those deep memories. That’s why we have chosen to be here in this place and in this time: to assist in this tremendously important task.

Being Lighthouses

In many respects, we can serve as lighthouses to others when we are ready. You may already have noticed that many people around you are seeking more meaningful connection with spirit and community. I hear conversations like this virtually everywhere these days: restaurants, grocery stores, workplaces….

Some may come to you directly for information or guidance. When that happens, know that they are coming to you because the see Hope in you; and when that happens, let that feeling of humility and responsibility grow inside, because you are then tasked to be a guide for them, to assist in connecting them also with community.

This is very different from proselytizing and standing on street corners preaching doom and retribution. It is being ready for those moments when one spontaneously reaches for that higher vision, that deeper understanding, that connection.

Certainly there will be those who choose not to participate in this transition. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports a study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore that the suicide rate has jumped for the first time in the past 10 years. While we all would wish that they would remain and join us in this new adventure, we also must be prepared to honor their choices and let them go in peace.

It is my clear hope and expectation that we will all be impeccable lighthouses and guides to our fellow travelers. My guidance has been consistently clear: we have embarked on an important and exciting adventure. I can hardly wait.