Soul Power: an
Agenda for a Conscious Humanity
For a long while I have held Anne Baring in high regard as the foremost exponent of the divine feminine. I was keen for her knowledge to become widely available, especially for people who do not read long books. Just before New Year 2008, I suggested to her that we spend 3 days together teasing out the essence of what we might know about the change in consciousness required on the planet today, and she agreed.
We worked off and on for three months, and the result was Soul Power: an Agenda for a Conscious Humanity – a book full of extraordinary quotes and many beautiful photos. It was the fastest publishing process I’ve ever experienced; we completed the manuscript in April, it was then designed and laid out by Tania Coke, and published by Booksurge in the USA in July 2009.
What it says is
essentially this: we live in an extraordinary
age - an age both of mortal danger but also of unprecedented
opportunity, if
only we can understand what’s happening, and why.
Our capacity for destruction, both military and
environmental, is
vastly greater today than it was half a century ago, and will be still
greater
tomorrow.
It seems as if
this mortal danger is forcing us to take a great
leap in our evolution that we might never have made, were we not driven
to it
by the crises facing us. This leap consists in an expansion of human
consciousness - a shift from seeing ourselves as the dominant species
on this
planet with a right to exploit its resources for our own needs, to
seeing
ourselves as utterly dependent for our survival on an extraordinary
living web
of planetary life. This great web of
life, formed over countless millions of years, will not survive unless
we
respect the interdependence and balance of its living systems.
At present we live
irresponsibly, unconsciously, as if we can do
what we like to the earth, without consequences. We live as if there is
no
purpose or meaning to our lives beyond the fulfillment of our material
needs. We
live as if we are separate from each other and the planet. We live as
if the
concept of soul or spirit is an irrelevance.
The treasure that we have lost is a living relationship with the soul. In the past, the word ‘soul’ conveyed meaning: the greatest artists, poets and mystics were engaged in keeping people in touch with their soul. Today the word means nothing in a culture unaware of the value of an inner life.
Our brilliant technological culture inflicts intolerable stress on us because it grants no value to mystery. It allows no time for relationship with the soul, no time to awaken to the beauty and wonder of the extraordinary treasure that lies within us, and the magnificence all around us.
Given that we may
have only a few decades to heal ourselves and
the planet, how do we recover our lost sense of being part of something
totally
sacred? How do we develop respect and compassion for nature? How do we
meet the
needs of the human heart for love, relatedness, connection?
How
can we be the change we want to see in the world?
We can make
radical shifts in our
everyday lives - in the way we do things, in the way we think, in how
we are.
Instead of seeing the current crises as frightening, we can see the
opportunity
they offer to transform the deficient values that currently drive our
economies.
We can develop new
energy technologies that are benign rather
than destructive or polluting. We can adjust our domestic decisions
– decisions
about travel, heating, conserving food and precious resources –
to the needs of
the planet. We can take our business
away from de-humanized organisations to more connected ones, where we
can form
a relationship with a person, such as local barter systems.
In our workplace,
we can suggest and support moves away from hierarchical
structures to horizontal ones that are personalised,
connected and enable individuals to develop and thrive. We
can demonstrate
to leaders and managers
that ‘top down’ change cannot succeed without ‘bottom
up’ consultation and
engagement. We can move away from the
sickness of greed and ruthless
competition towards an understanding of our path in life, of what we
are really
here to do.
We shall need
emotional intelligence - understanding not simply
the point of view but the needs of the ‘opponent’. Non
violent communication is
now being learned and used by people all over the world, simply because
it
works, and works wonders.
We are being offered new opportunities to grow and become more
complete human beings. Servant leadership for example is a powerful way
to learn
how I - as an ego - can step back, and I as a servant can step forward.
An
on-going
practice of reflection or self-awareness could become a daily support. Self
knowledge enables us to
develop the ability to confront
and transform
darker emotions.
Each of us needs to find our own unique path. In fact this may be the most important thing we ever do, to perceive how our particular skills can be of most use to the planet and future generations, and let this inspire and guide our actions.
Available on Amazon price £13.01 or $20.99