Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky. When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth.
–Diane Ackerman
You don’t hear the term, “the shift,” as in a shift of consciousness or paradigm shift, very often anymore. It seems many people now agree that there has been a shift, and that we are fully in it, and that we are in a new world now. Many say they have already had their shift in consciousness, often brought on by some ordeal, as a physical illness or divorce or financial crisis, or all of the above. The shift may have been from focusing on success and money to prioritizing family and love, or from pushing one’s body too far to radical self-care.
These are life-altering shifts that ripple out and help many others, but the shifting never ends. It is totally an inside job that requires deep change at the level of perception far below the level of belief. In fact, fear-based beliefs are most often at the root of conflict and the perception of being separate from others, and all of humanity suffers because of it. They keep us from seeing what is, which is the radical and beautiful interconnectedness of all things.
The shifting or rate of change we now are dealing with is more and more quantum, which according to the Free Dictionary means sudden, spectacular, and vitally important. In addition, these quantum shifts are happening at a rate that the minds of most humans not on a consciousness expanding drug can fathom. I am not even referring to the kaleidoscopic machinations of the United States government when I refer to the rate of change. I am referring to what has always been true and that we are now able to perceive, that there are multiple dimensions of reality happening simultaneously.
Our minds have a survival center that limits what we perceive based on our fears. Our fear-based perception prevents us from seeing the countless other dimensions at play in everything that happens. Right now, the most important shift is being able to let go quickly and open to see things as they are, in their totality, without a story and without judgment.
I call this kind of shift a quantum shift, and it requires that we continually step back, open the heart, and see with innocent eyes. Many call this seeing with the eyes of love. It is what Christ meant when he said in Matthew 18:3: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Little children do not judge.
The shift is not and never has been “out there,” and even the collective shift in consciousness is not separate from each and every one of us. The “we” is comprised of countless individuals choosing love over fear. It is not detachment, which is a state of being objective or aloof. Rather, it is perceiving the world with the eyes of the heart.
In my book, Loveseed: The Template For Birthing A New World, I share the story of a quantum shift that was a tremendous gift while living in Peru in 2005:
It was a Saturday and I needed to go to the bigger market to stock up on food for the week, which meant taking a cab through a section of town that I perceived at the time to be “disgusting and dirty.” I had heard myself say that a few times to a friend, commenting on why “they” could not do a better job of picking up trash in Peru. At that time, I had a heart that seemed to open and close at whim, triggered by things I didn’t like. I had not yet cultivated the space inside me to accept all things with grace.
As I sat in the back of the jerking cab, annoyed at the driver’s aggression, I laughed at how aggressive I myself had been lately, complaining about every little thing. I was aware of my misery and that I was resisting the joyful and awake state I longed for. I sat back, rested in the Witness aspect of my awareness, and breathed a huge sigh of surrender into my heart.
Suddenly and quietly, the way I perceived all things changed. I felt an expansion and my heart burst open. I looked at the garbage, filth, and all the other “annoying” things, and I saw a soft, warm light everywhere. I did not see filth, but beauty, as love emanated from me and back to me from everything I witnessed. I was seeing with the eyes of the heart—the Sacred Heart.
I recall giving the driver a big tip and prepared to enter the crowded market where people were packed like sardines. I had enough presence of mind to clutch my purse more tightly, since “gringas” in Peru were often robbed by locals, yet I did not see anyone as a potential threat. I felt “in love” with everyone there, smiling and merging on the level of the heart.
I realized that I had been given a gift and that while it seemed to come out of nowhere, my prayer and meditation of the months prior had paved the way for this experience of unity consciousness. I had planted the seeds of this moment, and the flowering was magnificent. The expanded state where I seemed to live on higher ground while remaining connected to everyone and everything around me lasted two weeks. Even after I seemed to “come down to earth,” I was different. The polarities of my joy and misery seemed to merge, and I was more “integrated,” to use a term from Carl Jung.
Again, my willingness to surrender my judging mind opened up a portal for me to step through into an entirely different dimension of consciousness. Each time, I received a precious gift when I was able to get to the heart of the matter.
This most important shift can happen when you least expect it, and requires that you recognize and welcome it. You don’t need to meditate or perform rituals for it to happen, but you can intend, invite and welcome such experiences, and prepare to have them as you would prepare for a very important guest.
The most powerful preparation for the most important shift is to surrender every feeling, and every thought that arises. If the feelings are big, lean in and as they subside, let go. The same with stories and assumptions and the machinations of the mind. Notice, be curious, and let go. Keep clearing the way for the next experience to be new, and not colored by all that has gone before. Remain an open channel and you will have more energy, less worry, and far more fun.
For some reason this incredibly natural state is difficult to achieve, because our analytic minds in the service of our survival brains love to be in control. We witness that as well, without judgment, and we find ourselves on a never-ending journey where the muscle of surrender becomes second nature, and life becomes more of a flow state than one shift after the other. The rate of change seems to slow down to a pulse that we can be with, rather than attempting to keep up with all that bombards us each day.
If you can imagine it, you are already there. Like the sky that begins with the earth, your perfect life begins with you.
Perfect! Continuing to work the ‘muscle of surrender’ and shifting everyday. I’m glad I took the time to read this. The opening Diane Ackerman quote is so profound.. goosebumps.
Hello Tacie. Surrender rocks! Sending you love!