To have our campus right in the middle of such destruction is terrifying.
Although our minds have the tendency to implode to desperately find any iota of insight and comprehension into these life changing events, we must remember that we are not our thoughts or our circumstances.
April 15, 2013 has undoubtedly made a mark on our life experience, however, we must find a way to make this painful disaster useful to us. We are artists. We are musicians, writers, painters, & visionaries. For years the human race has turned to art to quantify the pain that is unquantifiable and make it into something therapeutic, beautiful, and timeless.
It's events like these that serve as an undeniable reminder to be grateful for every moment. We are also reminded of Who We Really Are .. who we want to be.
Let's take this time of sadness and use it as fuel to create something of beauty. Something that will contribute to something even greater than we are. Art that will uplift the souls of others as well as our own.
There will always be someone vying for significance, and whom will use negative vehicles to fulfill this basic human need. It is up to us to condition the world to look for the greatness in themselves, so that they may use this power to give the world great gifts of love and not misery.
The following is an excerpt from Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. I hope you take the time to read it. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. Consider this a safe place for free discussion.
Stay safe & be kind to one another. Namasté.
"The Peace That Passes All Understanding
There are many accounts of people who experienced that emerging new dimension of consciousness as a result of tragic loss at some point in their lives. Some lost all of their possessions, other their children or spouse, their social position, reputation, or physical abilities. In some cases, through disaster or war, they lost all of these simultaneously and found themselves with "nothing." We may call this a limit-situation. Whatever they had identified with, whatever gave them their sense of self, had been taken away. Then suddenly & inexplicably, the anguish or intense fear they initially felt gave way to a sacred sense of Presence, a deep peace and serenity and complete freedom from fear. This phenomenon must have been familiar to St. Paul, who used the expression "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." It is indeed a peace that doesn't seem to make sense, and the people who experienced it asked themselves: In the face of this, how can it be that I feel such peace?
The answer is simple, once you realize what the ego is and how it works. When forms that you had identified with, that gave you your sense of self, collapse or are taken away, it can lead to a collapse of the ego, since ego is identification with form. When there is nothing to identify with anymore, who are you? When forms around you die or death approaches, your sense of Beingness, of I Am, is freed from its entanglement with form: Spirit is released from its imprisonment in matter. You realize your essential prior to all forms, all identifications. You realize your true identity as consciousness itself, rather that what consciousness had identified with. That's the peace of God. The ultimate truth of who you are is not I am this or I am that, but I Am.
Not everybody who experiences great loss also experiences this awakening, this disidentification from form. Some immediately create a strong mental image or though form in which they see themselves as a victim, whether it be of circumstances, other people, an just fate, or God. This thought form and the emotions it creates, such as anger, resentment, self-pity, and so on, they strongly identify with, and it immediately takes the place of all the other identifications that have collapsed through the loss. In other words, the ego quickly finds a new form. The fact that this new form is a deeply unhappy one doesnt concern the ego too much, as long as it has an identity, good or bad. In fact, this new ego will be more contracted, more rigid and impenetrable than the old one.
Whenever tragic loss occurs, you either resist or you yield. Some people become bitter or deeply resentful; others become compassionate, wise, and loving. Yielding means inner acceptance of what is. You are open to life.
Resistance is an inner contraction, a hardening of the shell of the ego. You are closed. Whatever action you take in a state of inner resistance (which we could also call negativity) will create more outer resistance, and the universe will not be on your side; life will not be helpful. If the shutters are closed, the sunlight cannot come in. When you yield internally, when you surrender, a new dimension of consciousness opens up. If action is possible or necessary, your action will be in alignment with the whole and supported by creative intelligence, the unconditioned consciousness which in a state of inner openness you become one with. Circumstances and people then become helpful, cooperative. Coincidences happen. If no action is possible, you rest in the peace and inner stillness that come with surrender. You rest in God. "
