As our old way of life suffers a painful death, a bright light shines in the distance

We welcomed a new member to our intentional community at the Oasis this week. Marilyn is a very bright light and we are delighted to have her join our family. Her donation to the community will support us in completing our current upgrade to our farming and animal husbandry program, that we might take a step forward in self-sufficiency.

I just yesterday completed a new garden devoted mostly to root vegetables, carrots, beets, and potatoes. It has long been my belief that the combination of plenty of sunshine and a diet filled with root vegetables is the formula for perfect health. Conscious Living embraces a daily relationship with the elements of the earth, clean air and water, earth (represented by the garden and especially root vegetables) and fire. We build our structures with materials from our land, wood and stone, and enjoy the warmth of a wood fire. We are prepared to cook with wood if our supply of propane gas disappears.

I am called to offer guidance and support to those who might feel a sense of loss with our current cocooning process. I listened to a very educated and informed woman yesterday speak about the reality ahead, that what we are experiencing now throughout the world is the beginning of the “new normal.”

According to her, many things that we became accustomed to, especially in North America, will no longer be a part of our lives. She described the simple way in which how most acquire their food, going to a store and choosing from a wide array of products, is over. It will never again be the norm. Likewise she says that businesses that supported gathering in large groups for dining or entertainment will never again be the norm. I say that the necessity of changing our daily habits, those which have seriously and negatively impacted our planet, is a very good thing. Reports are rampant about the ways in which Mother Earth is healing. Our relationship with nature is fundamental to Conscious Living.

A butterfly emerges from its cocoon.

In the long video, this very bright and articulate woman, who had spent over 20 years working with FEMA and Homeland Security, described a well researched overview of human behavior. She said that only 3 percent of humans had the will and integrity to choose the best for themselves, their community and the planet. Another 7 percent would “talk the talk” but still make choices based on personal interests over that of others. And the rest? 90 percent would simply follow the rules laid out before them, blind to any impact these rules for living might have on themselves, their community or their world. Watch what unfolds in the next several weeks, especially in the U.S., which has quickly become the epicenter of this economic and political storm.

And a note on Conscious Dying, as the way we die has more to say about our lives and life choices than any other single thing.  The 3 percent to whom I direct my teaching have the opportunity to shape our new earth in significant ways. A fundamental value in this is the integrity of our choices. Can we consistently make choices that truly serve the best interest of the whole?  At some point this integrity speaks to the grace and dignity we bring to our physical death. Becoming conscious translates into the knowledge of when it is our time to step aside, no longer taking up space, using resources, that could better be used by others.  It has been the fear of death that has brought the U.S., more than any other country in the world, to complete bankruptcy.

A very bright light shines in the distance, at the end of a very long tunnel. To the caterpillar, the old forms, all appears as doom and gloom. The end is surely near. It is only for those 3 percent that can see with new eyes, the eyes of evolution, the brightness that is calling to us. A new dawn will come for those who choose to spread their wings in freedom and in glory, butterflies ready to dance together in the morning sun.
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Louis Bourgeois lives outside of Cuenca with his wife and baby. He teaches courses in Conscious Living and Conscious Dying and is currently developing the Oasis, an eco-resort. He can be contacted at louisb333@hotmail.com