Excerpt | The Unselfish Spirit

by Mick Collins

Human occupation and spiritual emancipation 

Our actions in the world at this time of great transformation mean that processes of co-creation are not only about what each of us does to make a difference in our own lives, but also take into account what we do together – with others – to live with a new understanding of responsibility.26 The idea of co-creating an improved future will require a new mind-set, where we work deeply on ourselves and also work productively together to bring about transformation. Collectively, we will need to understand the importance of transcending our damaging modes of doing and being in the world. The quality of engagement will be determined by our attitudes and our actions, as Skolimowski26 notes; if we interact with the Earth in mechanistic ways then we will treat it as a machine, whereas, if we relate to the Earth as sacred, we will treat it as sacred. It is our choice if we act aggressively and with indifference to the planet, or whether we choose to treat the Earth and one another with respect and love. When navigating these deep vectors of transformation collectively, we will falter unless we accept full responsibility for the world that we can co-create collectively, including taking greater responsibility for crises that currently we have chosen to ignore.27

The process of transforming consciousness requires an attitude of acceptance, learning and trust, which means having the courage (and support) to accommodate the productive elements of a crisis, in the knowledge that these antecedents for individual change also reflect the potential for collective transpersonal development. To this end, how we deal with spiritual crises may well act as a barometer for how we understand the trials of transformation at a collective level, grounded and integrated through doing. Schlitz28 has noted the importance of doing in the transformation of being, where living deeply involves changes in the self, giving expression to the sacred, via our actions.10

It is clear that deep processes of change associated with transformative crisis connect to the complementary nature of doing and being in the journey of spiritual regeneration. Furthermore, this includes understanding the connections between the ego, the Self and processes of collective renewal. Here, a life at work is about fostering a greater relationship between our human potential and living in an interconnected whole.10

Awakening to the reality of the current global crisis, we will all need to see the earth as an essential life support system, rather than a commodity to be used continually reminding ourselves that we are not separate from the planet we are currently destroying. The future of humanity may well depend upon individuals working together towards what Wesselman30 has referred to as communities of transformation. Barbara Marx Hubbard31 reminds us about the consequences of a failure to act when she says that as a species we are putting ourselves at great risk of extinction. She also notes that the risk has been created by our human actions. Therefore, we need to find collective and culturally competent ways to navigate what Catherine Lucas32 has recently described as a global dark night of the soul. We need no reminding that the earth is not an inanimate object; it is connected to each of us at a soul level, known as the anima mundi, or soul of the world. This brings home why we need to develop our transpersonal potential as a way of reconnecting to life as a whole, and recalibrate our awareness to include an understanding of ourselves as belonging to an interconnected cosmos. This requires emancipation from our current debilitating ways of relating to life.

Lajoie and Shapiro33 remind us that a transpersonal perspective is an experience of consciousness that connects us to the unity in the cosmos. Moreover, transpersonal scholar Ken Wilber34 has noted how this expansive field-like consideration for psycho-spiritual consciousness connects to new paradigm thinking.35

So, what can be done today to support a shift in people’s consciousness individually and collectively to develop more awareness of our transpersonal potential? The dynamics of such a transformative process is summed up in the words of Sri Ramana Maharshi, who has revealed that the mystical journey (image) starts with each human being exploring the reality beyond the ego-self and embarking on a discovery of the real Self.64 In Jungian/transpersonal terminology, Lionel Corbett65 expresses the collective dimension of such an undertaking as the personal-self having an archetypal connection to the transpersonal-Self, meaning that we live our full potential in all facets of our lives.66 There is growing recognition that activity and participation as (potentially) numinous phenomena can be engaged through everyday modes of human engagement. For example, Corbett65 has noted how numinous experiences may occur in innumerable ways in daily life, through activities, such as music, writing, dance, art, craft, play, working in nature and preparing meals. He suggests that when these types of activities lead to numinous encounters, and they are engaged regularly they can become channels for spiritual practice. Indeed, our ways of doing are like portals to the mystery in life, where our abilities to express spirituality through action reflect unique thresholds for our personal and transpersonal participation in the world. Our natural talents, qualities and skills, when expressed fully, can connect us to a sacred sense of wholeness. Deepak Chopra52 conveys the mystical potential of doing, through the example where a dancer is at one with the dance. Yet, at a collective level we need to connect our movement towards oneness (the dance) with others.

In such a worldview, human beings have the opportunity to wake up to what Michael Washburn67 has described as the mystical body, where we connect to a sense of spiritual belonging. Although transformations in consciousness necessarily start with the individual, it is through the power of human relationships that people can work together and open up to their collective potential. Indeed,  Washburn67 notes the inspirational impact that people can have on one another when he states that people who are awakening and committed to spiritual development become numinous attractors. This magnificent proposition underlines the power of our human potential to have a spiritual impact upon one another. The suggestion is that if we make a commitment to engaging spiritually in our ways of doing and being, we can inspire one another in our myriad words and deeds. The mystery of life challenges us to consider living in the presence of awe, sacredness and reverence.

(image) Author, Mick Collins

Mick Collins PhD is a lecturer in occupational therapy within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia. He has worked as a builder’s laborer, infantryman, and heavy-goods truck driver, and lived in a Buddhist monastery. Dr. Collins has also worked as a therapist in an acute-mental-health setting and as a specialist with a psychological-therapies team.

The Unselfish Spirit  was awarded the book prize 2014 by The Scientific and Medical Network. It has also been selected for The Hay Festival, 2015. The Unselfish Spirit can be purchased from:  http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_unselfish_spirit:paperback

References:

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