I was fortunate to recently attend an event with two pioneers of
the emerging story of humanity, often referred to as The New Story or The
Shift. I’ve been following their work for some time and was surprised to leave
feeling disappointed. It was not that their words did not resonate with me or
that I could no longer see the value of their work, but rather I met with a sense
of a more fundamental platform from which to approach the challenges facing
humanity. Reflecting on the unique opportunity of hearing these messages
first-hand, I felt within me that the key to nourishing The New Story lies not
in activism or gatherings or campaigns, although these energies are important, but
rather lies in giving attention to our spirit – the place where we are all
connected already.

How do we connect the numerous threads of The New Story and ensure
that the potential in pioneering work is not overlooked? I do not believe that we
can. The myriad movements that are taking place around the world cannot reach
the fundamental level which resonates within all of us. Trying to coordinate our
efforts would inhibit our potential. Even with such a beautiful goal in mind, human
activity cannot be co-ordinated on that scale.

We are spiritual beings and therefore work rooted at a grosser
level cannot permeate through all of humanity effectively enough to maximize
our potential and bring The Shift into maturity.

This is where spirituality has to come forth. We should recognize
that this challenge is too great for even our most intellectually crafted
efforts. This is a challenge that ultimately requires a spiritual solution manifested
through individual inner transformation.

To achieve inner transformation, to emerge as new creations
fulfilling our greatest potential, we must attend to the essential non-physical
aspect of ourselves. When we awaken to the true nature of reality, which does
not accept dominion of individuality and disconnection, we become more attuned
to the nuance of our interbeingness. We become certain of that which we may
have already felt to be true – that we are neither separate from each other nor
from nature and that everything is in a perpetual state of dynamic
interdependent flux. The societal and material structures around us exist on a
grosser level than this.

In awakening to the global crises we are brought face to face with
the certainty of our oneness. In realizing our oneness we are motivated to seek
out greater connection. Awakening is an inner transformation and inner
transformation requires attention to our non-ego-based selves. As a fundamental
framework for connection we must acknowledge our spiritual natures. In
experiencing ourselves through spirit we connect with a higher organizing power.
This is the force that animates all of life – all of the countless interactions
that endlessly take place to drive our lives, from the awesome processing power
of the human brain, to the life-giving photons reaching out to us from the sun,
and the interactions of countless species forming the basis of our ecosystems.

We start each day with so much to be grateful for. Our body is
already breathing life into us, our brain has been busy in the night processing
information and memories, and our physiological functions are rested and poised
for the new day. We do not consciously attend to any of this but it is so. In
the same way, we can allow the outcome of how we synchronise our efforts of
shifting human consciousness to a new paradigm. We must lay the groundwork in
whatever field we are working in but we do not have to micro-manage the
details. The numerous initiatives taking place around the world are that
groundwork and the fuel that will ignite their coming to prominence is
attention to our common spiritual natures. From a place beyond our conscious reasoning
we make choices that promote connection – perhaps something we overheard in
conversation, or a fragment of a memory of something we were once introduced to
spills over into our work and joins us with other complementary agendas; a relationship
may be formed that advances The New Story.

Whether great or small the orchestration of each new thread lies
outside of ourselves. Ultimately they are evolving us as a species and bringing
us to the next step on our evolutionary journey – to a place of expanded
consciousness and yet greater potential. What is that potential and what indeed
is the essential force that motivates life and the many activists,
entrepreneurs and campaigners? It is Love. The New Story, The Shift, the
emergence of a new way of being all refer to the same thing – that we have a
great and often unmet desire to love each other and to love the world around
us. Indeed, this is the very energy that is driving the universe in organizing
our efforts and bringing forth the connections that are necessary for The Shift
to emerge. The New Story is Love.