Upshift

When things seem bad, we like to say it can only go up from here.  We have to lift our vision and imagine what is possible, so that the millions of shared dreams of peace converge and become one great ocean of peace.  As I speak this in my Mino-Anna (pun on Polly Anna) way, we are all in shock at the war in Europe. We thought that after all the mass-scale killings of World War I and World War II, that continent would be quiet for a long time.  Sadly, that was not to be. And sadly, hatred and violence seems to be increasing every year everywhere much to the glee of the military industrial complex and institutions like NATO, which continue to provoke and stoke violence- did they really expect Putin not to do anything?  It was just a shock to see a white nation at war with another white nation again, after so many white on rainbow wars, first the yellow in the East in the 50’s and 60’s then the brown wars in the Middle East since then. The brutality of the attack is on a typical superpower level- swift and merciless.

My approach has been two-fold: focus on my inner spiritual journey to give a deeper perspective on the meaning of life, and secondly, support groups that are spreading goodness and love. One such group that I got to hear last week was the Upshift Festival sponsored by the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research. Listening to one eminent speaker after another about the oneness of humanity, the merging of spirituality and science as they confirm one another, and the need for us all to “upshift” was uplifting and just in time before Ukraine War.  Here is the link for those wanting to upshift, as individual hope is all there is now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BgM0SN_3qs. Even Ervin Laszlo the star of the Upshift Festival admitted that since he authored the book Macroshift in 2000, things have increasingly deteriorated, which is why he felt that the call to individual action was urgent.

And as we ponder macro shifts on the planet, good or bad, we all work on our micro mind shifts which is the most productive action and one that is under our control. E.g., our walkers group today asked all who walked to bring their own dishes- plate, fork, cup, spoon- so that we will not create more garbage. Even if it does not make a dent in the planet’s garbage, it makes us feel a part of the change towards doing good and living so that others can live in the future. That is quite different from the old saying “live and let live”, a passive laissez faire approach to life which is not sufficient anymore.  It is so important to raise our own awareness of the sanctity of all life, and the web of connections that keep this fragile planet going (a great documentary on Netflix is “Connected”). Therefore, being aware of our eco-footprint is critical- asking ourselves where can I consume less than overconsume? Where can I conserve rather than waste? What can I give to someone else so they can put it to use rather than rotting somewhere?

When I meet with my ageing (oops I used a trigger word which will be the subject of a future blog) friends, we all share how we are shedding stuff.  It feels so freeing.  Of course the bigger topic is always the various pains and aches we have, and how many Dr.s we have seen and for what; what activities we just cannot do anymore, e.g. attend a party Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night as we did in our 30’s and 40’s; although I am impressed with the current 40 somethings who are more focused and sober and not tripping through life as if high on some drug! I admire their responsible lifestyle and moderation. May we atone for our hedonistic lives and may they succeed in upshifting.