What would your life be like if you did not care what other people thought of you? If you were completely independent of people’s opinions, good or bad, and would go about your day without so much as a single self-conscious decision. It would be wonderful freedom, of course. You would feel free to do what you wanted, and have a clarity of mind that comes with not being constantly preoccupied with thinking about the judgment of those around you.

Looking at our current state of affairs, it would seem that the culture we humans have created for ourselves is driven by “what other people think,” the tension between the desire for approval and the fear of disapproval. Businesses, families, friendships, sports, politics; everything is, if not completely driven by this tension, at the very least heavily influenced by it. And this we can see very clearly when looking for it, how much our motivation for doing things arises in the concern for what the world thinks. It is a feeling that your very existence relies on other people’s judgment of you; that you exist only as a mental image in other people’s minds. Which is mostly unconscious, of course, because when we drag it up to the surface and into the light we can see clearly just how insane it really is.

By Elizabeth Edgett

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

How can we solve poverty and boost the economy without causing massive environmental damage?

Here’s how. It’s called a Unconditional Basic Income (UBI).

The fundamental challenge today is that we need redefine the value of work. We need to stop relying on corporations to create jobs. That’s not what they do. They exist solely to create profit. They do this by lowering wages and/or decreasing the number of workers (jobs) required to get that profit. Yet both left and right leaning governments continue to try to induce corporates (through tax breaks and other programs) into creating jobs and/or raising wages.

by Mara Freeman, M.A.

Why are we still fascinated by stories of the Holy Grail told long ago in the courts of medieval Europe?  It’s my belief that the Grail myth persists throughout the centuries like a recurring dream that must be brought fully to consciousness, understood, and resolved.  This is the theme of my latest book, Grail Alchemy.  As mythologist Joseph Campbell said, the quest for the Grail is “the founding myth of Western civilization.”

The Grail is a sacred vessel as old as creation. A rounded container, it belongs to the family of symbols – bowl, cauldron, vat, well, cup or crucible – which are all images of the divine feminine, the Mother Goddess whose womb holds the waters of life, found as far back as the Neolithic era and in cultures from ancient India to classical Greece. In Celtic myth and legend, this hallowed icon of Western spirituality has its origins in the magical cups which have life-giving and protective properties and more often than not, these cups belong to goddesses or female spirits.

LOVE AND GRATITUDE EXERCISE   Find a quiet space where you will not be disturbed for at least 15 minutes. The purpose of this quiet time is to become balanced and to release tension and stress. It is necessary for you to be in a relaxed and harmonious state of be-ing in order to be able to move beyond yourself and to experience love for all. When your energy is contracted by fear and your thoughts are focused on all the things happening around you, it is easy to get lost in frustration and impatience. It is very hard to love others when you are in this state of mind.

After you have prepared your space by turning on the music, lighting the candle and incense or whatever works best for you, get into a comfortable position. It does not matter whether you are sitting or lying down, the important thing is that your spine is aligned as straight as possible in order for your energy to flow freely. Once you are settled, take a few deep breaths in and out, relaxing your body and allowing yourself to release the busyness of the day.

Focus on your breath. When you inhale, visualize breathing in love and kindness. When you exhale, release tension and thoughts or emotions that drain your energy. Continue with this pattern for a few minutes until you feel deeply relaxed.

by Salvador Russo

Flames of freedom have begun to blaze forth from the epicenter of today’s New Moon in Sagittarius! Spiritual invigoration throughout the world will rise into irresistible crescendos as these heavenly fires amplify our spiritual power and inspire our conscious actions, leading us to strike out at every lie and corruption within our mind’s reach. Consciousness will bloom and beam with inspired learning, as if diamonds were being placed into our minds by our “friends in high places.”

We will be gaining or re-gaining cherished freedoms which will restore shaken perceptions of the future and motivate us to explore the good pastures which God will be guiding us into. When the freedoms come seize them with passion, just as Alexander the Great did. This is a time of alchemical fire so harness this fire and use it to fuel your focus and the desires of your heart. Let this flame burn brightly in your mind forever: Deep within, we are all masters of our reality.

Look into My eyes, and you look into a reflection of Myself. It is a moot question as to Who is looking into Whose eyes? Whose eyes are reflected?
 
I am saying that We are One. Who is who and which is which is a circle that goes round and round. We can call it a dilemma. We can it an insoluble puzzle, yet what difference does an explanation make? Let’s just accept that We are One, one soluble solid Oneness. We cannot be separated. Even as I speak of We, no matter how fragile a Human Being as you may see yourself, I am you, and you are I.
 
This how it is. This is how it’s always been.
 
So when We speak of My being close to you and your being close to Me, what are We speaking of but the closer than close of the Oneness of One.
 
It seems hard to believe that We are One when you see human beings as foolish or even cruel, debasing themselves and, therefore, the whole of creation. If man is a travesty, how can he be One with Me? How can I say so? And how can you believe Me? I do say so, and I do see so. When all the cover-up is dispensed with, then you and I are irretrievably without exception -- One.
 
You probably say: “Good Lord, there seems to be an enormous amount of separation rather than Unity.”
 
That may well be how it seems, and yet I say staunchly that separation is untrue, and Unity is true and viable.
 

On our journey of waking up or becoming more conscious and aware we find that we need to let go of our egos more and more in order to make the journey.

This is a process of growth outward and diving deep inside our souls in order to find what we are looking for.  Who are you really?  What are the boxes holding you back?  What are you afraid of?  What decisions do you make because of how others are going to react?  What do you want to create?  What do you want to achieve?

Each time we grow our soul and our consciousness we peel back the layers of reality and perceive more and more of what is really going on.  Not only are we more about to see what is really going on around us but we come closer to our inner creator and then source energy within us.