Creating a New World

Anchoring Your Own New Earth

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

Isaiah 65: 17

There can be no doubt, a new world is coming into being. We may hope, and wish, and dream, that the new world is the material world in which we are living – that human beings will finally get their shit straight, coming together and bringing forth a new age of peace, love, and harmony. I’m not, however, laying any bets on this one. I’m still hoping, but I’ve also come to understand that the “new earth” that has been prophesied may have much less to do with what is outside of us, and everything to do with what is within. Over the former we have no control, but we do have the power to choose the world we know and live from within ourselves.

Isaiah’s prophecy was made close to three-thousand years ago! The author of the Book of Revelations borrowed these words to reiterate the same. Not much about humanity or the way humans live their lives has changed in all these many years, and I haven’t yet seen Christ descend from the heavens on a cloud to usher in the new age (for the record, I don’t believe the “second coming of Christ” has anything to do with men descending on clouds). Instead, both Isaiah’s words and the words of the Revelator may more appropriately be interpreted as relating to our own inner personal journeys. (See my Victory of the Holy Bride – the Book of Revelation class for more on this.)

The inner journey and cultivating an inner world of peace, contentment, compassion, and joy, has been the focus of my personal journey for the past thirty years. This work is anchored in my daily spiritual practice which has ultimately become an all-day, everyday practice. Life itself has become my practice.  As this practice has grown and deepened, additional tools have been added to help me further anchor my own new world. These are the tools I share with those who are open and willing to learn. For none of these tools can I take credit as I either learned them somewhere else (Ignatian Exercises, Tonglen, Ho’oponopono for example), or they were “given” to me while in meditation by a Source deep within (what some might perceive as outside) myself.

This Sunday, I was given a new tool to add to my arsenal of spiritual resources. While deep in meditation, I saw a large piece of green tourmaline being placed in my hand. I was told to use this stone to help anchor my new world.

In crystal lore, green tourmaline:

provides one with a heightened sense of awareness and is here to help you grow into an image of your higher self. Its vibrations push one’s mind to follow their heart and desires. One’s focus becomes laser sharp and actively pushes you to move towards the direction you need to go in. There may be many distractions in your life each day, but Green Tourmaline will provide you with the tunnel vision needed to continue pushing forward. (www.thecrystalcouncil.com)

Green tourmaline is closely connected with the heart chakra and is both a cleansing and an activating stone – helping us to release anything that blocks our ability to know and live as love. Equally, it opens the channels to knowing and being love. I can think of no better stone for helping us anchor our own new world.

Because I’m a rock collector, I was first tempted to go out and find myself a green tourmaline specimen. When my search because daunting, I was reminded, I don’t need the physical stone to activate its intention. So instead of laying down cold hard cash on a new stone to add to my collection, I simply sat in meditation with the stone. As I did, so, an even deeper meditation presented itself. While meditating on the stone, I saw myself within the courtyard of the spiritual fortress that recently presented itself (see more about that here) and in the center of that courtyard was an enormous pillar of green tourmaline that reached from deep into the earth into to beyond the walls of the stone fortress. This image became my meditation and what I share with you today.

Go back to the inner fortress you constructed and imagine, in the center courtyard of your fortress, a giant pillar made of green tourmaline rising from deep within the earth into the heavens. Allow this image to be the focus of your meditation. Imagine the fortress as your place of safety, protection, and groundedness, and the tourmaline as activating your own new earth – the one that right now is taking root within your being. Allow this image to be the touchstone that you can return to again and again and again as you find yourself anxious, afraid, distracted, restless, angry, impatient, and frustrated as the material world around us struggles through its death throes. While that world is busy with its dying, you can be about the business of creating your own new world.

And who knows, maybe if enough of us find this world of Love within ourselves, the world outside of us may in fact begin to change.

Foreseen and Forewarned

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Wow!  This has been a chaotic couple of weeks!  In the midst of the chaos, I want to offer some words, if not of comfort, at least of perspective.

Everything we are seeing today has been foreseen and forewarned – by myself and by a whole slew of other individuals who have been able to read the sign of the times and have come to surmise where humanity is heading. All signs have pointed us here:

THIS is the death throes of the patriarchy.

As much as I don’t personally care for Donald Trump and the way he presents in the world (neither do I care much for his buddies), I clearly see how the actions he has been taking since his inauguration are those of clearing.  Like a scythe, he is hacking away at all we have come to know as the foundations of governance and how a government provides for its people. Some might suggest his actions reflect those of a tyrant, oligarch, autocrat, or dictator.  Perhaps. Beyond initial appearances, however, I see a greater work (beyond DT) at hand.

The clearing that Trump is attempting, provides us with an opportunity to examine what’s been cleared (or attempted to clear) and separate the wheat from the chaff.  What in the hacking is legitimately excess and unnecessary waste and what do we want to preserve as a useful provision of federal governance?

In this, we are being given the invitation to step forward and claim what is ours. In order to do this, we have to use our own discernment, setting aside blind obedience to an outside perceived authority while collectively claiming what we consider important for the new world that is being born out of the dregs of the old.

Death is painful and the initial reaction is often shock. “How can he do this? Does he actually have this kind of power?” When we wait, and breathe, we often learn that no, he doesn’t have this power, like the cases in which the judicial branch has stood up and Trump has been forced to rescind his orders. In this, he is also learning. Like a three-year old, he is testing the limits of presidential power and (if the system works as it should) the other branches of government show him where he’s stepped over the line.  When the system fails, then it is up to us – perhaps in the context of the Constitution of the United States – perhaps with a vision toward something better.

For too long, we have relied on and trusted in the government to have our backs – to provide for our needs, keep us safe, and ensure that we have equal access to the American dream. Herein lies the greatest lie – the government has never truly done any of this. When we’re really truly honest, we know and understand the lie for what it is – a dangling carrot for which we have been willing to give up our own power.

Now is the time for us to live beyond the lie.

The same is true of Robert Kennedy Jr. I think the man has a screw or two loose, BUT, through his efforts, he is shining a light on the shortfalls of the American medical system. In no world am I anti-vaxx, and I wholly advocated for masking during the pandemic. AND, corporate medicine is not serving us. In some ways it might be killing us. While RFK’s plan seems to be to decimate the current system in favor of wholistic medicine. I personally believe (and have experienced in my own life) there is room for both. RFK’s extremist policies may be the exact pendulum swing that we need to find a place in the middle where healthcare is truly healthcare, and not just the treating of symptoms at our expense and for the profit of insurance, pharmaceutical, and healthcare corporations.

This dismantling is what we’ve been waiting for.  It has been foreseen and forewarned. In this, there is a strange kind of relief. The dying may be painful, and there will indeed be loss. And, I believe there is a greater work at hand. The greater work is the birth of a new world – no longer of someone else’s choosing, but our own. In this we are being invited to ask the questions: what in the old world needs to die and what do we want to preserve? What do we want to be part of the new world and what would be in our best interest to leave behind? And this choice is our own – not Trump’s, not RFK’s, but our own. But first we have to see beyond the illusion of fear and into the heart of the matter – an unsustainable system is in the throes of its collapse so that something more sustainable and equitable might take its place.

PS: you may find it helpful to seek out the loopholes in Trump’s executive orders. I believe these may be intentional – on the surface appeasing the certain audience, but looking deeper, ultimately unenforceable, thereby helping those the order seems to condemn.

To further support yourself during the dying of the patriarchy while clearing the way of something new, join us for this six-week LIVE (via ZOOM) course.

Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Starting March 5, 2025

Learn more HERE.

Support Through the Death Throes (of the Patriarchy)

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Chaos. Confusion. Anxiety. Fear. Erratic behaviors. Non-sensical speech. Delusions. Rage. Restlessness. Grandiose projections of blame. Impatience. Bullying.

All of these are among the typical symptoms observed when an individual is moving toward death. No matter how much the spirit is willing, or the individual is mentally at peace with leaving behind the mortal coil, the body fights – often tooth and nail – to remain.

I have witnessed this myself as I have accompanied individuals through the final days of life. Medication provides support and eases some of the symptoms of the death throes, but the body still fights the release of its spirit.

The same is happening in the world today. The patriarchy is dying and it is working extra hard to cling to the perceived power, wealth, and control they have wielded these past 5000-10,000 years.

Every day we are witnessing symptoms of this dying. Those who have benefitted from the way things have been, and those who believe (falsely) that the dying patriarchy will save them are collectively raging, whining, and clinging. If it is difficult to notice these behaviors in the collective, we need only look at the loudest of our world “leaders” for examples of the patriarchy trying desperately to stay alive and in the position of perceived power:

  • Fingers of blame pointed outside of themselves.
  • Men unwilling to claim responsibility for their own actions.
  • Grandiose behaviors and gestures of attempted power.
  • Non-sensical speech.
  • Delusions of grandeur and illusions about how much power they actually have.
  • Attempts to dismantle systems and services that they perceive as being of no use to them.
  • Impatient and rash decision-making.
  • Bullying and name-calling.
  • Chaos and confusion.

The symptoms of the death throes then cast observers into panic-mode. What can we do to help ease the effects of their actions? What can we do to stop them? How can we help them see that their actions are unreasonable and rooted in fear? How can we help ease their fear?

We can’t. Neither should we try. In physical death, sedatives help to ease the restlessness of death throes. When the death is of a system, the only thing we can do is stand back and watch, letting nature take its course.

And soothe ourselves. Whether we are experiencing grief, anxiety, worry, or fear in the face of the patriarchy’s dying, we are invited to turn to the tools we have for navigating these feelings while restoring ourselves to peace. Only in finding our way to peace can we endure the upheaval of systemic death while keeping our eyes open for signs of the new life that is already here and which is taking deeper and deeper root as the patriarchy heaves its final sigh.

One way in which we can help ourselves in moving through the death of the patriarchy, is to learn all the ways in which we have been conditioned by to patriarchy, and deprogram ourselves from these beliefs, behaviors, and habits.

Join me for this 6-week Live (via ZOOM) course starting Wednesday, March 5th.

Learn more here and enroll

New Live Course: UNCHAINED

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Six-week Live (via ZOOM) Course

(recorded for later viewing for those unable to attend live)

Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:30 pm Central Time

March 5 – April 9, 2025

Registration limited to 25 participants

(for people of all genders for we are all negatively affected by patriarchal conditioning)

Learn more and enroll

Unchained – Freeing Yourself from Patriarchal Conditioning

For over five-thousand years, humanity has been imprisoned by patriarchal rule. Under the rule of patriarchy, human beings have been conditioned by fear to be subservient to an outside perceived authority. Under the threat of punishment, and wrapped in a cloak of false promises, humanity has given over its power to a seemingly powerful few.

Under patriarchy, toxic masculinity is the ruling force and privilege is afforded primarily to white men of wealth. All other human beings are then divided into a hierarchy of servitude to the powerful few.

The patriarchy requires:

  • ·         Blind obedience to a self-appointed outside perceived authority.
  • ·         Subservience to this authority.
  • ·         Expectations of duty.
  • ·         Dependency based on false promises of provision and protection.

Under patriarchy we lose:

  • ·         Access to our own inner authority.
  • ·         Freedom to discern our own truth and choose our own path.
  • ·         Belief in ourselves as loveable for exactly who we are without having to seek after acceptance or approval.
  • ·         The power of our own executive functioning as seen in our relentless search for a savior.

In this six-week course, we will explore the ways in which we have been imprisoned by the patriarchy and the subtle ways in which this imprisonment is experienced:

  • ·         In our own lives
  • ·         In our relationships
  • ·         In society
  • ·         In the workplace
  • ·         In our underlying sense of shame or guilt
  • ·         In our conditioned sense of duty
  • ·         In our search to be saved

We will then explore ways in which we can free ourselves from this conditioning.

This course will consist of:

  • ·         Inspirational readings
  • ·         Lessons
  • ·         Contemplation and Reflection
  • ·         Discussion

*Content portion of sessions will be recorded and available for viewing within 24 hours of the live gathering for those who are unable to attend live. 

Learn more and enroll

No One is Coming to Save Us

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

One of the biggest lies of patriarchal institutions is that they are here to help and/or save us. As we are witnessing firsthand in yesterday’s flurry of executive orders, populations that once believed they had our government’s protection, no longer do.

Whereas we may be tempted to cast a finger of blame upon certain governmental officials for depriving us of what we once believed to be rights, the fault does not lie with them alone. In the simplest of ways, they are simply acting as patriarchal institutions often do – keeping human beings enslaved to the whims of the powerful (and fearful) few.

Power, as we see it in patriarchal institutions, is not built on strength. Instead, their power is based in fear – fear over losing what they value the most – money – measured both in wealth and possessions. In order to keep or grow their perceived power, someone else has to suffer. Like hungry locusts, patriarchal institutions gobble up everything around them with no thought for the survival or thriving of others.

In our culture, patriarchal institutions include: governance, banking, corporations, healthcare, education, technology, and religion. All of these exist to manipulate and control the general population for the sake of their own selfish needs. They do this by keeping us afraid while also promising that we could not survive without them. We need them for our wellbeing and in exchange for our servitude, our needs will be provided for, and we will be safe and protected.

Bullshit!  Not a single one of these institutions actually has our highest good in mind. Instead, they seek profit over well-being, and power over advancement of the species. To this end, they want to keep us ignorant and unaware of the deceptions behind the mask of their false promises.

No one is coming to save us. In fact, the only one who can save us is ourselves. It is by facing the lies of the dying patriarchy that we will find our salvation. Once we see past the lies and stop waiting and expecting our government (for example) to have our highest good in mind, only then can we begin to save ourselves. We save ourselves by freeing ourselves of these expectations, grieving the loss of our former dependency on the outside “savior,” and then doing the work of caring for ourselves. In caring for ourselves, we are free to be who we are made to be – unique, special, courageous, and authentically/inwardly strong. It is here where true power resides. From this place of inner power, we are able to step forward as our own savior and gather with others who have also saved themselves and who are now ready to help others find the way.

Neither governance, religion, education, healthcare, or any other patriarchal institution is here to support or guarantee our highest good. It is for this reason (among others) that we must do the work of saving ourselves.

Hope in the Perceived Darkness

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

Donald J. Trump has officially been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Across social media platforms, the reactions have been either silence or sentiments of despair and hopelessness. I haven’t yet seen celebration, but I’ve definitely seen grief.

As for myself, I have spent too many years and too much time in deep prayer over the role Donald Trump is playing in the unfolding human drama to get upset. Once I got over the initial shock in 2016 of his victory over Hillary Clinton (let’s be honest, Hillary was less than a perfect candidate), I prayed, “Please help me understand the larger purpose at work here.” I’ve shared before what I was given to understand, but I’ll share it again in case you missed it:

Donald Trump is playing the role of the Angel of Death.

Biblically, the Angel of Death arrived at crossroads times to bring liberation to the enslaved by destroying the power of the ruling class. The Angel of Death is perceived as benevolent from the perspective of those being liberated, and malevolent by those who are losing their power.

In the short term, it may appear as if a Trump presidency will deprive some of freedoms they once had while elevating the status of the ruling class, but there is so much more at play here than what is in our immediate sight.

Stepping back……way back…..away from the media propaganda, political rhetoric, and those who benefit from creating (perceived) division….is a 10,000 year old human experiment coming to an end. This experiment began with fear and ended with patriarchal power. This experiment has reached its limits and will result in the extinction of humankind if equilibrium is not restored.

Donald Trump is being called to play a role in the restoration of that equilibrium.  In the short term, and through eyes conditioned by division, we may not like what we see. To see evidence of this restoration we will have to look at things through a new set of eyes.  Some of this evidence we may already see. For some, we will have to look beyond what is right in front of us to a time that we do not yet know.

Hope and Trust are two words that may prove helpful as we navigate this transitory time.

Hope – not in that which is outside of us, in some person of perceived authority and power – but hope in ourselves. A big part of the dying system is the savior complex – the idea or illusion that there is someone outside of us who is going to save us. Instead, we are here to save ourselves. We are the hope we’ve been looking for.

Trust – in a bigger story at play. In the natural unfolding of the universe story. In a higher plan. In God (if that is your thing). But most importantly – Trust in yourself. Trust in the Love that you are. Trust that this Love has the power to not only transform yourself, but also has the power to transform the world.

As the Angel of Death, Donald Trump is helping to facilitate the destruction of all the institutions and systems that have benefitted from the conditioning that has left us feeling powerless. On the other side of this destruction, should we accept the invitation, is a world in which all of humanity is empowered to come forward with our own unique giftedness for the sake of our own fulfillment, and in service to the good of the all. This can only happen, however, if we have hope and trust in ourselves and believe in the power of Love.

By dividing we have been conquered.

By uniting we will be set free.

Contained Radiance: How Best to Serve Humanity in the Face of Collapse

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 4 Comments

On Monday, January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in for the second time as President of the United States. Whether you are hopeful or terrified in the face of another four years of Trump, the result will be the same.  The empire will continue to burn itself to the ground. President Trump may hinder or hasten that collapse – only time will tell.

In the meantime, we do the only thing we can do:

  • We hold space for that which is meant to occur.
  • We bear witness to the collapse.
  • We care for ourselves and our loved ones.
  • We observe our reactions and acknowledge the fears being triggered.
  • We do the work of healing and transforming our unhealed wounds,
  • Most importantly, we guard our energy and the precious spiritual gifts we’ve been given to help usher humanity through this collapse.

The collapse is happening with or without us. We cannot prevent it.  Neither can we stop it. Nor should we. The power of the patriarchy has run its course along with the hierarchical systems that have been established on fear, power, and control. We must allow the collapse so that something new may takes its place.

Yes, collapse is uncomfortable. Yes, it can be terrifying. Indeed, many will lose property, wealth, and even their lives as the world seeks to right itself. Yes, there will be sorrow and we will grieve these losses.

And there is nothing we can do about it. Instead, we are called to do something for ourselves.

The something we are called to do at this time, is to confront the holes in our soul that have been caused by all the ways and times that we have given our energy away in an effort to help, heal, or save, and that energy was either rejected or taken advantage of. The time of limitless giving in a culture that limitlessly takes, has come to an end. Instead, we are called to seal up the holes left behind from all the ways in which our energies and our sacred gifts have been misused.

This week, in working with my online community, I saw our souls as being held within a jar. For many, if not most, our jars are full of holes where our magic is being stolen from us or from where we are giving it away. It is time for us to seal those holes so that our magic might be safely contained. For every hole we seal, the light of the Divine within us gains power and grows in radiance. The goal is to seal every hole so that the light of the Divine within us might be safely contained so that it might better serve ourselves and our world – not as a commodity to be given or taken away, but as the radiant light of Love that just is – the light that not only transforms ourselves, but transforms our world.

It is through this contained radiance that we can best serve our world at this time. Guard and protect your energy. Draw it inward. Seal up the holes. And let your radiance shine.

Here: With and For You

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

I spent yesterday with two of my besties. Over coffee, lunch, and a long walk, we chatted about each other’s lives, as friends will do. The greater part of the conversation, however, was around the events that are currently playing out in our world. Most pointedly, the transfer of power in American governance. The unanimous feelings were anxiety mixed with dread – not, as one might expect because of the individual coming into power – but because one can never know exactly what this individual might actually do. Words might say one thing. Actions might prove otherwise.

We are worried and anxious. Not just because of the transfer of power, but because of all that is unfolding at the hands of the human species. We are standing at a crossroads as a species and if you’re not anxious then you are either part of the problem, or not paying attention.

Never, it seems, have we been bombarded by so much chaos, uncertainty, anxiety, and dread. Nothing is as it once was.  Once-treasured institutions are collapsing. The world is either at-war or burning. We’ve been made to see the true corruption and evils hiding behind the masks of those individuals and institutions we once held as sacred.

For many, this constant bombardment has left us feeling emotionally and mentally as if we have suffered through a war. For those who are currently suffering through war, the impact is far greater.

The world as we have known it IS COLLAPSING, and we are being forced to bear witness to the collapse. We are made to experience the chaos and fear of collapse. The collapsing is ongoing and relentless, and we are left wondering, “what if any of this will remain?”

Perhaps nothing. Maybe not even ourselves. The reality of this brings us face to face with our own mortality and the possibility of death.

We are all suffering through the dying of what we have known. BUT, you need not do this journey alone. I am here – with you and for you. For sixty years I have been cultivating the resources and tools to restore myself to peace and resolve when the anxieties of the world become too great. If I can do this for myself, I can do this for you. Whether you are in need of a listening ear, or tools that you can use yourself to make it through this dying, I am here for you.

All you need to do is reach out. If you have my cell number, text me.  Otherwise, my email is lauri@lauriannlumby.com.  I am here as a source of support. We can meet one-on-one in my home, over the phone or via ZOOM. Wherever and however you are, DO NOT weather this journey alone. You have support. I am here with and for you.

With love,

Lauri

The Practice of Non-Interference

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.

It cannot be ruled by interfering

(Tao Te Ching Verse 48)

  • The wildfires in California.
  • The genocide in Sudan.
  • The destruction of Gaza and Syria
  • The war in Ukraine
  • The aftermath of Hurricane Helene

These are just a few of the devastatingly destructive experiences that are in the forefront of our minds – all in some way brought about by the actions of human beings. We pray for those affected. We hold them in our thoughts. We wish, and hope, and plead for things to change so that the world might live in peace and humans might be safe from other people’s actions.

When we have the resources and the opportunity and it is within our power to do so, we take action – like my friends with The Beacon Network who have been boots on the ground providing help and support to those areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Most of the time, and in most cases, however, there is literally nothing we can do. All we can do is stand back and watch these events unfold and perhaps grieve for those affected and hope these devastating experiences never come our way.

Grieving, and hoping, however, do nothing to ease the anxiety we feel over the suffering of others. Whether our anxiety is fear over the possibility that these kinds of events might find their way to us, or empathetic concern for those harmed, the impact is the same. We experience fear, unrest, worry, concern, and maybe even panic. In an attempt to calm our anxiety, we ruminate about all the ways we might protect ourselves from such disasters, how we might help those who have been harmed, we fixate on the terror that those who are facing these horrific events might be feeling. Again, none of this calms our anxiety. In fact, it likely makes it worse.

Fixating on the devastation others are experiencing or creating for themselves helps no one – lease of all ourselves, most of all those affected. All this misplaced worry does is cause us harm and prevents us from being present to what is around us and within our field of influence or control.

We cannot fix it. We cannot solve it. We could have done nothing to prevent it. We cannot save humanity from the devastation brought about by their own actions. As is true each and every day, the only one we can truly save is ourselves – and even that is debatable (when it is our time, it is our time, period!).

Soooooooooo, what do we do when humanity is destroying itself and the world along with them? We get out of the way.

I know!  I know!  I can hear the collective gasp, “How can we just stand back and watch the world go up in flame?”

This is where the wisdom of the ancients provides us some guidance and support:

From Ecclesiastes (3: 1-8):

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

From Jesus (MT 6: 25-27):

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

From HH the Dalai Lama:

“If a problem can be solved, there is no use worrying about it. If it can’t be solved, worrying will do no good.”

From the Quran (Surah Al-Imran Ayat 173):

“Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.”

From the Tao Te Ching (vs 48):

In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done

Until non-action is achieved.

When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.

It cannot be ruled by interfering.

In short, the wisdom teachers know through their own personal experience that the closer one draws to Source (God, Tao, Presence, Truth, Love, etc.), the more we are able to meet the reality of the human experience from a place of equanimity. We are able to ride the joy, the sorrow, the celebration, and tragedy without getting caught up in any of it. In the face of tragedy, especially, we experience our initial human and empathetic reaction (anxiety, fear, worry), but we are then able to walk ourselves back and see the tragedy through the wider lens of the human experience and recognize that this too serves a higher purpose. Maybe the tragedy begins to wake people up. Perhaps it calls them into action. Maybe it invites them to make a change in their own life. Or quite possibly, they see it as something over which they have no influence or control, so they are able to let it go and experience the restoration of peace.

As human beings, survival is our first instinct, so it is natural to feel anxiety or worry in the face of devastation. Equally is it natural for our instinctual response to drive us to seek out ways to keep ourselves safe. It is wisdom, however, that allows us to move beyond those initial instinctual reactions and ask ourselves over what we actually have influence or control. If nothing, then the invitation is to let it go, trusting the natural unfolding of the human experience while turning back to ourselves which in truth is the only place we can actually know peace.

Into the Wilderness provides a process and protocol to support you in cultivating inner peace, non-attachment, and to heal from the conditioning that drives us to try to interfere in those things that are actually outside of our control.

  • Online course
  • At your own pace
  • Pay what you are able.
Learn more HERE.

Finding Our Way to Peace

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 3 Comments

We are conditioned in this world to look outside of ourselves for the things we need. In some cases, this is rightly so – food, clothing, and shelter for example. But for the things we need most – contentment, joy, love, and peace – we can only find these within.

Finding our way to peace is solely an inside job. Whereas we may be freer to access the peace that resides within us through a change in the external circumstances of our lives, it is only from within that we can find and deepen that peace. It is also in cultivating our own inner peace that we are able to access the inner resources we need to discern our readiness and make external change when called for.

While peace may only be found within, we continue to seek outside for that peace. We wait and hope for the world and the people around us to change so that we might know peace. We cast our gaze outward for evidence of the manifestation of our prayers for peace. We sit in expectation for the day in which our prayers for peace will be made real.

But the truth remains – those who do not know inner peace cannot be a part of manifesting peace on earth. Conflict and war exist because human beings are not at peace. If human beings knew peace within themselves, then there would no longer be hardship, hunger, poverty, homelessness, or war and the needs of every human being would be met – not just so they might survive, but so they might thrive.

Our own search for peace, however, does not depend on any other human knowing peace. Neither can any other human being infringe on our ability to dwell within (or at least return to) that deep well of inner peace. Our peace is independent of any one else’s peace or lack thereof. We are the sole creator of our own peace.

Creating that peace, however, doesn’t happen overnight. Neither is it a simple task. In order to know the peace that dwells within and to know it even more deeply, we must embark on a deep and arduous journey of inner work.

First, we must create the space in our lives through which we might glimpse this peace. For me, this is my daily spiritual practice. We must create the time and space for our practice and remain diligent and persistent in it.

Then we need Grace. I cannot say how it will happen for you, but for me, Grace arrived in the midst of my practice and showed me a glimpse into my Union with Source. In this experience, everything fell away except for the light of this Union. In this I experienced contentment beyond understanding. This moment of Grace was but a moment, but through that one encounter I have remained motivated to keep going.

The “going” is the arduous part of the journey. The journey becomes our practice and life itself shows us all the places within where we have forgotten Union with Source (what I call “Love”). All comes up for review. The review is ongoing and never-ending. Over and over and in increasingly subtle ways, we come up against all the places where we have forgotten that we are Love – forgetfulness brought forth through our conditioning, past wounds, traumas, etc. In becoming aware of these wounds, we are given an opportunity to heal them. In acknowledging the wounds and inviting their healing, we are again met with Grace, for we are not healing our own wounds, they are being healed for us. Our simple task is to say yes to the healing.

Healing the wounds may be simple, but showing up again and again for them to be healed is not. Our egos and our need to control (a function of the ego) get in the way. We often become impatient with the journey and wonder if it will ever end. It will not – but we must remain diligent, disciplined, and persistent in our task. Yes, we can quit, but as many have discovered, the Universe finds ways to drag us back to the task.

When we are called to know peace, we don’t really have a choice but to continue the search. We continue day in and day out, no matter our mood.  We become angry, frustrated, disheartened, and despairing, but we continue. We continue because our soul will not give us rest, for the rest we ultimately seek can only be found within and the world provides an infinite number of distractions – including the desire for peace in our world.

Human beings will never know peace until we find our own peace within – and that peace begins with me.

Now say this to yourself: “That Peace Begins with Me,” then find and be that peace.

The journey toward peace begins with a single step: starting and maintaining a spiritual practice.

In this course, you will learn what a spiritual practice is, dispel myths around meditation, and be instructed in a myriad of spiritual practices so that you might find the one or two that speak to you and begin your practice.

Learn more and enroll here.