After two years of the Thirdeye Magazine, twenty-plus issues of revelation and creativity, a local source of truth is ending as we know it. While it brought forth some brutal realities and deeply-felt opinions and leaves us wondering what we can possibly do to affect positive change in this insane world we share, what note is most beneficial to close with?

One more reminder of all the atrocities may only paralyze our psyches into despair, fear, and hopelessness, if we’re not “there” already. Wouldn’t it be nice to just polish over all the madness with, “Hey, don’t worry, it’ll all turn out okay?” That would at least give us permission to fall back asleep and pretend that all the violence in the world is just an inevitable, unstoppable part of being human. No, there’s no room to be Pollyanna in today’s world. We don’t have time for such delusions. We know the Earth and all living things depend on action, and lots of it.

So, is there a way to end on a positive note and still be realistic? Is there something to say that could help give some meaning and direction? I think it‘s worth a try. And, for me, it comes out of what I’ve learned being a counselor and a psychologist. Some may think I have a warped view of people, given all the heart-wrenching stories I hear, but I like to think of it as an honored view, a daily reminder right into the human soul of who we are and what makes us tick. It is an insight that just might help us all see what the world needs to begin to live in harmony.

Let’s take a moment to turn from the “problems” of the world (Yes, the perpetual wars, the raping of the planet, Darfur, the Bush administration, etc, etc….) and look within. Let’s be honest about how hard we are on ourselves and shed light on this expectation that we should be different somehow than who each of us is. Smarter, thinner, healthier, more successful, richer, more organized, less angry, less selfish, more loving, prettier, sexier, younger or older… our core beliefs about not being good enough, not being worthy or loveable, are endemic. Literally, we can be brutal towards our own existence. The majority of women in this country hate their own bodies. Men feel like they’re not providing enough for their families. Many are plagued with guilt for things they didn’t do.

My clients mirror the culture in which we all live. They are a mirror of the very things I and my friends and family struggle with, and those fighting for world peace and social justice, people just trying hard in their lives, and the things you struggle with because, at the core, we are all the same. Details are different. But it is truly amazing just how much we suffer (i.e., lack inner peace) in a society that has more than most in the world; more money, more stuff, more food.

Out of this feeling that we’re somehow not enough or should be different can come a lot of shame that turns into all sorts of symptoms: Negativity. Getting upset a lot. Taking everything personally. Sleeping poorly. Muscle tension. Anxiety. Inability to experience joy. Irritability. Physical illness. Mental illness. Worry. Taking things for granted. Stuffing our feelings. Sarcasm. Focusing only on what’s wrong. Avoidance. Remorse. Self-consciousness.

These symptoms cause enough pain to kick us into strategies to run from the pain (even though they don’t really work), such as abusing drugs, eating too much food, watching hours of useless television, buying stuff we don’t need, yelling, blaming everyone else, hiding who we really are, working eighty hours a week, stealing, trying to control others, or being mean to the dog. It’s all violent behavior. Violent to self. Violent to other. Violent to the Earth. Can you see how this all comes full circle?

I asked a client recently to spend the week “listening” to all the times she said to herself, “I should…” (To the reader: Feel free to try this at home.) Shoulds are notorious for causing guilt and ultimately a lack of worth. I should clean the house. I should spend more time with the kids. I should exercise. I shouldn’t have gone out last night… The next session, eyes wide with amazement, she said “Holy crap, I had no idea!” The best part was how she “talked back” to this voice that was Shoulding on her, “Who says? Maybe I don’t want to! And it’s okay!” This deeply depressed woman began to feel better for the first time in months, maybe years.

I know what you‘re thinking, “Maybe I do need to exercise or stop eating all the time!” Yes, maybe it’d help. “But if I accept I’m not, I won’t do anything about it!” Yes, this is the fear but you can’t hate yourself into changing. Only love leads to lasting changes. After reading Mutant Message Down Under and living myself with indigenous peoples, I’ve learned that inner peace and self-love is our birthright. It is the organic, whole state of being that is our potential. But through the conditioning we endure as kids, and many of us abuse and horror, it’s hard if not impossible to come out feeling okay about who we are. The good news is we are all able to learn the truth and to find compassion for our plight. The kinder we are towards ourselves, the more we appreciate just how sacred life is, and the kinder we are towards the world.

So, I invite us all to commit to doing whatever it takes to accept ourselves for the mortal fallible beings that we are, as only compassion and intention will keep us from destroying ourselves. The truth? We’re all pretty ignorant. There is SO much we do not know. We are wrong a lot. We make a ton of mistakes. We get angry and jealous and need to cry. We do things even though we know it’ll make things worse. We are selfish and self-centered. We have amazing reserves to give and to care. We are scared, and learn all sorts of destructive ways to feel “safer.” We all want to be happy and content and comfortable and live an easy life. We are not perfect and were never meant to be, unless we define perfect as exactly what we are. It’s not just you that’s all these things. We’re not separate. It’s the predicament of us all. So, let’s stop hiding these things about ourselves.

The Tao Te Ching says, “When you realize you’re enough, you are truly rich.” I believe it’s in this place of wealth that we enter heaven, right here on Earth. I never bought the Live-Now-For-Heaven-Later thing. I mean, why wait when you can have it now? Miguel Ruiz, in The Four Agreements, illustrates it most clearly, how each of us can manifest Heaven right here in the present. And as we all learn how, which I believe is why we’re here, the world begins to look a whole lot brighter.

Thank you Jason and to all contributors who made Thirdeye possible. It unfolded just as it was meant to and has touched more hearts and minds than we’ll ever know.

In peace and with all my blessings,

Lisa

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