Why we need communities that seek to move beyond separation and open directly into our fundamental true nature - that's if we really want to create a radically different life on this beautiful planet of ours.
The world is gradually waking up to the fact that we are facing some very challenging times.
In some areas insects, the unsung heroes and linchpin of planet life since they pollinate plants, consume dead matter and provide sustenance for a vast spectrum of animals, has had their biomass reduced by 75%.
I can remember when after a short car journey the windscreen would be spattered with the bodies of multiple flying insects - and now I never see that.
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UK wild bird indicators published in November 2019 show farmland birds declined by 56%, sea birds by 22% and woodland species by 27%
There is gross financial inequality with the fallout that brings: 17,000 people in the UK died last winter, 2018/19, as they were unable to afford to heat their homes in the cold weather.
Young people are so disenfranchised that suicide is now the second leading cause of death in American teenagers
We have a global food production system that accepts contamination by herbicides, pesticides and heavy metals, known to cause cancer and other significant heath issues in both farm workers and consumers, as normal.
Then there is mass factory farming with the horrific conditions it imposes on animals and the ongoing extensive pollution of our water, air and soil.
On top of all this there are the ever ongoing planet wide wars with the killing and maiming of people on a massive scale.
No longer business as usual
If you are reading this, then much of this is likely to be well known to you already and the question is - what are we going to do about it?
There are thousands and thousands of projects around the world that are heroically addressing many of these challenges, with more springing up each year, and they are part of a global sea-change in how to regenerate what has been damaged, and then how to live in a way that is sustainable for future generations.
As I see it, culturally, and personally, what is not yet effectively being addressed is that we have misunderstood who we really are, and our true human potential.
From that misunderstanding comes our current worldwide which is based on separation and a culture that says we are fundamentally separate from each other, separate from nature and separate from the planet.
This then enables an 'Us v Them' mentality, from which then emerges our values and our actions - or inactions.
If the trees in the rainforest are nothing to do with me, then I don't need to be concerned if they are cut down.
Whilst on the surface we do appear separate, I know from my own deep experience that this is not accurate and that we are all, you, me and everyone, fundamentally aspects of the same one sacred being-ness.
"It is only at a superficial level that we appear separate"
I am by no means alone in opening into our deeper and undivided true nature. Across the planet many people are also experiencing spiritual awakening and figures show that between 22% and 49% of people in the USA describe themselves as having had a direct mystical or spiritual awakening.
In the past the sharing of such awakenings was limited to those who were in direct contact with a particular spiritual teacher, nowadays things have changed and, using planet wide technology such as Youtube and Podcasts, more and more people are sharing 24/7 not only about their own awakening but some are also offering a myriad of invitations for others to awaken - and this invitation is being heard and received on a global scale.
"Yet somehow the topic of direct spiritual awakening remains on the fringes"
In order to develop a truly sustainable future, dissolving our misplaced sense of separation needs to be claimed for what it is, a new, vital and fundamantal level of human consciousness, and firmly placed front and center in any endeavor as it is the 'missing peace' without which our real potential to evolve is compromised.
As Einstein is often quoted as saying, 'No problem can be solved from the same level of Consciousness that created it'
As as each of us moves into our shared Transcendent Consciousness we discover that the deepest level of our true nature begins to naturally dissolve the cultural norms of separation, and many people and communities have already begun exploring this, especially in ashrams and via the direct spiritual teachings.
They have made great progress with awakening into transcendence, however it is my belief that we have a way further to go.
We now need to come together and co-create transformative communities based on profound spiritual awakening, personal healing and growth, authentic and heart based interpersonal relationships, low impact and sustainable housing, right use of technology, regenerative food and land management as well as empathic animal management - that if we are truly wanting to thrive on this beautiful planet of ours..