How to Reconnect with Innermost Truths
How do we keep clear headed when colossal lies spew from the mouths of world leaders, and gaslighting becomes the norm? I've been trying to conjure another Oval Office meeting, the historical one in December of 1941, between Winston Churchill and FDR.
Like Zelensky did, Churchill had traveled across the Atlantic seeking support to fend off the encroaching enemy, in his case, the Nazi regime. Just imagine Churchill being berated by President Roosevelt for his attire, his lack of gratitude, or worse, being called a dictator! This is how far we have fallen!
When “the basic assumptions about the way our world works are [being] fed into the shredder,” (as veteran BBC editor John Simpson recently put it) it is a time to pull out all our spiritual tools and reconnect to our innermost truths.
Here are 3 of mine:
1. We each have enormous power. For me, personal power is predicated on the clear guidance that comes when I connect to That Which is Greater than us (TWIG). Jung called it: the Self, 12-step wisdom: our Higher Power, the Gerer Rebbe: nekudat p’nimit, the innermost divine point. This wise part of ourselves wants us here, for we are each here “on purpose.” It will guide us to our next best action steps if we can quiet our minds enough to hear it.
And once we are aligned with our Higher Power, there is an indomitable power when we act together. Now more than ever, we are sorely in need of collective power!
2. Be thoughtful, not fearful. Times of emergency require calm. “The times are urgent, we must slow down,” writes Nigerian philosopher Bayo Akomalafe. How do you slow down and calm your nervous system? Do you walk in nature, don your prayer shawl, take a swim, hug your pet?
Brain science teaches that when fear and upset reign, our rational brains go offline. In other words, when fear is running the show, nothing of import can get done. So before firing off that email or posting more scary news, try this: Recognize fear in the air. Turn the volume down on the panic (yours and everyone else's) with whatever steadies and connects you, and ask:
What can I offer here that is true? That is necessary? That is kind?
3. You are never alone. I believe this with all my heart. We have each other. And we have our ancestors (whether we knew them or not) who, like us, lived through times of great upheaval when falsehoods fell like rain from the sky. Some of your ancestors must have been resourceful, resilient, and smart, because you are here. Their traits live within you. Call them forth! Some of your friends are resourceful, resilient, and smart, too. Call them up!
