How does a person reflect upon the coming of another year? Is it with promises of change – those so-called ‘New Year Resolutions’? Or with new plans, ideas, hopes, and dreams? Or do we repeat ourselves, saying the same old things; believing the same ideas that make us feel secure? We all know that everything moves on, that life flows; yet we often deny the real flow – of letting go.

For my own reflection I’ve come to realize that despite everything I ‘know’ – I still know very little. Yet this is not a bad thing. In fact, I find it kind of liberating. For a start, it stops me trying to place everything in its place (let it go!). This may sound somewhat ironic considering that I make a career out of writing books about this changing world we live in. Yet I never tell people what is – I only write about my own speculations. The rest is up to everybody else to make up their own mind. In the end, I don’t know – and neither do you. So let’s start from there. Actually, this is quite a secure place to be, contrary to what it may appear. That’s because there are more and more people in the world trying to tell us what is going on – from astrological cycles; galactic waves; ancient calendars; higher intelligence channeling; etc. More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of being our advisors, our ‘guides’. By realizing that at the end of the day no one else knows exactly what is going on either, it helps us to keep a balanced perspective. Really, future forecasting is the worst business to be in – you’re inevitably always going to get it wrong! As if perfectly on cue, I came across this quote today:

‘Theory is when you know everything but nothing works. Practice is when everything works but no one knows why. In our lab, theory and practice are combined: nothing works and no one knows why’.

Are you getting it now?

Another example is a recent news item published by the BBC with the title ‘Has the Sun gone to sleep?’ in which scientists are now baffled by the sun’s extraordinary silence. Several years ago the experts (and non-experts) were announcing a new maximum in sun-peak activity with potentially disastrous sun-flares and eruptions that would knock-out our global energy grid. Even I myself commented upon this possibility in one of my earlier books. Now, it seems, the experts that study the sun say they have not seen anything like this in their lifetime. The lack of sun activity is similar, say the experts, to the mini ice age that occurred in the 17th Century (known as the Maunder Minimum; or as the prolonged sunspot minimum)

[i]. One ‘expert’ even claims that within 40 years there is a 20% chance of us entering another mini ice age. Well, that’s not exactly what I would call global warming? So what exactly is my reflection for this first month of 2014? In a nutshell, it is this: listen to yourself, and trust your own voice. Stop listening to other people who try to tell you that they know better – most often they don’t.

It doesn’t matter if the world/time is speeding up: if it is, you will speed up with it. It doesn’t matter if you think global technologies are going to get out of hand and destroy the world (most probably they won’t; and if they do, it wasn’t your fault). What matters is that it’s okay not to know what’s going to happen – so long as you do the best you can do. We are our own worst critics. If we make a mistake, we blame ourselves worst than anyone else. If we are our own worst enemy, we shouldn’t need to worry about what others’ think! It is time to think about us.

It is time we recognized that the world is an incredibly rich, diverse, and magical place. And within this magical place millions of unknown and untold things are happening. Sometimes it feels crazy to be a part of life with its innumerable unexpected impacts. But you know what? It’s okay…

It’s okay too to learn to enjoy the silence. If you cannot find the silence within yourself, and hold it, and treasure it – then where is your home? One’s inner silence is like a rock that keeps us still and grounded within a world full of noise and static. It’s okay to be quiet (let it go!). We have all the tools, the resources, we need within ourselves. We have the authority to make each step in life. So we need to trust ourselves fully; honour ourselves and honour and respect others. Although I’m not telling you this; these are just my ‘reflections’. You need to act upon your own sense and guidance. We are no longer in the age of Emperors; the age of Kings & Queens; the age of gurus – we are in the age of the Self. Don’t take my word for it – figure it out yourself. Be bold, be daring, be loving, be free, be adventurous, follow your dream… No one is going to save you but yourself. You are the one who has to make the moves; the choices; take the responsibility; and make things happen. No one really knows what is going to happen; so what do you have to fear? What have you to lose?

Knowing that we don’t know is liberating, isn’t it? The world is full of stories, is made up of stories – so write your own story. Drop the baggage; stop waiting for ascension; stop paying for enlightenment. As Van Morrison sings:

What’s the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is…
…You’re making your own reality everyday because
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

‘Enlightenment, don’t know what it is’ – but’s that okay, because we’re letting it go, and finding it out for ourselves; through ourselves. Good or bad, the future’s going to be fine. Now let’s mediate on that thought and have a wonderful year. Go for it!

 

PS. To enjoy the Van Morrison song ‘Enlightenment’ – click here