Written by Renelouise Smith   

Balance -- strike the balance. Yes; one should do all that one can do to try to break the cycle of ignorance --- to raise the level of both one's individual consciousness and our shared world's collective consciousness here upon this earth, our Mother. However, one must also take time to care for oneself -- to respect oneself: one must take time to quiet the chatter of both one's mind and the outside world. I know; it's not always simple at first; it can take time to quiet the chatter, but you just start with 10 deep breaths; then, you work up to 15 deep breaths . . . , 20 deep breaths . . . , 25 deep breaths . . . , and so on; every time the chatter starts to creep in push it aside, shut it down, respect yourself -- focus on the rhythm of your deep breaths . . . ; allow the wisdom of the silence of "not doing" (what I call Listening to the Silence) to wash over you; then, take what is offered -- the strength and clarity of your own truth -- and firmly walk it.

You see, it is ourselves alone who create both our individual realities and our shared collective reality here upon this earth, our Mother -- not some invisible being in the sky. It is oneself alone who chooses the level of consciousness one firmly walks one's life with -- how evolved of a being to be; yet, so, too, it is our collective self alone who, in the midst of the same breath, decides the level of consciousness our combined being firmly walks this shared world with -- how evolved of a society, of a race, to be. When one is able to awaken this sense deeply within one's heart and not within one's head alone, one can see that this shared world we are but a small part of is meant neither to be saved nor to be controlled by one of us alone. What is more, with one's sincere realization of this understanding and of one's oneness with the universe of all creatures and things and of one's earnest offering of one's best, one can begin to discover one's inner peace; for it is oneself alone who chooses what drama to entertain -- whether to hold oneself back by wasting one's energy on paralytic ignorant fear (all consuming worry, insecurity, jealousy, hate, anger, untruthfulness, greed, revenge, projection, victimization, negativity, narrow-mindedness, separateness -- war . . . ), which merely serves to sink one into a quagmire of self-destruction, or to move oneself forward by focusing one's energy on active lucid free thought (rhythmically balanced self-confidence, self-reliance, love, kindness, truth, compassion, vigilance, critical thinking, determination, passion, positivity, open-mindedness, kinship -- peace . . . ), which readies one to accept the challenge at hand, to embrace the opportunity to express and experience oneself in truth. You see, one can only give one's greatest gift, the gift of the level of one's own individual consciousness (Mastery of Attentiveness as I like to call it), to help influence, to help elevate, the level of the collective consciousness of our shared world here upon this earth, our Mother. . . .

Yes; energy . . . it is all about energy -- particles and waves of varying densities and rates of vibration, different states of individual and collective materiality and individual and collective consciousness. Energy, that innate essential which uniquely courses through each one of us -- all beings and all things, all moments and all instants, the known and the unknown, the visible and the invisible, the tangible and the intangible, the dark and the light, and all that is beyond and between -- whilst simultaneously existing as the collective all. Energy, that one essential element of this earth's and this Universe's being -- of the being of all existence. Energy, the sole element which can neither be created nor destroyed but which merely converts from one form to another. Energy, the ultimate state of which is that highest of all rate of vibration -- sentient, knowing, collective being, collective spirit; that intangible collective consciousness of all which exists, which is beyond the full understanding of one's human mind, just as it is meant to be, yet which is undeniable if one is truly attentive as evidence by such incidents as those clarion moments of truth which ring within one's heart without thought or hesitation -- the Great Mystery, Wakan-Tanka, as the Oglala call it (and the sound of name to which I find myself fondest); but, call it whatever you wish, or call it nothing at
all. . . . The Oneness -- the oneness of the universe, of all beings and things, of you and me, of all existence, of all that there be. . . .

Balance . . . . Strike the balance, and you will transcend it all. At least, this is what I believe.


Best of my thoughts,

Renelouise