Perhaps it is because there is so much to break from, to be free from, that I spend so much time in that mode. At this particular juncture on our evolutionary journey, there is a whole lot that we are breaking from–both on the inside and the outside, as individuals and as nations and as a global community. We are breaking from economic structures that have existed for centuries that no longer support us; from ways of surviving based on an outdated, tribal model of dominating or being subservient to a dominator; from trying to control the earth, control the resources, control the future, control each other; from deeply ingrained conditioned reactions that are used to hold the ‘tribe’ together, such as shame, blame, guilt, outrage, pity and self-pity; from beliefs that bind and blind us; from the obsession to judge and pass judgment. In fact, there is not too much that we are not breaking from or need to break free from during these times.

It is worth noting that the process of breaking free from anything can’t happen until you first realize that you are not free. It is a substantial spiritual step to realize you are really not free; that, in fact, you are living in a prison. It is an equally substantial step to see it is a prison of your own making existing inside your head, or that you have unconsciously agreed to living in a prison because everyone else is. And the next giant step is to do something about it.

These steps do not come easily. It is only when living in a box is no longer acceptable, or when some crisis forces you into awareness, or when the structures in our collective lives collapse under their own weight, or when the earth sends us continual, loud messages that we must change, that we have the marvelous opportunity to confront our prison and to break free. We can then begin our evolution in earnest. You break free because you must.

The change starts where the prison is:  inside your head, with your thinking. It starts with a change in perception. Your perceptions influence your behavior and the choices that you make. As you clean up your inside world so that you no longer are held captive to the thinking, beliefs and habits of the past, you begin to view the outside world through a different lens. You perceive the journey differently, you respond differently, and you make different choices.

You and I are part of civilization at a time of collapse.  We are both the wrecking crew and the clean-up crew, as well as the designers of the future. We span all these roles sometimes in the course of a single day. Standing in the midst of a huge rubble pile, we see that there is still more to come down.   If we are to become powerful, we must keep breaking free from old ways of thinking, perceiving and doing. Breaking free is the task we have given ourselves by being born duirng this time. The more we are able to free ourselves on the inside, the more change we are able to usher in on the outside.

Part of the answer can be found in our biology. We are indeed, the human animal. The physical body that carries us through this earth journey shares about 97% of its DNA with the chimpanzee. As a species, we are little more than a glorified ape. Chimpanzees, as we know from Jane Goodall’s extensive research, commit assassinations, mass murders and serial killings. Yet since civilization began, we humans have been attempting to transcend our biology and act in a more conscious and enlightened way, worthy of the divine soul that inhabits these animal bodies. But when we are under pressure, when we are in the grip of fear, the bridge we’ve been patiently building between the divine and the animal quickly snaps. Under the pressure of fear, we become the human animal, exhibiting greater violence than any other species in the animal kingdom. 

Fear has most of us by the throat. It is just a matter of degree and intensity as to when we succumb to our DNA.  For some, just a little bit of pressure on the jugular causes them to throw reason, awareness, divine compassion, or what they most love in life to the winds. 

We are engaged in a grand experiment. Can what we call the human spirit transcend its physical biology and act in accord with the divinity that we truly are?   Can we take our power back from fear and learn to respond to fear consciously? The earth plane is the PhD course in overcoming fear. Our success in this classroom and our ability to help evolve this great experiment rests on our willingness to become conscious, self-aware and connected to our divinity when we are in the presence of fear.  

It is the most difficult work we will ever do while on this earth plane. The first step is to understand the nature of the classroom and to begin to understand the ground rules. We can accept that fear is not going anywhere, and that we have a biological tendency to act out like an ape when we feel fear. We can remember that we are part of a great experiment. Then we can roll up our sleeves and begin the process of becoming more self-aware; we can start to walk the very narrow path that will allow us to stay focused on our spiritual mission to overcome fear.