IS COMPASSION HERE TO STAY?

Template for a New Humanity

ByNatasha J. Rosewood

“So what’s your take on it?” my clients ask me, their psychic, after the tsunami strikes. The suddenness and the brutality of this horror, I understand, is hard to comprehend.

Eerily enough, in my book, Aaagh! I Think I’m Psychic (And You Can Be Too), I describe a metaphorical vision (I thought!) given to me in 1986: A tidal wave was to sweep the planet and force us to wake up to a new wave of consciousness. Those souls who stubbornly refused to give up old fearful ways of thinking would drown while those willing to embrace the new enlightened consciousness would initially struggle and then rise to the surface. But maybe we, the people who survived, are the ones with the lesson to learn—the lesson of compassion.

Ever notice how until we understand the teaching, the same negative drama will repeat itself? The macrocosm, our outer world, is merely a reflection of our microcosmic personal world. Patterns emerge again and again in daily life until we heal the original pain and shift our beliefs. Only then can we expect improved outcomes.

9/11 was one such drama, and it presented an opportunity for us to be kinder to each other. But instead of us embracing more of humanity, the macrocosm out there used it to instill more fear and make more war. We succumbed to the illusion that some person, group or country is to be feared. We allowed fear to win over love.

The Universe, I believe, decided that we needed something more dramatic to get our attention. Hence, a tsunami. Is this latest horror going to wake us up or will this, too, fade into the media archives and our illusions of powerlessness? Pictures of lethargic starving babies in Darfur haven’t motivated us to donate money with such alacrity as the tsunami has. Try telling those mothers there with their concave chests that we are not helping them because they are taking longer to die.

And crisis-overwhelm can numb us. We want to help but we don’t know how. But if five-, eight- and twelve-year-olds can figure it out, what is our excuse?

While speaking on Larry King Live, Deepak Chopra suggested that through this tsunami we can create a new humanity. Hmmm. What would that look like?

Enter Adopt-A-Village. Adoptavillage.ca The idea was conceived by Jeff Dawson in Squamish, B.C. and has been embraced by a group in North Vancouver, and Campoverde, a Vancouver social club. The intention is that one person, group or community can contribute, on an on-going basis, directly and specifically to a village in South-East Asia. Once those communities are rehabilitated, the Adopt-A-Village Society will move to other devastated areas in the world. If you would like to learn how to join the Sunshine Coast initiative, visit my website at www.natashapsychic.com.

Compassion could be here to stay, but only if we commit to keep the waves of loving kindness coming and coming. As the Buddhists say, “Generosity is the virtue that produces peace.” Our generosity will not only empower those afflicted but also heal our own souls and the organism that is the planet. The macrocosm and the microcosm will become one. Then maybe the earth won’t need to rise up against us and teach us that lesson again. A new humanity, indeed! Amen! Awoman!