Hello 11-11-11

Today is 11-11-11, the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. It is a time that our teacher, Yogi Bhajan, talked a lot about, a time of collective change in how we, as a planet, experience life and relate to each other. It will be a process over many years and various traditions describe it - the key element among them all is the expectation of big change. This is the beginning.

I had a dream about it this morning. In the dream I was at Occupy Phoenix. (I've never gone down there in waking life but I have been following the Occupy movement and am inspired and intrigued by it.) A little boy was handing out peace offerings/gifts - little baggies of sesame stick snacks that had a coating of sweetness. The boy handed me a snack bag and I stopped and talked to him for a while. Then I began to meander through the Occupy crowd - various group causes were around holding signs, people chanted, others spoke passionately, there was lots going on. I began to snack on the sesame sticks and they were yummy, addictive - I almost couldn't stop myself from just gobbling them all up.

Then I found my group. My friend said, "What have you got there?" and pointed to the snacks. And suddenly it occurred to me that the sweetness I held in my hand was for sharing. It wasn't just for me. I laughed and jokingly said, "Ok - I won't be like the 1% - I will share with you."

I awoke from my dream, laughing. It spoke to the underlying message that I appreciate in the Occupy movement and in what I hear and see all over in countless ways (beyond Occupy) - a change in consciousness is needed for all of us. Underneath it all, it is not just about money or the 1% or the people against the corporations. Yes, that is where imbalance and injustice is very obvious and yes, things have to change in those areas. But really it is about us all.

We all have a part to play - with our choices and actions and how we care for each other. As a culture and as a species we have to care more. We have to look beyond our own needs and wants. We have to share the sweetness because we realize (in a deep, permeating, beyond-just-theory sort of way) that other people matter as much as we do.

I look forward to that unfolding more and more.

P.S. For an inside account of Occupy Wall Street, from a yogic perspective please check out my friend, Ek Ong Kar's blog post Flash Town: A Day at Occupy Wall Street. Beyond the sound bites from mainstream media, this provides a personal experience and insight.

P.P.S. Sorry for my 5 month long blog absence.