Journeys

By: Valerie Iravani

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January seems like the perfect time to talk about beginnings. There is a theory floating around that says winter is the real time of beginningùwhen nature closes down, goes inside and gathers itself to burst forth in the spring. However, I still operate habitually from the western calendar, and New Years day is the day I commit to a new course of action for the year. Then by January 10, I am already off course.

However, this beginning actually arrived on a cold November day, a year ago, when emotions ran high and actions got out of hand. It was a moment when a guardian angel wrapped me in his wings, tucked me into my car, and kept me safe as I set myself free to seek. A never ending journey into spiritual consciousness had begun in earnest.

As with many others throughout history, my conscious search for ôsomething moreö in my life was caused by an incident that cut my spirit free of its final apron strings. We tend to resist change, and I did this in a big way. An argument, which turned into a shouting match (a major catastrophe for me, a normal occurrence for many) shoved me out of the ôsafeö nest into flight from my old patterns of existence.

The first part of my journey was reading a series of books that helped me shift out of my old ôperspectiveö. I contemplated how the modern western world no longer provides us with historical context for the daily events in our lives. We have forgotten that the great human experience is filled with deep emotions and internal examination of ôwhyö we exist. These ideas are no longer honored or accepted as ônormalö. Instead we treat deep emotion and internal struggle as occurrences to be avoided or as neurosis.

In western societies we have forgotten to honor emotion and spirit as part of our physical condition. Any dis-ease or mental struggle is treated at the symptomatic level, and not at the root. We tend to medicate ourselves into a stupor that drains our life force from us. We have also failed to see problems in society as a reflection of the internal struggle going on in each one of us. Even as the ôindustrial ageö separated us from our natural relationship to the land, so it segmented each aspect of our lives into specialized compartments, instead of remaining a ôwholeö entity working in harmony.

Other books I read spoke of how people are directly experiencing the spiritual world in greater numbers than ever before in history. The need for one great prophet becomes less as our communities become more globally connected, and teachings are transmitted over greater areas with immediacy and accuracy. The number of people who are experiencing other dimensions and spiritual understandings continues to grow exponentially--from all socio-economic strata throughout the world.

New understandings bring the spiritual and physical worlds together in the æ90s as never before. Holistic healing and Ayurvedic practices are partnering with western medicine to heal conditions that are otherwise incurable. Some people are seeking the counsel of intuitional readers who practice spirit channeling, aura reading, rebirthing, energy manipulation (and many other practices) as many others use psychiatrists and therapists.

The growing spiritual consciousness has created many new career fields, as well as changes in career for many people. Those who have long been in fields where energy and perspective manipulation are the focus are gaining new respect. Psychics and other intuitional readers now have clients who are rich and well educated, as well as poor and superstitious. Also, the middle class is more heavily involved in seeking alternatives to high-cost, often ineffective, medicine or therapy.

The real key to the explosive growth in spiritual consciousness is that the middle class of the western world has discovered that the legacies of the ôindustrial ageö no longer serve for success in the ôinformation ageö. People who were well respected for their skill or knowledge in industry and management find themselves no longer ôneededö in todayÆs work force. At fifty or sixty years old, individuals are being told they are no longer valuable in western companies, and there is no extended family to give emotional support.

Relationships are changing as well. Those who have stayed in relationships because of traditional ideals, are finding themselves unsettled and unfulfilled at younger and younger ages. The pandemonium associated with ômid-lifeö crisis is beginning to occur in the thirties and early forties, instead of the fifties. The context for relationships (in a world where much of the population is mobile and can be anywhere in the world within 24 hours) is drastically changing. Children and parents, who always seem to be in conflict because of a perceived lack of understanding, are driven farther and farther apart. However, their struggle to be understood, and to ôfitö themselves into a context that feels ôrightö is more similar than they know.

People throughout the world are learning that, although money provides convenience and freedom, it is not fulfilling in itself. Those with the means have traveled the world over, and experienced much of the wonders and riches of the earth. This has created a growing respect for the nature that humanity is destroying at phenomenal rates, without understanding the ramifications. There growing numbers of people taking up careers that work toward harmony between man and nature.

After six months of reading, I was slowly slipping out of my ôoldö perspective of how life worked, and what I really wanted. This new way of looking at my actions and desires allowed me to be open to the universal messages being directed my way. I was ready to make new acquaintances, hear new ideas, and make changes.

One of those new acquaintances directed me toward Suzanne Wagner, a minister, psychic, intuitional instructor, and fellow explorer. On a lark, I decided to call her and set up an appointment. I still, to this day, do not understand what made me call her. I am very conservative in my actions and had never considered seeing a psychic before. In fact, although I believed in psychic abilities, I also believed them to be the realm of a few superior beings. All others must be people who had studied psychological teachings and party tricks.

I worried about going to the appointment, although my new friend had told me exactly what would happen, and that she had found it stimulating and wonderful. I was, after all, wasting money on some silly inclination when I really couldnÆt afford to. Not only that, but my life was in total disarray. I had just left a lucrative sales position for no better reason than I didnÆt fit in with the ôgroup-thinkö in that particular environment. I should have been spending all of my time looking for another position. Here I was going to see a psychic!

What happened next? Well, thatÆs another story. Suffice to say that my journey into spiritual consciousness, as with all of yours, is a continual exploration into new realms of understanding, both of myself and the universe around me. My life seems fairly calm on the outside, going on as before. Yet the internal shift is already bringing about changes in how I relate to other family members, and what I see as important. Just like you, I am never quite sure what is real about my exploration. I almost think reality doesnÆt matter. What matters is the positive influence that new concepts have on my own well of happiness. As I learn, I am able to look beyond the barriers to the lessons.

Just remember that each of us is that ripple in a pond that goes on forever. Our thought waves and our actions have results far beyond what we see or comprehend. Join me on my journey as I explore the many facets of spiritual consciousness, and meet the people who are helping us shape our new reality. After all, I transmit this reality to everyone I come in contact with, thus shifting their reality and understanding. If you are reading this article, I am also a part of your new reality. You must be on the search yourself if you have found the ôWeaverö and have taken the time to read about what others are learning and experiencing.

As the New Year begins, take the time to set your goals for your search. It is easy, at the beginning, to lose momentum, and slide back into old patterns of thinking. Everyone around you is at some stage of a new spiritual consciousness. Try to bring the subject up in your conversations occasionally, and see what response you get. YouÆll be presently surprised. Good luck and remember to have fun as you complete your process. See you next month!

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