As 2017 draws to a close - and perhaps because of the deep freeze we have now experienced for days - I am particularly aware today of the shifting of the world unfolding right before our eyes and ears during the past year. Great Courage is needed to
stay present to the realities of fake news, contrived interviews and false headlines, and by "staying present" I don't mean watching constantly and taking in detail after detail, outrage after outrage. In fact, refusing to do so - to stop watching and listening
except for a few headlines now and then - is exactly the courage needed for our time so that we don't became infected and unconsciously dragged into the false beliefs shouted from our media many times a day. And so that fear and anxiety doesn't unconsciously
take us over.
It is dangerous to despair. It is dangerous to believe the posturing and ignorance that dominates and masquerades as news. But - these aside - there are many positive things we can do. We can surrender to the reality and see it as an invitation
to go deeper - meditating, for instance. We can form energetic intentions for good - ourselves and with others - and pour positive light into the world rather than engage in criticism and argument, both of which draw us into the darkness. And we can stay present
to the reality we are asked to live through at this time in history. For more on this, see the review of a new book, Savage Grace, by Andrew Harvey and Carolyn Baker in Transformative Reads.