THE ASPEN INITIATIVE
Discovering the Wisdom we need to Serve our Future
How do we Respond to the Time we are Living Through?
We would like to create a group willing to ask this question.
So far those who are participating in the initiative.
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Marianne Williamson
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Tim Shriver |
The Rev's Dr Cynthia Bourgeault
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Mirabai Starr
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Cyprian Consiglio
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Heather and Nicholas Vesey |
Matthew Fox
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Sherri Mitchell
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See resources offered by our participants by clicking here
How do we respond authentically to what we are living through at the moment?
And respond from a place of understanding.
There is a wisdom that says all of us are connected within a unitive consciousness. Some call it God, some may call the Tao, some the Buddha Nature.
There is one consciousness of which we are all an expression.
Not only that, but everything, sentient, animate and inanimate, is also an expression of that consciousness.
And that consciousness has evolved through the millennia.
What started with single cell organisms bouncing off each other has arisen into a consciousness that 
creates opera, understands the nature of our DNA, can cure illnesses and re-set broken bones.
That consciousness has seen that all men are equal, has recognized the ills of slavery, oppression and injustice.
It can solve complicated problems and paint the Sistine Chapel.
In short, we have become aware of the potential of our consciousness to such an extent that we are able to manifest divinely inspired concepts that have come from way beyond the human brain. We are now able to manifest our heart and soul within society.
Our ancestors dreamed this for us.
Centuries ago, our ancestors dreamed of a world where diseases were cured, where people treated each other with decency, where they could live free and express themselves without persecution.
People came to this country with that desire front and center. Independence was declared with that dream foremost in the minds of those who signed.
And our constitution was written with all of this in mind.
We are what our ancestors dreamed us to be.
And we are now in the position to dream for our descendants.
What do we want for them?
We are a product of all the good that our ancestors have done, and we are now in that place where what we do will determine what we will leave for our descendants.
This is our time.
It is we who are now looking from the depths of our souls into the consciousness that we all share.
As we look out into the world, we know we are deeply connected with each other.
Consciousness has no physical barriers. It transcends them.
So our connection is with everything in our community, in our state, in our nation, in our planet, in our world. In our universe.
We are a part of all of that, and it is all a part of us.
The great sages of the last 10,000 years have taught us this, and modern science has proved it.
What are we going to leave for our descendants?
Will they thank us for what we have done for them, as we thank our ancestors for what they have done for us.
It seems that the world we are now living in is going backwards.
Many of the values and understanding that we have seen as being progress seem in danger of slipping away.
We are living in a world where our climate is becoming increasingly unstable, and yet it is not a priority.
We are living in a world where autocracy is seen as the answer to problems, and yet our wisdom tells us that we are all interdependent; and a sharing of both resources and problems is the only way for us to progress.
We seem to be living in a time where possession and acquisition at the expense of others is seen as the only way to ensure safety.
Which, by the way is patently wrong and almost an oxymoron.
We are currently imperiled by stupidity. How do we discover the wisdom we need in order to serve out future?
The big question here is how to respond?
How do we, in our generation, respond in a loving way to what we see going on in our world, given that we understand that we are to love our enemies. Who are, as the Tao Te Ching Tells us the shadows we ourselves cast
on the world.
How do we respond to what we see, without going into opposition, which is merely to re-enforce the positions we oppose.
That is the big question of our time.
Something we have to live into in a loving way.
Join us!
We would like as many people as possible to help us frame this question.
This might be through articles, zoom events or even in person.
We have set aside the weekend of June 7th and 8th to manifest the Forum here at the chapel to see where we can go as we live and lean into the question.
We would love you to become a part of our 'Coalition of the Loving'!
THE ASPEN INITIATIVE