Saving the world is really in our hands

The world is going through a rough time right now. The pandemic has shown us that our ways as a planet have to mended right away.

But there’s a deeper reason and a subtle benefit that this pandemic has given us. It’s the gift of higher consciousness.

Suddenly, people who were from seemingly different backgrounds, cultures, and nations came together to support each other.

They realized that everyone is suffering in these times of uncertainty. It was no longer only “your problem.” Each of us empathized with the most distant citizens in a far-off country? Because we know how it feels to go through what they’re facing.

Scientists all over the world were burning the midnight oil to find the cure for this medicine. And even though they might’ve done it in a spirit of competition with other nations, the end result will benefit all of us.

In any case, COVID is more than a pandemic — it’s a wake-up call.

Think about it. For years we’ve raped nature for its benefits. We’ve taken more than we give her. As a result, she enforced this deadly disease. Everyone had to stay inside. Work had to stop.

And automatically, the air was cleaner, the noise pollution reduced, the mental health of people improved, and a million other ways in which the planet benefited.

But what causes these problems in the first place? Why, as humans, we do such things that we know will lead to cataclysms?

A contractive consciousness.

All the problems we read in today’s headlines are a result of the contractive consciousness of humans.

The fake promises by politicians, the rise of terrorism, unfair business practices, scams, environmental degradation, and many such things come from lower states of consciousness and understanding.

And what does a contractive consciousness make us believe? That we all are separate.

Let me explain this using an analogy. Our existence is like water. We all are one. No one can deny that reality. But when you freeze water, it turns into blocks of ice that can be cut and separated.

Similarly, we’re frozen by anger, hatred, egoism, self-centeredness, and so on. And the key belief of every block of ice is — “I am different than that other block of ice.”

We forget that even though we look like those blocks of ice from the outside, we’re actually water. And when we melt with the power of love, there’s nothing that separates us.

But in that contractive consciousness, we clash with each other on what is ‘ours’ to keep.

“My country,” “My home,” “My rules,” “My ways,” and so on.

By forgetting our true essence we are deluded. We cast a veil of separateness in front of our eyes. But in reality, molecules of water are not different from each other. They don’t discriminate. They are one. It’s just water.

The Two Emotions Of Destruction

By living with a contractive consciousness we live primarily in fear and greed.

We exist in one of these two states:

• Fear of losing what we have

• Greed for things that we don’t have

And when we operate from such emotions, it’s no surprise that all human progress just goes downhill from there.

To seasoned investors, these emotions are commonplace — they see it within themselves and in others all the time.

In fact, they’re so strong that they alone are the reason for all the unpredictability in our economies and markets. This is why you hear Buffet’s famous maxim trumpeted in every investors’ Instagram bio — “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.”

No matter what scale you look at, any action coming from greed or fear is bound to lead to misery.

Step up

Our goal over the next decade should be to raise the global consciousness. But how can we do that?

By [raising our own consciousness](https://medium.com/the-ascent/here-are-9-simple-ways-to-help-raise-your-consciousness-8301984bf2e0). You see global consciousness stems from individual consciousness.

Now more than ever there’s a need for people with higher consciousness to not only work on themselves but also come forward and drive that change for others.

We need to fight against contractive consciousness not by meeting violence with violence but by actively expressing expansive attitudes like compassion and love.

But how can we as individuals do this? One of the best ways is meditation.

Science has proved that perhaps the best benefit of mediation is not the cognitive side** effects but an increase in levels of compassion**.

When our levels of compassion increase, we become more altruistic and spiritual.

This is what the world needs right now — en masse. With small, tiny changes in your lifestyle, you can affect those around you in a positive manner.

And once you start to do this, you’ll just be a block in a huge line of dominoes. As you tick one block, everything starts to take care of itself.

The Takeaway

Most people underestimate the effect of a rise in consciousness.

But if you work on this single-most important area, you will see all the benefits coming to you automatically.

You’ll never forget to turn off the fan when you leave the room or leave the tap running, or not waste food, or not litter, and so on.

We’ll be able to help others without any personal motive. We’ll be able to love others unconditionally.

We’ll be able to think beyond ourselves, our job, our career, our family — and realize that this world is a big family.

When you work on your own development, there comes a point when you want to share the progress with others. Out of pure compassion, you’ll rush to lift others who are down. Gradually, everything and everyone will reach their highest potential.

Perhaps I’m exaggerating, but I don’t think so.

The impact of little changes on your part is truly magnificent.

The only question is, are you willing to step up and be a warrior of virtue?

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