There are moments in life that are almost beyond description – moments when we experience something far beyond what might be considered to be within the bounds of “normal” experience. They are moments of “transcendence.” They come upon one unexpectedly, sometimes in the most mundane circumstances, bringing peace, joy, bliss, and deep connection. For most of my life these moments were rare, and far between. With the tipping point of the Great Shift in Consciousness looming before us, it may be that they will become the new normal. 

In elementary school, my best friend, had a cherry tree in her front yard, and we often climbed up and sat in its branches, laughing and talking. One day, in early autumn, I climbed up into the tree while my friend was busy elsewhere. The air was crisp and cool, but the sun was shining. There was a little bit of misty fog rising from the ground. I could hear someone raking leaves, and the distant sound of neighbor-children calling out – their voices ringing joyfully through the autumn air.

I was delighted in that moment, and had a feeling of deep satisfaction and appreciation. And then there was suddenly a sense of stillness, a sense of holding my breath, and feeling the great expanse of the whole world stretching out around me, and beyond that, into infinity. I was connected to it all, naturally, deeply, and intrinsically. My heart was filled with peacefulness and joy. There was a sense of timelessness that I can still remember clearly. 

It may have only been a few moments, but it seemed like a very long time. Then I heard my friend calling my name, and I came back from this deep connection to all things. I returned to my familiar, singular self, and climbed down to join her in the house. I never mentioned it to anyone – life went on in its usual way.

Sometimes such moments occur when one is alone, sometimes when connecting with others. I remember walking to church with my mother one fall evening. We walked arm-in-arm, talking, and soon I noticed that the trees along the river, bereft of leaves, looked like an intricate pattern of lace against the evening sky. My mother remarked on the beauty almost at the same moment that I became aware of it, and we walked along in companionable silence as twilight fell around us, deeply connected to each other and to the world around us.

These moments can be fleeting. They might come with deeply appreciating nature, noticing the long shadows cast upon green grass by the evening sun, admiring flowers, looking at an inspiring work of art, looking up at a starry night sky, or, perhaps, just feeling the freedom and joy of riding a bike on a dirt road with cornfields all around. Sometimes I have such a feeling while playing or listening to music; I get lost in the sound and travel to some other realm. 

What are these moments of connection, and what do they mean? Many speak of the third dimensional world as being the world of illusion. We come into it pure and clear, and fully connected to God, Wisdom, the Universe, Love – you can choose your own terminology. Then we begin to take on the imprints and beliefs of things that are less than love, in a word, fears. It is fear that blocks us from connecting deeply to our true Divine Nature. 

By the time that we are in school, we may have taken on a great number of beliefs from family, school, church, and community. We may already believe that we are not O.K., not enough, not good. We may be chastised in school for day-dreaming. We may be instructed by family to be good, and told what “good” includes. We may be told by religious teachings that we are sinful, that our bodies and its natural urges are dirty and wrong, that we must overcome the natural state of human expression, and rise above it to some exalted state that leaves the body behind. By the time we graduate from high school, we might believe that we must work hard, strive, and constantly “do” in order to prove our worth, and to be valued within society. 

Essentially, such beliefs are an outgrowth of Patriarchal teachings, the teachings of religions that venerate the masculine and diminish the feminine. Such an orientation includes a focus on man’s power, “might makes right”, taking action, Crusades, “Holy Wars”. It is divisive: my God is better than your God, and if you don’t agree with me, you are deserving of retribution – even death!

The feminine gifts of emotion, compassion, inclusion, intuition, gnosis, even “being” – gifts which, I must add, also belong to men – are deprecated and, sometimes, demonized. The witch-hunts that began with the Inquisition, and continued through the modern era, were about Patriarchal groups wanting power over, and, often, fearing the gifts of the feminine. It is not to say that the masculine should now be demonized, but simply, that there needs to be a rebalancing of both energies – an integration of doing and being, of individuality and community, of rational thinking and intuition, of knowledge and wisdom. Perhaps this can happen even within patriarchal systems. If not, they will fall. The Shift requires us to reintegrate the dualities into a balanced whole.

In recent decades, we have been integrating many Eastern beliefs that have a less patriarchal orientation, including practices of transcendentalism, yoga, and meditation. Essentially, we are now deeply involved in rebalancing the masculine and feminine, in the outer world as well as within our own bodies. A more recent addition is the practice of “Mindfulness.” We are beginning to remember the value in just being, which opens the door to greater connection to “All That Is.”

Sometimes the sensation comes with looking into someone’s eyes, and suddenly feeling a connection with their soul. Sometimes people respond as if reconnecting with “Soul Family”. At other times, people react in fear to the deep merging of such an exchange. We are evolving to a new and unfamiliar level of expression in our human interactions. It can’t be forced, but we can be in a more receptive (feminine) mode, which allows it to happen more easily.

Can we cultivate these moments of deeper awareness in our daily lives? Yes. More than anything, we have to make time for them. We must slow down and pay attention. We must be present. In other words, we probably won’t experience them if we are, either in our thoughts or in our actions, behaving like the hamster on a spinning wheel. There must be some quiet time in our day for contemplating, meditating, and paying attention. 

A daily practice is helpful, even if it is just a few minutes each night before going to sleep, or each morning before getting up. Meditation, music, movement – anything that quiets the chatter of the “Monkey Mind” is good. If you are, generally, overworked and overtired, then a vacation could be just the thing to bring back a sense of equilibrium.

I find it helpful to be out in nature, observing the beauty of the natural world:  sunlight shimmering on the rocky bottom of a babbling brook, the play of light and shadow through the leaves of trees, or ocean waves endlessly crashing on a sandy beach. When I used to have space for a garden, all the garden chores felt therapeutic and beneficial, but especially getting my hands into the soil, as well as watering the plants and flowers. Nature helps to ground us and bring us back to ourselves, back to our “Body Elemental” and a feeling we belong, and that “all is right with the world.” 

It is also true that, when we have released our fears, and come back to a place of connection 

with our Divine Nature, we also begin to create in a new way. We send out a different vibration that allows “what we want” to come to us, easily, without the interference of doubts and fears that bring “what we don’t want.” 

The body is the vehicle through which our Spirit expresses in the world. The body is not disappearing, it is going with us to a new level of human expression. When we allow ourselves to “embody” Spirit more fully, we can experience the sense of being in Oneness with all things – the timeless, joyful, peaceful place that we have, perhaps, only begun to explore and experience.