This is the Age of Bewilderment. When the subject of "Change" became a campaign slogan last year, many assumed it just meant politics. But no, the scope of this term became much broader than many guessed. "Change" has now come to mean dramatic, dynamic, earthquake-shaking differences in the way we work and live. If you have doubts, just examine the contrast between life in the U.S. in 2007 and then in 2009. It is mind-blowing. The one certainty today: things ain’t what they used to be. Nearly everyone I know is bewildered by the sudden and dramatic turn of events affecting most areas or our lives.
The change begins at ground-level. Many people, especially those laid-off from work or evicted from their homes, have been forced to face new realities that include determining how to earn a living or find another place to live. Even those still working and still in their homes (a good percentage of the population) have changed their spending habits. In fact, for many, spending isn’t a habit anymore. Spending today almost always includes prioritizing first and then bargain-hunting. As I predicted earlier, the days of excess are behind us, thank goodness, but many of us now face new and more difficult financial choices (especially as gas and grocery prices inflate). If you are bewitched, bothered and bewildered by what’s happened during the last year or two, as resident psychic astrologer, I offer this observation: 5 senses aren’t enough anymore. To better cope with the dramatic, bewildering life changes: tap into your 6th and "7th" senses.
Let me explain.
Another word for the 6th sense, which we all possess, is intuition. I firmly believe early humans survived by using the 6th sense. What better way to determine an enemy or a predator’s intentions or what loomed ahead in the dense jungle or the vast desert plain? I think early humans exalted and honored their ability to divine (interpret dreams, foretell, predict) because the 6th intuitive sense served as protector and defender. It was mental survival gear. And the 6th sense can do the same for you today.
I wouldn’t be writing about this if modern man/woman remembered how to listen to and trust their guts and inner wisdom. But, for most, the 6th sense has atrophied over time. In order to harness your 6th sense, you have to pay attention to it, and you have to practice using it (at least at first). Some say women are much more intuitive naturally then men; this is probably true, stemming from a built-in maternal instinct. But some of the most highly intuitive people I know are men. Intuition is not strictly gender-based. The more sensitive people on the planet (the artists, performers and poets) might have an easier time using their 6th sense, because they connect to it so often and easily in their work and dreams. But we all possess this built-in intuition. And if we are in a state of bewilderment, intuition can help direct us, guide us, and lead us to a path that is correct for our lives. Some people use the term "ESP" as a synonym for the 6th Sense, but "intuition" is preferred here, because it is a less controversial, more easily accepted term. The truth is, if you listen to your intuition and follow what your inner-voice/gut tells you, you are practicing "ESP". No big deal, except to the skeptics who make a living debunking any and all extra-sensory theories. They might as well be criticizing the universally accepted senses of touch or taste, because the 6th sense is just as natural in every one of us (especially notable in young children who haven’t been talked out of it yet). If you are having difficulties right now, I suggest you learn to employ the 6th Sense to help your self and your loved ones. For starters, here are some ways to tap into your intuition:
1. Meditate. Meditation has been proven to enhance 6th sense abilities. Spend at least 15-20 minutes regularly (daily, if you can) in meditation to clear your mind of distracting, negative thoughts and to open your mind to inner wisdom. Meditation can help clear stress, which often blocks intuition. Meditation can help lower your blood pressure, (an added benefit). Once you have established a routine meditation practice, your intuition should be readily accessible to you. But, as in all things extra-ordinary, you can not force it to come. It will flow to you on its own. And often when you least expect it. Some people feel it like a brain-storm. Others describe it as a Knowing. Quite often it’s a welcome revelation or a solution to a problem you’ve encountered. (If you need instruction on how to meditate, there are fine articles elsewhere on Factoidz).
2. Keep a dream journal. Writing down your dreams, as soon as you awake, is a good way to judge what may be on your subconscious mind, and some times to also predict the future. Dreams have long been keys to understanding our inner feelings, and also as prophecies,(even the Bible references this). Some of my dreams have been predictive ( for example,lottery numbers), but like meditation, you can’t force yourself to dream your future. There are those people who can react to and note their dreams as they occur (lucid dreaming), but this is not the same as accessing your intuitive abilities.Recalling your dreams will help you recognize your subconscious thoughts while you’re sleeping. It may take practice to be able to access your dreams, but they often hold keys and clues to what you’re really thinking. This can help you create and act on a life-plan.
3. Practice the arts. Whether it’s wood carving, water-color painting, playing the guitar or writing a children’s book, the more time you spend in creative hobbies or in your artistic job (if you are so lucky), the more your mind returns to its natural, instinctive and inspirational state. I find, as I work on art, many new understandings come to me- butterfly thoughts floating across my conscious mind. Some of my best 6th Sense intuitions have come about as or immediately after I finished worked on a painting or a collage.
Once you begin to "honor" your intuition, to listen to it and to practice it, your life will unfold in the way that makes "sense". Listening to your intuition may present you with ideas and guidance no one else has suggested to you. Intuition is another way to encounter a different, more enlightened perspective about your life.
The other "sense" I find necessary to coping these days is what I call the 7th sense: "the sense of humor." Yes, I know, this is NOT a scientificl sense like the others, but it’s easier to thrive and to wade through the troubling times, if you can find some humor in it. I find even a bad joke can lift moods, albeit briefly. Of course, some things are no joking matter - but even so, a sense of humor is an important way to protect your health, defend your interests, and relieve your stress. The late Norman Cousins knew this well when he wrote Anatomy of an Illness. By laughing, we forget our problems - at least for a short time. In the 1930s Depression era, there were many comics who brightened the difficult days. Among them - W.C. Fields, The Three Stooges, Dorothy Parker, Jack Benny, The Marx Brothers- all known as " comics and humorists" back then.Their writings, performances and sayings made life a little easier to take, a little less scary and offered optimism that things would turn around. This humor component is sadly missing these days. I can’t find any contemporary "humorists" or comics who can do what the great comics and others did for the Country during the 1st Great Depression. Surely, "having a bit of a laugh" as the the award-winning BBC/HBO series, Extras, put it, could offer us some sorely-needed comic relief. The sad, canned sitcoms the major networks continue to churn out offer little humor, little saving grace (not that series either), little in the way of nuggets of wisdom we can take to our personal comfort bank accounts to help us feel better. What little comedy exists on American television or film is often dark, bitter, and astringent - certainly a reflection of the times - but again, offering no viable stress escape or room for optimism. Here, then, are some ways to encourage your 7th sense of humor.
1. Read all the classic comedy books you can find - Mark Twain, if you’re a history buff; Dorothy Parker’s poetry and non-fiction ("you might as well live") if you’re a feminist or Modernist, or even Woody Allen (funny in the 1970s), author of many witty books and screenplays, if you’re an intellectual. The late great Kurt Vonnegut’s wisecracks are wonderful and insightful. There are many funny books in the humor section of the bookstore (those that remain standing), but I suggest checking out the library first (it’s still free!!) Also check out Norman Cousin’s classic book, Anatomy of an Illness, which recounts how he defeated a serious disease with the help of vitamin Cs and belly laughs.
2. Rent classic funny movies: The Marx Brothers (going way back), Sleeper (Woody Allen), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", Marilyn Monroe comedies (Some Like It Hot, Seven Year Itch) and any of the other classic funny films you can find listed on movie-related internet sites (some sites list the top 10 funny films). There are many more funny films than I can name, of course, but if you can rent them or buy them at deep discount, a laugh a day is likely to keep the doctor away - and improve your mood so you can re-energize.
3. Make up your own one-liners and witticisms. Make yourself laugh. I’m signed up on Twitter for that very reason. I practice writing one liners, mainly to amuse myself and lift my spirits. Unlike 99% of the other Twitterers, I have nothing to market; nothing to sell. But Twitter is one way to practice being funny in front of an audience (a great venue if you have stage fright) . In fact,Twitter is perfomance comedy with and in a Net. I think this is one area that Twitter got right; unfortunately, they just don’t recognize it - yet.
4. Keep Meditating. If you have lightened your mood by using humor, slipping into a meditative state will become much easier. In fact, I have heard that some of the Yogis who practice extended periods of meditation, often laugh and chuckle out loud, while they are in deep mindlessness (the meditative state). That confirms to me there is a link between lightness of being and lightness of heart, which humor can inspire.
Predictions for the near future:
Uncertainty will linger throughout the summer and into the Autumn as even more change becomes the norm. We will get used to the ideas of free-lancing, independent contracting, 30-hour work-weeks,even working 2 and 3 different jobs per week. We will be living day to day, changing our hopes and aspirations to fit what we can reasonably afford right now. We will practice healthy living - both for our bodies and our planet. We have reached a climax when it comes to health-care and global warming. This is serious business now, and we will see it that way. We will also see the value in reaching out to others for help and support without expecting a payback in terms of money. Building a trustworthy support network, like the one found here, will become more important than the superficial, here-today-gone-tomorrow relationships that once satisfied and consumed us. Human kindness, overflowing, will count more in days to come - crossing all barriers, boundaries and income groups. Yes, the days of 2009 are tough and difficult, but ultimately we will be rewarded with a new, grounded value system that honors those who deserve the honors and rewards those whose intuition helps them create, contribute and produce what is needed for our public and private use now and in the future.
With thanks to: The Black Keys ("Things ain’t what they used to be," 2007), " Rogers & Hart (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Pal Joey, 1940), Marilyn Monroe, The Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Norman Cousins, Woody Allen, Kurt Vonnegut, Extras (HBO 2006-7) and Twitter.
06.14.09
