Several years ago, I had the good fortune to visit Vilnius, Lithuania during their “Capital Days.” As part of the celebration, art students from the city’s university created a huge sand sculpture of John Lennon in a park square with the word “IMAGINE” carved in large letters at its base.
The newly created sculpture of Lennon was located in the exact spot where a statue of Lenin, the father of the Soviet Communist State, stood throughout the years of Soviet occupation of Lithuania from 1953 until 1991. Lenin’s statue had faced the NKVD Palace, a chamber of horrors where the torture and execution of hundreds of Lithuanians who opposed Soviet rule had taken place.
The massive sand sculpture of John Lennon with its message, “IMAGINE,” gazed upon that same building, which now houses the Vilnius County Court, the Court of Appeals of Lithuania, and a Museum of Genocide Victims downstairs in the former prison cells of the palace.
During these turbulent times, I find it helpful to recall that sculpture of John Lennon as a symbol of hope for the future. When we read the news these days, sometimes it is difficult to envision things getting better. And yet, the peaceful dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet “Iron Curtain” in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States stands as a testament to how quickly things can change for the better when people unite with a common dream.
With so much currently in the news emphasizing the darker side of humanity, some suggest we are reaching the end of our days. But I don’t buy it. Rather, I believe we are on the verge of a great paradigm shift that will propel us in a positive direction.
In my thirty-five years as a psychotherapist, I have witnessed the process of change with hundreds of individuals, couples, and families, and I can attest to the fact that it is usually difficult and messy. What’s more, things generally appear to be getting worse right before they get better.
Perhaps this is because most of us need to get very uncomfortable with the status quo before finding the courage to venture forth into unfamiliar territory. The tough decisions to stop destructive habits, face our deepest fears, or take a risk by following life’s calling in a brand new direction, generally are preceded by turmoil, unrest, failure, disappointment, and/or loss.
Right now, our country seems to be going through the same process I have witnessed in my own life and in the lives of my clients—only on a much larger scale. Life is calling us to reassess and revise many of the ways our society has operated for decades. Our discomfort with the state of affairs is actually a grand invitation to find a better way.
Already there are signs of a great shift in consciousness that is taking place on this planet. More and more, we are One World—thanks to the opportunity social media has provided to connect and unite. Through the power of the Internet, we can celebrate examples of kindness and generosity from around the globe that are expressions of the highest and best within us. We can also align with those on every continent who are raising their voices in favor of a peaceful coexistence with one another, other species, and the Earth itself.
Collective consciousness has the power to transform. There have been sixty well-designed studies substantiating that a relatively small group of individuals meditating together is associated with a reduction in the level of social violence in surrounding regions.
In the first of these experiments, when 2500 individuals meditated together for two summer months in Washington D.C., a city of 1.5 million, there was a 25 percent reduction in crime during a period when crime typically increases. This finding was well documented and verified by social scientists from local universities, the FBI, and the Washington D.C. Police Department, and seemingly could not be attributed to any other factors.
Subsequent studies to ensure that this was not an anomaly have replicated the results. It appears that a small number of meditators—as few as 800 people-- has been associated with a much as an 80 percent reduction in violent conflict. Remarkably, those living in the region near the groups of meditators also have been found to experience physiological changes associated with meditation and stress reduction, although they are not themselves meditating.
Studies show that it only takes the square root of one percent of a population aligned with higher consciousness to positively impact the entire population. This means that a mere 1783 people have the potential to positively impact a nation of 318 million people, such as the US. Indeed, one positive person can be a powerful transmitter of light and positive energy.
What does this mean for you? It means that every moment you bring greater peace into your own life, you are making a difference for the entire planet. It means that as you envision a better world from a place of love and compassion, you are bringing us one step closer to that future.
Let us join together and use the power of our collective consciousness to hold images of a more evolved humanity in our hearts and minds. Together, we have the ability to create a bridge that moves us from chaos, conflict, and confusion to calm, clarity, and compassion. Just IMAGINE!