The principles to create a new world—a world that works for everyone—have always been with us. But the consciousness has not always been there. The methodologies have not always been there. And the tools to connect people with the information they need and with others of like mind have never been there before in the way they are now. We are, indeed, living in exciting and new times. A new world is truly waiting to be born.
As we all know, and as The Secret author Rhonda Byrne admits, the law of attraction is not new. Universal principles never are or they would not be universal principles. The principles of aerodynamics did not suddenly come into existence when the Wright brothers had their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, any more than the principles of gravity came into existence when the apple fell on Sir Isaac Newton's head and caused him to question why. What came into existence—or more accurately, into awareness—was the understanding of and ability to consciously use these laws. Similarly, while the law of attraction has been taught in New Thought for more than 100 years (and by others as far back as ancient Greece), what is new is how voraciously it is being consumed by the mainstream, the vast segment of society in the middle. “Race consciousness,” as Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore might call it, is being influenced and changed. That is exciting, powerful and enormously important.
Why? Because when the “middle” of society shifts upward and becomes more consciously awake (that is, when race consciousness is elevated), the sheer impact of those numbers can help pull the rest of humanity upward and forward. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will lift up all men unto me” (Jn. 12:32). This movement is critical if we are going to bring forth a world that works for everyone.
While humanity has unquestionably benefited from the spiritual awakening and teachings of the great sages and avatars such as Jesus, Buddha and Lao-Tzu, what is desperately needed today is the spiritual awakening (and the enlightened, compassionate living borne of such awakenings) of each and every one of us. Although there will always be instantaneous awakenings—those that happen in the twinkling of an eye, such as Eckhart Tolle's or Byron Katie's—for most of us, awakening moves through four fairly distinct stages.
The first stage is the “to me” stage. This stage is characterized by varying degrees of suffering and victimhood. “Life—especially ‘bad' things—just seems to happen to me.” “Nothing ever works out for me.” “I always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” “Why can I never have or get what I want?” We ask “why” not so much for understanding, but so we can know who or what to blame for our circumstances. In this stage, we are asleep. Our minds are undisciplined. We have no awareness of the power of our thoughts to create. Our lives are being “created” unconsciously and by default.
The second stage is the “by me” stage. In this stage we start to wake up—often as a result of some painful trigger: a serious health challenge, a significant loss, a traumatic event. We ask “why” and we sincerely want to understand our relationship to the circumstances of our life. We begin to claim our power. We find our voice. We learn that we have the power to change our lives; that we are not victims or innocent bystanders to our lives, but are, in fact, conscious cocreators of our lives. This stage is characterized by greater self-awareness, accountability and drive.
The move from the first stage to this second stage is dramatic and life-changing. We are hungering and thirsting for a better life for ourselves. The Secret speaks to this hunger and thirst for better and more and shows us how to use the law of attraction to satisfy that hunger and thirst.
But true—or full—awakening does not end in a life focused on “self” and material acquisition. It matures and deepens, moving through a third and fourth stage—“through me” and “as me.” Here our use of Principle is not only conscious and cocreative, but also very compassionate. Here we question not only what we desire, but why we desire it in the first place. Here we feel our oneness with all humanity and the responsibility that comes from knowing we are one. Here it is not enough that we are happy and that our lives are working; we want a world that works for everyone. Here we seek maturity, clarity and purity so that we may be used as a vehicle through which Spirit moves. Here we use the law of attraction not so much to manipulate the universe to get what we want, but to be used by the universe to bring about the world It wants.
We are in a time of great spiritual awakening and we are blessed to have so many different factors working together to help nurture this awakening. In the past we had only a few at the leading edge of spiritual development pushing forward. But today, the middle is moving forward, the mainstream is starting to awaken spiritually, and race consciousness is shifting. We are riding a cresting wave of good that is strong enough and powerful enough to transform our world with love.
This article originally appeared in Sacred Secrets: Finding Your Way to Joy, Peace and Prosperity.
Ordained as a Unity minister in 1980, Wendy Craig-Purcell is the founding minister and CEO of The Unity Center in San Diego, a spiritual community of 1500 members. She has been active for many years in the Association for Global New Thought and currently serves as vice president of its Leadership Council. She is the author of a soon-to-be-released Unity House® book called Ask Yourself This!
To watch an interview series of Wendy and renowned spiritual leader Deepak Chopra, click here.
