As long as we identify solely with our physical body, we are subject to the physical world and the pain implicit in separation. When we accept that we exist also in spirit, the experience of the pain is entirely different. When consciousness has reached the necessary state of acceptance, we find each circumstance a blessing.

In opening our hearts to identify with spirit we go beyond the limiting experience of ego to embrace our unity with a larger reality. From this perspective we do not put down or judge our ego, but re-cognize it as part of a larger whole. Personal concerns no longer dominate. We feel less attachment to the drama of our personal lives as we surrender to a larger reality. This surrender is not about giving in and becoming less, but becoming more of who we are. It is about opening ourselves to embrace a larger wholeness and aliveness, and moving into a deepening communion with life as it manifests in us and in everything around us.

It becomes increasingly apparent as we move into the Mystery and question that which animates our lives, that our seeking to quantify the "I" is an intellectual searching for something far beyond the ability of our intellect to conceptualize or grasp. It is also clear we are responsible for a good deal more of our personal health than we previously believed.

In embracing the Paradigm of Connection, we become conscious co-creators with our life as we begin to use "I am responsible" in a working theoretical rather than absolutist sense. We begin to see more clearly that we are responsible for our experience of reality, that we can more immediately impact our subjective rather than our objective reality. We may not be able to do much to change our immediate circumstances, but we can do a great deal to change our approach to life. We can begin to explore everything from an orientation to expansion and receptivity rather than to highs and lows.

We begin to recognize conflict and destruction as signifying change and rebirth. Rather than interpreting the downward pull and immobilization of a deep depression as sensations of physical death we can re-cognize it as a sensation of a psychic death preceding a psychic rebirth. We recognize life and death as opposite sides of the same process and equally vital elements of nature. In releasing our judgments we find tremendous freedom and opportunities for creativity. (continues)

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