The Regenerative Power of Life

Each of us has, undoubtedly, experienced the healing power of the body after suffering a cut, catching a cold or spraining a limb. I invite us to expand our perception and consider that these same self-healing properties are present in all living systems housed within the great scalar continuum of Creation. What if the whole of Life is a meta-ecosystem comprising an infinite series of nested and interpenetrating spheres that are inherently regenerative, self-organizing and self-healing?

Healing is said to be the natural process of restoring wholeness to a living system – be that manifested as a person, plant or planet. Chinese medicine has known for centuries of the secret to health: namely, the unimpeded flow of ‘chi’ throughout the body and the balancing of the dual forces of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’. Many people are discovering that the daily practice of Qi Gong and other ancient techniques provide powerful ways of attaining a desired inner state of dynamic equilibrium and of liberating and freely circulating the life-force so that it touches and revitalizes all aspects of our ecosystem of Self.

The overall health of the planetary system in which we “live and move and have our being” is directly affected by the quality of our collective thinking and the chemical composition of our emotional discharges that then seep into and suffuse the surrounding ethers. Every time any of us think and act in egotistical and separative ways, we do a great disservice to the entire community of lives upon this terrestrial sphere. Whenever the ‘part’ – be that an individual, a political party, a religious movement or even a nation – seeks to make itself greater than others and to actually become the whole itself, then we are seeing the tell-tale signs and symptoms of a culture that seeks to colonize. With the rise and spread of greed and self- centeredness, where the ‘part’ persistently and insistently is attempting to take over the entire system, society is in real danger of creating the conditions in which we will contract and suffer from a debilitating malaise, something akin to a global cancer.

Cancer is the term we use for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and invade nearby tissues. The uncontrollable and invasive growth of one cell that multiplies and seeks to take over the whole body to become the predominant life of that eco-system, will eventually cause a life-threatening disease inside the whole body of society. 

So how do we restore ‘systems health’ and instill a sense of hope within all aspects of our society? What is the most effective prophylaxis that can be applied to realistically achieve these ends? For me, the answer is simple: “Live from the heart”.  By doing so, the life-giving and nourishing qualities of loving kindness, caring and compassion flow from our Soul out into the world as a practical blessing.  

Loving kindness is a true, loyal and intelligent servant of health and wholeness whereas hatred and fear are antithetical to our overall health by depleting the collective immune system and allowing in a host of unwelcome diseases that reinforce the heresy and sad illusion of a separated world. It is as if the body of our one humanity has been dismembered and scattered abroad and thus, we are in dire need of ‘remembering’ who we are. Firstly, remembering that as a human species we are one ‘whole’ within the greater whole of planetary life and then by reassembling the disconnected ‘members’ so that in their synthesis, they constitute our wholesome Self. We appear to be in the midst of a real-time reenactment of the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris whose take-away lesson is that a deeply lived and learned experience of love, devotion, and justice ultimately triumphs over chaos and evil.

This powerful tale recounts the incident when Osiris was murdered and dismembered by his jealous brother Set, and Osiris’ wife Isis then intervened and crossed the world to piece his body back together and to literally, ‘re-member’ him. Her unwavering perseverance exemplifies that unconditional love and loyalty transcend even death. In this archetypal cast of characters, Set represents jealousy, greed, and chaos, while Osiris and his son, Horus, represent balance, righteousness, and order. Horus’ eventual defeat of Set teaches us that justice will always prevail, even in the face of great betrayal and darkness. It feels as though this great psycho-drama is still being played out on the world stage and that we are the present players who hold the fate of humanity in our own hands by how we choose to behave and relate to each other.

The vital regenerative journey of reweaving the torn fabric of society occurs as a result of a shared intent and through a progressive entry into greater states of awareness, wholeness and synthesis. The shift happens when we move from a consciousness of separation to one of unity with all life. When we begin to abandon our selfish tendencies and spontaneously think and act for the good of the whole, the much-needed healing of our fractured humanity can take place.

Life Itself can never be destroyed. However, the forms that give it expression in time, space and substance can be retarded, compromised and even demolished by our free will. Free will is the ability to choose how best to use our resources in achieving a specific outcome. Once we truly grasp that we are part of an inter-related web of life, then our heartfelt desire is naturally to support the greater good. As we willingly support the health of the whole system, it naturally nourishes all its constituent parts.

I truly believe in the power of the human spirit to eventually break free from all external constraints and to express itself fully in the “light of a new day”. This is not faith nor fancy but a reality based on personal observation. In particular, one very powerful experience has had a lasting impression on my psyche. The reality of the regenerative power of life was brought home to me one morning many years ago. This is the story.

A section of my morning run took me on a path through a wooded area. Several years earlier, the dirt trail was paved over to provide easier and safer footing for the residents of a nearby newly-erected housing development. A year later, I noticed some areas of swelling on the path that within a few months had changed into recognizable bumps. These bumps grew each day, and until one morning I observed that one had burst open and the tip of a fiddlehead fern had broken through. I stopped in my tracks and applauded this awesome display of spirit over matter – of life over death. I was humbled and stunned to think that this delicate fern had just pushed its way through two inches of asphalt without sustaining any damage.

This episode demonstrated to me that the real power for regeneration, positive change and forward movement begins from the inside. If I were to pick a fern and use it to strike the blacktop in hopes of breaking up this solid mass from the outside, then I would be sadly disappointed and probably be left holding a mangled piece of plant material in my hand. How many times have I attempted to break up old constraining patterns by attacking them from the outside instead of unleashing the inner strength of the creative spirit? Whenever I am in doubt as to how I should approach any given situation in my life, I think of the fiddlehead fern and the infinite power and possibilities that exist within the human spirit.

We are at a critical ‘breakthrough’ moment right now and the Agni Yoga teaching describes this potent period in human history we are facing in the following way:

“Especially now, at the end of Kali Yuga, we should realize that the brighter future is a reality, and that only human malice can retard the coming of the new, luminous age.

They will ask you how it is possible to reconcile the threatening signs of the destruction of the planet with the possibility of a harmonious and auspicious future. The fact is that humanity has a free choice, either to enter the new life, the age of great discoveries, the Era of Happiness, or, by the power of free will to choose catastrophe. Thus, people cannot complain that they are deprived of a beautiful destiny, for it is only their evil will that could lead the nations to planetary cataclysms. Free choice is man’s birthright. It provides endless possibilities, but people do not care to apply their freedom in the right way.” (Supermundane 1 – sloka 111)

We stand at a crossroad and must choose whether to continue pursuing a path of war, subjugation and global alienation with our sisters and brothers around the world or dare to seek a lasting and deep peace among all nations, creeds, and cultures – a peace that can only be born from within an open and compassionate heart.  Do we choose to continue walking a doomed path of self-centeredness that has the isolated ‘part’ seek to plunder and take over the resources of the ‘whole’ for its own advantage, or are we at a point where ushering in an era of ‘caring and sharing’ is the obvious and most natural way to live in integrity with our core values and create a world that works for all? 

The Universal Mind is said to be an infinite and omniscient field of potency and possibility that holds and gives birth to all Creation. Each of us, through daily alignment with the Soul, can function to some degree as a vital outpost of this vast Creative Field of generation and continuous regeneration. Therein lies the hope.

A key to understanding the dynamics of creation through the agency of a focused and directed mind is contained in the spiritual axiom: “Energy follows thought.” This attestation is central to understanding the limitless power that we wield together in shaping a more caring and brighter future. As we focus the lens of the mind, conceive an idea and project it into the surrounding ethers, it becomes a magnetic seed-thought that attracts to it all the necessary elements required to manifest. This inner process is summed up in the spiritual aphorism: “Potency produces precipitation.”

Utilizing the power of thought – qualified and conditioned by a compassionate heart – constitutes the art and science of Creative Meditation. Meditation Mount is a center dedicated to Creative Meditation – a practice rooted in the Ageless Wisdom teaching that invites us to access, harness and employ the collective power of the human heart-mind to shape and call forth a new way of living together.

This preferred future needs be built on a sure and solid foundation that is more in resonance with the qualities of the Soul than the world we have currently created. Two thousand years ago, humanity was told in no uncertain terms, “do not build your house on shifting sands” and so the habitat of the future cannot be built on the unstable ground of unredeemed patterns and separative behavior – it needs a more trusted and sustainable bed-rock upon which to stand. Here at Meditation Mount, we hold that the corner-stones, foundational for constructing an enlightened society, need to be infused with the Principles of Essential Divinity, Goodwill and Unanimity.

This unshakeable base is built stone-by-stone as we recognize and live into the Principle of Essential Divinity that affirms the Fire of the Creator is present in each person and we are therefore incarnated fractals of the One Life; as we learn to embody the Principle of Goodwill that proclaims Love as the reason and substance of Life, as the true currency of all relationships and the glue that connects all beings and as we experience the Principle of Unanimity in our blood and bones and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are part of a limitless, loving and interwoven Matrix of Life.

As you and I say YES to life and choose to commit ourselves to being a positive force for good in the world through all that we think, say and do, so the natural regenerative power of the One Life flows through and from us as a real blessing and healing salve.

Michael Lindfield

Board President

Meditation Mount