In The World, not Of The World

©2011 Joan M. Newcomb

Many years ago I heard the phrase "In the world, not of the world", and it really spoke to me.  To me, being in the world but not of the world is a reminder that we are Infinite Beings, creating this planet of density and effort to play in.  It's an opportunity to experience all the wonderful aspects of physical reality, which is the opposite of Who You Really Are.

You are more that your personality and your physical form.  You are more than your individual soul as well.  You are Consciousness, and as Consciousness you are Infinite, Unity, Joy, Love, and all that groovy stuff.

Physical reality is density and effort.  It is black and white and all colors in between.  It is the range of all emotions from ecstasy to despair.  It is pain and pleasure, hot and cold, birth and death.

I used to see myself as in the world but not of the world, and detached from the world as well.  Even though there are people and groups with similar beliefs out there, I tend to stay on the periphery.

Recently I've found myself far more focused on politics and social issues than I ever have before.  I spent the previous 16 years avoiding newspapers, not being happy with the social behavior of one president and *all* behavior of the second one.  Now I'm following the current president on Twitter, and everyone on Facebook posts all the latest news from around the world.  And sometimes getting *really* caught up in it!

It's like going to Disneyland, where the buildings along Main Street are built at 3/4 scale on the first level, then 5/8 on the second story, and 1/2 scale on the third—reducing the scale by 1/8 each level up.  You can be really excited by the thrill and adventure of it all, and at the same time know (if you're over the age of 8) that it's not real.

If you get mired into conflict and distressing situations as real, you solidify them.  It makes it harder to navigate out of them.  If you're struggling with an illness, you can set in place the diagnosis and prognosis that way.  AIDs used to be a death sentence, now people are living for decades and even having children.  Even end stage cancer doesn't have to be the end, just because a cast member in a white lab coat costume in your theme park said so. 

Illusions are breaking down at this time.  Everything people believed was solid and real is disintegrating.  The housing market, the stock market, the job market, the economy are all collapsing into a new reality.  Those who are having the most difficult time are the ones clinging to the way it was.

When you let go of the old state, it doesn't have to mean that everything you've valued in your life will disappear (although that sometimes happens). It means you step up to the new level.  It's a little like the old Disney cartoons versus Pixar.  Some things do change, because you're opening yourself to new creations.  But it also allows for seemingly impossible situations to resolve themselves, and intransigent relationships to get better.

This week, as you go about your life, imagine Disney's Main Street.  Realize that from an Expanded perspective, you're aware of the bigger perspective (even if you can't see it right now).  Allow yourself to be in the world but not of the world.  Feel free to step back or step to the side, to see things differently.

Try this every day for a week, and see what happens!