Holding the Vision

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Table of Contents

Copyright Page

Introduction

This book is intended to provide background information and various complementary ideas that support the basic assumptions of the Tenth Insight. If it is true that the insights as they have been outlined in the Celestine books are archetypal in nature, and thus built into our psychological growth, then our mission is merely to spread the word and to facilitate in the best way we can an honest conversation about current spiritual experience.

You will see, as you read this book, that a rich and diverse dialogue on the spiritual life is already occurring in all parts of the world. The conversation itself—as it involves the courageous sharing of experience—is the process through which this awakening is taking place. Here in the last days of the twentieth century and second millennium, we aren't so much discovering new experience (although that occurs) as taking seriously experiences we once dismissed or took for granted. The key phrase, of course, is courageous sharing, for as the Tenth Insight suggests, we are at a very important point in history.

The old Newtonian worldview, based as it was on the idea that the universe is a great machine working in a materialistic way (devoid of miracle), is now evolving slowly toward a new worldview that begins to incorporate experiential proof that the world is much much more. We are beginning to see the universe as an intelligent, spiritual place where humans can grow in awareness, feel guided through intuition and magical coincidence, and remember the individual truth we were born to contribute to society.

Courage is key to this awakening because we must first believe we're going to find and repeat these experiences. If the first nine insights are about getting out of our own way and engaging in the transcendent flow in which our vibrations increase and our lives evolve forward, the Tenth is about understanding the power of sacred intention that amplifies the whole process. We have to hold the vision, engage the power of faith and visualization, which is what prayer really is. In other words, it is not enough to just "let go" to the flow of synchronicity, although that is primary. We also must wake up in the morning and intend, expect, that this synchronicity will occur.

This study guide is designed to stimulate the discussion of these and other issues. Again, we put our faith in the importance of the dialogue itself. We know within that a spiritual transformation is occurring. Yet the picture of this new worldview is only now fully emerging, coming forth as individuals and small groups arrive at their own conclusions, talk to others about what they see, gain new information, and evolve their opinions to a more accurate level. This is the grassroots spiritual conversation that is building a new consensus about reality.

And it won't be complete until it includes you.

JAMES REDFIELD

CAROL ADRIENNE

Threshold

CHAPTER 1

The Big Picture

HOLDING OPEN THE VISION

For beings such as Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and Gautama Buddha, the capacity for holding the World Vision is already a part of their résumé. Among the best candidates in any interview, they will almost always get the position by virtue of their experience and skills.

This book is written for the rest of us.

Not long ago in a group of people studying the Celestine Insights, a man raised his hand and asked, "I'm very concerned about how I can use this information in the real world. I've gone to other workshops and talked with people, and we're all very enthusiastic, but how can I keep that enthusiasm going in the everyday world? How do I keep that feeling going?" He continued, "I'm tired of talking about myself and want to move on to being more involved in the world. How do I do that?" This man was expressing an idea that each of us is asking. It's very likely you have said virtually the same thing to yourself. Our culture must ask this question if we are to open to a new worldview that will take us from where we are now to a viable future. Asking, "What can I do to serve the world in a positive way?" is important because immediate action is necessary to pull us back from the brink of disaster, but the viewpoint inherent in the question is rooted at the same level that caused our problems in the first place. It's still addressing the problem in terms of an external action. The real action must be accomplished within each of us—not saving them out there, but shifting the way we view the world, and lifting the veil to unknown wisdom and resources in other dimensions in "outer reality" and other dimensions in our inner reality. Once we are working at this multidimensional level, we will have at once aligned ourselves with the evolutionary goal of spiritualizing our physical "real" world, and we will have entered into a more fluid process that we can hardly imagine at this point. How do we do that?

STAGES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The Tenth Insight, along with the other nine Insights described in The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield, is a stage of consciousness. If you read The Celestine Prophecy, you may have had a surprising sense that you already knew most of those Insights—that somehow you had already learned them, but maybe had forgotten them temporarily. That memory is reminding you that you did come into this world with a goal to help make the transition to the next step in consciousness.

At the level of the Tenth Insight, you are also able to recognize some or most of the ancient perennial philosophy that we will review in the following paragraphs. At this level of thinking/feeling/intuiting we can say, "Yes, I feel these concepts working in my life." It's as if they are living through you.

This awareness is causing you to make a response, like the man who asked the question above. Now what? We're used to being active, controlling our universe—or trying to—and getting results. But so far, we have been preoccupied with doing something to the outer world, not working on our inner world in which consciousness is king and queen. In order to make that shift, we have to deconstruct our old methods and views. That's what the paradigm shift is all about. Can we deconstruct and decondition our minds, take off our blinders and let the light in fast enough to save ourselves and our planetary habitat? That's the question that makes us wake up at three and four in the morning.

It's up to us now—ordinary people stretching into our future. We can do some of the work by choosing to make changes or to love more. However much we are learning and growing and changing our view of what's possible, we also are being worked on by outer forces. Some of the outside forces that we are already aware of are the ecological disasters that are fueling our fears. These situations are forcing us to pay attention to the consequences of every action we take.

The other forces that are influencing our thinking, collectively and individually, may turn out to be beings in the spiritual dimension who have been watching our progress and who have reached a level of concern for our well-being. Sound ominous? Not really. The spiritual dimension that exists beyond the realm of our five senses is appearing to us individually and collectively to wake us up out of the addiction to complacency, fear, denial, and greed that is keeping us trapped in psychospiritual dysfunction. These other dimensions want Earth to flourish as the wonderful, incredibly rich source of love, life, and learning that it has always been. Until now most of us have been unaware of that invisible boundary between these planes of existence. At this point in evolution, with the survival of the planet and all her species at stake, it's time for the veil to be removed. It's time to bring in the cavalry. But let's not get ahead of our story.

NO RX EXCEPT THE PROCESS

Most of us in the Western world want a map, a set of instructions, and a money-back guarantee on our life's journey. As we understand that life is an unfolding process, we come to see that there is no prescription for success beyond paying close attention to the pattern of energies that infuses and informs us. The igniting energy of our spirit lights the path, and we do get help from our friends. If there is any formula, it is to recognize that desire and will are the focusing mechanisms of intention. Faith, or quiet listening for which doors are going to open, is imperative on this path. Trust is the confident expectation that our intentions and desires will be answered. With the law of giving and receiving, we give service and receive an inflow of energy.

In the language of the Insights, we "ask questions and follow our intuition." Even simpler, we could say that our lives follow the flow of our thoughts.

WHAT IF?

What if someone were to tell you that you were already "on purpose"? That you were already immersed in a continuum of conscious energy that was unfolding purposefully? What if you knew, without doubt, that you were not alone—not metaphorically, but literally? What if you knew that there were no accidents and that important pieces of information were available all around you that you might or might not be recognizing? How would you live your life if you knew that you would not cease to exist when your present body slipped away from you at death?

How would you feel if you had discovered through an undeniable personal experience that humans are only one level of consciousness in a multilayered universe of intelligent, conscious beings? Terrified? Humbled? Excited? Deeply connected to a source that you had forgotten was there? People who have had near-death experiences and contacts with deceased loved ones, angelic presences, saints, and beings that seem to be extraterrestrial report all of the above feelings.

The Tenth Insight is the level of awareness that we are not alone; nor are we the center of the universe. It is the level of awareness at which we know, "I came here to do something. I'm remembering now. I have a purpose." The purpose might be elusive to you, like a memory sitting on the tip of your tongue. But at this level of understanding, this vague memory is enough to ignite synchronistic events that move you to meet the next person, get the next message.

Perhaps you may not have yet had an extraordinary experience with the spiritual realm or felt any contact with your soul group. Perhaps you have not had a child rescued in midair as she tumbled over a Grand Canyon cliff, sliding down the face to certain death. Joan Wester Anderson, author of two books on angelic presences and miracles, reported the experience of a mother whose daughter had gone camping with friends. One evening she had a premonition that her daughter was in trouble, and heard herself saying, "Dear God, send help now!" When the girl returned home, the story came out that she had fallen off a cliff and was momentarily stopped on a ledge smaller than her foot when she felt arms come around her and pull her to the top of the cliff. Maybe you have read about near-death experiences where a person entered a tunnel of light and saw radiant beings and felt such incredible love that she wanted to stay and leave her Earthly life behind.

Even though you have not had these extradimensional contacts yourself, you are surrounded by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fellow humans who have had just such encounters with other planes of existence. That means, because you are a part of what biologist Rupert Sheldrake calls the morphogenetic field, you are part of the process.

The time has come to hone our skills for paying attention to the mind-boggling information that is flooding in at this time. It's appropriate that our minds be boggled. Why? Because "mind boggling" is the process of deconstructing what we thought was rock-solid reality. The time has come to make every effort to open up to what this information might mean for the survival and evolution of the human race.

We are the bridge-builders between the old way of thinking with the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Insights—which include changes in both the way we see ourselves and deal with others and the way we communicate with the other dimensions. The answers we seek to everyday questions are not separate from the search for explanations for events that defy our rational mind. The healing that we need to do for the planet depends on our ability to open up to the realities of the Afterlife or spiritual planes of existence that are already in communication with us and to understand that these dimensions are interrelated to our own consciousness. Therefore, the everyday questions about how to live your own life, how to serve the planet, will come out of our attendance to the messages we pick up from our intuition and from coincidences that lead us to new thinking.

You may think this sounds much too impractical and weird! However, you don't have to read on. Throw the book in your Goodwill bag or give it to somebody you think is weird, too. But if you stay with us, we will attempt to take you through an imaginal process that uses simple human stories, which we hope will trigger thoughts and feelings and intuitions within you that make sense. Actually, we are in this process of discovery together, and the Tenth Insight reminds us that from now on, we must work in concert with others to build up our group intelligence/intuition to move the caterpillar of humanity out to the branch where it can turn into a butterfly.

Keep putting your sensitive intuitive feelers out as you encounter teachers, books, and synchronicities that are relevant to where you are in your life. Keep listening at the keyhole of the spiritual dimension with all your heart and mind. Remember, this is not going to be a linear path anymore, and you may just have to let go and experience something impossible before you crack the door to your next level. We certainly encourage you to be discriminating about the information you receive. However, don't get stuck on trying to prove anything to anybody or demanding a "scientific" proof. This part of the human journey doesn't work through the old "laws." Your goal is not to get stuck on the black and white argument of "real or not real" (as opposed to "truth," which always feels somehow true), but to ask yourself, Does this happening or idea move me ahead to be more loving, more energized, more generous and open to life? That's the truth behind your experience. Don't give up your mind, but give up your mind-set. This is not a sentimental journey, but it is about love—only love.

IT'S HAPPENING NOW

This book has come into being by exactly the same principles that it is describing. A torrent of synchronicities with unbelievable timing has allowed many people to "write" this book. During the writing of each chapter, inevitably someone would call with a piece of information that fit perfectly into the topic of the chapter. We also found that people on this path are mysteriously connected! For example, one day we interviewed by telephone two people—Cindy Spring about Wisdom Circles and Richard Miles about new health paradigms, having received their names from two completely different referrals. Later that week, we found out that they lived next door to each other in Oakland, California, and each had mentioned their interview to the other!

Information is everywhere. Carol Adrienne gave two talks in Montreal at the Conference for the Restoration of the Heaven and Earth Connection—the same topic as the Tenth Insight, incidentally, which was not known at the time she was asked to speak. During the conference, cospeaker Dr. Myrin Borysenko mentioned two research items that Carol had been looking for in California before she left for the conference. During lunch, in a casual conversation at the conference, Kevin Ryerson, the well-known expert intuitive, provided the material about sacred sites which we will cover in Chapter 3. Carol also made a new friend there who a week later sent her a copy of an article about Kyriacos C. Markides, which prompted her to buy his book Riding with the Lion (a must read for all of you). The thesis of Professor Markides' book is startingly similar to the Tenth Insight. His description of Eastern Orthodox mystical experience is an excellent and exciting resource that takes us right into the heart of the mystery, as well as reminding us of the crucial contributions ascetics make toward holding the World Vision.

In another fruitful serendipitous encounter that seemed meant to be, Carol met Elizabeth Jenkins, founder of the Wiraqocha Foundation for the Preservation of Indigenous Wisdom. During a conversation about the similarities of how they got into the work they are doing, Elizabeth was inspired to tell Carol about a book she had read that elaborated on the idea of world servers and soul groups. In addition, her expertise brought forward the Peruvian prophecies of the Q'ero Indians of Peru, who still practice the traditions of the ancient Incas. The Andean tradition, like another piece of a giant puzzle suddenly locking together, has also predicted a shift in dimensions from the third to the fourth level of consciousness at this precise period.

Coincidences are happening more frequently now to those who have become more aware of them or who are probing for meaning. In every workshop we give, we ask, "How many people have experienced an increase in synchronicities?" and 80 percent or more of the hands go up. When we share experiences with other receptive people, we start to feel, "Hey, maybe I am part of the critical mass of energy consciousness described in the First Insight."

Our point here is that the "Celestine" process and the principles are not theoretical. When you become aware of the principles and trust the process of how they work in your own life, something amazing happens. And they are working in your life. Our purpose here is to talk to you about what to look for. We want to encourage you to open up to this mysterious journey and let it work through you.

COHORTS AND COINCIDENCES

There is a worldwide community of people who are working in quiet ways for global unity and serving the planetary plan—a plan that none of us will be able to completely imagine. These people instinctively recognize one another in the course of everyday activities—on airplanes, playing fields, in bookstores and cafés, at lectures, musical events, dinner parties, rallies, workshops; even at the dentist's, hairdresser's, acupuncturist's, or the office party. We've all had this kind of experience. There is a kind of spark, an electrical energy, when you touch upon a subject close to your heart, and the other person seems to sense your vision. Suddenly there's a rapport and a willingness to open up with some of your goals, and a sharing of ideas and an intuition that this person may be going in a direction similar to yours. Does this seem to be increasing in your life?

No matter where you are in the world, you will recognize another one of your group. The conversation will seem almost effortless, as if the other had just been thinking about similar issues moments before—as if your conversation had started months ago and had just resumed. You will be able to advise each other, almost immediately, even if your fields are completely different. You may suggest books, articles, or new methods that may help each other in what you are trying to accomplish. You will leave each other energized and excited about the connection you have established. Knowing that another person, maybe a complete stranger, understands your vision and resonates to your ideas will fill you with hope and strength for days or weeks to come.

ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

Have more fun and adventure in the world? Make an impact? Count me in. But many of us do not have a very clear picture of what to do beyond perhaps winning the lottery or "helping others" or "working for peace." In addition, we may feel that our jobs don't come close to being the meaningful activity we crave, and we feel confused about what else to try.

Many of us already believe that nothing happens by accident. By the same token, we may also feel that we don't understand the synchronicities that occur to us or know how to keep them coming. This is the state of mind of the character in The Tenth Insight when he begins to search for his old friend Charlene. He begins to realize that there is another piece of the puzzle, the Tenth Insight, that helps us live the rest of the nine Insights for the long term.

PITFALLS—FEELING OVERWHELMED

The world is changing at warp speed. Changes that used to take thousands of years now take place in decades or less. This acceleration, which is happening at all levels, in all cultures, and in all disciplines, is causing great shifts, innovations, symptoms, and responses. As systems fall in and out of organization, our human response ranges from excitement and enthusiasm to fear and despair. Jolted by news reports or personal experiences of environmental and social problems, we think about taking some action. More often than not, we do nothing. As the pace quickens, we scramble to adjust, worrying that we won't keep up or that our future is out of our control. Overwhelmed by our current pace, our jobs and other responsibilities, we can only hope that "someone" will do something. Obstacles to taking action—such as time, finances, family duties—may also function as justifications for staying in our ruts. The real root of paralysis may be despair—hopelessness in the face of the sheer enormity of the task.