12 SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS FOR CURRENT TIMES

impressions of 'The Celestine Prophecy'

The book 'The Celestine Prophecy' was first published in 1993 (it was actually initially self-published) and has had a deep impact on many of its readers. It both was and is considered a must read book which resonates with those searching for their life purpose. It is a kind of parable which discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas that are rooted in many ancient Eastern traditions, such as how opening to new possibilities can help an individual establish a connection with the divine. The main character undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights in an ancient manuscript in Peru. The book is a first-person narrative of spiritual awakening, with the narrator going through a transitional period in his life during which he begins to notice instances of synchronicity: coincidences and deeply significant occurrences that have a meaning very personal to those who experience them. The story takes place largely in Peru and concerns the enormous shift in consciousness that is taking place on the planet in order to bring about the creation of a new, better world.

Along the way, threats to his life forced the narrator to live nomadically, moving from town to town in search of kind-hearted people who would offer lodging in exchange for more information about the manuscript and its message.While evading both the Church and the Peruvian government, the narrator finds time to read from the prized manuscript that offers 'Insights' as a sequence of passages. During this pursuit, the narrator experiences real-world lessons that prepare him for each Insight in advance. In the end, he returns to the United States after learning the first nine Insights, and promises to reveal a 'Tenth Insight' to his audience in a short time. 'Insights' as such, are never made explicit to the reader, but are instead paraphrased through action; made into a sequence of parables that drive the story line. Sourcing transcription is made impossible by the narrator, claiming, "it must be the way it is for sake of brevity"; adding that even a partial translation of the Ninth 'Insight' is a lengthy twenty pages, typewritten.

In the novel, the Celestine Temple in the ruins of a Mayan civilization in Peru was where the manuscript was buried. After it was found, the Incas re-habituated the abandoned cities, and, subsequently, at some point, the Maya reached an "energy vibration level" threshold that allowed them to cross over into a reality of pure spirituality.

The author, James Redfield, has acknowledged that 'transactional analysis' was a major influence on his work, and he developed his work into a series, with 'The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision' (1996), 'The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of The Eleventh Insight' (1996), and 'The Twelfth Insight: The Hour of Decision (2011), all following on from the first book. 'The Celestine Prophecy' has also been made into a film.

From a personal point of view, I can say that reading this book certainly had an impact on me in the 1990s - I remember it well - it was a much needed and very refreshing take on finding one's life purpose and connecting with the divine. I returned to look at it as a piece of work recently for several reasons, in particular as I am myself writing my first novel, a piece of work that can be seen as a kind of manual for ascension in our post-2012 world, and although I don't agree with all of it, I think it is still a powerful tool that works as a parable: a story meant to illustrate a point or teach a lesson

My criticisms would be that I don't think that it is the best written from a literary perspective, and I have some difficulties with certain elements. My own work concerns the journey to union with one's divine self, or higher self, and the fact that we receive a lot of guidance in our lives from this source - ourselves - and this is not really covered in this book. But I do think it is a very special publication that contains a series of insights in a particular and practical order that can transform the lives of its readers.

Below is an article written by Fiona van Rensburg on her personal recollections of these 12 Insights which works as a useful summary. Remember that each Insight, or Level of Experience, leads to the next, as we build towards the culture to come.

12 CELESTINE INSIGHTS

1 - Noticing Synchronicity

SYNCHRONICITY is the entry point, the measure of whether we’re connected spiritually. These “meaningful coincidences” are tiny miracles steering us toward the good life. They are always seeking first, to awaken us, and then to allow us to be guided by a spiritual connection to the unfolding of our intended destiny. Staying in a state of alert expectation concerning the major questions of our lives, or the help we need, increases the frequency of Synchronistic answers. The secret is remembering, first thing in the morning, to watch for these magical Synchronistic moments.

The key to increasing your awareness of Synchronicity is to practise each morning reminding yourself that it exists, and then immediately begin to look for its appearance in your life.

Synchronicity usually operates in a sequence. First, you identify an Intuitive thought or hunch that suggests a course of action that will move your life forward. Don’t be too introspective here, just be aware of the thoughts that come to you and seem necessary to pursue. Second, when you follow the intuition and take this course of action, you find yourself in a place where a Synchronicity occurs. In turn, giving you just the information and clarity you need at the moment. The Universe is designed to help you, but you have to pay attention.

2 - The World has a “Spiritual Design”

This step in consciousness happens when we look back on the spiritual journey of humanity throughout history. We see that we are in a new phase of human progress. Humanity is now awakening from a materialistic worldview and moving into a new outlook that recognizes “spiritual design.” This design rewards an attitude of “helping others” and “making the world better.” When we adopt this new world perspective, our soul’s dream, of our mission, comes to us, and we move toward this destiny by a near miraculous “Intuition and Synchronistic Flow.” Thus, we are learning to make our way in the world by finding a spiritual connection and allowing ourselves to be guided. In this way, we’re discovering a more detailed understanding of how the world genuinely works. Together, with this insight, we can shape another historical era of inspirational life for generations to come.

3 - “Giving” The Karmic Design

We integrate the THIRD INSIGHT when we realize the Universe is not a dead, uncaring place. It is an energetically connected environment that is spiritually constructed to bring our greatest dreams into fruition. All we have to do is align our lives with the Universe’s ruling principle: GIVING.

To create this new “world view,” we must understand and live in alignment with the Universe’s Karmic Design. We begin to fulfill the latest discoveries of Quantum Physics. As we open up to Synchronicity and Intuitive guidance, we realize that we, in fact, we share minds with one another and the Divine. The path to this majestic life -lies NOT in ruling others or taking what we want. It lies in always looking out for the “best interests” of others, and at the same time, striving to perceive something they need in order to manifest their dreams. If we give them this information, it feels Synchronistic to them and elevates their lives.

What’s more, when we practice improving in this way, it creates an immediate karmic effect in our lives. When we help others, we karmically begin to attract people into our lives who act the same way; they in turn, help us. These helpers are also being given intuitive suggestions of how they can help us. We experience their aid as exactly what we need at that very moment to extend our destined flow in life.

When we adopt this outlook, and ask ourselves how we can be of service to another, our minds connect more deeply with the Divine mind and our intuitive capacity thus opens up. As this happens, we receive an intuition suggesting a specific way this person needs information or direct aid. The key is always to seek to be a Synchronicity for others, by giving them just the right information and help they call for at the time of our encounter with them.

In this way, we begin to experience the transforming reality of becoming an “agent of the Divine.” (Think, “what would God do to help, if he couldn’t come and instead sent me”). The wish to help others opens up our Divine connection and strengthens our union with higher intelligence.

We also can prove this reality to ourselves by noticing what happens if we decide to pursue the opposite course in life, and become not a giver but a taker. The same karmic principle is in effect. If you take, you’ll draw people who take from you. If we manipulate others or steal energy for our personal gain, we find that we are being treated the same way ourselves. This is not for punishment; it is to allow us to feel what we are doing to others, and come back into alignment with the way the world is designed to work.

By getting into alignment with Karmic design and helping, we attract more desirable, life enhancing connections with others, thereby injecting Synchronicity into our lives. Thus, GIVING to others brings forth the exact Divine coincidences needed for our dreams to come true. All we have to do is participate.

4 - Human Control Dramas

When we seek the ethic of giving and not taking from, or manipulating others, we step into consciousness. We begin to detect our ego’s past manipulation devices,–Control Dramas– we have used to build ourselves up at another’s expense. If we are mindful and catch ourselves every time we begin our “Control Drama,” eventually, our “Control Drama” falls away completely. The dramatics begin to fall away until we can stop ourselves before we ever lapse into such a trap. Now, through giving, we can move forward Synchronistically in freedom — ready to experience, even more, extraordinary moments of God’s connection.

5 - The Spiritual Connection

We breakthrough, at least momentarily, to experience a moment that seems to move us past our normal level of consciousness and we sense an ultimate connection. Sometimes, this event comes through a “spiritual practice” we’ve found that brings us to this moment. It could be a peak experience at a house of worship, or through prayer, meditation, music, communing with nature or a host of other points of entry.

Instantly, we receive a “fast forward” boost in our sense of well-being, peace, and even blissfulness. An experience described by prophets and saints as a greater sense of knowing and wisdom, and the deep emotion of love. Convincing us even more by “foretelling” that spiritual consciousness is real and provides a look ahead to the levels of awareness -the ultimate goal of spiritual evolution.

6 - Sensing A Life Mission

Experiencing moments of profound “Spiritual Connection” opens us to the 6th Insight. We begin to receive a sense of clarity for where Synchronicity is taking us; what our “Life Direction” might be. This consciousness brings the strong Intuitions and guides us to our mission in this life. This could fall within any area of human endeavor or in the areas of life from relationships to finding passion in a career (education, business, medicine, or government services.) It is usually a vague glimpse of our future destiny, one that invokes in us a heightened sense of inspiration and fulfillment. Though somewhat undetermined, our Intuitions can stand as a general goal that will help us understand, and follow, our Synchronistic path and help us move forward.

7 - Following Intuition

With our mission in mind, and as our lives move forward, we begin to notice Synchronicities aimed at our ultimate calling. In this buildup of consciousness, we become aware of our Intuitive Guidance at a higher level. Through practicing MINDFULNESS, we can distinguish our thoughts that are Intuitions from mere calculative thoughts. Calculative thoughts are words that run through our minds as we make decisions, as though we are talking to ourselves. Intuitions, however, are not part of our deliberation over a problem or goal.

Intuitions come from a superior part of our intelligence. They naturally appear in the back of our minds as clarifying ideas on how to proceed. In short, they are ideas that sometimes seem too random, spontaneous, and not logical, but upon greater interpretation they can be observed to apply perfectly to the situation at hand.

Once we begin to identify guiding intuitions in this way, we realize how we have been missing them in the past. One way to clarify the different types of thought, is to ask yourself, “Why did I think of this now?”

Once we learn to identify intuitions, we realize how they bring forth Synchronicity (another elevation of awareness occurring). First, we receive an Intuitive picture (an urge) to end or begin something, to solve a problem, or to pursue some line of interest. Then, if we follow the guidance diligently with MINDFULNESS, an important Synchronistic breakthrough will take place — thus leading our lives forward to our greater calling. In this way, following our Intuitions is the key to increasing our Synchronistic Flow and maintaining our flow of destiny.

8 - Giving Energy Increases Synchronistic Experiences

Once we clearly see the process of Synchronicity, what we observe most often is that PEOPLE provide many of our Synchronistic experiences; yet, sometimes others do not feel comfortable talking to us. (Related to the commonly used, “first-impression theory.”)
As a result, we end up leaving that encounter feeling as though we missed out on something they were supposed to tell us.

We find another step-up in consciousness when we grasp the solution to this problem. We must adopt an additional ethic toward others, one which enhances our attitude of giving as we communicate with them. We must actively “uplift” others by visualizing an expression of a higher connected consciousness in their eyes and on their face…Continue to visualize them moving above their ego into an authentic, united state. As a result of this, not only is the person lifted into a greater level of experience, they are more likely to intuit some message they have for us.

9 - Fulfilling Human Destiny

We can now see how if everyone were practicing this virtue of “uplifting others” we would quickly accelerate the spiritual transformation of the world. It works this way: when someone uplifts us we feel it as increased energy because we receive a greater experience with the Divine Mind. When we return this energy, it moves our heightened energy back into them. Both people doing this creates a hot-house effect back and forth, where both people feel their Divine Connection getting stronger and stronger. Think of the “where two gather” phenomenon. When this goes viral, then everyone can quickly identify their life missions and can Synchronistically move to the right place of service.

As we embrace a continuous experience of Synchronicity, millions of individuals will be unleashed to follow their destinies — and we will all find a place in the working world, which is in need of freedom from corruption. In this way, all the institutions of life are moved toward a perfect level of functioning. Capitalism itself, business at every level, food production, the problems of poverty, chemical pollution, and Government regulation will all become enlightened.

This enlightened Conscious evolution works because it happens through an effort all at once, replacing the top down efforts by corrupt governments. The result is an economic development that frees up more and more time for individuals to pursue higher energy states directly with others. Eventually, the basic needs of humanity can then all be automated and provided, as we focus on Synchronicities that will carry us to ever greater spiritual consciousness. Over time, such growth will transform us into a spiritual form and unite our current dimension with the after-life dimension, ending the cycle of birth and death. Humanity’s destiny is, gradually, to bring the intelligence that inspires the Heavenly realms into the Earthly Domain.

10 - Life in Heaven - Guiding Us On Earth

At this level of expanded consciousness, we become clearly aware of the life and death cycle of humanity. The Afterlife becomes, not an abstract idea, but a real place with real activities. As this rapid spiritualization continues, the veil between Earth and Heaven begins to part, and we rise to sense and feel those in the afterlife with a new reality. According to polls, the most frequently mentioned spiritual experience is that of having contact with a recently departed loved one. Usually, they want to convey that they’re fine, but just as often they are trying to help us in some way. They are active in our lives on Earth. Our Insight is that departed friends and loved ones are close to us, sending us messages, reminders and uplifting us into our missions.

Before we are born, we have a vision of this mission. When we get here, it goes unconscious as we are being educated. Then, as we move through the stages of life, it comes back into awareness. First, as attractions and amazing Synchronicities that are trying to wake us up. Followed by, a full-blown, inspiring goal. With this Insight, we are making the higher meaning of life more conscious and self-evident while leading more people to catch the vision, and thus accelerate both their lives and the progress of the world.

11 - The Power of Prayer

In this level of consciousness, we become more purpose driven and receptive to how those in the afterlife are lifting us up. We begin to comprehend the real nature of prayer and guided purpose. We realize that prayer works within Karmic design. The more we are in alignment with the principle of giving — and our inner intuition to accurately help others — we will sense our heightened, creative power and see it working through our prayers. When we use this power for uplifting the spiritual consciousness of others, we draw more powerful people into our lives to uplift us. The key is discovering that affirmative prayer, practiced with the emotion of gratitude (it WILL happen), establishes the strongest faith validity.

12 - The Sensation of God’s Presence Inside Us

Armed with Divine confidence, we begin to take the next step to self-knowledge. We experience times when a greater sense of Divine begins to dwell within us. This indwelling feels like a sense of God’s presence. We still have our personal identity but this status become subservient to a complete consciousness of love, patience, and openness to action. For this presence to remain or get more powerful, we must be totally transcendent of our “Control Dramas,” or moments where we do not act on our intuition of other people’s best interest. In this sense, Divine presence is always there, unless our bad habits put distance between us.

Simply put, the process is this: when we’re not in the flow, we feel disconnected and either anxious or frustrated. So we distract ourselves with various compulsive activities designed to make our misery go away. It could be anything from over-shopping, compulsively watching sports or celebrities, and actual addictive behavior, from sex to drugs. Everyone knows what his or her vices are, including you, and transcending them keeps you in touch with the magic of Synchronicity.

Feeling God’s familiar presence, you will sense the flow of your destiny unfolding (at any age) and move into sincere awareness of the distractions and addictions your ego has always devised to sidetrack yourself.

The presence then becomes non-dual, existing both within and outside of us at the same time. When we are acting in Karmic alignment, it brings us an even greater, intuitive knowledge that animates the truth we tell to others. This enlarges us beyond our wildest dreams, providing we always act in harmony and recognition of it. We must never walk into a room without consciously realizing how His presence moves into the room with us. He keeps us in a relative zone of near miraculous helping. Furthermore, by getting into alignment with this design, you set the stage for the complete integration of all the insights and for sustained higher consciousness as the levels work together automatically.

When someone shares new concepts and ideas with you, kindly don't just dismiss it and also don't just accept it.

Test it for yourself.

Experience it for yourself

Then and only then does it become your truth.

Fiona van Rensburg can be found at the Portal of Alchemy
www.portalofalchemy.com