The journey of becoming - for the butterfly - takes place in the natural order of things. The caterpillar takes no thought - it eats, poos and sleeps. Much like human babies and toddlers - it simply is!

The time comes for it to weave a cocoon according to its natural pre program. Once cocooned, its cells turn into a thick soup. It melts down and transforms itself – presumably without conscious awareness. When nature calls, it struggles to emerge into the next phase of its being-ness, either a butterfly or a moth. Preparing to take flight and fulfil its unique destiny - it does not sense itself as a separate identity – it is part of the ISNESS. Butterflies do not bump into each other. They colonise - sometimes gathering in thousands, dancing around each other, adding beauty to the garden - an interconnected part of the web of life.

Tribal people were connected to natural rhythms, in ways that seem almost impossible to imagine for modern humans. Children were taught through stories – the gateway to enter and the struggle to leave the cocoon was orchestrated by the village Elders – young people were prepared for bodily changes, emerging sexuality and their role of maturing adult. People had a sense of where they fit into the bigger picture, into the dreamtime of their community and also to the cosmos.

Not to idealise the past, just to say there was an inter-connectedness that reduced, if not alleviated the alienation and separation we experience today. Humans are supposed to have superior intellect and be civilised, yet we have become out of balance. Many of us are no longer connected – do not live in community and bump into each other - harming others, the planet and ourselves.

There is an ‘Isness’ that is the conductor of everything in the natural world – it orchestrates the finest symphony. If you think of a colony of bees, each one has a role and a place in service to the hive. Each member is provided for. They create a productive, functional and harmonious community. Connected to the natural order, each bee contributes to the good of the whole.

Today, it seems that much of the orchestra is not listening to the conductor. For many people Mind has become a personalised version of God. As a result, everyone plays his or her own tune, without listening to the whole of everything. The orchestra is making one heck of a racket, grating and damaging our nervous systems and
our world.

Many of us have become obsessively focussed on our external world - it seems important to wear the right clothes, own a big house and an expensive car. Fashion, self-image and consumerism, takes our attention away from what is perhaps essential to our sense of wellbeing. Ask
yourself: What do I truly own? What do I value? What do I love?

Humans can make conscious choices. We can become human BE-ings instead of human DO-ings. Harmony with nature comes through our feeling and intuitive awareness. When we change focus onto what we are feeling rather than on what we think, we can live our life from the inside out. What would it take to tune into how we feel rather than live from what we think?

Living from INSIGHT rather than OUTSIGHT we can come to terms with our life’s experience and as we evolve, we are ready to create conscious community.How can we connect enough to truly care for ourselves, our children, family and global community? How can we make choices that are directed by connection to the ‘Isness’, which speaks to us through our feelings, synchronicity and signs?

It is predicted that around 2012 we will be evolving out of another cocoon, to another level of consciousness. Can we be ready to commune in unity with each other? Can we co-create a true paradise on earth?

Amrita Hobbs is an internationally
acclaimed author and facilitator. Amrita offers programs in schools, and Rites of Passage programs for men, women and children. She has also created ConnXionS Cards! Each set includes 320 feelings, values and qualities cards and a booklet how to use them.
www.amritahobbs.com