MANY TIME LINES - MANY REALITIES by Dennis Gaumond
As Bob Dylan (who turned 70 this week) once said, "the times they are a-changing". We are all becoming more and more aware that our world, our reality is changing. What fewer people are aware of is the idea that we can control this change - with our actions, with our will, with our choices.
The idea that our consciousness is a powerful force has been stated in many different ways - using concepts such as karma, the law of attraction, magick, etc. There are several explanations of this concept that speak of the same thing in different ways. This is a good thing - different people resonate with different approaches. The better we can understand this consciousness phenomenon, the more we will be willing to practice it and learn how it works by experiencing it.
One way to understand it is to discuss the idea of multiple universes or multiple time-lines. These concepts are very difficult to articulate, especially in a short space, so please forgive this over-simplified explanation. It'll be easier to grasp if we do not cling to our current paradigm and are willing to be totally open to new viewpoints. Before we jump in, let's review some basic principles that mystics (and some scientists) are telling us about the illusory nature of our reality:
- the reality that we think we know is an illusion. Time, space and all the other indicators of our reality are illusions.
- the idea that we are separate individuals is an illusion. Yes we are individual morsels of consciousness, but we are also connected intrinsically to the greater web of consciousness - the totality of all things.
- our consciousness creates this illusive reality from moment to moment, both at the individual level and at the collective level.
Time is something that, in our everyday, five-sensory perception, seems to flow in a consistent, linear manner. Both science and mystical thought tell us that this is illusion. Time speeds up and slows down, although the clocks and devices don't show it. Our greater consciousness (our higher selves, our souls - whatever word you want to use) experiences all of time at the same moment. It is not confined to past, present and future. It is also not confined to any one time-line. There are many time-lines or realities that exist simultaneously. As far-out as this sounds, even science embraces this notion. The mathematics of quantum mechanics predicts many possible outcomes for a sub-atomic event and the 'Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics' presented by Everett, Wheeler and Graham suggests that each of these possible outcomes actually manifest into parallel realities.
'Time-line' is another word for realm, dimension, level of reality, etc. When we talk about the idea that we live in a 'multiverse' that contains many universes, many different realities, then 'time-line' is a term used to represent one of those realities. Our consciousness is not confined to the current time-line. The reality that we share, the one where Obama is president, it's spring 2011, there was a huge earthquake in Japan recently, etc. - that reality is not the only one. At this same place and time there are many other realities, some are very different, some are subtly different than the one we all share.
To put it into 'vibrational' terms, there are versions of this reality where the average frequency is slightly different - maybe a little higher or lower. These vibrational parameters are defined by quality of consciousness. In other words, if a time-line were occupied by entities that tended to be more loving and compassionate, then that time-line would have a higher average frequency. This version of reality would better 'accommodate' a mindset that was more rooted in love and compassion. An individual needs to have a certain level of awareness in order to choose such a reality.
So if this new understanding of multiverses and time-lines were to become our new paradigm, our new perspective, how can we use it to affect our daily experience? Our greater awareness (soul, higher self) experiences all times and realities. But our limited, everyday five-sensory consciousness - the one that experiences pain, happiness, struggle, ease and other aspects of the physical experience - it seems to be trapped in this one reality. We feel like victims of circumstance. The truth is, by being more in touch with our higher selves, we can choose whatever time-line we desire.
Our belief systems determine the way we define our reality (which is why the powers that be keep trying to control our beliefs). So one way to control our reality is to realize that we can choose how to interpret the events and circumstances that surround us. We can choose to see things from a positive or a negative slant. We can choose our beliefs.
But further to that, we can choose a completely different time line. We could completely opt out of this reality and choose one that has different people, different places, etc. Maybe that's what happens with people who are deemed 'mentally ill'. Most of us, however, would prefer to stay connected with the people and places we know and love. We can stay connected to this reality, but we can choose better versions of this reality. If we are in a time-line where certain circumstances make us unhappy, simply choose a different time-line.
This is the point in the explanation where most people, including myself, start to feel a little lost and frustrated. "That's a little far-out - surely it's not that easy." we say. There are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, if our consciousness is making choices that define our reality, we should acknowledge that our consciousness is a deep, multi-layered entity. If we are making new choices with our surface consciousness, at a deeper level our sub-consciousness may be making the same old choices, regenerating the same old reality. Understanding something and making changes at a surface level is only the first step. The healing process involves going deeper, dealing with fears and issues that may seem resolved at the surface level, but which are still buried in the deeper levels where they continue to affect our decisions. It involves getting all our layers to be in balance and in synch. When we get to the point when all or at least most of our levels of consciousness are making the same decisions, then we become amazingly powerful shamans able to control our own realities. When all our levels of consciousness are in synch, then we can control all of our actions - our thoughts, words, deeds and emotions. Our actions create and define our reality.
It is also important to acknowledge that there are many 'individuals' out there who are making decisions that affect our collective reality. For example, it is easier for me to create a new reality in which I act in a more compassionate way, than it is for me to create a reality in which my neighbor acts more compassionately. My neighbor has his own decisions to make. It is easier to control our individual realities. It is more difficult (but not impossible) to control the greater reality that is created by the greater collective.
So how does this relate to the Big Shift, the process of accelerated change in which we currently find ourselves. One way to put it into words is to say that we are entering a circumstance, a 'time' or a cosmic opportunity in which our consciousness is being affected in a big way. More of us are feeling compelled to make different decisions resulting in different realities. One could say that the many realities involving planet Earth are in the process of splitting into 2 main categories, one in which people have chosen to keep creating versions of the old realities of war, greed, fear etc., and one in which people are choosing new realities based on love and compassion. Both branches on the time-line tree will co-exist. It is up to each of us to choose which one we prefer to live in.
