Premise: Consider this.
We are living in a world where the old way of doing things won’t work. We have come up with few new solutions, because culture begets more culture. Youth who are inspired by fantasy works involving elves, wizards, magic and the unseen ( Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and whatever the latest story is) are not moved by a need to find out who they are in their communities, nor are they tying to live a hero’s archetypal journey to discover their purpose. They are seeking to expand their consciousness, to relate to what is currently unknown or unseen. Any rite that does not account for this will “miss the mark.” The results will not carry the person through the hard times, because they desensitize us to what else might be there. We can’t find our own answers because we have not learned to listen. How we relate to and handle the events in our lives is the proving ground. I see little in our modern world that indicates most of us are listening or that it even crosses our mind to do so. The result is lots of angst, fear, and generally lower emotions- lots of desperate attempts to preserve our sense of selves, our egos.
Young people (even the not so young!) today are constantly seeking ways to assert themselves, figure out who they are, and determine what their purpose is. They often feel restless and unsure about their direction.
Our society consists of many people moving purposefully about, seeming to know who they are and what they are doing. The messages our society gives us are that these behaviors are normal and expected. We are not given the message to sit, be and see what happens. Nor are we given the message to clear our minds, be silent and listen. We are certainly not encouraged to simply do what needs to be done in the moment, weed the garden, clean the bathtub, do your schoolwork or go to the ordinary job while bringing your awareness to the numerous ordinary events in your life that some larger intelligence might be using to point the way. I once was going a little too fast down a highway when a large crow flew so low and close across my path I had to slow down. Around the corner was a speeding trap I glided into under speed- Yay! One time you could call a fluke, but this has happened to me too often for me to ignore it. Besides who am I to question the gift? What do I care? It has repeatedly worked! I’m not saying I’m a favorite of the birds. I am saying there is something trying to communicate with me and, in these cases, I have been paying attention.
We are in a society that demands we have a purpose. Lots of people are trying to sell us their ability to find it. Purpose is a market! But, what if these young people are being deluded? What if they are following in the steps of others who have no better idea than they do which way to go? And what if what they are really seeking is a clear connection to reality- a reality that embraces a great consciousness. What if that consciousness consists of expanding our perceptive abilities beyond what most people, ever, are encouraged to imagine? What if we have to be purposeless to hear it?
We are marginalized in our society for our intuitive experiences, but these represent an expansion of consciousness. One must notice and attend to seemingly subtler information, comparatively and considerably less concrete than what one commonly pays attention to. It is not what we are taught to focus on. Seemingly ethereal, these experiences are difficult to prove. There is not always a direct relationship between what is perceived and some tangible result. Sometimes results are avoided! Often the lack of consistently measurable results makes these experiences of perception suspicious. And yet, a relationship with ever expanding consciousness is at the heart of all these experiences and with passages as well.
Ceremonial events cannot lead to authentic emergence of the true self without the concurrent emergence of ever expanding perceptual awareness. The perceptions require sense awareness and attention in the moment. Youth who seek to know who they are in the world and what they are supposed to be doing here need help. They need those who have a relationship with expanded consciousness and seek ever emerging, awareness of what can be subtly perceived. They need mature elders who are not afraid to notice the truth or what else is there. They need brave guides who are willing to accept the truth of their own experiences and not be crushed by a culture that aggressively undermines the legitimacy of expansive human experiences, be they subtle or loud and extreme.
Part of why this happens is because these experiences often involve receiving access to information with little or no scientific explanation. Sometimes these are prescient events. Sometimes they are coincidental circumstances or situations for which there is no linear explanation. Sometimes they are beyond ordinary explanation and cannot be conveyed by words.
Our culture does not support the development of expanded consciousness. Even those who try to facilitate these experiences often measure their success by how many people they serve and how much money they make. There is little direct correlation between current cultural critical indicators of success and human beings actually achieving the expanded consciousness referred to. You have to step outside of what you think you know and what you believe is real- to get here. You have to let go of your limits and rules. You have to let go of any sense of direction, just be and see what happens. And what of the youth? Perhaps they need adults willing to develop and hold an unswerving awareness of our ultimate oneness. They need adults courageous and humble enough to hold that place not knowing what is going to happen. They need adults who are listening hard enough to guide. They need adults who are willing to hold the energy of that connection for them to entrain to. And above all you must NOT use their passage as a means of achieving what you missed. If that is your true purpose you are not ready.
Contrary to what most people believe no ceremony, community or culture is ever necessary for any of this. In fact, these things can limit the journey. All that is needed is a warrior/guide of great integrity, one with tools and knowledge of how to guide people to develop a relationship with their ability to access all the answers. But the warrior is not stereotypical. The war is inside. It is fearsome, constant, genderless and the only path to authentic freedom, peace and joy. Thankfully, all cultures have warriors like this, who are connected by awareness that supersedes cultural limitations.
Do you really want to be a leader? This is the way of the leader who seeks no followers, everyone’s real journey. What a purpose! What an identity! How courageous! How glorious! Do it.