Modern civilization has contributed to the limitation of sacred consciousness through a view of history that separates the secular from the sacred, and the chronological and observable from God's vision and plan for the earth.

Our tendency to relate to the earth as if it were the sole plane of existence and to conceptualize human history as beginning only with recorded time, has resulted in a collective understanding that contains only a small portion of the truth. If we add to this our widespread difficulty embracing ourselves as souls with individual stories stemming from many lifetimes, we note that we have a very partial picture of human experience that presents itself as 'history'.

If it were to be written, the history of mankind from a spiritual perspective would contain the facts of chronological and biological history and evolution, but being broader than these, would illuminate them and give them new meaning.

A spiritual history sees God (by whatever name God is called) as the Source of all that is and all that has been. It holds Creation itself to be an expression of Divine love and generosity,¹¹ its motive shrouded in mystery, yet perceivable on the human level as love wanting to share itself.

A spiritual history would note that in the vast panorama of Creation, when all was held as potentiality in the mind of God, human beings were created with the specific purpose of bringing consciousness into form. This mandate refers not just to consciousness as we know it presently in its state of limitation, but to God's consciousness and love.

When we speak of bringing consciousness into form, we refer to the 'circle of consciousness' that unites the human and Divine elements within us. It is this consciousness that we are here to integrate within ourselves so that all planes of existence can be unified and God's consciousness can become one.

Civilizations that have come and gone are key in understanding the current evolutionary phase we are in. Our human history includes stages of growth in which we have been strongly oriented toward the mind, as well as stages during which the emotional self was of paramount importance. Some of these civilizations¹² are distant soul memories for us, hidden in the mists of pre-recorded time, yet they have each helped to bring us to our current state of development.

At present, our task is to bring into balance mind and emotions within the larger identity of our souls. This integration includes the specific balancing of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, as well as the joining of intuition with intellect so that they function in harmony, rather than being dominated by the logical structure of the rational mind.

Ultimately, we will all come to recognize the earth as our school for learning the lessons of bringing consciousness into wholeness. This awareness is something that cannot be arrived at through any outer teaching, for it is a matter of the heart's knowing, and each soul will one day arrive at an interior vision of this truth in the course of their human journey.

Meanwhile, we travel down a road still marked by experiences of separation, by errors in perception, and by mistaken paths of action. We are not yet one with God in our hearts, and so errors and wrong turns are part of our ongoing journey. In order to heal these errors and maintain correct alignment with our individual and planetary purpose and with our soul's destiny, 'karmic healing' comes into play.

Karmic healing is the means through which souls learn to turn from darkness to light, from wrong action to right, from indifference to responsibility, and from unconsciousness toward awareness in life.

Understanding karmic healing means that we understand that every action that we perform results in a corresponding reaction from the universe and from life.

Karmic healing is the spiritual means which ensures that all mistakes in perception that lead to wrong action or thinking will be healed through corrective life experience, both inner and outer.

The common understanding of karmic healing (or 'karma') as based on the principle - "we reap what we sow" - holds a partial truth in relation to this law, but underemphasizes the loving, healing purpose behind it. Because of God's love, human beings have been given the power to choose their lives and their actions in freedom. The 'law of karmic healing' comes into play to institute corrective measures when a soul has gone astray in its choices so that its perception of the better choice, the choice that is more light-filled and aligned with God's will, becomes apparent to it and possible.

Karmic healing does not happen on the mental level alone. It happens to the whole being through a sufficiently deep life-experience that creates change. This change is one of perspective and feeling toward that which has been viewed incorrectly.

For example, in our history as souls feeling separated from God, we have often acted indifferently or unconsciously toward others which has resulted in a whole range of hurtful behaviors. For purposes of healing, it may be that life brings to us the needed experience to induce greater consciousness, showing us the result of our hurtful behaviors through our own experiences of hurt at the hands of others. This experiential learning goes deep into our souls, creating painful awareness in precisely the area in which greater consciousness is needed.

The idea of 'karma' cannot be separated from the idea of healing, and therefore all karmic experience is fundamentally positive. This is true even when great pain or suffering must be undergone, and even when painful circumstances defy explanation and seem to occur totally by chance. The soul, in its wisdom, knows that there are no accidents in life, that the pain and suffering we live through will foster healing. The human self, on the other hand, reacts to the pain by crying out and, most frequently, by simply wishing it to be gone.

This very basic aspect of human experience is totally understandable, for no human heart or body truly desires to suffer. Yet, there is in addition to the human heart, a 'divine heart' within each of us, one which if not inviting suffering, can at least accept its importance or value. This 'divine heart' understands the nature of karmic healing.

Positive karma, or the experience of good things happening in life, is an outcome of living in God and living in harmony with God's standards of right action. Acts of kindness, love, and forgiveness performed over lifetimes generate positive karma, resulting in a lifetime that offers many positive experiences, opportunities for growth, success, happiness, and learning.

Eventually, it will become possible for human beings to have so eradicated the negative tendencies within themselves that living a life beyond karmic influence becomes possible. Such a life would be lived in accordance with Divine will, and would no longer require the corrective influence of karmic healing. When this bridge between matter and spirit, between life in human form and Divine life is finally established, a new era will begin in human experience. This era is one in which the sacred and the ordinary will no longer be separate, and God's reality will be seen and felt to be everywhere.

The purification and sanctification of the earth is the goal and the outcome of this new planetary era, and its vision is presently on the horizon. It is a vision of a sacred planet and an era that has been foretold by Divine messengers and sages from many different spiritual traditions. By some it has been called 'the Golden Age.'

The Golden Age culminates in the fulfillment of God's plan for the earth - a plan whose aim is the full integration of Divine light within human form, and the presence and glory of God being made manifest to the entire earth.¹³

In the Golden Era, the 'way of the heart' will be the foundation for human societies throughout the world. Love and truth will prevail as the basis for government and other institutions. Global problems of war, hunger, poverty, and oppression will be infused with energies of the highest light in order that core-level planetary healing can take place. The environment and the animal kingdom will receive much needed healing from many years of misuse, abuse, and neglect. A conscious, illuminated planet will reflect love and light to all of Creation, and peace and harmony will be the qualities of Spirit that run through all.

A global shift of this magnitude evolves organically and, like a plant, begins as a seed within the self.

Our personal purification holds the promise and power for the bright future of the earth. One by one, we will grow in consciousness, and together create a new world with the guidance and help of God and the angelic kingdom. Throughout this shift, it will be God's grace that makes possible the transformation on such a vast scale. It will also be God's grace that assures redemption for all who choose the light.

'Redemption' is forgiveness, God's and our own, of the darkness within and of the errors we have made. Redemption not only forgives, but sets us free from the residues of our history of separation from God, and brings us back to the light. God's offering of light allows us to choose light, and thereby to end the cycle of negativity and suffering that we have lived through. Holding the hope and promise of redemption for the entire planet in our hearts is a gift that we give to others, to ourselves, and to God.

Having made progress in becoming more honest with ourselves and more responsible in relationships, we can now consider taking responsibility on a larger scale. This entails deeper self-forgiveness for the mistakes we have made as we lived life in a state of separation.

As part of Principle Eight, we can accept increased personal responsibility for maintaining awareness of our identity as souls interacting with other souls on the earth. To heal more fully, we must begin to live from this truth, both when we are alone and when we are with others. We must remember that we are all here to witness and to participate in the joining of matter and spirit. This is our common sacred trust and our common sacred identity.

In doing this, we can know that God has forgiven us already, and that it is self-forgiveness that is increasingly needed as we continue to face our pasts.

To understand the karmic residues that remain within us and the healing that is needed, we will need to look carefully at all areas of our lives where we are not acting out of love. This broadening of our sense of responsibility needs to include love for all of life - for people, nature, and the small and large creatures of the earth. In accepting this level of responsibility, we must look at our lives with honesty and compassion. We must recognize our indifferent or unconscious behaviors, yet uphold our desire to learn as blameless children of God. While viewing our lives with honesty, we forgive ourselves and continue to ask for healing.

As we begin to live life freed of our karmic past, we continue to experience events and circumstances that bring us into greater wholeness. Increasingly, we become one with the flow of life which aligns our personal will with Divine will and accelerates our process of growth and transformation.

Our egos no longer protest against life, for they recognize all of life as coming from God. Our daily decisions and choices become freer. They are made with a clarity not found before and with a newfound sense of truth and rightness as we choose trust over doubt, faith over fear, and love above all else.

In leaving a world of limitation, there are parallels that we may see to the experience many have had in separating from a dysfunctional family. Disengaging from blame in such situations and taking responsibility for our reaction to circumstances that minimize our integrity is a great challenge. We are asked to let go of the familiar, often a difficult task, even when the familiar is painful. Our decision to grow is made, despite the feeling of risk.

Now, as we move toward even greater responsibility toward life and away from a narrower definition of our sacred tasks, we again move into the unfamiliar. As we take this step, we determine to no longer remain unconscious in any area of our lives, but to bring the full integrity of our being to all that we do. We also determine not to participate in the unconsciousness of others, since this detracts from living life with sacredness. In this way we begin our conscious journey as souls on earth, continually moving forward toward the greater unfoldment of our destiny.

"If we want to know who we are and what we are capable of, we need to look into the future of ourselves and of humanity, as well as the past, for that future is now within us."

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