Nick Seneca Jankel: Switch On
Given that suicide – the vast majority of which is utterly unnecessary when people are switched on to life, love and unity – kills more each year than war and murder put together, that back ache costs the US 1% of its GDP each year and 85% of it has no known medical cause, stress effects so many people and is a great silent killer that drives the diseases of inflammation like heart disease, that depression will soon be the No.1 burden of global health according to the WHO and that suicide is the No.1 killer of young men in the USA (more than Road Traffic Accidents), I believe we are in the middle of a vast, and virtually unnoticed, spiritual and psychological crisis. The symptoms of which can be seen in the rampant consumerism, insane levels of addiction, destruction of so many natural habits, species, languages… the poisoning of air and sea… the issues of climate change, poverty, child abuse, violence against women, ethnic conflicts etc. etching jagged lines of unnecessary pain, distress, devastation and heartache across our human and ecological landscapes.
There are millions of people, including a lot of my peers, students and clients, who are yearning for more meaning, more wisdom, and purpose and, above all connection. But they don’t connect with the vibes of the traditional Mind Body Spirit space. They, like me, love big ideas, the latest science, pop psychology and business insights… what people call ‘smart thinking’. At the same time, there are lots of claims by New Age types that are backed up neither by science (which is the bed source of knowledge the West has developed) nor by a close reading of the wisdom texts that our birthright as human beings – Taoism, Sufism, Vedanta, Zen etc. These wild claims distort the truth about living a connected, heart-led life (like making it about being rich)… and these claims – along with the language and metaphors of Woo Woo spirituality – turn off the millions of people who are yearning for the deepest wisdom… that tells of our inherent interconnection, the path of love and the resulting creating that emanates from a heart and mind clear of pain, habit and fear.
