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It is a simple question, and the future is depending on it. We’ve never had this much freedom—we’ve never had the choice to do whatever we want. Who am I talking to? The ladies!

Because there is something for us to do. Never before did we have so many chances. Never was the world so open for us to create. We can chose to be lawyers, to be policewomen, have a kid when we’re sixty—heck, we can turn ourselves into men! There is an enormous potential in us, waiting to be expressed. A future that is dependent on us to be embodied; to be unveiled, created and unravelled. It is waiting for us.

The world is ready, so what’s keeping us from moving forward? The outer societal barrieres seem to have been removed. Thanks to the brave women (and men) in the ’60s who started rattling the chains, pushing against the old patriarchal world in which women were reduced to a life as etherical beings, living in pretty houses, baking sweet-smelling apple pies for their perfect families. A world in which they were denied entrance to academic life, working life, and public life. That confined world is now gone for those of us in the West.

So the question is, what we are waiting for to step up the plate and create the new world, using these newfound freedoms that women have been fighting for? The inner barrieres. Confusion. We are drunk with the possibilities that have suddenly opened up for our eyes, still so used to looking outward to fit roles that were created for us instead of carving out new ones for ourselves. Confused and wandering around like drunks, scared of being truly alive. Scared of getting behind a cause we thought of ourselves, not seeking guidance from others about what the “good woman” is and how she should behave.

What world can we create when we start looking inside, discovering our own depths. To find a core and learn to trust our very own deepest motivation for life, to creating, and moving humanity forward. And then from that point looking outside again, freeing up our awareness from the neurotic focus on ourselves: on how we feel, and on whether we are doing the right thing according to others. That’s when we get over ourselves and kick through this emotional-psychological cage of inner barriers, and express that which is trying to come through us. A truly free women who is fully here to create a new world with her own hands, not caring if she breakes a fingernail. To care not about ourselves, but only about what we’re giving to life.

So what’s your answer—yes, or no?

Something that really struck me was the reaction amongst almost everyone present, when a proposal was made to come together. This idea to come together, past our personal ‘ideals’ and projects, came up twice, and both times the crowds response stood out. The first time more arms flew up in the air (to say something) than the evening combined, and the second time there was the longest silence that fell that evening.

Clearly the idea of really coming together, of forming one voice, hit a nerve, one that I believe must be pointing us in a direction the (genY) ego doesn’t want to go in, and therefore probably a right one.  (why else is the subtitle of this blog site: ‘come together’!

In the next evening (somewhere in november), I’m curious what our response will be to a similar suggestion. I’m also curious what will happen when I point out our subtle jerk to it ( assuming the response will be the same).

The idea of coming together, forming a front, uniting, has always compelled and convinced me, and the idea of that being a possible leverage point in  overcoming our smug cynicism has been refuelled that evening.  Haven’t we, as a part of the evolutionary process, been differentiating long enough? It’s time to integrate!

When I came across this song by Kid Cudi, I was floored by what a
clear representation it was of our current cultural predicament. It
seems to comment on the search for fame and fortune and materialist
gratification – for ‘happiness’ – and the desperate sense of isolation
and misery that lingers beneath the surface when you’re looking for
meaning in your life in all the wrong places. It seems Mr. Cudi is
aware of this sense that something is amiss in our culture and is
commenting on it with this video.
Read the rest of this entry »

After a long day of travel and high-altitude view seeking in the Rockies, we set up camp Thursday night at a basic campground nestled in a mountain valley. After making a fire and enjoying our own version of a campfire dinner feast (mostly beans and burnt veggie sausages) we decided to meditate around the dimming fire in order to keep up with our practice.

Just a few minutes into the session under the night sky, off in the distance a pack of coyotes began to howl. I’ve heard coyotes howl before, but there was something crazy about these ones – they kept at it for several minutes, in hyena-like fashion.. howling but seeming to scream with wild laughter at the same time. Everything inside of me wanted to shout out “HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS LET’S GO GET IN THE CAR!!!” but I didn’t respond to my urge, and to my surprise, not one of my fellow travelers moved a muscle or stirred from their position. We as Gen Y’s have a reputation for taking almost nothing seriously, and I was awestruck by the seriousness that we were taking in position to our practice – we had made a commitment not to move and we stuck to it, coyotes or no coyotes! The smoke from the campfire traveled around a bit and a couple of us bit the smoke pretty badly, but even so, there was no response.. we were silent and still the whole time. It’s one thing to meditate in a silent meditation hall, but it’s a whole other thing to do it staring straight into the elements. It was definitely soul strengthening.

I noticed the next day while driving in the car, that over the course of several days together we began to feel very comfortable in a way that we hadn’t before, simply due to the relationship building that was happening during our trip. As most of us know, when Gen Ys feel comfortable around each other we tend to turn into total clowns and spend a lot of our time goofing off, which I found us doing a lot of. The interesting thing I started to notice though, is as soon as someone presented an interesting observation or presented a topic of depth, there was no hesitation – we’d immediately dive right in and take whatever we were speaking about as far as we could, without leaving anyone behind. There was something amazing about seeing our flexibility as a group.. to be able to truly be our goofy Gen Y selves but then to be able to at any given moment flip the switch and head in the other direction. It was clear that the depth was what brought us together, and the fun that we shared beyond that was just that, simply fun and a merely a complement (and a great one at that) to our real reason for coming together.

Here’s to evolving Gen Y consciousness.

Walking around an area of Boulder today near the University of Colorado campus, I was profoundly struck by the scene unfolding before me. From one street to the next, the variety and abundance of retail stores was taking me by surprise. From “The Downstair Hookah Hut” to the “Outdoor Diva”, the diversity of the commercial scene was quite astonishing. As I continued my journey into this land of unlimited options I begin to recognize to a greater degree what was occurring around me. As I watched the dread head walk out of one shop and a pair daisy dukes walk into another, I suddenly had the realization of where I was, I had entered a land of seekers. I was surrounded by individuals seeking an identity, and using the plethora of options available to them, each was carving out an identity to call their very own.

In many ways I found this to be a profoundly beautiful scene, the forging of an independent identity is a journey that every young adult must navigate. Becoming more aware of the developmental process unfolding before me I felt a growing recognition that the individuals passing by me were not simply fixed objects, but rather dynamic beings finding their way in a changing world.

As this realization begin to sink in, I became acutely aware of the amount of energy and effort being expended by each person in their seeking for identity. The endless terrain of options meant each individual was required to continuously contrast, compare, and evaluate the options being presented to them.

With this realization the necessity of a larger context and purpose for ones life became very clear. Without a clear moral to the story of live, one option melts into the next and true vertical growth can be difficult at best. But when a larger context is recognized, we discover the ever-present “hand that points the way”, and suddenly the journey does not seem quite as daunting and laborious as it once was.