The above is a paraphrase of the famous quotation of Thomas Paine, These are the times that try men’s souls. It appears that the Earth is trying to tell us something. There is denial of climate change in spite of the fact that the polar caps are melting at an unusually rapid rate. There are floods and fires that are occurring across the planet in much more frequently and with great devastation. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have no end in sight and the death toll from the infections continues to rise. More and more efforts by political entities to define us as individuals by using divisive and fear based tactics. Advertisements that utilize psychologically based strategies to persuade us that we are losers or that we have not been successful in life unless the latest material possession. Concerns that those who are supposed to protect and serve may at times only be using “patrol and control tactics”. Where challenging and traumatic experiences occur in environments where one should be safe. All of these issues may bring existential issues to the fore. In the context of so many events that seem to make us question “why”. Within the greater scheme of things we may begin to question such things why am I here and what is my life’s meaning?
While the services offered at This Earthly House will not give the answers to such questions, the hope is that we will enter into a safe and supportive environment that facilitates individuals’ transpersonal and holistic exploration. New Age gurus offer easy solutions or and experts suggest expensive courses of study to change the external circumstances of our existence. Often times, these solutions fall into the same trap of spiritual consumerism and spiritual capitalism. These solutions often promise that one will be richer, have more control over ones social environment or that one will be more successful in life. This Earthly House offers none of these solutions. But at this Earthly House, we recognize that there is an internal healer which can help us find our own answers to the important and existential questions that life raises. At This Earthly House, we point individuals to both time tested and evidence based vehicles that help us reach the non-ordinary states of consciousness that can be applied to the challenges and joys of ordinary reality. That is why a variety of services are offered at This Earthly House. At This Earthly House we realize that at times, the answers are not as important as is an earnest and open minded asking of questions. At This Earthly House we hope to facilitate the individuals asking the pertinent questions for them that is most conducive to healing. Over time, we will explain in greater detail how the services offered may be applied in everyday life.
One of the central tenets of This Earthly House is that there is no such thing as race. Race is a social construct that all too often prevents us from realizing the interdependence of our human existence on this planet. I would close with a reference to the term “Ubuntu”. This term was brought into popularity by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. One translation is as follows: There is no I without a we. On our passage thru this physical existence, we must come to recognize that our lives could not exist in total isolation from other humans. More importantly, our lives could not exist without the presence of plant and animal life either. We are not the masters of our environment and much human misery is caused by ignoring the interconnectedness of all life forms to varying degrees. Therefore, rather than seeking mastery, it may be more seek to flow in harmony. To flow into wholeness and unity.
We will close with the quotation by Neale Donald Walsch. It is as follows:
You think of yourselves as humans searching for a spiritual awakening, when in fact you are spiritual beings attempting to cope with a human awakening. Seeing yourselves from the perspective of the spirit within will help you to remember why you came here and what you came here to do.