Earth school

For some time, I’ve found myself writing more openly on the Earth School experience. The sharing below, while not new in its essence, has in part taken on its present form following the recent passing of my extraordinary cousin, who left this precious existence some days ago.

Her transition has drawn me deeper inward, and simultaneously outward.

What is shared here is only my own musing and may collide greatly with that of others, so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t.

That said, for me, when one leaves this little spinning rock, something comes to be that cannot simply be deduced or contained within words.

It’s not so much that an ending is felt, although in one way this has occurred, but that something far less obvious comes into focus.

There are energetic currents of information that, in my experience, remain present within both the individual and collective ethers. I call these seeds or jewels. Some are planted, others are gleaned. These remain in the hearts of the ones left behind to discover.

Each one of us is undoubtedly a unique aspect of creation. How we express what we are carries a particular imprint. That imprint, while deeply unique in its own right, is simultaneously an expression of the same whole. And this alone, for me, is profound.

It is a musing that naturally both honours the precious life just transitioned, yet when engaged with deeply enough inevitably draws into focus something much larger… the meaning of our individual and collective existence, and what each of us, through our own lived expression shares with the whole.

There is a tendency within our society though, to relate to transitions primarily through what has ended or been lost. And while that experience is profoundly real, I have come to sense that it is not the entirety of what occurs.

Something equally remains.

Part of what follows is an exploration of that very thing.

An exploration that begins with a simple musing.

What is the purpose of this Earth School?

A musing through which one spends an entire life exploring that forms around one central idea.

That we each express a unique aspect of one creative source.

And as elusive as “source” may sound, for me this description is perfectly fitting. It simply recognises the force through which all of creation was birthed out of, something I and you are unmistakably an extension and unique expression of, no matter the belief system or absence of.

In this way amnesia forms part of the forgetting, and therefore the opportunity for return

Return to what ? you might ask.

I would offer, home.

Because if we truly recognised that nothing really exists separately from the whole, but rather out of it, through innumerable unique aspects, we might embrace this incredibly rich yet limited individualised and interconnected existence.

A lens that may feel abstract or depersonalised to engage with initially, yet, if leant into, is deeply nourishing.

It does not seek to exclude individuality, but to highlight how incredibly real, beautiful and Divine this is in its own right.

Conversely that isn’t to claim we are the totality of that Source in our own right as individual personalities or souls, which too is a cause of much issue, but that we are inseparable aspects, simply experiencing creation through a particularly unique and individual lens.

A type of understanding that evokes great contemplation if we allow.

A perspective that asks… if I understood myself to be a part of creation at the most fundamental level, an all pervasive source, how could one be truly unworthy or not belong?

Is source itself unworthy?

Does it not belong?

A fallacy we spend much of our lives living out of that falls greatly short of our truth and origins.

And therefore in my view living a life forms part of a journey here, one that centres itself fundamentally around forgetting and remembering… a rich dance Ive come to willingly and at times unwillingly participate in which offers many reflections and moments centred around humility.

An experience only possible through the density of our embodiment.

In this way we can perceive ourselves as separate from the whole, one another, earth and even from our own sacredness.

Yet is anything in of itself truly separate?

Or simply the range within our perception and awareness in a free will universe that allows for delineation?

Because despite how it may appear, free will serves an essential part of this journey, and our capacity to consciously or unconsciously forget or remember.

From this perspective, remembering is therefore not reconnecting something that was disconnected, but instead becoming conscious of a relationship that never ceased to exist.

Put simply it’s a choice to perceive or not to perceive it.

This places density in and of itself in the natural seat of the teacher rather than a boundary.

The conditions of physical existence then, are the stimulus through which experience acquires depth and meaning. Something I’ve come to know, characterise and appreciate as the “rub”, a contrast that highlights a tension or a question mark.

Through the lived experience of an existence governed by time, life, death and relationships, is a unique encounter with that whole.

That said remembering our origins cannot be acquired simply by collecting mental information, reading  books, doing a weekend workshop or simply hearing a discourse, but instead through a lived passage.

So despite the many who attempt to claim it, wisdom cannot be reached merely by deducing existence into spiritual truths or intellectual findings.

Instead, something that may be fundamentally known at the level of Source deepens through lived experience in order to become consciously understood and brought into completion, from which the medicine arises, a topic in its own right.

Earth then, at least from my limited lens continues to reflect a school of experience rather than somewhere from which one needs to escape or cling to.

In this way, the body is no less sacred than subtler expressions. It is itself an extension of creation.

The body and earth form part of a story enmeshed in a felt and lived experience rather than obstacles standing between us and the Divine as many teachings suggest. They are instead among the many ways in which this divinity can be expressed.

The invitation here is that of remembering that the body is a sacred instrument through which we may experience one of many realities and potentials. And from this lens physical existence can be honoured.

What increasingly feels like one of the greater cosmic jokes here, is the idea of ascending away from matter in search of a Source that matter itself was never separate from.

Ascension, from this perspective, contains an equally important descension process.

As awareness expands, consciousness is continually invited more deeply into embodiment, not further away from it. Just as shared in the prior transmission a tree’s capacity to reach towards the heavens depends upon the depth of its roots in the Earth, expansion and embodiment are therefore not only complementary but essential movements.

The invitation here is not to transcend being human, it is, in fact, the opposite. To become a student through which the totality of the human experience, brings greater awareness, truth and Love into “perceived” density.

Because part of living a life here is experiencing free will and understanding that what we do, individually speaking, undoubtedly impacts the greater Whole no matter how separate we feel.

And the more connected we are to this remembering through the lived experience of drawing that remembering into the places we’ve held amnesia and our limitations on what we are, the more loving outcomes may arise.

In this way I’ve come to appreciate the perception of separation is simply an illusion through which the possibility for choices and their consequences can be genuinely experienced.

That said, the greater the perceived separation, the greater the potential for harm, because another can increasingly enter into deeper states of amnesia and thus experience themselves as something fundamentally removed from the Whole, a cause of great pain and the source of much destruction.

And conversely, as remembering deepens, sacredness becomes increasingly apparent, not only within oneself but simultaneously within others and creation.

Something sacred within begins to recognise and greet that same sacredness in others. A lived expression of “Namaste” that  feels like a natural progression of that deepening connection.

Remembering is therefore fundamental to moving into right relationship with this existence here.

Because remembering connects us  with Love, and at least in my experience, Love is not simply an emotion, spiritual ideal or moral aspiration but instead a natural expression of remembering.

And as separation becomes less convincing, unnecessary harm becomes increasingly incompatible.

That said, this “Love” does not eliminate discernment. It instead moves us into right relationship with life itself. It reflects  the necessity for boundaries, accountability, and at times decisive action.

Non-judgment, then, is not passivity but rather completion, a complete understanding through which wisdom in right action, brings discernment without the necessity for others to be made separate or devoid of sacredness but instead simply at varying stages of remembering or forgetting.

In this way, life itself continually provides the experiences through which remembering can deepen.

And I would offer, rather than rejecting the difficult experiences, they can be consciously alchemised.

Meaning what initially appeared to be darkness contains precisely the experience through which greater understanding becomes possible. The vital soil and waters for the seed.

Therefore I’ve come to understand judgments as a carrier of information, revealing where something within remains unresolved, or is being perceived through an experience of separation.

So, through consciously meeting what is arising, we are supported to move towards completion.

An alchemical process, where the energy associated with an experience can be acknowledged, felt and allowed, and released. And what belonged to another time and space no longer needs to be carried into the present.

A natural phenomenon through which energy harmonises and wisdom in action takes its place.

That said, completion does not erase what happened. It simply changes our relationship with it.

Meaning what was once met with reaction can transform into integrated understanding and learning.

This to me, reveals why experience itself is precious.

In this way evolution and even periods of devolution naturally serve this process.

We as individuals encounter creation from a perspective that no other expression occupies in precisely the same way, and what is experienced out of that contributes to that greater understanding.

It’s a fascinating dance. One that mirrors that of many strings on a guitar or notes in a grander song, all perfectly in place.

The journey is therefore not meaningless simply because the return is fundamental but instead a reminder that nothing we do changes what we ultimately are of, yet what we do profoundly shapes what is experienced, understood and brought into our awareness along the way.

Therefore, spiritual maps which hold seeds of wisdom can offer languages and lenses through which this natural process is contemplated, but are not the process itself.

It’s instead a lived alchemical remembering, where direct experience remains essential. In the same way that you may get a degree in “swimming” but only truly understand it through the act of entering the water or that a person may possess elaborate spiritual knowledge and still experience profound separation, while another may possess little spiritual language and deeply know Love through how they live and meet life.

I have personally encountered many like this, and their presence continually mirrors the distinction between seeking ever higher spiritual perspectives from views borrowed rather than personally attained, tested, embodied and transformed through the actual work of Love.

This is why teaching and learning have never been hierarchical positions. We are all simply participating in Earth School.

Meaning one may have travelled particular terrain and be able to illuminate or accompany others through it while remaining a student of life themselves.

The purpose then, of these relationships is not to replace the other’s inner knowing with the teacher’s conclusions, but to invite a deeper encounter with their own experience.

Ultimately, truth must be lived rather than simply believed or intellectualised.

Thus, the journey itself can contain countless questions, yet completion and lived experience has a distinguishable and lasting impact.

And, when an experience has been fully encountered, understood and integrated, the question itself is no longer.

There is instead only ever an opportunity to understand that what appears to stand in the way of wholeness often reveals the places where our Love and remembering have reached their present limit.

The place within us that claims, “I can love anything but that.”

Again, not to be mistaken with condoning less than Love action that arises out of that amnesia.

There is just no longer a desire to do battle with it because experience has become knowing.

Not as a type of dogmatic certainty, but out of the absence of the question that was once avoided, rejected and hence required an answer. This is what I would call understanding.

And, beneath all of it lies something extraordinarily simple.

A journey of forgetting so that home can be remembered, experienced and known.

And in this way, we come to know that Love, in its highest octave, and what We Are, cannot be taken by anyone or anything, not even through death.

There is no “guru” or ascension process that can get you here other than you realising you, again and again, through remembering

My cousin Iva deeply appreciated this beautiful spinning rock and all of its Divine offerings. She loved with great passion, wonder and zest for life, and I choose now to honour her through my own experience, seeing the world too through the invitation of her eyes for however long that may be.

With Love,
Jen🪶

📷 Iva pictured, returns with her mother whom I share as aunty, my mother whom she shares as aunty, our uncle, grandfather and grandmother who’s ripples continue to be felt, whom of course returned exquisitely as all our brother and sisters do to the whole🤍