Whether you are aware of it or not, the Death Force, a powerful evolutionary force that assists us in making way for new Life to come into being, has been propelling us forward and clearing the decks so that we can make new choices about how we live our lives. The Death Force is not really about physical death in the sense of personal loss. In fact, it doesn’t have to have a personal component at all, because its main focus is on the completion of life cycles, regardless of whether these are individually or collectively held. This year it seems to have upped the ante.
Most of us recognize and appreciate the characteristics of the Life Force, but although the Death Force is acknowledged for its fearsome powers, it is rare for it to be viewed as a positive, powerful current. Both forces allow us to create and to grow in a way that is in true alignment with the earth, taking into account the spiritual and physical health of the planet as well as our relationship to it. Like the electric and magnetic forces which are also always in relationship with one another, they run through each one of us from the time of our birth forwards.
As we are born, the Life Force nourishes the physical body and helps us to survive, thrive, and find our place on this planet. It is one of the most powerful sources of natural energy here, and the closest thing to Spirit that we have. In its purity the Life Force is self-generative and nurturing, giving a feeling of connection to everything, not just on earth, but universally. When in distortion it can be willful, fearful, and destructive, and directed either inwards, or outward towards others. Our issues around survival may be triggered, and we may go into separation, setting up defenses between ourselves and any perceived threat to our existence and, when that happens, judgments start to color our decisions. As a collective this distortion leads to the persecution of others, wars, egoic actions and intolerance. And those same types of distortions appear in the Death Force if it is engaged impurely.
In a balanced existence the Death Force gives us freedom to move on, evolve, and transform as we grow. I’ve encountered the Death Force in various forms and ways as I have been drawn on pilgrimages to sacred lands around the world. One of these places, Mount Kailash, is the earthly home of the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. He holds destruction and transformation in his hands, and, because of this he is also the one who creates the space for life to be reborn. While there I experienced both the letting go – the death – of aspects of my being that were no longer serving me, and then the movement into a new relationship to Life (see, Pilgrimage of the Heart: Mount Kailash, Tibet, January 2010). This movement was completely impersonal, holding no account for my physical being, or what my egoic self might believe to be important, just operating like the cleanest and most skilled of surgeons, cutting away the old to allow new life to be seeded and to germinate. And, most unexpectedly I found, and continue to find when actively engaged with the Death Force, that though impersonal, its effects are heart-centered.
We are living in accelerated times, and so it isn’t surprising that the Death Force is displaying our illusions, distortions, and greed to us written large in neon signs. Our individual dramas, which often include elements of misconception, self-interest, and cruelty are being highlighted and reflected in the collective consciousness that we feed into, some of which is quite dark. We are constantly being given the opportunity to see that what we are creating in our own lives is no more or less than a microcosm of what we are creating in our greater communities. Going through a process of self-enquiry, and in apportioning responsibility, I’ve noticed that I can’t absolve myself of culpability and place all the ills at the doorstep of the greedy conglomerate, or the corrupt government, because it is clear to me that I am complicit in my passive response to planetary issues created or exacerbated by their actions. I am seeing in some of those places where I am judging others that, in fact, I haven’t let go and addressed those same issues in myself. For instance, I rail against the oil companies and their self-interested behavior, but I am still flying around the world leaving my carbon footprint behind me. Even though I know I am contributing to world pollution, like those companies my agenda overrides my concern for the wellbeing of the planet. And, I know that the true cost of drawing the fuel needed to get my plane off the ground, is not just in the pollution levels in the air, but to the forests, lands, rivers and oceans that are now destroyed or contaminated because of it. It is easy to be critical of others. Conversely, it is a powerful, humbling practice to realize that the buck doesn’t stop there – it really stops here!
At a collective level the Death Force can be slow to work, because great change only comes when a tipping point of consciousness has been met, and there are still so many places where we ignore the fact that we are all deep down ONE TRIBE. We could take a stand and welcome in the Death Force – Any one of our current issues might draw its attention; or it might come forward from a desire for a new perspective or social structure; the realization that certain actions are intolerable, that certain attitudes need to change, that old relationships no longer work, and that it is time to move on. It’s tiring putting so much energy into maintaining a position of separation. Instead we could acknowledgment that the ‘ponzi scheme’ that we bought into cannot sustain us and has to go however deep the personal sacrifice could be. Maybe that change will affect how we live our lives, but the Maydorf-mentality (of sinking deeper into the mire because we can’t see a way out) will never become right, and like Maydorf himself, we can only resist the inevitable for so long. After that the game is up, the rule of law is applied – in this case universal law – and the consequences have to be faced.
It takes courage to initiate action, to let go of that final grasping hold on a familiar way of being, and it takes courage to dive into the current of the Death Force in total surrender. Letting go, no matter how alarming that might be, allows everything that is out of integrity or out of alignment to be swept away in its raging currents, and then it allows us to re-emerge carrying the seeds and/or gifts of new Life, the Life Force. It’s the archetypal journey of the hero or heroine, like those of the Baggins’ in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. We may have to stand in our truth, trusting and shaking in our boots, as the old is stripped away and new ways are born – ways that can be embraced and walked into life, that are rich in such true qualities as wisdom, kindness, compassion, and generosity.
These are powerful times. For some of us it is becoming increasingly hard to live in realities colored by our histories, or, on a larger scale, under the mantle of dogma and control that our governments would like us to submit to, presented in a variety of guises. The truth is that we needn’t buy into this 3rd dimensional reality where self-interest and fear rule. The Death Force is waiting for us to wake up to the signs around us – the increasingly unpredictable and violent movements of nature; the unsustainability of our life styles; the instability of our financial structures; the breakdown in our social/family lives; the loss of balance with the land we live on. We are being invited to let go now. We can slough off the old 3rd dimensional skin that we have been wearing uneasily for so long, and move to a new reality – one of greater consciousness, with never-before-thought-of technology that supports our growth, and growth that supports our planet. The potential of all these things is out there already.
In November we move into the final phase of the Mayan Calendar, a period of roughly a year in length that takes us to the dawning of 2012. In these last few weeks, before we move out of the 6th Night energies that are currently enveloping us, we are being encouraged to go over what no longer works in our lives, to resolve those places where we have maintained separation, to end destructive behaviors, and to make way for an enlightened understanding of existence to emerge. These times NOW are ruled by the Death Force – and we have the wattage and the impetus behind us to end old ways. Seize the Day!! The opportunity, the invitation to change is being presented to us in louder and louder tones so that we can fully understand the consequences of inaction, should we choose to continue to ignore the call. The challenge is to let go and move into the unknown, and then let Life do the rest.
And here’s the rub – in the end there is no choice. We will let go. These cycles on both the microcosmic and macrocosmic levels will end in a way, and at a pace that is divinely ordered by Grace, not by us. We cannot dictate when the Death Force will sit at our table. The only thing that is ours to choose is the way and the spirit in which we embrace it, and so the manner in which we step fully into Life.
©2010 Sarah Lidsey. All rights reserved. www.sarahlidsey.com
Sarah Lidsey's LifeForce Healing Blog 
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