Perhaps the single greatest shift in perspective, or orientation, that we can make is to realize the truly collaborative nature of existence. Embracing this fundamental aspect of being reveals a dimension of experience that’s obscured by our usual modes and enables us to access a stream of wisdom and guidance whose purpose is the expression of unity and wholeness. Indeed, it’s one of the most important steps toward embodying our true selves and fulfilling our highest responsibilities.

 

When we think of collaboration, what we might tend to envision would be better described as cooperation: working together for mutual benefit. This is certainly an aspect of collaboration, but the ultimate collaborative nature of being goes deeper and engenders a unity of purpose that transcends our individual wills. Not to say that it negates our individuality. In fact, discovering our place in the greater collaborative unfoldment only affirms our individual value and, as we’ll see, enriches our collective and individual experience immeasurably.

 

What, then, is our collective purpose and how do we recognize and understand it? It might be helpful to begin by identifying what it is not, as evidenced by our prevailing way of being and the dysfunction that results from it. After all, we must concede that we’re unable to fully comprehend the ultimate nature of reality and the designs that it has for us. It does, however, grace us with an abundance of hints throughout our everyday experience, which indicate a natural course of direction, harmonious and rhythmic with the whole. Cultivating a sensitivity to these subtle clues is essential to finding our way into this greater flow of universal intention.

 

These faculties are latent within us all and we even have regular flashes of them whether we recognize it or not. However, they’ve remained mostly dormant in humankind and we’ve generally followed other kinds of cues and impulses as we’ve made our way in the world. Some of these have led us to goodness and glimpses of our true nature, while others have perpetuated discord and a false sense of our place in the order of things. In any case, our predominant orientation and the direction that it gives us is, at the very least, limited and restricts the full scope of our experience and potential.

 

These limitations are particularly apparent in the individualism and subsequent division that pervades our social and geographic structures. Of course, such stratications are inevitable, if not natural, and aren’t inherently troublesome. In fact, when viewed from the proper perspective, they throw into relief the great diversity and interconnectedness that graces this earth. Too often, however, our sense of division breeds judgement, suspicion, possessiveness and, ultimately, fear and conflict. There are dramatic and violent examples of this, but it’s critical to appreciate that these things manifest in subtle ways throughout our ordinary, daily lives and do far more to undermine the realization of our true nature than do their greater manifestations on the global stage.

 

This is especially evident in our relationships with the non-human life on whom we depend. While we can at least conceptually grasp ideas of a more virtuous way of being within our human family, we don’t tend to extend the same principles to our other relatives on the planet. Even our highest environmental ideals generally fall well short of according these beings their appropriate degree of regard. Our gestures of protection and preservation are still tinged with anthropocentric attitudes; ultimately more concerned with preserving our current way of life and maintaining everything else in a subservient, subordinate position. A kind of collective individualism.

 

It’s a hard truth, but one that we must reconcile and embrace if we’re to fully transform our consciousness and embody a new way of being that honors the sanctity of all life. We’ll delve into the specifics of this in other essays, but for now, let’s explore how this insight relates to the greater collaborative purpose.

 

We’ve established that the prevailing perspective of our collective human consciousness is narrow and favors our individualistic interests, both singularly and within the various groups with whom we identify. We could even say that, collectively, humanity has already long been engaged in a sort of collaborative enterprise, however unintentional and haphazard it’s been. This has been characterized, perhaps above all, by a sense of separation from the rest of the planetary community. The consequences of this for Earth’s other inhabitants are all too evident, but our estrangement from them has also impacted us profoundly and betrays our fundamental nature and purpose.

 

It’s no coincidence that the decline of the human condition has coincided proportionally with the degree to which we’ve tried to assert control over the rest of the natural world. Sure, our efforts have achieved some semblance of food security for many of us and more collective wealth than we know what to do with, but there’s a great disparity in how we’ve distributed that wealth and it’s come at a considerable cost to our own wellbeing. In spite of all that we possess, the reality is that the state of every facet of our collective health has hardly been worse.

 

Of even greater concern, however, is the toll that all of this has taken on our fundamental way of being, our consciousness, our spirit. As we’ve separated ourselves from the natural order of life, so too have we become consequently disconnected from our divine source. This relationship is central to the broader aim of Another Way and key to realizing our deeper purpose.

 

If the tendency toward our individualistic interests and the subsequent separation that it creates is at the core of our misguided way of being in the world, perhaps the path to finding our way back to our true nature lies in a profound spirit of connection that strives to embody, in all aspects of our earthly incarnation, a unity of understanding and purpose with our fellow beings. This must necessarily include and honor all forms of life, not only in considering the impact of our behavior, but more importantly, in recognizing that everything has its own vital role in the greater unfoldment and it’s our responsibility to seek understanding and assist one another in fulfilling our innate calling. After all, the wondrous immensity of life on this earth, with all of its unfathomable sophistication and interrelation, surely didn’t come into being intending to serve only the interests of a mere one of its inhabitants.

 

Which leads us back to our earlier question: what’s the nature of our ultimate collective purpose? Perhaps the answer is, simply, to collaborate. To be ever conscientious of the vast interdependence of all things and the deeper meaning that’s inherent in that truth. Every moment, every situation, is an opportunity to explore that meaning and seek to understand what it needs from us at any given time. This universal intention can manifest and express itself through us in every possible way, from the simplest gestures of kindness to the noblest acts of great courage, and even to dark hours of turmoil and grief. The essential thing is the attitude that we bring to our everyday experience.

 

What we can definitively say about the creative source of all is that it wants to manifest in this world. The immense beauty that surrounds us and the great capacity for goodness that we all have is evidence enough. It also seems evident that it requires something from us, some kind of cooperation, to fully express itself in our material realm. For whatever reason, it’s unable to just completely rush in against our will. We must, then, engage and work with it to precipitate its greater realization in the world. This is something that we all have the capacity to do and awakening to this reality within us is key to discovering our fundamental collaborative nature and purpose.

 

Collaboration is a divine truth. It’s a vital mechanism by which everything comes into being. We’re free to resist it and try to make our own way, but if we can let go into the stream of universal intention and embrace the collaborative spirit, we’ll find the going easier and a whole array of new understanding open up to us. In this way, it serves as one of the primary gateways to greater perception of our true nature. Learning to collaborate from the very essence of our being, in all aspects of experience, with our fellow humans, the rest of the earthly community, and ultimately, with the creative source itself, is a natural development of our unfolding consciousness and enables us to realize a deeper embodiment of our true selves. From here, living justly and harmoniously becomes second nature. The restoration of peace and well-being on Earth: possible.

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