Wk 3: How I would explain connectivity

The idea of connectivity can be used in many ways, with as many different meanings as applications.  In our digital age, connectivity usually has to do with various electronic devices and their assorted cables –including- the literal ‘connectors’ that afford us our current technology of connectivity (computers, cell phones, PDAs, electronic entertainment, etc.), that create the illusion that we are more connected with each other than ever (really?). 

Another type of connectivity is what happens in the human organism, be it in the brain itself or one of the other systems (nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, digestive, respiratory), which oversee the homeostasis of a human being in a symphony of self-orchestrated activity.

For me personally, connectivity has to do with the level of awareness or consciousness that we have about ourselves, each other and our place in the world around us.   For me this includes the interconnectivity of all the various expressions of being in the web of life, including the subtle dimensions beyond the 5 senses.  The reason I say this is that that my personal experience of being connected has vastly transformed, based on the changes in my consciousness over my life.  In my early life, when I was decidedly linear, left-brained and an atheist (my initial response to a Catholic upbringing) my experience was more one of dis-connection than of being connected to the world.  I felt alone, isolated and disconnected from a world I saw as hypocritical and false, and frankly wanted no part of.

An accident at work in my early 20’s changed all that, when a sharp blow to my head unleashed a experiences of paranormal activity for which I had no framework for understanding.  I tell folks now, this was one of the worst things for my physical health, yet one of the best things for my spiritual growth.    Over my life, as my spiritual life has grown and developed, I have chosen to consciously expand my understanding of ‘reality’ and with this my understanding of connectivity…in order to understand my purpose and place in the universe.

The unexpected loss of my beloved Mother in 2008 from a sudden stroke has fueled my desire for a deeper spiritual understanding of the universe; as I strive to maintain the connection with my her, even though she has gone through a profound change of form.  Whether in my meditation practice, sacred ceremonies and rituals, drum journeys or dream work the message I receive is always the same: expand your consciousness and raise your vibration.  To the extent that I am able to do so (the yoga shastras tell me), will enable me to expand my consciousness to the fullness of being we are capable of as humans; thus, intentionally increasing my connection with my Mom’s spirit and the rest of life, ten-fold.