A Gaia website staff member interviews Lara Atwood about some of the questions people have regarding consciousness, the vortex, and waking up to higher perspectives.
Q. What is the difference between a synchronicity and a coincidence?
Lara: There are infinite numbers of interactions and events occurring around us continuously. From the minute crawling of an ant in the lawn, to the thoughts about others we’re transmitting and receiving telepathically and unknowingly, right up to the passing of our sun around the centre of the galaxy and beyond. Some of these events randomly coincide, like if you pull the lever of a poker machine enough you eventually line up the same images. It’s a matter of odds, and in a universe whose fabric is dictated by mathematics and geometrical patterns, coincidences are mathematically and statistically inevitable.
But our universe is far more than a machine of probability—it has a profound beauty and intelligence impossible to put down to chance. We’ve all had times where we’ve felt an unseen hand guiding us through our lives, like when we’ve had a pressing question about life and days later a friend, or even passing stranger, happens to mention something which leads us to an answer. These synchronistic events have quite a different flavour as they offer us a glimpse of the handiwork of unseen spiritual intelligences that continuously affect our lives, and who work in higher dimensions of causation where the seeds of events are planted before they crystalize and eventually take shape here. That’s why dreams have been a source of premonitions all over the world for thousands of years, as they take place in the astral plane—a dimension higher than this one, and can therefore sometimes reveal life events giving us that slow-mo sense of déjà vu, where we say “hang on a minute, I’ve done this before…”
Both synchronicity and coincidence then give us valuable insights into the universal causes and mechanisms that affect our lives.
How do we wake people up?
When we talk about “waking people up” we need to firstly recognize that there are two types of sleep. The first is the sleep of information. When we are in this sleep, we are unaware of the truth behind the real workings of politics, the economic system, historical events etc.—and are living out our own little Truman false reality show. Waking people out of this illusion simply requires pulling back the curtain and getting the right kind of information out i.e. the truth.
Then we have to confront the second type of sleep. Just look at all the ego between people awake in information—why haven’t we united and created a better world when there is already so many of us? The answer lies in the sleep of consciousness. Now that we’ve seen the darkness, we need the one thing that can truly combat it—the light. And that light of consciousness is within each one of us smothered by our own inner darkness, subconscious, and ego. We have the power to grow, develop, and transform this consciousness that our egos keep put down and supressed. The next and most critical step then is waking up to the ego as the secret cause of what is holding us back, and providing the authentic and timeless tools for the awakening of consciousness. If we can’t break from the bondage of darkness within ourselves, we will never break the chains of dark bondage that have been thrown over us as a humanity.
What is “the vortex”?
Vortexes are one of the fundamental patterns of creation, but the popularized version of “the vortex” introduces the concept, put simply, of an energetic funnel linking us to our higher selves, which we step into when we feel good, and out of when we feel bad. However, there is something worth considering when reflecting on it.
Some of the times we’ve learnt the most in our lives—those defining moments, when we had to confront our fears, to overcome our anger, and to suffer humiliation—actually required us to endure the storm, rather than retreat from it, allowing us to extract the pearl of wisdom and the diamond of virtue that we don’t get when stay within the comfort zone of what makes us feel good. If we’re just looking to feel good, then we’ll have a tendency to avoid the things that make us feel uneasy, ashamed, uncomfortable, and afraid, and they may be precisely the situations that have come to teach us. Additionally, what makes an unethical person feel good, can sometimes require making another person feel bad!
Instead, learning from our difficulties as the whole of nature has been designed for, requires stepping into quite a different vortex. It was called The Churning of the Milky Ocean by the ancient Hindu mystics. In this famous parable, the forces of light and darkness are pitted against one another in an epic tug of war of cosmic proportions—both in an effort to churn the ocean of existence and stir from its depths firstly the poison of the ego, next the spiritual treasures of consciousness, and finally the elixir of immortality. The great vortex of churning swishes one way and the other, symbol of the struggle between light and darkness within. Just like in the story, it is the difficult events of life we confront daily that churn up our egos so that we can see, understand and remove them, to then get to the real treasures within like true courage, wisdom, self-sacrifice, and forgiveness—those qualities we earn through meeting the sufferings of life and which belong to the spiritual. As some of the greatest sages throughout history have taught, it’s through building these qualities of consciousness within that gradually puts us closer and closer in touch with our true Being each day.
Again I’d like to say that I really like that distinction between the sleep of information and the sleep of consciousness.
In my opinion due to the failure of mainstream media to inform on matters that matter I think alternate news and documentaries and such can be very useful. Especially when first exploring more into ‘what is going on.’ But I can also see the trap of how ‘conspiracy theory’ in a way can become a belief system over time if we simply believe the alternate viewpoint and are content with that. It can perhaps be mistaken for some sort of knowledge, but it might just be believing something different.
To me the awakening of consciousness is what really matters. To increase perception and to gain a knowledge that is part of you, that comes from experience, that intuitively makes you feel what is true and what is not.
Your love just shows through Lara, of constantly finding new ways of making the teachings available and understandable to the wider audience. Thank you for what you both do.
“thoughts about others we’re transmitting and receiving telepathically and unknowingly”
What a reminder to pay attention to this dimension of interacting we wouldn’t normally notice. How real it must be if we could only perceive it with higher senses. Makes me want to be more on guard and cut the threads the egos are spinning to grasp others as this is more of an issue for me than reacting externally.
“the handiwork of unseen spiritual intelligences that continuously affect our lives, and who work in higher dimensions of causation where the seeds of events are planted”
This statement makes me feel humbled. That there are spiritual beings affecting my life, that they view my life as worthwhile to affect in the first place. I remember Mark mentioning elsewhere how it takes quite a lot for them to arrange an event to happen for example for our learning or testing, and if we miss it, again they have to work hard to cause it to happen again. Makes me want to work together with them and receive what they are trying to give to me.
“If we’re just looking to feel good, then we’ll have a tendency to avoid the things that make us feel uneasy, ashamed, uncomfortable, and afraid, and they may be precisely the situations that have come to teach us.”
This is encouraging and makes me want to tackle them.
Laura,
I like the few things you point out as I feel the same way.
Knowing that our thoughts can affect others in a good or bad way. I need to be more aware of the thoughts that comes up. Sometimes it’s so difficult or you don’t really catch it until after it happened. Awareness is just so important. I need to work harder at this.
Thanks for the info. about higher Beings have to do a lot to make events happen in the physical. I didn’t realize that . Many times in dreams they help to wake us up or express the important of waking up in the internal world. Each time waking up realizing I missed another opportunity. Need to work harder.
I also found this article very refreshing to read. With such simple language you are able to explain deep knowledge clearly and relate them to topics that are well known in the spiritual community. I especially like how you point out the difference between the two different vortexes. One being an energetic funnel that makes people feel good and be connected to their spiritual side. While the vortex of the churning of the milky ocean is a very different one where the struggle between darkness and light brings out the negative side of a person for their learning and where treasures can be found when they come out victoriously. It reminds me of a slogan someone at work has at the bottom of their email “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor“.
Quick question for you, Lara: Do you insert the videos throughout the articles yourself or does GaiamTV do that part?
Hey Zorana,
I think it’s pretty standard in guest posts for people from the host site to add their own links into an article, so I’m guessing it was Gaiam that added the video links.
Hi Zorana,
Yes, Gaiam inserts all the links into the articles after they receive them, which as David says, is pretty standard practice. The only links I’ve added are either ones back to this site, or those that link to a scientific study I mention, and both as a kind of reference.
Sure, I assumed. The reason I wanted to clarify was because I wondered if you actually watched them/supported them or found something valuable in their content. This makes sense, though.
Thanks for the answers 🙂
I was also struck by how you’ve managed to “strike the right balance” (as Matthew puts it) when reaching out to a new audience. Very refreshing new perspective indeed 🙂
I didn’t know about the vortex either, and even less that this is something mainstream that correlates to the Churning of the Milky Ocean. Thanks for these insights and all the work you’ve put into this.
I liked the correlation you did between the vortex and the Churning of the Milky Ocean. I never looked into what really is the vortex but now make more sense to me.
I thing there is a lot in the “new age” terminology that confuse and mislead people and have been used to commercialize spirituality.
Also this “wake up people” have been said so much in the context of information but so little according the inner slavery. And we see people are getting angry because of the covered external truth and are unaware about the internal one.
Thank you for that attempt at gaimtv. I hope/wish your message reach more people and make things more clear for those who are seeking it.
Great article with a lot of depth, covering quite a bit in a short space.
There is so much terminology being used on the internet about spirituality, that it’s confusing and unrealistic (vortex for example), and makes it hard for people to connect with in any real and tangible way. I think these type of interviews are really helpful in bringing about clear and easy to understand spirituality for anyone to pick up and explore. Well explained on many levels, very crisp approach and refreshing new perspectives on ancient wisdom.
Look forward to the next one!
BTW I thought the ‘vortex’ question was really good to have clarified and finally for people to relate to difficult times not as a time to put under the carpet or run away from into pleasure, (deepen their cycle of pain-pleasure-pain) but to question the value of going through them and giving people a chance to reflect on what they have learned from those times and the potential to learn much more.
I think that was really insightfully explained and felt that it gave people credit to know that its ok to go through those experiences, and in themselves provide the opportunity for a huge learning in life and about life.
I echoe the comments of the others here it was a great interview really enjoyed reading it and got a lot out of it, thank you for posting it
I guess I must be a little out of the loop because I haven’t heard of the popularized vortex 🙂 Great interview. I love these Gaiam pieces!
I hadn’t heard of the vortex either 🙂 It’s an awesome article!
What a great interview. I second the sentiments expressed by others. It is great to see this information reaching a larger audience and I think you explained it really well in a fresh perspective. Also, very inspiring to read!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting that up there. All good stuff, but what particularly struck a chord with me was the part about “the two types of sleep.” I think it’s really important for that to be pointed out, explained, and emphasized again and again, because it’s a fundamental point that either many people aren’t fully aware of, or, for those that are, I think could always use the reminder so as to continuously renew the efforts to do something about it 🙂
Really excellent interview Lara. Its always great to see the message explained in different ways, particularly highlighting and integrating the connection between the various sciences and spirituality.
I think this will appeal to a very wide audience. Very well done.
Great interview Lara. It’s great to see the message getting out there in a fresh new way to different people. I think you’ve found an excellent way of speaking to another audience in a language they can understand and relate to, while still being true to Mark’s teachings and spiritual principles at the same time. It gives people a stepping stone to this without pushing it or coming across as preachy and putting them off. I’m sure it’s not always easy to strike the right balance when discussing these things when so many concepts in the new age can be off kilter, but I think you’ve nailed it.
Hi Lara,
There was a lot, like A LOT, of great points you made in that article.
One that I keep coming back to in particular has been the impact of thoughts – as you mentioned “the thoughts about others we’re transmitting and receiving telepathically and unknowingly” – how this has an effect to the environment we create around us and send toward people. How we have a responsibility not only to our actions, but also to the thoughts that we carry within and whether or not we choose to stop the “in and out” flow that we transmit and receive.
Egos can be so deceitful, in the name of good, we can carry out actions that are terrible, feeling so self-righteous and keep on using excuses to carry out what we want to do – not what we need to do, but what we want to do. But also when we get lost in resentments, and keep repeating or creating new scenarios in our minds, which can be fed from our fears and pride – like a bad recording on a loop – there is a fascination that is impossible to be stopped if we are not seeing what is going on inside, and then we burst out or say something we did not even mean, and can even be surprised about what comes out of our mouth…
Interestingly, I’ve seen how when this has happened in the past, because it is a shock of hearing myself say something I don’t mean, it also jeers me, how could I say such a thing?!? I don’t mean it, yet I said it.. How come, who said it then, if it was not me? How can I stop this ego take control of my self and say/do things I don’t want to..
It always comes back to whether I make and fight for the choice of bringing my consciousness forward (so to speak) and be in control of the mess, overseeing it, and being able to do something about this mess that erupts, comes out, and gets stirred up. This remembrance that keeps fleeting
Then there is the help we receive from above which you also mentioned and I have found that when I have this genuine questioning without demanding to know, answers do arrive – like you mentioned from totally unexpected people. And how amazing is that.
I like what you said here: “These synchronistic events have quite a different flavour as they offer us a glimpse of the handiwork of unseen spiritual intelligences that continuously affect our lives, and who work in higher dimensions of causation where the seeds of events are planted before they crystalize and eventually take shape here. […]
Both synchronicity and coincidence then give us valuable insights into the universal causes and mechanisms that affect our lives.”
Then I really appreciated and learned from a lot about the difference you made about the different “sleepiness” that affects us – It was a real eye opener in a way, to see it fresh like this. how we can be asleep to the truth of the real state of affairs in the world,how we are affected by it in so many ways, and I truly think that we have a responsibility to wake up from the lies that are being fed in the world, but also how we are asleep in our consciousness, asleep to the bad and negatives states that we have and carry within and how we can nullify the knowledge/ truth we have learned about the outside world because of it, essentially making it impossible to change the world outside of us, if we don’t change the world inside of us in the first instance.
Thanks again for many great points and insights – these lastest articles and talks that have appeared on the site have been very helpful in so many ways 🙂
Interesting interview, thank you for sharing it with us Lara – great to see your efforts to keep bringing people a spiritual message. I have not thought before about “vortexes” in the way like you have described them. For me it was more like those mysterious energy currents from Sedona in Arizona. Nice to see how you brought the subject of vortexes into something more practical and relevant for spiritual development.
Trying to make a link between science and spirituality is very interesting for me…and I can only wonder now, if it is a coincidence or synchronicity 🙂 that while reading a book today, I have found this quote:
“We must very humbly recognize that we oscillate between two heresies, scientific and religious, and that we are still very far from orthodox science, exact humanism and perfect Gnosis, all of which procure the knowledge of the orderly relations between God and man, between spirit and matter.” ~E. Kovalevsky, the Arch-Priest of the Greek Orthodox Church in France.
Lara, that was a brilliant article! You were able to convey the essence of the work with a new and refreshing touch, which is truly breathtaking and inspiring because I have certainly felt there is a huge audience out there that wants spirituality, but the way that most people are used to getting it is based on this edge-of-your seat, sugar coated, love is all you need kind of approaches – its amazing how you found your own voice that is truly down to earth and engaging.
But I also enjoyed reading it on a personal level and really felt connected to the care you took to share your message with others. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and propelling us all to take on the opposition of life.
Amazing article, loved it, thanks Mark and /Lara
What a fascinating interview, thank you for sharing all that Lara. There is a lot of valuable insight there explained with depth but also in a clear and common sense way that will hopefully be quite appealing to the audience in Gaiam as well.
It made me feel a real sense of happiness reading it over there and seeing this information reach a broader audience. Your interview addresses some themes that are popular with the new age but with a lot of substance that hopefully people will really notice and respond to.
The language and style of writing is refreshing, even though tailored for the Gaiam audience, I personally find it useful for seeing things from another angle. The way the information can interact with our minds plays a big part in inspiration and motivation.
It’s like listening to the same style of music all the time – for most people that would probably get stale after a while, but when you listen to something fresh it revives interest in the message.
Well done Lara and Mark!
I sincerely hope that many people investigate the answers that you’ve offered to these questions Lara.
I like that ‘slow-mo sense of déjà vu’ mentioned in the article. 🙂 I think many people can relate to it. Sometime when it happens every word coming out of your mouth is like you’ve already said that exact same line and now you’re filling up that sentence again. It’s also funny when you notice yourself going through the exact same thought pattern/reaction to the deja vu. It kind of shows our psyche’s mechanicalness.
But the mysterious ways through which ‘the other side’ can guide us is really amazing! Especially when you see guidance given in the astral materialise much later in physical life, I’ve been completely in awe and would just say to myself: I can’t believe it…. It makes you consider the kind of intelligence spiritual beings have and the perception of a bigger picture.
The reply to ‘How do we wake people up?’ is really clear and straightforward, quite refreshing to read.
Not to go too off-topic from the article at hand, but I didn’t really know what ‘The Vortex’ concept was/is. Is it that which is described in the book ‘The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships’ and which is also discussed by Oprah? I looked up who wrote it and it seems it comes from a couple who channel ‘Abraham’ “a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension”? About which is said: Abraham has told us through Esther that whenever we feel moments of great love, exhilaration, pure joy, stoned-out bliss, even the energy of sexual orgasm when we feel that Energy Flow rushing through our bodies, that is the energy of Source, and that is who Abraham “is.” As well as ”I don’t know what they are and I don’t care what they are. I’m just using….
Seeing some of the videos where the channelling is taking place, with the usual going nowhere teachings, is quite disturbing when realising that this seems to be very big and that concepts like the law of attraction etc. are based on that.
Thank you Mark and Lara for this article.
It illuminated to me some things as
1. “…fabric is dictated by mathematics and geometrical patterns, coincidences are mathematically and statistically inevitable…” It seems we live under an amazing wisdom in our world that we can’t directly see it, but we live in it, “touching” and influence us positively and make us happy or not. We are really so small “points” in universe…
2. “…learning from our difficulties as the whole of nature has been designed for…” This calls me to meditation to understand better all the consequences!.