INTEGRATING SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
by James Redfield

I was being interviewed by phone on the Steve Maraboli radio show and the questions were coming in hot and heavy: What exactly was this emerging Twelfth Insight? How do you know it is happening? What does it feel like?

I knew the last question spoke to the essence of the public's mood, and I stammered out a quick answer before going on to another question and then another. Yet after the interview, I just sat there on my sofa, looking through the window at the red birds eating at the feeder, my mind returning to that one basic question.

What, indeed, did it feel like? Without doubt, that was the heart of the matter, what everyone wanted to know. For years there has been a constant stream of abstract theories about spirituality that all sounded good, especially during one of those late night conversations discussing the meaning of life. And for a while that kind of information sufficed.

But now we're shifting gears. You can sense it. No longer do we want to speculate at the intellectual level. We want spiritual information that is directly applicable to our lives and problems. We want to know how it impacts our goals and challenges. We want to know how it feels in our consciousness.

Why this shift is happening now is fairly clear. All kinds of demographic and social changes are happening in the world. The average chronological age in the western nations is rising fast, lending us all to give more urgency to existential matters. And world events seem to be escalating out of control, with riots and regime changes on the horizon, all seemingly setting up an impending nuclear showdown. Worst of all is the manmade financial meltdown that still makes our economic lives seem unstable, even though some think the worst is over.

In these times, we want our spiritual breakthroughs to be real and applicable, offering solutions in the actual world we have to live in. Most of all, we have to be able to "prove these truths to ourselves" as they operate day to day. No more fantasy.

For me, that radio interview was pivotal. From then on, practical application was the measure I used for deciding whether I thought the Twelfth Insight—as a spiritual breakthrough beginning to emerge in human culture—was really arriving.

It didn't take long for the evidence to come in. The next day I awoke with a very practical problem on my mind. Our beloved dog Bell was getting old, and we needed to find another watchdog. We live in the middle of a deep forest full of coyotes and sometimes bear, and we had to have another dog to alert us to these inquisitive animals, before they ventured in too close.

The last time we had looked for a dog, we had set out to methodically check all the rescue agencies in the area, one by one, but hadn't had a lot of luck. So that morning, I remember uttering a little prayer intention, asking for help. Then without thinking any more about it, I went about the day I already had planned, rushing out of the house heading toward another appointment that had nothing to do with dogs. In minutes I had forgotten about the issue altogether.

Yet, as I drove out the gate, and up to the top of the hill, an image of me entering the local pet store suddenly came to mind. I immediately began to dismiss the idea. Stopping would make me late. There would probably be no rescue dogs available that day. Anyway, I could check later.

Thankfully, I stopped, remembering to ask myself why that thought had come now, at this particular time. It hadn't occurred because I had seen the store; it was a mile up ahead. And my thoughts were on my appointment, not on finding a dog. The thought had come into my mind purely "out of the blue." Finally, I concluded it might be an actual intuition, a moment of spiritual guidance. I would have to dash in to the store and find out why.

When I entered the pet store, I looked around and immediately met eyes with a beautiful yellow lab mix, about a year old. And in that moment I couldn't have been more certain she was meant to be our dog. We named her Ginger, and in retrospect I have to say she has been a treasure, loving to children, and keenly alert in the darkest night.

I also have to say I haven't been the same since I listened to that particular intuition. Not because I haven't had intuitions that have paid off before. I have. Some alerted me to impending crises with my children. One even moved me to put on a seat belt, minutes before a car crash. And I bet you've had important hunches in your life that have paid off as well.

No, I wasn't shifted because I was suddenly convinced intuition was real. I was elevated in awareness because I realized that guiding intuitions weren't just for dire situations. They were available for everyday matters as well—that is, if we don't shrug them off, or otherwise ignore them.

Looking around later at a lot of internet conversations, I quickly came to the conclusion that many, many people are all taking intuition more seriously, and applying it to all the issues and goals of their lives. In a real sense, we’re integrating a part of our mental life that has always been there, waiting for us to put it more fully into action. It’s an important part of the Twelfth Insight, and it’s really happening.

In our first Countdown Article, I spoke about the importance of truth, and here in this second article, the subject has been intuition and the important synchronicities that can take place when we follow them. Yet you will find that we are stepping into the Twelfth Insight through a series of other integrations, as well: an ethical Alignment that will allow Karma to work for us for a change, a Oneness Intention that will energize our relationships, and a special Influence that can potentially solve every challenge that is bearing down upon humanity.

At the personal level, all the integrations are coming together to give us a new level of certainty and assuredness, even mastery, with which to move through life.

What does the Twelfth Insight feel like? It feels like clarity.

-James Redfield, January 31, 2011

Click here to read James' previous article in the 'Countdown' series

Click here to read James' next article in the 'Countdown' series