“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.”
Ilya Prigogine, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
I have no doubt our current system is far from equilibrium. Political, economic, social, and cultural norms are being uprooted and reshaped. It is, indeed, a sea of chaos. I want to believe Ilya Prigogine, that small islands of coherence can right the ship. I want to be one of those small islands, but how?
We all know the positive effect a calm person can have when a crowd is anxious. A steady voice lowers the energy, stems the panic, and allows cooler heads to prevail. But how does this work at the scale of disruption we are witnessing in the world today?
Regular spiritual practice brings me into greater coherence by aligning me with my essence. I meditate to increase my awareness of the constant flood of thoughts, moods, reactions, and other characters that romp about in my mind, masquerading as fact. My prayer practice builds empathy, allowing the pain and joy of the world to enter my heart and find refuge in me. Journaling helps me sort through ideas, impressions, and perspectives that bring surprising insights.
At the personal level, these practices build my internal resilience. As the noise and fluff of my ego settle, my true self emerges naturally, revealed by gentle erosion. I feel coherence as a still presence that envelops me and emanates outward. The fears and rantings of my shallow personality still shout for attention, but I recognize them more quickly and their grip on me falls away.
But there is a reason I commit to spiritual practice that goes beyond my personal development as an individual, and it is here I start to appreciate Prigogine’s words at a spiritual level. When the state of coherence grows strong enough, I realize I am more than an individual soul, I am one doorway into a larger field where the texture of life is richer, more vibrant, more complete. The simple fact of our mutual beingness, our shared consciousness, becomes obvious. From this deeper, immersive level, I can sense my coherence participating in the Big Coherence that is at work in the world.
You are participating too. Every time your spiritual practice aligns you with your authentic core, every time you touch that ground where the dust and sand fall away to reveal your essence, you are adding coherence to the system. Far more than just bringing individual calm, your coherence is adding power to the larger field that holds us all and is shifting to a higher order.
Photo by Glitch Lab App on Unsplash
Thank you for this encouraging thought! Your posts always give me food for thought and I hope you keep them coming!
I will! Thanks for the encouragement.
I needed this today – perfect for my soul to hear and recognize as I use the full-moon energy tonight to release all that is holding me here on the edge of the cliff, not allowing me to fall into the abyss of coherence.
My wish is for “me” (all of us really) to fully crack open, allow Grace to enter in, and usher me into the point of no return where the greater coherence shifts into a higher order of being.
Thanks, once again, Steve. <3
I agree, we all need to be cracked open. I hadn’t thought about using the energy of the full moon today, but now I will!
We all want so much, we all see the need for so much change, we get swept up in a frantic energy, or a depressive despair. We flail or numb out (at least I do). Writing the Stumbling Mystic posts helps me sort and sift my thoughts and it often leads to clarity. Like this: it all matters, so keep going.