- 00:00 Introduction: Armageddon as an inner-geddon
- 7:55 Getting past the troubling outer world
- 17:00 How do we conquer inner space?
- 34:20 It’s time to reimagine everything
- 50:45 Our whole planet is an experiment in evolution
- 59:20 What is the action of grace in our lives?
- 1:22:00 A self-compassionate, self-caring universe
We no longer need Hollywood to create ever-bigger fictional disasters to scare us into believing our world just may be on the threshold of Armageddon or other apocalyptic scenarios that threaten the future of humanity and the planet. Real-time, real-world environmental collapse, war, and cultural chaos are brought into our awareness on any media platform we may use.
Do the true origins and causing forces of the dramatic and powerful struggles we see around the globe really lie in the physical world, where they manifest and shape our communities and cultures? Or is the outer world, even the chaos and destruction, a physical reflection of the perceptions and sense of self that form our deeper collective inner life?
In other words, is it more accurate to think of Armageddon as an inner-geddon, the real location of the prophesized final battle between darkness and light, the past and the future? In many narratives this “end of days” also brings the realization that as one world culminates, another emerges, with the long-awaited evolutionary next step for humanity.
To help us explore such a deep and profound mystery, we brought together a group of Portals friends, some of whom have been with us in previous conversations — all accomplished teachers, writers, thinkers and doers. Among their ponders and perceptions:
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One challenge facing humanity is acceleration: everything is speeding up, accelerating and breaking down at the same time
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You may think you need 30 years to heal or develop through a trauma. No. What used to take 30 years can now happen in three months, three weeks, three hours, or three seconds
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We weren’t brought up in ways that showed us how to process difficult emotions. But it's actually a natural thing for humans to process emotions, including trauma
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People talk about the US as an experiment in democracy; in some ways, this whole planet is a big experiment in evolution. What will happen to us as a species?
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We've lived in a laissez-faire culture that says anything goes if you find your tribe. I don't think that's the way of the universe: it has criteria and supports the things that support it
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What brings differences together is a spiritual connection; it's the purpose of life. What is the purpose of us being here as a species? What is the purpose of the unfolding universe?
This conversation is part of the continuing Portals discovery into what is emerging on the frontiers of human experience in this time of profound change. Information about upcoming special events can be found on the Events page. Also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
I'm very troubled by the outer world. But that's only half the world. There's the outer world and there's the inner world, and I think what we need to do, and I hope what we'll do here today, is to bring forth that inner beauty, that inner love, that inner pull to union that can manifest in a greater ‘we.’
Grace Boda
Grace is an executive coach and transformational guide working at the leading edge of consciousness. She guides leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives and others to work with the full creative power of awakened Presence.
Grace holds advanced degrees in public policy and physical therapy (neuroscience specialty), is a certified executive and systems coach and professional mediator, and has advanced training in energy work, subtle perception, and the development of consciousness.
Visit Grace Boda
Stewart Levine
Stewart is a peacemaker and problem solver. He turns conflict into collaboration.
After practicing law for ten years he took his Resolutionary skills into workplaces
where he made a difference. Over the last few years he has turned his attention
to the global challenges humans face as a species. He is a best-selling
author and poet. Pilgrims Path: Morning Practice for Seekers, his first poetry
collection, will be published this year.
Visit ResolutionWorks
Julie Krull
Dr. Julie Krull serves as a midwife for the evolution of consciousness, whole systems transformation, and a whole worldview. Working with evolutionary change-agents, she’s a best-selling, Nautilus Award-winning author, international speaker, creative catalyst, popular host of The Dr. Julie Show: All Things Connected, and Founder of Good of the Whole.
Tim Coats
At age six, while playing with friends in our yard, I was suddenly struck with the thought, I am me!
The thought has never left me. What is the nature of awareness? How do we find joy that transcends circumstance?
I grew up in a devout Christian family, but organized religion never spoke to me. Determined to find a way, I began a thirty-year journey, reading, studying, and journaling.
Ultimately, I found the road to peace, by way of intellect, was impassable. I began a contemplative practice that is integral to my life. I reflect on this life-long journey in a blog titled "Towards A life Well-Lived" at Tim-Coats.com.
Dana Hoffer
The world has always been a fascination for me. Since early childhood, they were always there - the big questions and the small questions: Why are we here? Is there a God? Is there life on other planets? Do we have a destiny? Are religions valid anymore? What is love? I can go forever...
And so my life wrapped itself around the path that those questions created. I found myself living in the desert in the south of Israel, looking for some of the answers in nature, and later on as a nurse and midwife – living the beautiful-amazing-sometimes-harsh reality of the beginning of life, of the end of life.
My journey took me to many places, external and internal, and the more I go on, I know I am only scratching the surface.
Orla Kelleher
From an early age, I have been caught by the question of human purpose. As we can choose who we become, why have we been given this gift of conscious self-creation? To what purpose? What activates a person’s unique potential and why? What is our responsibility as an evolving, sentient species?
As a marine scientist and concerned human, I realized it would be best if we could let Nature be our teacher and not interfere but revere her. As a trainer and facilitator, I realized that the real frontier of human discovery lies within. Now as a lecturer in Higher Education, I realize the elevation that needs to occur for knowledge to transmute into wisdom. Unless what we are learning furthers our humanity and enhances life, can we really call it ‘Higher Education’?
What will help this beautiful planet to repair and future generations to thrive? As an educator, I continue to challenge myself with these questions in the hope of what is still yet possible...
Rivka Zehavi Zack
The deep mysteries of life and sense of a divine presence have been a guiding light for me since a very young age. My journey of discovery has become a mutual journey with others of kind, who seek to devote their passion towards the evolving future of humanity.
Peter Barry
I don't think I can remember a time when I wasn't asking, Why am I here? Or wondering, What is the purpose of life? Seeking not so much to simply solve the mystery, but rather to find the settlement that comes from knowing one's place, and finding one's home, in this great unfolding.
Perhaps, then, one can become part of the living process, which sets one free to go out into the world and discover what is new, what is needed, and ask the question: How can I help?
Aviv Shahar
Aviv is the Founder of Aviv Consulting, helping leaders unleash strategic innovation, and is the author of Create New Futures: How Leaders Produce Breakthroughs and Transform the World Through Conversation.
