I have seen a curious phenomenon happening in these times of virtual life. It seems that we have learned a way of “living” where quantity matters more than content and the faster we accumulate, the better. We eat too quickly, without really tasting the food (generally the taste is actually monosodium glutamate, which is in itself a quick – and poisonous – way to flavour food without having to “waste time” on seasonings...); we pass quickly by beautiful places, just to take a picture and post it on instagram, without letting that place shake you up; fast sex, with the aim of discharge and relief, without knowing the delights and depths that sex can provide... the list is huge, but the experience has been only one: emptiness.

The so-called “planned obsolescence”, which governs the short life-spam of things so that we have to buy another one in a short time of use, has reached other levels of experience. We want fast-satisfaction and forget that to be alive is to be in transmutation. At some point in life we decide that we are like this and that's it. Now the world must satisfies us. How sad. fast-satisfação e esquecemos que estar vivo é estar em transmutação. Em algum momento da vida decidimos que somos assim e pronto. Agora o mundo que nos satisfaça. Que triste.

And the so-called “spiritual” ride is no different. We become consumers of satsang, of various “ceremonies” with the most celebrated communities, of workshops, books, self-help films, podcasts, the latest tarot cards, thousands of inspirational quotes on social media, filling the cart with the latest new age products ... accumulating experiences instead of being transformed by them. It's some kind of ego photoshop, but we delude ourselves that we're doing something to change/improve.

In my opinion, there is a very important wound to be recognized there, which is our lack of feeling any value or confidence in our own wisdom. It's as if we need to be validating what we feel all the time or buying some knowledge that will show us what to do with our life. At some point we have to stop and ask ourselves “where did I stop trusting myself?” It's crazy the amount of information available on the internet, on literally any subject, and more specifically on "how to live better". And the fast-everything culture consumes this shared knowledge without stopping to feel how it resonates for us. That's why it's so easy to spread fake news. We don't want to “waste time” on checks, neither outside nor inside us. And this can be very dangerous, disconnecting us more and more from ourselves, and from that emptiness which then becomes increasingly difficult to access, understand, transmute... fastThat's why it's so easy to spread fake news. We don't want to “waste time” on checks, neither outside nor inside us. And this can be very dangerous, disconnecting us more and more from ourselves, and from that emptiness which then becomes increasingly difficult to access, understand, transmute...

Change requires stopping and feeling. The nice stuff and the not so nice stuff. So we respond to the moment, instead of being carried blindly by it. This is called Responsibility. Responsibility is not that heavy and boring burden that adults carry and that does not allow them to play and be light. Quite the contrary, responsibility is the ability to respond to what is presented in our life, relating to reality, instead of living abducted by delusional fantasies. Scarcity, for example, is a collective delusion that urgently needs to be addressed. We live on a planet that is fully capable of taking care of all the human beings that live on it, without anyone having to go through the humiliating and inhuman pain of hunger. And the reality we create is exactly that of hunger! How did we get there? How did we get to the point of decimating original peoples and destroying the Nature they so wisely preserved to increase the wealth of the few and the poverty of the many?

Distortion is on an intense scale and it has been forming little by little, in little ant steps. Each time we choose not to respond to what happens to us, to bypass the signals that come from within and “accept” or condone the deviations and distortions that we find in the world.

Yes, it starts within, and effective action comes from the Potency that is within us. It's not enough to repeat like a parrot what you hear and call it activism. To promote change since micro-places to maxi-macro, we need to access this Power. And it is closely linked to the constant transmutation movement that happens within us. So, who are you as you read this? And what does that do to you? What points does it touch? What doors open in your feeling and thinking? That's what matters, not my words, but the dots they connect in you. So, I'm not talking about not reading more books, not taking courses or any of the activities that we feel attracted to, but being Present in them, letting each one touch us, transform us.

Connecting with the Potency is finding our place in the world, at this moment, so that we can actively participate in this co-creation, promoting Life and not simply perpetuating the system of disconnection. And that movement will be full of joy and freedom, which follows Responsibility like a shadow. Less unbridled consumption and more confidence and connection with the resources that are already here within us is my tip.