Change

"Change is difficult to bring about. It requires courage. It requires extra effort. It requires taking risks. It requires that you think independently and not just follow along with what everyone else believes or assumes. But it is this ability that returns strength to you and the power and the presence of Knowledge in your own awareness."

Directives

"You are standing at the threshold of immense change and challenge. You cannot be dreaming of other things if you are to be prepared."

“While you recognize the need for change in the world around you, the need to change in how people live, change in government, change in how people use the world, and change in how people behave according to each other, you must really look at yourself. Are you living the life you were meant to live? Are you really being honest with yourself about what you are doing regarding your activities and involvements with others? Are your relationships built on a firm foundation, and upon a real resonance with one another? Are you engaged in work that will be sustainable into the future, given the Great Waves of change that are coming to the world? Are you overusing the resources of the world? What is your relationship there? Are you honestly engaged with the primary people of your life? Or are these relationships only established for convenience and for personal benefit?”

Changing world

"Everything is changing. Life is changing."

"Everything in the universe is moving--planets, stars, galaxies--all moving towards something."

"The creation that you must be concerned with is this temporary creation—time and space, a physical reality, a reality of constant change, of evolving systems, a reality of contrast and conflict, a reality of life and death."

"God seeks to prepare humanity for a new world, a new reality, and for its encounter with life in the universe, an encounter that will change and determine the future and destiny of humanity."

Moving with change

"You are so addicted to change. You love change and you hate change. You love your physical existence, and you hate your physical existence. It intrigues you. It stimulates you. And yet it hurts you and terrifies you and disappoints you."

“People are losing so much of their life force through complaint and through whining when they themselves are unwilling to make the kinds of personal changes and sacrifices that will be necessary to be a force for change in the world.”

“You cannot change that which was put in place before you came into the world. Though the events of the day and of the year change your circumstances and alter your opportunities, your destiny is still the same.”

The need for change

“It is becoming evident to ever increasing numbers of people that great change is needed if humanity is to meet the challenges of its time.”

“If humanity discovers that its resources are limited, it will have to change its economic systems, its approach to living, its interactions with the world, its use of resources—everything. These changes are very difficult for people. People who are advocates for change often overlook the cost of change, the price of change, the impacts of change.”

“This will change everything for you, as it must change, as it needs to change. It is the blessing of change. It is the difficulty of change. It is what will make you strong and powerful. Do not think it will be easy, for it will not be easy. Do not think it will happen right away because it is a process of many stages and steps. Do not think that you are there already, for you do not know what you will have to face.”

The challenge of change

"Change is difficult, even under more normal circumstances. It is often resisted and usually feared. It involves uncertainty and often generates blame and condemnation. People rarely undertake change willingly or intentionally and even when they do, it proves to be a greater challenge than they often had anticipated."

“Most people are very passive when it comes to change. They will only move on their own accord if moved by desperation. That is a very destructive way to approach the situation. To instigate change when it is necessary means you must trust yourself, yes? You must trust what you know in the situation and yet be quite open to making a mistake.”

“There is change that emanates from your wishes or fears, and there is change that is a necessity. Of necessary change there are two kinds: There is a necessity because you are forced to do something, or you face catastrophe. Then there is a necessity where you know you must do something, where circumstances are not so dire as to force you into action. You are motivated by your own Knowledge here, your deep and profound intuition. It is this state of intuition that We wish to cultivate in Our students, for then they will be able to see with vision the direction of the race and will be able to be very strong participants.”

“There are two arenas here for change: There is the change you want to make and there is the change you must make. The “must do” category is the most important, for the things you must do, whether you want to or not, have very great necessity. Human life and development are very much dependent upon this necessity. That is what keeps things moving forward. It is also based upon purpose. All of you have come into the world carrying the seed of God within you, and in this seed is your purpose.”

"People want change, they want the nation to change, they want the city to change, they want the culture to change, but they don't want to change. And on top of that they want peace! They want change, they want peace, but change is not very peaceful. When people are facing real change it is disturbing, it is an upheaval, it is stressful, it is difficult, it is uncertain. Have you ever gone through any kind of real change in your life in a state of equanimity? Of course not, not if you are honest with yourself. It was difficult, you were resistant, you struggled, you were angry, you were frustrated, you blamed other people, you blamed yourself. You fought the change, you denied the change, you put it off. Now, tell the truth to yourself here. Was this a peaceful experience?"

Real change

“Real change is a change of heart. It is a change in the way you feel about things and a change in the way you see yourself and your life. It is a change not only in perception, but in what you choose to do as a result. That is the real change.”

“Keep in mind that important change is gradual and often goes unnoticed until its results become evident. Realize that minor or insignificant change often involves great emotional upheavals where people think that something tremendous has just happened. The greater change is deeper and changes everything. Small, incremental change affects your point of view immediately, but its overall effect is not that lasting.”

"Be the change"

“People want social change. They want political change. But they themselves often do not want to change. They want advantages. They want social improvement, and they need these as is so very often is the case, but the movement of God must happen within you first. Changing the social order rarely brings benefit to everyone.”

“The revolution must happen within you first if it is to be real, genuine, productive and constructive. If you simply revolt and tear down the walls of the castle and kill the leaders, you simply pave the way for the next set of tyrants to come to power. You have only been used to bring about a transition in power. You have not really made a difference yet.”

“To effect social change, there must be compassion, tolerance and patience. The movement for this always begins within the individual, within the individual gaining access and connection to the greater Knowledge that God has placed within you—to cultivate your inner life, to become aware of your deeper inclinations, to still the mind so that you can hear and feel and experience how God is moving you and instructing you in your life, even in the most particular things, the simplest affairs—the inclination to go here, the restraint from going there, the discernment you must bring in whom to associate with and how much to share with them, the need to cultivate a quiet place so that you can begin to listen inside of yourself.”

"You may see what is possible for humanity, you may see what has to change, but what will give you the strength to change this within yourself and to become part of the change in the world that will be required? Here you cannot simply say, 'Well, other people will not be able to change. Humanity will not be able to change. Therefore, I don’t need to change.' You do need to change. You have not found your strength. Your energy is misappropriated. You are lost in what you want and what you are afraid of. You are committed to things without consequence. You value things without value. You make assumptions that have no foundation and will not stand in the face of great change. You have beliefs that are inconsistent with life and with where life is going. There is great change that must happen within enough people. Not everyone will be able to make this change, but enough will have to, to counteract the temptation to fight and to struggle and to wage war upon others."

Movement in Relationships

"Movement away from God is chaotic change. Movement towards God is constructive change. In the moment, change looks like change, and it is very difficult to see what is influencing it. Yet within a relationship, you will have the opportunity to see these influences because the change that is constructive is gradual."

"Here it is necessary to follow the Path of Knowledge because Knowledge is current with the change that is the result of God’s influence. Knowledge expresses true and constructive change and keeps you current with this change. This enables you to feel the movement of your life, the movement of your relationships, the movement of your world and ultimately the movement of the Universe."

See also

Admonitions

Climate change

Evolution

Freedom from the Past

Further study

• The New World

• Bringing Your Life into Balance (October 6, 2008)

• Preparing for the Great Waves of Change: Building your Ark

• Ending Violence Within (September 4, 2008)

Climate change

• The Great Waves of Change

Paradigm change

• The Briefings from the Allies of Humanity Books One, Two and Three

• The Greater Community

Effective spiritual practice for real change

New Practice and Real Change, a teaching from Patricia Summers on February 19, 2022 (Registration required)