Resurrecting “Shine It On”

Flickr - Shine - jenny downingIda Lawrence, Contributing Writer
Waking Times

We all know the past has everything to do with today. Right now I’m wondering if ‘being there’ in the sixties and seventies made some of our generation permanent rebels. We do all we can to resonate with the positive vibe no matter what’s happening – there’s a good side somewhere… always is.

Okay… here’s another crisis, maybe another false flag, maybe some more patsies. When is there not a crisis? Does your mind get weary trying to figure out who’s lying about what and why? Avoiding the TV at home, I happened to glance at one while waiting in line at a store. I watched it for about three minutes. Then I walked outside and realized that some of the men I saw looked suspicious.

It took that long for the TV to put a thin film of fear over my eyes. This film caused a subtle distancing – an extra degree of separation between myself and the people I was watching. If my perception can be distorted that quickly, imagine what happens to people who watch TV like it’s reality – they must have fear in every cell of their bodies.

Let’s talk about something else, and maybe it’ll take us somewhere else. We can look at things that began 30 to 40 years ago, and observe how the energy is evolving, devolving, or unchanging.

Here are some of the movements of that time period: the Antiwar Movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Nationalist Movement, the American Indian Movement, and the all-important New Age Movement. The rebel energy of the time led us to break out of restriction and expand, the music was conscious and empowering, and there was courage – many of our choices took courage.

Our forward steps in shaking off oppression did not bring an end to the darkness, but I believe the consciousness we embraced may have split some of us off from the darkness and given life to a new trajectory. The commonality of all of those movements was the opportunity they provided for a deeper understanding of self and what it means to be human. We established, as well, a greater connection or empathy with others.


  • The Antiwar Movement was an intense rebellion that brought an end to the Vietnam War. I didn’t know anyone at the time who believed the war had a virtuous purpose. Young men burned their draft cards, escaped to Canada, went to jail, and millions of people marched. When it was over, some went in the direction of serving the system; some into addiction and devastation; and some into remorse, repentance and a profound understanding of the evils we are up against.

    The Women’s Liberation Movement was needed. I know it took some bizarre, ‘replicate the men’ twists and turns, and definitely had its angry side. But there is another side too. I remember living within the ‘woman is a lesser being’ conditioning. Because of that I had disdain for myself, for other women, and for the feminine energy. The women’s movement put a crack in that conditioning. While some turned to anger, others sought to discover and liberate the feminine energy.

    Today, the divine feminine within is healing our grief and loneliness, and fully engaging us in the alternative trajectory.

    The Civil Rights, Black Nationalist and American Indian movements all made perfect sense. They arose from the same type of ‘lesser being’ conditioning and this was enforced with violence. The Civil Rights Movement was an attempt to gain equality within the racially oppressive system. The Black Nationalist Movement actually inspired the civil rights push. It promoted love for self, i.e. Black is beautiful, and ‘do for self’ economically. The American Indian Movement asked for the return of lands and the right to self governance. All of these movements gained some ground against severe opposition.

    The advancement of human dignity and liberation of the spirit was fought for. Today it may seem all is lost as the darkness is much more intense. Don’t buy in to it. Nothing gained is lost.

    Today I see the New Age Movement as having matured into an alternative way of being. Many of us wholeheartedly embraced the spiritual, metaphysical information and we grew with it… evolved with it. The big questions carried forward as we grew were: why is the world so full of pain, what’s going on, how can I change it, and am I here for some reason?

    Today I do believe that our higher self comes into physical existence by choice or agreement. So, the ‘death in the air’ that we are all breathing now, can be something we agreed to experience. What is meant to be transmuted? Who are the people aware enough and capable enough for this task? If we are the alternative, what can we do when crazy stuff goes down?

    Back in the day we used the term, shine it on. When something was going on that we didn’t feel like participating in, we would just not show up.

    When they hand us a crisis, do we really need to show up? Do we need to know whodunit? Don’t we already know? This time I’m going to shine it on. Maybe the next time too. I have things to do… like hug a tree or clean a window. Truth, Love, and Peace out.

    About the Author

    Ida Lawrence is an author, blogger, copywriter and editor based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has authored two books on racial justice and human rights, and numerous articles on human rights, self-empowerment and related subjects. Ida is also a certified Tai Chi instructor with a special interest in helping seniors and the disabled with Tai Chi and Chi Kung practices modified for their use. Her goal in life has been to find answers to the question of ‘why’ and then to explore the question of ‘what is’. More of her work is available at her personal blog, http://talk2momz.com/.

    This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.

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