This is Not the "New Normal"

Revelations of the (old) Normal

What if what’s considered the “new normal” has been there all along?

What if the current reality you’re experiencing is not a ‘new’ normal, but part of the ‘old’ normal being revealed? What if what is seeming to be new for you was there all along? What if that trajectory has been building for some time?

The term “new normal” has been used frequently over the past year. I question it’s accuracy. Media outlets and public voices are using it. I understand why it might resonate for someone as a moniker. But is it accurate? From my assessment, it doesn’t seem fitting. What do you think?

Have you heard others speak of their perception of their current reality in this way? Are you using this term? If so, have you considered why you’re using it? As you lean into your perception, is there another way for you to express what the experience is like for you?

What if this were part of what you’ve been experiencing all along? That some of the current realities you’re perceiving were traveling right along side you, but you just hadn’t put as much focus there. What’s distinguishing the old from new? If I were to classify the current experience, I’d see it another part of itself revealed.

Are ‘old’ and ‘new’ the most fitting descriptors. The current phase may seem ‘old’ as it’s the culminations of consequences from what has already been done. Yet it’s ‘new’ as this part has yet to come to your awareness. From some vantage point, whatever can be deemed the current state of normalcy is hardly new.

Shadow to be Integrated

Through my holistic studies, I’ve learned various approaches to enhancing quality of life. One approach consists of integrating aspects of one’s shadow. I understand how such phrasing may be elusive to some. It’s not necessarily as ominous as it sounds. One doesn’t need to name it “shadow.” You can put it this way if you like: befriending all sides of oneself.

When a person starts with oneself, they garner internal awareness, followed by external awareness. Working with a concept like shadow can be more accessible when one flows in this manner. Integrating multiple sides and perspectives of self can be as daily a task as sleeping or hygiene. It’s best when done deliberately: when it’s an intentful choice to do so.

So what does this have to do with what is being termed “new normal” you ask? Well, like I’ve already mentioned, this in not the “new normal” rather it’s part of the existing normal being revealed. If this is the case, then what’s being revealed? This is what each individual is meant to unveil, as revelations are subjective and highly personal. There are common occurrences that affect us on a collective basis, and these can be factored in a personal way too.

In the past, shadow integration was predominantly done solo, privately, or one-to-one with a guide. It was part of one’s self-exploration and self-awareness. What if shadow integration has now evolved to be done publicly, through social interactions and collective sensemaking?

Our collective virtual realties and online socialization are the main modes of how we spend much of the time in our days. Have we gradually shifted to applying more external means of awareness? Is the true nature of awareness unknowing of the distinction between self and social?

Collective trauma

A basic assumption I posit is that each person carries some form of trauma. Part of the purpose in living is to heal and evolve from such trauma. The implication here is acknowledgment and possible transcendence. Intentions must be clear to not invalidate or magnify trauma, rather find a level of access in which it’s allowed to be.

A large contributor to how we perceive our present reality is our ability to connect our individual trauma to our collective trauma. For the past 20 years human beings have used technology to exponentially increase their ability to interact virtually. This has maintained gradual and consistent connectivity to how trauma is projected, processed and transmuted.

We’re exposed to more despair when we’re privy to more trauma. Collectively, we’re experiencing energetic interconnectivity more than ever before. This increases each day of each month of each year. To minimize this incremental capacity, we have to be mindful of disconnecting and taking breaks from this level of connectivity.

When we search our past, especially the intuitive aspects of early childhood, we can recall having a sense of a natural, more subdued level of interconnectivity. In our current world, when we sync with our ability for interconnectivity, it’s overwhelming. There’s a bombardment of influxes due to the consequences of the abundance of technological changes woven into the fabric of modern living.

The Future or Now

The “new normal” has yet to come. It may not have a specific date of on-set. There’s a likelihood it will be a gradual transference due to multiple tipping points and convergences. Do you find yourself romanticizing the notion of a “new normal?” Does the idea worry you? Does it excite you?

Is energy better spent focused on the present moment, and getting in touch with what you’re feeling now? How much of your discord is do to the consequences of your past decisions? What is needed for you to assimilate elements of your own being? Have you integrated the necessary components of your life that have lead you up until this point?

I know, these aren’t the easiest of questions to explore. Whether you’re ready to answer them or not, there’s something powerful in simply acknowledging such questions. This is the call, the signpost to turn inward if/when you catch yourself referring to the “new normal.”