We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: A Dream Teaching

Most people alive today have heard the old revolutionary/New Age trope, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Some folks attribute that saying to Hopi elders. Our only Black president, Barack Obama, even included it in his writing and various speeches.

I kept hearing that idea bantered about, during the 1970s-90s and into the new millennium; it was quite popular in revolutionary circles. It sounds really cool, yet I always thought of it as merely a feel-good, superficial bit of positivity. A small burst of unrealistic, prideful ‘positive thinking.’

However, last night I had a powerful dream that showed me what that hackneyed line truly means. It is neither prideful nor delusional; it may even be a kind of ultimate truth. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

What is true ‘inner revolution’?

Here we are, today, living through one of the most tumultuous, difficult, and threatening periods in modern history, with climate disruptions mounting and the vaunted USA falling apart and failing… while the rest of the world is not far behind. In this dire situation, and with this painful background as context, what are we to make of the line, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”?

Here’s what I was shown: this saying goes far, far deeper than mere political revolution or cultural change. Its primary message is that there is a human vanguard of ‘spiritual warriors’ focused on inner exploration, healing, and profound inner re-alignment — and any ‘revolution’ worth its salt must emerge from such intensive inner work and healing. Any meaningful outer revolution can only come from meaningful, ongoing inner revolution.

The crux of the matter, of course, is the question: What the heck is entailed in an ‘inner revolution’? That’s what my dream focused on. It was a vivid ‘teaching dream’; I experience these very occasionally. It was a deeply empowering experience — and I’m going to try my best, with my limited words, to convey what I ‘saw’ and learned.

Required: the hard work of ‘inner work’

First, outwardly-focused political revolutions will never work — at least, not for long. They offer the promise of lasting change and vast social improvements, but the substance is usually lacking. Or, if things do drastically improve, initially… soon corrupt or backward ‘human nature’ starts to rear its ugly head again, and the long slide back down into political oppression and dysfunction begins again. Clearly, politics and political change are not ‘the answer.’

So, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” is not about political or social revolution. Rather, it may end up that way, but only partially or secondarily. Its primary meaning derives from our need for a crucial inner revolution — and that’s where the confusion or resistance usually begins. For today, even after many decades of psychological awakening and the rise of the human potential movement, most people have little or no idea what hard work and diligence inner revolution demands. Nor do most of us even want to know.

Yes, an inner revolution always and necessarily grows from sustained inner work. It’s a long, slow slog that often appears to be going nowhere, filled with constant setbacks and backsliding. But for determined, faithful ‘seekers,’ persistence can really pay off, big time. Eventually, all that seeking can turn into finding … and, once a strong momentum of ‘finding’ has been established, then — and only then — will a true inner revolution be underway.

Finding inner truth, grace, and love

What is this ‘finding’? What are we in search of, and desperately reaching for? We’re seeking our own true, deeper selves, of course! There’s a potent element of ‘grace’ or divine assistance in all our frantic searching, that can support or motivate our efforts — but the primary thrust, the main story, has to be our own persistent efforts and inner work. Moments of lightness, beauty, and grace are wonderful and very necessary, but they cannot make up for lack of personal commitment and effort.

These delicious moments are like the icing on the cake — but without the cake, the icing has nowhere to ‘land.’ And, in this case, the cake is our determined persistence in self-exploration and inner risk-taking. Hard truth: deep self-exploration is risky, scary business, at times. This is when and why many of us lose hope or just ‘give up’ on our search.

But that’s a grave mistake. Just because something is ‘scary’ or threatens our ego or self-image is not a reason to back off or back down. In fact, it’s usually the scary stuff that’s most crucial to confront and work through. Its scariness is merely an indication of how important such exploration is for our continued inner growth.

Still, it’s hard to face our inner demons, inner pain, and ‘lostness.’ That’s why it’s critical to start finding, and not remain stuck in endless, fruitless seeking. But, to be clear, I’m not talking about ‘getting religion’ or any such escapist nonsense. Rather, we need to find our way back to our true inner selves and tap into our inner wellspring of truth, love, and compassion.

The deepest truth is: we already have all we need (psychologically and spiritually) within us. We are already full to the brim, and thus already fulfilled. There is nowhere to ‘get to’ and nothing to ‘achieve.’ It’s all already here, inside us — if we will just open our hearts and minds.

Waiting to be ‘saved’ is both nonsensical and dangerous

The problem, though, is that very few human beings get this essential truth — and of those that do get it, very few are willing to dig deep within themselves and persist in ‘unearthing’ their inner riches. I think that is the ultimate meaning of the biblical saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Being “called” is wonder-full (literally) and necessary, but it often goes nowhere if the ‘callee’ isn’t willing to engage in ongoing, persistent inner work.

Now, back to the theme, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” My dream showed me that the most fundamental mistake most people make is to deny our own agency and power, and foist our own desires, longings, and urgent needs onto other people and their presence and power. That is, we project our own power onto others we imagine are more powerful or capable — and then we lazily sit back and wait for them (or some system) to somehow ‘save us.’

So, we wait … and wait … and get totally frustrated … and wait some more — but we’re waiting for something that will never happen. We’re waiting for some inscrutable divine or human intervention that will somehow ‘do it’ for us, transform our lives, and make us happy and contented.

Nope, it’s not going to happen. It … won’t … happen. Sorry, folks. The only way out is through. The only way we can really transform our lives is via committed, ongoing inner work — along with occasional, much-needed infusions of grace and love. These lovely infusions can’t be forced or bought, yet they are vital to our growth and healing — and the more we open ourselves to inner exploration, the more we open the door to grace and love.

The glorious path of lifelong learning, opening, and growth

There are no easy answers to the problem of pain and suffering. But there are crucial signposts along the way and helpful paths we can tread. “Seek, and ye shall find” — IF one chooses to open up, learn, and grow. And grow stronger. And keep learning, growing, and getting stronger.

Plus, it’s high time to take back our innate powers of awareness and growth, and stop projecting our deepest desires and needs onto other people, systems, religions, governments, and even potential revolutions.

Our own inner happiness and fulfillment are truly up to us, and us alone. Each of us. No one and nothing else is ever going to ‘do it’ for us.

Absurdly, we are our own worst captors and abusers — but we can also be our own liberators and saviors.

Truly, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

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This post was previously published on Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs.

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