Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More

Life Is Calling

The Lodge At Sonoma, Sonoma, California, USA

May 20, 2014

"Carry on. Love is coming. Love is coming to us all." ... Crosby Stills and Nash

"Carry on. Life is calling. Life is calling to us all." ... Laurence Platt

"New openings for action call you powerfully into action.". ... Landmark Forum Leader

This essay, Life Is Calling, is the prequel to Life Is Almost Over.

One's not worse than the other. Nor, for that matter, is one better than the other. Rather, they each occur in entirely different domains. "What am I called to do?" is an entirely different order of things ie it occurs in an entirely different domain than "What do I want to do?". Not worse. Not better. Merely different.

For the purposes of this conversation, I'll also acknowledge "I want to do what I'm called to do" as well as "I must do what I'm called to do", both of which morph into "I want to do what I must do" and / or "I must do what I want to do.". Having acknowledged them, I'll set them aside as they play a very minor part in this conversation.

Upon close inspection, the essential difference between "What am I called to do?" and "What do I want to do?" is to be found in a certain degree of freedom, as well as in a certain listening made possible by this degree of freedom. Here's what I mean by that:

With transformation comes the completion of life as we knew it.

<aside>

Be careful.

Instead of saying "With transformation comes the completion of life as we knew it", you may want to say "With transformation comes the end of life as we knew it" which in a non-rigorous sense, is also true.

But if you do say it the latter way, the emphasis must be on knew rather than on life - in other words, it must be "With transformation comes the end of life as we knew it" (epistemological shift) rather than "With transformation comes the end of life as we knew it" (state change).

<un-aside>

In the space of the completion which comes with transformation, it's Life itself which calls me. That's about as easy to describe as it is to describe the taste of an orange. You can, however, experience it for yourself - which of course would render all my descriptions redundant. That said, when I listen for Life calling me, I hear it. When I hear what I'm called to do, it's Life itself calling me to act.

Prior to this distinction (Life itself is calling me to act) being available to me, what showed up more often than not in the space this distinction now occupies, was what I want to do (there's nothing wrong with doing what we want to do, at least as a starting point). When I listen what I want to do, it's not Life itself calling me. When I listen what I want to do, it's Laurence like an ego ie it's Laurence like an identity (in a word, it's Laurence like a machine) calling me.

Here's the next piece of this conversation: there's a degree of freedom which comes with transformation which affords us a new listening, a new listening which allows us to hear Life calling. Doing what Life calls me to do (service) is a different order of things than doing what I want to do, even if they're combined as "I want to do what I'm called to do.". Not worse. Not better. Merely different. And notice "I'm called to do what I want to do" is to be unclear on the concept.

In the fullest sense and implication of transformation as the completion of life as I knew it, I can express my own experience of transformation tersely, no‑nonsense-ly, and simply as "It was all over for Laurence Platt" (that's something I got from Werner). In the fullest sense and implication of transformation, my listening has shifted from hearing what "Laurence like an ego" wants ie it's shifted from what "Laurence like an identity" wants (the truth is I have less and less interest in either of them) to listening what Life calls me for.

Life, whether we listen for it or not, is always calling. I'm committed to always listening.

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