Clash of the paradigms - Paxman and Brand

Watching Jeremy Paxman and Russell Brand on Newsnight last night - well, actually, if the truth be told, on a rather viral video that was winging its way round Facebook this morning - was like watching the perfect meeting of what we might call the old and the new paradigms - one of them uttering its last death-gasps and crumbling before our eyes and the other, rising like a blazing phoenix from the ashes... a veritable clash of the paradigms!Seeing Paxman's incisive intelligence (though decidedly one which is not yet able to see beyond the nonsensical power and control structures of 'the old') challenge the blazing Brand, comedian-turned-political-commentator (who a friend memorably referred to this week as 'the nearest thing to the second coming') was a joy - at least to me!So I don't want to take anything away from this wonderful event, which has captivated the hearts and souls of many of those working tirelessly round the world to help birth the new consciousness that's doing its best to come into being right now, with what I'm going to say next. But for the sake of authenticity, I'm going to say it all the same.There are a lot of us around the planet today who are, like Brand, light bearers - bringing in a new truth that's sorely needed (I wholly disagree with Tom Chivers in The Telegraph today in his assessment of Brand as an 'unnecessary revolutionary'. There's nothing 'unnecessary' about what Brand is saying here.) But to me it's important that we constantly check in that we are being clear channels for the truth - that we keep doing the inner work, keep 'sorting the wheat from the chaff' internally. And this becomes even more important when we're out there like Brand, with the charisma and the character to influence many souls.Passion and conviction is one thing (well, two actually) - and a very important, catalytic thing at that. But if we are still getting triggered by the class system - or Paxman's little beard (though Brand was rather affectionate about it), then we still have work to do!As 'lightworkers', or way showers, or whatever term you want to use here, if we're still struggling with personal 'karma' that we haven't yet worked through, then we can't be 100% reliable channels of truth. And we stand to lead people astray. And if Paxman is being put off by, or misunderstands our message because of our "facetiousness", or by the energy of what we're 'being triggered by', then you can bet other people are too!That's why it's so important that when we start to wake up to the naked untruths of our world (and to the beauty and truth of our own beings) that we don't stop there... we keep going... The spiritual journey does not finish the moment we have that first Eureka moment in the bathtub - or that first realisation that we are all part of a whole. It doesn't even stop at enlightenment!And this is where Chris Bourne's Five Gateways model, which I use in a lot of my transformational coaching and other work, comes in handy. It's a practical routemap to spiritual change - what many are calling the pathway of 'ascension' - which charts our journey from awakening through enlightenment through five distinct 'gateways' of spiritual expansion. And I've found it very useful in understanding my own journey. It's not unique - it's something that people have known and spoken about in previous ages and civilisations, but it's being brought out of the cupboard now as a useful tool in these times of unprecedented expansion and change.If you'd like to know more about the Five Gateways, or about transformational coaching, feel free to get in touch. Or you can read more about topics like those discussed here by signing up to my The Evolutionary blog. I look forward to connecting with you! You can watch the full Newsnight interview here.