We live in an unprecedented time. People all over the world feel forced to deal with an invisible threat—the Covid-19 virus. They've been asked to stay home and create distance between themselves and others. Many have lost jobs, businesses, and loved ones. This pandemic raises many questions, like, Why is this happening? Is God punishing humanity? What will the future hold? and How can I survive this?

Indeed, the pandemic makes us ask the big, essential questions. And we are hungry for the answers, especially as we see the number of coronavirus cases and deaths rising daily.

I've been paying attention to how spiritual thought leaders understand the pandemic. Their perspective resonates deeply within me. More than that, they have come to the same conclusions at which I have arrived.

I'd like to share them with you with the hope that you will find the insights uplifting food for thought and that they will give you hope for a better future. First, know this: We are in a time of transformation. Humanity's level of consciousness and spiritual alignment is changing…for the better.

Divine Orchestration

I was pleasantly surprised to discover a video from a previous client of mine, Rabbi Manis Friedman. In this Youtube video, Rabbi Friedman, an orthodox rabbi, addresses a big question: Why would God allow humanity to suffer the effects of a pandemic?

Coming from a place of faith, he explains, "Nothing happens unless it's for Divine purpose and reason. It's Divinely orchestrated for our benefit."

You don't have to believe in a God that orchestrates what happens in your life or the world to understand that humanity and Earth will be better after this pandemic ends. Most spiritual thought leaders agree on this fact, but you have to let go of your fear before you can realize this truth.

If you are struggling with fear, pay attention to the "good" news. People are joining together to sew masks. Companies are putting in extra time, money, and effort to make ventilators. Grocery stores are allowing the elderly to shop at special times or to order home deliveries. The air is cleaner in China. And people are singing with each other during their quarantine, connecting more now than ever before—even in isolation.

These changes demonstrate the benefits to which spiritual thought leaders like Rabbi Friedman allude.

You Still have Choice

But you still have choice. We are each being asked to rise up to fight a global threat, and humanity is pulling together. Yes, people have suffered. And it looks like many may continue to suffer for the unforeseeable future.

But each one of us can choose not to suffer. At this moment, we each have enormous choices to make. And choices shape our destiny individually and collectively.

What will you choose? Suffering or peace? Sadness, fear, and negativity or joy, hope, and positivity? Will you choose to love or hate, accept or resist, help or hinder? Your choices affect you and the collective consciousness of the world.

If this pandemic has been orchestrated by the Creator, then we are members of the orchestra. As such, we have to look at the instruments we play, how we will play them, and if we contribute to creating noise or music. Will we co-create pain or pleasure, ugliness or beauty, fear or peace, hatred or love?

Take responsibility for the choices you made in the past and the ones you have the opportunity to make at this moment—ones that will change your present and future as well as the future of the world.

Utilize the Pattern Interrupt

With our daily lives disrupted, we have the opportunity to develop new ways of showing up in the world. We can develop new habits and mindsets.

Our patterns have been interrupted, which allows us to make intentional choices about the habits we want to establish rather than following those we fell into unintentionally.

Everything is changing—every pattern you or the world had and relied upon. Life as we knew it has ended (at least for now). That's why this moment provides an opportunity to answer additional big questions, like How do I want to live my life?

Normally, our lives are over-scheduled and so busy we have no time for what we know is important. Now, we have the chance to be quiet and focus on our priorities and to re-examine all that we have previously held true.

Before Covid-19, it was easy to uphold assumptions and beliefs—your mental patterns. Now, you can question them and develop new ones. Should I place my trust in science? Can I feel confident what I eat is safe? Does it matter what politician someone supports? Is there a God, and does that God determine my destiny? Do I, through the vehicle of my choices, control the outcomes of my life? What do I truly believe?

A Time for Re-Alignment

Post-pandemic, many people will have used the time to re-alignment not only with themselves and what matters to them but with their faith. Crisis test our faith…and strengthen it. They can move us farther away from God…or closer to the Creator.

Rabbi Tzirah Firestone wrote a lovely blog post about the sacred meaning of Covid-19 that sheds more spiritual light on pandemic and alignment. She says, "It strikes me as ironic that the coronavirus was given the name COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. Strangely, COVID bears the same consonants as Cavod or Kavod, ????, the ancient Hebrew word for glory, honor, or divine Presence."

In the Kabbalistic, or Jewish mystical, tradition, Kavod is a code word for Shechinah, sometimes thought of as Mother Nature, the Power of Creation, or the feminine aspect or face of God. The Shechina is said to reside here on Earth with us. And Shechinah is considered the one who receives from and gives back to nine masculine faces of divinity. As Rabbi Firestone points out, "Therein lies the 19 of Kovid-19."

Maybe we are seeing the face of the divine Presence—even all 19 of them. Or, perhaps, like Moses, we are being asked to climb to meet God face to face. We might be reluctant to do so…or to step up and do what is asked…but we are being called to realign. Will you heed the calling?

With all the running around and busy-ness that fills most of our lives, you might forget about spiritual alignment. Yet, that alignment reminds you of who you are and your soul purpose. It reminds you of your constant connection to the Creator. Re-alignment now will help you adjust to the new reality post-pandemic and help humanity transform for the better.

Rabbi Firestone suggests we ask: What can I do to put myself back in alignment with Heaven, with Mother Nature, with the Power that is Greater than us all?

Rise Up and Pass Through

Passover and Easter are almost upon us. Therefore, it's appropriate to think about passing through the narrow place in which we find ourselves. If God has brought us to the shore of the Red Sea and parted the waters, how can we arrive on the other side transformed?

And, How can we rise up from the death of all we know? We have the opportunity to become shining examples of what is possible, spiritual role models for our friends, families, and societies.

Each of us is being asked to pass through the narrow place and rise up and role model a new way of being, a new consciousness.

Getting Your Attention

I also received an email from Patricia Cota-Robles. Her message spoke to the question, Is there a greater purpose for what is happening with the coronavirus? Like Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi firestone, her simple answer was, "Yes."

According to Cota-Robles, the new decade—2020—ushered in a time of enormous change for Earth and humanity, one focused on living from the heart and alignment with the highest good for all. The pandemic is pushing us in that direction.

Cota-Robles referenced the numerical meaning of the year 2020, which numerology breaks down to 22. "Twenty-two is a master number that pulsates with Cosmic vibrations that reflect "Power on ALL planes" and "The ability to change the course of history," she explains.

Sometimes, it takes a crisis to force us to change. Most of us don't take the time to turn inward and force change upon ourselves. We wait for an external stimulus to change for the better. We need not wait any longer. Covid-19 is forcing change upon humanity.

In the Course in Miracles, we are told that love brings up anything unlike itself for healing. Similarly, the new decade ushered in a higher spiritual vibration or influx of light. According to Cota-Robles, "Now, this tremendous influx of Light is pushing everything that conflicts with the perfection of Humanity's Earthly Bodies to the surface to be healed and transmuted back into Light. Part of this purging is manifesting as the coronavirus."

She goes on to explain that the Coronavirus is being used "to get Humanity's attention, to force us to stop doing what we are doing, and to make us change the focus of our attention from the same old self-absorbed way of doing things to a new and hopefully Heart-based ways of doing things that will take everyone on Earth into consideration."

Walk Through the Portal

The final piece of spiritual wisdom arrived two days ago and originated from White Eagle, a Hopi Elder.

"This moment humanity is going through can now be seen as a portal and as a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the portal is up to you," says White Eagle. If you consume the news 24 hours a day, allow yourself to live in fear, and approach life with pessimism, you will fall into the hole, he explains. "But if you take this opportunity to look at yourself, rethink life and death, take care of yourself and others, you will cross the portal."

White Eagle stressed the need to see "the spiritual dimension of this crisis." You can't do this mired in the physical dimension. Stop looking at the ups and downs of the stock market. Don't focus on the number of Covid-19 deaths. Refrain from complaining about needing to disinfect your food or not finding toilet paper in the store. Instead, rise above this reality. White Eagle recommends imagining yourself flying high above the Earth where you can see the spiritual transformation happening.

The Spiritual Dimension

It's super easy to focus only on the social implications of this pandemic—the skyrocketing unemployment rates, the need for more medical supplies, the isolation…

White Eagle reminds us that this crisis demands more of us spiritually as well. You need to become aware of the spiritual dimension because, without it, you are left afraid, pessimistic, hopeless, and empty. With it, you become confident, hopeful, and positive, and filled with purpose and meaning.

Now is the time to co-create consciously…intentionally. Now is the time to approach life from a spiritual perspective.

Step through the portal; don't fall into the hole.

Express happiness, gratitude, and love. Reach out to support others and help them shift as well. The Universe will benefit from all of us putting out more positive energy right now.

Your Vision Quest

In Shamanism, there is a rite of passage called a vision quest. It requires a person to spend a few days alone in nature. Often the person goes on the vision quest with no food, water, or way to protect himself from the elements. He stays until he passes through a portal and receives a vision for his life's purpose. During his time alone, the person faces his fears, analyzes his challenges, and gains clarity on the big questions of life.

According to White Eagle, we are each being asked to use this time as a vision quest. "Allow yourself to take advantage of this time to perform your vision seeking rituals. What world do you want to build for you?"

To some extent, each and every one of us is alone in the wilderness right now. We are called to use the time to go inward, upward, outward. This pandemic has the power to transform humanity and the world and each and every individual.

Like the phoenix, we each will rise out of the fire transformed. We will possess a new level of spirituality, consciousness, and understanding and ability to co-create a new future reality.