"Learned Helplessness"

“Learned helplessness is a psychological condition in which a human being or an animal has learned to act or behave helpless in a particular situation, even when it has the power to change its unpleasant or even harmful circumstance” (Wiki).

This is how we become victim to a “world” outside the mind. The mind essentially learns that it is helpless to change events or situations, no matter how much guilt may be experienced. Even when you can apply control upon the world, you do so in the realization the slightest breeze in the opposite direction could scatter your “goals” to the four winds.

The world presses its demands upon the mind and since the mind believes that the world made it (ie, physical birth) the mind acquiesces to the world’s system of values. In whatever choices the mind makes, the world must be consulted first and all plans must in some way conform to outside directives.

You learn that, often no matter what you do, the world can and often must, oppose you. As the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sarte stated, “the best well-laid plans can be completely annihilated by the smashing of a tea-cup.” The rules of the world teach that you have little to no control and that you are, essentially, helpless. Learned helplessness can only result in a state of chronic low-grade depression leading to an eventual overall attitude of defeat. Look at the starvation, poverty, conflict and destruction in the world.

The world exhibits defeat and expects you conform accordingly.

When you learn helplessness, you can only deny that you have any power or that the power you might access is very limited. How can the absolute power of the mind be tapped, when it has learned it is helpless? Even religions and spiritual philosophies that purport to empower the mind, actually reinforce its learned helplessness.

Do you rely on a guru or master to teach you truth?

Have you learned that only through various meditative strategies and practices can you achieve the elusive “spiritual enlightenment/awakening”?

When you go to hear the avowed “master” speak, does he or she sit upon a stage while you merely remain an audience of anonymity?

Is the text depended upon as irrefutable and therefore beyond all question ?

All of this depends on YOUR learning helplessness. When you come to the master or the text, make no mistake, your learning is contingent on your helplessness requiring rescue. If you were not helpless, what would you need to learn? If you were NOT asleep in helpless ignorance, or so they teach, why seek awakening? These perspectives rely on the fear that you continue to believe you are helpless and less than what you could be, but are NOT.

Being less than, demands fear because it is defined by being unfulfilled. To be unfulfilled is to lack and to lack demands filling NEEDS. Therefore, the helpless must learn what they NEED to finally help themselves. This “learning” is a never-ending circular pattern that you are helpless to escape because it perpetuates and maintains fear.

The Peaceful Self is empowered through the mastery of fear. Helplessness engenders and perpetuates fear. The world taught you fear, but the Peaceful Self learns it is always at peace and that is how it is Created. Nothing else need be “learned” and nothing IN the world can teach it. (besides, what has the world ever taught us that has significantly reduced our suffering or the suffering of the world?)

The Peaceful Self dwells within and is NOT corrupted by an “outside,” merely because outside is IN. Therefore, "outside" participation is enhanced and increased because there is no fear. (think hard on this one)

The Peaceful Self participates in conflict-free thought, which is thinking determined NOT by the world’s values, but by the values of Deep Spirit, which are denied by an “outside” world, but can be seen "outside" but only by those who see without fear..

The Peaceful Self is completely confident and empowered in the Source for its knowledge because the Truth is within and always available whenever YOU chooses to detach from fear and repudiate helplessness.

The Peaceful Self is very quiet and still even in the most extreme and traumatic situations, realizing that panic is a result of chaos and chaos is only a product of fear and fear demands helplessness.

The Peaceful self waits for Truth in the certainty that it must come to the mind free of fear because it is the peaceful mind that can listen to what Truth teaches.

The Peaceful Self does not reach out, but reaches IN with the certainty that what is outside can only join with it.

The Peaceful Self is powerful beyond the world’s comprehension of power, simply because the Peaceful Self has learned there is NOTHING to fear and the world has always based its definition of power on fear and helplessness.

May the new year find you powerful beyond measure as you master all fear and discard helplessness.

Peace Angels!

Defending Against Guilt

I find it interesting that some of the most hallowed spots on the planet are surrounded by starvation and abject poverty.
What does that mean?

When you completed the devouring of your stuffed turkey this holiday season (or whatever consumables you devoured), how did you rationalize the fact that your stomach was full while in 3rd world societies distended stomachs are indicative of the starvation and malnutrition of millions? We can't deny this as true, so how do we deny the guilt that most occur from such truth? How could we NOT feel guilt?

I'm just curious as to what rationalizations are used to offset guilt. I imagine, (from my own experience) just plain old denial or factual repression tends to work well for a time, but (also from my own experience) never entirely. Guilt seems to seep back into consciousness and of course, the "news" is not very helpful in repressing guilt when the images are right there in front of your face (just look at the situation unfolding in Gaza right now).

This has always been my difficulty with the concept of individual enlightenment as the Buddha and others proclaim. The prince left his palace to experience the suffering of the masses, only to sit under the Bodhi tree and become "enlightened." Unfortunately, that didn't seem to change conditions for the starving masses. They still kept on starving, even today. But I'm consistently told that I just don't understand Buddhism. Ok, so how do the Buddhists deal with guilt?

How do we dissolve the guilt that others starve, while we partake of abundance (or obesity)? Due to my particular field, I've always had an interest in the use of ego defense mechanisms (Freud) in order to cope with an absurd reality. So what do you use to defend yourself from this unfortunate aspect of reality? Do you absolve your guilt by "seeking enlightenment" or maybe by "being enlightened"? (so what the hell is that!?)

Suffering may be a part of this "oneness" we all love to speak about, but if we haven't fully worked to reduce suffering can we really say WE are part of "oneness"?

In fact, shouldn't we being doing everything we can? Shouldn't we ALL be selling our HDTVs or our Ipods and sending the money to the starving? LOL! Obviously, I'm as guilty as you, so the point is what should we do? Just accept that guilt is part of life?

Nah......

I would imagine that an enlightened or awakened mind would have no difficulty alleviating starvation, otherwise why call it "enlightened"? Therefore, seems like more of the same old blah, blah, blah, to me.

Or maybe NO separate person has yet achieved "enlightenment" (yet), because NO one separate mind CAN? Maybe, inevitably, we will all need to be starving first, (spiritually/physically?) causing an equalization of 'experience' and, from there we can ALL be enlightened together!

Thanks for listening....

NO "SURPRISE" FOR THE DESENSITIZED

Many live in a constant state of conflict with little inner peace. Like a low-grade fever, they shuffle through life waiting to erupt into full-blown illness.

It is an illness of WILL.

There is no real origin to this conflict, but rather a free-floating, deep-seated, sense of discord that becomes manifest in behavior when circumstances or situations result in a full-blown outburst. In these instances, one often cannot find an origin for the dissonance and conflict but tend to locate some situation or person to project blame.

However, this conflictual state of mind seems to be pervasive and carried forward from day to day. It is this low-grade sense of daily discord that many seem to repress until an incident or episode acts as a catapult in bringing it up and out against the supposed enemy.

Could it be that we live in a constant state of discord because we sense that everything we do is against our deeper nature?

Do you often feel as if your thoughts and behaviors are not really your own or against your will?

Do you perform the functions of ‘living' as if compelled to act, in which you feel acutely out of sync, or not aligned, with ‘something' not necessarily of this world?

Could it be that your behaviors are not in accord with your deeper will thereby creating a sense of guilt as you move against the inner currents?

Do you often have to work hard just to deny that the things you do and the functions you perform seem patently absurd, but you continue nonetheless because everyone else does?

Do you often look at others and wonder why they live as if the things they do are of the utmost importance, as if life depended on it?

A strong willed individual can perform whatever he or she sets their mind to and this lends credence to the concept of WILLPOWER. Will is a powerful motivating force that can be virtually unstoppable and many claim that they overcame death-defying odds simply by power of will.

Therefore, a WILL divided against itself must cause a great deal of strain and such chronic stress can be almost unbearable. To repetitively perform functions for which you have no WILL to perform requires incredible feats of denial and repression. But, we have become experts of denial.

Fortunately, those who correspond with Deep Spirit realize the origin of the strain and can dissipate the anger and conflict that may boil below. They are "in it, but not of it."

Others who have not attained such deeper correspondence may never realize the origin of their discord and usually blame external circumstances. They often seem to age quickly and have numerous physical complaints. They seem drained and sapped of energy and élan vitale or vital force. They become desensitized to outside wonder, because the inner WILL is tired, bored and apathetic.

There is very little "surprise" for the desensitized and they will struggle against change since it becomes severely uncomfortable.

When we do what we think we should because we were taught that this is simply the way it is done, we feel the strain of going against a deeper will. However, we can perform these functions with a lightness of being that will aid in managing the burden of living. This ‘lightness' requires reliance on a power within that must be nurtured on a daily basis, at least until it becomes second nature. With enough focus this second nature becomes first and all else is enfolded within this lightness.

But there must be a fearlessness in going against the outer worldly currents by allowing oneself to float with the deeper currents within. Any experiences of fear, whether it be anxiety, depression, boredom, annoyance, irritation, etc, etc, must be subordinated to the WILL to seek freedom through an inner correspondence.

I believe that in the next 3-5 yrs, due to the collapse of our current monetary value system, we will need to engender and rely on the deeper currents of inner WILL for sustenance. This is not to say that the outside world must be denied. But simply from a deeper will we correspond with the outer world, whether it be illusory or real makes no difference, with a freedom from suffering.

We can no longer repress our inner guidance by blindly accepting the world's value system. Such continued repression has reduced our inner will to an unconscious realm rarely accessible but through the most disciplined practices. Most have little knowledge or recognition that there is another guide based on a value system not of this ‘world.' However, as the times change drastically, my hope is that this will be made available out of desperation.

As they say, The WILL to correspond with Deep Spirit (or God) becomes a reality in "foxholes and prison cells." I sense we all are about to experience such desperation very soon and if your prepared for ‘surprise' you may find yourself less desperate and quite free.

Peace Angels!

The Epic Struggle of Evolving Consciousness - Through Crisis

Are we any more advanced then we have ever been? As we enter a time when relied on institutions seem to be collapsing around us, has our level of collective consciousness advanced adequately enough to weather the coming storm or will we simply revert to the lower survival levels of Maslow's "Heirarchy of Needs," thereby symbolizing regression?

The Integralists, based on this essay by Corey W. Devoes, report that biologists can "prove" that human biological evolution is slowing, but how do the Integralist's prove that the interiors of consciousness are "accelerating" and evolving? They talk a good game, but what are the products of an "ever-deepening unfolding of subjective perspectives, values, and worldviews, allowing for qualitative leaps of care, compassion, and cognition."

Where do we SEE THIS IN THE WORLD? What proof do we have equivalent with the proof provided by the biological sciences?

Nada!

.... At least not yet...

In fact, I would propose that the next severe economic "depression" we experience will be indicative of our conscious advancement.... or our regression.

Will we become selfish hoarders or beacons of extension and goodwill? Will greed finally be eradicated or will it become ever more deeply entrenched in the collective mind? Will greater numbers succumb to starvation and poverty or will we create an infrastructure of abundance for all?

Unfortunately, this integral essay does not provide evidence (somebody link me to the evidence), but may be pointing to the fact that NO right quadrant evidence exists equivalent to the evolution of left quadrant consciousness with the emphasis, "It seems, in fact, that many recent attempts toward fascism have shared some sort of evolutionary justification at their core."

Consciously, is the collective regressing or maybe not evolving at all? I imagine that we would like to believe we are evolving, but maybe that's just wishful thinking. Sad to say, but maybe similar to biological evolution we are also slowing down or even regressing consciously.

In fact, the integral video linked to this essay (eerily reminiscent of glitzy scientology productions) tends to present a fearful presentation that we have, in fact, NOT evolved consciously at all as "against a backdrop of fear and uncertainty, election politics has gotten nastier than ever" then they go on to "suggest the following integral life offerings all of which can help revitalize our sense of hope, clarity and stability in these trying times."

Oh pleeeeease! Paying more money and buying another "revitalizing" product is not going to save us, since it seems money and products are the origin of our current misery.

But wait... so where's the evolution?

The Devoes essay goes on to state, "Perhaps the most significant safeguard against exactly this sort of Darwinian dictatorship is the observation that increasing degrees of human consciousness call forth increasing waves of care, compassion, and cognition-which means that the more evolved we are, the more concerned we are about exactly these sorts of problems. In other words, empathy is intrinsically woven into the fabric of evolutionary unfolding, and the radius of our compassion expands with each and every step up the spiral staircase of human potential."

I agree that "increasing waves of care, compassion and cognition..." would be a sign of evolved consciousness. So where are these "increasing waves" signifying evolved consciousness? So why do we NOT SEE this evolved empathy but, in fact, may be witnessing just the opposite? When will we see it and how much longer must we wait? Wishful thinking maybe?

In fact, this excellent link, When Democracy Failed seems to point to the similarities between the abuses of 1930 Nazi Germany and current 'democratic' America, as a clear indictment against any evolved consciousness. History simply repeats itself over an over again and will continue to do so (however, the last part of that essay is very stimulating).

Seems like, according to Spiral Dynamics, we can expect several more centuries of suffering and war before a preponderance of red, amber and orange evolve to green, teal and turquoise. That is, of course, if you subscribe to the integral "map" of evolving consciousness.

Question is, do we have that much time? Or is time not a factor?

If our emerging collective consciousness goes through similar stages as the individual consciousness - doesn't the collective ego put up an epic struggle equivalent to the individual conscious evolution? As with addiction to alcohol, or anything else, doesn't our addiction to an inflated sense of self in an insecure world cause us to put up similar barriers, to find reasons/rationales to resist change to the nature of our Being as we have defined it and have become addicted to that definition?

I would like to believe that the epic struggle is occurring now. However, as to the duration of the struggle, or whether it will intensify, I could not speculate except to hope it does not last long nor require too many casualties.

I imagine the barriers will persist as long as the collective idolizes individuality or an individual 'self' above collective value. Not that the 'self' should be surrendered or negated, as many spiritual paths promote, but that an equality of self and collective may need to occur. This seems to be similar to what the Integral Theory proposes and, in that sense, I find the theory valuable (although it lacks a praxis or practical view). Many spiritual paths emphasize that we have yet to realize the "nature of our being." Essentially, that may be the crux of our struggle.

Are we finally becoming exhausted with the old ways and methods? Are we "sick and tried of being sick and tired" (old AA slogan). If we are, then we are most likely ready for change and detachment from the old ways. But fear and attachment to comfort zones may delay progress. In my opinion, that's the role of "conservatism."

Nevertheless, I do believe in the next 5 years we will witness the ultimate direction our collective consciousness will take and this may lead to even greater conscious evolution or to mutually assured destruction. This is because the speed of this crisis is accelerating very rapidly pulling in ever greater numbers into the vortex of suffering.

Yet, we have not met the critical number which would create ever greater panic and fear, thus demanding ever greater need for change, however, this does not seem far off. In fact, I would speculate that in 2009 we will clearly witness this occurring in which we can no longer deny what we see simply because it has not yet victimized us. In some way or another the realization that we will ALL be touched must dawn upon us and wake us from our dogmatic slumber.

Will the crisis lead to our conscious extension or contraction? Will we reach out? Or through paralysing fear will we insulate and cocoon ourselves?

Fascinating times are approaching and I look forward to the changes because I have faith we are ready!

Peace Angels!

The Power of Infinite Doubt

The teacher is worthless to the unteachable student and the mind will discard that which does not stimulate. So what part of the mind determines what is spiritually stimulating and fuels our individual searching? And how'd it get there? And is it in everyone?

The self seeks out what is useful based on its own requirements, even before the teacher speaks, so only what resonates will be heard and listened to.

Therefore, essentially you teach yourself. The "teacher" only confirms what is already known by YOU, but possibly not" known" as in some 'content of consciousness.' There is a deeper level to knowing from which miraculous things can be known and even "seen."

Do you doubt this? Good! Because that is the only way it can be 'known.'

In that sense all teachers are useless and any enlightenment, realization, awakening, etc, etc, you give to yourself. YOU awaken YOU! (but only to more doubt...LOL!)

There are no intermediaries for the deeper contents of your mind. Although we tend to project onto others in the desire for an external reference point, but that's just how the game is played.

In this sense, 'doubt' is our ally and it is "doubt" that takes you from path to path to path, always expecting to find the 'right' path and always doubting you are ON IT.

Can you live entirely through "doubt"? Is "doubt" the path?

Many claim doubt is a tool, not a way to live. Hmmm. ...I'm not so sure. In fact, maybe this process we proclaim as "life" is the tool through which our doubt takes us beyond 'life' itself.

The 'self' demands anchor points or stories to give meaning to "doubt" as a way to minimize doubt because doubt is fearful. We tend to base our lives on 'knowing' and certainty. It seems we need to know!

I propose seeking only to 'know' infinite doubt. Let doubt be your religion.

We give ourselves many clues that we tend to attribute to an 'external' world outside the mind. But you find the clues nonetheless, and although many choose to consider this all serendipitous coincidence, chance or accident... I do not.

The teacher's words that YOU resonate with, whether written or spoken, are YOURS. Otherwise, why would you even hear or see them. For instance: "You are God." Of course, that probably doesn't resonate with you, so you will obviously discard or completely ignore. But one day that may resonate and you may seek to BE that which stimulates your Deeper Spirit.

The universal dilemma, that all must eventually realize, is that any transference of power to something or someone other than yourself, (whether it be to heal or transcend, transform or whatever) either through religion or spiritual paths, teachers, texts, etc, etc, inevitably minimizes or nullifies YOU as the origin of that power. Is it any wonder we feel so feeble, weak and powerless, since it is always someone or something else we demand "save" us. Possibly this simply keeps you from recognizing that you will save yourself!

So recognize that you give it ALL to yourself and allow infinite doubt to open ever more doors leading to even more doubt, constantly giving yourself more. But, make no mistake, once you even consider that you 'know,' then the door to infinite knowing must close. This is because infinite doubt and infinite knowing are the exact same path and destination.

Your Only Purpose is to Ask Questions

Does there need to be a agreeable conclusion or any conclusion whatsoever in relation to discussions or thoughts on Truth or God? Does the mind demand answers so much so that continued seemingly infinite questioning impedes that goal and thereby creates psycho-emotional distress? Does our questioning need "go" anywhere?

Can we accept that there are no answers only questions and it is incumbent upon us to ask the questions and, in fact, that may be our only purpose?

Could it be that once you accept or agree on an answer you have impeded your purpose which essentially requires developing and asking more questions?

The drive-to-question seems inherently correlated with our drive to learn and know. Can we ever be comfortable not knowing? I recognize that in the past when i came upon an agreeable conclusion, I immediately felt an 'aha' sense of relief only to have that later expunged leading to a sense of discouragement. Now I tend to have rejection wrapped into my acceptance and i move on with ever greater comfort in the idea that there is no end-point, no conclusion, since the question creates.

Maybe learning is an infinite process with no end. Maybe we can not know god, or anything for that matter, since our purpose is to learn of god and that learning has NO end. You will always learn of truth, since truth has no conclusion.

There is no end, only means. If learning is the point then possibly creativity never ceases but goes on and on ad infinitum. If this be the case then disagreement and nonacceptance may be the driving force of our only purpose.

Therefore, could it be a consciousness in conflict is an evolving consciousness and evolution cannot end? Does acceptance of some theory as truth merely delay evolution?

You can never know god, you can only ever know 'learning-of-god.'

Therefore, asking questions or stating propositions that are disagreeable conforms to learning. The fact is, I could just as easily defend non-dualism and oneness as negate it and many of my older comments on this same topic did just that. Maybe the rules of the game should be changed since it is infinite and there is no finite resolution since that would end the game.

If Divine Mind is infinite, who are we to decide we KNOW what cannot ever be known since the learning has to continue and can never end only be delayed by acceptance.

I don't know, I'm just saying...and saying...and saying...

The Non-Duality Game

The concept of oneness is a hypocritical contradiction played by ego-self thereby, reinforcing separation and division.

To assert oneness as some sort of non-dualistic experience is itself dualistic, since it asserts two contrary modes of experience, dualistic vs non-dualistic.

You can never leave duality even for a nanosecond, since the transition presupposes changing from one state or position to an opposite and contrary state or position, dualistic to non-dualistic.

Seeking an experience of non-dualistic oneness presupposes you are not that, and thus, only asserts more dualism in your attempt to become an experience that you are NOT. This is not simply semantics, but experiential as well.

In claiming to experience non-dualistic oneness, you assert that there is some other position to be experienced that is not NOW experienced and thus, assert and experience dualism.

Essentially, you are trapped in the paradox of two becoming one, since by its very nature to have Oneness as Truth, this means there could never have been a two-ness or duality to begin with. To be timeless, non-duality means, there could never have been time of dualism.

To assert that there IS dualistic time negates non-dualism or at the least, it means dualism is not the absolute truth that you think it is and thus seek to have as an experience. To be absolute truth it must be immediately accessible always, therefore, there could have never been a time when we were NOT experiencing non-dualistic oneness without the limits of space/time (which is dualism).

Seeking non-dual oneness is impossible because two-ness, or the many, has already been asserted as OPPOSITE to what you seek. But non-dualism has NO opposite, otherwise it would be dualistic.

This is a fascinating ego game that has been played for centuries and it's called: “I want to switch from dualism to something I call "non-dualism" but the fact that I believe there is a difference between the TWO, keeps me in conflict and never winning the game” (the non-dualistic game for short)

Peace Angels

Surrender the Sacred

All of Life is nothing more than a conversation in your head.

Meditation is a conversation in your head about meditation. Yet, if you wish to make that conversation 'sacred' then by all means, feel free. So now you have your sacred discussions during meditation and your routine everyday self-talk. Can you see the duality? Can you understand the division that you have asserted?

When it comes to God, meditation is as useless as any other head-talk. You may feel more comfortable with the world because you believe you're getting close to God but, make no mistake, the idea that you can do anything to know God is just another conversation in your head. But then, when it comes to spirituality, ignorance is bliss.

But how else can we fill the time, if not by making certain times (meditation) sacred?

For me the goal is simply to sit still and reduce stress, not to attain any presence of God, but to negotiate the world with less stress. So when you meditate, focus on a conversation that will aid in reducing stress. In any case, conversate you will and there's no getting out of your head-talk.

Herbert Benson put out a neat little paperback called "The Relaxation Response" which addressed the benefits of meditative stillness in managing physical and emotional stress. His treatise was unconcerned with finding 'truth,' but more concerned with reducing fear as symptomatized and manifest through internal stressors such as anxiety, anger, and depression.

Yet, once we incorporate this stress reduction into some austere path to realization, enlightenment, awakening or whatever, I believe delusion sets in and this delusion becomes a part of our narrative, or self-talk, and may in fact impede the benefits of meditation for more effectively negotiating the world. Because now we are negotiating the world as a 'seeker of god.' (and those folks can really be a pain in the ass sometimes, if you know what I mean).

The very idea that 'you' can engage in some practice or DO some 'thing' in order to know God is absurd to me. But it certainly is a major part of many popular "spiritual" narratives and thus a big part of the self-concept for many 'seekers.' Then, of course, once you become a "meditator" seeking to be "awakened" you then must quit your day job, join a monastery, become a vegan, and wear long flowing bathrobes.

No Thanks!

If one wishes to add spiritual meditation to the regimen of things-to-do, that's fine since it is helpful in negotiating reality with less stress. Other than that it is simply another story or myth that we live by, and will eventually die with. Yet, I do recognize that for many, to sit still for long periods of time is highly unproductive. Therefore, adding a 'seeking god' outcome to the storyline may be helpful in adhering to a goal of meditation.

Just hope you don't get stuck in your sacredness, that's all.

When God wants to make your acquaintance, God will do so on God's schedule (which probably does NOT include 'time') and there's not a thing you could ever do to initiate that meeting. To think that you have some say in that meeting or 'realization' is the height of arrogance (I'm sure we have all run across an arrogant 'seeker' at one time or another. Hell, Christianity is full of 'em! Not to mention the Buddhist 'holier than thou' folks).

The meeting is certain, but the time will not be on your schedule. Sorry.

What you will subjectively verify in your meditation is an experience. I've had plenty of 'em and will have probably many more. However, try to avoid making an interpretation of the experience and just let it go. The moment you consider yourself "awakened" I would suggest substituting that label for "ignoramus" which would be more accurate and applicable.

The problem is that when you impress a goal of "realizing God" into your consciousness, that very goal impedes the knowing because all goals require a means of attainment. The means of attainment you subscribe to will bend and twist consciousness in a way for which you will believe the goal can be attained. This makes consciousness unavailable to Truth, except through the means you have determined.

HA! Like you know what you're doing!

One can label experiences as "awakening" if one chooses and many have. But I can just as easily label the experience of my morning bowel movement "awakening" as well. But that would be silly because everyone knows that a BM is not an experience of "god." Right?

If you want to become "awakened" then you have got to break from the "awakening" rules set by "ancient masters" who had great marketing teams that were able to generate an audience for the "awakened masters" wise platitudes.

Awakening requires you create you own rules in order to surprise yourself!

We Have Met the Enemy and He is US

The targeting of the "privileged few" is certainly an old paradigm that feeds conspiracy theories. It's as if the rest of us are immune to ego-desires (read Nietzsche's "Will to Power"). Why would the privileged few have a change of heart while the rest of us cheat on our taxes, seek for the lowest price, haggle with car dealers, default on our loans, etc, etc. The chief goal is that I keep more of what is mine (READ: money).

We all aspire to be rich or, more specifically, to HAVE more, since the concept of 'incompletion' is deeply embedded in the concept of 'self.' The privileged few understand this, since it was the catapult to power they employed to reach the level of power they now enjoy. The system provides for it and we all reinforce the system by seeking to enrich ourselves.

However, I understand how much easier it is to attack the privileged few as nemesis and the cause of all our problems. And that may result in the downfall and removal of those privileged few, but what will replace them? Are we above ego desires? Are we innocent?

When the bourgeoisie deposed the French monarchy (actually beheaded them) the vacuum was filled by the same ego desire for power resulting in the same abuses. When the Chinese and Russian communists sought to depose dictatorships in the name of 'the people' they themselves became dictators and, in many cases worse than the monarchies they dissolved.

If we continue to seek out targets to reflect 'man's inhumanity to man" then we will miss the ultimate truth that "we have met the enemy and he is us."

Peace Angels,

Stop Making Life Happen

Do you remember yesterday? What happened?

But how would you know what happened? By memory? But what is memory?

What if you did not remember yesterday, but merely formed thoughts that you call memory? And from those thoughts you construct a package that you refer to as “yesterday.” What if yesterday is really today?

What if there were no yesterdays, but only thoughts made up to represent what never happened so that your life could seem to happen?

Is your life based on happenings or something else?

If there were no yesterdays, who would you be? What would happen?

It’s not just that life is but a dream, but that it is YOUR dream.
The world does not dream you, you dream the world.

You are cause of the effects; the effects are not cause of you. (unless, however, you believe in yesterday, then your life is always happening).

Memories are coordinates in the dream that help you anchor yourself. You rely on them to tell you who and what you are, based on what happened, but never what is happening. This is because what is happening must always correlate or connect with what happened.

But because you see memory as the effect of yesterday, you fail to understand you are cause of today.

Unfortunately, this may make you victim to 'happenings' beyond your control.

Peace Angels

The Economic Crash and the New Paradigm

I think the coming economic crash, that many bright economic minds are saying will be the same if not more comprehensively catastrophic than the great depression, will test Integral Theory's concept of evolved consciousness.

Fear in the 1932 depression resulted in hoarding and a 'closing-in' of individuals, groups, communities and neighborhoods. This is a self-protective strategy that signifies lack of conscious evolution.

It is an identification with fear as dominant value, making self-preservation the chief component of everyday functioning.

Obviously, this could be construed as a movement away from that center-within or "Deep Spirit," as some refer to it, since from our spiritual center there is an extension outward as ‘self,' and the preservation thereof, no longer rules thought. That seems to be the benefit of a spiritual identification since, if it is genuine and authentic , it does not insulate or contract, but extends (ode to Mr. Golas).

Therefore, as the global economy crumbles and value paradigms become useless, evolved consciousness will come from within and that identification will overcome self-preservation and protection strategies that would otherwise dominate the thinking.

I would note that it was evolved consciousness that created welfare, social security, unemployment compensation, disability benefits, WPA, etc, etc, and this was a direct result of the Depression of 1932 and clearly opposed self-preservation and contraction. Many of these platforms are still in place and may take the bite out of our current predicament and may result in more socialistic platforms that extend protection to larger groups of people.

In addition, there are many more extension devices or tools than were available in the past, (most importantly are TV and internet) which will facilitate a greater capacity for extension as opposed to contraction through fear.

Evolved consciousness will extend, while a consciousness mired in past paradigms of fear will contract and withhold through self-preservation.

I suppose we should keep an eye out for the ways society identifies with these two modes of participation in determining our collective fate.

Peace Angels