The USA saw an interesting election this past Tuesday. I’m not going to discuss the outcome with any dichotomous judgment – it is what it is. I have friends on both sides of this political isle and they are decent people. Of course there is a lot of name calling going on; no worse than any other election outcome. What I find interesting is that the US is stuck in a two-party system, despite the numerous names on the presidential ballot from many others political parties that did not get any airtime, or have anywhere near the budget that was fielded on this presidential race. I have read that both main parties on this specific presidential election spent over $2 Billon (yes that’s a B) on their campaigns. That in itself is a cause for concern.
Since I do not watch regular news channels and I deliberately confuse the social media algorithms, I got to see a lot of what both main parties were using as arguments for their campaigns. Strictly polarizing information with a lot of disinformation, misinformation, and many downright deceitful untruths told by a lot of politicians. It’s hard to make well-informed decision based on your personal values system when the information many used was accepted without good discernment as to it validity.
As Noam Chomsky said in 1998; “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum – even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.” Welcome to the world we currently live in.
What I see happening from this point is the awakening of more and more people to the truth of corruption and the efforts of the hierarchical control system to try and keep us contained with their control. They have been doing this through manipulation of information. “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words” Philip K Dick. Nothing new or mysterious here. In 1971, Saul Alinski wrote in his book ‘Rules for Radicals’ about the tactics needed to weaponize information; that these techniques have been well used since the late 1700’s shows how effective they have been. To sum, use of the divide and conquer philosophy: 1. Pick the targets, 2. Isolate the targets, 3. Polarize the targets, and 4. Personalize the targets, which breaks social bonds into ever increasing smaller fractions that exist without healthy discussions. This creates a atmosphere of distrust with rampant misinformation, disinformation, of psychological warfare (now called 5th generation warfare).
Wherever you live, does that sound familiar? The use of the Problem, Reaction, Solution tactic used by the hierarchy is clearly obvious to any who will stop and think. What I see is a great awakening. Step one, get away from your algorithm-based information systems and look at prime and independent sources instead of the soundbite social media. Do your own critical-thinking and be a skeptic willing to ask hard questions and even more importantly be willing to hear and consider things that don’t fit your beliefs. It’s all about choice and you have that choice (again as I have emphasized many times, e.g., see link). We can choose fear, anger, hate, greed, etc., or we can choose Love, compassion, collaboration, etc. We choose. If you let your mindless and unconscious conditioning choose then don’t be surprised that the few doing the conditioning have us on the negative end of the spectrum instead of a positive, fulfilled and joyful end.
You’re here to be an authentic and self-actualized individual. That comes from a willingness to find adventure and Love in your life. Not to be a work-slave to a corrupt system. We have been conditioned to live in fear. And that keeps us trapped within an illusion of who we can truly be. “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” is a quote attributed to Joseph Campbell. “It means that one of the paths you see before you but are afraid to take ultimately leads to self-actualization, even if you have to leave the ordinary world behind. Fear of the unknown is our greatest fear, and we lose many opportunities and much of the adventure of life if we fail to support the curious explorer within us” Joseph Campbell.
I truly believe that humanity is on the cusp of a new age. Whether it is a positive one or a dark gloomy one is up to us – we get to choose by our beliefs and behaviors. Being spiritual isn’t about some namby-pamby new age kumbaya kind of living. It’s about showing up as an authentic, empowered, and sovereign individual that wants to live a fulfilled life. Spirituality is finding what it means to be human. Wherever I have travelled I have found people on the whole to be decent and caring. It’s the external circumstances and how we are conditioned to react to them that make us ‘hard.’ I don’t believe that is who we are at all.
“You don’t need to pray or meditate in order to be considered “spiritual” or have to demonstrate faith. By simply doing what you said you were going to do, you show the universe that your word can be trusted—that’s prayer. By dedicating parts of your life to service, you’re practicing oneness. By following your heart, no matter how scary it feels, you’re demonstrating faith. When you’re being as present as possible, you’re practicing mindfulness. In other words, life itself is a spiritual practice when you’re fully showing up to it.” Light Watkins
An often online used quote is: ”According to society, luxury is cars, expensive clothes, and a lavish lifestyle. The real luxuries in life: Slow mornings, freedom to choose things that matter, A good night’s sleep, peace of mind, calm and boring days, being present, and being with people you love and who love you back. These are not things to be acquired, but rather the results of a purposeful and fulfilling existence” (cannot locate the original source). Actor Ian McKellen had a wonderful short quote that applies to authenticity, “The only thing you can do about awful people is not be one of them.”
I have read about Natuve American and Indigenous peoples worldviews worldwide and especially their philosophies of living – it’s part of my interest in worldviews that drove my research of many years and my focus for a sustainable future. Society is changing and we need to be focused on what we want to see in our future. Stop giving away your power. I particularly like the Huron nations perspective about the ‘Seven Grandfather Teachings’ concerning the lessons of Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility, and Wisdom (see link for details). In their heyday, the Huron nation was a fierce and highly respected group that lived in the lower Eastern Canadian region. They were not part of the Iroquois confederacy to their south, and often clashed, but the two groups lived in harmony with the natural world and fostered similar spiritual beliefs. They clashed when the Europeans (French & British) created discord based on trade needs of the tribes.
When a hierarchical system wants to take control, they create discord. We don’t need to live that way. It is up to us. To live with the ideas of the seven grandfather teachings is not to show weakness but to show strength in your sovereignty and authenticity. Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place” Iain Thomas.
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