24 Dec 2010
by cosmicsandbox
in Uncategorized
“We don’t need a revolution in the United States. We already had one, thank you. What we need now is an American Evolution, where We the People evolve into the citizens the country’s founders dreamed of.”
Swami Beyondananda
Science, through the Human Genome Project, has recently discovered that our genes don’t control our physical and behavioral traits. This new discovery is akin to the discovery of fire! Up until now the old theory of genetic determinism imprisoned us into believing we were weak, frail victims of our heredity. “If mom died at 50, I probably will too.” Or, “My whole family is fat so I guess I just inherited those “fat genes”.
The new science called Epigenetics means “above” (epi) genetics. And “above” they went. They learned we don’t have very many more genes than lowly animals. What then accounts for the increased complexity of humans if not the genes? What influences whether or not you die at 50 like your mom or are fat like uncle George? The answer will shock you because it shocked the scientists.
First of all they discovered the nucleus wasn’t the brain of the cell that determined the health and nature of that cell. Rather, the cell’s brain was in its membrane. This is akin to the discovery of the wheel! Healthy cells in a Petri dish placed next to a dish of sick, toxic cells became toxic. They weren’t physically intermingled. It was strictly environmental influence. In cloning research, they discovered by placing neutral cells next to a dish of liver cells, the neutral cells became liver cells! The stimulus from the surrounding environment determined cell identity and not the genes.
In humans the emotions are the stimuli for our cells. Our thoughts via the brain create the emotions in our bodies. Emotions of love joy and peace build healthy cells and strengthen our immune system. Conversely the opposite emotions over time tear down the cells and weaken the immune system.
At this major crossroads as a civilization we are being gifted with this wisdom to enable us to abort a destructive mission of humanity and our planet. Our ancient ancestors knew all this viscerally of course. In our pride and arrogance we dismissed their knowledge as either too primitive, pagan or New Age woo-woo. But now we can accept it because science has proven it in the laboratory. Whee! However, on the flip side, we also have learned how some ancient civilizations destroyed themselves because they chose selfish power over selfless cooperation. They became like cancer cells that greedily take over the whole organism until they kill it. (Sounds like large corporation cells).
All of Nature including humans grow and increase on this principle of creation through cooperation. It is not survival of the fittest as Darwin proposed. It appeared that way on the surface, but upon closer examination, and with advanced technology, we now know that isn’t how life works. We must abandon all beliefs based on this violent non-cooperative model.
We must avoid horrific apocalyptic movies and books that scare the life out of us because they transform our healthy cells to toxic cells. Besides, apocalypse simply means “change”, not annihilation. The Mayan prophesy about 12/21/2012 does not say the world as a planet will cease to be. It says “business as usual” will cease because a change is happening to consciousness in all of creation. We are even seeing U-Tube videos of animals who are normally enemies playing together. Could this be a fulfillment of Isaiah 11:6 that foretell the new Heaven and the New Earth?
The implications of these new discoveries as to how life works are staggering and put us in the driver’s seat instead of the trunk. Each of us is a mini-world. We are each a self-contained universe with 50 trillion cells in one body. Most every cell has its own nervous, digestive, respiratory, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and immune system!
Imagine each of us creating an environment of peace and cooperation; joining with other like-minded souls to create a tsunami to cleanse all toxic cells from the Earth. Can we do it in time? Let’s start today.
NOTE: Information for this article is from a new book Spontaneous Evolution, Our Positive Future (and a way to get there from here) by Bruce H. Lipton and Steve Bhaerman, aka Swami Beyondananda
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12 Jun 2010
by cosmicsandbox
in Cosmic Consciousness, Cosmic Sand Box, Quantum Shifts, Spiritual Sensuality, Spiritual Transformation, Uncategorized, Unity and Oneness Consciousness
Tags: 1967, evolution of consciousness, Haight Asbury, hippies, love, magic, on the bus, peace, San Francisco, social revolution
I went on a fantastic time-travel trip down the rabbit hole to 1967 in San Francisco on a Magic Bus. Chris Hardman of Antenna Theater has created a 90 minute experience of the social revolution that launched an evolution of consciousness around the globe, the effects of which we are still processing.
The colorful Magic Bus tour starts at Union Square. It features 3D screens that periodically drop over the windows describing all the amazing and horrific events of 1967 which birthed the revolutionary summer of love. Glimpses of the city today – when the screens aren’t covering the windows – view Chinatown, the Haight, North Beach, the Financial District, Golden Gate Park’s Conservatory of Flowers ending back at Union Square.
In the process of revisiting the summer of love and all the emotions that it spawned, I was struck by how similar the summer of 2010 is to 1967. We currently are devastated by the greed, deception, fraud, unjust wars, etc., just as the youth were in the 60’s. Many then tried to make their voices heard by the establishment, but their cries fell on deaf ears and closed minds. Society was polarized. The 40-somethings were fighting to keep the ‘50’s materialistic Pleasantville mindset. It was pleasant on the surface only. Underneath it was inauthentic and toxic. Young people smelled it and rebelled.
All our young leaders who stood up for truth were killed. Despair was numbed by drugs, which eventually destroyed the benevolent mood of the summer of love and its inherent message. The movement had begun with the slogan “Make Love, Not War”. It championed the brotherhood of man, the unity of all under a banner of love with flowers as the symbol of a loving Universe. The ideas were magnificent obsessions, but were crushed as easily as flowers underfoot.
Unlike flowers, however, the everlasting gospel of Truth and Beauty cannot be crushed out of existence. It is still alive and can grow and even thrive if we awaken to hear the music. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. It wasn’t quite here yet in 1967, but it is here now in 2010. The planets are aligned and monumental changes are indeed occurring. The wind of change is more at our back now than it was in the ‘60’s. They were the lead wagon exploring a whole new consciousness on a mass scale. After 43 years we have had time to marinate in it, and it has changed the structure of our culture.
Many of the hippies that were literally “on the bus” in 1967 in San Francisco are alive and well and filling the part of mentors or sages for the awakened youth of today who are not willing to stand aside and see greedy criminals steal our country, our culture and our planet. Act II of the Summer of Love is the real deal. It is LOVE in all caps as an action verb. It is non-violence Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. style. It is awake and conscious and includes everyone from age 9 to 90.
What we have learned in forty three years is that talk is cheap. No one remembers what we say, but they never forget how we make them feel. Therefore, to effect a transformation of the world, we each have to be the change we want to see in the world. Then our very presence can lift others because we will be lighter and more loving. It isn’t what we are doing as much as it is who we are being.
In the ‘60’s many of us were running away from the realities confronting us from every direction. In the 21st century we need to be running toward reality, armed with truth and wisdom overlaid with compassion. There is strength in numbers; and therefore, it is imperative that we join and cooperate with others who share the vision.
If we make LOVE our driving creative force and the ultimate measuring stick of our progress, we can fulfill the promise of the ‘60’s. Let’s get “on the bus” and make love, not war.
Note: You may contact The Magic Bus for weekend rides throughout the summer in San Francisco, Union Square at www.antenna-theater.org
22 Apr 2010
by cosmicsandbox
in Energy Awareness, Politics, Religious Right, Uncategorized, Unity and Oneness Consciousness
Tags: debate, listen, listening, peace, reaction, Tea Bag, Tea Party Movement, Violence, wisdom
I have discovered the most amazing and inspiring philosophy at the end of the string of Yogi Tea bags. Each tea bag has a wisdom proverb attached. One of them in particular states, “Act…Don’t react.” Many folks are reacting strongly to America’s current incarnation of a Tea Party movement. But reacting just moves things in a circular pattern. It’s possible that Yogi tea bag wisdom could help change the tide.
Taking the initiative, acting positively with intention is the way we move forward as individuals and a society. When we go unconsciousness and just react all the time, we stunt our emotional and spiritual growth. We can see this happening in real time right before our eyes. Polarized camps are facing off against each other everyday, yelling platitudes at each other. No one is progressing or learning anything.
The irony is that without the mass media, we would probably discover that most of us are on the same page when it comes to many issues that face us today. We want to have peace and security for our families, and the opportunity to support ourselves comfortably. But we get all agitated and inflamed when we absorb stories of strife from all over the world. It’s okay to stop listening to the avalanche of horrible news stories that we can do nothing about.
By eliminating the negative onslaught of reactive reporting we will have time and energy for positive input. This is where Yogi Wisdom can help us. Something simple on the end of a tea bag can be profound. Here are some priceless gems to ponder:
“When we practice listening, we become intuitive.” How wise is that? Listening is a lost art in our fast paced world overloaded with distractions. But if each of us made it a point to listen more than we speak each day and truly hear others, our whole world would shift.
In addition, Yogi says, “When we practice listening, we become intuitive.” Amazing, isn’t it? We all want to be intuitive and have super insight into baffling situations. But we must “Let our hearts speak to other hearts”. (another Yogi proverb) By doing this we would be able to understand one another. Think of what a world it could be if we took these Yogi wisdom sayings to heart:
“When ego is lost, limit is lost.”
“Love has no fear and no vengeance.”
“The mind is energy; regulate it.”
“Compassion has no limit…Kindness no enemy.”
“Life is a flow of love, your participation is requested.”
These speak for themselves and don’t need commentary. However, if we don’t meditate on the truths these proverbs provide we can slide into unconscious brutish behavior. If that continues too long, we stand a good chance of destroying ourselves as well as our planet. Violence in thought, word and deed begets more violence. Wars have never solved anything, but we don’t seem to learn this fact. Wars, fighting, and disrespectful arguing only fuels hatred and fear. As individuals we can’t do much to stop world conflict, but we do control our own neck of the woods.
Our influence in this world is limited to the people we can listen to heart to heart and see face to face. If we are doing that on a daily basis, we would have a city and country full of well adjusted, happy, productive people. That may sound outrageous, but I am convinced it’s true.
The last quote above about life being a flow of love; and your participation is requested is the focal point. If we want to be in the flow of love, we must listen to each other with compassion. We must try to hear what they are saying as if we were in their shoes, so to speak. Otherwise you can’t know what a friend or colleague is communicating.
Back in the day when actual debate was in vogue, diverse opinions were able to be thoroughly examined. People were able to make informed intelligent decisions about the issues. We need to attempt to resurrect a respectful debate climate in order to move forward as a society.
Ninety-nine percent of the time when people really listen and communicate with each other, they find agreement and solutions to their differences of opinions. The destructive habit of reaction leading to violence is eradicated. Let’s take a wise action and have a Yogi Tea Party instead.
03 Aug 2009
by cosmicsandbox
in Politics, Uncategorized
Tags: Greed, Health care, Insurance companies, love, political graft and corruption, Power, Realism, Socialized Medicine, uninsured
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power we will have peace.” Jimmy Hendricks
There is hope for peace… if we learn how to listen to and really see each other. The human drive for power will rule the roost until a way is opened up within the heart to see and feel how that power affects the powerless. This point was driven home to me as I watched Bill Moyers Journal program on PBS this past weekend. A reformed and contrite CIGNA Insurance Co. executive, Wendell Potter, related how he had supported the insurance giant’s refusal to cover life threatening surgeries and treatments to increase their stockholder value.
Mr. Potter went into great detail explaining how the insurance companies use deceptive propaganda about regulated insurance calling it socialism. They lie to discredit anyone who exposes their draconian policies in an attempt to rein them in.
(You may view the entire interview on this link: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/. (You will be shocked and dismayed to hear the truth of what is really going on “under the hood” so to speak.)
What could possibly have caused Mr. Potter to do an about face and expose the almost criminal policies of his employer of many years? It turns out, he felt guided to attend a health care exposition in his home state of West Virginia while visiting family there. He assumed it would be a typical health fair with booths and free samples of health care goodies and free blood pressure testing.
However, what he saw was incredible to him. Doctors and nurses had set up tents to provide totally free care. Some even set up in the animal stalls. He saw people being treated on gurneys on the rain- soaked pavement. There were hundreds of people waiting in long lines. Some had driven long hours from surrounding states.
It dawned on him that some of these people could be folks he’d grown up with. He felt like he had been hit by a lightening bolt. He couldn’t believe he was in America! He had been so insulated in his ivory tower high rise in Philadelphia, flying on corporate jets with gold plated silverware. He realized that these poor uninsured citizens had no idea of the opulence afforded to corporate executives of health insurance companies.
In all the years he worked for CIGNA he had never come face to face with the reality of how the purging from the rolls, the raising of premiums and denying of claims had affected the average American. He said, “When you’re reporting to the financial analyst of the company all you think about are the numbers. You don’t think about individual people. You think only about meeting Wall Street’s expectations. It enables one to stay there if you don’t really think that you’re talking about and dealing with real human beings.”
After the health fair incident as he was struggling with how to reconcile his work with CIGNA and what he knew now as reality, a quote from Profiles in Courage by President John Kennedy haunted him. “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, maintain neutrality.” He knew this applied to him. He was transformed and resigned from CIGNA. Now he is telling the inside story of the mercenary tactics of the corporate giants that don’t want to lose power, and are willing to do anything to keep it.
Potter is just one man that has ‘seen the Light’ and responded with love for his fellow man. He gave up the lust for power for the love of people. He was only able to do this because he was led to SEE the reality from within his own heart. He was not badgered and criticized by activists. He was gifted the grace and space to open and take in the suffering of real people and see how his actions affected them on the ground. (Please do check out the program on PBS.)
Mr. Potter’s conversion inspired me to ponder, ‘how many more blind executives might be able to descend their ivory towers and empathize with the average American suffering under corporate greed and lust for power?’ Instead of just assuming they are all evil monsters, maybe we can encourage more of them to experience reality as Mr. Potter did. It can open the fortress a crack and let the Light shine in so the power of Love can do its perfect work.
03 May 2009
by cosmicsandbox
in Quantum Shifts, Uncategorized
Tags: 2012 prophesy, karma, Mayan Prophesy, Nostradamus, party, playacting, population explosion, reincarnation
I just had the most fantastic revelation (or illusion some may say). Someone on the radio said that when she was born in 1933 there were only 2 billion people on the whole planet. Now in 2009 there are almost 7 billion. That is an increase of 5 billion souls in less than 80 years! Quite an incredible growth curve by anyone’s standards, don’t you think?
Then I got to wondering why so many people are here now. I’ve always been asking ‘Why?’ since I was a toddler. I believe that we incarnate consciously for a purpose that our soul understands, but we seldom do. Is it possible that the prophesies of the Mayans, Hopis, Revelations, Nostradamus, etc. are true and that we are fast approaching a massive change on planet Earth around 2012? Could this be act three of the human play? Is this why everyone whose ever lived here decided to come back for the finale?
Well….I feel this is true. And because time is speeding up (or more is happening in the same amount of time, that it just seems faster) a soul can get a lot accomplished very quickly now. If one wanted to be on a fast track to soul growth this would definitely be the time to show up. I think one could work out a bunch of crappy karma in this accelerated period too, which could explain the intense distress and suffering in certain parts of the world.
My revelation continued on to the ‘after the play cast party’. I visualized billions of people gathered in large groups having a hilarious time. They were in various costumes like a cosmic masquerade party, and they were sharing what roles they had played in each others many lives over the millenia. Someones mortal enemy had been their spouse in a former life. Kings had been paupers and despots had been abused victims previously. On and on it went, and many would move to totally different groups, because they had lived as every different race. It was a joyous gathering, as you can imagine.
Shakespeare said that life is a stage and we are all players on that stage. We get caught up the play though and forget we aren’t our character. We end up wearing our costumes home and acting our role 24/7. Now that I’ve had a glimpse of how true what Shakespeare said appears to be, I look at life differently now. It really is a game we are playing here. Right now it is somewhat of a tragic plot we’re acting out, instead of a grand adventure story. But then again, life, or our play, is what we make of it. Nes Pas?
Regardless of what 2012 brings our way in the way of global changes, this period is definitely rated as the prime time to be alive on Earth. We intended to be here now for a reason. I don’t think it was to drown in fear or suffer. I think it was to expand our consciousness and realize we are on the ride of our LIFE(times)!
Part 2 later: How to relate to others in light of this revelation.
19 Dec 2008
by cosmicsandbox
in Uncategorized
Since ancient times, this solstice season has been celebrated as the return of light to the Northern Hemisphere. The Sun begins to shine longer and longer each day after December 21st. We could call this an outside–in experience as opposed to an inside-out experience.
As our ancestors grew in their awareness they began to ask “Why are we here? What is our purpose?” Taking their clues from nature, they perceived there was a pattern of creation. Everything moved in a set predetermined rhythm in a “birth – death – rebirth cycle”. They discovered that when they followed nature’s pattern they lived in harmony, were prosperous, and happy. They were “going with the flow” as it were. You could even say they were “en-lightened” because they were aware that the outside pattern was within them also. They found their lives worked so much better when the inside and outside were in alignment!
As a civilization we have made phenomenal progress in the physical outside world, even manipulating nature to our liking in many ways. Some of these manipulations are backfiring on us, which indicates we have been operating outside the perfect pattern. Likewise, we have made great strides in language and mind sciences, but have put our outer mental life above our inner soul life. This too is operating outside the perfect pattern.
One current example of how we’re doing this is that we forget that the words and symbols describing this season are not the actual inner meaning of the season. I’m referring to the battle going on between whether to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. The words Christmas and Holiday are just words. They are not an inner experience. Whether or not you have a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday comes from within you according to your understanding of the meaning of life. Enlightenment, love, joy, peace and bliss don’t come to us via words. Just saying these words doesn’t give you the experience of them.
We see the confusion between outside words and inside experience being played out between the Merry Christmas group and the Happy Holidays group…at least in the USA. Each group claims the other is forcing their beliefs on the other and ruining the spirit of the season. The Merry Christmas group believes the Happy Holidays people are persecuting Christian believers and preventing them from exercising their freedom of religion. The Happy Holidays group believes that they are damaged by having the word Christ pushed on them and preventing them from exercising their freedom from religion. It is all just two sides of the same coin – the coin of the 3D realm – life outside in or resisting the pattern of creation.
We cheat ourselves if we live our precious lives outside-in. It is almost like a slap in the face to the Creator, (whatever you may choose to name that deity) because it is denying our essence. Scripture says we are created in the image of God. Ancients spoke of us as being sparks off the Sun. We are illumined from within as is the Sun. But we are free to choose to limit ourselves and lose our peace over whether or not others say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”; and whether or not members of one faith appreciate the symbols of another faith on display.
Enlightenment (light within) is the reason for the season. Allowing the Light to shine on our inner darkness and transform it is the goal for each and every one of us if we are to embody and experience what we are created to be. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, not just human beings having an occasional spiritual experience. Each time we find ourselves tempted to get hooked on words or symbols that conflict with a belief we can catch ourselves and go within to the still center point.
It is said that people usually don’t remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel. That is living inside out. Let go and let the Light shine. It is a wonderful thing to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of each individual part of the whole.
Merry Outside, Happy Inside Christmas Holiday!
10 Aug 2008
by cosmicsandbox
in Religious commentary, Uncategorized
Tags: fundamentalism, hypocrisy, war, women's rights
Even though Jesus was an extraordinary Master, Rabbi, and Prophet, it is still important to look at his life and his teachings in light of the culture in which he was living. What he said and did was intrinsically linked to what was going on in Palestine in his day.
It is no different today. We just had the priviledge of HBO’s John Adams series which shed so much light on the real men and women who forged this nation out of a colony of Great Britain. Their decisions and political beliefs were forged by the oppressive culture of England in the 17th Century. They suffered under taxation without representation. They had fled an elitist society to find freedom from the burden of a class system determined by birth, which still exists today.
Jesus’ day was similar in many ways to our country in those early days. His people, the Jews, were also unfairly taxed by Rome without representation, and it was an extremely strict class system. The classes couldn’t intermingle at all. If you dined with someone like a tax collector you would lose any of your priveledged status in the community. Everything was based on status and rank of importance.
Just like in our society, keeping up with the Joneses was an obsession for many. People lusted for status and coveted it almost more than friendship. There were no safety nets in their society, so if you had no status and no money, you were a beggar on the streets. These are the people Jesus ran around with and taught his message of the Kindgdom of Heaven.
Rich folk came to him in the dark of night to learn what he was about. They couldn’t risk being seen with him because he had no status and ran around with prostitutes and tax collectors. He even touched lepers!
What we would think of Jesus today? He wouldn’t want to socialize with anyone who was somebody. He would be with the down-in-outers wherever he went. If you spoke against them to him, you probably wouldn’t be accepted into his band of followers. His love and compassion for the poor and un-classed (unclean) was phenomenal. He was the ONLY rabbi teaching and comingling with the outcasts and lower rungs of society.
Christianity today is so completely out of touch with Christ it is ridiculous to call it Christianity. The fundamentalists are more like the Pharisees and high priests or Jesus’ day…the ones he called white sepelchures full of dead men’s bones. They would rather see a person die than break a religious rule. They have convinced themselves that Christ would be a military general and wage war to prevent war. They are just as patriarchal as the fundamentalist Muslims. Women and their civil rights are denegrated and pushed back 100 years in their status as an equal human being. Women are taught only men have rights and they are to be submissive them.
Jesus, on the other hand, elevated women to be equal with the men. In fact, Mary Magdelene was so close to Jesus that he taught her mysteries that he didn’t share with the male diciples. This angered the men and they chose to banish her, smear her reputation as a fellow apostle reducing her to prostitute. The new Christians of the 21st century are doing the same. What would Jesus do if he returned today? Only the few would even know he was here. Everyone else is too busy doing the opposite to even notice.
15 Jun 2008
by cosmicsandbox
in Uncategorized
Tags: Caring, Entitlement, Integrity, Kind, Real Men, Tim Russert, Truth
If I could point to a single man who exemplified what a life lived INSIDE OUT would look like in our world today, it would be Tim Russert. Known for his program, Meet the Press on NBC, he was suddenly snatched from us last week. He passionately lived from his heart, which sadly gave out on him at the young age of 58 – right before Father’s Day, which is oddly significant. Fatherhood was such a vital part of him as the only son of Big Russ and as father to his only son, Luke.
His dad, Big Russ now 88, was immortalized in his book Big Russ and Me, which was all about the legacy his dad instilled in him to live and love 100% from his heart. His dad stressed one thing that Tim has lived by and used as a bench mark in raising his own son, Luke. “Always know that you are loved, but not entitled.” Holding to this truth, he remained humble, real and loving to all. He was the same man with everyone, whether a laborer or a President.
Our world is in dire need of men who, like Tim, can be strong and male and still be grounded in self knowledge so deeply that they can be soft and caring. The fact that he was so dedicated to integrity made him the “gold standard” of political and social journalism. His command of the truth exposed the counterfeits that found themselves in his presence proving the power of living from one’s heart. He was never mean or controlling. He simply and strongly pursued the truth until the interviewee revealed it.
It takes great courage and strength to hold to the “gold standard of truth” in a world awash in lies, deception and ego trips. But every single time we make the choice for truth with ourselves and others we enlarge our hearts and our world. The fact that the world press revered this trait in Tim is his legacy to us, the public he worked so hard to serve. From this we can hope that others will realize how vital it is to put truth ahead of profit in our media and corporate board rooms.
Real men are so desperately needed in our ailing world right now. We can’t tolerate any more “boy men” needing to prove themselves, using the world as their private playground for power plays and war games. This routine is part of the old patriarchy that’s been driving civilization into the ground for a few thousand years. We crave to have men who are strong but also grounded enough to live Inside Out from the heart.
I think this is possible and that it can happen quickly. Because of economic and political turmoil worldwide, people are tired of the status quo and business as usual politics. We want to believe in ourselves and our leaders. We want to honor our heartfelt convictions.
When we experience the shock of losing great men who give their lives to do the right thing we wake up. We hear a call from within to rise to a higher standard. Mediocre isn’t okay anymore. If we don’t do our best it isn’t worth doing. Every moment counts. Every person counts. There are no “accidents”. We never know when our heart will punch our ticket and tell us the trip is over.
The wakeup call is becoming louder and louder, “Make life count every moment.” But, we can be so distracted and busy that we don’t hear. A shock like Tim’s passing can be very precious and sacred, especially if we take it to heart by stopping and listening to our own hearts within.
I hope men as well as women around our country and the world will hear the message of these men’s lives, and have courage to live for truth Then they may just “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks”. Isaiah 2:4
09 Jun 2008
by cosmicsandbox
in Uncategorized
From the time we are little kids we strive to be in control. But very early on it becomes obvious that we aren’t in control. We are controlled by almost everything in our lives…parents, school, community, police on down to the bully on the playground. We don’t like it one bit. We want control and a predictable life, darn it! We believe we can create this life by force. It takes a lifetime to learn we can’t.
The need for control is built into our hard drive as human beings and is a key to our survival. Another hard wired human need is to be nurtured, which includes being listened to, accepted and understood. This need is even more vital to our thriving than food and shelter, because if one is truly loved and respected for themselves they are empowered to do almost anything! However, we can’t force someone to love and respect us.
The word empowered is the key here. The difference between empowered and enforced is huge. It is the difference between controlling and commanding. As children we are not empowered because we haven’t earned it yet. Power is bestowed. Others will willingly submit to another who is trustworthy no matter the age, sex or race. We have examples in Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and many others.
The intent for wanting control over others determines whether one will be a dictator or a diplomat, whether one will hear an opposing idea or be closed minded. If the intention to control comes from fear of losing face or security, then authoritarian measures will be used to reign others in, and prove who is boss.
But the flip side of controlling from fear is commanding from love, which overrides and transforms fear. It is a head vs. heart issue. Control is of the head (or left brain ego mind) and command is from the heart (or right brain, intuitive mind). We speak of someone “having command” of a situation. It is so much broader and comprehensive than saying someone “has control”. With control you get the feeling of great strain to hold things together that could fall apart at any second. But with command there is a peace and security that every contingency is covered, and that all will be well in the end.
We must wake up and realize controlling by force just makes what we’re resisting more persistent and bigger? Look at all the things we are at war against…drugs, poverty, terrorism, immigration. What would being in command over drugs, poverty, terrorism, etc. look like? We can find out by questioning our motives for wanting control.
To take command we must be willing to hear the opposition’s viewpoint. Why are people taking drugs? Why are people drowning in poverty? Why are individuals choosing terrorism to get their message through? Why are people risking their lives to enter our country illegally? We will never have command if we don’t question the motives for these “wars”.
The toxic part of controlling is that it can never instill trust because its source is fear. Inability to trust causes control freaks with a myriad of psychotic disorders manifesting as addictions, perversions, and fanaticism, both political and religious. When we don’t trust ourselves, we can’t trust others. Without trust, true power or command is impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!
Trust originates in the heart, not the head. We can’t talk ourselves into trusting ourselves. We can only earn that trust of ourselves by being authentic and honest with ourselves and others. Then we have command of our circumstances and have clarity for decisions.
Our biggest and only enemy that needs to be controlled is fear. It truly is the root of all evil. It takes over our minds and drowns out our heart’s wisdom, which makes us desperate to have control, which then creates more fear…the classic vicious circle.
Think about your motive the next time you find yourself wanting to control another. Knowing it won’t work, can you refrain and choose instead to empower the situation by following your heart, knowing what is the very best for all in the long run? Control can be a quick fix, but never the solution. The issue merely subsides to create a bigger problem later. Gaining command of the situation through trust and understanding transforms it. The choice is always ours.
07 Jun 2008
by cosmicsandbox
in Uncategorized
Tags: Fast Food, listening, media, over simplify, slogans, Sound Bites
Are you getting fed up with having to think, feel and say everything in a 5 second sound bite? I am. Not only is the media spitting everything out in sound bites, but it is infecting almost all our communication – even within our own heads. You’ve heard of the 5 second meditations haven’t you?!
My father always needed us to say whatever in 5 seconds or he lost interest. My kids with ADD are the same way. Maybe my father had ADD before we knew it existed. He’s 93 years old now and doesn’t listen to anything at all anymore!
I don’t think many people even realize that this dehydration of speech has happened to us. We’ve just acclimated and evolved into short attention span beings on the run. But like fast food, it puts fuel in our tank, but doesn’t satisfy the soul. We never get that FULL feeling that floods the whole Being.
Bill Moyers spoke of beware the “terrible simplifiers” on his PBS program The Journal. He was referring to the political media reducing whole speeches, sermons, articles, etc. to 5 second sound bites that inflame, distort and can even bring down an empire.
We can’t even relate to things like the Lincoln vs. Douglas debates of the 1850′s for the Presidency. People actually hung on every word, talked about it for weeks and had their own debates around the kitchen tables. Can you even imagine that happening today?
In more recent times, I recall the Grateful Dead refused to make a 3 minute record which was required in order to play on commercial radio until their one and only commercial single, Touch of Gray. Their rich culture -changing charisma couldn’t fit on a 3 minute sound bite recording! You needed their whole creative, free flowing extravaganza to effect the shift in consciousness of an entire generation.
We can’t shift the consciousness of the world today if we keep insisting on getting our wisdom from sound bites. I think that most of us blogging, or taking the time to read blogs, want to see a shift in consciousness that will help us move toward more peace and harmony on the Planet. We obviously appreciate words.
Sound bites are only one dimensional. Therefore, they provoke conflict because they evoke the opposite stance. This still only gives you two dimensional conversation that just goes back and forth forever or going circular. Real conversation and debate is three and four dimensional and provokes understanding of the others’ perspective. Then one isn’t just a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Christian, Muslim, Hindu etc. Labels don’t work. Each one is an individual who has ideas and beliefs that align with various philosophies in subtle ways.
Sound bites are rallying cries in battle. Hitler used them constantly to inflame his audiences. They stick in our minds like advertising jingles that we remember for 40 years! “ Plop, plop fizz, fizz. Oh , what a relief it is!” comes to mind. Do we really want our world run by sloganism?
I want real relationships with real people that want to exercise their minds as much as their bodies and their stomachs. I want others to listen to me long enough to understand me and what I’m trying to say. Please slow down, take a 10 second meditation (maybe more) and let’s consciously listen to each other for as long as necessary. I think our lives depend on it.
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WHAT WOULD JESUS DO – Part 2
10 Aug 2008 1 Comment
by cosmicsandbox in Religious commentary, Uncategorized Tags: fundamentalism, hypocrisy, war, women's rights
Even though Jesus was an extraordinary Master, Rabbi, and Prophet, it is still important to look at his life and his teachings in light of the culture in which he was living. What he said and did was intrinsically linked to what was going on in Palestine in his day.
It is no different today. We just had the priviledge of HBO’s John Adams series which shed so much light on the real men and women who forged this nation out of a colony of Great Britain. Their decisions and political beliefs were forged by the oppressive culture of England in the 17th Century. They suffered under taxation without representation. They had fled an elitist society to find freedom from the burden of a class system determined by birth, which still exists today.
Jesus’ day was similar in many ways to our country in those early days. His people, the Jews, were also unfairly taxed by Rome without representation, and it was an extremely strict class system. The classes couldn’t intermingle at all. If you dined with someone like a tax collector you would lose any of your priveledged status in the community. Everything was based on status and rank of importance.
Just like in our society, keeping up with the Joneses was an obsession for many. People lusted for status and coveted it almost more than friendship. There were no safety nets in their society, so if you had no status and no money, you were a beggar on the streets. These are the people Jesus ran around with and taught his message of the Kindgdom of Heaven.
Rich folk came to him in the dark of night to learn what he was about. They couldn’t risk being seen with him because he had no status and ran around with prostitutes and tax collectors. He even touched lepers!
What we would think of Jesus today? He wouldn’t want to socialize with anyone who was somebody. He would be with the down-in-outers wherever he went. If you spoke against them to him, you probably wouldn’t be accepted into his band of followers. His love and compassion for the poor and un-classed (unclean) was phenomenal. He was the ONLY rabbi teaching and comingling with the outcasts and lower rungs of society.
Christianity today is so completely out of touch with Christ it is ridiculous to call it Christianity. The fundamentalists are more like the Pharisees and high priests or Jesus’ day…the ones he called white sepelchures full of dead men’s bones. They would rather see a person die than break a religious rule. They have convinced themselves that Christ would be a military general and wage war to prevent war. They are just as patriarchal as the fundamentalist Muslims. Women and their civil rights are denegrated and pushed back 100 years in their status as an equal human being. Women are taught only men have rights and they are to be submissive them.
Jesus, on the other hand, elevated women to be equal with the men. In fact, Mary Magdelene was so close to Jesus that he taught her mysteries that he didn’t share with the male diciples. This angered the men and they chose to banish her, smear her reputation as a fellow apostle reducing her to prostitute. The new Christians of the 21st century are doing the same. What would Jesus do if he returned today? Only the few would even know he was here. Everyone else is too busy doing the opposite to even notice.