The Problem of International Unity and the Distribution of the world's riches
In the 1970’s when the Apollo astronauts journeyed to the moon and back, one of the many gifts they brought us were photos of the Earth from space. The images showed our home world as it is – without borders and separation between the land and the waters, a place for all the myriad life forms to live in harmony. The metaphor can be extended that our Earth itself is already working at unity consciousness but that we as humanity are just waking up to this potential to work in cooperation with it. It is humans that create barriers and defined borders which represent the thoughtform of separation.
For thousands of years, wherever humans have journeyed, they have claimed the land, waters and riches of the Earth for themselves. This was done with a mindset and worldview that the Earth belonged to the “separate” individual, family, tribe or nation. There was no regard or consideration that the very Earth we live on, with all its riches and abundant resources, could be shared with their fellow humans.
Here in the 21st century, with the current political and economic systems, all of the world’s resources are controlled by wealthy individuals, corporations and nations. They control and distribute these resources according to various laws, tariffs and regulations setup between nations and sell them according to whomever will pay the asking price. The issue around control of resources is not connected with the type of governmental system or of a particular industry per se, the problem lies with the fact that the resources, such as fresh water and decent land for growing are not shared with everyone, especially with those who can really use it, but can’t afford it. Although the people controlling these resources, know exactly what is available for those in need for worldwide use, these assets are controlled and used as something for negotiation instead of freely sharing it. With the knowledge that these resources are essential for daily living of the average person in all nations, those who have a wealth of resources within their borders are not owners but are custodians of these riches and should hold them in trust for their fellowmen. For it is through service, giving and sharing that fosters an attitude of cooperation and goodwill. When these higher values are applied, conflict and separatism are negated.
Where there is an uneven distribution of the natural resources, such as through hoarding and greed or depletion, a situation ensues in which there is an unsettling tension, that breeds disease and conflict. When there is freedom from want, one of the major causes of war will disappear. As a result, a stability between nations will follow and the potential for building world unity and peace will be established. Until the Western nations, who control a large percentage of the world’s resources, in collaboration with the developing nations, have solved the economic problem and have realized that the resources of the earth belong to no one nation but to humanity as a whole, there will be no peace. It is in the interests of all nations, as a matter of international security to distribute the world’s resources in a fair and impartial manner.
The Monied Interests and the Dark Center
Looking back literally thousands of years, humanity has moved from an agrarian to a post-industrial mode of living where materialism has become king and the allure for consumer goods has been made the primary desire of everyone’s dreams. This great glamour and love of the form nature is being countered by the “Hierarchy [who] is working at this time to bring about the fecundation of the race by the cosmic principle of love, so that love and intellect can proceed hand in hand and thus balance each other”. (EP II. p. 576) The Tibetan further describes that:
“….on the astral and mental planes centers exist which are called "dark centers" because the emphasis of their activity is upon the material aspect of manifestation and upon the activity of material substance; all energy is subordinated to purely selfish purpose. As I have before stated, the Forces of Light work with the soul, hidden in every form. They are concerned with group purposes and with the founding of the kingdom of God on earth. The dark forces work with the form side of expression and with the founding of a centre of control which will be theirs entirely and which will subdue all the living forms in all kingdoms to their peculiar
behests”. (Esoteric Psychology II., p. 576-577)
The new group of world servers (NGWS), which includes men and women of goodwill of all nations have made great strides “on the periphery” of humanity, by showing us that cooperation and “working out differences” is better than conflict and that sharing of the world’s resources, if done wisely is better than hoarding. While many people are talking about great potentials for humanity’s future, the real paradigm shift for change must happen at the core of the human soul. What will it take to change this? The dark forces of separatism and selfishness are thwarting efforts for bringing lasting change for preserving the environment, e.g. by having certain nations block a treaty to control greenhouse gases for political and economic reasons. Some of the early history of blocking positive change was in back in the 1970s, when the United States government missed a major opportunity for limiting pollution by the greatest industrial polluters in the country. Instead of applying controls and regulations that would have strongly curbed pollution from many industries such as automotive, trucking, coal processing, and agriculture, lobbyists from these very same industries put up blocks citing the hardships they would suffer as a result. In the end, their lobbyists won. This has since become a blow to the environmental movement and effected countries around the world. The effects of this decision are felt to this day in the halls of the US Congress. Looking at the larger picture, had the US strongly regulated industry by imposing pollution controls, this would have set the example for the coming decades that the US was serious about protecting the environment and many nations would have followed the lead of the United States. So now, over a generation later, the pollution in the world has become much worse, and the World still lacks a comprehensive treaty to limit greenhouse gases.
Other examples of the few effecting the greater whole are those individuals and groups blocking negotiations for peace between nations, such as seen in the Middle East. Another is the global arms industry where wealthy nations freely trade arms and weapons as just another commodity for subsistence. The effects of anything from hand guns, to rifles, to grenades to weapons of mass destruction, such as bio weapons and nuclear bomb components are being shipped and sold around the world daily. There is no accountability for what happens resulting from trading/selling arms to individuals and nations. The result is a world constantly living in tension and fear. Who will strike next and with what weapon is on the minds of hundreds of millions of people daily. These and many more are examples of great battles being waged on the astral and physical planes. It is the forces of darkness that seek to control humanity by fostering hatred, aggression and separativeness, whereas the Hierarchy counters by empowering the NGWS and the men and women of goodwill with the energies of love, selfless sharing and synthesis. They seek always to bring people together to resolve differences and see the larger picture.
Another major issue that is largely dismissed internationally is overpopulation and resource depletion. Both of these two issues are related. As the population increases, regardless of culture, then “extra” resources, such as food, housing, medical needs, fresh water and land needs become more in demand. This results inevitably in a depletion of resources and puts a greater price on goods and services that in turn makes things more expensive and scarce. The Tibetan said:
“….millions of souls have been brought into incarnation who were never intended at this time to incarnate and achieve exoteric manifestation. This fact is largely responsible for much of the present economic distress and for the modern planetary dilemma. The economic situation and the necessity to provide for the unduly large population of the planet lies behind much of the aggression and greed of the nations down the ages, and for the effort being made today as never before to provide better and more adequate living conditions. War has consequently been the inevitable result of this undue and unlimited propagation of the human species.”
Education in the New Age page, p.135
Among the normal intercourse between nations and cultures, great efforts are being made by those of the diplomatic community, people from various industries and average men and women around the world acting as citizen-diplomats. Whereas we can say these people are the true peace makers, fundamental change at the core of humanity still hasn’t happened. Today the NGWS, the NGOs and groups at all levels of society in every nation, are showing a vision of right human relations which must become the standard for the future of humanity. These people and groups are exposing corruption and exploitation and they are enlightening the public on higher principles and values for the coming new age. Although the NGWS are working tirelessly around the world on behalf of the common man, “selfish opposition has rendered their work futile and the monied interests in many countries have negated their efforts”. The Tibetan states:
“The corrupt politics and the greedy ambitious planning of so many of the world's leading men has long been happening due to the fact that spiritually minded men and women have not assumed the leadership of the people. They have left the power in the wrong hands and permitted the selfish and the undesirable to lead.” Problems of Humanity p. 168
It is obvious that religious, governmental nor economic entities have had little interest in helping humanity progress from a materialistic consumer-based mentality to a system where resources are intelligently and wisely shared throughout the world. With the current and unspoken mentality: “we must support the economic interests or the corporations at all costs”, lobbyists from these industries are allowed to freely set legislation and dominate the political and economic agendas of our democratic nations. They are controlling the highest levels of government. Because the monied interests are so vocal and have vast sums of money to influence legislators through lobbyists, corruption has long since set in and democracy has been undermined.
The numerous economic organizations that control the world’s resources such as the World Economic Council and Forum, the G8, and the G24, must free themselves from fraudulent politics, capitalistic influence, devious scheming and make the resources of the earth free for the use of all humanity. An enlightened public opinion will make the decisions of the economic council practical and possible. Sharing and cooperation must be taught instead of greed and competition. This new education will require a major realignment in understanding and expressed cooperation. Their united voice will be heard on behalf of right human relations.
These “economic interests” may have the power but possess little vision and are not comprehending the power of evolutionary change that is sweeping the planet. For the progress of humanity, it is essential that the old ways, whether political, religious or economic give way to more progressive ideas, ideals and understanding. Looking at how humans have conducted their affairs with each other for thousands of years in these different areas, it is obvious they will not change easily unless outside forces or another entity proves even stronger. The problems that have been building for many years around the world’s changing climate and environmental pollution are likely to be that very entity and ironically, are causing nations to come together to solve the problem.
Climate Change
The problem of international unity is not just an issue of governments and industry being greedy and not sharing the world’s resources. The problem has now reached the point where these very entities may be undermined by radical changes in the climate. Already in many parts of the world, the climate is changing and dramatically effecting people lives, such as through famine, drought and flooding. The changes are significant enough, that unpredictable weather is making regions in Asia and Africa virtually unlivable. This leads to social unrest and threatens to destabilize governments. There is a consensus among many of the world’s scientists, that the Earth’s climate is going through some type of change and they are projecting for it to get much worse.
Over the last hundred or more years, man has contributed considerably to the increase of greenhouse gases. This is due mostly to industries and vehicles polluting the air by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. While it is still not clear yet whether man is the only cause or whether its because of a natural Earth cycle - or both, changes are nevertheless happening globally. In just the last 30 years alone there has been an upsurge of earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, glacier melt, etc. around the world. These are dramatic harbingers of change, which will severely impact people and communities around the world, and do not show any signs of abating.
Up to this point, many industries and governments around the world continue with a “business as usual” approach and do not seem to take seriously the effects that climate change and the destabilization it will cause in both governments and the world’s economy. On the other hand, there is an increasingly number of governments, both Western and from the developing nations that are awakening to the call and are pushing for tough regulations on industry to curb greenhouse emissions. Most of these countries are signatories to an international climate control treaty that would severely curtail greenhouse emissions and lessen man’s footprint on the environment over the coming decades. But this action is meeting with great resistance from the greatest polluting nations like the United States, India and China. They are unwilling to sign on to a treaty, knowing that to do so would mean big changes on how industry in their nations would operate, particularly the largest polluters.
Unless governments and industry leaders who are controlling the world’s resources and generating the most pollution come to an agreement, such as by signing on to a comprehensive international treaty to cut greenhouse emissions and change past capitalistic practices that demand resources to maintain our materialistic lifestyle, that within the next 25-50 years, the world’s economy will be severely impacted. Arguably, the issue of climate change alone could force industry and governments to form alliances and deal with the issues of overpopulation, resource depletion and free up the existing world’s resources to help those regions of the world most impacted. Through international cooperation and the sharing of resources, the effects of climate change can be minimized.
Solutions
Sharing and fairly distributing the world’s resources is a concept and an ideal with practical application. If we change from a materialistic/competitive focus to a sharing of the world’s resources or transform the world from fossil-fuel based economies (which are damaging the environment) to using alternative energies, then humanity will have made positive steps for ensuring its survival for generations to come. With the understanding that the issues of overpopulation, resource depletion, corporate greed and climate change are causing great disharmony throughout humanity, the time to act and effect positive change is now.
However, at present no master plan exists or any definitive solution that would give the world immediate relief. To those who are spiritually minded, advocating cooperation, goodwill and sharing of the earth’s resources with all nations will go a long way for solving ameliorating these seemingly intractable problems. In many ways, humanity will be guided by the foresight of those individuals who clearly define the problems which face us. This is already happening in many countries by educating the public and government officials on the dangers that climate change poses and its effects on international unity and stability, or on the risks of allowing the capitalists and corporations of the world to set economic policy and further damage the ecology of the planet through over production. In other ways, humanity is learning the difficult lessons that leaders should have acted upon much sooner. Examples were cited earlier on the failure of not reigning in the corporate polluters. Another way for real change to happen, is for those leaders to come to power (who cannot be bought off by industry lobbyists) who are truly acting on behalf of the public and bring to light the concept that the sharing of the earth’s resources and curbing of pollution benefits all people and the environment in the long term. The Tibetan said:
“Only a keen realization of the situation and of the sources of the trouble will serve to impulse mankind to take the needed action. Unity, peace and security will come through the recognition—intelligently assessed—of the problems which have led to the present world situation, and then through the taking of those wise, compassionate and understanding steps which will lead to the establishing of right human relations, to the substitution of cooperation for the present competitive system, and by the education of the masses in every land as to the nature of true goodwill. “ Problems of Humanity p. 173
When the leaders of all nations awaken to the fact that non-action brings its own consequences, and begin to think and plan for the long term good of all humanity, they will realize how they can change the “business as usual” mentality. Unity, peace and security for all nations, both great and small, will not to be attained by following the guidance of the greedy capitalist in any nation. It will be leaders from all fields, including politicians and religious leaders and those from the fields of science that must also come to understand that the excesses of today and the squandering or depletion of the world’s resources by the selfish few, damaging the environment and fomenting war among neighbors through arms sales will have lasting repercussions on future generations. This lesson is being learned, albeit slowly.
But all is not gloomy. In helping to protect the environment, there are many visionary leaders in today’s world that are making a difference by bringing awareness to the dangers of non-action and helping to create a positive vision for international unity. Here are several people that are making a positive impact on world consciousness.
Former President Michael Gorbachev is one of the visionaries. While leader of the Soviet Union in the 1980’s he saw first hand how agriculture in his own country had destroyed millions of crop land with chemical pollutants. In 1986, he saw how radioactive pollution of Chernobyl damaged the environment and forced his nation to finally drop the secrecy of the disaster and tell the world what really happened there. This was part of his legacy of openness. After he left office, in the 1990’s he became an international recognized leader in ecology and protecting the environment. He used his prestige and experience to launch numerous initiatives, e.g. Green Cross International. This organization has become a worldwide environmental-protection body that looks at problems in the environment from climate change to chemical contamination. He also was one of the major sponsors of the Earth Charter.
Former Vice-President Al Gore, is a man who has been part of US politics since the 1970’s. During much of this time as US Senator, Vice President of the US and later as private citizen, he focused much of his energies on environmental issues. Gore is now the author of several books, mostly on the environment. His movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” won him an Oscar for best documentary and in 2007 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for work on the environment. In his most recent book “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis”, he advocates using alternative energies, e.g. battery technology, wind power and solar technology (photovoltaics) to solve many of the problems of greenhouse emissions. Gore, through his background in politics, knows that it is lawmakers and business leaders in all countries who must come together and create a binding global climate treaty. In his new book, he astutely noted that it is the “…psychological barriers that keep most Americans from taking the threat of climate change seriously”. Al Gore continues working to bring people together internationally, talking about the issues that divide us on the environment and presenting viable solutions.
Michael Moore is a documentary film maker and political advocate. He has made several films, e.g. “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “Bowling for Columbine” and lately “Capitalism – A Love Story”. All of his films seek to expose corruption of the government and corporations and examine the issues that divide us. In a recent quote promoting his new movie and identifying an action plan everyone can participate in, he said about sharing resources and pollution:
“Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. ... We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don't contribute to climate change....”.
Taking in consideration the ecological, political, social and economic problems, the majority of humanities problems will not be overcome unless we have leaders with vision and essentially untouchable from an ethical, political and economic point of view. Leaders that are Initiates, who can and will continue to make a difference but can even they really manifest the Plan alone? It seems that a number of initiates need to be simultaneously in key places, in key industries, all over the world to help influence (100th Monkey scenario) and make the difference for aiding the Masters in manifesting the Plan. It should be noted that initiates come in different types; those whom are conscious of the knowledge of their own abilities and the Plan and what they can do and those who have a strong understanding of the Plan and how to carry it out but are not necessarily conscious of themselves esoterically. This in itself may not matter too much. In the case of the work of the Initiates, its the successful working out of the Plan is all that really matters.
Through the steady, consistent and organized work of the NGWS, an understanding on these many issues for creating world unity and eventually the anchoring of the Plan on the Earth will be realized and brought about. These people stand for right human relations and educating of the public on the nature and power of goodwill. Their work on the side of human welfare will create such as force of public opinion that leaders, both corporate and governmental will eventually be forced to listen and comply. On an ongoing basis, the general public must be educated that internationalism, preserving all cultures, care for the environment and world unity, are based on goodwill, understanding and cooperative interdependence. This is a legacy and heritage we entrust to all the generations to come.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Advertising and the Role of Advertising
Advertising – Its influence on Humanity
By David E. Hopper
The platform of the leading ideologies is not necessarily wrong or wicked; it is the imposition by force and by a police state of an ideology, and its use by powerful men or groups for their own benefit, plus the keeping of the people in blind ignorance so that no free choice is theirs—which is fundamentally wicked and evil.
The Rays and the Initiations, p. 744
One of the most influential people in the 20th century was not a politician, economist, General or scientist but the founder of public relations. Edward Bernays, was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and the founder of public relations in the early part of the 20th century. He took his uncle’s ideas on people’s repressed unconscious and subconscious desires, and changed how the advertising industry operates. This is an industry which largely exists on manipulating people to buy products and services they don’t really need. In the 1920’s, the success of this concept quickly got the attention of corporations on Wall Street, the US government and the CIA. His ideas were so successful that even Joseph Goebbels (Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda) of Nazi Germany from 1933-45 studied and used his methods for manipulating people through propaganda.
Edward Bernays has long since gone but what is his legacy? While Bernays himself was not a important historical figure per se, his ideas continue to impact anybody who looks at and observes movies, news media, advertising in any form, spokes-persons from governments around the world and of course politicians. In many cases, these various mediums and people are wanting to influence the public for buying a certain idea, product or service, which directly impacts their free wills. The skilled unscrupulous public speaker and advertiser will take advantage of people’s weakest points, such as greed and desire. They attempt to sway them to do what they want. It’s a problem that keeps people, to include our youth, to be interested in violent media, such as video games, TV, movies and print media that prey on peoples desire for more violence. The cosmetic and fashion industries keep telling people that they will improve their self image with this cosmetic or that fashion. The manufacturers or cars, truck and SUVs constantly say you need to have this new gadget or feature. The tobacco industry continues to tell us that we need to have this cigarette to look cool. The junk food manufacturers tell you that in order to have fun you must consume our product, etc. Perhaps, the only value that advertising really has is to simply inform the public that a product or service actually exists, and let the consumer make up their own mind?
For decades, the desire body in the average person has been exploited by the advertising industry. Through a continual insatiable appetite for more products, capitalists are naturally responding to the public’s wants, needs and desires. This appetite, however has serious karmic consequences on the environment as corporations strive to meet the consumers wants, they are depleting the Earth’s resources and creating more pollution. This consequence, although in the mainstream consciousness and largely acknowledged by science, has yet to be brought under control. From this must come the realization that consumerism can’t maintain its current pace if we want a vital and prosperous civilization for our children and for generations to come.
So what is at stake here? The greatest casualty in this discussion on advertising and its impact is ultimately the truth that lets us contemplate just how free we really are. If people’s desire bodies (lower manas and emotional bodies) can be manipulated cleverly and easily into buying an idea or product that in most cases they don’t really need, then we will continue to maintain a materialistic culture bent on using up as many resources on the planet as possible. We don’t have to go very far to see part of the truth that’s lost here is that the culture of consumerism, which exists in virtually every country in the world, is destroying our environment (the astral and physical plane). Consumerism encourages people to continue to buy, go into debt, not to recycle, and even to the point of pressuring our children in schools to train for becoming more “successful” in a competitive in a materialistic world at the cost of their own health and happiness. The drive for procuring more materialistic gain has not made our civilization any happier.
With the knowledge that our free wills and desire bodies can easily be swayed, we have a very insightful window into the nature of what drives consumerism, materialism or even our political and moral views. If our expressed (or unexpressed) unconscious and subconscious desires do indeed exist, then it is incumbent on us, as “conscious” members of humanity to persuade our leaders in the financial, media and governmental sectors to neutralize the power of the advertising / propaganda machine tactics and promote the concepts of right ethics and right values. We know of the negative aspects of advertising have on humanity but are there positive applications?
Using similar techniques as advertisers, the public is frequently informed by citizen action groups and/ or the government on events or things effecting their health or environment through public service announcements (PSAs). A major benefit of PSAs is to inform the public about services available from local governments and through different community efforts. Examples range from protecting people’s health by broadcasting news on air quality for a certain city region to informing the public about the next city council meeting. In this way, the PSA can act as a from of education. One of the best examples of a PSA is used to inform the public about the dangers of cigarette smoking. Since corporations of the tobacco industry have been exposed as deliberately hiding the fact that smoking is detrimental to the health of the public for literally decades. Strong support from government and the public sectors for over 15 years has severely curtailed the tobacco industry's ability to sell their products in the US. Now, virtually every state and a large majority of cities in the US have smoking bans at restaurants and pubic places. Another positive use of advertising is to facilitate a discussion on the growing movement of not selling or promoting unhealthy food, such as the junk food industries promoting sugar and fattening foods in schools. The issue? Do we want to continue allowing obesity in children and undermining their health? The ideal here is for all industries and government to take the initiative and protect the public's health.
When speaking about advertising used in the political process, just in the last 10 years, the Internet has been used by clever people to sway people’s opinions politically in the US and many other countries around the world, through blogs. Both blogs and certain politically-minded organizations have become politically active in informing the public about certain issues or a people in the news. Also, political candidates from Ukraine and Mexico and other countries for example, have hired political campaign operatives from the United States to run their campaigns in the hope conducting a successful election.
We’ve seen that both advertisers and PSAs inform us about who we are and things they want us to focus our attention on. The greater responsibility, however is that they need to help us make informed decisions without outside coercion. The issue of advertising and how its abused, impinges on the spiritual principle of free-will. Through the public's informed choices and by their expression of free-will, governments are compelled to change laws that protect the citizenry and the well-being of the environment. We see this in America and the EU through their efforts of addressing social and political issues in their nations. On a higher note, it is incumbent on esotericists to have a firm understanding of their own ability towards helping humanity. Through Triangles, Units of Service and meditation our own form of persuasion, that of invoking the Plan, is helping humanity be lifted from the thoughts of the lower mental plane and its limitations.
By David E. Hopper
The platform of the leading ideologies is not necessarily wrong or wicked; it is the imposition by force and by a police state of an ideology, and its use by powerful men or groups for their own benefit, plus the keeping of the people in blind ignorance so that no free choice is theirs—which is fundamentally wicked and evil.
The Rays and the Initiations, p. 744
One of the most influential people in the 20th century was not a politician, economist, General or scientist but the founder of public relations. Edward Bernays, was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and the founder of public relations in the early part of the 20th century. He took his uncle’s ideas on people’s repressed unconscious and subconscious desires, and changed how the advertising industry operates. This is an industry which largely exists on manipulating people to buy products and services they don’t really need. In the 1920’s, the success of this concept quickly got the attention of corporations on Wall Street, the US government and the CIA. His ideas were so successful that even Joseph Goebbels (Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda) of Nazi Germany from 1933-45 studied and used his methods for manipulating people through propaganda.
Edward Bernays has long since gone but what is his legacy? While Bernays himself was not a important historical figure per se, his ideas continue to impact anybody who looks at and observes movies, news media, advertising in any form, spokes-persons from governments around the world and of course politicians. In many cases, these various mediums and people are wanting to influence the public for buying a certain idea, product or service, which directly impacts their free wills. The skilled unscrupulous public speaker and advertiser will take advantage of people’s weakest points, such as greed and desire. They attempt to sway them to do what they want. It’s a problem that keeps people, to include our youth, to be interested in violent media, such as video games, TV, movies and print media that prey on peoples desire for more violence. The cosmetic and fashion industries keep telling people that they will improve their self image with this cosmetic or that fashion. The manufacturers or cars, truck and SUVs constantly say you need to have this new gadget or feature. The tobacco industry continues to tell us that we need to have this cigarette to look cool. The junk food manufacturers tell you that in order to have fun you must consume our product, etc. Perhaps, the only value that advertising really has is to simply inform the public that a product or service actually exists, and let the consumer make up their own mind?
For decades, the desire body in the average person has been exploited by the advertising industry. Through a continual insatiable appetite for more products, capitalists are naturally responding to the public’s wants, needs and desires. This appetite, however has serious karmic consequences on the environment as corporations strive to meet the consumers wants, they are depleting the Earth’s resources and creating more pollution. This consequence, although in the mainstream consciousness and largely acknowledged by science, has yet to be brought under control. From this must come the realization that consumerism can’t maintain its current pace if we want a vital and prosperous civilization for our children and for generations to come.
So what is at stake here? The greatest casualty in this discussion on advertising and its impact is ultimately the truth that lets us contemplate just how free we really are. If people’s desire bodies (lower manas and emotional bodies) can be manipulated cleverly and easily into buying an idea or product that in most cases they don’t really need, then we will continue to maintain a materialistic culture bent on using up as many resources on the planet as possible. We don’t have to go very far to see part of the truth that’s lost here is that the culture of consumerism, which exists in virtually every country in the world, is destroying our environment (the astral and physical plane). Consumerism encourages people to continue to buy, go into debt, not to recycle, and even to the point of pressuring our children in schools to train for becoming more “successful” in a competitive in a materialistic world at the cost of their own health and happiness. The drive for procuring more materialistic gain has not made our civilization any happier.
With the knowledge that our free wills and desire bodies can easily be swayed, we have a very insightful window into the nature of what drives consumerism, materialism or even our political and moral views. If our expressed (or unexpressed) unconscious and subconscious desires do indeed exist, then it is incumbent on us, as “conscious” members of humanity to persuade our leaders in the financial, media and governmental sectors to neutralize the power of the advertising / propaganda machine tactics and promote the concepts of right ethics and right values. We know of the negative aspects of advertising have on humanity but are there positive applications?
Using similar techniques as advertisers, the public is frequently informed by citizen action groups and/ or the government on events or things effecting their health or environment through public service announcements (PSAs). A major benefit of PSAs is to inform the public about services available from local governments and through different community efforts. Examples range from protecting people’s health by broadcasting news on air quality for a certain city region to informing the public about the next city council meeting. In this way, the PSA can act as a from of education. One of the best examples of a PSA is used to inform the public about the dangers of cigarette smoking. Since corporations of the tobacco industry have been exposed as deliberately hiding the fact that smoking is detrimental to the health of the public for literally decades. Strong support from government and the public sectors for over 15 years has severely curtailed the tobacco industry's ability to sell their products in the US. Now, virtually every state and a large majority of cities in the US have smoking bans at restaurants and pubic places. Another positive use of advertising is to facilitate a discussion on the growing movement of not selling or promoting unhealthy food, such as the junk food industries promoting sugar and fattening foods in schools. The issue? Do we want to continue allowing obesity in children and undermining their health? The ideal here is for all industries and government to take the initiative and protect the public's health.
When speaking about advertising used in the political process, just in the last 10 years, the Internet has been used by clever people to sway people’s opinions politically in the US and many other countries around the world, through blogs. Both blogs and certain politically-minded organizations have become politically active in informing the public about certain issues or a people in the news. Also, political candidates from Ukraine and Mexico and other countries for example, have hired political campaign operatives from the United States to run their campaigns in the hope conducting a successful election.
We’ve seen that both advertisers and PSAs inform us about who we are and things they want us to focus our attention on. The greater responsibility, however is that they need to help us make informed decisions without outside coercion. The issue of advertising and how its abused, impinges on the spiritual principle of free-will. Through the public's informed choices and by their expression of free-will, governments are compelled to change laws that protect the citizenry and the well-being of the environment. We see this in America and the EU through their efforts of addressing social and political issues in their nations. On a higher note, it is incumbent on esotericists to have a firm understanding of their own ability towards helping humanity. Through Triangles, Units of Service and meditation our own form of persuasion, that of invoking the Plan, is helping humanity be lifted from the thoughts of the lower mental plane and its limitations.
Conscious Awareness and the Role of the Observer
Conscious Awareness and The Role of Observer
By David E. Hopper
One doesn’t have to look very far to find crisis after crisis facing humanity. With the Ashrams and the new group of world severs all severely impacted, we are faced with the reality that individually and collectively we as humanity must make “right” choices to ensure our survival. Will enough of us wake up and realize that the problems and solutions we seek are no further than the realm of our own conscious awareness? When seeking answers, the disciple on the path learns to take into consideration what is happening in both his inner and outer environments as part of his whole field of awareness. Sometimes his response may be just to observe. As a “consciously aware” disciple, a larger point to consider, is how can he best learn to equip his mind for service? He will have to step out of his normal thinking and critically examine himself by asking the following questions: “Who am I”; or “What is my relationship with “that situation”, person or group? “Can I practice discrimination, and am I unattached to an outcome or will I be drawn in and lose my sense of self and thus thwart any chance for meaningful service?”
In this article, I will describe and develop an understanding of critically examining the aspirant’s and disciple’s role in becoming conscious of his standing behind what he does, says and thinks. It's important to examine why a disciple needs to tune into his “real” Self and become a conscious observer in all that he does. This is related to directly connecting with the soul and experiencing a “knowingness” of how to function in the world of the personality and the world of the soul simultaneously.
On the path of initiation, both occultists and esotericists understand that the world and the universe is an ever changing environment. Barbara Marx Hubbard said: “Our crisis of seeing humanity as a whole, is the birth of a universal humanity capable of co-evolving and co-creating with spirit”. The emphasis here is on “crisis”. For this is what happens when one begins to directly interact with his/her true and higher self.
Since the disciple stands midway between both the higher and lower worlds, his consciousness also identifies and evolves with it. Evolution in consciousness involves changes, not just with our bodies but our emotions and thoughts too. Perhaps, the disciple had been experiencing a crisis, which was expressed as a feeling or tension in one or more of the mental, emotional and physical sheaths for an extended period of time? By staying present with the tension, the disciple can become self-evolved and the agent of his own change. Keep in mind too, that humanity, just as the disciple is part of an ever-changing world – both physically and changes in its own collective consciousness. Crisis in anyone’s life is a challenging process to go through. On the spiritual path, crisis can also be seen as an opportunity to either stay where you’re at and not progress (or grow) or embrace a new orientation and paradigm in consciousness.
Teilhard de Chardin, the philosopher-scientist in the early 20th century believed that since the beginning of primordial evolution there has been a kind of embedded divine-cosmic intelligence or encoded information in all matter. This divine consciousness, for mankind would ultimately become the "thinking layer of the earth," which Chardin called the noosphere. Later in the 20th century, James Lovelock proposed the "Gaia Hypothesis" which suggests that the Earth is actually a living being, a colossal biological super-system. In the wisdom teachings, it's called Sunat Kumara. Keep in mind that all humanity is part of this living being, which we also call Earth or Gaia. As our consciousness expands and grows, so too is the Earth effected and vice versa.
Within the plane of the mind in any 24 hour day, we all experience multiple states of consciousness. For approximately 8 hours every night, we sleep and experience the dream state. For the other 16 hours, we go between our waking consciousness and our day-dream state. For the average person, who responds to only the outer world using his 5 senses, he pays little attention to the inner world of the imagination, dreams and other phenomena. The disciple knows that when he acknowledges thoughtforms, feelings, and intuitive hits from the higher mind, that a number of things can happen. First, by being the “conscious observer” in this inner realm of the abstract mind, he can use these as tools in service. Second, by observing what is happening in the outer plane environment, he can decide how to prevent or offset astral tendencies. Through these actions, the disciple’s consciousness is expanded, wisdom is eventually achieved and the teachings are made practical.
In a disciple’s experience will come times where he or she has been or is going through feelings of “offness” in consciousness, although non-descript, can be physically and emotionally unsettling. This “offness” might be simply feel like a “heaviness or malaise” in the lower sheaths. Indeed, the disciple might not even know where the feeling comes from. Here we’re not talking about the obvious “identified” pain or aches in the emotional or physical forms caused by doing an activity you’re not used to doing. This experience can be over time, likened to “going through something”. Perhaps, these feelings are related to one’s particular ray and astrological makeup? Regardless, this is usually felt on the emotional and mental levels. Why would this experience be significant? It can be significant only if the disciple learns from it. It's important to state that the problems the personality goes through can be likened to initiation, which is a growth and process in consciousness over time. By being consciously aware through meditation and contemplation and by studying the dynamics of the stress, one can deduce much insight as to the workings of one’s own inner character and development. If the disciple can step back and observe his processes, he might see how he participated in the situation and note what prevailing energies and forces are present. Perhaps also ask: “Who was involved and why and what did they represent?”
After the disciples’ gone through a significant change in consciousness, he knows on a deeper level that he just went through something as his outlook has shifted. This process can be over a period time ranging from days to months or even lifetimes. It can be likened to a cooking process deep in consciousness. But after the process has peaked, the disciple may be tested by the soul to confirm that he’s really learned from it. He may have lingering feelings or thoughts of how he did things before, but a knowingness that a shift took place is felt within? He’s “moved on” and is now in the new space or mindset ready to take on the next challenge. Although, a heightened sense of awareness is experienced from soul contact, his inner perception will still need honing. This is reminiscent of the affirmation from Sagittarius: "I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another".
In the mind’s subjective realm, a disciple’s best tools for becoming a conscious observer are:
• Knowledge – this can be obtained from intellectual study, or from one’s own experience, such as through introspection leading to understanding from the soul.
• Intuition – sensing what and why you are doing something and determining the source of the issue in question.
• Disidentification / Identification – To become the conscious observer, the disciple first must dis-identify and stand free and clear form the thoughts of others, including his own. Lastly, he must identify with the awareness or consciousness, which is the observer.
• Discrimination – this is a process of stepping back and observing; learning to make conscious choices between the pairs of opposites, for example right / wrong or appropriate vs. inappropriate. The disciple may ask: “do I see this situation in stark terms or are there shades of gray?”….In short, wise consideration is merited here.
The Probationer and Applied Self Control
The spiritual path is a path of transformation. Before deep transformation can take place, the aspirant either consciously or unconsciously places him or herself on a path of learning self-control over maya, glamour and illusion. This is called the Probationary Path. Initially, the lower tendencies of the personality to overcome are:
• Mental – selfish and separative thoughts
• Emotional - to include base desires, fear and anger
• Physical form and it's cravings
At this stage, this is “probationary” in the sense of how the disciple takes his initial steps on the path. He must learn responsibility and practice self-control of his thoughts, feelings and actions, which will pave the way toward preparation for greater expansions of consciousness and service. A probationer might take himself outside of his comfort zone and take risks in an effort to grow spiritually.
The disciple will not have mastered their lower tendencies until much later on, as this is an ongoing process, which can last lifetimes. The control and transformation of one’s lower tendencies are central to a disciple’s initial development and growth. Self-observance of his “lower tendencies” also form an analysis of the “dark side” of his personality.
Things encountered along the path - Dark tendencies of the Personality
On the spiritual path, the disciple is constantly facing himself. Although it is preferable to feel the love and joy of soul contact, the reality is that joy is not always present. In fact, the soul’s energy ebbs and flows until after a certain level of purification takes place and continuity of consciousness sets in. Just as we purge toxins from our physical form for cleansing and healing, so too is it necessary to also purge the mental and emotional nature of “dark” and selfish tendencies. When Carl Jung used the term “shadow nature”, he was referring to a person’s unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. Jung said the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, has a tendency to turning a personal inferiority into a perceived moral imperfection in someone else.
As a conscious observer on the emotional-astral plane, where we spend most of our time, there are at least three main “dark” tendencies that every disciple must eventually confront and master before passing on to higher levels of consciousness. These energies keep the aspirant and disciple attached to the lower planes and block out the higher energies of the Soul. These are:
• Anger – This includes, hate, avarice, deliberate selfish behavior, which poisons the love and heart energy from the soul
• Mis-applied desire: e.g. sexual energy – In an unbalanced state, will cause aggressive feelings and overreaching desire; besides sexual imbalance, eating disorders and can be involved as they are related to physical desire and cravings.
• Fear – can work both ways by either paralyzing the student from moving forward on the path or interestingly enough it can also be a motivator when courage in combination with conscious awareness of what needs to happen in the moment is present.
Suffice it to say that any of these energies can handicap the disciple on the path especially when working in the inner realm as the observer.
Dealing with the Dark Side
Our consciousness and awareness deals with many thoughts and emotions every day. We all have or have had dark and sometimes dangerous thoughts - thoughts of selfishness, hate and prejudice. These are thoughts that separate us not only from each other but from our deeper spiritual connection with the soul. These thoughts are not “who we are” but can obviously influence us. Most people that have these dark thoughts don’t act on them, then there are others that do. The news headlines are dominated by this. The key is to become the observer and not be attached to a certain outcome. By not focusing on these energies, which only empowers them, the disciple only has to change his focus on something more positive and the dark thought or energy will lose its power. Note, refocusing will not defeat the dark energy. That’s a different process discussed later in this article.
In confronting evil, Edmond Burke, an Irish statesman once said: “…..all it takes for evil to succeed in the world is for decent men and women to do nothing!”. Through the wisdom teachings, the aspirant and disciple understands that when confronting and overcoming powerful tendencies such as evil, that he needs to employ his will. From this, the disciple must become responsible for who and what he is, and how he expresses himself, which includes controlling his thoughts and actions. This implies that when the he uses his mind and thoughts to separate “this from that”, he renders judgment and makes it right or wrong. This creates an impediment to the realization that “we are all One”.
Transforming the “limiting” energies
When any of the 3 mentioned “limiting” energies are present, such as anger, fear and mis-applied desires, the message from the Teachings is always “go within” and find the courage and wisdom to transform these feelings and tendencies by practicing patience and compassion. Maybe the disciple can overwhelm and dissipate the dark thoughts with pure love, complete self-forgiveness, or even through physical exercise or journaling? This then becomes the art of conflict resolution within the self.
When considering the many ways of transforming the lower nature, the aspirant / disciple learns that in pushing away or denying these tendencies, that the thoughts don’t go away. They only recede into the background where they’re out of the mind’s conscious awareness. These thoughts are part of the human personality and psyche. However, at our present level of consciousness and understanding, we can’t completely eliminate them until they are directly flooded by and changed by the soul’s pure light and love.
Conscious Awareness is a process
In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, the disciple learns that "he is the teacher of his own reality". By employing the formula: “Meditation-Study-Service”, the disciple can become self-evolved. He can learn to shift his perception of reality to a new level of insight and understanding and expand his consciousness through initiation. Initiation or spiritual transformation is a process of growth where the lower parts of the personality learn to integrate with the higher Self or group and involves a paradigm shift in consciousness.
The disciple’s experience of conscious awareness is that internal connection to the Higher Self or divine that is always consciously aware of the flow and is on purpose. It is an internal knowingness that creates synergy with all living things and the environment. The connection may be felt as a tension or experienced as a knowingness that provides a focused way for relating to one’s self-experience of the physical plane, which we call reality.
An excellent “current” example of initiation for a nation is that the people of the United States just elected President Barak Obama who is not only from a minority group but he’s bi-racial. By doing this, we as Americans have just expanded our national consciousness by consciously choosing a man from a minority group to lead our nation. It’s also a symbol for the rest of the world to see that we as Americans are maturing and can accept other people to lead us, besides those who are white. Although not fully acknowledged, it's also a move towards inclusiveness and unity of the human race.
For an individual, initiation involves going through an internal and possibly external process that causes great changes, both physically and emotionally. It should always be done through the higher self by the practice of meditation, study and service with the goal of moving towards a fuller-more expanded conscious awareness. For the disciple who wants to force this process, he will undoubtedly have to deal with changes in his mind and etheric body that can be dangerous and with which he is not prepared for. For the disciple or aspirant who is consciously working on his own spiritual path, he will walk through the fires of initiation (usually purifications) and grow from the experience gradually and naturally through the soul’s guidance. This rate of growth is the safest and ultimately most fulfilling.
Observer in the exoteric or outer world
In the film, What the Bleep Do We Know? ….many of the scientists explain how the brain evolves, and how it creates chemical reactions that keep us addicted to old patterns and feelings. They state that a negative thought comes from the lower mind and pulls the person down because of a residual memory, or a “chemical footprint” at the celluar level. By focusing or bringing up a negative thoughtform, the lower mind has a footprint memory to replay over and over again until its transformed. By using a positive thoughtform, such as through affirmations, and visualization during occult meditation, the disciple can learn new things and make new brain connections.
With our brain circuity wired and developed as we want, our interactions with the physical world allow us to concentrate in the midst of chaos, and even heal the body and psyche from past and present traumas. We can educate the mind to learn different sublties of the inner self, for example, through visualizaton. When we learn new patterns, we can modify and change our behavior. The strongest memories we have, are those that are pesonalized by feeling and with an ability to directly identify with it. Repeating the experience will further cement the information into memory. Thus, through application and an act of will, there’s a “conscious awareness” present in this process.
Apply the Teachings - Values to Live By
After the disciple progresses a certain distance on the path, the channels for impression and intution from the soul open up. The higher values of the soul are felt and these in turn have a direct effect on the etheric matter in the lower mental, emotional and physical sheaths. These higher values can include:
• Love of Truth – essential for an inclusive and progressive society
• Spirit of Cooperation - i.e. through practiced and active goodwill and right human relations
• Sense of Justice – recognition of rights and needs for all
• Sense of Personal Responsibility – for group, community and national affairs
• Serving the Common Good – through the sacrifice of selfishness
Also, the practice of occult meditation, directly connects the disciple with the soul through the abstract mind with the purpose of expanding his consciousness for greater service. Over time, the disciple, through regular contacts with the higher Self, establishes a “continual flow of consciousness” so that he can be guided directly from the higher source continuously.
Some traditions and teachings encourage a daily review of the self. From this type of analysis, the disciple can become a wiser person as to who he has been and wants to become. In essence, the primary purpose for becoming a conscious observer can be summed up by asking the following questions:
• “How do I see myself?”
• For me to step outside of myself and observe what’s around me, ask: “Why am I doing this or why not?”
• What is my purpose in this moment?
• What is my connection with Spirit, God or the Higher Self?
• What is my attitude towards people, the environment and service?
It is incumbent for the disciple to not only see himself as conscious and awake, but to live life consciously, spreading his light, and love/wisdom without any consideration of how much he gives. This way he is a living example of the teachings, and regardless of his religious or spiritual tradition, by his example he shows others the way to express their Higher Self.
By David E. Hopper
One doesn’t have to look very far to find crisis after crisis facing humanity. With the Ashrams and the new group of world severs all severely impacted, we are faced with the reality that individually and collectively we as humanity must make “right” choices to ensure our survival. Will enough of us wake up and realize that the problems and solutions we seek are no further than the realm of our own conscious awareness? When seeking answers, the disciple on the path learns to take into consideration what is happening in both his inner and outer environments as part of his whole field of awareness. Sometimes his response may be just to observe. As a “consciously aware” disciple, a larger point to consider, is how can he best learn to equip his mind for service? He will have to step out of his normal thinking and critically examine himself by asking the following questions: “Who am I”; or “What is my relationship with “that situation”, person or group? “Can I practice discrimination, and am I unattached to an outcome or will I be drawn in and lose my sense of self and thus thwart any chance for meaningful service?”
In this article, I will describe and develop an understanding of critically examining the aspirant’s and disciple’s role in becoming conscious of his standing behind what he does, says and thinks. It's important to examine why a disciple needs to tune into his “real” Self and become a conscious observer in all that he does. This is related to directly connecting with the soul and experiencing a “knowingness” of how to function in the world of the personality and the world of the soul simultaneously.
On the path of initiation, both occultists and esotericists understand that the world and the universe is an ever changing environment. Barbara Marx Hubbard said: “Our crisis of seeing humanity as a whole, is the birth of a universal humanity capable of co-evolving and co-creating with spirit”. The emphasis here is on “crisis”. For this is what happens when one begins to directly interact with his/her true and higher self.
Since the disciple stands midway between both the higher and lower worlds, his consciousness also identifies and evolves with it. Evolution in consciousness involves changes, not just with our bodies but our emotions and thoughts too. Perhaps, the disciple had been experiencing a crisis, which was expressed as a feeling or tension in one or more of the mental, emotional and physical sheaths for an extended period of time? By staying present with the tension, the disciple can become self-evolved and the agent of his own change. Keep in mind too, that humanity, just as the disciple is part of an ever-changing world – both physically and changes in its own collective consciousness. Crisis in anyone’s life is a challenging process to go through. On the spiritual path, crisis can also be seen as an opportunity to either stay where you’re at and not progress (or grow) or embrace a new orientation and paradigm in consciousness.
Teilhard de Chardin, the philosopher-scientist in the early 20th century believed that since the beginning of primordial evolution there has been a kind of embedded divine-cosmic intelligence or encoded information in all matter. This divine consciousness, for mankind would ultimately become the "thinking layer of the earth," which Chardin called the noosphere. Later in the 20th century, James Lovelock proposed the "Gaia Hypothesis" which suggests that the Earth is actually a living being, a colossal biological super-system. In the wisdom teachings, it's called Sunat Kumara. Keep in mind that all humanity is part of this living being, which we also call Earth or Gaia. As our consciousness expands and grows, so too is the Earth effected and vice versa.
Within the plane of the mind in any 24 hour day, we all experience multiple states of consciousness. For approximately 8 hours every night, we sleep and experience the dream state. For the other 16 hours, we go between our waking consciousness and our day-dream state. For the average person, who responds to only the outer world using his 5 senses, he pays little attention to the inner world of the imagination, dreams and other phenomena. The disciple knows that when he acknowledges thoughtforms, feelings, and intuitive hits from the higher mind, that a number of things can happen. First, by being the “conscious observer” in this inner realm of the abstract mind, he can use these as tools in service. Second, by observing what is happening in the outer plane environment, he can decide how to prevent or offset astral tendencies. Through these actions, the disciple’s consciousness is expanded, wisdom is eventually achieved and the teachings are made practical.
In a disciple’s experience will come times where he or she has been or is going through feelings of “offness” in consciousness, although non-descript, can be physically and emotionally unsettling. This “offness” might be simply feel like a “heaviness or malaise” in the lower sheaths. Indeed, the disciple might not even know where the feeling comes from. Here we’re not talking about the obvious “identified” pain or aches in the emotional or physical forms caused by doing an activity you’re not used to doing. This experience can be over time, likened to “going through something”. Perhaps, these feelings are related to one’s particular ray and astrological makeup? Regardless, this is usually felt on the emotional and mental levels. Why would this experience be significant? It can be significant only if the disciple learns from it. It's important to state that the problems the personality goes through can be likened to initiation, which is a growth and process in consciousness over time. By being consciously aware through meditation and contemplation and by studying the dynamics of the stress, one can deduce much insight as to the workings of one’s own inner character and development. If the disciple can step back and observe his processes, he might see how he participated in the situation and note what prevailing energies and forces are present. Perhaps also ask: “Who was involved and why and what did they represent?”
After the disciples’ gone through a significant change in consciousness, he knows on a deeper level that he just went through something as his outlook has shifted. This process can be over a period time ranging from days to months or even lifetimes. It can be likened to a cooking process deep in consciousness. But after the process has peaked, the disciple may be tested by the soul to confirm that he’s really learned from it. He may have lingering feelings or thoughts of how he did things before, but a knowingness that a shift took place is felt within? He’s “moved on” and is now in the new space or mindset ready to take on the next challenge. Although, a heightened sense of awareness is experienced from soul contact, his inner perception will still need honing. This is reminiscent of the affirmation from Sagittarius: "I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another".
In the mind’s subjective realm, a disciple’s best tools for becoming a conscious observer are:
• Knowledge – this can be obtained from intellectual study, or from one’s own experience, such as through introspection leading to understanding from the soul.
• Intuition – sensing what and why you are doing something and determining the source of the issue in question.
• Disidentification / Identification – To become the conscious observer, the disciple first must dis-identify and stand free and clear form the thoughts of others, including his own. Lastly, he must identify with the awareness or consciousness, which is the observer.
• Discrimination – this is a process of stepping back and observing; learning to make conscious choices between the pairs of opposites, for example right / wrong or appropriate vs. inappropriate. The disciple may ask: “do I see this situation in stark terms or are there shades of gray?”….In short, wise consideration is merited here.
The Probationer and Applied Self Control
The spiritual path is a path of transformation. Before deep transformation can take place, the aspirant either consciously or unconsciously places him or herself on a path of learning self-control over maya, glamour and illusion. This is called the Probationary Path. Initially, the lower tendencies of the personality to overcome are:
• Mental – selfish and separative thoughts
• Emotional - to include base desires, fear and anger
• Physical form and it's cravings
At this stage, this is “probationary” in the sense of how the disciple takes his initial steps on the path. He must learn responsibility and practice self-control of his thoughts, feelings and actions, which will pave the way toward preparation for greater expansions of consciousness and service. A probationer might take himself outside of his comfort zone and take risks in an effort to grow spiritually.
The disciple will not have mastered their lower tendencies until much later on, as this is an ongoing process, which can last lifetimes. The control and transformation of one’s lower tendencies are central to a disciple’s initial development and growth. Self-observance of his “lower tendencies” also form an analysis of the “dark side” of his personality.
Things encountered along the path - Dark tendencies of the Personality
On the spiritual path, the disciple is constantly facing himself. Although it is preferable to feel the love and joy of soul contact, the reality is that joy is not always present. In fact, the soul’s energy ebbs and flows until after a certain level of purification takes place and continuity of consciousness sets in. Just as we purge toxins from our physical form for cleansing and healing, so too is it necessary to also purge the mental and emotional nature of “dark” and selfish tendencies. When Carl Jung used the term “shadow nature”, he was referring to a person’s unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. Jung said the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, has a tendency to turning a personal inferiority into a perceived moral imperfection in someone else.
As a conscious observer on the emotional-astral plane, where we spend most of our time, there are at least three main “dark” tendencies that every disciple must eventually confront and master before passing on to higher levels of consciousness. These energies keep the aspirant and disciple attached to the lower planes and block out the higher energies of the Soul. These are:
• Anger – This includes, hate, avarice, deliberate selfish behavior, which poisons the love and heart energy from the soul
• Mis-applied desire: e.g. sexual energy – In an unbalanced state, will cause aggressive feelings and overreaching desire; besides sexual imbalance, eating disorders and can be involved as they are related to physical desire and cravings.
• Fear – can work both ways by either paralyzing the student from moving forward on the path or interestingly enough it can also be a motivator when courage in combination with conscious awareness of what needs to happen in the moment is present.
Suffice it to say that any of these energies can handicap the disciple on the path especially when working in the inner realm as the observer.
Dealing with the Dark Side
Our consciousness and awareness deals with many thoughts and emotions every day. We all have or have had dark and sometimes dangerous thoughts - thoughts of selfishness, hate and prejudice. These are thoughts that separate us not only from each other but from our deeper spiritual connection with the soul. These thoughts are not “who we are” but can obviously influence us. Most people that have these dark thoughts don’t act on them, then there are others that do. The news headlines are dominated by this. The key is to become the observer and not be attached to a certain outcome. By not focusing on these energies, which only empowers them, the disciple only has to change his focus on something more positive and the dark thought or energy will lose its power. Note, refocusing will not defeat the dark energy. That’s a different process discussed later in this article.
In confronting evil, Edmond Burke, an Irish statesman once said: “…..all it takes for evil to succeed in the world is for decent men and women to do nothing!”. Through the wisdom teachings, the aspirant and disciple understands that when confronting and overcoming powerful tendencies such as evil, that he needs to employ his will. From this, the disciple must become responsible for who and what he is, and how he expresses himself, which includes controlling his thoughts and actions. This implies that when the he uses his mind and thoughts to separate “this from that”, he renders judgment and makes it right or wrong. This creates an impediment to the realization that “we are all One”.
Transforming the “limiting” energies
When any of the 3 mentioned “limiting” energies are present, such as anger, fear and mis-applied desires, the message from the Teachings is always “go within” and find the courage and wisdom to transform these feelings and tendencies by practicing patience and compassion. Maybe the disciple can overwhelm and dissipate the dark thoughts with pure love, complete self-forgiveness, or even through physical exercise or journaling? This then becomes the art of conflict resolution within the self.
When considering the many ways of transforming the lower nature, the aspirant / disciple learns that in pushing away or denying these tendencies, that the thoughts don’t go away. They only recede into the background where they’re out of the mind’s conscious awareness. These thoughts are part of the human personality and psyche. However, at our present level of consciousness and understanding, we can’t completely eliminate them until they are directly flooded by and changed by the soul’s pure light and love.
Conscious Awareness is a process
In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, the disciple learns that "he is the teacher of his own reality". By employing the formula: “Meditation-Study-Service”, the disciple can become self-evolved. He can learn to shift his perception of reality to a new level of insight and understanding and expand his consciousness through initiation. Initiation or spiritual transformation is a process of growth where the lower parts of the personality learn to integrate with the higher Self or group and involves a paradigm shift in consciousness.
The disciple’s experience of conscious awareness is that internal connection to the Higher Self or divine that is always consciously aware of the flow and is on purpose. It is an internal knowingness that creates synergy with all living things and the environment. The connection may be felt as a tension or experienced as a knowingness that provides a focused way for relating to one’s self-experience of the physical plane, which we call reality.
An excellent “current” example of initiation for a nation is that the people of the United States just elected President Barak Obama who is not only from a minority group but he’s bi-racial. By doing this, we as Americans have just expanded our national consciousness by consciously choosing a man from a minority group to lead our nation. It’s also a symbol for the rest of the world to see that we as Americans are maturing and can accept other people to lead us, besides those who are white. Although not fully acknowledged, it's also a move towards inclusiveness and unity of the human race.
For an individual, initiation involves going through an internal and possibly external process that causes great changes, both physically and emotionally. It should always be done through the higher self by the practice of meditation, study and service with the goal of moving towards a fuller-more expanded conscious awareness. For the disciple who wants to force this process, he will undoubtedly have to deal with changes in his mind and etheric body that can be dangerous and with which he is not prepared for. For the disciple or aspirant who is consciously working on his own spiritual path, he will walk through the fires of initiation (usually purifications) and grow from the experience gradually and naturally through the soul’s guidance. This rate of growth is the safest and ultimately most fulfilling.
Observer in the exoteric or outer world
In the film, What the Bleep Do We Know? ….many of the scientists explain how the brain evolves, and how it creates chemical reactions that keep us addicted to old patterns and feelings. They state that a negative thought comes from the lower mind and pulls the person down because of a residual memory, or a “chemical footprint” at the celluar level. By focusing or bringing up a negative thoughtform, the lower mind has a footprint memory to replay over and over again until its transformed. By using a positive thoughtform, such as through affirmations, and visualization during occult meditation, the disciple can learn new things and make new brain connections.
With our brain circuity wired and developed as we want, our interactions with the physical world allow us to concentrate in the midst of chaos, and even heal the body and psyche from past and present traumas. We can educate the mind to learn different sublties of the inner self, for example, through visualizaton. When we learn new patterns, we can modify and change our behavior. The strongest memories we have, are those that are pesonalized by feeling and with an ability to directly identify with it. Repeating the experience will further cement the information into memory. Thus, through application and an act of will, there’s a “conscious awareness” present in this process.
Apply the Teachings - Values to Live By
After the disciple progresses a certain distance on the path, the channels for impression and intution from the soul open up. The higher values of the soul are felt and these in turn have a direct effect on the etheric matter in the lower mental, emotional and physical sheaths. These higher values can include:
• Love of Truth – essential for an inclusive and progressive society
• Spirit of Cooperation - i.e. through practiced and active goodwill and right human relations
• Sense of Justice – recognition of rights and needs for all
• Sense of Personal Responsibility – for group, community and national affairs
• Serving the Common Good – through the sacrifice of selfishness
Also, the practice of occult meditation, directly connects the disciple with the soul through the abstract mind with the purpose of expanding his consciousness for greater service. Over time, the disciple, through regular contacts with the higher Self, establishes a “continual flow of consciousness” so that he can be guided directly from the higher source continuously.
Some traditions and teachings encourage a daily review of the self. From this type of analysis, the disciple can become a wiser person as to who he has been and wants to become. In essence, the primary purpose for becoming a conscious observer can be summed up by asking the following questions:
• “How do I see myself?”
• For me to step outside of myself and observe what’s around me, ask: “Why am I doing this or why not?”
• What is my purpose in this moment?
• What is my connection with Spirit, God or the Higher Self?
• What is my attitude towards people, the environment and service?
It is incumbent for the disciple to not only see himself as conscious and awake, but to live life consciously, spreading his light, and love/wisdom without any consideration of how much he gives. This way he is a living example of the teachings, and regardless of his religious or spiritual tradition, by his example he shows others the way to express their Higher Self.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Spiritual Poetry
by David E. Hopper
Plodding along - I struggle
I inhale – I exhale life
Changing life - is ever my changing my perception
But yet I am here in the moment
I cannot go anywhere but here
My struggle is always through my soul’s center
It beckons and calls
For me the action is reciprocal
There, when aligned my thoughts and feelings are conditioned for pure motives
I take comfort in responding to my soul
The Thick Astral Soup
by David E.Hopper
There’s a stirring about – its all very clear
But if we doddle too long its no longer near
Clear you say from whose point of view?
Its obvious to Those tuned into to You
We’ve struggled for aeons to get to this place
But now is the time to stand up and face
Facing the Dweller in all its malaise
Brings one to see how long we’ve been dazed
Be it crazy or hazy for long we’ve been duped
By the forces of darkness in this thick astral soup
But hark the call comes from deep within
That’s its up to us to practice, fulfill and begin
Begin to serve and to love and to give
For selfish behavior makes us chagrin
So onward we move – aligned and content
Ever vigilant, conscious and without lament
I look back and think what has been hence
Never regretful of the long journey dense
But now I’m more interested in “How can We do it?
Only “together” instead of round-tuit
So constantly listen to the voice that resounds
So that you’ll be ready for the next coming Round.
And know that The Masters ever look for those who can play
With the energies of light and love without delay
That We are the ones – my sisters and brothers
Who will make the difference in this world and another!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Foreign and Domestic Policies
by David E. Hopper
The President, Prime Minister or King has the solemn duty to defend the nation “against all enemies foreign and domestic” as the US Constitution says. The very notion of having a foreign or domestic policy implies by definition some type of understanding of various forces that inhabit the landscape, such as political and economic, forward thinking people, think tanks, and enemies, etc. We’ve reached a point in our evolution where business as usual does not work anymore.
Consider some of the major issues facing humanity and the foreign and domestic policies of any nation: hunger, poverty, famine, AIDS (which is decimating villages and nations in Africa), the “never ending war” mentality, continual weapons sales around the world for political motive and profit, militarization of space, environmental catastrophes whether its man made pollution or from nature, such as volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. population and over development of the Earth’s surface without care for the future consequences, etc.
Most of these issues, are only a fraction of problems that many nations must deal with sooner or later. Any one of these issues alone, requires massive amounts of resources be it outlays of money, personnel, equipment, and skilled and trained workers for managing damage control after the problem is already onset.
We are, **all of humanity** driven by war, short sidedness, lack of vision and courage, greed and profit. Collectively we are destroying ourselves and the Earth by our current choices. We make choices daily by how we see or don’t see each other, how we respect or disrespect each other, how we choose to communicate or not communicate with each other or how we choose to cooperate with the environment or not. Yes I agree, the majority of the damage is being done by the Western nations, which are driven by their gluttonous desire for more goods and services, particularly from the developing nations. Each problem is so enormous that to understand it properly, one must look at other related problems which overlap and influence all the others.
There are root causes to all issues, but to understand them the major issues of humanity in my mind, have to be looked at with a sense of wholeness. There are no easy answers. There’s no overnight solutions. Indeed, even if there were a master plan put together by some genius that the problems we face collectively, we would not see “positive changes” for likely 2 generations once instituted.
Problems such as hunger and poverty for example, are so entrenched in our consciousness from generation to generation that our very thoughts would have to be realigned to accommodate the new idea that **everyone is being fed daily in the world** or that it is the moral duty of every nation to see that its citizenry is being properly fed, clothed, adequate shelter provided, proper medical attention being administered, etc. This is certainly a thoughtform that we are not used to hearing. Can you think of a world where violence between ethnic groups and nations no longer exists but instead all disagreements are negotiated thorough diplomacy or conflict resolution? I believe a master plan is possible but to create it would require somebody, some organization or an international blue ribbon commission to tackle these daunting problems with courage and an open mind not to mention a collective will. Currently, the mentality of “we can work this out together without fighting” does not exist on the international stage. This level of thinking only exists only in the minds of certain individual and some isolated organizations, which are working to bring peace in our world.
Since the end of WWII, the Western nations, led by politicians and market forces of industry and technology (i.e. corporations) have created numerous trading blocsto a recent phenomena known as globalization. has gripped the minds and hearts of politicians, financiers, heads of state, economists, and the average person in all nations. They have been driven by one main idea, that to work and acquire more goods and services is a good thing. At this point, I will say from the outset there is nothing wrong with wanting a special widget for making my life work and feel better. But how much is enough? It’s a 24/7- non stop demand from more. The corporations or politicians or economists don’t seem to mind. They not only control the world stage with this “never ending flow of goods” mentality, that no body seems to ask the questions, “…is what we are creating really necessary and for what overall purpose?….are we creating too much?….is what I have or want hurting anybody else or the environment?…is this widget nourishing me spiritually and making me feel better about my fellow man/woman and the environment?” In my mind, what is required is a paradigm shift in consciousness where we have to ask the basic question, “….who are we?….why are we doing this?….is it really necessary?…is there another way to solve this?” From this line of questioning, indeed a psychological approach, we see the beginning of a shift in consciousness and perspective of the changes that are necessary to begin to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.
On the today’s political front, nations are so paranoid and wanting to affix blame for “X” problem, that threats and war are considered a reasonable alternative to diplomacy. In the United States, the current US Administration wants to modernize a nuclear arsenal that can already destroy the Earth’s surface dozens of time over. Do we need to spend the money on that? Also this same Administration wants to militarize space with so called “Star Wars” weaponry. Forget that fact, that the United Nations Charter forbids this type of activity. Do we need to spend the money on that? We’re not even talking about the cost of such endeavors, let alone the money that gets taken away from social programs and activities that protects and enhances civilization for generations to come. Then there is the age old problem of weapon sales to other nations. Our arms industries makes all sorts of nasty weapons to do whatever level of destruction you want, all for a price. “Its only business”. Never mind the responsibility the United States for fomenting and / or causing numerous wars, massacres, insurrections, random killings in places around the world just so the strongly protected arms industries can make a profit. Never mind, that we almost completely don’t care who we sell our weapons to, as long as money or some deal can be worked out. “Its just a business deal, its not my responsibility into whose hands these weapons end up”. Just looking at Saddam Hussein and his nefarious activities over the last 30 years, France, Great Britain, Untied States, Germany and Russia all have contributed to allowing Saddam to rise and stay in power.
The United States stands out as the one who sold the most weaponry to Saddam so he could commit genocide against the Kurds and the Iranians using weapons of mass destruction, e.g. biological weapons. The United States even gave weapons to Osama Bin Laden when he was fighting the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan in the late 1970’s and now the Western nations cry “he’s a monster for what he’s done”. Where’s the responsibility? The karma lies squarely on the backs of the people and nations that allows people such as Saddam and Ben Laden to do the things they do. To further affix blame, the people of these nations also have to take responsibility for allowing their government to be allowed to sell weapons that ultimately has killed scores of other fellow human beings, including children. Right now in Iraq, the United States is using depleted uranium (DU) in its weaponry. When exploded, it convincingly kills its intended target and pollutes the area for untold period of time with radioactivity. Its well documented about the destructive effects of radioactivity on the human body and other ecosystems.
It is not my intention per se to place blame only on the Western nations. The Developing nations too buy many of these weapons and commit unspeakable crimes. Not to belabor a point, but if we continue to have a foreign policy, such as that of the United States that says “its in our national interests to fight for what is ours” (never mind the fact that it is not, such as oil in the Middle East, then we are a probably a doomed civilization of unending wars, destruction to the environment and further entrenching values that reward the materialistic over the humanistic part of ourselves. We will never have peace with this frame of mind. The problem is solved by first acknowledging that the problem is how we think about our world and its peoples and its lifeforms. What do we value? Is it a materialistic way of life that puts pressure on every square inch of land on earth just so the corporations can continue to flourish under globalization? Is it a materialistic way of life that justifies war just because its in our “national interest”?
The choices are hard and require courage. The first step is to acknowledge that our foreign policy, which is tied partly into our domestic policy, is not working and indeed is causing untold problems abroad, mostly for the benefit for the corporations. Second, spend whatever is necessary and assign a think tank or group of scholars, social scientists, politicians and career diplomats the task of creating a new foreign policy. A foreign policy that primarily addresses solving problems, bringing interested parties to the table to negotiate and cooperate instead of talking at the point of a gun. Third, institute a public relations campaign to inform the public of the commission’s activities either through town hall meetings, such as talking about issues and promoting cooperation and understanding of what is important and what must change. Forth, reallocate the majority of monies currently going to the Pentagon and defense contractors who are busy 24 hours a day building a better bomb, and give and promote domestic programs, such as educational and environmental causes. This is just the beginning of a whole realignment in our consciousness and indeed our national soul of how we conduct our affairs with each other and the environment.
**See also my article on: "The karmic implications of the Energy and Arms industries on civilization" in this same web-blog.
The President, Prime Minister or King has the solemn duty to defend the nation “against all enemies foreign and domestic” as the US Constitution says. The very notion of having a foreign or domestic policy implies by definition some type of understanding of various forces that inhabit the landscape, such as political and economic, forward thinking people, think tanks, and enemies, etc. We’ve reached a point in our evolution where business as usual does not work anymore.
Consider some of the major issues facing humanity and the foreign and domestic policies of any nation: hunger, poverty, famine, AIDS (which is decimating villages and nations in Africa), the “never ending war” mentality, continual weapons sales around the world for political motive and profit, militarization of space, environmental catastrophes whether its man made pollution or from nature, such as volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. population and over development of the Earth’s surface without care for the future consequences, etc.
Most of these issues, are only a fraction of problems that many nations must deal with sooner or later. Any one of these issues alone, requires massive amounts of resources be it outlays of money, personnel, equipment, and skilled and trained workers for managing damage control after the problem is already onset.
We are, **all of humanity** driven by war, short sidedness, lack of vision and courage, greed and profit. Collectively we are destroying ourselves and the Earth by our current choices. We make choices daily by how we see or don’t see each other, how we respect or disrespect each other, how we choose to communicate or not communicate with each other or how we choose to cooperate with the environment or not. Yes I agree, the majority of the damage is being done by the Western nations, which are driven by their gluttonous desire for more goods and services, particularly from the developing nations. Each problem is so enormous that to understand it properly, one must look at other related problems which overlap and influence all the others.
There are root causes to all issues, but to understand them the major issues of humanity in my mind, have to be looked at with a sense of wholeness. There are no easy answers. There’s no overnight solutions. Indeed, even if there were a master plan put together by some genius that the problems we face collectively, we would not see “positive changes” for likely 2 generations once instituted.
Problems such as hunger and poverty for example, are so entrenched in our consciousness from generation to generation that our very thoughts would have to be realigned to accommodate the new idea that **everyone is being fed daily in the world** or that it is the moral duty of every nation to see that its citizenry is being properly fed, clothed, adequate shelter provided, proper medical attention being administered, etc. This is certainly a thoughtform that we are not used to hearing. Can you think of a world where violence between ethnic groups and nations no longer exists but instead all disagreements are negotiated thorough diplomacy or conflict resolution? I believe a master plan is possible but to create it would require somebody, some organization or an international blue ribbon commission to tackle these daunting problems with courage and an open mind not to mention a collective will. Currently, the mentality of “we can work this out together without fighting” does not exist on the international stage. This level of thinking only exists only in the minds of certain individual and some isolated organizations, which are working to bring peace in our world.
Since the end of WWII, the Western nations, led by politicians and market forces of industry and technology (i.e. corporations) have created numerous trading blocsto a recent phenomena known as globalization. has gripped the minds and hearts of politicians, financiers, heads of state, economists, and the average person in all nations. They have been driven by one main idea, that to work and acquire more goods and services is a good thing. At this point, I will say from the outset there is nothing wrong with wanting a special widget for making my life work and feel better. But how much is enough? It’s a 24/7- non stop demand from more. The corporations or politicians or economists don’t seem to mind. They not only control the world stage with this “never ending flow of goods” mentality, that no body seems to ask the questions, “…is what we are creating really necessary and for what overall purpose?….are we creating too much?….is what I have or want hurting anybody else or the environment?…is this widget nourishing me spiritually and making me feel better about my fellow man/woman and the environment?” In my mind, what is required is a paradigm shift in consciousness where we have to ask the basic question, “….who are we?….why are we doing this?….is it really necessary?…is there another way to solve this?” From this line of questioning, indeed a psychological approach, we see the beginning of a shift in consciousness and perspective of the changes that are necessary to begin to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.
On the today’s political front, nations are so paranoid and wanting to affix blame for “X” problem, that threats and war are considered a reasonable alternative to diplomacy. In the United States, the current US Administration wants to modernize a nuclear arsenal that can already destroy the Earth’s surface dozens of time over. Do we need to spend the money on that? Also this same Administration wants to militarize space with so called “Star Wars” weaponry. Forget that fact, that the United Nations Charter forbids this type of activity. Do we need to spend the money on that? We’re not even talking about the cost of such endeavors, let alone the money that gets taken away from social programs and activities that protects and enhances civilization for generations to come. Then there is the age old problem of weapon sales to other nations. Our arms industries makes all sorts of nasty weapons to do whatever level of destruction you want, all for a price. “Its only business”. Never mind the responsibility the United States for fomenting and / or causing numerous wars, massacres, insurrections, random killings in places around the world just so the strongly protected arms industries can make a profit. Never mind, that we almost completely don’t care who we sell our weapons to, as long as money or some deal can be worked out. “Its just a business deal, its not my responsibility into whose hands these weapons end up”. Just looking at Saddam Hussein and his nefarious activities over the last 30 years, France, Great Britain, Untied States, Germany and Russia all have contributed to allowing Saddam to rise and stay in power.
The United States stands out as the one who sold the most weaponry to Saddam so he could commit genocide against the Kurds and the Iranians using weapons of mass destruction, e.g. biological weapons. The United States even gave weapons to Osama Bin Laden when he was fighting the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan in the late 1970’s and now the Western nations cry “he’s a monster for what he’s done”. Where’s the responsibility? The karma lies squarely on the backs of the people and nations that allows people such as Saddam and Ben Laden to do the things they do. To further affix blame, the people of these nations also have to take responsibility for allowing their government to be allowed to sell weapons that ultimately has killed scores of other fellow human beings, including children. Right now in Iraq, the United States is using depleted uranium (DU) in its weaponry. When exploded, it convincingly kills its intended target and pollutes the area for untold period of time with radioactivity. Its well documented about the destructive effects of radioactivity on the human body and other ecosystems.
It is not my intention per se to place blame only on the Western nations. The Developing nations too buy many of these weapons and commit unspeakable crimes. Not to belabor a point, but if we continue to have a foreign policy, such as that of the United States that says “its in our national interests to fight for what is ours” (never mind the fact that it is not, such as oil in the Middle East, then we are a probably a doomed civilization of unending wars, destruction to the environment and further entrenching values that reward the materialistic over the humanistic part of ourselves. We will never have peace with this frame of mind. The problem is solved by first acknowledging that the problem is how we think about our world and its peoples and its lifeforms. What do we value? Is it a materialistic way of life that puts pressure on every square inch of land on earth just so the corporations can continue to flourish under globalization? Is it a materialistic way of life that justifies war just because its in our “national interest”?
The choices are hard and require courage. The first step is to acknowledge that our foreign policy, which is tied partly into our domestic policy, is not working and indeed is causing untold problems abroad, mostly for the benefit for the corporations. Second, spend whatever is necessary and assign a think tank or group of scholars, social scientists, politicians and career diplomats the task of creating a new foreign policy. A foreign policy that primarily addresses solving problems, bringing interested parties to the table to negotiate and cooperate instead of talking at the point of a gun. Third, institute a public relations campaign to inform the public of the commission’s activities either through town hall meetings, such as talking about issues and promoting cooperation and understanding of what is important and what must change. Forth, reallocate the majority of monies currently going to the Pentagon and defense contractors who are busy 24 hours a day building a better bomb, and give and promote domestic programs, such as educational and environmental causes. This is just the beginning of a whole realignment in our consciousness and indeed our national soul of how we conduct our affairs with each other and the environment.
**See also my article on: "The karmic implications of the Energy and Arms industries on civilization" in this same web-blog.
Star Wars Saga - a story of personal initiation
By David E. Hopper
With the release of the movie "Star Wars – The Revenge of the Sith" in 2006, George Lucas the creator and director completed the Star Wars saga. The saga, composed of 6 separate episodes or movies, began in the 1970’s. For those who don’t know the story, it has many plots, subplots, heroes and villains. In essence, the story can be summed up by depicting the life and choices of Anaikin Skywalker. Anaikin later becomes Darth Vader, the “bad-est and mean-est” monster in the galaxy, which because of his actions influences the lives of billions of beings. This is an all too familiar story here on Earth.The story begins with Anaikin, at about 8 years old. He is a clever, quick thinking boy with “Jedi like reflexes”, able to create and repair complex devices, such as speed pods and robots, not to mention winning a dangerous speed pod race. His mother saw his unique gifts early on in childhood. Later, the Jedi’s discover him and one said “He is the chosen one to bring balance and harmony to the Force”. What the Jedi Order was later to find out, that this boy was indeed gifted with the Force. Master Yoda noted, he was too old and was filled with anger, fear and impatience and more importantly he could not control the Force.
In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, a person enters the path of initiation by placing him/herself consciously on the Probationary Path or a path to learning self control. This is indicative of learning responsibility and practicing self control of the thoughts, feelings and actions, which pave the way toward preparation for greater initiation(s) and service. The control and transformation of one’s anger and fear are central to a Jedi’s development in the Star Wars story. Often, young Anaikin was cautioned by different Masters in the Jedi Order, as they saw how dangerous he could become. He sometimes heeded their words. Over time, his attitude and actions became arrogant, impatient, angry, and reckless. For a sincere disciple on the path, there will be many tests in life. As a disciple in training, we need to listen to our soul’s or Master’s voice coming through our thoughts, in the form as impressions and listen to what the heart is telling us to do through our feelings. The message is always “go within” and find the wisdom to transform our anger and aggressive feelings into practicing patience and compassion. Choosing the lower path of focusing on anger and fear leads to frustration and the “dark side of the Force”. Focusing only on the “dark side”, keeps us separated from the Master or the soul and blocks the integration of our lower self and all its desires and tendencies with the higher self. Anger and fear can be powerful tools, when tempered through the heart and mind filled with love, cooperation and goodwill.
Another path alluded to in the Star Wars story is that a Jedi is not allowed to marry or be in a relationship. The reason for this was not directly addressed in the story. Master Obi Wan says entering into relationship is “strictly forbidden” in the Jedi Order. Apparently, the Jedi Order imposes a policy of celibacy on its members. We know from the Ageless Wisdom teachings that strong emotional desires mixed with sexual energies can cloud the judgement and block clear thinking. If the would-be disciple involves him or herself in lower conscious desires or activities, especially for a prolonged period of time, such as the secret relationship that Anaikin had with Padme, his wife, then the thoughts and impressions from the Master or the soul are drowned out and a disquieting tension sets in.
A disciple who is “mindful” of where (s)he is at and what (s)he is doing is aligned with the soul or Master. Having this frame of mind, makes the disciple more of a valuable asset to the Master in facilitating goodwill and cooperation in the environment for overcoming the lower desires.In Star Wars, the term “the Force” is frequently used throughout the story. The word “Force” refers to a living life force that a trained Jedi Knight can use for the purpose(s) of service. Typical powers used by the Jedi are “Jedi mind tricks”, which is telepathic mind control, telekinesis, premonition and clairvoyance. As a fully trained Jedi, he or she would only use these powers in defense or to facilitate obtaining information. In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, using the powers can be likened to a disciple using his or her latent powers unselfishly for purposes of fulfilling the Divine Plan and ultimately benefiting humanity. But the teachings also warn, that consciously using the powers or “Siddhis” by a disciple is rarely done and is usually reserved for advanced initiates, whose motives are well tested and true to the cause of manifesting the Divine Plan.
However, in the case of the Lords of the Sith, they use what is called the “dark side of the Force” for evil purposes. Their intent is malevolent as the Sith Lords throughout the story are responsible for creating wars, murder, chaos and consolidating power for themselves. In short, their purpose is purely selfish and offensive, whereas a Jedi’s use of the force is strictly defensive and harmless. A person, exercising his will over others is wanting to manipulate and control them. The use of the Force is tied directly with using the personal will.Another point to consider goes back to Anaikin (Darth Vader) as the chief protagonist in the story. It is he, who must eventually confront his dark side. In the Ageless Wisdom teachings it is called facing “the Dweller on the Threshold”.
Anaikin’s first mentor and Master, Qui Gon believes “He is the chosen one to bring balance and harmony to the Force”. He has no idea what evil that Anaikin/Darth Vader, will do later on in life. What is important here, is that Anaikin Skywalker dies as a personality in Episode III and now becomes Darth Vader, a Lord of the Sith. Obi Wan, who becomes Anaikin’s Master after Qui Gon was killed, said the “the good man that was Anaikin was killed by Darth Vader…[he] was seduced by the dark side of the Force”. When the personality becomes so lost in illusion and seduced by lower desires and tendencies, such as anger and fear, then one’s connection with the soul or the Master is shutout. We all have a soul connection through out hearts. If the lower thoughts of anger and fear are focused and intensified, then this soul connection is broken. This can be likened to the death of the true self.At the end of the Star Wars story in Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, it is Luke Skywalker, Anaikin’s son that must confront his own hates, fear, anger and aggressive feelings before he can become a Jedi like his father. He discovers that his father is Darth Vader and is warned by Masters Obi Wan and Yoda not to suffer the fate of his father. Vader takes Luke before the Emperor, who is even a greater Master of the dark side of the Force than Vader. As the Emperor is in the act of killing Luke, he had aroused enough sympathy in Vader to save him and help him and to remember his previous identity as Anaikin. Luke, using his Jedi powers, had reached out with his feelings and sensed the good and the conflict within Vader. Luke successfully confronted and mastered his Dweller, which for him was fear and hate. We see at the end of Episode VI, Master Obi Wan, Yoda and now a redeemed Anaikin all standing together. The “balance in the Force was restored”.
To recap, the power of the Jedi flows from the Force. When he/she is connected to the Force, then their mental, emotional and physical bodies are aligned with the Force. For the Jedi to be effective in using the Force as a power for service, he must have overcome his or her fear and anger to perform whatever service is required in the moment. The same can be said for the disciple. When the disciple is connected to his/her soul through meditation, for example, there is an opening or stream of energy emanating from the higher centers. With such a connection, the mental, emotional and physical bodies are aligned with the soul and the disciple can “reach out with his feelings” to intuit the present situation through his heart and impressions from the soul. Without this “connection ” with the soul, the disciple stops being a valuable asset to the soul, to the Master and the Ashram with whom he or she is affiliated.
With the release of the movie "Star Wars – The Revenge of the Sith" in 2006, George Lucas the creator and director completed the Star Wars saga. The saga, composed of 6 separate episodes or movies, began in the 1970’s. For those who don’t know the story, it has many plots, subplots, heroes and villains. In essence, the story can be summed up by depicting the life and choices of Anaikin Skywalker. Anaikin later becomes Darth Vader, the “bad-est and mean-est” monster in the galaxy, which because of his actions influences the lives of billions of beings. This is an all too familiar story here on Earth.The story begins with Anaikin, at about 8 years old. He is a clever, quick thinking boy with “Jedi like reflexes”, able to create and repair complex devices, such as speed pods and robots, not to mention winning a dangerous speed pod race. His mother saw his unique gifts early on in childhood. Later, the Jedi’s discover him and one said “He is the chosen one to bring balance and harmony to the Force”. What the Jedi Order was later to find out, that this boy was indeed gifted with the Force. Master Yoda noted, he was too old and was filled with anger, fear and impatience and more importantly he could not control the Force.
In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, a person enters the path of initiation by placing him/herself consciously on the Probationary Path or a path to learning self control. This is indicative of learning responsibility and practicing self control of the thoughts, feelings and actions, which pave the way toward preparation for greater initiation(s) and service. The control and transformation of one’s anger and fear are central to a Jedi’s development in the Star Wars story. Often, young Anaikin was cautioned by different Masters in the Jedi Order, as they saw how dangerous he could become. He sometimes heeded their words. Over time, his attitude and actions became arrogant, impatient, angry, and reckless. For a sincere disciple on the path, there will be many tests in life. As a disciple in training, we need to listen to our soul’s or Master’s voice coming through our thoughts, in the form as impressions and listen to what the heart is telling us to do through our feelings. The message is always “go within” and find the wisdom to transform our anger and aggressive feelings into practicing patience and compassion. Choosing the lower path of focusing on anger and fear leads to frustration and the “dark side of the Force”. Focusing only on the “dark side”, keeps us separated from the Master or the soul and blocks the integration of our lower self and all its desires and tendencies with the higher self. Anger and fear can be powerful tools, when tempered through the heart and mind filled with love, cooperation and goodwill.
Another path alluded to in the Star Wars story is that a Jedi is not allowed to marry or be in a relationship. The reason for this was not directly addressed in the story. Master Obi Wan says entering into relationship is “strictly forbidden” in the Jedi Order. Apparently, the Jedi Order imposes a policy of celibacy on its members. We know from the Ageless Wisdom teachings that strong emotional desires mixed with sexual energies can cloud the judgement and block clear thinking. If the would-be disciple involves him or herself in lower conscious desires or activities, especially for a prolonged period of time, such as the secret relationship that Anaikin had with Padme, his wife, then the thoughts and impressions from the Master or the soul are drowned out and a disquieting tension sets in.
A disciple who is “mindful” of where (s)he is at and what (s)he is doing is aligned with the soul or Master. Having this frame of mind, makes the disciple more of a valuable asset to the Master in facilitating goodwill and cooperation in the environment for overcoming the lower desires.In Star Wars, the term “the Force” is frequently used throughout the story. The word “Force” refers to a living life force that a trained Jedi Knight can use for the purpose(s) of service. Typical powers used by the Jedi are “Jedi mind tricks”, which is telepathic mind control, telekinesis, premonition and clairvoyance. As a fully trained Jedi, he or she would only use these powers in defense or to facilitate obtaining information. In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, using the powers can be likened to a disciple using his or her latent powers unselfishly for purposes of fulfilling the Divine Plan and ultimately benefiting humanity. But the teachings also warn, that consciously using the powers or “Siddhis” by a disciple is rarely done and is usually reserved for advanced initiates, whose motives are well tested and true to the cause of manifesting the Divine Plan.
However, in the case of the Lords of the Sith, they use what is called the “dark side of the Force” for evil purposes. Their intent is malevolent as the Sith Lords throughout the story are responsible for creating wars, murder, chaos and consolidating power for themselves. In short, their purpose is purely selfish and offensive, whereas a Jedi’s use of the force is strictly defensive and harmless. A person, exercising his will over others is wanting to manipulate and control them. The use of the Force is tied directly with using the personal will.Another point to consider goes back to Anaikin (Darth Vader) as the chief protagonist in the story. It is he, who must eventually confront his dark side. In the Ageless Wisdom teachings it is called facing “the Dweller on the Threshold”.
Anaikin’s first mentor and Master, Qui Gon believes “He is the chosen one to bring balance and harmony to the Force”. He has no idea what evil that Anaikin/Darth Vader, will do later on in life. What is important here, is that Anaikin Skywalker dies as a personality in Episode III and now becomes Darth Vader, a Lord of the Sith. Obi Wan, who becomes Anaikin’s Master after Qui Gon was killed, said the “the good man that was Anaikin was killed by Darth Vader…[he] was seduced by the dark side of the Force”. When the personality becomes so lost in illusion and seduced by lower desires and tendencies, such as anger and fear, then one’s connection with the soul or the Master is shutout. We all have a soul connection through out hearts. If the lower thoughts of anger and fear are focused and intensified, then this soul connection is broken. This can be likened to the death of the true self.At the end of the Star Wars story in Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, it is Luke Skywalker, Anaikin’s son that must confront his own hates, fear, anger and aggressive feelings before he can become a Jedi like his father. He discovers that his father is Darth Vader and is warned by Masters Obi Wan and Yoda not to suffer the fate of his father. Vader takes Luke before the Emperor, who is even a greater Master of the dark side of the Force than Vader. As the Emperor is in the act of killing Luke, he had aroused enough sympathy in Vader to save him and help him and to remember his previous identity as Anaikin. Luke, using his Jedi powers, had reached out with his feelings and sensed the good and the conflict within Vader. Luke successfully confronted and mastered his Dweller, which for him was fear and hate. We see at the end of Episode VI, Master Obi Wan, Yoda and now a redeemed Anaikin all standing together. The “balance in the Force was restored”.
To recap, the power of the Jedi flows from the Force. When he/she is connected to the Force, then their mental, emotional and physical bodies are aligned with the Force. For the Jedi to be effective in using the Force as a power for service, he must have overcome his or her fear and anger to perform whatever service is required in the moment. The same can be said for the disciple. When the disciple is connected to his/her soul through meditation, for example, there is an opening or stream of energy emanating from the higher centers. With such a connection, the mental, emotional and physical bodies are aligned with the soul and the disciple can “reach out with his feelings” to intuit the present situation through his heart and impressions from the soul. Without this “connection ” with the soul, the disciple stops being a valuable asset to the soul, to the Master and the Ashram with whom he or she is affiliated.
The Leaders of Today…what makes a great leader?
by David E. Hopper
Special Note: It is not my intention or policy to use specific names of personalities in this article or others in this web-blog, rather I want to put out ideas and seed the mental clouds of possibility.
We live in the presence of great leaders, i.e. the teachings of or the writings about Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, Thomas Aquinas, Jefferson, Lincoln, John Adams, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, St. Theresa of Avila, Adlai Stevenson, John Kennedy, Thomas Mann….well, you get the message. These people and thousands more with equally great stature throughout the ages are all living in our hearts and minds when we read about them, invoke their wisdom, remember what they said and what they stood for. When we learn from the things they espoused or the values that were important to them and compare them with issues of today, we take them on as our own. Their values continue to live. Therefore, they are still alive in our hearts and minds – and our thoughts and feelings.
So how can we take the values of the Greats of yesterday (or even today) and apply their ideas and wisdom on the leadership of today? What is the function of leadership in today’s democracy and developing world? These are complicated and loaded questions. Answers, I would say depend on the field you speak of in which they work. If you’re talking about a local community leader, then he or she is usually valued by what they contribute to the local area. Speaking of nationally elected officials, then you must ask, “are they representing the best for the nation?” Looking at our national leaders, they are not measuring up to the high standards and values of a Jefferson, Confucius or a Socrates. Considering the state or condition of our country at the local, state and national level, our leadership is definitely not inspired. Indeed, they are strongly influenced by self-interest, materialistic concerns and not truly representing the people they were elected to serve. Indeed, they are even perpetuating lies and falsehoods about affairs of state and misleading the public on most issues so they the “representatives” can maintain their hold on power and maintain the status quo. Finally, they are severely lacking in long range vision, which is critical for defining a living and healthy society into the future.
First, I want to point out, that it is not my intention to provide yet another bashing of the current or previous administrations leaders. There’s plenty of press on this already it generates great polarity. Also, I am not going to list any specific names for leaders I would select for directing us. What I want to say simply is that our nation (virtually all nations) is being led by people that are very short sited, and are not looking out for the environment and future generations. It’s a challenge when a congressperson or senator hears from their constituency be it private or corporate interest, that “I want this project or pet idea to go forward in my local district”. So the congressperson or senator weighs his or her options and determines whether this person is influential in his community and probably most importantly how much money will he or she contribute to my reelection campaign or political party. This in my mind is corruption because a public official, elected with the public trust and indeed public monies (campaign financed) is being influenced by a monied interests, which is most of the time not in the best interests of the community or nation. In my mind, a great leader is somebody that sees the current problem and goes for a solution, with the least amount of friction and is not swayed by corporate or monied interests because its in the best interest of all concerned to remedy the situation.
Regarding long range issues and ideas, a great leader will not only see the problem before it takes shape, such as environmental problems but will air a long range vision that truly helps to fix the problem sometime in the future. The oil crisis of the 1970’s is a good example where it was seen and determined to be a major issue of the time. We had a major opportunity to remedy and strongly curtail a problem (i.e. the need oil) but it was not acted upon because of the transportation industry (oil, car, truck and train manufacturers) were so influential at the time and indeed we still are maintaining an oil based economy. Indeed, the oil crisis issue was so important as to be made part of our national interest. This gave the political leaders of the United States the moral, political and military justification to do whatever is necessary to enforce our right to get oil from the Middle East and keep our economy dependent on oil.
Often, the mark of the great leader is that he or she is merely pointing out what the problem is and how it should be solved, clearly and succinctly. Unfortunately, when a person is running for office in today’s world, the public is so numbed to what is important for the future, and there are so many crises in all areas of society, that the politician is addressing only what’s in front them and what the public wants to hear. especially when he or she is a candidate running for office. I found the following comment from Paul Street (another person with an opinion on the Internet), which in my mind sums up some serious flaws in our democracy.
“We should continue to work for critical democratic transformation in the candidate selection and policy processes and the national communications regime. Such changes include public financing of campaigns, proportional representation, and Instant Runoff in presidential elections, and the break-up of the insidious corporate media monopoly. They would help bring America's party and policy systems and the nation's visible opinion and commentary into proper alignment with popular sentiment on vital matters of issues of domestic and global policy. At the same time, remembering that it takes two parties to make the US into a one-party state, we must challenge the Democrats to either pull themselves out of their imperial corporatist lethargy or get out of the way to make room for others who will take up the peoples' fight against the arrogant masters of the in-power right. “ Paul Street
I strongly agree that campaign finance reform needs to occur in the highest levels of our government. We must keep monied / corporate / lobbyist’s interests at bay, who are representing their own selfish interests and not the public’s. Also, since the 1990’s, the conservative right in the form of the Republican Party have largely dominated politics from City Councils to President. I will not side with either the Democrats or Republicans because I believe both parties are way off the mark and leading us down a political and economic road to suicide. Both parties are involved in extremely foul activities which are not in the best interests of the nation and indeed the world. We simply new a new direction.
However, here in the early part of the 21st century, problems abound from every quarter. Local issues are important and need to be addressed but a major thrust of this website is that we are so short in time, that national and international issues must immediately take precedence and be addressed, otherwise the world of tomorrow will be bleak for future generations not to mention the various kingdoms which also have a right to be considered and defended. Since we are considering leaders that have vision and courage to face up to those who want to maintain the status quo, their challenges are numerous, such as:
Defending the air, the water (rivers, oceans and lakes) and the land against all who would rape the land in favor of profit and while not considering the environmental damage in present and for future time.
This is also a major consideration of all the ecosystems and species that inhabitant these spaces.
Address the issues of consumerism: This is a very complicated problem that touches on the government, educational institutions and media spreading the concept that progress is inseparably linked with buying things and wanting more. Consumerism started back in the 1950’s but really took off in the 60’s with advertising and re-identifying the average person as “consumers” instead of people. This is the notion of the ever expanding economy is a good thing and must be allowed to flourish at **ALL** costs. This of course takes its toll on humanity in the form of environmental degradation, by raping the land to capture its resources for short term profit to causing people to focus on making money at the cost of their humanity. This misguided focus leads to the mental and emotional stress that “I never have enough money for the things I want” mentality. In my mind, this is more a psychological issue than anything else. It literally speaks to our desires, e.g. impulse buying gone awry. In another way, the problem of consumerism also touches on population issues in the country and local communities. With more and more children being born, there are more demands on the infrastructure, the agricultural personnel and acreage necessary to feed them and for industry to employ them. But with strong need for more food because of more people are being born in America, the multinationals go outside the borders to the Amazon rainforest, for example to plow the land for cattle can roam the land for a relatively short time (1-3 years) then more land needs to be plowed. This land is precious rainforest that will never grow back again. The destruction of ecosystems there and the removal of trees, which produces carbon dioxide is critical for humans to survive. the need and drive to create more products to consume, not to mention the educational and medical needs of simply more people. I advocate a 1 child per household globally for a full generation until the planet can stabilize from the excessive demands put on it.
Education is necessary by our government and media by responsible leaders to talk about “what are our priorities?….do we really need to keep putting hundreds of billions of dollars into the military an take away monies form social services?” I will address these issues under the Social and Education headings. Acknowledged that the UN is an imperfect entity, but it all we have currently: Empower the Security Council, and the UN General Assembly to have the power to be able to negotiate an end to **ALL** hostilities around the world through diplomatic means and keeping meddling nations out, such as those who have an economic interest above the social and political needs of the warring nations. This includes nations like the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, France, etc. who are major arms dealers and profit from the implements of war. The sale of weaponry abroad MUST END NOW if we are able to create a peaceful world.
Confront the issues of poverty, hunger, bigotry, hate, and prejudice that KEEP US AT WAR with each other. We can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on making war and maintaining the climate of separation but we spend hardly anything by comparison on creating the scenario of peace. I will address these issues under the Social heading.
Redefine educational priorities. In today’s world, and for a number of generations, the focus of our education has been to prepare the person for getting a profession and becoming a good consumer. This short sited mentality, has led to stress and tensions to the extreme, such as forgetting that we are born first and foremost human beings. I have no problem with the child being raised with learning primary academics, but learning to become a human being and a citizen who can **give** to society and the environment because of a grateful heart should be our first priority. With this orientation and understanding, our world will be transformed from bigotry, prejudice, mistrust and separatism to inclusion, tolerance, goodwill and understanding.
If we are ever to have peace in our world, we must have leaders that are **publicly oriented in that direction**. This means, on the national and international scene, these leaders will go to all lengths to use diplomatic means for solving issues and not relying on the newest “shock and awe” weaponry of the Pentagon and supplying war plans or even the mentality that says “shoot first then ask questions later”.
Dr. Louise Diamond (http://www.thepeacecompany.com), said:
“Peace is more than the absence of war. It is an active presence in society of a way of life that honors life. We need leaders who will address the root causes of terrorism, injustice, and oppression - not their symptoms. We need leaders who will put our prodigious resources toward establishing the conditions for peace, at home and abroad. We need leaders who are willing to take responsibility for our own actions, before pointing the blame at others.”
Special Note: It is not my intention or policy to use specific names of personalities in this article or others in this web-blog, rather I want to put out ideas and seed the mental clouds of possibility.
We live in the presence of great leaders, i.e. the teachings of or the writings about Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, Thomas Aquinas, Jefferson, Lincoln, John Adams, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, St. Theresa of Avila, Adlai Stevenson, John Kennedy, Thomas Mann….well, you get the message. These people and thousands more with equally great stature throughout the ages are all living in our hearts and minds when we read about them, invoke their wisdom, remember what they said and what they stood for. When we learn from the things they espoused or the values that were important to them and compare them with issues of today, we take them on as our own. Their values continue to live. Therefore, they are still alive in our hearts and minds – and our thoughts and feelings.
So how can we take the values of the Greats of yesterday (or even today) and apply their ideas and wisdom on the leadership of today? What is the function of leadership in today’s democracy and developing world? These are complicated and loaded questions. Answers, I would say depend on the field you speak of in which they work. If you’re talking about a local community leader, then he or she is usually valued by what they contribute to the local area. Speaking of nationally elected officials, then you must ask, “are they representing the best for the nation?” Looking at our national leaders, they are not measuring up to the high standards and values of a Jefferson, Confucius or a Socrates. Considering the state or condition of our country at the local, state and national level, our leadership is definitely not inspired. Indeed, they are strongly influenced by self-interest, materialistic concerns and not truly representing the people they were elected to serve. Indeed, they are even perpetuating lies and falsehoods about affairs of state and misleading the public on most issues so they the “representatives” can maintain their hold on power and maintain the status quo. Finally, they are severely lacking in long range vision, which is critical for defining a living and healthy society into the future.
First, I want to point out, that it is not my intention to provide yet another bashing of the current or previous administrations leaders. There’s plenty of press on this already it generates great polarity. Also, I am not going to list any specific names for leaders I would select for directing us. What I want to say simply is that our nation (virtually all nations) is being led by people that are very short sited, and are not looking out for the environment and future generations. It’s a challenge when a congressperson or senator hears from their constituency be it private or corporate interest, that “I want this project or pet idea to go forward in my local district”. So the congressperson or senator weighs his or her options and determines whether this person is influential in his community and probably most importantly how much money will he or she contribute to my reelection campaign or political party. This in my mind is corruption because a public official, elected with the public trust and indeed public monies (campaign financed) is being influenced by a monied interests, which is most of the time not in the best interests of the community or nation. In my mind, a great leader is somebody that sees the current problem and goes for a solution, with the least amount of friction and is not swayed by corporate or monied interests because its in the best interest of all concerned to remedy the situation.
Regarding long range issues and ideas, a great leader will not only see the problem before it takes shape, such as environmental problems but will air a long range vision that truly helps to fix the problem sometime in the future. The oil crisis of the 1970’s is a good example where it was seen and determined to be a major issue of the time. We had a major opportunity to remedy and strongly curtail a problem (i.e. the need oil) but it was not acted upon because of the transportation industry (oil, car, truck and train manufacturers) were so influential at the time and indeed we still are maintaining an oil based economy. Indeed, the oil crisis issue was so important as to be made part of our national interest. This gave the political leaders of the United States the moral, political and military justification to do whatever is necessary to enforce our right to get oil from the Middle East and keep our economy dependent on oil.
Often, the mark of the great leader is that he or she is merely pointing out what the problem is and how it should be solved, clearly and succinctly. Unfortunately, when a person is running for office in today’s world, the public is so numbed to what is important for the future, and there are so many crises in all areas of society, that the politician is addressing only what’s in front them and what the public wants to hear. especially when he or she is a candidate running for office. I found the following comment from Paul Street (another person with an opinion on the Internet), which in my mind sums up some serious flaws in our democracy.
“We should continue to work for critical democratic transformation in the candidate selection and policy processes and the national communications regime. Such changes include public financing of campaigns, proportional representation, and Instant Runoff in presidential elections, and the break-up of the insidious corporate media monopoly. They would help bring America's party and policy systems and the nation's visible opinion and commentary into proper alignment with popular sentiment on vital matters of issues of domestic and global policy. At the same time, remembering that it takes two parties to make the US into a one-party state, we must challenge the Democrats to either pull themselves out of their imperial corporatist lethargy or get out of the way to make room for others who will take up the peoples' fight against the arrogant masters of the in-power right. “ Paul Street
I strongly agree that campaign finance reform needs to occur in the highest levels of our government. We must keep monied / corporate / lobbyist’s interests at bay, who are representing their own selfish interests and not the public’s. Also, since the 1990’s, the conservative right in the form of the Republican Party have largely dominated politics from City Councils to President. I will not side with either the Democrats or Republicans because I believe both parties are way off the mark and leading us down a political and economic road to suicide. Both parties are involved in extremely foul activities which are not in the best interests of the nation and indeed the world. We simply new a new direction.
However, here in the early part of the 21st century, problems abound from every quarter. Local issues are important and need to be addressed but a major thrust of this website is that we are so short in time, that national and international issues must immediately take precedence and be addressed, otherwise the world of tomorrow will be bleak for future generations not to mention the various kingdoms which also have a right to be considered and defended. Since we are considering leaders that have vision and courage to face up to those who want to maintain the status quo, their challenges are numerous, such as:
Defending the air, the water (rivers, oceans and lakes) and the land against all who would rape the land in favor of profit and while not considering the environmental damage in present and for future time.
This is also a major consideration of all the ecosystems and species that inhabitant these spaces.
Address the issues of consumerism: This is a very complicated problem that touches on the government, educational institutions and media spreading the concept that progress is inseparably linked with buying things and wanting more. Consumerism started back in the 1950’s but really took off in the 60’s with advertising and re-identifying the average person as “consumers” instead of people. This is the notion of the ever expanding economy is a good thing and must be allowed to flourish at **ALL** costs. This of course takes its toll on humanity in the form of environmental degradation, by raping the land to capture its resources for short term profit to causing people to focus on making money at the cost of their humanity. This misguided focus leads to the mental and emotional stress that “I never have enough money for the things I want” mentality. In my mind, this is more a psychological issue than anything else. It literally speaks to our desires, e.g. impulse buying gone awry. In another way, the problem of consumerism also touches on population issues in the country and local communities. With more and more children being born, there are more demands on the infrastructure, the agricultural personnel and acreage necessary to feed them and for industry to employ them. But with strong need for more food because of more people are being born in America, the multinationals go outside the borders to the Amazon rainforest, for example to plow the land for cattle can roam the land for a relatively short time (1-3 years) then more land needs to be plowed. This land is precious rainforest that will never grow back again. The destruction of ecosystems there and the removal of trees, which produces carbon dioxide is critical for humans to survive. the need and drive to create more products to consume, not to mention the educational and medical needs of simply more people. I advocate a 1 child per household globally for a full generation until the planet can stabilize from the excessive demands put on it.
Education is necessary by our government and media by responsible leaders to talk about “what are our priorities?….do we really need to keep putting hundreds of billions of dollars into the military an take away monies form social services?” I will address these issues under the Social and Education headings. Acknowledged that the UN is an imperfect entity, but it all we have currently: Empower the Security Council, and the UN General Assembly to have the power to be able to negotiate an end to **ALL** hostilities around the world through diplomatic means and keeping meddling nations out, such as those who have an economic interest above the social and political needs of the warring nations. This includes nations like the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, France, etc. who are major arms dealers and profit from the implements of war. The sale of weaponry abroad MUST END NOW if we are able to create a peaceful world.
Confront the issues of poverty, hunger, bigotry, hate, and prejudice that KEEP US AT WAR with each other. We can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on making war and maintaining the climate of separation but we spend hardly anything by comparison on creating the scenario of peace. I will address these issues under the Social heading.
Redefine educational priorities. In today’s world, and for a number of generations, the focus of our education has been to prepare the person for getting a profession and becoming a good consumer. This short sited mentality, has led to stress and tensions to the extreme, such as forgetting that we are born first and foremost human beings. I have no problem with the child being raised with learning primary academics, but learning to become a human being and a citizen who can **give** to society and the environment because of a grateful heart should be our first priority. With this orientation and understanding, our world will be transformed from bigotry, prejudice, mistrust and separatism to inclusion, tolerance, goodwill and understanding.
If we are ever to have peace in our world, we must have leaders that are **publicly oriented in that direction**. This means, on the national and international scene, these leaders will go to all lengths to use diplomatic means for solving issues and not relying on the newest “shock and awe” weaponry of the Pentagon and supplying war plans or even the mentality that says “shoot first then ask questions later”.
Dr. Louise Diamond (http://www.thepeacecompany.com), said:
“Peace is more than the absence of war. It is an active presence in society of a way of life that honors life. We need leaders who will address the root causes of terrorism, injustice, and oppression - not their symptoms. We need leaders who will put our prodigious resources toward establishing the conditions for peace, at home and abroad. We need leaders who are willing to take responsibility for our own actions, before pointing the blame at others.”
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