I’ve covered some deep topics over the past five weeks.
I’ve entertained life as a dream in Your Life: A Dream?.
I’ve navigated the swamps of inadequacy and difficulty in Transcend Negativity.
I’ve toyed with the metaphysics of soul and spirit in One Soul, One Spirit.
I’ve plumbed the depths of the human condition with Being and Becoming.
And I’ve put the spotlight on death in my essay To The Great Beyond.
I’ve got one more, and this one’s a doozy: the state of our world.
The Journey of a Thousand Miles
In my mind, there’s so much to say about this topic that I hardly know where to start.
Perhaps this is why I’ve been putting it off for so long.
Yes, I know, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the journey of a thousand miles begins beneath my feet, and even the longest journey must begin where I stand.
But still.
There’s so much to say, so much to cover, so much to negotiate and navigate, and I would very much like to have this topic dovetail in harmony with the subject of personal fulfillment.
So let’s begin there. Wherein lies the harmony?
Let’s start by making this personal, in terms of soul and spirit, and then take the results of making it personal and project them onto the world to see what we come up with.
I know who you are, really and truly
I know who you are because I know that your natural state is to remain calm and composed in the face of problems, inadequacies, difficulties, and challenges.
I know who you are because I know that your natural inclination is to return to a state of calm and composure, in the face of troubles or disturbances, in the course of living your life.
I know who you are because I know that your natural impulse is to resist and then receive the freedom to be, have, do, or become what is already here and now, just below your feelings.
I know who you are because I know that you know where to go when crisis and chaos pay a visit: to that place within where nothing and no one can trouble or disturb your calm and composure.
Although you remain aware of what happens around you, with you, and to you, and you enjoy it or not, you don’t feel particularly bothered by, or attached to, any particular effort, result, or outcome.
This is why I find you so amazing: you, a spiritual being having a human experience, can go beyond your conditioning to release any sense of lacking and wanting with anyone, at anytime, in any place, for any reason.
You can release any sense of wanting to control (or be controlled), any sense of wanting approval (or disapproval), any sense of wanting to love (or be loved); any sense of wanting to hate (or be hated), any sense of wanting to be safe and secure (or unsafe and insecure), any sense of wanting separation and entitlement (or communion and oneness), any sense of wanting to survive (or not), and last, but certainly not least, any sense of wanting to live (or die).
You make it a habit of releasing your sense of lacking and wanting, whether you’re alone or with others, whether you’re feeling awesome or less than your best, and if you feel stuck, well, you can let go of wanting to change or control this, too! Let me tell you, you are simply amazing!
And each time you release, you feel lighter, happier, and more effective – and as you keep doing this, you continue to feel lighter, happier, and more effective.
And because you’ve become a master of emotional releasing, you have a well-deserved reputation for letting go of the past to live, love, learn, and laugh inside the present moment, where conflicts get resolved through discussion and releasing, rather than physical or emotional violence, and for letting go of feelings contrary to love to reveal your loving nature and support others in being themselves.
With this consummate mastery, you feel free to support the world in the following three ways:
1. You continue to hold the best in mind: you let go of any feelings that news reports stir up inside you (such as anger, anxiety, or resistance) and you allow yourself to view the world in the way you prefer it to be, all the while releasing contrary feelings that presume to tell you that it cannot or will not happen. You accept the world as it is by letting go of wanting to change or control it. The more you do this, the more you project the power of your promise onto the world from the heart of your soul.
2. You’re for the solution, not the problem: you’re pro this or pro that, not anti this or anti that. You’re for something, not against it, all the while understanding that when you insist on being anti this or anti that, you’re holding it in mind and feeding it with your energy and supporting its manifestation, whether you intend to do this or not. So, for example, when you take a stand, you’re for the equality of being, instead of being against discrimination; you’re for the environment, instead of being against pollution; you’re for peace, instead of being against war. Again, you project the power of your promise with a sense of possibility from the heart of your soul and with the mind of your spirit.
3. You practice acts of loving kindness: you give without expecting anything in return, not even recognition or acknowledgment; you allow yourself to see those whom you support as already whole and perfect just as they are, and fundamentally equal to you; and you allow them to be who they are rather than seeing them as imperfect and needing to be doubted, questioned, opposed, challenged, judged, threatened, condemned, fixed, adjusted, or improved.
Let me say it again: you are simply amazing.
Old Ways and New Ways
No doubt I’ve lost some readers by this point.
It’s not like me to qualify my readers, and so if you’re still with me, and you’ve made it this far, then I applaud you. You’ve grown up to a place where I can share what follows.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the state of our world, it’s this: it’s nothing personal. What I’ve seen and heard so far in my life indicates that the moment you make it personal is the moment you reveal your inner dissatisfaction with the quality of your life or with the vitality in your life.
If you’re in love with yourself, and if you’re in love with your life, and if you’re in love with those you care about, and if you’re in love with what you do for a living, then regardless of what’s happening in the world around you, you’re going to see your world as a pleasant and desirable place to be.
In other words, your sphere of concern is rosy pink and peachy keen.
Mind you, your sphere of influence might not be all that large, but at least your sphere of concern is radiating and vibrating at a frequency where you can cultivate your soul and celebrate your spirit.
But here’s something else you need to know: this world, our world, is in transition, the likes of which have never before been seen on this planet, and where there’s transition, there are growing pains. In this case, serious growing pains. So serious, in fact, that reasonable doubts have been credibly voiced about whether we’re going to survive them at all.
Old ways of viewing and doing things are holding on for dear life. New ways of viewing and doing things are pushing through the soils of life. The resulting state of affairs is interesting, to say the least.
This state of affairs is generating a lot of concern the world over. Genuine concern. Concern that questions fundamental assumptions about how we currently and collectively live our lives.
Concern that questions why only one percent of the world’s population owns 40% of the planet’s wealth. Concern that questions why 34,000 children die every day from poverty and preventable diseases. Concern that questions why 50% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.
Concerns such as these are perpetuated by two basic issues: sustainability and equitability.
Why?
Because the resources required for human survival on this planet have been abominably managed and because more and more people have been feeling less than happy about the results.
Is our world really as bad as some of us make it out to be?
This is a fair question, but in light of what I’ve shared so far, I don’t think this is the best question to be asking.
Think of it this way: if your sphere of concern happens to be rosy pink and peachy keen, what incentive would you have to investigate, let alone entertain for long, the problems that plague our world?
None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. No incentive whatsoever.
It also doesn’t help that those who bring up problems oftentimes bring them up for personal reasons.
They’re dissatisfied with the way things are – for themselves certainly and, by extension, for those they care about, and perhaps even for those they hardly know.
And here’s the thing: when you bring up problems, might there not be a sneaking suspicion on the part of those whose lives are rosy pink and peachy keen that it’s not our world that’s at fault, but you and your problems?
Under the weight of this question, you might even doubt the validity of your own intentions: “hmm, maybe it’s my fault after all. Maybe I should just turn inward and look at my own issues first.”
The net result might be a bunch of well-meaning, but dissatisifed people looking for satisfaction outside of themselves with other well-meaning, but dissatisfied people.
Earlier in this post, I wrote that our world is in transition, with serious growing pains, because The Old Way of viewing and doing is having difficulty making way for The New Way of viewing and doing.
I wrote this in response to watching confronting yet brilliant productions like this one.
You don’t have to watch this to follow what I’m about to write, but if you do, you’ll be much better placed to appreciate it.
We Go Along to Get Along
It’s in our nature to belong, to know our place, to keep the boat afloat in turbulent waters.
A UN report indicated that 40% of the world’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of one percent of the world’s population. If this is true, and I suspect that it is, then I really think we need to raise at least a few questions, both individually, as persons, and collectively, as a species.
I also think that it’s safe to say that those who carry the most wealth and power in this world have the most influence. And let’s be honest: with so much wealth and power, wouldn’t you feel tempted to exert your influence in subtle, indirect, even deceptive and manipulative ways to ensure that your interests are served?
I know I would.
I mean, knowing what I know now, I certainly would not, but if I were conditioned to live with so much wealth and power, I know that I would, either exerting the influence myself or turning a blind eye to it if or when it gets exerted in questionable ways by others.
With so much wealth, power, and influence, the top one percent (the global elite, if you will) can play Simon Says with consummate ease. What they say goes, all the way down the command hierarchy of the power pyramid. If they say “go”, we go. If they say “jump”, we jump. If they say “stop”, we stop.
None of this is direct and none of this is obvious. It’s a game we all play so that we can feel safe and secure. Of course, not everyone is so compliant, but they hurt, harm, and kill people like that, and make the hurting, harming, and killing look like a character flaw, an accident, or a suicide.
“Don’t get too big for your britches or I’m afraid we’re going to have to arrange things.” Read: “I’m afraid we’re going to have to discredit you (first), harm you (second), horizontalize you (third).”
Or: “And if you happen to pose a serious and immediate threat, we’re just gonna have to kill you.”
Lone assassins and assassination squads, under cover of darkness, can be quite effective. Have you noticed how many movies these days involve glamorous, glorified assassins? It’s like: “yes, we know that you know about our assassins, so let’s put a positive spin on it, shall we?”
Oh, before I forget, characters can be assassinated, too. In the public eye, no less.
I have to wonder: how much conforming have public officials and corporate officers been doing lately? (here, I’m talking about those who still have a conscience). Are they happy with it? Taking meds to help them numb themselves to it? Stuffing themselves with “food” and drink to help them forget about it? Getting addicted to keep their feelings of emptiness at bay?
We go along to get along, even if that means undermining or destroying ourselves in the process.
And please believe me, I’m not unsympathetic.
I shed some light on this dark subject not because I take any pleasure in it, but because we need to be aware of why things are not progressing as quickly or as easily as they might.
The Name of the Game is Control
Another reason why things aren’t progressing as quickly or as easily as they might is because the flow of information in the global body politic has been seriously compromised.
Many of us are already aware of certain interests who use cover stories to carry out their agendas.
They create truth embargoes on sensitive information. They manipulate the mainstream media outlets to direct the flow of information in desired directions. They misinform the public about what is really happening to protect their ongoing activities and interests. They employ disinformation campaigns to keep the truth about what they’re doing (or planning to do) under wraps. They provide subtle hints through various means like movies and adverts about what they’re doing (or planning to do). And they play it both ways, using skeptical inquiry to debunk legitimate issues and using accommodating inquiry to embrace issues that are clearly illegitimate or ridiculous. They’ve got us exactly where they want us.
We live under a carefully planned, carefully generated, carefully cultivated, web of deception. Sad to say, most of us are not even aware of it. Remember, like sheep, we go along to get along.
As a result, alternative sources of news, information, and inspiration have sprung up all over the World Wide Web as a way to compensate, and while this has kept a lot of us going, it’s not enough.
We’ve got a whole lot of positive virtual bubbles to enjoy, but that’s as far as it goes.
Unfortunately, because of this Web of Deception, it’s not always easy to know who to trust; it’s not always easy to know who is competent and who is credible with the flow of information.
If you had the wealth and the power and the influence to massage, manage, and direct the flow of information in the service of your own interests, wouldn’t you feel tempted to do it?
Where information is concerned, the name of the game is control.
Out with the Old, In with the New?
So where does this leave us? Do we give up before we start? If there was ever a time to fully employ our collective intelligence, abilities, talents, drive, determination, and inspiration, this is it.
I won’t bore you with the statistics, but things aren’t looking so good right now.
Fortunately for us, humanity is waking up. Big time. Waking up, and with laser focus, cutting through the crap with essential principles for sustainable, equitable modes of living.
The old ways of viewing and doing things are failing. Popular uprisings are becoming more common on planet earth for a reason, even if they’re manipulated to some extent by the agencies of intelligence.
Automation, cybernation, and artificial intelligence are in the process of making employment obsolete, and outsourcing is just one among many symptoms of this soon-to-be obsolescence. With less and less people being gainfully employed, the current system cannot and will not be sustained and sustained equitably.
The other symptoms are nothing less than scary, but I won’t talk about those here; I’d like to maintain a positive focus for the remainder of this post.
As the global market-based economy, with its debt-based money system, is rendered obsolete and ineffective by its own peculiar effectiveness and lack of efficiency, another paradigm is emerging.
A fledgling global paradigm is emerging with a global vision called The Venus Project along with a worldwide movement called The Zeitgeist Movement (catch their latest video production here).
The Venus Project has been around for decades, with special thanks to the pioneering work and vision of Jacque Fresco. I marvelled at his ingenuity back in the 1980s, but thought it too impractical at the time when I sensed that the economic situation seemed healthy. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Jacque was predicting the collapse of the current system back in the 1970s.
I now think this paradigm is our best hope for humanity to move forward in its evolution.
In essence, it goes beyond politics, poverty, and war. It envisions a centrally planned, resource-based, technology-based global management system with efficient automated manufacturing and distribution systems in place to ensure that everyone’s basic needs are met – and then some.
Unfortunately, my gut tells me that a breakdown of the current system will have to happen before this hope can see the light of day with enough people to make it a viable option.
A social, economic, cultural, political breakdown means crisis, chaos, conflict, and confusion. Based on my reading of the global situation so far, I feel uncertain about many things.
I feel uncertain about when this breakdown will occur (and it seems likely it will occur in one form or another), I feel uncertain whether this emerging global paradigm will see the light of day with enough people to make it viable before a breakdown occurs, and I feel uncertain about whether this paradigm can take hold amidst a global situation of crises, chaos, conflict, and confusion even if it does emerge.
But with enough positive, collective energy and resolve on the part of humanity aimed at a viable vision of global sustainability and equitability, perhaps my current feelings of uncertainty will evaporate in time.
I sincerely hope they do.
What Can I Do Now?
Educate yourself about The Venus Project and The Zeitgeist Movement. Read their materials, watch their videos, keep an open yet critical mind, and become a part of the conversation.
Share what you learn with those who are willing to listen, but don’t push it on them. They might not yet be ready or willing or able to hear it. Besides, not everyone in the world needs to know. With those who are willing to listen to your message of hope, plant seeds: suggest, affirm, inspire, refer.
This beautiful earth of ours is getting hammered by an increasingly obsolete and wasteful system, but it’s unlikely that we’ll be able (or allowed) to destroy it. Nevertheless, we live in perilous times. We’re all living on borrowed time. Not everyone is going to make it, perhaps not even a majority.
As for your personal fulfillment at this time, as well as what it might look and feel like in the emergent paradigm, I’ll have at least a few things to say about them in the coming weeks and months.