Dedicated to preparing for the Awakening
MIND.
of the Collective Consciousness
of the World.
~ The Riddle? ~
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~ The Riddle? ~
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Justice in the life and conduct of the State
is possible only as first it resides in the hearts
and souls of the citizens.
-Plato
Some may deny it, but our world is currently operating under groups and clusters of pyramid-structured hierarchies within companies, businesses and organizations. Just look at the back of our own dollar bill:
The pyramid is supposed to be the symbol of strength and duration
and the all-seeing eye, the symbol of divinity.
Intended or not, it associates the pyramid of Power-over
mentality with self-righteousness and divine right.
Naturally we all want the blessings of the divine,
but what is power-over
mentality?
It is the underlying basis of relationships
where one has power over another. It can be extreme
as in a master/ slave relationship, common as in
a boss/ employee relationship, or subtle as with family
or friends wherein one is the leader and the others the followers.
Now this may seem like the natural order of things,
but only because we have been born into a world where pyramid
structured hierarchies are already in power.
The alternative is power-with
structures. This is where
no one exploits their power over others and instead seeks
to find mutually satisfying outcomes.
I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's.
-William Blake
Some of you may feel that it is not a realistic approach
to expect to live in a power-with
society. Yet it is
the only philosophy and living model in the entire history
of the world that has ever demonstrated that it DOES work...
at least for humans.
I am speaking of course of Ancient Malta, which you are
welcome to research and deduce for yourself their culture.
There is no single source of information for this so you
will have to google search Ancient Herstory and
do your own research.
They lived in real, almost absolute peace without weapons,
or war, and yet kept the peace with mighty hunter-gatherer
tribes for hundreds and hundreds of years.
How did they do this?
I believe the answer is in a Power-with
culture
that knew how to communicate without violence, and without judgment.
For Malta:
I believe that they exemplified living without judgment,
exactly as Christ asked his followers to do. Yet today,
his followers continue to preach moral judgment of others.
The greatest way to live with honor in this world
is to be what we pretend to be.
-Socrates
I think that the people of Malta simply lived as Rumi spoke
of living; in a field beyond right and wrong
which again, means
without judgment. Yet many in the Middle East today who
admire this wise sage are also filled with righteous
judgment.
The Buddha taught and lived a life without judgment
in the way of the Tao.
Some of you may think that living without judgment is just
a fairy tale dream. Yet the whole world honors and acknowledges
the wisdom of these ideals and those of other great figures
such as Martin Luther King Jr. who spoke of equality,
and Ghandi, and Krishna, who spoke of non-violence and bliss.
We continue to model entire cultures and lives around
their words. While we strive for their ideals, we appear rooted in
pyramids of power. There must be some inner knowing that draws
us to a better way of living and interacting, but how do we get there?
How do we go from a world of warring civilizations
based inPower-overothers,
to a world ofPower-withothers,
that empowers us to live in peace?
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
-Margaret Mead
committed citizens can change the world,
indeed it's the only thing that ever has.
The gap between rich and poor is widening at a faster and faster
rate and at present, the top 10 percent of the wealthiest people
in the world are in control of about 90% of the world's
wealth and resources.
THIS IS ONE HUGE GIANT PYRAMID STRUCTURE!
The lowest and poorest are getting poorer and simply dying.
This must end, but how?
We all do our part in supporting causes that are close to our hearts.
However, I am feeling a greater sense of urgency
as the year 2012 approaches. I am particularly concerned
that the bio-diversity of our world is no longer stable, which is
vital for the survival of our species.
No one has the right to take this from us!
No individual, nation or government, or country has the right
to destroy our home world!
We cannot let this happen.
Many of you may wonder what any of us can do about this personally.
Well, personally, I have grown disillusioned with the whole
waste of hundreds, sometimes thousands of people's hours
and energies on protesting when nothing comes of it.
I'm not discouraging protests, I just like to be efficient.
Sure, I don't mind making a statement. I just want to see
some change happen directly as a result of my actions.
So first, let us identify the cause, for as Henry David Thoreau said,
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil
to one who is striking at the root.
I not only want to be that one, I want all of us to be that one! The branches are being shaken to distract us. It's time to go for the root cause.
The world is dominated by those who maintain their power
through power-over
pyramid type structures of hierarchies
within businesses, organizations, governments, religions,
cultures, classes, and almost any other group that you can think of.
They in turn continue to function, operate, and teach only
power-over systems that compete against each other.
Eventually they themselves become swallowed by a larger pyramid
structure or combine to create an even bigger one.
The problem with this system of power-over
is that
the increasing multitude at the bottom are truly suffering
and dying at an alarming rate.
The physicist and human rights advocate Vandana Shiva writes
at length about the need for a new Earth Democracy
movement.
He states:
Old divisions between have and have-nots
-Article
are mutating into new polarizations of the
lives and live-nots
,
as millions are robbed of their very right to stay alive.
The economic apartheid
between the lives and live-nots
is being translated into the genocidal
tendencies of ethnic cleansing.
I don't know about you, but I am not okay with the continued
indifference, and exploitive means of how we as human beings
are treating each other. Especially since some of us live
in what is supposed to be the greatest nation on earth!
Mr Shiva is saying that those at the tops of the pyramids have
become so drunk with power, greed and gluttony, that those
at the bottom are being devoured through steady indifference.
I am definitely not okay with this!
This is not kind,
loving,
or compassionate.
If some claim to call it conservative compassion
then to me,
they claim compassion
that is being conserved,
meaning that it is withheld compassion,
meaning of course,
that it is no compassion at all!
It is merely cold-hearted, insensitive, selfish and shortsighted
behavior that is leading us all to a global narcissistic suicide.
The continuing denial to avoid responsibility, with threats
of coercion or violence must end.
Truly we must evolve or die.
So how do we change it?
I know that many of you are very excited about certain evolutionary
and revolutionary activities you are all involved with.
We are caring and passionate souls, we are... and oh so busy.
Thoreau also writes:
It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants.
The question is:
what are we busy about?
Are you content to hack at the branches or are you ready
to chop at the root?
I say lets go for the root and get it over with.
Now, I am open to any new suggestions to help clarify and simplify
what I am about to share with you. I can make changes.
So please hang in there while I give you a little information
and use a few analogies to try to explain what I think will be
a true self-sustaining catalyst for change to redistribute wealth
and resources to the caring, the kind, and the loving,
over the entire world...
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of
creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
To begin, let's go over some statistical facts about the
current distribution of wealth and resources:
Author Christopher Lasch (The Revolt of the Elites and the
Betrayal of Democracy) wrote that between 1997 and 1999,
the wealth of the top one percent of households exceeded
the combined wealth of the bottom 95 percent.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 1 percent
of households had an average before-tax income of $786,000
and after-tax income of $516,000. However, the average after-tax
income of the country's poorest 20 percent of families fell
9 percent between 1977 and 1999.
-Article
Globally, the disparity between the privileged class and the poor
widened in the 1980s and 1990s. A 1999 United Nations
Human Development report concluded that in 1960 the income gap
between the fifth of the people living in the world's richest
countries and the fifth living in the world's poorest was 34 to 1.
By 1990, the gap had widened to 60 to 1. And by 1998 it had
escalated to 78 to 1. By the end of the 1990s, the income
of the world's 200 richest people increased four-fold between
1995 and 1999 to more than $1 trillion.
Americans ranked in the top seven slots of these elitists.
Their average net worth was $5 billion each. The combined wealth
of these 200 individuals equaled that of the world's poorest
2.5 billion people. In 1900, the United States' per-capita
income was nine times larger than that of Chad and Ethiopia.
In 1999 it was 45 times larger.
Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.
- Winston Churchill
Clearly this is a pyramid scheme on a global scale.
This means that the few at the top of the pyramid structures
of the world are continuing to get more and more of the power
and control over those at the bottom of the pyramids who are
getting less and less.
As for resources, it is generally acknowledged that the problem
of resources is not a lack of abundance, but a lack of means
of distributing to those who are in need. Many remain uninformed
or ignorant of this simple fact.
For example:
Aside from the obvious waste of crops being destroyed
to keep profits at a certain rate, people have given billions
and trillions to charities and causes. Did you know that less
than 10% to 40% of what we give actually gets to those we
wish to help? Only on rare occasions if some billionaire is
involved does help go directly to a cause. The rest of the time,
most donations go to the maintenance of the organization,
staff salaries, rent, overhead costs, and other fees that
I don't even know about.
Basically, when we give, there is an entire pyramid of hierarchies
that distribution must go through, before what we give goes to
those that we are giving to. This is due to the lack of
a means of distributing directly to them.
What about things like the Lottery? Does anyone remember
that lotteries were started under the pretext that it would mean
money for Schools?
Dare I guess that getting 7 cents on the dollar is a high estimate
as to what our schools actually get?
Do they even get any anymore?
Why can't we just give directly to those in need without all those
extra costs and profiteering?
Indeed, we can.
My major problem with the world is a problem of scarcity
in the midst of plenty ...
of people starving while there are unused resources ...
people having skills which are not being used.
- Milton Friedman
I propose that we give up on the entire pyramid structure and let go
of power-over systems all together. Instead, let us begin actions,
activities, hobbies, and community events that engender and teach
systems and ideas that rely on Power with
others,
because that is the only way that has ever worked!
Does this sound like a good enough root cause for you?
Would it be nice if all the caring, loving, volunteering, giving,
compassionate and helpful souls in the world had a say
in where and how all the resources are shared?
But,
you may ask, How can we change the entire system?
I'm glad you asked.
I have a plan!
Let him that would move the world first move himself.
-Socrates