The metaphor has become a cliché; the forces of light battling the forces of darkness. But the way this metaphor has been understood has sent Christianity, and perhaps even other religious groups, down the garden path, as they say; precipitating courses of action that are completely antithetical to their core beliefs.
The metaphor of light and darkness, especially as it finds a place of expression and influence in religious rhetoric, gets its explanatory force, as do all metaphors, from the way that light and darkness actually relate to each other in our everyday experience. The image in this metaphor, as it is brandished by some, is used to evoke the picture of battle and struggle; indeed, it is used to produce a sense of urgency under the threat of, not just mere failure, but eternal damnation; a literal war, if you will. It is no surprise, then, to discover groups who have taken up this metaphor in their own religious beliefs, treating their religious zeal as a kind of preparation for war and battle.
The story that usually goes with the metaphor is that unless the forces of Light are fully committed, then the forces of darkness (evil) will win the battle. This battle, as it is played out in the lives of individuals, is seen as a microcosm of the greater cosmic battle between God and Satan; God as the commander of the forces of Light, and Satan as the commander of the forces of darkness. It is, therefore, incumbent upon every believer to "fight the good fight" of faith so that this failure, and consequential damnation, does not occur. Indeed, the whole theological problem of good and evil sprouts from the seed of this very understanding of the metaphor. Austin Farrer's God Almighty and Ills Unlimited was written as a testament of faith grappling with the intractable, inherently illogical problem of evil and the title articulates the problem in nux.
In the face of these ills we are driven to ask: "where is God with so much evil in the world?" "Where is God with so much sickness and death; so much natural calamity; so much economic upheaval and political unrest?" "Where is Love?" We have ills unlimited, yet God is almighty; as they say these days, "what's up with that?" "Why isn't something being done?" This, briefly, is the problem of evil; and I maintain that the source of this problem resides in the way the metaphor of light and darkness has been understood; or, rather, misunderstood. The way that this problem has been addressed in orthodox theology is a very good example of individuals ignoring Einstein's observation that we cannot solve our problems from within the same consciousness that created them.
The explanatory force of a metaphor comes from actual experience; thus, when the poet says that "the fog comes on little cat feet," we understand this to mean that the fog creeps in silently, as do little cats. This is an important relationship to keep in mind when taking up any hermeneutical endeavor involving metaphorical images in texts. And if we are to properly understand this metaphor we must look at that in our everyday existence upon which the metaphor rests, namely, the very ordinary and obvious relationship between light and darkness.
Perhaps the most astonishing demonstration of exactly what this relationship amounts to occurs when you enter a fully darkened room and turn on the light. There is no partial retreat of the darkness, only to rally and advance once again on the light; there is no recession of light in the face of an advancing darkness. Once the light is turned on, the darkness is immediately and summarily vanquished. There is no struggle, there is no battle, there is no resistance of any kind. This is the message of the metaphor. As children of God (the Light) we do not have the spirit of fear because the Light has no opposite; and because "greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." Indeed, there is only Light. The message that is conveyed by the metaphor is that, just as the darkness has no power against the light, so neither does the "darkness" of this world have any power over you. The corollary to this, which many religionists are loathe to accept, is that there are no armies of evil nor is there a commander of the "forces" of darkness, because darkness has no force that can be commanded. This is the true meaning of One God.
When Isaiah says "Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is One God..." he is saying exactly that. There is no other God; God is all-encompassing; and what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. The Light and God are One; the Light and Life are One; Love and God are One; and the name of that One is "I AM." This means there is only One "I AM," God. And we are instructed further on this when we learn that " 'I' and the Father are One." When we learn that "the kingdom of God is within" us, we should be able to see that it is the "I" of us that is the Kingdom of God, not the ego of us. Our name is the name of a location of God; it is where God acts to take dominion of creation. This is what the scripture means when we are promised that we will be "filled with all the fulness of God"; and this is why there was a crucifixion, Jesus dared to defend this very claim by quoting David, who had said "ye are gods" and by speaking of himself as being God in that he undertook to forgive sins.
The next time you turn on the light in a fully darkened room, just look and see how much struggle there is; look and see if the darkness has any power. And then in stillness find the "I AM" of you to begin your life afresh. The legions of Light move across the face of the earth and all human darkness disappears.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Hunger
Sometimes I just ache for meaningful conversation; conversation about deep things, important things, spiritual things. But I ache to hear from a vantage point and perspective on these things that is not from my gender. I don't want glib meanderings or cavalier pronouncements; I want carefully considered insights. I want "wit and grace and love and beauty" to shine in one constellation. I want to speak meaningfully about the kinds of anxieties and cares; the problems and pressures; the stresses and sorrows that beset me; indeed, that beset most of us. I want there to be tenderness beneath the honesty; compassion mixed with incision. Bravado is just another hollow, superficial, cacaphonic noise where what is wanted is real music.
It is enough now to have just expressed this longing; to have voiced this care; and to have cried aloud for help.
There is a great weight upon me just now; the earth itself is groaning under the same terrific burden...but it will not be long before we find relief. It approaches by the second. I feel spent in my life right now; not so much wasted as depleted. I must deliver a great gift before my three-score years and ten arrive and I am frustrated in this task by my own demons.
It is enough now to have just expressed this longing; to have voiced this care; and to have cried aloud for help.
There is a great weight upon me just now; the earth itself is groaning under the same terrific burden...but it will not be long before we find relief. It approaches by the second. I feel spent in my life right now; not so much wasted as depleted. I must deliver a great gift before my three-score years and ten arrive and I am frustrated in this task by my own demons.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Valentine's Day
It's often a tossup for me in the word association game as to whether "massacre" or "massage" comes to mind first after hearing "Valentine's Day". In either case, "love" and "romance" seem to struggle to stay in the top 5; and I think this is due to what I see as both the trivialization of love and its commercialization, forces that go hand in hand.
My views on love have been forged between the anvil of necessity and the hammer of anguish; and further qualified by my intellectual and spiritual education. All-in-all, my views put me pretty far afield from the mainstream account of love and romance that appears in the idealized images that gush forth in today's celebration. But I'm not without a firsthand understanding of it...what is it..."been there, done that"?
To me, the following experience seems to have been set from before the foundations of the earth, but to others, no doubt, it is nothing more than a mere coincidence. The experience in question occurred this past Thursday, about three days after I received the Oneness blessing in a nearby city. (Google "Oneness Blessing" to find out more.) To be sure, this is not the first time that I experienced some definite result from having received this blessing; it just seemed appropriate that the result came into place just in time for "the day of love and friendship," as some of my Latino/a friends call Valentine's Day.
The experience itself defies categorization and seems to be a kind of hybrid between dream, vision, and imagination. I was given to see myself in the third person, as it were. In this view I was able to see within my body to my heart space where there was a glowing, even dazzling, center of very white light. My perception then took me closer to that nebular presence and, as I approached, I could see that it was dancing, shimmering, scintillating. I continued the approach until I was inside the nebula and could feel the light; it felt actually substantial; it was soothing and comforting and brought me to look upward, where I saw a much more enormous nebula of the very same light, connected with the smaller nebula in my heart space. I felt drawn up into that light and felt myself at home and at one; there was a kind of rainbow around this nebula and when I looked at the rainbow, I immediately felt uplifted, supported, and...glorified. My view then returned to the more distant view where I could take in the "smaller" and the "larger" nebulae in one glance. I then "heard" myself saying "I AM the Light of the world." And this is where begins a connection with today.
The Light of the world was "I" but "I" wasn't the form, or body that I was looking at; the "I" was the Light and the center of consciousness articulating the announcement. I seemed to be focused "outside" the scene but yet speaking from within it. I then realized that the Light is self-luminous, self-conscious, intelligent, substance and that all was literally in the Light because it was out of that Light that everything came. I strangely didn't want anything more than just the Light at the time; resting in a serene repose within it, I felt completely at peace and fulfilled; I now wish I had given a little more thought to my day-to-day existence, as I could use a little stimulus package of my own...and not one of those measly little $780 billion ones either.
In all of this there was a supporting feeling of love that I noticed only afterward upon reflection; the Light was Love and Love was Light. But this Love seemed a far distant relative to the cupids and sirens we usually see performing the ambassadorial role in Love's stead; indeed, the difference between the two was like night and day. On the one hand there was the continually out-pressing, self-forgetful push of Love's Presence and, on the other hand, the opportunistic efforts designed to sate the body, feigning selflessness and adoration in the disguise of an economy of equal emotional exchange. In the same way that there is the tiniest detectable difference between naturally occurring vitamin c and that which is commercially made, there is a detectable difference between how these two competing loves feel to the participants; that is, if they can ever get to the level of self-consciousness where such a feeling looms prominent. I say "competing" but that is not technically true; Love never looks back to see what's behind because it acknowledges nothing but itself, so it is not in competition with anything; it knows only giving; and when it gives, it gives the Light, from which all blessings flow.
This gift to me was not a "pat on the back" for being devoted; it was the removal of a veil which kept my oneness hidden from me. The Light in my Heart space is the Light in your Heart space; the Love in my Light is the Love in your Life; and the Life in my Heart is the Life of your Love.
To those who have just started a new relationship, just ended one, are sustaining one, or struggling with one I say: find that Light within yourself by pushing your self-consciousness back to the "I" and you will not only find yourself, but you will have all else you need. The Light in your Heart is the Law of your Life.
My Love to All
My views on love have been forged between the anvil of necessity and the hammer of anguish; and further qualified by my intellectual and spiritual education. All-in-all, my views put me pretty far afield from the mainstream account of love and romance that appears in the idealized images that gush forth in today's celebration. But I'm not without a firsthand understanding of it...what is it..."been there, done that"?
To me, the following experience seems to have been set from before the foundations of the earth, but to others, no doubt, it is nothing more than a mere coincidence. The experience in question occurred this past Thursday, about three days after I received the Oneness blessing in a nearby city. (Google "Oneness Blessing" to find out more.) To be sure, this is not the first time that I experienced some definite result from having received this blessing; it just seemed appropriate that the result came into place just in time for "the day of love and friendship," as some of my Latino/a friends call Valentine's Day.
The experience itself defies categorization and seems to be a kind of hybrid between dream, vision, and imagination. I was given to see myself in the third person, as it were. In this view I was able to see within my body to my heart space where there was a glowing, even dazzling, center of very white light. My perception then took me closer to that nebular presence and, as I approached, I could see that it was dancing, shimmering, scintillating. I continued the approach until I was inside the nebula and could feel the light; it felt actually substantial; it was soothing and comforting and brought me to look upward, where I saw a much more enormous nebula of the very same light, connected with the smaller nebula in my heart space. I felt drawn up into that light and felt myself at home and at one; there was a kind of rainbow around this nebula and when I looked at the rainbow, I immediately felt uplifted, supported, and...glorified. My view then returned to the more distant view where I could take in the "smaller" and the "larger" nebulae in one glance. I then "heard" myself saying "I AM the Light of the world." And this is where begins a connection with today.
The Light of the world was "I" but "I" wasn't the form, or body that I was looking at; the "I" was the Light and the center of consciousness articulating the announcement. I seemed to be focused "outside" the scene but yet speaking from within it. I then realized that the Light is self-luminous, self-conscious, intelligent, substance and that all was literally in the Light because it was out of that Light that everything came. I strangely didn't want anything more than just the Light at the time; resting in a serene repose within it, I felt completely at peace and fulfilled; I now wish I had given a little more thought to my day-to-day existence, as I could use a little stimulus package of my own...and not one of those measly little $780 billion ones either.
In all of this there was a supporting feeling of love that I noticed only afterward upon reflection; the Light was Love and Love was Light. But this Love seemed a far distant relative to the cupids and sirens we usually see performing the ambassadorial role in Love's stead; indeed, the difference between the two was like night and day. On the one hand there was the continually out-pressing, self-forgetful push of Love's Presence and, on the other hand, the opportunistic efforts designed to sate the body, feigning selflessness and adoration in the disguise of an economy of equal emotional exchange. In the same way that there is the tiniest detectable difference between naturally occurring vitamin c and that which is commercially made, there is a detectable difference between how these two competing loves feel to the participants; that is, if they can ever get to the level of self-consciousness where such a feeling looms prominent. I say "competing" but that is not technically true; Love never looks back to see what's behind because it acknowledges nothing but itself, so it is not in competition with anything; it knows only giving; and when it gives, it gives the Light, from which all blessings flow.
This gift to me was not a "pat on the back" for being devoted; it was the removal of a veil which kept my oneness hidden from me. The Light in my Heart space is the Light in your Heart space; the Love in my Light is the Love in your Life; and the Life in my Heart is the Life of your Love.
To those who have just started a new relationship, just ended one, are sustaining one, or struggling with one I say: find that Light within yourself by pushing your self-consciousness back to the "I" and you will not only find yourself, but you will have all else you need. The Light in your Heart is the Law of your Life.
My Love to All
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Mind's Eye, the Sense of a Voice, and the Oneness Blessing
When I was a child my mother explained to me how to do sums in my head. The procedure involved my being able to picture a blackboard and then imagining writing the numbers to be summed on it. That sort of imagination is directed, as it were, from the "outside" by ideas or plans; however, there is a kind of picturing that arises, again, as it were, from the "inside," and on its own. This inner sight is quite accurate and startling.
The summer I graduated from high school I had a great job working for the Southwestern Company selling books door-to-door in Texarkana, Tx/Ar. Before we started our day, my roommates and I listened to inspirational records by Earl Nightingale. I can't, right now, remember any of the words he said on that record, but I do remember the sense of his voice and can almost reconstruct the feeling that listening to his voice had on me. If you have ever heard Earl Nightingale speak, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.
I have been given the Oneness blessing on two occasions now; and a few days after receiving each one I have experienced what I take to be significant progress in my efforts to come into consonance with the spiritual Presence. The first was in relation to my inner sight and the second was with respect to the sense of a voice. Two results have been that my devotion to the Mighty I AM Presence has been intensified and my resolve to come into alignment with it has been strengthened.
Co-given with these smaller changes is a much stronger sense that there is something of cosmic proportions afoot in the world; there are global changes occurring and they are registering on our psychic seismograph even now. I do not think that this is "the end of the world" but there are dramatic changes coming. As if what we are experiencing now weren't dramatic enough.
The summer I graduated from high school I had a great job working for the Southwestern Company selling books door-to-door in Texarkana, Tx/Ar. Before we started our day, my roommates and I listened to inspirational records by Earl Nightingale. I can't, right now, remember any of the words he said on that record, but I do remember the sense of his voice and can almost reconstruct the feeling that listening to his voice had on me. If you have ever heard Earl Nightingale speak, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.
I have been given the Oneness blessing on two occasions now; and a few days after receiving each one I have experienced what I take to be significant progress in my efforts to come into consonance with the spiritual Presence. The first was in relation to my inner sight and the second was with respect to the sense of a voice. Two results have been that my devotion to the Mighty I AM Presence has been intensified and my resolve to come into alignment with it has been strengthened.
Co-given with these smaller changes is a much stronger sense that there is something of cosmic proportions afoot in the world; there are global changes occurring and they are registering on our psychic seismograph even now. I do not think that this is "the end of the world" but there are dramatic changes coming. As if what we are experiencing now weren't dramatic enough.
Blagojevich
I happened to be living in Illinois when Blagojevich was elected; at the time, I was the chair of the Libertarian Party of Southern Illinois and didn't really notice the details of his platform. It wasn't until the recent events took the national stage that I noticed him again, as I have since moved away from Illinois. What strikes me the most about this bizarre episode is the absence of emotion in all of his addresses. He is strangely detached from his feelings and, as a counsellor, I would say that he evinces the signs of sociopathy. His detachment puts him in a delusory world and makes access to moral sentiment impossible; i.e., he is unable to feel the feelings of others because he cannot feel his own feelings.
His case, however, is instructive in the following way, namely, it illustrates the truism that when we wish to cover something up in ourselves, we daren't admit it in another, lest it be publicized and come to the surface of our own consciousness where we must face it and deal with it. More recently this was the case with the election of the previous president, who had bankrupted every company with which he had been associated. Unwilling to admit this lack of financial responsibility in themselves, the republican leaders refused to see it in their candidate. We now know what that cost us, the republican party knows what it cost them, and the world at large knows what it cost because they, too, are paying the price.
More to the point, what is it that we are covering up in ourselves with regard to more important matters? Einstein is reputed to have said that we cannot find solutions to problems from within the same consciousness that created them. With respect to certain issues facing our country and the world, this bears keeping in mind because, so far, no solution has been presented to any of the crises that does not already lie within the consciousness of the problem that it is put forth to solve.
The financial crisis, for instance, did not arise from a shortage of funds but from poor decisions bred of the flawed character of those in charge. Why, then, 1) do we think that throwing money at these institutions will solve the problem and 2) why do we allow the same people to make decisions as to how to use that money.
The middle east is another area where our myopia reigns supreme. For some reason we bear a national guilt that is assuaged only by a blind support of Israel. This blindness prevents us from seeing that it is our money that is prolonging the dispute. If we simply freeze Israel's funds until they make peace with their enemies, then 1) we will have the use of that money until such times as Israel earns it back; and 2) Israel will have a reason to negotiate. This is a large amount of money paid out on a monthly basis; money that we could use right now.
Contrary to popular belief, our society is not classless. In our society we have the two major classes: the people who are working for themselves and those who work for others; those individuals who are at the helm of the great corporations can be considered to be working for themselves because they are the major stockholders in the corporations and they are in control of their own paycheck. In our present financial crisis, neither position seems favored. For all practical purposes, then, we might consider that the days of capitalism in this country have ended and we stand now at the cusp of a new order.
We have not been able to trust individuals to head up great companies because they have defaulted in their trust and brought ruination on the country's economy. The new order will not be an order in which social groups hold sway, contrary to the beliefs of one political party; nor will it be an order in which the privileged few hold sway, contrary to the beliefs of another political party. Rather, each individual will discover within him or herself the Power to direct their own lives, as the likes of Emerson invisioned.
This revolution, if it can be called such, because it has been slowly moving toward this day for ages, is not an overthrowing but an awakening; not a dissolution but a hatching; it is not a destruction of the law, but its fulfillment. And the law in question is the law of our own being; and we must come into contact with that being if we are to understand the law. Our own being is the Life of us; it is the "I AM Presence" of us. Accordingly, the race will not go to the swift nor to the strong; it will go to those living closest to that Presence and in consonance with It. The days are gone when physical, mental, or social prowess will avail anything; only the Light will continue on from here.
But this is not a namby pamby powderpuff change either. The Light is a conquering Presence and that which does not conform to it's Way to live Life, will surrender; the Light no longer tolerates the abuse heaped on Life and is now coming forth as the Champion of Life; all who oppose will fail.
I know whereof I speak; I Am the Unfed Flame.
His case, however, is instructive in the following way, namely, it illustrates the truism that when we wish to cover something up in ourselves, we daren't admit it in another, lest it be publicized and come to the surface of our own consciousness where we must face it and deal with it. More recently this was the case with the election of the previous president, who had bankrupted every company with which he had been associated. Unwilling to admit this lack of financial responsibility in themselves, the republican leaders refused to see it in their candidate. We now know what that cost us, the republican party knows what it cost them, and the world at large knows what it cost because they, too, are paying the price.
More to the point, what is it that we are covering up in ourselves with regard to more important matters? Einstein is reputed to have said that we cannot find solutions to problems from within the same consciousness that created them. With respect to certain issues facing our country and the world, this bears keeping in mind because, so far, no solution has been presented to any of the crises that does not already lie within the consciousness of the problem that it is put forth to solve.
The financial crisis, for instance, did not arise from a shortage of funds but from poor decisions bred of the flawed character of those in charge. Why, then, 1) do we think that throwing money at these institutions will solve the problem and 2) why do we allow the same people to make decisions as to how to use that money.
The middle east is another area where our myopia reigns supreme. For some reason we bear a national guilt that is assuaged only by a blind support of Israel. This blindness prevents us from seeing that it is our money that is prolonging the dispute. If we simply freeze Israel's funds until they make peace with their enemies, then 1) we will have the use of that money until such times as Israel earns it back; and 2) Israel will have a reason to negotiate. This is a large amount of money paid out on a monthly basis; money that we could use right now.
Contrary to popular belief, our society is not classless. In our society we have the two major classes: the people who are working for themselves and those who work for others; those individuals who are at the helm of the great corporations can be considered to be working for themselves because they are the major stockholders in the corporations and they are in control of their own paycheck. In our present financial crisis, neither position seems favored. For all practical purposes, then, we might consider that the days of capitalism in this country have ended and we stand now at the cusp of a new order.
We have not been able to trust individuals to head up great companies because they have defaulted in their trust and brought ruination on the country's economy. The new order will not be an order in which social groups hold sway, contrary to the beliefs of one political party; nor will it be an order in which the privileged few hold sway, contrary to the beliefs of another political party. Rather, each individual will discover within him or herself the Power to direct their own lives, as the likes of Emerson invisioned.
This revolution, if it can be called such, because it has been slowly moving toward this day for ages, is not an overthrowing but an awakening; not a dissolution but a hatching; it is not a destruction of the law, but its fulfillment. And the law in question is the law of our own being; and we must come into contact with that being if we are to understand the law. Our own being is the Life of us; it is the "I AM Presence" of us. Accordingly, the race will not go to the swift nor to the strong; it will go to those living closest to that Presence and in consonance with It. The days are gone when physical, mental, or social prowess will avail anything; only the Light will continue on from here.
But this is not a namby pamby powderpuff change either. The Light is a conquering Presence and that which does not conform to it's Way to live Life, will surrender; the Light no longer tolerates the abuse heaped on Life and is now coming forth as the Champion of Life; all who oppose will fail.
I know whereof I speak; I Am the Unfed Flame.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Inauguration
Eight years ago this past November I was dismayed at the apparent lack of intuition Americans had for what was good for the country; four years ago this past November I awoke one morning thinking that I lived in a nation of idiots and they had elected one of their own as leader. Tomorrow we will inaugurate another in the long line of leaders elected to direct the course of my beloved country. However, in the days following the election this past November, I became aware that there was something different about my citizenship, indeed, about the whole system of beliefs I held about America.
I am a Scottish immigrant, having come here with my parents at, what Freud would call, the height of my psycho-sexual development. From the vantage point of a schoolroom in Galston, Ayrshire, the United States was truly "the mystical, magical land of America," if I might borrow a phrase from Paul Simon. To my boyhood sensibilities and childhood naivete, I was more than disappointed to discover, upon my landing at O'Hare Field, that there were no stagecoaches; no cowboys; no indians. I was wrenched from my romanticized world by the August heat, the velocity with which cars sped past pedestrians on the sidewalks, and the vastness of corn fields, stretching for mile upon mile as we travelled northward to Wisconsin and what would be my home for the next ten years or so and which would also remain the fond home of my childhood as I ventured out across America.
Yes, I knew I was different in grade school, junior high, and high school, but the difference was just that I was "the kid from Scotland." I had become a naturalized citizen at the same time my parents did and nothing seemed to set me apart from other citizens; at least that was the case until my freshman year in c0llege. There, during freshman speech class, I first became aware of the difference between me and my fellow Americans.
One of my classmates, a political science major, started off her speech with a piece of poetry and asked the class--and you can imagine the size of a required freshman speech class-- if anyone knew what that piece of poetry was. In the entire class, only one hand went up, and it was mine; just to be sure that I knew the answer, she asked me to identify it; I correctly identified it as the second verse of the Star Spangled Banner. Such was the love this Scottish immigrant bore his beloved America. From that day to this I have been aware of what, for lack of a better description, I call a qualitative difference in types of patriotism.
During the last two presidential campaigns much has been made of the patriotism issue, ranging from the "swiftboat" ads to the "war hero." The patriotism that soldiers have is qualitatively different from the type of patriotism that politicians have; the former sees what is good for the country in terms of the domination of a particular way of life; albeit, this way of life may not be spelled out in detail in the mind of the soldier. The latter sees patriotism as the triumph of a particular ideology, in spite of the fact that the ideology promoted may not have brought about the changes anticipated when last it was implemented. In addition to these types of patriotism there is that ilk of patriotism shared by immigrants of all stripes; in these cases, the love of America arises from the promises inherent in the image of America that is promulgated abroad--the love of America is the love of the particular type of freedom sought, i.e., economic, religious, political, etc. In my case, none of these apply because I was too young to be a soldier, politician, or to articulate a particular freedom I wish I had and saw that I could have in America--I was taken to America. In what, then, does my patriotism consist?
My patriotism consists in this, namely, that I want for America what is good, and right, and just because we are "One Nation Under God." "Ah," you say, "but isn't that what we all want?" Yes, it is what we all want; but we disagree as to what it is precisely that is the good, the right, and the just. This disagreement has caused every war, all poverty, all cruelty, hatred, and intolerance of every kind. The inability to come to agreement on this issue is a symptom of personal fragmentation; and, as a result, the intuition that would normally guide our decision making has been poisoned, crippled, and distorted; indeed, the ills of our society reflect the condition of our intuition in every respect. Every ill we see in the world is of our own creation; and can be remedied only by healing the guidance mechanism that our personal intuition affords us.
This healing amounts to nothing more than personally affirming the wholeness of each individuated consciousness; and we affirm it by finding, identifying with, and living in the self-consciousness of the "I" of "I Am."
I can almost hear the objections to this insight now; claiming that it smacks of religion and that we must maintain the separation of church and state; and that such statements have no business in politics. Well, consider this, I have been repeating the question posed by my classmate these many years and I have yet to find someone who knew the answer; why didn't you raise your hand? We can often benefit from the perspective of another on our problems; as Einstein has noted, we cannot solve a problem from within the same consciousness that created it. And, as the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, also noted, "I wish God would give us the power to see ourselves as other people see us." "I AM" giving you this power right now.
A few days after the recent presidential election the newswires were abuzz with talk of how historic this election was and how great a step America had made. But I have seen a kitten raised with puppies who thought that it was a puppy too until one day, when chasing a squirrel, it was the only one able to run up the tree after it. Should there be celebration? Is that a historic happening? I asked myself the following rhetorical question in the midst of all this news buzz "Am I the only person in America who is not racist?" The jubilation that was, and still is, expressed belies a deeper, although now dethroned, racism; in my America this was expected, and what is expected is no surprise. The deeper question now is: "What is the difference between my America and yours; what is it that I see that you do not; how was my vision of America formed?"
I used to think of myself as, more or less, "the man in the street" but no longer; apparently, I have a perspective and vantagepoint on America shared by few, but available to all. Perhaps tomorrow we should inaugurate a new self, the "I Am" of us; this is, after all, AMerica.
God bless you all and, especially, God bless America!!
I am a Scottish immigrant, having come here with my parents at, what Freud would call, the height of my psycho-sexual development. From the vantage point of a schoolroom in Galston, Ayrshire, the United States was truly "the mystical, magical land of America," if I might borrow a phrase from Paul Simon. To my boyhood sensibilities and childhood naivete, I was more than disappointed to discover, upon my landing at O'Hare Field, that there were no stagecoaches; no cowboys; no indians. I was wrenched from my romanticized world by the August heat, the velocity with which cars sped past pedestrians on the sidewalks, and the vastness of corn fields, stretching for mile upon mile as we travelled northward to Wisconsin and what would be my home for the next ten years or so and which would also remain the fond home of my childhood as I ventured out across America.
Yes, I knew I was different in grade school, junior high, and high school, but the difference was just that I was "the kid from Scotland." I had become a naturalized citizen at the same time my parents did and nothing seemed to set me apart from other citizens; at least that was the case until my freshman year in c0llege. There, during freshman speech class, I first became aware of the difference between me and my fellow Americans.
One of my classmates, a political science major, started off her speech with a piece of poetry and asked the class--and you can imagine the size of a required freshman speech class-- if anyone knew what that piece of poetry was. In the entire class, only one hand went up, and it was mine; just to be sure that I knew the answer, she asked me to identify it; I correctly identified it as the second verse of the Star Spangled Banner. Such was the love this Scottish immigrant bore his beloved America. From that day to this I have been aware of what, for lack of a better description, I call a qualitative difference in types of patriotism.
During the last two presidential campaigns much has been made of the patriotism issue, ranging from the "swiftboat" ads to the "war hero." The patriotism that soldiers have is qualitatively different from the type of patriotism that politicians have; the former sees what is good for the country in terms of the domination of a particular way of life; albeit, this way of life may not be spelled out in detail in the mind of the soldier. The latter sees patriotism as the triumph of a particular ideology, in spite of the fact that the ideology promoted may not have brought about the changes anticipated when last it was implemented. In addition to these types of patriotism there is that ilk of patriotism shared by immigrants of all stripes; in these cases, the love of America arises from the promises inherent in the image of America that is promulgated abroad--the love of America is the love of the particular type of freedom sought, i.e., economic, religious, political, etc. In my case, none of these apply because I was too young to be a soldier, politician, or to articulate a particular freedom I wish I had and saw that I could have in America--I was taken to America. In what, then, does my patriotism consist?
My patriotism consists in this, namely, that I want for America what is good, and right, and just because we are "One Nation Under God." "Ah," you say, "but isn't that what we all want?" Yes, it is what we all want; but we disagree as to what it is precisely that is the good, the right, and the just. This disagreement has caused every war, all poverty, all cruelty, hatred, and intolerance of every kind. The inability to come to agreement on this issue is a symptom of personal fragmentation; and, as a result, the intuition that would normally guide our decision making has been poisoned, crippled, and distorted; indeed, the ills of our society reflect the condition of our intuition in every respect. Every ill we see in the world is of our own creation; and can be remedied only by healing the guidance mechanism that our personal intuition affords us.
This healing amounts to nothing more than personally affirming the wholeness of each individuated consciousness; and we affirm it by finding, identifying with, and living in the self-consciousness of the "I" of "I Am."
I can almost hear the objections to this insight now; claiming that it smacks of religion and that we must maintain the separation of church and state; and that such statements have no business in politics. Well, consider this, I have been repeating the question posed by my classmate these many years and I have yet to find someone who knew the answer; why didn't you raise your hand? We can often benefit from the perspective of another on our problems; as Einstein has noted, we cannot solve a problem from within the same consciousness that created it. And, as the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, also noted, "I wish God would give us the power to see ourselves as other people see us." "I AM" giving you this power right now.
A few days after the recent presidential election the newswires were abuzz with talk of how historic this election was and how great a step America had made. But I have seen a kitten raised with puppies who thought that it was a puppy too until one day, when chasing a squirrel, it was the only one able to run up the tree after it. Should there be celebration? Is that a historic happening? I asked myself the following rhetorical question in the midst of all this news buzz "Am I the only person in America who is not racist?" The jubilation that was, and still is, expressed belies a deeper, although now dethroned, racism; in my America this was expected, and what is expected is no surprise. The deeper question now is: "What is the difference between my America and yours; what is it that I see that you do not; how was my vision of America formed?"
I used to think of myself as, more or less, "the man in the street" but no longer; apparently, I have a perspective and vantagepoint on America shared by few, but available to all. Perhaps tomorrow we should inaugurate a new self, the "I Am" of us; this is, after all, AMerica.
God bless you all and, especially, God bless America!!
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