For nearly thirty years, the Republican’s have been the champions of the old order. The order of Taurus, the bull-headed pharaoh who can do no wrong. Know him as Bush II. Next, they stood for the order of Aries, the scapegoat, personified by Osama Bin Laden. Finally, they fished their way around Pisces. The sliminess of the self-sacrificing martyr, these, our troops and the Iraqi populace, made to suffer for some ideal so soon forgotten as the pocketbooks tighten due to our own excesses.
Enter the Aquarian Age of the Water Bearer, the surfer on the ripples of time. He rises to tell you not to worry, the tide may have left; it shall return. While we wait though, see what we can find on the bottom of our intellectual and emotional sea. From these depths comes the black man, not the African American. The nigger, Me. We come to bring you what you thought was useless, or worse yet, evil. We bring you the light you thought shadow.
Changing of the Guard
Armor of God
A recent letter writer declares herself a Christian, quoting Ephesians 6:11-13. These verses admonish individuals to “put on the full armor of God…against the devil’s schemes.” Few disagree with these sentiments. Yet interpreting scriptures is always a sticky business. So let’s do a little research.
Relevant entries from Dictionary.com define the two key terms of “armor,” and “schemes” as “any covering worn as a defense against weapons,” and “a secret or devious plan” respectively. So, the writer urges “Christians” to put on a covering as a defense against secret and devious plans. Bravo.
She further defines the armor of God as for fighting through prayer and speaking out against evil practices. No argument here. But what are these nefarious plans which require the armor of God as protection? To her they are the practices of Tarot, Palm Reading and Reiki. Gasp! Do you know how many people were killed in the name of these tools? Zero.
Let’s tackle Reiki. Anyone who knows their bible will tell you that healing by the laying on of hands has been done since before the time of Moses. In fact, Jesus healed a leper, blind man, and even resurrected by this power. To wit, Genesis 48:13-15 and Acts 8:14-19. Reiki means universal life force and was discovered in its current form by a student wishing to learn how Jesus healed.
Usui, founder of the most well known school of Reiki fasted and prayed for 21 days in the wilderness before God revealed to him the techniques enabling him to share this gift. Most who oppose this and other forms do so out of ignorance. Do we hate a knife because a demon wields it and then persecute a surgeon for use of the same? Some obviously do.
I urge us as Christians and other faithful servants of God to put on His armor. And that armor is wisdom. Tools in and of themselves are neither evil nor good. The use and the intent define the action. So before we attack any given tool, it is best to learn what it is.
Ghosts in the Machine
By definition, everything leads to God. It is a metaphysical truth well understood by philosophers. For that which denies the existence of God, tests one’s faith. That which proves the existence of God directly proves it.
Yet the more advanced proof is that “God” signifies the immortal and eternal which is in all places true at all times. This is the infinite, the true definition of God-mind and manifestation. We are all one with this universe united by space and energy.
I originally felt that chip implantation in humans would lead inevitably to slavery of man to his machines. Yet that is humanity’s legacy, to be slaves to our mind and its technology.
There is no way to ever turn time backwards. If you want to see the past, keep moving forward until you find a similar expression in the present of your vision of the past. Thus, the only way to move is forward.
Given the conclusions above, I feel our destiny is to merge our consciousness with our technology in order to transcend the physical or raise it to its highest expression. We are to become one with the technologies we create.
My dream is to refine my consciousness and self-awareness such that it could tolerate an always on connection to the rest of all human knowledge and experience in the form of a chip or a “spiritual switchboard.”
When the technology is ready to transfer human consciousness into one God-mind, yet separate; I hope that I am ready. I am happy to become the Ghost in the machine. Through this method we can become the truly immortal and space-faring species that we are destined to be.
Who Wants to Live Forever?
Most spiritual and philosophical paths speak of the transcendence of man over his nature. By definition, one can never transcend one’s self. He or she can only raise it to its highest fulfillment. So the question becomes, “how do I embody my highest nature?”
This question contains some interesting ambiguities:
1. What is highest?
2. Who am I?
3. What is my nature?
“Highest,” we will imagine the greatest fulfillment of all aspects of an individual’s character. If you are warrior, it is your battle. If you are a martyr it is your sacrifice-these two are not as far different as one would imagine.
“I” can be thought of as “knowingness” that can only be described as awareness of existence. It requires neither subject, nor object, this is the natural state of being of which everyone is endowed without any external stimulus. Think of it as the mind and attention span of a beautiful loved baby.
“Nature” may be the hardest concept to describe concisely here. It is the collection of characteristics which one tries to raise to the highest fulfillment described above. In other words, the nature of a dancer is to dance, or oftentimes, to fight. Becoming the greatest dancer and martial artists describes this embodiment.
By nature you are already divinity. Your awareness can be neither created nor destroyed. In fact, there is no point in your existence where you remember or can imagine that you do not exist. Hence your “Self” is immortal. Thus the challenge in life is to become human, for you are already eternal.
In an interesting twist then, we can imagine all spiritual paths as methods of reaching humanity instead of God.
Why Christmas?
Mass of the Christ, the Ultimate Piscean
Precession
At this time of year the Western World, and due to its dominance much of the rest of our planet, notes the birth of Jesus Christ. In my other blogs I present the ideas of precession and the Ages of Man. To quickly review, the Earth spins on its axis at a tilt of 23 degrees. Not only does this provide our seasons, but also our “Ages.”
Figure i, Precession of the Earth
Every 2000-2250 years the axis points at a different constellation due to this precession. In other words, lie a top spinning on an axis, the axis itself traces another secondary circle in the sky. Currently this axis points close to Polairs, the North Star, in Ursa Major, the Big Dipper.
Figure ii, Earth’s Calendar
Age of Taurus
As the planet wobbles, it traces backwards through each of the constellations our twelve months travels forward through. During the mythical time of Moses, we left the Age of Taurus, or “The Bull.” All around the world, temples independently worship its characteristics such as desire, fertility, agriculture and production.
These ideas are shown in agricultural and fertility symbolism in temples as well as the phallus, the bull fight, Hindu cow worship et cetera. In keeping with the Christian theme, the great story of the Golden Calf, illustrates what happens when Moses leads his people out of the Egyptian land of the Bull into the Age of Aries.
Aries represents the “heady” fire. In others words it represents fire in the head area, or intellectual fire wisdom and vitality as driven by the archetypes of Mars and Saturn. For the layman these are aggression and structure. Earth experienced the expansion of empire, and iron age cultures during this time.
Age of Pisces
Why Christmas
Finally, Yeshua, better known as Jesus the Christ, came to become the Scapegoat of the Age of Aries as he ushered in the Age of Pisces. He was sacrificed for the sins of the Jewish people, and for all, as commemorated at this time of year in Christmas-the heart of our discussion.
In the article “Why December 25?,” the following two paragraphs succinctly annotate the choice of this date in history:
The eventual choice of December 25, made perhaps as early as 273, reflects a convergence of Origen’s concern about pagan gods and the church’s identification of God’s son with the celestial sun. December 25 already hosted two other related festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman “birth of the unconquered sun”), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness” whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier. Seeing that pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders decided to commandeer the date and introduce a new festival…
The pagan origins of the Christmas date, as well as pagan origins for many Christmas customs (gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; Yule logs and various foods from Teutonic feasts), have always fueled arguments against the holiday. “It’s just paganism wrapped with a Christian bow,” naysayers argue. But while kowtowing to worldliness must always be a concern for Christians, the church has generally viewed efforts to reshape culture—including holidays—positively. As a theologian asserted in 320, “We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of him who made it.” (Christianity Today, 2007)
So, in other words, the actual date of Christ’s birth and the choice of a mass commemorating it come from accretion. Nearly all religion forms from the subsuming a host of commonly held beliefs.
Yet for the record, the Age of Pisces, the fish, represents that of compassion and personal self-sacrifice as embodied by the avatar of that age, the Christ. His stories constantly speak of “Fishers of Men,” and virgin metaphors from its corresponding sign, Virgo. Remember the fish sign bumper stickers or the Darwinian ones with feet on them!
Coming next we have the Aquarian Age where the axis traverses, or transits, the Constellation of Aquarius which is ruled by the planet Uranus. Rather then delve into that here on the most Piscean of occasions, I will only add a vital caveat. Astrology is about correlation rather than causation.
We see the correlations between human behavior, myths, and deep seated human archetypes. The stories of the world illustrating human character arise from the depths of our common shared genetic history and nature of being-dharma. All humanity share these themes to one degree or another. Merry Christmas Pisceans, prepare for the Aquarian next year.
References:
Christianity Today International (2007). “Why December 25?” Retrieved December 25, 2007, from http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2000/dec08.html
Elie, Benedict (2004). “The Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquaries.” Retrieved December 25, 2007, from http://www.astrosoftware.com/AquariusPiscesAge.htm
Grand Ages and the Coming of Aquarius (2007). Retrieved December 25, 2007, from http://www.greatdreams.com/ages.htm
The Grand Canyon Revisited
In an earlier place we mention how Catastrophism contributes to the Gradualism championed by modern geologists. As an example multiple theories as to Grand Canyon formation are presented. In the article referenced herein, 70,000 gallons of water over three days created a canyon in Texas 1.5 miles long and 80 feet deep. Although much smaller than the 6,000 feet deep granddaddy, it illustrates the idea.
In, “The How and the Why Revisited: The Grand Canyon, Glacial Melt, and History Repeating Itself,” we refer to the concept of rapid “de-glaciation” assiting the venerable Colorado river in it implacable march across history. Now life provides us with a living example. Michelle Roberts of the Associated Press tells us in “Recently Formed Canyon Opens to the Public,” that canyons can and do form rapidly sometimes.
Ask and Ye Shall Receive, eh?
Reference:
Karadi, Gouthum (2007) Perfect Paradox, Inc., August 29, 2007. “The How and the Why Revisited: The Grand Canyon, Glacial Melt, and History Repeating Itself.” Retrieved October 7, 2007, from http://perfectparadox.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/the-how-and-the-why-revisited-the-grand-canyon-glacial-melt-and-history-repeating-itself/
Roberts, Michelle (2007) Associated Press, October 6, 2007. “Recently Formed Canyon Opens to Public.” Retrieved October 7, 2007, from http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/recently-formed-canyon-opens-to-public/20071006124409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Self-Service of a Different Sort
In a former post, Pity the Unhappy Rich Man, we introduce the idea that the poor who seem happy may be qualitatively different from the rich who are unhappy. Namely they may be ignorant rather than blissful.
Ironically it is only abundance which can true illustrate the composition of one’s character. For without the ability to make one’s desires real, we can all claim that we have none.
Thus, the renouncer must renounce due to fear. When one finally reaches oneness with God, he or she no longer needs to let go or chase anything. This individual naturally experiences a total state of equilibrium.
Why then, we ask, do most spiritual or self-masters end up with so few possessions? This naturally results as they surrender attachments on their path of liberty.
Once they arrive, there is generally no need to reattach to anything. Thus, they finish the path they walked when they began. As an example, a great seeker renounces everything and works doing service.
Some traditional examples of service include feeding the homeless, serving monks at an ashram, and giving free medical care. When done properly, the process of serving “others,” subordinates selfish ego desires.
When done improperly, it feeds the ego. Appropriate intent is the clearest way of diffusing the ego-bomb. When someone asks us why we serve others, we make sure to state, I am doing it because it makes me feel good.
The surest way to self-destruct is to feel that we are helping them. Scientifically, the universe takes care of itself. We are but small examples of an extremely massive existence. There is no analogy that shows how infinitesimal one person may be.
Knowing that we are but part of a larger whole reminds us in this stage that we are serving ourselves by serving others. Spiritually, “God” does not need us to take care of the universe. This way we subordinate our selfish desires. Otherwise we begin to feel that we are such great people serving others.
The worst is when we discount others’ contributions because they have a profit motive attached to them. We all have a profit motive. Even when we sacrifice what we have it is because it makes us feel good to do so.
So here we return to the advanced seeker. This individual practices subordination of ego-based desires by serving himself or herself through the vehicle of placing others’ desires first. Another example clarifies.
The military private is also service-oriented. His every move is governed by a higher authority. He places his body in the way of bullets destined for his fellow human beings. Why they are destined is not the point; his role is not to judge motives or desires. It is to learn to subordinate.
Returning to the two seekers, we see that they converge in the end. Both ego-centric individuals subordinate to larger goals and ideals. Once this is done, they generally continue what they started. There is no need to start anything new.
Thus the spiritual teacher continues teaching, the warrior sacrifices for his troops. Their personal desires have merged into what they are. The process of renunciation resulted in their knowing themselves. No effort is needed for them to maintain what they are. It comes naturally.
This process works in any career and any stage of life. We do not have to await a certain age or level of success. We only need to possess certain characteristics laid out by self-masters throughout time. We need focused intellects, and faith among others. In future articles we discuss these traits, known in Vedanta as the six qualities.
Pity the Unhappy Rich Man
There is a saying, “Pity the unhappy rich man for unlike the poor man, he cannot blame his unhappiness on poverty.”
In a recent film “Ten Questions to Ask the Dalai Lama,” by Rick Ray many wonderful and interesting insights arise. One of them that the author notes, is the relative happiness of the poor in Calcutta’s ghettos as compared to the richest in the world.
Many reasons for this are offered in the media. One, is that the poor have less to lose. Another is that they realize what is really important in life, personal relationships. Many philosophers state that they are too ignorant to know of their own unhappiness.
Regardless of the reason one concludes, many philosophers state that “Dissatisfaction is the mother of all philosophy.” In other words it is our own discontent which spawns our search for meaning, justice and order.
In general, when all of our physical needs are met we have the time and wherewithal to investigate the deeper mental, spiritual, and emotional issues. Images of Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs bubble to the surface here.
Yet rather than focus on the individual steps in this psychological model, my philosophy of living involves discovering unifying principles which unite them all. In other words, why do I bother to breath, eat, or make love?
Yes a starving person initially needs no reason, but what about the ascetic monk? He meets his spiritual needs whilst simultaneously feeding the physical. For me, this is the goal of life, an integrated perspective.
For the first time in the current human epoch, we have a chance as leaders to model this type of behavior: The spiritually and physically realized human. This is my dream and goal and I feel many share it.
Reference:
Ray, Rick (2006). 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama. Monterey, CA: Monterey Films. http://www.thedalailamamovie.com/
Swami Krishnananda (2007) Introduction to the Philosophy of Yoga. Rishikesh, India: The Divine Life Society. Retrieved September 27, 2007, from http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/intro/intro_02.html
Maslow, Abraham (1943) “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, 50, 370-96. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs
Emotional Alchemy
The heads of liberty is the choice to do what is for the growth of all, to feel good and wonderful. The tails is the choice to do what is the detriment to all and to feel badly. Many people believe in liberty to feel good but not to feel bad.
Some people WANT to feel bad. Nothing any of us do will change this individual’s desire to experience the dark end of the spectrum. You cannot love someone into changing. Futhermore, this is an encroachment upon someone’s liberty.
They are free to feel ill and experience pain. It is upon those of us with a appropriate philosophy to let them know that this is a choice. That is right, one can feel good or ill about one’s circumstances.
When I was young I felt depressed and ill about damn near everything. This feeling did not stop me from working hard to learn and grow, I just felt poorly about the whole affair. Once this became my habit, I used it for motivation.
Rather than feel good about growth, I used a perspective that allowed me to feel “worse” about doing nothing. This strategy motivated me to grow. Eventually though, this attitude reached its limits.
I liken this to twenty steps forward and ten back. This is emotional alchemy. When you are despondent barely surviving in life at 60%, or even lower at 40%, you can transform your despair into anger.
Then utilize this to motivate yourself into passing. Each iteration of the philosophy you go twenty steps forward and then ten back. So you go from 50% to 70% and back to ten. This leaves you with a net gain of 10% at 60%.
At each of these major transitions in your life, you get a net gain of 10% until you reach 90%. Now you try to use emotional alchemy to get mad, and to get even with yourself. Yet you cannot go over 100%. Thus you keep going ten forward and ten backward!
You stay at 90% until you learn to change your alchemy. Anger no longer works, you have reached the limit of this type of change. You cannot use force anymore. It is too damaging to yourself.
This is the most difficult of changes to make for the driven individual. No more “Push, Push, Push.” You have to learn a new method. Now gains of inches are important. To use the terms of finance, when you a small firm, it is easy to double revenues.
Yet when you are Microsoft incremental gains are everything. You cannot double when you are a $500 billion company without swallowing everything else and having nothing to eat! So you settle for additional or geometric growth versus the exponential type.
Now inches are good. One foot forward and 23 inches back is good progress. Even standing still is a loss as the universe is on an escalator, always moving forward. If you are not going with the wave, it is overtaking you.
To Unite in Body
During the last five years, Wal-Mart became the Microsoft of the retail industry. Their position grew so dominant as to earn the ire of everyone else. Claims of anti-competitive practices, and corporate abuse began to rise. Just like when Bill Gates’ empire had succeeded in practically owning the desktop PC market, people took notice of the giant.
Yet Wal-Mart has taken this opportunity to show why Walton’s Mart stays on top. Their strategy managers chose to move into the growing green movement. What greater way to soothe, placate and even adopt its greatest critics? Many of course will scoff, claiming that this is just another corporate move to manipulate and buy people. Others though will be much more understanding.
As I often tell my clients, it is easier to maintain and heal one’s arms and legs rather than to cutoff and grow new ones! In this same way, the corporation offers an incredible way of uniting and organizing human endeavors. The term incorporate comes from the Latin root, incorporatus, “to unite in body.” What could be better than a flexible entity based upon unifying logical principles rather than divisive national, religious, and ethnic ones?
Opponents of corporations often state that they are evil entities with all the rights of individuals yet none of the responsibilities. These same individuals regularly state that government is the cure for the abuses and depredations of multi-national behemoths. Yet governments have infinite lifespans as well. What are the key differences between a corporation and a government?
These are the questions which our planet’s social systems will wrestle with over the next twenty years of consolidation. Witness the many social movements which incorporate into nonprofits and “green” firms. As an example, Wal-Mart has gone even further than governments to start a program to measure carbon emissions. For seven product lines “from DVDs to vacuum cleaners and beer.” (Birchall and Harvey, 2007)
Look how quickly the corporate entity has adapted to the environment of changing consumer tastes. It takes government decades to move its unmotivated bureaucracy. Part of the reason is that governments seek stability while corporations seek change. Although, this distinction is in no way definitive. In actuality, large controlling monopolies seek stability and rigidity, while competitive players seek change.
Thus, governments, which hold total monopolies on legal systems, authorized use of force, and taxation, seek to maintain the status quo. While most corporations on the other hand, constantly jockey for new positions, trying to take power or become more efficient. What incentive is there for government to reduce its size and increase efficiency and productivity?
I posit that great political thinkers, social scientists, financiers and diplomats will spend a great many hours over the next five years studying and writing about how to balance the competitive forces raging across our planet. The increased integration of global markets coupled with the dominance of corporations generates a new volatility, as the recent credit upheaval illustrates. Ironically, quasi-governmental agencies performed the stabilization roles.
Central banks are public-private entities that manage the stability of the financial system. They are neither wholly governmental nor totally private. Expect these joint-ventures to grow as governments decrease in power. Some governments react to these changes with totalitarianism, while others expanded social service nets. Hybrid entities will emerge as the intermediaries in many Western Democracies.
Our world grows ever closer together. In this same way, our allegiances are set to cross national, and governmental boundaries. Corporations are the vehicle through which we will implement much of social policy. Look for many “greener” movements to sprout and grow. Some claim that corporations behave like individuals with predatory antisocial instincts. Yet these are the character of only a select few firms run by individuals of similar mindsets. A firm reflects its leadership.
Nonetheless, as a caveat, I do not believe that governments will disappear, only that they will become infrastructure based organizations. Their main purposes will be to create and maintain the playing field of international relations, legal systems, and physical infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications et cetera. Libertarians of the world unite, for Atlas is about to shrug.
Reference:
Birchall, Johnathan and Harvey, Fiona (2007). “Wal-Mart maps our grand plan to go Greener,” Financial Times, September 24, 2007
Incorporate. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/incorporate
