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Who Are WE in the WEST? . . . And in America?
PART TWO

Okay, I realize that Part 1 was more about the East of Them over in India rather than the West of Us here in America. But you know what, in a certain way, we really ARE all one.

I believe we ARE All One in SOME things, and separate in others, and a mix in still others. We are multi-dimensional beings, and attempting to boil it down to one category literally destroys what it means to be full spectrum human being.

. . . David Scott Lynn

What We Can Learn From Ancient India
And Nearly Every Other Culture 

And we must see what we can learn from what happened in India so long ago, and also realize that much of their spiritual tradition has been influenced by their political and economic past, and vice versa, too. … As much as some people like to try, it is nearly impossible to truly separate the spiritual from the economic and political realms of life. Thoughts about doing so are merely wishful thinking, and a denial of what it means to be a Human Being, especially if you want to live in a so-called democracy.

Why? Because a form of government that is supposedly By, For and Of The  People REQUIRES those same people stay very involved with the affairs of government. If you — I mean they!!! — do not, the Aryans, or some modern day equivalent, will start sticking their nose under the edge of the tent, and over time, eventually move you out and themselves in.

You — I mean they!!! — will find yourselves foreclosed.

Religion . . . Personal, Not Public???
The Wall of Separation Between Church & State 

Yet in this country, we hear all the time that religion is only a personal matter, an issue of personal beliefs about salvation or whatever. And that our personal religious or spiritual beliefs should have nothing to do with our public, political or economic activities. We are told our United States Constitution gave us a Wall of Separation between Church and State, and that religion has no place in the public discourse on politics, economics and public policy.

Well, Sorry, but that belief had NO foundation at all until recent social forces (individual people with a common agenda) decided they wanted to disconnect us from what the Light side (the Truth Seekers) of religion has always really been about. That being, to provide a foundational Common Law, a Law that keeps the peace and freedom among The People. That's what the 10 Commandments along with their clarifying statutes, were all about.

And it would help to actually read the 1st Amendment. It says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. The 1st Amendment was never intended (except by a few influential atheists) to push religion out of the public domain Even George Washington was very clear that it was EXPECTED that people's political decisions would be informed by their morals, which, in turn, were an extension of their religious beliefs. In fact, GW (NO, not Bush!) said that the Constitution was not suitable for a people that had no religion.

Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

. . . George Washington

A religion is (sometimes), in the very beginning, an attempt by a group of people to organize their affairs so that they can live more-or-less peacefully together without stealing from or killing each other, AND also attempts to address issues such as where did we come from and whether or not there is some sort of relief from all this, as in some sort of afterlife, or a state of mind that allows us to escape the stresses and strains — and occasional horrors – of life.

Buddha Had It Right – Sort Of . . .

Religion also provided a back-drop to help people come to grips with life which, for the vast majority of people for the vast majority of history was a a really miserable existence. When Buddha's First Noble Truth — Life Is Suffering — was written, he wasn't kidding. Life was very tough and often horrible. People died of things that today we hardly think about.

As I will discuss elsewhere, however, one of the reasons I do not identify much with Buddhism is that I think it is incorrect to state as one's First Principle something that is not true. That being is that life itself is not inherently suffering, but it is our reactions to life that causes our suffering. The other Noble Truths attempt to clarify that, but I think it is, regardless, a significant mistake. Enough that I moved on.

The Magi: Jung's Archetypal Magician & Storyteller

So the Magi (the Magus: the Magicians and Storytellers, or Medicine Men, as Carl Jung described in his writings) of the various ages and cultures came up with some good stories to help people deal with an otherwise harsh and often overwhelming reality. Whether the Magi actually believed their own stories or not is up for speculation. And because they were also the scientists, they also had a few tricks up their sleeves that helped them impress The People, who would believe pretty much anything if it helped them feel better. But, until modern science came along and explained a few things more correctly, the Magi served a very useful purpose.

What THEY Don't Want YOU To Know . . . 

 

Power Tends To Corrupt . . . Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
Lord Acton 

(It is often argued by some historians and socio/political theorists that most, maybe even all, governments in history have been some sort of criminal enterprise from the beginning, as in, a few people figuring out a way to live off the labor of others, and by lies, force, fraud or coercion. We'll discuss THAT over on AmericanYogi.us.)

Problem is, ANY TIME you get power centralized into the hands of a few people, you will ALWAYS end up with a perversion of the original intent of the attempt to have a positive influence on human interactions. This is an element of human nature that seems, or always has been so far, unavoidable.

But in their attempts to avoid the hardships of life, or to have OTHERS do the work of taking care of the poor and picking up the trash, to delegate their responsibilities to someone else — ANYONE else — they buy into this myth that there is an organization that can take care of them and their needs.

While many would argue that this is just a return to a childish attempt to recover the security of Mommy and Daddy, who would take care of everything for us, it is understandable that people would believe in this myth. Our modern day Aryans, via significant influence over the educational system the media, AND religion, have perpetuated the age-old ruse that we needed someone, or a group of someones, ruling over us in order to survive as a people or a nation. 

 

But, Can't We Just Meditate Our Way Through All This?

Well, if you're really asking me, you probably don't really believe it anyway, but here's my two cents.

First, to clarify, there are those (and I know a few of them) who think we can just use meditation and that if enough of us do it, that will affect the Critical Mass of Human Consciousness and bring down peace, love and joy upon the earth and we can stop worrying about all this negative energy and events and get on with having a great time.

Well, I am all for meditation. I think it is a great thing and can help produce better attitudes for people, leading to better relations and interactions between human beings. At some level.

But then, what about the Tibetan Monks?

They are probably as good an example as we have of full time professional meditators. Yet in the 1950's tens of thousands lost their lives, most of their monasteries were burned down, and many had to leave Tibet in exile.

So … how well did THAT work?

I don't know about you, but to me, that is not an encouraging track record of getting protection via Mass Meditation and Group Consciousness.