During presidential election years, the caucuses are the first step toward picking delegates to national conventions where the parties pick their candidate for the presidency.
http://www.iowacaucus.com/
Im of no help to this thread as my knowledge of politics and american government is not very keen.
Ive only registered to vote once in my whole life (this needs to be done at each new location of living) but the options I were given also included 'independent'
?????
We are given a free will, aren't we?
Am I to understand that there are US citizens here how are too lazy to register to vote?
No wonder the Republicans are laughing all the way to the bank. Even aware people don't care.
Yes, there are many "lazy", or who have the attitude that the elections are so "corrupt" that their vote does not matter.
At a time in my life, I was "out". I was fired after 15 years (built up tenor within two company buy-outs). I didn't understand what happened at the time, as I was only standing up for myself and other "single mothers" in the group. But now looking back, I understand what this company did and why ...and I realized shortly after that it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I truly believe I manifested my own demise, only to come out stronger.
So now I compete against them. It's quite fun actually. A small company competing against a $2 Billion corporation. They're so full of procedures and red tape, they never knew what hit them. And I'm doing it based on my Talent and Integrity.
the idea that the government is somehow our enemy is a poison for the mind, by those who seek to benefit by such a lie. if the government is wrong, then it has to be fixed, and there are means, even if these take a long time - the government in democratic countries belongs to the people.
I fully agree with Michael that we must have some kind of trust toward the government and the democratic process, in its best, are able to make corrections. But the situation today is much like cancer spreading.
I don't expect the government, or anyone else for that matter, to "make me happy". I DO expect integrity and honesty in the people that govern my country. I've worked for major corporations that act like "mini goverments"(staunch right wing republicans, who support our current party) and through each level of power you'll find corruption. And I'm not talking about stealing pens or post-it notes and taking them home. I'm talking about corporation who gobble up small businesses and then fire the best qualified employees because they "make too much money"...first they "pick your mind" to find out what you know...you teach them what you know and then...the most talented go first, only to be replaced with brainwashed robots who have no life so they work day and night for whatever pay they can get. It's truly a reflection of our grand ol' US of A. Maybe they should change USA to AT&T...ha!
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They talk of how "we're one big family"...until the day that you actually Question what they're doing...oh, but don't make any waves, because you'll be "out". You just "don't fit anymore". Believe me, I know many people who have worked for the "government".
At a time in my life, I was "out". I was fired after 15 years (built up tenor within two company buy-outs). I didn't understand what happened at the time, as I was only standing up for myself and other "single mothers" in the group. But now looking back, I understand what this company did and why ...and I realized shortly after that it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I truly believe I manifested my own demise, only to come out stronger.
So now I compete against them. It's quite fun actually. A small company competing against a $2 Billion corporation. They're so full of procedures and red tape, they never knew what hit them. And I'm doing it based on my Talent and Integrity.
Now I look for change that will balance the scales and give each person a voice. One person Can make a difference. The optimist in me will say, all you who are Americans, get your asses out there and vote! There is an Energy snowballing...something's going to blow...I can feel it ;)
Great story. Reminds me about that warriors use everything in their tonal to advance on their path. But I also know how difficult it is when one is in the middle of such crisis.
:)
I fully agree with Michael that we must have some kind of trust toward the government and the democratic process, in its best, are able to make corrections. But the situation today is much like cancer spreading.
Found your voice there Ang (even time for me to find a new name for you).;)
keep it up - speak with passion!
As disheartening our government may be, there is still a glimmer of hope
i am confident that there will always be enough time, m,
each time it is needed
As disheartening our government may be, there is still a glimmer of hope that we can put our trust in Someone. Our only chance to change it, is by our voting power. It's all we have. You can talk, complain, disagree...whatever, but it all boils down to that One vote and no matter what anyone says....that is power.
Now, before I am lynched & flogged (c'mon, you know I'd enjoy it! ;D), let me point out my reasoning for this as a warrior. Basically, knowing that ALL of it is folly - including our government, our vote and our existence itself - I simply do not have the time or energy to waste "getting involved" in the illusions upon illusions which comprise the political arena. When I really stand back and look at it from an energetic perspective, it is the equivalent playing Risk in a burning house, with all the politicians insisting that we should join them in the game instead of reaching for the fire extinguisher that is only inches away. It's the GAME that has become the focus, and the gamesters have lost all touch with "the real world". Dining on lobster and caviar every night tends to remove one from any connection to the homeless woman in Los Angeles diving into dumpsters hoping for a scrap of discarded Big Mac.
Am I disillusioned? I hope so - because to be dis-illusioned would imply that one has seen the illusion and no longer chooses to participate in it. 8) Doesn't mean I'm right or wrong, just means that instead of "getting involved" in the political illusions, I "get involved" in things that are closer to home.
PS - I'm really not looking to start a debate or argument... just wanted to put forth some opinions from the perspective of one who cannot help but see the folly. By all means... ignore this post. ;)
There is a cancer spreading in the Dream of the planet and perhaps it is that poison that makes you "dis-illusioned".
As you point out - if one want to do something - one have to do it where one have the feet. Local engagement, clean away the dust on ones own backdoor. One can write in the newspaper too, or god forbidden, start a blogg.
Anyway, we got a new govenment that was very fresh. It was really a energy change and they have done many things that are benefitting for people that work and pay taxes. New brooms.
My son and I drove around town on day of the caucusing here in Vegas. We actually drove through the parking lot of our precinct...we were going to go back, and had we realized that it only lasted an hour, we would have stayed and participated. By the time we wanted to return, it was over. 75 votes for Obama and 74 votes for Hillary. I thought, "Oh shit, I should've gone in". My vote would have made it even. I found out later that they actually split it even...6 delegates for Obama and 6 delegates for Hillary. But the message was...this is a very close race and every vote is going to count.
Hey, Della, I totally respect your point of view and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't vote. But, my thought is, if we take a little of the tonal, sprinkle well with nagual, and vice a versa, it soon becomes one. ;) :-*
i am confident that there will always be enough time, m,
each time it is needed
The new government is a four part alliance and very much a team.
Tommy I have to agree with you :) It's just something, for me, about having faith and trusting that as long as you are truely doing the best with what you have. Leading you through the lessons you have to learn :-\
To Della & Serafina - Kudos! Love the whole thing becuase you are each doing just what feels right for you and in each instance it makes a difference. I mean that is the whole point of it all any way right?! ;D
:-*
What a wonderful thread!! It inspires me again to be the Soma cheerleader-in-residence.
When it became obvious to me that I was no longer voting for a candidate, but instead voting against the one I disliked the most, I stopped the battle.
BTW Della, your post is the first time I saw "the warrior chooses her own battles". The feeling of a perfect fit was delectable!
Warrior choosing his/her battle is an interesting subject.
What is the battle there? To realise the inefficiency (read: hopelessness) of political process and and turn away? To realise the inefficiency and do something? To stay in the grim reality and prepare for the worst? To escape the reality? To do the job one has come to do?
So, for people of the path, the first question, is are you not voting out of laziness, of laziness towards awareness of the world? Or out of an evolution in understanding your own path of awareness in the world?
There is no point in fooling yourself, or fooling us - you have to decide, are you stepping up to your tasks of awareness, or sitting back, pretending with your mind that you are holy, instead of just apathetic.
Remember, there is no place on this path for those without passion.
However Toltecs came up with two remarkable tenants - controlled folly, and stalking. What these mean, is that by participating in the 'folly' of the world around us, we will find tools of immeasurable value for our own inner journey.
Controlled Folly does not mean we see the world as folly so much, as that we act in the folly of the world as if it wasn't folly. Stalking was a brilliant realisation, that although we are peerless sages in our own little cave, as soon as we step into the world of our fellow humans, we immediately lose all our precious composure, and before we know it, we are frothing at the mouth like everyone else.
Thus the practice is to participate in the ups and downs, the excitement and depressions of the social world we live within, knowing it is madness - not in its own terms mind you, reference my previous section for the general public, but in our terms, seeing from our structure of priorities, from our realisations about the nature of life and death, and our opportunities within that.
By such practice, a doorway appears, which we can mine with wondrous profit for our ultimate purpose. So long as we don't forget to keep hold of the sacrificial bowl and spoon as the I Ching says - so long as we don't forget who we are and where we are going, and become lost in the 'mind of the world'.
So long as we remain in the world and not off the world.
Ok...so Obama won South Carolina, but Hilliary is ahead nationwide. I would love to see one or the other elected president, of course...but it would also be very cool to have them both in the White House...one as president and the other vice-president. (I wonder if they have discussed this? ;) )
But boy, if Obama wins the Super Tuesday, do "they" kill him then?
Now Hillary, she has some problem with being married to Clinton. I do not think Bill Clinton was such a bad president and he can surely brief her wife about those "know how" details if she come to the white house (no jokes here please ;D ). Neverthelees I kind of feel that many Americans just will not buy Bill for another election period even if it is only from the breakfast table, just as Ted Kennedy wont support them.
My thoughts exactly, as I voiced them to Ang last night.
As a matter of fact ... the story-teller in me can see a conspiracy-story in the making: the republican party throws all their weight into seeing Hillary and/or Obama or both getting the ticket, because they know that formerly-apathetic people will roust themselves out to vote republican -- anything but see a woman or a black man take office!
</intuitive cynicism>
I don't know, V...I think the "masses" have been rousted...see S.Carolina Primary.
I don't think "they" want another Civil War on their hands. Remember what happened in LA...Rodney King? Imagine that on a national scale.
Some of the bigots & misogynists I have known would probably defect to Russia or agree to have their naughty bits tortured before they would stand for ANY minority in office. It's a scary world.
Being a skeptic, I would ask: what change (if any) can these two bring to the world? From the strategic viewpoint, Obama would be disaster for Iraq - quick withdrawal would hit that country hard. Even withdrawal in 1-2 years would be pretty disastrous. Counterinsurgency wars take a lot of time to be managed successfully.
Going in to Iraq was a big mistake - now leaving Iraq is a big mistake! Isn't that a paradox?
Nope, it means that mistakes come with their price tag attached.
The US will pull out of Iraq, whoever becomes President.
As for what is the best - it would seem logical to say they should stay in order to help stabilise. But actually I don't think the Iraqis care - they are in a battle for supremacy since the first day of the US invasion, and who wins out will win out. As it is now, the US is not in the game - this game is being played by all the countries around, and the forces within Iraq.
But it is the people in US who have had enough, and I am amazed it has taken this long.
heard the opinion that Democrats are heading for the loss. They keep squabbling and Republicans might put forward an unbeatable duo: McCain-Powell. The assessment is that Republicans would only have to wait until Democrats lose the election.
You are so rational.
I hope I can afford my mistakes then :).
What I meant was; by going in to a room (enter Iraq) this is considered of most of us as a mistake, then by leaving the room (get out of Iraq) is also considered as a mistake.
Rational would say that if enter is a mistake - then leave. Then somebody say, if you have entered - to leave is a mistake. Eehh, please, - Anybody see my Friday evening point?
I think the US should have a 2 years time out (penalty) in International affairs for "Interference" (we have a hockey league in final right now therefore I make that allegori).
From The Times
October 31, 2008
Barack Obama lays plans to deaden expectation after election victory
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5051118.ece
Tim Reid in Washington
Barack Obama’s senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week’s election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harbouring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.
The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of “hope” and “change” are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.
One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, “so there’s not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair”.
The aide said that Mr Obama himself was the first to realise that expectations risked being inflated.
In an interview with a Colorado radio station, Mr Obama appeared to be engaged already in expectation lowering. Asked about his goals for the first hundred days, he said he would need more time to tackle such big and costly issues as health care reform, global warming and Iraq. “The first hundred days is going to be important, but it’s probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference,” he said. He has also been reminding crowds in recent days how “hard” it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time.
“I won’t stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy – especially now,” Mr Obama told a rally in Sarasota, Florida, yesterday, citing “the cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq”. Mr Obama’s transition team is headed by John Podesta, a Washington veteran and a former chief-of-staff to Bill Clinton. He has spent months overseeing a virtual Democratic government-in-exile to plan a smooth transition should Mr Obama emerge victorious next week. The plans are so far advanced that an Obama Cabinet has been largely decided upon, with the expectation that most of his senior appointments could be announced shortly after election day.
Yet Mr Obama and his aides are under no illusions about the size of the challenges the Democrat will inherit if he enters the Oval Office. Tom Daschle, the party’s former leader in the US Senate and a strong contender for the post of White House chief-of-staff in an Obama administration, said last month that the winner next week would have only a 50 per cent chance of winning a second term in 2012.
Not only will the next president take office with the country sliding into a potentially long recession — and mired in debt — but the challenges abroad are immense. There is an unfinished war in Iraq, a worsening situation in Afghanistan and an unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan to contend with. Iran appears intent on acquiring the bomb and there remains the ever-present threat from al-Qaeda and Islamic extremists.
If he wins, Mr Obama will inherit a Democratic-controlled Congress, and might even have the benefit of a 60-seat filibuster-proof “supermajority” in the Senate. Such a scenario would allow him to push through legislation largely unfettered by Republican opposition. Yet it also means that should the country still be mired in recession in three years’ time, voters — who have short memories — will probably blame him and the Democrats on Capitol Hill. Those stakes have led Mr Obama to conclude that while expectations need to be tempered, big things need to be achieved very early in his first term, when he will still have the political capital to achieve some of his most ambitious legislative goals.
Having promised “real” change, the pressure will be on him to deliver. In the Colorado interview, Mr Obama added: “The next president has got to come quickly out of the box.”
The early priorities being lined up if he takes power are a mixture of symbolism and substance. He plans to make a major address in a big Muslim country early in his first term. Having pledged on the campaign trail to close Guantanamo Bay, he is also determined to make early moves to rid America of the controversial prison. Yet what to do with the remaining inmates looms as an intractable problem, as many of their home governments refuse to allow them to return.
Mr Obama’s first legislative goals will be to follow through on his pledge to cut taxes for the middle class and raise them for the wealthiest Americans, and to push through a hugely expensive Bill to provide near-universal health insurance.
The article is down to earth
The estimates say that in order to keep his promises, Obama will need several trillions of dollars, and he would end his reign with a national debt of 550 billion dollars.
But that is the least of his concerns. As a human, he will be subjected to enormous pressure to behave according to 'public' expectation. Attention of billions will be on him - bending his will. I am sure he actually can do almost nothing to 'change' the US.
People expect change from him, while not being able to effect it themselves. These 301 million Americans struggle trmendously to change themselves even a little, but for some unknown reason expect Obama and others to change the world, or country or whatnot.
Can Obama change the views of 100 million rednecks or of 18% of electorate constituted by end-timers? Can Obama change any American citizen by his power of the US president?
Nope.
Expect it from him is as good as expect God to change the world and compensate for human stupidity. Having faith in Obama or any other human institution is as good as religion.
We just so badly need a shoulder to lean on and rest our hopes on.
God, president, armed forces, police, shaman next door...
mystic ancient knowledge, light...etc
All the same.
No way will they do what we expect.
"Reality Check: The Cost Of Obama's Pledges"
Wyatt Andrews
CBS News
October 29, 2008
Without question, the Barack Obama infomercial served as a very slick and powerful recitation of the biggest promises he's made as a presidential candidate. But the very bigness of his ideas is the problem: he seems blind to the concept his numbers don't add up.
Obama has already proposed a new stimulus package of $188 billion over two years. His tax cuts will cost $85 billion a year. His "army of new teachers": $18 billion; Renewable energy: $15 billion. CBS News and various independent experts estimate Obama's total first year spending could exceed $280 billion.
Still Obama repeated his claim he can find the money to pay for every proposal.
"I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost," he has said.
The fact is the savings Obama has identified do not cover his spending. According to a CBS News estimate, he's around $90 billion short. The Obama campaign disputes this, saying everything including the stimulus is paid for over 10 years. But other analysts say - even presuming Obama saves money in Iraq and chops the federal budget as promised - he falls short.
Let's break all of this down, starting with his highly suspect, and widely discredited, claim that he can find federal "spending cuts beyond the costs" of his promises. Very few independent economists believe he has identified the savings needed to offset his remarkable list of tax credits, tax cuts and spending pledges.
Fact: Even if you believe Obama intends to fix health care, most independent analysts say the cost is massive - $1.2 trillion over ten years, according to the highly respected Lewin Group. When the new Congress wakes up next year to a $1 trillion deficit, and answers the overwhelming new demands for another stimulus package, will the leadership really bite on a health care reform package that digs the deficit hole so much deeper?
And that's just the beginning of what Obama would spend.
Fact: The tax cuts he promises, which are mostly refundable tax credits (code for cash back), will cost $60 billion just in year one, according the National Taxpayers Union, though the Obama campaign's own estimates in July put that figure at $130 billion.
Fact: His new promise to give businesses a $3,000 tax credit for each new job created will cost $40 billion. But economists say this credit is far more likely to benefit companies already planning to expand and will likely not be enough to help companies create new jobs or forestall layoffs.
Fact: Obama's claim he will lower health care premiums by $2,500 is: 1.) guesswork, which is 2.) based on health care savings that might, in a perfect world, happen over 10 years - a fact Obama neatly glosses over.
Fact: Obama, when referring to savings he can make by leaving Iraq ($90 billion, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates), has spent these savings several times over, across several different promises depending on the crowd he's addressing.
Most of the time he spends the Iraq savings in the context of the roads he wants to build; sometimes it's for the teachers he wants to hire. Tonight, he riffed rhetorically on the savings, asking how many scholarships could be funded, or how many schools could be built. In the end though, presuming he really saves $90 billion, he can only spend it once.
Remember he also mentioned rebuilding the military ($7 billion/yr); his education initiative ($18 billion/yr); and his energy initiative ($15 billion/yr). He did not mention the $188 billion that he would spend on the brand new stimulus package he has proposed.
If he closes every loophole as promised, saves every dime from Iraq, raises taxes on the rich and trims the federal budget as he's promised to do "line by line," he still doesn't pay for his list. If he's elected, the first fact hitting his desk will be the figure projecting how much less of a budget he has to work with - thanks to the recession. He gave us a very compelling vision with his ad buy tonight. What he did not give us was any hint of the cold reality he's facing or a sense of how he might prioritize his promises if voters trust him with the White House.
For the record I am a non major-election voter, for the last 10 years. I've voted a few times in local elections when and where I believed my vote would speak for something. Once again it comes down to not fighting against. When it became obvious to me that I was no longer voting for a candidate, but instead voting against the one I disliked the most, I stopped the battle.
Putting politics aside.. has anyone noticed the light that shines within Obama?
Open your heart and look.. its really quite stunning.
Like I said.. all politics aside...
Putting politics aside.. has anyone noticed the light that shines within Obama?
Open your heart and look.. its really quite stunning.
Like I said.. all politics aside...
Anyway ... what I noticed was that, even at the end of the debates when they had a question and answer with this randomly selected group of people and they were all still "undecided", during the debate when Obama spoke the women's meter would go into agreement with him. The men's meter would go into disagreement. It was totally reverse when McCain spoke. Interesting.
http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-136.php
Putting politics aside...
More than likely as that office wears upon him, we'll see it a lot less. Right now its's available for the seeing, though. Why should we let your worldview guide us to not see it? I only ask because you seem annoyed that it was mentioned.
How about not letting oneself being carried away by hope? That's my point.
We don't know what will happen.
A leader can make a difference - viz George Bush, Adolf Hitler, Ashoka, Akbar - and yet, will human nature change?
So much hope and expectation - it is a problem.
Franklin D Roosevelt was the one in the US who really changed things. Abraham Lincoln before him. We need another like them.
Yet all they have ever done has brought us to where we are...
Which means that we dropped the ball.
Which means they played the same game as all the others...
How would you do that? Politics is what Obama DOES.
How.. politics is what he does.. not what he is.
How.. politics is what he does.. not what he is.
The light is the same, aware of it or not.
...and what it is/will be used for?
...and what it is/will be used for?
If he wasn't aware of it, how could he use it?
Have you never met someone full of light, who wasn't the slightest bit savvy about it?
If.. and perhaps this is what sparks you.. If.. it is used it will be used to shine.. that is what light does.
What he does or doesnt do.. wasnt the what I stated.. all politics aside.. he shines from within as we all do.. some are just more shiney then others. lol *shrugs
Can you see his light Juhani?
. If.. it is used it will be used to shine.. that is what light does.
he shines from within as we all do.. some are just more shiney then others. lol *shrugs
Putting politics aside.. has anyone noticed the light that shines within Obama?
Open your heart and look.. its really quite stunning.
Like I said.. all politics aside...
Sure, he got IT!
I have felt his last months campaign on the energy level and he sure does shines.
He's not there yet.
OK, I am persuaded. Messiah has returned, hallelujah! Now we'll wait and see how he'll take the US through the Red Sea of trouble. :)
Chaos
Disorder
Apocalypse
Endtimes
Hopelessness
Despair
Bad Karma
Mayhem
Violence
War
Debt
Death
Disease
Depression
Treachery
Amorality
Corruption
"They're gonna get what they deserve"
The Universal Boogeyman
Anything else, Juhani?
Are you a t e r r o r i s t?
You're mighty invested in how it all sucks.
Chaos
Disorder
Apocalypse
Endtimes
Hopelessness
Despair
Bad Karma
Mayhem
Violence
War
Debt
Death
Disease
Depression
Treachery
Amorality
Corruption
"They're gonna get what they deserve"
The Universal Boogeyman
Of course I am. I am a TERRORIZING tefforistIC tefforist.
Ok, at least we have finally established that much.
Eh.. dark side of the sun, its always there.
I meant not to stir such fever... politics aside.. he shines. If nothing else I hope that it's a mirror to those who see it.
Cool, I am finally exposed! Whoa! Naked TERRORIZATORATOR!!!
You're running out of letters there! :)
How about you? You can be so very TERRORIZATORIZED that I wonder how very attached you are to your state and all other cultural stuff?
Oh yes, you are.
Now say - AM NOT! :)
(http://re3.yt-thm-a02.yimg.com/image/25/m4/2876847798)
:D :D :D
Yes, yes, Juhani, I am completely under your spell and guidance.
(Where's the razor blade?)
:P
Is it - the human mind can be just turned around? The minds of BILLIONS can just be permanently altered?
Have you ever tried to shift the minds of, say, 1 million people? Felt their resistance and inertia and inability to sustain higher frequencies?
It's absolutely a given. Humans suck, the world sucks, change is impossible.
Now what?
Spirit can't be kept in the closet.
That's right, Juhani!
So why don't you change your focus, so we can turn the volume up on spirit?
So why don't you accept the inevitable and actually achieve the change of your focus?
Because if I argue for my limitations, then they are mine.
What I'm asking you is what happens after one accepts the "inevitable"? Death is always at our shoulder. What do you propose. Give something constructive for a change. You like to talk about self-indulgence. This constant diatribe of nihilism is the ultimate self-indulgence. It's just as bad as rose-colored glasses --- maybe even worse, for you're feeding the maelstrom.
Is it - the human mind can be just turned around? The minds of BILLIONS can just be permanently altered?
Have you ever tried to shift the minds of, say, 1 million people? Felt their resistance and inertia and inability to sustain higher frequencies?
I'm glad you brought the shininess up, J! :-*
Is it - the human mind can be just turned around? The minds of BILLIONS can just be permanently altered?
Have you ever tried to shift the minds of, say, 1 million people? Felt their resistance and inertia and inability to sustain higher frequencies?
As I go about my house chores this morning Ive turned the local/national news channel on.. the United States is buzzing! The over all energy of the day is very good, people are smiling in mass numbers.. its true.. I can see them broadcast from all over the US.
No matter how you look at it.. that.. is a good thing to witness.
As I go about my house chores this morning Ive turned the local/national news channel on.. the United States is buzzing! The over all energy of the day is very good, people are smiling in mass numbers.. its true.. I can see them broadcast from all over the US.
No matter how you look at it.. that.. is a good thing to witness.
Eh.. politics aside even!
that is not to say leadership is not critical, esp in critical times.
There is no pull
I assume
Apparently you have nothing substantial to say, only wishful thinking, as usual.
I do see it as the potential for the beginning of redemption. The changes which need to happen in the US, like I said before, will take at least a generation to put into effect. Probably more. But this is a start -- and you might have to live in the US to know what this means -- to know what a triumph it is. Americans just might get nudged out of their morose helplessness here, wherein there was psychic surrender to the silent, secret, racist police of mafioso ethics.
Did any of you US citizens vote?
In Phoenix, McCain, 72, delivered a gracious concession speech that nodded to history and his erstwhile foe.
"We have come to the end of a long journey," a somber McCain said. "The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight."
He shushed the crowd when they booed Obama -- "Please," McCain said, motioning for silence -- and urged them to join him in working with the incoming president for the greater good of the country. "Whatever our differences," McCain said, "we are fellow Americans."
Barack in Berlin, July 2008
Did any of you US citizens vote?
I decided more or less at the last minute to vote on a couple of things. Voted for the president. Voted for a proposition that demands more humane treatment of commercial farm animals. And I voted against Prop 8, which unfortunately passed, and bans gay marriage in California. This morning, in the aftermath of the election, I fired off a rant about the idiocy of a fear-based religion which is still controlling the minds of most of the US population. I'll spare Soma from the rant, but if anyone cares to read it, it's on my Live Journal at...
http://quantumshaman.livejournal.com/#entry_78866
Overall, I see very little purpose in voting these days. The elctions here aren't really decided by "the people", but by the lobbyists and the electoral college, and the candidates with the most $$$ to spend on their campaigns. Voting is just a formality, giving us the illusion that we have "power," when all evidence points sharply in the other direction.
Am I a cynic? You betcha! :o
Sorry to be so "negative", but I don't think rose-colored glasses are going to change the world. Any "change" has to come at the level of spirit - and, sadly, most of the people I encounter these days aren't much interested in spirit. They want their MTV, their fast food wrapped in six layers of packaging, and their comforting little belief systems that come through the rhetoric of their fear-based religion. Not much room for spirit in any of that.
I am very willing to be proven wrong. Please - prove me wrong! 8)
Overall, I see very little purpose in voting these days. The elctions here aren't really decided by "the people", but by the lobbyists and the electoral college, and the candidates with the most $$$ to spend on their campaigns. Voting is just a formality, giving us the illusion that we have "power," when all evidence points sharply in the other direction.
Having said that, though, I'm completely stunned by the results in California. I can hardly believe it: California is about the most liberal of the 50 states. To boot, while I was there this summer, gay marriage was voted in! So how could there be this turnaround? It's a grave day.
Because not all those who vote for equality accept that equality for all. Even "liberalism" is selective.
Perhaps now that there has been some progress on the race issue, the gender et al issue may have its turn too.
Same thing happens here in South Africa. Everyone wants equality, but as long as it is their definition of equality, and on their terms.
Really all about fear... same-sex marriage is unChristian, unMoslem and unJewish... people are still rather religious.. after all.. God is on their side. (sigh.. yeah.. being rather facetious here... though.. such is the power of belief)
The importance of aspects like "belief", "hope", "pessimism", "optimism", and the like -- whatever floats yer boat there -- is that those aspects spurn Action. In other words, a would-be voter believes, for instance, that a vote makes a difference: therefore, s/he votes. Likewise, a would-be voter believes that a vote makes no difference at all: therefore, s/he doesn't vote. (There are other reasons to vote-or-not-vote: this is just a for-instance.)
Concomitantly, one may or may not subscribe to or value "hope". However, the act of "hoping" brought millions more out to the voting booths. (That, and some reportedly just wanted to be part of the history, which in and of itself was an act of optimism.) "Hope" was central to Obama's platform. Clever man.
So what I'm saying here is that whether or not one subscribes to the power of hope in one's own path, one can't deny that it is a powerful catalyst for action out there in the mainstream, as disappointingly predictable as that might be to us 'sophisticated', duly-jaded or ostensibly-"detached" warrior types.
I am pleased to say that the new president of the United States is Barack Obama! Its an interesting and exciting time to be a US citizen, to witness the acceptance and growth as a unit toward peace and change is beautiful.
Im proud in a humble way to see a glimmer of maturity within a very young culture.. to set aside social conditions and honour an African American man as well as a woman to run in this election for white house is amazing.
I turned the local/national news on yesterday as I went about my house chores.. and saw mass groups of American people standing together and smiling.. yes.. smiling! It matters not the reason.. the smiles, the heart.. the unity.. that matters.
My son is 15 years old, which gives me close up view of the american youth. May they blossem from the waters of the adversities to come. May they have eyes to see and feel the earth calling beneith their heavy footsteps and the heart to follow what they find is truth.
Peace be with you, Jennifer
Im getting a feeling of fear as well.. fear that he cant make a change for the better.. what I find interesting is what people consider better and the passing of a torch they themselves should carry.
In my humble opinion which is very small and very much just a slight passing of wind through the trees, things arnt going to just get better.. what has been done is done and the results of that will come to front as all things do.. say things do dive into the depths of what is considered hell on earth to most Americans, perhaps this is a turning of the universal wheel where all things must die to be reborn anew.
No man alone can stop that wheel from turning from the momentum of the past rolling heavy on the earth.. but.. as a leader he can keep the hearts alive and shift the eyes to a new horizon giving them a land to fly towards and a reason to strengthen their will toward healing.
Obama has the shine to lift the hearts.. we saw that in millions of people yesterday. If shit hits the fan as my mother would say.. I think the United States will/could embrace this stance.. and that is what will unite the people to stand through it.
Awareness comes on the wings of heart.. when people take a stance of survival, when they embrace and grab onto the strings of life and take action.. all things are possible. This is experienced alone on a individual level and united as a whole when discovered that in our own aloneness we are infact the same as everthing thing else.
I agree with you XXX, its a historic change.
Change is a step into the unknown..
It takes some guts to do that..
I like it.
:) Jennifer
My thoughts at the moment (which are always given to the winds of change) written for another forum and copied here in light of sharing with this thread and lack of time/interest to rewrite.. lol ;)
What Im saying is.. a change has already happened. The US elected both a African American and a Woman into the standings for Whitehouse!
My grandfather would roll in his grave if such was possible.. lol
Ive seen this acceptance in my own family when my step sister married an African a few years ago. My father out of ignorance (he has never even known an African) grew up with a fear or dislike of other race..due to social conditioning. Now I see him embrace his beautiful being from Africa right in his living room during holidays!
Its wonderful.
Its a small step I know.. but I see it as a step in a good direction so I honor it for what it is..
Unless people are forced to seek within due to economic crisis or other I dont see other changes the people think will magicaly appear due to a new president... man, woman, black, green, purple or orange.
Any "change" has to come at the level of spirit - and, sadly, most of the people I encounter these days aren't much interested in spirit. They want their MTV, their fast food wrapped in six layers of packaging, and their comforting little belief systems that come through the rhetoric of their fear-based religion. Not much room for spirit in any of that.
I agree Della, and this change isnt going to come easy if it does.. its going to come under the footsteps of a giant that stomps out all the indulging and ignorance.. it could come as the economic world crashes and people are forced into survival mode.. or many other forms of crisis.
Where I do slip on the rose colored glasses and delight in just a bit of hope is that a small number of people will set aside their hate and be filled with love instead.. with love all things are possible.. just maybe a few of them will take a good look within...
Which could indeed create a healthier parental stance and in the future.. the children of today.. could.. could... see things much differently.
Vicki-So what I'm saying here is that whether or not one subscribes to the power of hope in one's own path, one can't deny that it is a powerful catalyst for action out there in the mainstream
Jen,
You are speaking my mind this morning. Thank you!
Love you
:-*
Mainstream needs a little bit of hope imo.. without it.. we can clearly see the 'flower it' attitude of many people.. with a little bit of hope.. perhaps if they can see they can do just a little bit in their own life it makes a huge difference.
Even if its accepting the black man next door and sharing a smile.. it changes..
Perception.
Yes, yes! Every little scrap of good will counts!
Della, I'll repeat --- where I'm currently at is finding a balance between rose-colored glasses and constant nihilism, viewing both stances askance.
I've pretty much addressed my approach to "hope" as well. I haven't really gone on a "love" spiel, so not sure how that is lumped in for ya.
So our mileages vary on this matter, apparently --- no biggie!
The importance of aspects like "belief", "hope", "pessimism", "optimism", and the like -- whatever floats yer boat there -- is that those aspects spurn Action. In other words, a would-be voter believes, for instance, that a vote makes a difference: therefore, s/he votes. Likewise, a would-be voter believes that a vote makes no difference at all: therefore, s/he doesn't vote. (There are other reasons to vote-or-not-vote: this is just a for-instance.)
Concomitantly, one may or may not subscribe to or value "hope". However, the act of "hoping" brought millions more out to the voting booths. (That, and some reportedly just wanted to be part of the history, which in and of itself was an act of optimism.) "Hope" was central to Obama's platform. Clever man.
So what I'm saying here is that whether or not one subscribes to the power of hope in one's own path, one can't deny that it is a powerful catalyst for action out there in the mainstream, as disappointingly predictable as that might be to us 'sophisticated', duly-jaded or ostensibly-"detached" warrior types.
Part of me is definitely "digging" it. It reminds me of the late 60's/early 70's, when many of us were trying to "give peace a chance". We subversives!
Of course, that ended badly, and my personal "aha" moment there was, 3 assassinations later, the Kent State shootings, the heels of which were followed quickly by Watergate. The messages were "We'll kill you if you keep it up," and "You can count on absolutely nothing - nothing is sacred, and democracy is a lie."
I know I'm not alone in the subsequent apprehension of the zeitgeist of discouragement.
So am I happy that many stepped into the dream of democracy and peace again? Yes.
Will it last? I fear not -- no, it won't last, but likewise, I'm keeping my projections and disappointment out of it. You just never know what can happen.
what do I click on when I get to that page - it's all in gobbledygook.
You know, I hate talking politics -- and I rarely do.
So, ultimately, my caution here is not to get too caught up in the IDEAS of "love" or "hope". They're great motivators - but being a stalker, I am compelled to ask the next question: how does that translate to ACTION in the real world?
Hi, Vicki... Jen... and everyone else in this thread...
Vicki, I'm just attaching this to your post because it's the most succinct. "Every little scrap of good will counts." That seems to be the sentiment of many in this thread, however I would like to ask a simple question: How?
Don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily disagree. I'm just trying to understand how hope or good will is going to change anything on a national or global level. Seriously. What is the process by which that change may occur? We talk about love and good will, but even if you, me, Jen, Lori and the rest of us Somans were to go out and "spread the joy", I'm not really sure how I see that it is going to matter except to those of us who are do-ing it. We cannot save the world. We can only effect change within ourselves. And while I see that those of us here are do-ing that, it is clear that "the world" at large isn't much interested. Just what is.
And that brings me to a point that's been kicked around over at TSW on and off for years. Basically, it has really started to appear to me that there are at least two different species of humans on the planet (probably more, but for the sake of argument, let's jut talk about two). There are "the humans" and there are "the seekers" (sorry, don't have a better word for it). They look the same externally, but their inner mechanisms function on extremely different frequencies - so they are largely unable to understand one another. Ever tried talking to a fundy preacher, for example? NOT on the same frequency. Not even in the same world. Ever tried talking to a born-again bliss-ninnie? Same problem - whether perceiving himself to be saved by Jesus or enlightened by virtue of having become a vegetarian, still not in the same world.
So... my point here is that I think we are attempting to communicate with a species that may not be CAPABLE of communicating. It's not just that our "language" is different. The concepts themselves are so at opposite ends of the spectrum that what I am calling a tree, the humans are calling a missile, and vice versa. Communication break-down. No common language.
So we talk about love and hope (both of which I am quite fond of), but at what level of reality can we really APPLY that? And, to be perfectly Toltec about it - is it even our "problem" beyond a certain point? I didn't see don Juan out trying to save the planet by spreading good cheer. *LOL* Not that he would have anything against it, but he focused his energies on those he COULD help - other warriors, people who were making at least some effort toward their own evolution.
So, again forgive me if I'm appearing "negative," but I'm trying to understand HOW hope and love are really going to make any difference, except within OURSELVES. Absolutely - "Love is the reason" - no argument, total agreeement. But trying to communicate "love" to a species that speaks in terms of war and bigotry and hate-mongering and fear-mongering... er... isn't that rather like trying to teach a pig to sing? After awhile, it wastes YOUR time and annoys the pig. So... what is really gained?
Now, with that said, I'm not a nihilist. But I DO think there comes a time when we need to focus on what we CAN do rather than what we WISH were true. I'm old enough to have lived through the 60s - that turbulent era of peace, love, dope, war, etc. We marched for peace and wore flowers in our hair and ate a lot of tofu, but ultimately the "world" still went to hell around us. Ugly truth. So - my question is simply this: what is an EFFICIENT use of energy in a world where we are essentially not the "dominat" species? Sorry to be brutal here, but do we try to "save the apes" or do we focus our energy on evolution?
Ugly questions. Very ugly. Not my intent to rain on anyone's parade, but I think these are questions that must be asked if we are going to be honest with ourselves. It's perfectly reasonable and rational to have that hope and love within ourselves, and even spread it around to others - but my experience has shown that if we think it's going to make a difference in "the world", we are sadly mistaken.
What it all boils down to? I have come to see "hope" and "love" as positions of the assemblage point - very positive and potentially powerful. But I also clearly *see* that love and hope alone are not going to be enough, simply because they can potentially blind us to the need for action - the responsibility of the Self in the equation of evolution. So, if love and hope are positions of the assemblage point (mindsets), what is the best possible use of that energy in our day to day lives? Are we trying to "save the world", or do we "save the world" by saving ourselves?
I keep going back to the analogy of the plane. If the oxygen masks drop, your FIRST responsibility is to yourself. If you're being altruistic and trying to put everyone else's mask on for them, you run the risk of passing out and then you're useless to all, including yourself.
So, ultimately, my caution here is not to get too caught up in the IDEAS of "love" or "hope". They're great motivators - but being a stalker, I am compelled to ask the next question: how does that translate to ACTION in the real world? I honestly don't think it's as simple as saying "We have to set a good example." That's just too easy, and too much of an abdication of responsibility.
Just some rambling thoughts which probably won't set well with some. Apologies for the intrusion, but at the same time, I feel it is a necessary question if we are committed to the path with heart.
I'm just trying to understand how hope or good will is going to change anything on a national or global level.
My heart says with a bit of hope they may pull their heads out of their ass and notice what they DO have.. little by little they get feeling better.. huh..
Like I said at the beginning of my post, I only appended it to your post 'cuz yours was the most succinct. The terms "love" and "hope" were both used in the thread, so none of it was intended "personally" toward you. :)
As for mileage... I'm just asking the question. How do we transform our "hope" into action? The question isn't meant to offend.
I just left a very dear friend of mine who was paralized in an accident 2 years ago.. he has been struggling in healing ever since.
You know what pulls him out of his depression.. hope and love.
I see it as a side issue for a warrior, perhaps falling into the line of controlled folly.. to be concerned with the world and peace.. and yes, the people. Im not saying for all warriors.. Im saying for me at the time being. (Tomorrow I may not give a shit)
When my friend's daughter comes to see him tonight.. he's going to feel good.. because I reminded him of something.. life, love. She is going to feel good because her father does.. she's going to go home and share that with her mother.. ripples.
Its not distracting or frustrating to my path.. Its not my path.. its what I choose to do at times. Hell for that matter who is this "I" its doubtful anyone knows.
Hope and Love..
If one part of the world finds acceptance for one another, they start really understanding what love is. If one part of the world finds love.. again.. ripples.
The understanding of love, could even (and this is where Im still hopeful!) open their eyes to the earth and what we've done to her.. then the real world wide stuff starts rolling.
As for mileage... I'm just asking the question. How do we transform our "hope" into action? The question isn't meant to offend.The answer is controlled folly. In other words, we don't.
How do we transform our "hope" into action? The question isn't meant to offend.
Wait a second...
Something just occurred to me. The way I see it, hope IS action.
I'm thinking here...
It is a noun, sure (the hope) but it is also something that we do, (we hope, we are hoping) so therefore an action word, a verb.
:)
....it's an ongoing industry that's all about making you think
the choices you make are your own....
No offense, Lori, but that doesn't work for me in the bigger picture. I can "hope" for a new car, or to be healed of some ailment, but unless I put some additional effort into it, hope alone normally doesn't yield results.
It can't hurt, but I'm not sure how much it "helps" either. OTOH, if it helps someone feel better about themselves or their situation, that's a good thing. :)
Perhaps Hope is akin to Trust..
And faith?
Faith? In what? In whom? Seriously...
Seriously... when someone talks to me about faith, I think it's important to establish a reference point.
In Power
Spirit
the Universe
;D
Faith? In what? In whom?
Abolishing all belief systems (including what we believe about words), until we stand face to face with the authentic self?
So would you believe that I met Don Juan a month ago?
A man that according to scientists even never has existed.
That is an easy question QS - faith in myself or my Self.
Actually there is only one person on this planet, and that is me.
I'd love to hear about that! :) I met "him" once, years ago. Who's to say it was don Juan or not, but that was how he projected to me at the time.
Do tell!
That is an easy question QS - faith in myself or my Self.
Actually there is only one person on this planet, and that is me.
You others are just a dream ;D
Ah, that meeting was just one in a number of many. Don Juan is as always, a man in his best, 60+ that is. My eyes are similar to the eyes of the nagual, if I need to talk about my personal situation, have a question, or feel that things goes tight, then I walk in to the Toltec Astral community. Step in as the natural duke that I am. One of the masters that I may meet is Don Juan Matus. He got one perspective that help me in a certain type of problems, and I must stress, only certain "problems", one do not call for DJ without cause, not saying that he may contact me to get some first hand info. His warrior perspective one seldom ask for simply because one know deep within the "painful" answer that will follow, that is always to look on what IS, to scrutinize one self. One becomes naked, one becomes responsible.
So I seek his conversation only when I am sure to not be stripped apart and be completely "naked" before the community. For me, then Don Juan can be a real support, and I can get a glimpse of what is behind next bend.
The advices of and connection to Don Juan is available to everyone here and elsewhere, that is how the Toltec community works. Preconditions are perhaps a bit responsibilty for mankind and oneself and a bit of transformation made on the personal level.
hope alone normally doesn't yield results.
It can't hurt, but I'm not sure how much it "helps" either. OTOH, if it helps someone feel better about themselves or their situation, that's a good thing. :)
The destruction of faith is the beginning of evolution.
I am pleased to say that the new president of the United States is Barack Obama! Its an interesting and exciting time to be a US citizen, to witness the acceptance and growth as a unit toward peace and change is beautiful.
Im proud in a humble way to see a glimmer of maturity within a very young culture.. to set aside social conditions and honour an African American man as well as a woman to run in this election for white house is amazing.
I turned the local/national news on yesterday as I went about my house chores.. and saw mass groups of American people standing together and smiling.. yes.. smiling! It matters not the reason.. the smiles, the heart.. the unity.. that matters.
My son is 15 years old, which gives me close up view of the american youth. May they blossem from the waters of the adversities to come. May they have eyes to see and feel the earth calling beneith their heavy footsteps and the heart to follow what they find is truth.
Peace be with you, Jennifer
Quote
In my humble opinion which is very small and very much just a slight passing of wind through the trees, things arnt going to just get better.. what has been done is done and the results of that will come to front as all things do.. say things do dive into the depths of what is considered hell on earth to most Americans, perhaps this is a turning of the universal wheel where all things must die to be reborn anew.
Did any of you US citizens vote?
Also, I don't understand how evolution can have a beginning. In my view, it is a constant process with no beginning or end.
So while I do understand your (personal) need to destroy faith, I cannot comprehend that evolution won't 'start' until faith is destroyed. ???
So we have to know and recall both, because that is the simple roller-coaster of emotion built into the very blueprint of our beings.
However, for ourselves, we fuel our engines on a very different substance. This enables us to speed along gaily in both despair and hope, in both day and night. THAT is our secret.
And if you don't know what that secret is, best you find out before you do anything else. You are useless in the Shamanic field of Action if you have not realigned yourself to this secret. You will only muddy the water even more.
Pretty simple. As long as you are relying on "faith" in any sort of extant force, power or god, you have abdicated responsibility for your own evolution. And, at a certain level, even "faith" in yourself is not enough. Warriors don't rely on "faith", but in quantifiable energy - action, intent, will.
I seek to light hope in the hearts of those around me - not to save the world, as that is a very different matter altogether - but to bring 'auspicious'. I love to see the hearts of those around me light up with the knowledge of possibilities - to realise they can achieve, they can change themselves and the world.
You know that Shiva, the god of destruction, is also the god of auspicious - you should think carefully on that.
However, for ourselves, we fuel our engines on a very different substance. This enables us to speed along gaily in both despair and hope, in both day and night. THAT is our secret.
And if you don't know what that secret is, best you find out before you do anything else. You are useless in the Shamanic field of Action if you have not realigned yourself to this secret. You will only muddy the water even more.
Those who have known me for any length of time already know I am not particularly "sweetness and light" in my approach to this path. Quite the contrary, I have found it to be a path of "dark enlightenment" - in the sense that much of the Knowledge and experience we acquire on this path isn't particularly "pleasant". We use the term "warriors" - but what are we at war with? Simple - our comfort zones, belief systems, our ego and the baggage of the consensus we bring with us from our "ordinary lives".
Are we willing to challenge those things? Or are we only looking for a feel-good agreement to our existing belief systems?
When Orlando first began working with the three of us, he challenged us right down to the core level of our thought processes - particularly when we would respond to one of his questions with a platitude. I remember once he asked me, "Della, how do you define 'the right way to live'?" I responded with some clever (or so I thought) quip about, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Some bit of recycled sweetness & light shite floating around in my brain from my old programming. So easy to see in hindsight. So impossible to see when we are stuck in the program. Needless to say, his response was *ahem* rather brutal, as I believe both Wendy and A_____ would attest. It went something like this...
"Then how would you define doing unto others? What does that mean to you? Do you agree with them blindly in the hopes they will agree with you - even if and when you are wrong? Do you form unwritten and unholy alliances based on some notion of approval or reciprocal courtesies? And if that is the case, what do you then owe to that person, that you may not want or be able to give? Do you smile at their errors and hold your silence because that is how you would want to be treated, ignoring the fact that you will only go on repeating the same errors through ignorance? Do unto others... Is that REALLY how you would define the right way to live, or is that just some bit of garbage stuck on your hard drive that you recite when challenged by a question to which you have no answer?"
Got my attention. And it made me think.
And therein lies the rub. If we are going to be honest, if we are going to be true to our path (whatever it may be), can we afford those little consensuses that often occur on forums, wherein you agree with me and expect me to agree with you? Or, is it perhaps far more of an honor and a service to others to treat them with the dignity and respect that says, "I love you enough to challenge your thinking - and I BEG you to do the same for me!"
Once again let me remind that because I have faith or hope doesn't mean that I rely on them period. I have said hope and faith can be useful catalysts, to light the spark inside. Using them with whatever means necessary to facilitate an action is what I am talking about. Faith, hope, despair, fear, and lots more, none of them are useful to us if we get attached or stuck on them. If we can use these things to fuel us, that's some good work, leading to action.
After I got to work, I realized I wanted to say that, too.
Thanks Jamir, I heartily agree!
:-*
I'm curious about what he had to say or show, if it's not too personal to share. I've met dJ in dreaming and always he had some very important bit of knowledge to impart.
;D
Many seers of today see things that may make them rather worried about the future. Then it is good to turn to the old and wise.
Ask yourself this question. Are you able to push on regardless, when all hope is gone?
Action does not come from hope, it comes from desire. Emotional desire is the source of all action, even when that desire is about avoidance of pain. Hope however is like a gateway. You may desire to do something, but if you see no possibility of succeeding, then your desire is blocked, and thus your action is blocked.
Where this is seen clearly, is when we are proceeding with hope of achieving. Then hope turns to hopelessness - what do we do? What do you do? Do you drop your bundle and give up? What is the point of carrying on along some road when it is patently pointless?
We should choose our road, our action, and not based on outcomes alone. This allows us the extra level to be able to keep pushing on, when all hope is gone, because we are not the servant of hope! It is absolutely critical we grasp this understanding.
Hope is also meaning. We persevere because our actions have meaning - we see that are right and meaningful for us. But when all of a sudden they become meaningless, wrong, futile - can you still persevere when your efforts are obviously pointless?
and yet so often overlooked. We are not the servant of hope! Nor are we the slaves of despair. Either may be used as a tool, but the trick is to let go of the tool before it glues itself to our hand, to see it for what it is, and then go BEYOND its hooks.
This is where we CAN begin to claim our own personal power and use it
Not by default, but by an awakening of our awareness. Someone I know likes to say, "We are all Buddhas" - but I have never liked that statement, because it implies that we need do nothing in order to be "perfect." On one level, MAYBE that is true, but I don't personally see it. We all have the POTENTIAL to be Buddhas, but to MANIFEST that potential requires the work of losing our programming, diving into the abyss, and seeing what (if anything) of our "past life" survives that dark enlightenment.
I know that guy too. He may not be the same though. This "We are all Light and Buddhas" may blind many in New Age Enlightment to come in alignment with their Destiny.
Thus, their man, Obama, sells 'hope' as a diversion technique, a holding position, to keep the masses from truly rebelling.
What terrifies the manipulators is that people will abandon hope, as a future, sometime-never projection, and start to demand fairness, justice and freedom now. To avoid this nightmare they need to keep those desires as something to aspire to, not to actually have. Thus, their man, Obama, sells 'hope' as a diversion technique, a holding position, to keep the masses from truly rebelling.
Okay, Lori... I want to start this by saying that we clearly come from very opposite points of view. That's okay. Anything I have said here isn't personal, though I was accused by a friend of "seeking an argument." That is NOT my agenda, so I hope you (and others) will hear me on that. Frankly, I don't think discussions such as this can be answered with one or two-word responses, but that's just me. In trying to understand where YOU are coming from, I offer my own reference points and attempt to make them clear. But, of course, in the bigger picture, even if you and I came to an understanding (formed a consensus), it really would make no difference whatsoever. So... in many ways, we have to acknowledge that most forum discussions are little more than exercises in stalking our own assimilation.
In talking to you or Michael or Juhani or Jahn or Jen, my agenda isn't to change YOUR mind, but to thoroughly challenge and explore my own. That's what stalkers do. When I am in Dreaming mode, I "inhabit the experience in the Now", but the reason Toltec teaches that a warrior must learn both dreaming AND stalking is because there does come a time when we are required (by ourselves) to form a foundation of Knowledge that is both fluid and cohesive, at the same time. Dreaming (fluidity) and stalking (cohesion).
So, this question is posed from the point of view of a stalker: When you say you have faith in the universe, spirit and power... my question becomes... how would you define those things? What I'm getting at is that when people say they have faith in spirit or the universe, they are usually envisioning some manner of extant "power" - whether god, goddess, atman, or other - and at that point, there is still what amounts to an abdication of power and responsibility from the "self" to something "other".
Maybe that's not what you mean. That's what I'm trying to get at here. What DO you mean? Without a further refernce point, they are just words hanging in a void. What is the universe? What is spirit? What is power? Not questions you need to answer if you don't want to - just trying to point out that our definitions of these things, and our experience of them, is not going to be the same, so part of coming to an understanding involves building a common language (as much as is possible - which may be altogether impossible... :-\
The bottom line is simply this: too many people I encounter (including myself!) fall into comfort zones of believing that if they wish for something or hope for something, it is going to come to them. That was part of the whole platform of the latest spiritual fad - "The Secret." The concepts may work at a core level, but unless combined with actual ACTION (dreaming and stalking working together - thought/idea becoming manifested through intent)) they tend to sit dormant in the back of the mind as a "comfort zone". We lose ourselves in "hoping" and put off the "do-ing".
Doesn't matter, of course. It's not my intent or even my hope to change your thinking. :) Heartfelt. My intent is only to challenge my own comfort zones - and that often comes in the form of presenting ideas that are not particularly popular. My contention is that if I am "disturbed" by something you say (or vice versa) the stalking exercise has been successful. Obviously (to me anyway) knowledge cannot be traded in the form of words alone. Anything you say to me, anything I say to you, must be filtered through our own processes - and hopefully somewhere in that do-ing, we not only understand ourselves better, but we also build a more cohesive "foundation" that welcomes challenge as an opportunity for growth, rather than automatically retreating from it as a threat to ego or existing comfort zones.
So, since it seem to be an issue and a question, allow me to say publicly that I'm not seeking an "argument." I'm trying to stimulate my own thinking by engaging with others. That is not going to involve joining any consensus and there will be times when it will not even be "politically correct." But, in the bigger picture, isn't that what the path is all about? Challenging our comfort zones? Abolishing all belief systems (including what we believe about words), until we stand face to face with the authentic self?
If we're just here to agree with one another, we're wasting our time.
Heartfelt, unconditionally,
D
This one is in his room:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kR0R19bSL._SS500_.jpg)
"Our Destiny is not written for us, but by us."
This one is in his room:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kR0R19bSL._SS500_.jpg)
"Our Destiny is not written for us, but by us."
Nice!
Beautiful family he has.
Shiney ones of all them!
;)
The Hero (Barack himself) and the Amazon (his wife, that btw is the strongest of them two - women are always stronger ...) must now do a heroic performance while he the Hero at the same time should pick up the role and vibrations of the Father (responsibility, trust, stability, solvency etc.).
Behind every successful man there is a woman. But this will not be any "Yes Nancy - No Nancy" rulership. ;D