The following are opinions that community members desire to express to you for your consideration. If they move you to act, please do so. If you differ with what is expressed, feel free to open issues for debate and/or submit your own opinions for the consideration of the community. Where possible keep focused on expressing your understanding of an issue/topic rather than attacking what others express. Trust that the members of our community have enough understanding and intelligence to evaluate what is expressed, feel what their hearts/souls tell them, and act accordingly. Just express yourself clearly and let your information flow from your heart. Those who are meant to hear will indeed hear and be moved to interact.
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Collective Image Psychology suggests that collective imagery, our perception
of "human nature", motivates collective (group) behavior. Negative collective imagery, the notion human nature leaves something to be desired, generates hierarchical structures as some try to distinguish themselves from a despised mass. The theory, its ramifications, and suggestions for changing the way things are can be found at my utopia site.
Some find the theory too simple (simplistic?) but it has firm philosophical roots. Human behavior is genetic or psychological (mind or body). We don't see group behavior as psychological because we recognize no group mind. When you deal in perceptions, the mind, the unconscious, the id, etc. become irrelevant because behavior is perceived as a function of belief.
Others say collective imagery reprises the Jungian collective unconscious. In one sense there is a parallel. Jung collectivized Freudian thinking in his effort to develop a collective psychology. Collective imagery collectivizes self image psychology, a widely accepted notion and the basis of popular twelve step programs. Like self image psychology, collective image psychology recognizes no unconscious. Everything is conscious and within our control. We, individually and collectively, are responsible for the way we behave.
If anyone wishes to discuss these concepts, I shall be happy to respond.
With the recent election over and results showing that less than half of the eligible voters actually did so, it seems that the issue of voting and "democratic" decision making processes deserves some attention. Personally, I have been of voting age for 20 years, and have never bothered to even register, much less vote. Yes, like most of you, I was told that the right to vote was a "sacred" privilege that few people in the world are free enough to possess. I was also told that it was my "civic duty", one of the responsibilities of being a citizen in the US. However, none of this was convincing to me. I've never felt it was important to me or those I care about to stay abreast of current events. Further, the very nature of politics and the political process is abhorent to me. There has never been a time when I truly felt that any of the issues being voted on had any real impact on my life. Similarly, it has never really mattered to me who held a particular office. My sense is that officeholders owe the ones that get them there. These are generally the corporations and special interest groups that support them and fund their campaigns. And, such support always comes with BIG strings attached. Such people, companies, and groups expect special treatment in specific areas that concern them. In many cases, this is in areas that impact how business is done, and ultimately the bottom line profits that companies can realize. You can bet that all of these groups make their "investments" carefully and see a big return on their investments as a result.
Overall, I still have a strong sense that nothing the government does or does not do has any meaningful impact on the way I live my life. Oh, taxes may go up or down but in the current system dramatic changes to the status quo are highly unlikely. In most cases, specific legislation has no real impact. I live in a state, CA, that probably has millions of laws on the books by now. Yes, they have some impact on the way people interact and do business. But, overall, I'd be hardpressed to come up with a dozen laws that I am aware of observing on a regular basis, laws that impact my personal behavior to any degree.
Do others have a different assessment of the importance of voting? Is there a compelling reason for voting that I've missed all these years? Do you believe your vote truly counts and makes a difference? Does voting allow you to speak your voice? Do the issues you are asked to vote on really matter to you? Are the people you are asked to vote for the best people available for the respective offices? Does the process give you enough information to really make an educated choice on either issues or candidates?
If community is truly going to work, individuals must participate. This requires the commitment of time, energy, and sometimes resources to do something. It can start with something as simple as submitting ideas, such as this opinion or material for other areas of the Newsletter. Ultimately, however, it requires much more. Community requires a commitment to developing mutually beneficial relationships ... it requires caring enough to get involved in one anothers lives in ways that truly make a difference. There is no greater gift you can give than helping to make anothers life better by sharing whom that you are and allowing spirit to express through you to them.
For larger infrastructure changes, it will take many cooperating and working together on projects that make a difference for the collective whole. Deciding what these projects will be, and determining who will be involved in doing what tasks to carry them out will not be easy. However, before we can begin to do this, we must establish a commonality of purpose and we must jointly agree to doing what we can individually to contribute to achieving this larger purpose. This all starts with establishing a base of ideas from which our cooperative efforts can spring forth. This newsletter provides a vehicle for such ideas to be expressed and discussed. However, this cannot be done by a few people carrying the load. It is up to each of you to realize that your ideas and opinions have value too ... that your inputs matter and can make a difference. They can only do so if you voice them, though. This requires taking the time to write and submit them, and do the appropriate research if necessary. You don't have to do it alone. Reach out to the community to find other interested people whom you can work with. Develop the necessary relationships to facilitate working together, then take action to make it so, informing others of progress and getting others involved when needed.
The bottom line is take the responsibility to do something. Even if it is not the "right" thing, it does not really matter. If you stay flexible, your target will naturally shift to whatever is needed from a spiritual standpoint. Just stay open and watch the feedback that the universe provides and steer according to the guidance it contains. Trust that the work you do is not your own, but is done by spirit through you. Spirit always has the talents and resources required to manifest what must be done in accordance with The Plan or Thy Will. For individuals, this requires the courage to express whatever you are moved to express in the manner that your spirit dictates.
It all starts with a commitment to get involved and stay involved. Ultimately this is expressed by volunteering for specific tasks, and being responsible for carrying out any commitments that you make. You can't necessarily wait until such specific tasks are defined. If you see something you feel needs to be done and are interested in doing something about it, feel free to define your own task(s) and enlist others to help where they are needed. Also, it is not necessary to have the answers when you start. Just identifying that there is a problem or an area for improvement is enough to get the process rolling. You may find others that already have answers, or ideas on how to find answers, if you can ask the questions and provide a focus.
Feedback is essential for building the foundations for a community. It is the reflection that the mirror shows to us to allow us to determine what impact our efforts are having. If you simply read this and then sit back in silence, you are NOT doing your part. You have a brain, feelings, and a voice. Please use them to express how you feel about problems, issues, ideas, needed actions ... or anything else you care about. Give your ideas voice ... allow your spirit the chance to speak or to express as it will.
Without feedback, we have no guidance by which to steer along our path and ensure we are moving in a direction that truly serves your needs and the overall collective needs. Your inputs are valuable and can make a difference, but only if you give them wings and let them fly. Have the courage to do so. We care deeply about what you think and how you feel. You are spirit enjoying a physical experience. You know what you need to express more fully. Let us know, and well see if there is anything we can do to facilitate increasing your expression of your freedom.
We believe ourselves to be a "free people". In fact, our country (the US) stands as the symbol and bastion of freedom in the world, a role it has had for many years now. Interesting, I just corrected a typo. I spelled "now" as "NWO", the New World Order. Very curious that I would make that error at at this moment. The NWO has both negative and positive visions attached to it. On one extreme is a very small group who hold all the power and impose their "order" on us. Such is the opposite of any expression of FREEDOM. At the other extreme are the prophets of the New Age who foresee a time characterized by the basic principles of peace, harmony, sympathy, understanding, tolerance, equality, creativity, fair distribution of goods and services, and freedom of expression.
These visions are very different. What will be manifest will probably lie somewhere between these, preferably closer to the latter; but undoubtedly in the manner that is most suited to provide the collective with an environment that supports learning what we came to learn, and more importantly doing what we came to do.
Freedom is a very interesting concept. It is a personal choice we make about the way we live our lives and operate among our fellow man. The choices we make determine the shackles we must bear, and the walls, obstacles, or other prisons that confine us. It is not the outside circumstances that determine this. It is our mental, emotional, and spiritual state. We can be FREE anywhere and in any circumstances. Similarly, we can be imprisoned anywhere and in any circumstances. In either case ... we do it to ourselves.
Being free to spend a portion of my time on recreation or other activities of my choice is only one type of freedom. In our current society, I am also free to spend the fruits of my labor (wages) on an incredible variety of goods and services. However do I really need 10 kinds of corn flakes to choice from, or 50 remedies for headaches or cold symptoms, or 100's of different brands, models, and sizes of televisions, stereos, VCRs or computers? Does that really serve me? Does that really enhance my personal freedom in any way?
Isn't access to information much more important? Yet, we live in a world where information has great value yet is far from free. Much that our government does is classified at a number of different levels, specifically to limit access to those with a definite "need to know". Most of this is done under the umbrella of national security. Under these guidelines, information that is deemed to cause "damage", "serious damage", or "grave damage" to the nation is carefully controlled and safeguarded. It is amazing to me how much information is classified in such a manner and thereby kept out of the hands of we the people. Can the information truly be that important? And is it's nature truly such that its release would have such devastating impact. Somehow I find that very hard to swallow. At the same time, I know that such are the laws in our present society and that so long as they are on the books, they must be respected and abided by.
Yet, there is a gnawing in my stomach, a sense that in building a system that requires such control of important information, we have somehow given away a great part of our freedom. And further, that we have no real insight into just how much. There must be a better way. Information hiding is a game. A game that has a real impact on the way not only governments behave, but corporations as well. In the case of corporations, the motive is competitive advantage ... sometimes optained via "ethical" business behavior but just as often not. Yes, there are laws that provide the rules of the game. But, these can easily be broken. Yes, corporations do this at the risk of being caught and having to pay a penalty. But, in many cases, the penalty is little more than a slap on the wrist, and the risk of being caught is relatively low to begin with.
So, what does this mean in personal terms? How does it impact me as an individual. I am very free in many ways. In particular, the most important way to me is freedom of expression. I exercise that freedom regularly. My experience is that I can say anything I want to say whenever I want to say it. There is no sensor. This medium, in particular, provides me with a blank slate on which I can communicate to the world at large. For the past few years I have found this extremely satisfying even though I know not how my expression impacts others. Just being able to express in this fashion is enough, at least for the time being.
In terms of being able to access information, there are things I am curious about for which I cannot get satisfactory answers. For instance, the whole issue of UFOs. Either our government knows something about them or it does not. These things exist or they do not. Yet, if I ask a question such as "Did UFO's crash in New Mexico in the 1940's?", I cannot expect to get a straight answer. The official responses do not agree with the little information that is available. Further, it is not in the best interest of those who may have been involved to reveal the level of their involvement and the nature of decisions that they made. A more important question may be "What do WE the people have a right to know?" Just because we can ask a question, or are curious about an issue, may not be sufficient. In fact, in our present society, it is definitely NOT sufficient.
I might ask similar questions about what we truly know about the nature of the mind. Though I'm not sure I really want to find out the nature of any research done and experiments that have been conducted to gain that knowledge. At the same time, there is a sense that something important is missing. How do we ensure that our government conducts its affairs "ethically", if we have no insight into what they are doing since so much of it is done in secret behind doors that are potentially never to be opened?
So, we are back to the issue of personal freedom. What choices are mine to make that truly involve the exercise of real freedom? My sense is that there are very few in my life ... and unfortunately even fewer in the lives of most people. Yet, in the ways that truly matter, I am indeed a free spirit and shall always be.