Kosmic Activism: Part Two

Kosmic Activism:

Drawing on Wider Truths In An Age of Post-Truth:

 Part Two

(published in Kosmos Journal, April 2017)

To live in truth in this age of post-truth -- to disentangle the lies and deceptions in which it threatens to envelop us -- we need to draw on deeper, higher truths, and the wisdom, inspiration and power with which they infuse us. We are citizens not only of our own skin, our clan, our neighborhood or our nation, but of the entire universe, past, present, and future. This is the ultimate inalienable truth, that nothing is alien to us. The more we plug into this truth, the more power flows through us. We act from love – the power that interconnects the universe – and heals the blindness that divides us, binds the wounds of illusion.

The break-up of “truth” as we know it is not just something to be deplored or despaired of, it points to something significant – that our old truths no longer fit, neither the complexity of our world, nor the capacities of our true multi-dimensional nature, which we need to develop to meet it. The age of rationalism, with its categorical boxes through which we have constructed our world, is breaking down, collapsing. And it can either devolve to chaos, total irrationality, or push us to a higher level of knowing, a trans-rational intelligence that draws upon higher dimensions to guide our actions in this one.

Many agree today that we have entered an age of “post-truth”, and the viral uptake of this buzz-word itself means it’s becoming normalized. This makes it more crucial than ever that we be aligned with truth, in our words and our actions, for in this age of instant global communications, our very interconnectivity can either be our salvation or our perdition. It has become all too obvious, in the course of recent events, how the age of information technology has morphed into misinformation technology; how easily, with the new social media, we are manipulated with fake news; and how vital it is, more than ever, that we reclaim our discernment. First we must discern what is true, only then can we know what to do; not throw up our hands, but look deeper…

After Trump’s election, flummoxed and confused not only by the outcome itself but by the revelations of fake news, Russian cyberhacking, etc., behind it, many of my friends said, “How can we know what to do, when we don’t even know what’s true any more?”

Faced with a challenging (especially a new, or rapidly-changing) situation, we need to be very conscious not to shrink from it, in denial or distraction, but to face it openly, if we are to move through it. Even if the helplessness and confusion around what we can do makes our first instinct to turn our attention away from it or hunker down in business as usual, we need to recognize that the first step is not to take action, but to seek understanding: to understand the forces at work, and which forces we choose to align with (these can be higher spiritual forces that reconcile, rather than reinforce, existing polarizations.)

Strategy and action can follow from that, but unless we are first willing to resist the temptation to throw up our hands and withdraw because we don’t know what to do, we will never arrive at the point where we do; first we have to be willing to openly face what is happening, to stay with the unknown until it reveals the deeper dynamics initially hidden from view, and from there to choose which directions we consciously want to align with.

There is also a crucial difference between simply retreating into one’s own familiar comfort zone, one’s sphere of business-as-usual, as a mechanism of denial or distraction; or -- even while anchoring oneself in small actions within one’s own limited sphere -- leaving it open to the big picture, with mutual influence flowing both ways. Ultimately, this means opening up to the holographic connections between all spheres, rippling in both directions between the personal, local, and the global, collective. This shift in vision from linear to holographic power, in how we both understand and influence events, is axiomatic to how we can shift our consciousness and our world.

Post “post-truth” we must come back to truth, if we are not to come to nothing at all: truths so timeless, so wide, so ever-unfolding, that they will always serve us. Not the half-truths or fake news that set us in opposition to others, but the truths that connect us. We have been cut some slack in the past; today this is non-negotiable.

Truth does not divide; only lies divide. Truth does not oppose, fear, or bully, or cower in its own corner. It is universal, all-inclusive; it is impartial, wide. And it continues to widen, rather than conquer and divide. In the great arc of space and time, it is this truth that triumphs– of our Oneness with each other, nature and our own Divine spirit – the ultimate equality of all life. It is up to us to decide whether to align with it or not. If we defy it, it will still triumph, inexorable – but we may no longer be here on this beautiful Earth to enjoy it. It is up to us to decide.

The Power of Unity Consciousness: As We See It, So It Becomes

I’d like to add that, as I see it, a big part of the weakness of both the liberals and spiritual circles in the pluralistic, post-modern world has been the influence of relativism – the idea that nothing is true, that everything is relative. This liberal “cool”, no less than reactionary hot-headedness, has led to the age of “post-truth”; in fact has allowed fundamentalists, both political and religious, to rush straight into the vacuum. Yet there are truths that are all-inclusive – not elusive, illusive or evasive -- and these are the highest truths: the ones that see the connections between things, how things fit together, are inter-related – not rejecting this or that, even things that seem opposite – and, through this very wideness of vision, being able to bring them together in a new constellation. Today our very survival depends upon our standing up for these truths.

As we see it, so it becomes – not only through the power of our perception to shape our reality, but the actions we take accordingly. The fact that the world “out there” is not fixed, objective, but malleable to our perceptions and actions, gives us far more latitude, and leverage, than we think. That is why, as Einstein said, to shift the problems we have created at one level of consciousness, we need to shift that consciousness -- to go higher and deeper. In this way the principles of indeterminacy and relativity serve us; we are not lost in a void of randomness, uncertainty and impotence, but vitally empowered.

The way we perceive reality influences reality. That means we have more choice, not less, because reality is not fixed, objective. This doesn’t mean that nothing is true, rather that this interdependence between how we see things, how we meet them, and how they are, is true. The higher, the wider, the more all-inclusive the viewpoint from which we meet our world, the more power we have over it; the wider the scope of our empathy, the greater the strength of our impact. When we truly recognize our interconnectedness with all that is, we mobilize an alchemical force of transformation.

There is a deeper truth hidden in the suffering caused by extreme divisiveness, and called in to action by it; a deeper wisdom hidden in the bitterness of opposition, twisted facts, fake news, waiting to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Its very spaciousness enables us to reconcile polarities, without getting pulled into either, to raise our vision to a higher synthesis, a wider truth that brings unity, that heals the scars of both difference and indifference.

These truths are sacred, inviolable, eternal, precisely because they are aligned with our highest evolution. Such truths are dynamic, fluid, not fixed, but expand from within. They arise from the innermost heart-space that is the portal to the field of universal Consciousness, the ever-unfolding Kosmos.

At the root of these truths is the secret of power and disempowerment: when we see from a consciousness of division, we create division; when we see from a unified consciousness we bring unity. It is in our power to choose.

Transforming Fear and Anger into the Power of Love

All around the world today fear, despair and anger are erupting. I am not one to believe that anger is a bad thing, but it needs to be analyzed and transformed in order to be constructive, in order to truly alleviate the causes that have provoked it. Anger is better than apathy, but needs to be transformed into empathy -- a passion not just to protest what is wrong but to protect what is sacred, to bring love into this world. Anger is a red alarm signal that alerts us that something is amiss, that something is out of balance, unjust, is crying for our attention. Anger is not our enemy, but our friend, asking us to look deeper.

And when we do so, if we are honest, we also see the part we have played in the injustice or imbalance that caused it, either by commission or omission. This doesn’t mean that our righteous anger should then be directed against our self, but that compassion, empathy, breadth of vision, for all is called for, on both sides of any issue. When we see how we are all interconnected, how we are all in this together, both the problems and its solutions, we transform our anger into compassion, passion for the highest good, the power not to overcome others but to overcome our divisions.

In navigating conflict, we need to accommodate all sides, but we don’t accommodate small-mindedness by stooping to its level. Rather we widen our perspective and see its part in the big picture, as we do our own. When our perspective widens, the relationship between things is seen, and the potential for reconciliation arises. When we see how we are connected with all sides of any struggle, we access the power to change it.

Beyond either apathy or anger, then, is true power – the power drawn, not from self-interest alone, but our connection with the whole web of life, the profoundly creative power that flows through us from the very Source of Creation itself, and is in alignment with its highest evolution. There is a vast difference between this kind of power, that nourishes and sustains us, and through us others and nature, and the kind of power we wield for our own profit and domination over others or nature. This power infuses us with its grace and abundance, supporting us to support others, in the ever-widening realization that there are no others, that all is our Self, Itself.

Trump is the perfect example of the kind of self-interested, narcissistic power that is peaking in our age, the epitome of an era of self-serving individualism and greed, now coming to a head, like peak oil, because it has reached its limits. The time has come to meet this kind of power, fated to obsolescence, with a far greater power, that has always been waiting in the wings – the power of life, of caring, of love; this is the only power that can overcome our crises.

Beyond Domination and Division -- The Power of Connection

Implicit in this entire discussion, in fact, has been the question of power: abuse of power, disempowerment, and true power. The first two elicit each other, and the third resolves their conflict – that is, the kind of power that disempowers others (and ultimately our self) can only be overcome by a higher, greater power: the power that reconciles oppositions, that unifies divisions. This “higher power” to which we turn, to which we must surrender in the end, is in fact our own higher power: the power of our true nature that embraces, protects and celebrates all life, the entire web of Creation. This power, which has created us, also connects the whole universe; it flows through us and uses us as channels for its own creative, ever-evolving expression. To surrender to this power is not a sign of weakness but in fact our true triumph.

Which do we choose – misuse of power, powerlessness, or this higher power – ours in alignment with the power that created the universe – the power that is our true birthright? Beyond domination and submission, this power is both our refuge and our liberation, into the infinite vastness that we truly are.

An Upgraded Version of Democracy

Democracy, in its finest sense, means identifying with the highest good for the Whole, and aligning with actions that further it. Today, from both without and within, democracy, as we have known it, is crumbling. It is becoming abundantly clear that if our understanding of democracy does not expand, it will break down altogether, along with the life-sustaining systems of the planet we stand on.

Democracy is meant to raise everybody to a higher level, not degrade all to the lowest common denominator, as we are seeing today. Culture, education and prosperity used to go together. But “market” democracy (i.e., capitalism) has uncoupled financial wealth from culture, and let it ride rough-shod, untethered, like a bull in a china shop, over all a healthy civilization holds dear: knowledge, wisdom, refinement, caring, even the most common decency. The hero of the day is a vulgar billionaire, obscenely high in the scale of wealth, obscenely low in everything else; this is the highest to aspire to today. In a genuine democracy, not one under the unquestioned reign of market forces and billionaire elites, everyone would be wealthy, in what truly matters: inner fulfillment, wisdom, dignity and well-being. Now all are deprived at all levels, except for the outer wealth and show of a tiny elite, who have nothing to inspire in others but their own small-mindedness.

It is not that democracy has failed, as many today are claiming, and using it to justify the rise of more authoritarian regimes, but the particular style of democracy that the “free world” has embraced: of democratic ideals overlaid (and often over-ridden) by the agendas of “free-market” deregulated capitalism. Though they are often conflated in the public mind, the two – true democracy and unconstrained capitalism – are not only incompatible but in fact deeply at odds. We must clearly discern between the two, and reclaim the ideals of true democracy – which encourages people to think for themselves and act in the interests of the whole – and not be manipulated by the self-interests of billionaire elites.

In a system designed for equality (as democracy is meant to be), equality is expressly built in as a basic premise. In a competitive system (as capitalism is), with no limits to how rich one can get and no limits to how poor, inequality, on the other hand, is implicit, guaranteed. For, in a world of limited and quickly depleting resources, capitalism is inherently a vastly unequal win-lose situation, of pyramidal proportions, where the rich get exponentially richer as the poor get correspondingly poorer. Democracy and capitalism, especially of the unbridled sort, simply don’t go together.

Altogether, what we are seeing today is an unprecedented convergence of outer technological development and inner regression, with highly sophisticated technology being used to evoke the most atavistic, primitive instincts of survival and aggression. Trolls on the social media, paid by governments as well as big business, are being used to control people by manipulating these tendencies, without their being aware of it. Digital technology, marketed to the public on the basis of fun, information, connectivity and being cool, also controls their thinking and surveilles their actions. To add to this extraordinary power of digital technology over our lives is the very fact that it is unprecedented; its very newness means that we don’t recognize what’s happening or catch its warning signs, like the proverbial frog in boiling water. There are no previous frames of reference by which to recognize this mounting, insidious form of digital totalitarianism, and nobody wants to seem uncool by resisting the latest technology, so almost everyone buys into it, falling unawares into its net.

In fact, there are three things converging here: sophisticated means of mental control, manipulation and surveillance; the technology to deliver it; and right-wing demagogues able to bring the two together, to evoke and manipulate people’s most primitive instincts -- anger, greed and fear. In this age of “smart technology” we need to be smarter than ever to see through the manipulations to which we are subject, and to rise above them. As the level of integrity and transparency in the general culture descends, we need to raise the level of our perception and discourse commensurately higher.

If democracy is not to descend to the lowest common denominator, and from there to chaos, it needs a radical new upgrade, an overhaul in our idea of what it really means, a radically higher inclusiveness. Because its earlier versions came from a limited consciousness, they were destined to meet their limits, beyond which they now need to evolve. In fact, its present fault-lines were already inherent in its earlier models. The democracy of the Greeks, and then the American founding fathers, aspired to the ideals of the highest good for the Whole, of freedom and well-being for all, but in fact were incomplete, partial. These early designs of democracy were in principle for the good of all but in reality were exclusive, highly unequal and violent. Slaves, indigenous people, people of color and women (the actual majority of the people!) were all left out, not to mention nature herself, her forests, rivers and seas, and all the life species that lived in them. Now the flaws of those early versions of democracy have come full tilt, and are threatening the survival of all of us (even white men too!) and the very life of the planet.

It is time for us to upgrade, to adopt a new version of democracy that is truly for the good of the Whole, that connects us with the whole web of life, with our common core in spirit and indeed the whole Cosmos. This is the “commonality” that links us in a true democracy, not a commonness that degrades us but one that uplifts and upgrades us, that raises us to our fullest identity and our widest capacity, our true all-embracing nature. We need a revolution in education, publicity, culture that aligns us with this new (ancient but now upgraded) worldview, a vision of our true nature and scope of our true potentials; we need to come on-line with our majesty and creative powers as an intricate part of Creation and its on-going evolution. We need to hold these truths to be self-evident – that all is created equal, and an intimate part of the Whole, deserving our love, care and reverence.

This new paradigm, or meme, can be shared now very rapidly through the new information technology, provided we use it to share what’s true instead of imbibing fake news. As we have seen, things change very fast these days, and very unpredictably – for worse, or for better. Let’s be proactive and make it for better. We are not helpless, but far more powerful than we have ever dreamed.

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