If God is Everthing, then God is Nothing...

IF GOD IS EVERYTHING, THEN GOD IS NOTHING

24 September 2011

I am at a bit of a life journey crossroads. Perhaps crossroads is not the right word. Maybe I am at a life journey rest stop. Yes, I like that better. This place does not require me to decide on a direction. All that is necessary is to sit quietly, contemplate, listen to the occasional whoosh of a car as it speeds down the highway to my back, watch the sun set brilliantly…and fight off the occasional javelina.

My purpose in writing this is not to offend. However, if three people read this (a likely number considered my past readership) two of them may be deeply offended. Again, not my intention. This trite little essay does not put forth any new spiritual concepts and it does not settle any ancient religious arguments. Determinism, worship, faith, reward and retribution, moral codes, agnosticism: terms we all know and discuss. These concepts are explained very simplistically here. I am good at simple. Simple is all I really have to work with!

Spirituality has been part of my life since I was a child. The conflict between my inner “knowing” and what I had been taught of the spiritual realm always produced inner conflict and psycho-spiritual confusion for me.  When I was thirteen, I had a metaphysical crisis and called out to two anthropomorphic beings with apparently very different purposes: God and The Devil. All I wanted was to know if ANYONE was listening. In a dream, I thought I found the proof I was seeking. Looking back, I see a scared kid who had a strange dream. No proof of anything other than a wild ability to imagine in Technicolor detail.

Here is what I “believe” now, at 48 years old:

There are no anthropomorphic Gods. God does not have a personality and does not intervene here on earth, at least not the way most of us think of it. There is no cosmic Santa Claus to please, no one keeping score, no one giving gifts based on our moral choices. Good kids get toys and bad kids get toys. Bad gets get chunks of coal in their stockings and good kids get chunks of coal in their stockings.

God does not have a favorite country, or a favorite football team, a favorite religion, a favorite TV pilot episode this Fall on CBS, a preferred religion, or a horse in the Kentucky Derby. God does not have a favorite anything because to have a favorite something, would require God to have a personality: favorites, peccadilloes, prejudices, a linear and cohesive “life existence”…favorite people and favored nations. No.

If God is everything, then God is nothing. I think “Gratitude Lists” rock. I love em. During some of my darkest times (those moments, hours, and days stuck staring down into the abyss of depression, self-condemnation, hatred, fear and empty black nothingness) I was directed by folks to write down the things that made me happy, the things for which I was grateful. When I was able to force myself to do this, I always benefited. Why?

      

Why do gratitude lists work?

In the past, I felt that consciously acknowledging all the things I was grateful for (my family, my friends, my health, my mind, starry nights, etc) served as a kind of recognition that God gave me a lot of cool shit. When I was down, I wasn’t very grateful for any of it. If I was taking a vacation at the “Edge of The Void Resort and Spa”, I was not expressing sufficient thankfulness to Santa Claus, err……God. Something told me that God was up there (out there) someplace just waiting for me to say “Yo! Thanks man. You are awesome and I am a worm for not being grateful for all this stuff you have given me! THANK YOU!!!”.

I now have a different understanding of why gratitude lists work. Unfortunately, I cannot claim this as personal revelation. If I could, I would build a pole barn and start my church. No, this is not a new concept but it still feels revelatory to me. Gratitude lists work because remembering the good in our lives, raises our energetic vibration. There is nothing moral or immoral about it: No God to please by listing those parts of our lives that make us feel happy. No God to displease by failing to recognize his “gifts” to us.

Energy. Vibration. Gratitude is a feeling that raises our vibrational frequency and that feels GOOD! It is also free of any moral dimension. When we flip a light switch, the room is lighted up. And that’s kind of handy if we need to find something, yes? If the light comes on, then it comes on. Nothing moral or immoral about it. When we make a gratitude list, our energy is raised (the light comes on) and it is good. Not good because we were being “BAD” by not thanking “GOD” for all our “GIFTS” and when we make a gratitude list we are being “GOOD” and feel “GREAT” since we have dutifully thanked “GOD” for our “GIFTS” No. It is a mechanical law of the universe and is only expressed by the laws of energy (which are constantly being re-evaluated and tweaked). Speaking simply (because, again, I lack the intellectual capacity to speak “complicatedly”), there is more truth to be found in an appliance manual than in a holy book! Oh boy, there’s that offensive thing—ouchie.

Back to “If God is everything, then God is nothing”. What I mean by this is that if we are going to express gratitude to God for the good aspects of our lives, we should also thank God for the negative aspects with just as much fervor. If God is everywhere and is responsible for everything (positive and negative) and if all of life flows from that same universal Source—it does so without prejudice or interest in how things manifest for us as individuals. It’s not personal.

If God is everything, then a God that directs our lives, gives us blessings, intervenes on our behalf against illness/financial calamity/childlessness/loneliness/famine/fear etc effectively does not exist. If God is everything (and I propose she IS), then God is nothing (meaning she does not really have any direct and personal intervention role in our lives). If we pray to God for specific outcomes (save this person from disease, please give me a job, find me a soul mate, let my team win the Super Bowl, let my nation destroy that bad nation), then we are trying to change God’s mind??? This seems to be spiritual madness. We are going to change God’s mind by REMINDING God that we are down here sticking to his rules and praising his name??? We are going to REMIND GOD TO CHANGE HIS MIND and shape our lives more to our liking??? No. No. No. This is not an original thought. Not sure what I read that expressed it.

It’s not personal. If God is everything, then God is nothing. We cannot change God’s mind. IT’S NOT PERSONAL. God or Source is about Energy, energy that has no moral or positive/negative dimension. God is Love and we are all God. Our hands are the hands of God. When we hug each other God is hugging God. When we hurt one another, God is hurting God. And it is all okay. It is all perfect and sad and beautiful and wise and dumb…No one is keeping score but we should all try to keep score ourselves and look at the scoreboard before we go to sleep at night. We can act morally and lovingly knowing that God is Love while being brave enough to understand that our relationship to God is just not personal.

Alzheimer's Disease as described in Bob Seger's "The Long Goodbye"

Here are the lyrics to Bob Seger's "The Long Goodbye" from "Face the Promse" (gear publishing/hideout/Capital records/2007) with my comments on how the lyrics pertain to my friend's experience with Alzheimer's disease.

"The silent fall of evening snow
Another thing you can't control
Does it chill or warm your soul tonight?"


My comment: 

It really is amazing how Seger nails this disease. In this verse, the pivotal word is "tonight". With a person who is experiencing AD, the "silent fall of evening snow" can indeed either warm the soul or chill it. It totally depends on the day; even on the moment. 

A memory can bring back good feelings and act as a magnet for MORE good feelings or the opposite can happen. A memory can bring back a flood of guilt, worry, fear, sadness, confusion, and another opportunity to wonder why the people the person loves are no longer here. My friend (the lady I am with 24-7) lost her husband of 54 years and her 47 year old son within 13 months of each other. She was already in her 80's....

So, I know what it is like to try and figure out if an anniversary, a television show, rain, dinner, or any other variable is warming my sweet friend's soul or is chilling it.  It is heart-breaking to watch and it must be excruciating to experience. But, there are hidden gifts, spiritual growth, and a kind of elegance in aspects of Alzheimer's disease. That is not a rationalization. I see it. Of course, it is hard to keep my eyes on that when I see so much of the other side of it. 
 

"You've become a mystery
Will I earn your honesty?"


 My comment:

Again....Seger nails it here. It IS a matter of earning the honesty/trust  of someone with Alzheimer's disease. I am not sure what it is like in the later stages but in the early/moderate stages, it is very important to earn the person's trust so that she/he can tell their truths to you "I know you are nice and I love you but I am not 100 percent sure of who you are right now" "I had a bad dream and was even sleepwalking" "Where is my (deceased) sister?" "Is my son (deceased) here?" "What day is it?"

The person has to trust that you will not be upset when he or she asks these questions. They have to trust you will not be shocked or worried. It is a ballet with verbal, physical, emotional, and energy aspects. One bad move or slip can take a day or a week to correct and help the person trust you again. 

Unfortunately, some aspects of the disease are just there and nothing you do can save the person from experiencing them: paranoia, a feeling that you are an impostor, a fear to share what they are thinking or experiencing internally...the paranoia that manifests when loving family members are forced to be the "bad guys" and do necessary things like take away driving privileges, set financial controls, oversee portfolios, watch out for possible legal problems, etc. The sad aspect for family members is that their good works are often temporarily met with resistance, fear, and anger. Sometimes it lasts a long time. Sometimes it goes away and then reappears.

"I'll never know if we agree
If you're not here" 

My comment:



To me, this pertains to talks about things like food, water, getting enough rest, and talking about pain. My friend and I have dozens of conversations about the need to drink enough water, eat enough, get enough rest. But she only remembers the conversations that take place when she is "here". And this is the early/moderate stage!

"And we travel separate roads
And we carry different loads
And in the end we stay or go

The long goodbye continues on
Through fog and rain and far beyond
You stay awhile and then you're gone again"



My comment:
This is definitely part of our experience even in the early/moderate stage. I know it will be even more like this as the disease progresses. In our current reality, this speaks more to the "going away" as events rather than what is "normal". Right now, my friend takes little trips away from me but with enough love and conversation and some coffee, she comes back..

"I look into your restless eyes
You turn away it's no surprise"

My comment:
 These are the lines that have been sending me into crying fits today. "I look into your restless eyes; you turn away it's no surprise"---the only difference is that in these moments it is me who turns away. 

My friend is brave and looks right into my face with love and fear and hope and sadness and confusion. It is so raw and so honest that I have to turn away or hide in my room for a little while sometimes (after making sure she is okay and knows where I am if she needs me, of course)--

Sometimes I look into her eyes and her eyes look so hot and TOO clear. Hard to explain. Its as if they burn with something--not awareness or anything--something feverish and unhealthy and powerful. 

So I try to meet that loving gaze that comes along with this "too clear/unhealthy" look and we go with where she is and what she wants to talk about. It is hard to hear the same story (literally) hundreds of times but I am trying to go with her and pretend I am hearing it for the first time. It is not the talking that gives my friend comfort. It is the fact that I am listening.

The only strategy for Alzheimer's is LOVE. 

The medicines are extremely helpful. At least they have been for my friend. And there is a prescription nutritional supplement out now that delivers a different kind of energy or food to the brain of an Alzheimer's patient. That is promsing--

It is obvious that another major component of the strategy is assuring physical safety while "allowing" the person to hold onto independence and do things that do not jeopardize their physical being. This is kind of like being there while a child is learning to walk (thinking of my youngest niece as a baby)...or ride a bike...or deal with high school (like my oldest nephew) or young adulthood (like my oldest niece ) or with the serious illness of a parent (like my youngest nephew ). We are there for them but it is their deal, a step along their individual path. So hard but so necessary not to intervene unless it is necessary. Same way with someone with Alzheimer's who is trying to hold onto as much of who they were/still are and what they used to do as possible.

But above all else, it is love that keeps the AD at bay or prolongs good moments/days/weeks. It is also Love that, eventually, will have no impact on the disease. But it is my knowing that the person with Alzheimer's always feels your love in some way, at some deep level which is inaccessible to our ability to perceive it. Even when they can no longer evidently feel our love, we still extend it by being present and doing our best to keep them safe..and to serve as their protectors and advocates within the health care system etc....and giving hugs when they can allow it.

It is not easy to do what I do and I do it imperfectly but I do the best I can. I love my friend SO much. It is not easy for my friend's family to do what THEY do and it is clear how much they love her as only family can love a member of the family. They also deal with MY little meltdowns when I start thinking too much about me and forget that I am here to be of service and that I will be okay no matter what happens. I honor and respect my friend's family. I could not do what I do if they did not do what THEY do.

My friend and I are going to have coffee in a few minutes and I am going to listen to stories I have heard hundreds of times as if hearing them for the first time. And maybe I can help her figure out what is worrying her and help her to get some freedom from those worries. 

And while we are talking, I will be sitting in the presence of an evolved spiritual being and will no doubt learn a lot. Being in my friend's presence is a spiritual gift and an honor. She is the definition of humility and is one of the most loving spiritual beings having a human experience that  I have ever met.


Oh---I think it is important to point out that I am not trying to convince anyone of my divinity or perfection here. I do believe we are all divine and all happens for a reason. However, I continue to evolve and grow and learn while doing my imperfect best to be LOVE for my sweet brave friend----Trust me. Sometimes I want to run. But there will be time for running later, after....

"I wonder if it's even wise but I'm still here"

This is the scary line. I know that my friend's disease may progress to the point where this question will be valid. For now, it is not. I know I am supposed to be here and while I deal with my worries about my future, about her future, about how to help her feel as comfortable and loved and secure as I can today....I reach deep and try to BE LOVE.....and to stay in the moment. And to trust that the universe is unfolding in perfection. Even when I don't like the way it unfolds! 


My spirit and thoughts and love and hope are with everyone with this disease and all those whose paths have led them to be caregivers for Angels like my friend.

Maybe we are not here to help them. Maybe they are here to teach us and guide us. I know that my friend has done more for me than I will ever be able to do for her. She is the embodiment of what a human being can be----soft, determined, brave, vulnerable, loving, respectful of all forms of life, spiritual, non-judgmental, hard-headed (lol), and resilient. 

This woman still manages to be kind after experiencing WW2, the passing over of all but one sister, the passing over of her husband and son....and she still finds things to smile about and practices radical kindness.....I am blessed to have her in my life and to attempt to be of service to her while remaining unattached to the outcome (W. Dyer. The Power of Intention. Hay House Publishing).

"The Art of the State" (and possible solutions to the extermination of the poor and the decimation of the middle class)

I only see a few possible solutions to the current situation:

1) A massive spiritual movement which will reach the souls of our overlords and re-awaken the humanity and spiritual power/empathy within them. Change would take place at all levels. This would, in my opinion, be the most elegant and powerful scenario.

2) ●Intensive regulation of all corporate, financial, and insurance entities. ●Televised Senate hearings which will expose the greed, corruption, and ponzi schemes which have created the deck of cards we refer to as our financial system. ●Senate hearings exposing the role of government in the destruction of the middle class and the apathy which is allowing the poor to die off. ●Senate hearings which will expose the many ways in which cold hard cash is behind virtually everything done by politicians---all would be examined (including the fact that Goldman-Sachs contributed nearly a MILLION dollars and was the second largest contributor to the election fund of our current Democratic president>>>thank you OpenSecrets.org>>>). Both parties would be held accountable and “follow the money” would be the motto.

3) An organized citizen-led movement to compel our news media channels to utilize sane, vetted, legal, and ethical wiki-leaks type whistle blower information streams to inform the American public about the truth. ●This will require tech experts, legal teams, an ethics panel or panels etc. While protecting TRUE national security information, all other information should be on the table and be available for citizens to access. ●This will, of course, require many to go to prison and/or face disgrace, financial devastation, and ruin. ●For those active in this cause, such cases will be understood as representing the cost of participating in a truly open and free society.

4) Huge protests and citizen-led demonstrations which will show our overlords that we are aware and awake. This is confrontational (albeit peaceful) political action. ●If the homes and businesses of CEO’s, CFO’s and board members of banks, other financial institutions, insurance companies, corporations etc. are the sites of peaceful protests, these individuals may be compelled to look within and then help put an end to the current redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy and the decimation of the poor. I would suggest that if this option is used (either as a singular option or as part of a larger movement), an excellent consultant would be Jamie Court (author of “the Progressive’s Guide to Raising Hell” >>Chelsea Green Publishing<<.)

5) Revolution. Hopefully a peaceful one….

In other words, THIS SH&% HAS GOT TO STOP!

Bluto's Speech

From a friend:

“Not saying that this is "right" but I suppose I'm less of an idealist, less out of the box, more work within the system that we have. If such a political movement could take place, it would be great!”



My Response:

The political movement has already started. Check out Coffee Party U.S.A. It seems to be one option for sane dialogue and non-partisan discussions.



If the system includes the halls and meeting rooms of Congress and the White House; if the system includes the executive, judicial, and legislative branches; if the system includes our constitution; ----I agree that we can still work within the system while thinking outside the box. It's broke and we have to put all of our heads to together and get it fixed.



Think about this. If there was a Tea Partier a full-blown conservative Republican, and a dedicated Progressive Democrat in the Apollo 13 module, they would only be thinking about how to survive so that they could see their families again.



They would listen to every idea that was proposed, debate their options as calmly as possible (have to save oxygen), and come up with a plan that worked just like the actual astronauts did in April 1970.

Good ideas (life-saving ideas) trumped any rivalries or petty resentments among the crew. Their mission was more important than their egos or anything else.



Why do I feel like Bluto making the speech to the rest of the Animal House frat right before they fought back against the Dean for being put on “double secret probation”?



Anyhow, back to the Apollo 13. It's kind of like that for us right now. We are all in that module and we damned well better listen for good ideas and give them a shot. And if the first good idea doesn't work then we try the next one. It’s a matter of life and death for us, also. But we can do this. We can hear the good ideas if we all listen with our intellects AND with our hearts. And I honestly don't give a rat's ass if the great ideas come from Tea Partiers, Conservatives, Liberals, or Moderates.



I just want us to save ourselves. I do not accept that there is nothing we can do about the 1.5 million homeless children tonight in this country. I know we can fix it. Someone in this country has the solution.



I don't believe it is right that people I know and love have to live without health insurance in order to pay the rent or the mortgage or buy shoes for their kids. Someone in this country has the answer.



There is a way for corporations to make a fair profit, pay fair taxes, and create jobs in this country. It is not necessary for corporations to wring their employees for one more drop of productivity with no more compassion than one would extend to a dish rag. Someone knows how to change this so that families have time to be families AND to be productive employees who work for profit-generating companies. Someone in this country has the plan.



Kris--you are an intelligent, politically aware person. Think about how sad it is that you wrote "I suppose I'm less of an idealist, less out of the box, more work within the system that we have." This is NOT a slam and it is NOT meant to be condescending. I swear it’s not.



It genuinely saddens me. If bright, politically aware, respectful, and kind people like you see ideals as things to be abandoned while accepting the status quo (when the status quo is corrupt, controlled by money and those who use it to buy the attention of our elected officials), that is sad and it should be a wake-up call for all of us.



Being idealistic is not a bad thing. It is a GOOD thing. We can make positive changes but we have to stop using the word CHANGE as a noun and start using it as VERB. Maybe we could start using “Transcendence” or we could talk about "bringing empathy and fairness" into every interaction, transaction, legislative activity, political debate, etc.



No more screaming. No more bumper sticker philosophies. No more blue states and red states.



Let's refuse to fall for the simple parlor tricks that have dazzled us and confused us for too long.



When a politician, a CEO or a CFO, a President, the head of the Federal Reserve or a Lobbyist tells us to watch his or her right hand while pulling the rabbit out of the hat, let us look instead at what the left hand is doing. That should generate some ideas!



We have become mesmerized and we have been turned against each other by those who benefit from it. If we are fighting each other, our attention is not on those who are really making the decisions that are destroying the Middle Class in this country.



The real decision makers in this country are horrified that we might stop fighting each other long enough to look up and catch a glimpse of one of them staring down at us with a bemused smirk from the balcony of one of their mansions. We can turn this around. We really don't have a choice, do we?



You ARE an idealist, Kris. We all are. We've just been kind of sleeping for a while. See you when we all wake up, man.

WHENCE FROM HERE AMOREICA? A response to a good friend on FaceBook

If we decide to start two wars, allow Wall Street to continue being a megacasino with insane derivatives schemes, allow insurance companies to keep raising premiums and minimizing services while the US continues to have the most expensive (but far from the most effective) health care, then you should pay the 300.00 a month and feel happy about it.

We could just stop starting wars for a while against an ideology. Hint: you cannot shoot or bomb an ideology (Tuhrer-Ism) or a social problem like drugs.

Has to be some other way and instead of fighting about non-issues we should ALL put our heads together and find solutions to our problems or at least PROPOSE solutions instead of trumpeting inane, vague, heart-tugging, bumper sticker philosophies like TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK and DON'T TREAD ON ME...or CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN.

Adam--I really am open to thinking about your solutions to our current situation. 10% unemployment; escalating foreclosures; out of control health care costs; a recovery that benefits Wall Street but not the middle and lower middle class etc.

OR we can find a way to balance the budget deficit (a big deal for Tea Partiers, Repubs, and future generations) while allowing the wealthiest Americans to keep paying 15% taxes (for hedge fund managers while mere 16milionaires like Warren Buffet pay 17%) while folks like you and me pay 25%. C'mon we gotta get this right.

How do we make sure everyone has health care, that social security remains intact (and not privatized so that the financial/banking complex make even more money), that our veterans and active service members are taken care of, that we GROW JOBS in the US in this new world economy, AND extend tax cuts to millionaires, man? I honestly want to know.

Flat tax? No way. The wealth of the top income earners in the US and top corporations are estimated to avoid 100 BILLION in taxes by using offshore instruments/strategies. They don't spend that money buying stuff. Therefore a flat tax would be disproportionately paid by the rest of us who actually BUY STUFF.

How about this: Give the tax breaks ONLY to people who buy stuff i.e. the MIDDLE CLASS? Maybe then we would see the middle class grow again, see some improvement in employment figures, see some increase in public confidence in the economy....And the progressive income tax worked fine when it was PROGRESSIVE.

Trickle down economics (read Reganomics)has almost destroyed the middle class. The continued influence (on both Democrats and Republicans alike) of lobbyists who represent the energy, banking, other financial, insurance, health care, gaming, military industrial complex (referring to Boeing, and their ilk who make the nice bombs and beautiful bombers not those who serve in our military while they had to fight the Bush admin for acceptable living conditions) cannot be allowed to continue.

Productivity at workplaces in the US has risen while job satisfaction, wages, and the opportunity to maintain a home life with enough quality time while doing the job of three (laid off, downsized, outsourced) people at work has fallen.

Over 30% of former Senators and House members become lobbyists! C'mon....let's get this right.

This is no longer about Repubs versus Dems or Left versus Right. It is about the HAVES (whose ranks have grown a LOT in the last 20 years) and the HAVE NOTS (whose ranks have also grown exponentially including 1.5 MILLION HOMELESS CHILDREN for God's sake). And I am NOT talking about "redistribution of income". Such BS that this phrase is thrown around so much. I am talking about everyone paying a fair share, not redistributing income. We don't even NEED socialism or communism. Capitalism has become a monster that has the poor whistling a happy tune while digging their own graves because they believed lies over and over and over. A recent poll shows that most Americans don't even believe in the American dream anymore. C'mon!

The top 25 hedge fund managers made a billion dollars each in 2009. One of them made 4 BILLION. They were taxed as if their income was "carried interest".

In other words they were taxed at the capital gains rate of 15%.

I bet you''d like to have some of THAT, Adam.

If we closed this loophole for these hedge fund managers we have 20 billion in revenue to spend on infrastructure, not firing teachers or closing schools or limiting basic humane support programs for people who need them I am not talking permanent Welfare here. We know that creates a class of people dependent on it.

We can do better than we are doing.

We need to keep the best of what Capitalism has to offer (competition, the ability to do better than our parents did, the ability to have an educated population, the ability of individuals and corporations to make a fair profit while paying a fair amount of tax, etc) and end the horrors of other aspects of Capitalism (War <<anywhere and against anyone>> as a driving force in a growing economy; the unfettered greed of corporations; the insane idea that anyone (INCLUDING HEDGE FUND MANAGERS) deserve to make a BILLION dollars a year while paying 15% in tax.

C'mon we have to stop the madness. We have to stop being so Ayn Rand-ish....What have we become?

The numbers I used here are available for anyone to find via non-partisan, non-activist channels.

I would also (AGAIN) suggest reading anything by Robert Reich and Arianna Huffington. They are really smart and they use accurate numbers instead of speaking in vague, nebulous, and endorphin-releasing patrio-speak like we hear from each political party and all those who want to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?

DISCLAIMER
When I sat down to write this blog, I was feeling slightly curmudgeonly. I am currently feeling more curmudgeonly. A few minutes ago, my fingers experienced some type of strange independent lives just long enough to hit the wrong keys in the right sequence needed to delete what I had written. I am not prolific. I am compelled to write. I don’t “enjoy it” so, dear reader, I ask your forgiveness and pardon.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US

1.Corporations now rule our country and most of the world. Political parties do not offer any solace, justice, or give voice to those of us in the middle class. Political parties only offer us choices between levels and flavors of evil.
How would you like your political views voiced by your choice of the Big Two?

A: Republicans: An understanding of the forces at work within (and on the fringes of) the Republican Party is important and a rather easy course to ace.

If you want to see the true nature of modern American politics: naked corporate greed; the international exporting of capitalism’s most sinister aspects including the endless search for cheaper labor at any moral price; the creation of synthetic “moral” non-issues created purely as motivation to get Republican voters to the polls (DODT, gay marriage, new rules to provide assurance of accurate birth records of presidential candidates etc) is on display at the front of the parade in the Republican party. No reason to dig or investigate or analyze.

Just find a good spot on the parade route, wave your flag, and watch the floats go by. “Oh look, there’s a float with Karl Rove holding one of those gigantic checks signed by CHINA. How cute! Has he lost weight?" It is all right there.

How can anyone continue to suggest that we shouldn’t tax the rich because it will not “allow” the wealthy to buy new machines, open factories, and create jobs? Trickle down economics? Bullshit. The Middle Class in America is dying and the uber-rich are becoming uber-richer. They are not spending the money they have saved on taxes for the last ten plus years on creating new products or putting Americans to work.

Ronald Regan’s trickle down economics only worked for those at the top who needed to take a long satisfying piss. If you felt it hit your head, you are in trouble like 97% of us are.

If you were doing the pissing, all I can say is “Nice aim!”

If anyone reading this passes by Ronnie Regan’s tomb this week, can you give it a quick look and make sure the old bastard is still in there? I thought I saw him in a wheelchair in a photograph of a Tea Party event.

B. Democrats. The only discernible difference between the mainstream dems and the mainstream repubs is that the Dems at least talk about some of the issues important to those of us who do not belong in the top 3% club. The few true idealists in the Dem party are laughed at by those who run the party and gather and dole out the money. Many of these idealists do believe, as Arianna Huffington (READ HER NEW BOOK “THIRD WORLD AMERICA") does, that the brutal and open attack on the middle class can be stopped or at least exposed.

The mainstream Dems go along with the Republicans and treat true Democrat idealists as left-wing lunatics, socialists, and non-patriots. They get to talk but nobody really listens.

One of the more subtle aspects of the capitalistic system (the whole system, not merely the economic model) is the role of “freedom of speech”, “freedom to protest”, and “free elections”. These freedoms all serve as “pressure valves”. They rarely lead to change.

If we get “mad as hell and can’t take it anymore”, we can put on our finest Uncle Sam hat, hop on a bus (not sure who is paying for the gas here) and go march in Washington while Beck-Palin and other great students of history and finger-painting, put on a Tea Party show: all style and absolutely no substance.

If we feel that the economic powers of the world should do the right thing and forgive third world debt, we can put on our tie-dyed shirts and sandals, and protest the meetings of the main economic powers. This is a youth-fuelled trip and seems to be mainly about expressing rage, re-creating some of the successes of the sixties etc. Also, these situations are great places to hook up with others who “get it” and can spend endless hours engaged in deep discussion of how to change things and bring down “the system”. Great times and an excellent opportunity to party, maybe even get laid.

Of course, the more serious protests (THINK G8) take place a considerable distance from the actual meeting place in order to “assure security” but mainly to insure that none of the leaders have to be exposed to anything close to truth.

The Democrats are owned by the same folks who own the Republicans.

The Two Party system now serves one purpose: to kill off the middle class and allow the super wealthy to accumulate enough cash so that they will have a stake when China (or someone else we owe trillions of dollars to) asks Washington for the deed to the country: “Hey, we bought you fair and square. Give us the deed”.

There is a way to set things right in the US and in the world. So far I have only been able to come up with this:

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

1.The endless battles between Democrats and Republicans are pointless. The battles and debates should be taking place between the heads of corporations, lobbyists, those who control wealth, and those whose lives are being destroyed, belittled, minimized, and stolen by policies intended to increase profit for corporations while an entire class of Americans (used to be called the Middle Class, now referred to as “apartment dwellers”) pay the price by being overworked (or unemployed),uninsured, and placed in a position in which children are raised in tense, volatile, numb, and inattentive home environments due to the demands and pressures placed on parents by the struggle to at least appear middle class.

2.If we all spent 20% of our “free time” researching and taking part in political and social causes/efforts at change which reflect common, human, humane, and life-affirming values, we could right all of the wrongs in our country quickly. We could move the world in a life-affirming rather than a death-awaiting direction.

By “free time” I am referring to the time we currently spend at silly rallies, watching movies, playing video games, obsessed with sports, hypnotized by media coverage of “celebrities”, mindlessly wandering “the internets”, drinking, drugging, churching, trying to avoid the ravages of advancing age, the time we spend consuming and creating music, etc.

These activities primarily interfere with our ability to “get it”. There are exceptions which actually shed light on some of the darkness we face.

When we overly-engage in one or more of these activities, we are choosing the juicy steak rather than “reality” ala “The Matrix”.

Most of us enjoy some or all of these activities. Diversions are great.

The creation of art (whether it is a painting, a rap song, a video game, creating or watching a film etc.) adds to our human-ness. Years of dedication and practice which result in amazing feats of athletic prowess are to be admired and enjoyed as manifestations of what these human bodies can do.

I am as guilty as anyone else. Going forward, I am going to try to spend at least 20% of my time researching and taking part in causes which resonate with me.

MY PERSONAL DILEMMA:
The more I learn about how insurance companies, corporations, and governments work, the angrier I get. I don’t like argument as sport any longer. I don’t like feeling angry. My spiritual path is based on the knowing that we are all one with Source/God. How can we be different from that which manifested us into being? (Thank you W. Dyer and many others).

The spiritual path I follow, generally reveals anger to be weakness and a function of ego; a desire to always be right as characteristic not of a truth-seeker but one who always insists on being “right” : an egoist.

This is not an effort to put down anyone’s spiritual beliefs or path. I just personally do not believe that God has a favorite football team, country, political party or beer.

I do believe that when we are in alignment with Source, we speak and live compassion, empathy, love for all (regardless of any of the dozens of ways we humans have chosen to separate ourselves by religious affiliation, political beliefs, racial attitudes, etc).

I also believe that when we are forced to act in violence for a cause that is clearly in alignment with Source/God(stopping a Genocide, for instance), then those of us with the required skills, courage, and commitment to right action should never celebrate or find joy while we kill or afterward. We should treat each death (theirs or ours) as a tragedy and renew our commitment to ensuring that we make changes which will eliminate the need for future violence.

Those of us who do not take part directly in such necessary violence should ensure that those who do (including their families) are taken care of in every possible way and that their insights and revelations are used in considering future non-violent ways to solve problems.

Namaste!

Thank You Family/Source Engergy Comes from Everywhere/THANK YOU WENDY

Dad died today. He is no longer in pain. For that, I am grateful. Those of us left are dealing with this as we are. I decided today would would be a great time to push a family issue with my brother. I am still in the anger stage, I guess. This was a mistake and I will have to apologize to him for it. I will not apologize merely because I picked a fight while we are both devastated at the loss of our father this morning (Dad died on his own birthday) but also because when I do anything that is not in alignment with Source, my stomach hurts and I am no longer very effective in being of service in the way the Boss would use me that day. Sorry brother. Sorry Nat. Apology on the way.

I was ready to beg my professor and university for an Incomplete this morning. This would have been "old Jack" behavior but I simply could not anticipate writing academic essays and a research paper this week while I keep flashing on the torture my Dad, his wife, us kids, and many others endured. Dad had the worst of it, of course. However, he is free now and he suffered horribly but not for as long as some do.

This evening I was lying in bed and thinking I should just get that incomplete even though my professor has been very understanding and I have worked hard to get the A I currently own. Still, I wanted to take some time off and finish up after I had the opportunity to meditate, visit with Dad on the astral plane, and watch some really bad films on a streaming movie service I use. I also thought I would use that time to reach out to Dad's wife, our relatives, and spend some life-affirming time with my nieces and nephews. I have found that when my cup is empty, time with my nephew, older niece, and younger niece fills that cup up. Then I have something to give to my friends, my friend with Alzheimer's, and the guys who ram their cart into mine in line at the grocery. Also, I figured I could use this time to apologize for the fight I picked with my brother earlier in the day.

Just as I was ready to blow off tonight's coursework and take the hit point-wise, I received a call from one of my cousins. We talked about my Dad (of course) but somehow God put words in her mouth that made me feel like I COULD keep going with school and that Dad would want this for me. After our call, I got out of bed (or off of futon to be more accurate) and I wrote my assignment. I have written better assignments but I am amazed that this one was written at all. Since Dad's illness progressed and then overtook him, I have had difficulty finding the energy to do things like urinate or order pizza (I KNOW so STOP), or to organize my collection of stamps from countries whose names begin with the letter "R". You should see my Romania book! Wow! Okay, I made up that part about my stamp collection. I wanted to feel charismatic and interesting for a moment.

What follows is the paper I just submitted as a direct result of God working through a flesh and blood person (my cousin). This is not my best work. The miracle here is not that I created a great work of art. The miracle is that I wrote SOMETHING. Thank you Dad, thank you source, thank you Wendy, sorry Marty and Nat---

Since many fellow learners have already discussed the differences between the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligences, I will not re-define these terms/concepts. I will refer to them as statements of fact since fellow learners have written extensively and have provided impressive information and have cited references concerning these different categories of intelligence.

Our journey through developmental stages has finally arrived at my destination. This is where I get off. I know the shops and the street because this is where I live. At 47, I am a middle adult. I would prefer that someone come up with a more interesting and marketable name for those of us who fit in this category; perhaps something like “inordinately average adults with marked displays of wisdom”. Unfortunately, that phrase has a bit too much glitter and fireworks. So yes, I am a middle adult and I have experienced some of the cognitive changes we have read about this week.

First, I am a little slow. Apparently this is not an uncommon manifestation of cognitive withering among middle adults. Schaie (1996, as cited in Crandell, Crandell, & Vander Zanden, 2009) performed and reported on a series of tests intended to isolate intelligence ability. Although many aspects of intelligence were studied, it was found that middle adults demonstrated a slowing of performance in only one area: speed of performance.

This supports my anecdotal and personal experience in the work place. Younger workers were much faster than those of us whose age places us in the middle adult category. The younger folks were able to input data faster. They could toggle more quickly between various software systems. They even made decisions a bit quicker as to what they would eat for lunch. In other words, their fluid intelligence gave them the ability to make quicker decisions and perform some job-related tasks more efficiently.

This fluidity provided younger coworkers a clear edge during annual reviews and allowed them to impress mangers with their apparently superior ability to demonstrate “sense of urgency” which was always an extremely important phrase used by most managers I have had. I assume this skill also allows younger adults to decide on which movie to choose a bit faster while on dates and enables them to text faster while the movie is playing. This apparent surplus of fluid skills probably makes it easier to respond to the needs of children more quickly while simultaneously doing laundry, coursework, and other duties which should be performed by each member of a couple regardless of sex. That issue should be the subject of another essay.

Secondly, I look to history and poorly documented websites for evidence of how middle (and older) adults can use the experience that comes with age to produce great works of art; the kinds of works that younger, less-experienced (albeit more “fluid”)  younger adults cannot produce. Crandell, Crandell, and Vander Zanden (2009) provide me with some hope in this regard (as long as I focus on the latter part of their comments) regarding expert performance when they write “…in novel writing, history, and philosophy the optimal ages are in the forties and fifties” (p. 510). As a budding author and life-long fan of philosophy, this does give me some advantages both in the work place and at home. For one thing, I write great emails to managers. These notes are well-structured, poetic, and also professional. Additionally, I use this concept of "the middle adult maintaining expert performance skills" each time I dust off or move my novel (rather slowly) from one drawer to another. We all exhibit various levels of proficiency in cognitive skill regardless of where we fall along the path of the life span.

I tend to prefer giving in-depth analysis on studies which emphasize that while middle adults may not be able to input data or decide on the film for the evening as quickly or efficiently as our younger acquaintances or coworkers, we may have an advantage when it comes to understanding and producing works of literature and treatises on philosophy. At least this is something. Family relationships improve in that while I may text my family members very slowly, what I have to say may be of some philosophical, historical, or artistic merit. Jack

References

Crandell, T. L., Crandell, C. H., & Vander Zanden, J. W. (2009). Human development (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN: 9780073370422.