Violence

Violence

We have accepted Violence as a way of life. Today… our whole society is built around it. It has become our Culture… and our Tradition. We have learned to accept it… and justify it. We have been conditioned to it from an early age… and now… our Daily Life embraces… and participates… in its destructive movement. Violence is deeply ingrained in us… down to our very core… and has become the very Essence of who we are.

We have accepted War… the routine killing of other human beings… as “natural” and necessary. We see Violence as the correct answer… the proper response… to all our problems and disagreements. Furthermore… our confused and corrupt society justifies and defends this destructive way of living.

Our movies depict… over and over again… how our hero defeats the “bad guy” using force and brutality. He ultimately meets their Violence… with even greater Violence… and we applaud the bloody victory. Violence is the only way we know.

We are Violent and competitive in our dealings with others and aggressive with our words. Our anger and intent to dominate… to subdue… harm… or defeat another is also an outcome of the Violence we carry within us.

We see everything as a battle… that we must win… or lose. Our whole aim is to Dominate in whatever we do. We MUST WIN! … Otherwise… we are a “loser”. We know no other way.

Accordingly… we approach Nature with the very same state of mind. We approach it… not with respect… but with the intent to subdue and Dominate. We approach the Whole of Nature… with the slash of iron and the hand of Violence. We do not look upon Nature’s Intelligence and Harmony as something immensely Sacred. Instead… we look through the filter of Self-interest. We look only for our own benefit and advantage. Furthermore… once in our sights… we become diligent and ruthless to secure this benefit and advantage… for ourselves!

We meet Nature… as a patriarch… an emperor… a deity. Our relationship with her is based on Dominance… and not service. With Violence at our center… we can have no proper relationship with Nature. We cannot be of service to the Whole… when we are at war with all of the parts.

Until we can subdue the Violence… which resides in each of us… we must remain at odds with the Harmony of Gaia and her interconnected ecosystems. Furthermore… we must then remain in conflict with all other human beings.

Violence is NOT an inescapable part of human nature. It is always a CHOICE that we all possess. If we look deeply into our own consciousness… we can see that we could be friendly… co-operative… and loving as easily as we are selfish and aggressive. The CHOICE is up to us… up to each and every one of us.

Right Consciousness… is all-important. To have Peace and Harmony in the OUTER world… we must first have it in the INNER. If it is there at our very core… in the inner workings of our own particular consciousness… then we can make the co-operative… the loving… the compassionate choice. And… most importantly… WE are the only ones that can put it there.

Is it possible to eliminate the Violence within us… the Violence that is controlling our destructive behavior? Let us see.

First we must see… as a Fact… and ACKNOWLEDGE… that we ARE Violent. For… we can only change “What is”… and can NEVER change… “What is not”… which is only a fantasy of imagination.

If we are Violent… yet claim to be Compassionate… we are living a lie. We have created for ourselves a satisfying illusion… a pleasing image of ourselves… to replace the Truth of what we are. Then the Truth becomes covered over. Our Violence is denied. We become hypocrites… and learn to befriend the lie.

To perceive the Violence that is within us… is a major insight. Most do not even notice it… let alone acknowledge it. After all… we have been conditioned to Violence our entire lives… in innumerable ways. Our Society incessantly tells us… Violence is “natural”… it is just the way it is! Furthermore… all of those around us… including our leaders… and even the one they would have us call “God”… all condone it!!

Thus, Violence is explained away. It is justified by our Authorities… encouraged by the media… and defended by God!

How does Violence originate? It comes about when we lose sight of the Sacred Whole… when we fail to see that we are an essential part of the Sacred Harmony. Violence comes about when we then substitute the ultimate importance and superiority of the “Me” over all-else.

When we no longer see the Sacred Whole… all we have left … are the separate fragments. The seemingly only logical purpose that life then holds for us is to elevate our fragment… our “Me”… over all the others. In this way… Self-interest then necessarily becomes the only logical choice… the prime motivation… and the center of all movement.

We are so entrenched in the ways of Violence… that we fail to see the Truth… the very Truth of Violence. We fail to see that… Violence begets Violence. We fail to Understand that… what is brought about by Violence… must be maintained by Violence!

The fact that the Violence of war is the officially accepted means to bring about Peace reflects our deep conditioning to this illogical behavior.

“One cannot come to a right end through a wrong means” - J. Krishnamurti

Violence can only create more Violence. Violence can never bring about Peace. The mind that accepts Violence… IS Violence… and can never bring about a state of NONVIOLENCE.

Violence and the “Me” belong to the same destructive movement… the movement of Division. This movement is completely False and disruptive. It is a LIE… and cannot coexist with Truth… or the Harmony of the Sacred Whole. Violence and Compassion cannot coexist. Thus… we are clearly then… either in the one stream or the other.

Consequently… the “Me” can NEVER come to Compassion… or to Truth. For… they only exist… in the other stream! Hence… within the False… there can only be conflict… and Violence. Within THAT stream… there is no other way. Within the stream of the False… Violence is all there is. Conflict and Violence are part of the very fabric… the very structure… of the False. Consequently… through THAT filter… through those eyes… it indeed ALL appears to be “natural”.

Only in Silence… only in the negation of the “Me”… is there Truth… Harmony… and Intelligence. Only in the movement of Harmony… only in THAT stream… is there the absence of Violence in the human consciousness. Once there is the negation of Violence… then a whole new consciousness comes into being… where Intelligence reigns. And… where Love… becomes the inherent and natural source of Intelligence.

Accountability

Accountability

Human beings do not want to be held accountable for their harmful actions. As quick as we are to take credit for something of merit… so is our sloth at acknowledging our destructive choices.

We want credit for the successes and blame others for the failures. It is always the other guy’s fault that there is war, crime, and global warming. The problems are always caused by something "out there". And, when there is no one else to accuse, we will even blame our genes for our illnesses and our obesity. While we gladly reap the benefits of this unsustainable society, we indignantly condemn whatever or whomever we can for the problems.

Until we can acknowledge the part we play in the problems, we can never move to a real solution. Like an alcoholic, we must first admit that we are out of control and acting destructively. We are all accountable for our actions and their affect on the world around us. Creating nice-sounding excuses does not stop our accountability. It only seems to justify it in our own imagination.

Accepting our own deceptions as "truth", only serves to give credence to the illusion we have created around our artificial and destructive lives. In this way, uncomfortable circumstances such as the horrors of war and the slaughterhouse can be swept under the carpet and kept conveniently out of sight. We then get to live in a fabricated and dishonest world where the problems are real, but we are blameless. Lying to ourselves is where it all begins. "This above all to thine own self be true."

Accepting Responsibility and Accountability for our distasteful actions is a most difficult thing. However, if we are ever going to break free of our illusion and all our damaging ways, we must look our personal contribution to the madness squarely in the eyes. Then perhaps we can learn to take responsibility for our everyday actions and accept accountability for their consequences.

The choices we make in our own daily life have tremendous impact on the world around us. When we learn to value HEALTH… our own Health… and the Health of the planet… our actions will then awaken and evoke profound forces for the good of all.

The Extent of Accountability

Are we accountable for what we do not do? We do not want to be held accountable for what we do do. Being Accountable for what we don’t do seems remarkably absurd. "I didn’t do it. Don’t blame me."

However, consider the fact that when we choose to watch TV we are NOT choosing to help the children… the homeless… the forests… the animals… the Earth. What we choose at once embodies, at the same time, all that we could have been doing instead with that moment.

If we have obligations, does doing something else instead free us from those obligations? Whether or not we view ourselves as having any obligations outside of the "Me", will determine whether our actions remain Self-Centered… or… will join in the Harmony of Creation.

Is Change Possible?

Is Change Possible?

Change seems to be the most difficult thing. Countless New Year’s resolutions go unfulfilled every year. We cannot lose weight or exercise. New commitments do not hold.

As a society we fare no better. Elected politicians still cheat, steal, and lie. We go to war. There is prejudice at home. The numbers of homeless increase. Apathy and ill-health are on the rise. And, our children are evermore abused and neglected.

So what is the problem? Is it possible for us to change and become better human beings? Unless we agree that it is possible, we are essentially saying that change is hopeless, that we are all just “trolls” who will never be better than we are. Why then become irate over cheating politicians if we would do the same thing in his place? If our nature is thus, then any talk of morality or kindness would only be hypocritical.

If, on the other hand, we feel in our hearts that change is possible, then how can we know if this is really true for human beings when so much around us says we don’t change?

We must first make the distinction between people not changing—and people being unable to change. One is a matter of choice—while the other is a death sentence for our species.

The only way to convince ourselves that human beings do have the potential, and the power, to change—is for US to change! As a representative of mankind, if I can change, then it is possible for mankind to change. See how powerful this is! Mankind’s hope rests with me!!

If I can change, all men can change. So, it matters not that men have murdered down through the ages. All that matters is that I do not murder. If I can live without murdering, then so could the rest of men.

Others may be violent, but what matters most is that I end violence within myself. In this way, my life then becomes a living experiment with the fate of the world in the balance! World Peace is in my hands.

What else could I change? Could I end Greed and Selfishness within myself? Then our children would still have a chance in this world!

Human beings have Free Will. Choice is always in our hands. I always have the choice to help you or harm you. I always have the choice to make the Intelligent or destructive choice. I can always choose the apple over the doughnut, the veggie burger over the steak. And, every Intelligent choice that I make—reverberates throughout the entire Universe.

The "Now" Moment

The "Now" Moment

Every Now moment is fraught with opportunity. We do not see the Now as it is but rather through the filter of our wants , hopes , desires, and fears. Our view of Reality, the “What is”, is distorted by our concept of “What should be”. In the shadow of this distortion, we become short-sighted and single-minded. In this limited and stagnant view, we see only the moment’s failures to satisfy our desires. We are blind to the actual… to the Fact. We are blind to the myriad possibilities that abound and that are strewn all about us.

Only when we approach the Now humbly, with an attentive clear mind, can we see the beginnings of the endless possibilities.

When we are distraught with the happenings of this world, when the world is not measuring to our expectations, we fail to see the opportunities that are spread about us. Only the truly free mind will be able to see them. And only that mind will feel the awe and joy of the moment. Only that mind will know the real meaning of happiness and the precious gift of Life.