The Nature of Conflict

The Human order is in direct opposition to the Natural Order. We have made Greed our God. Seeking Pleasure and Advantage has become our ongoing quest in life. It has become our singular purpose in life.

The large funded corporations seek only their bottom line. Therefore, is it really so surprising that none of the Fortune 500 companies is operating sustainably. And… we the people… have given this horrendous way of living our blessing!

We have come to revel in our unsustainable lifestyles. So much so that we are willing to fight for it… to kill for it… to destroy the innocent and the defenseless… so that we may keep our luxuries. It matters not to us that we do it at the expense of others… that our “success” comes from standing on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters… that our comfort is their burden… that it is the very cause of their suffering.

While Greed has become the accepted centerpiece of the Human order… the Harmony within the Natural Order is made possible entirely through the movement of Love. Where Greed seeks only the advantage of the fragment… Love seeks the wellbeing of the Whole. We can easily see that Love and Greed are Mutually Exclusive movements. And… we are personally either moving in the one stream… or the other.

The current Human order… based on Greed… is… from the very first step… in conflict with the Natural Order… and with all the other fragments comprising the whole. In this view… the Natural World… and all our brothers and sisters… become our “enemies”… and must be dominated so that we can keep our Advantage.

Choosing the Path of Greed automatically places us in conflict with everything that is not “Me”. Even personal relationships must eventually succumb to this force of selfishness. We are interested in only our own Advantage… our own Pleasures… our own petty “likes” and “dislikes”. In such a self-centered world… we are detached… and in opposition… to everyone and everything around us. To anyone on such a path… Conflict will seem as the “natural order” of things. Then… with opposition as the seemingly natural way of living… Domination and Cruelty can always be justified! Those that keep us from getting what we want… immediately become our enemies.

How does one escape the destruction and suffering that inevitably follows the movement of Greed? If we truly want to escape from its clutches… we must first look at the Truth of such a Path. We must not turn away… even if it incriminates our life choices up to this point. When we can see its Wrongness… deep down to our cell level… when there is no longer any doubt… only then will we be able to break free of our chains… only then will the possibility of a whole new way of living open to us.

When we can place Love at our center in place of Greed… we will find ourselves in a whole different world. Love seeks the Health and Wellbeing of the Whole. As a “team player”… one easily Harmonizes with all that is Good in the World. The conflict of selfishness and the seeking of personal Advantage are gone.

When our mind becomes truly centered in Love… we will find ourselves aligned with the infinite forces of the higher Natural Order. New undreamed worlds of wonder and excitement will open to us. We will be vibrating with… and abetting… the infinite forces of Creation. We become its creative servant… and unleash the true meaning of Creativity… as we ourselves partake in the Sacred infinite and universal movement of… Continuous Creation.

The Tip of the Iceburg

The “Tip of the Iceberg”

What motivates us in the simple things of life… what is plainly visible… is like the tip of the iceberg. When viewed by the shallow observer… much appears to be hidden. However… to the serious observer… the simple reveals much about the unseen. What lies beneath the iceberg is not substantially different from the top... but more pronounced... more extreme.

Like the iceberg, our visible daily lives say much about who we are... and what lies beneath the surface. That which motivates us in our most simple actions… demonstrates our central values… and will also be the motivation for the deeper and more complex issues that we face. The principles that we value and hold dear will be present and applied to all that we face... both small and large. They will be used universally in our decisions. Our smallest and largest problems will be approached using the same values.

If… for example… we let Greed be our defining choice for a job… it will also be our choice when faced with larger issues of world hunger… profit… or the death of the animals or the poor & unfortunate of the World. And likewise… it would also show up in the smaller actions like wanting the biggest piece of the pie… or cheating to win a game.

Our values represent who we are. We have directly (by choice)… or indirectly (by conditioning)… accepted them at the core of our being. Once in the driver’s seat… these values steer and direct us in all that we do. They now direct all of our choices… from the smallest to the largest… from the incidental… to the crucial.

To the Aware individual… a person’s values are present in all that he or she does… even the most seemingly insignificant. It is there in our dress… our grooming… the way we organize that which is around us… what we have elected to bring into our life… what we have left out… what we do with our time… our attitude… our health… our diet… our weight… our conditioning… our habits… what we choose to own… what we do for a living… our hobbies and interests… and our chosen relationships to the Earth… the animals… and the poor. All reflect who we are as a human being. To know one’s Values… is to know the person.

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.