A JUNGIAN TYPE VIEW OF THE LINCOLN AND CHRIST STORIES.......March 20, 2017

I'm at Cooks Chili Parlor on West North Grand Ave in Springfield, IL. I'm having oatmeal and homemade bread.I Hope to not bite my lip as it is still numb from the dentist.

I revisited Lincoln's tomb just now. I'm struck again , "My God what consciousness has wrought." I know none of us can have made conscious more than the tip of the iceberg of  what Carl Jung calls the Collective Unconscious. This is a present day psychological way of thinking about the source of all that is or can be, of God or the Self. We all can and do experience its contents becoming conscious, some probably more than others.

This process can be the source of major life changes in personal and collective views of life and the world. It can also be a dangerous overwhelming of the far smaller but amazingly  essential  conscious human ego.

A Suffering Luncoln

While again trying to comprehend the great moral advance in American culture heralded by Lincoln's courageous encounter with life's tensions; I felt, like so many have, the rush of archetypal, sacred like, emotions.

With that stimulation fresh I'd like to describe some basic premises of the work of Swiss psychistrist Carl Jung, a resource that much helps me explain some of my own experiences and unexpected changes in personal points of view.

What Jung  may not have always made clear to the typical reader is that the complicated mythological development he describes(Such as in his very late little book "Answer To Job")  which resulted in the Christ Story becoming culturally universal- was weaved, from archetypal energies, by the not perfectly developed conscious mind of the Collective Unconscious. Not by human plan but something beyond human consciousness, yet even that great God  power was not fully conscious of itself.

From exceptional  leaps in personal human consciousness, such as Jung experienced, some have in recent centuries been able to 'see' or comprehend that psychological fact(The imperfect God consciousness) and also help make it conscious to others.

This in turn comes to  mean that 'God' , in God's need, at times is  'heard',  in its own suffering tensions,  by the human. And, like us when we are really heard,  God has been made more morally conscious of Itself. The Biblical record as a whole describes this process of the evolution or transformation of  the God consciousness. As it also shows the same happening to the human who contains  within ourselves the full and exact image of the creator. This is the psychological situation for  both the Divine and all humans. This is an insight not possible until modern times and still only partially conscious.

What we call God and Human are  seen working collaboratively for the increased consciousness of both. This is to be expected because the human really  is made in 'God's image', both it's perfection and imperfection. This idea remains a great challenge for our usual Western religious point of view. It feels at first too much like blasphemy  and stirs a reaction of guilt and fear. But it actually offers a sounder  understanding I think of many urgent questions and inner disturbances. And such an idea honors an enhanced more conscious  fullness of God which is  so needed for an already begun new epoch of global human evolution.

The imperfect mind of evolution, of God, (Think of it as like God's ego)was not fully conscious of its own creativity and much more. Many of the most remembered  Old Testament  stories picture this lack of ethical consistency in the God image of Yahweh. Such as his quickness to hot anger, thin skinned  jealousy, ignoring its own ethical laws,  blaming the human for all errors and extreme punishments of any who offend him. These are ever  present along with a genuine desire to be loving, faithful and dependable.  And the God  is pictured as being talked out of such  moral lapses by the cautious words and better judgment of his human creatures such as Abraham, Moses and Job.  The result always being that the God is influenced to a higher ethical decision, God 'changes' its imperfect mind.

These images of God's imperfection  are  being noticed by many and are  seen  at first in direct and troubling opposition to the image of God as transformed and morally elevated in Jesus the God-Man  of the New Testament.

 God's highest creation, the human,  is described in the Biblical narative  as made in God's spiritual/psychological image. And  the human  ego we know from honest personal adult experience  is also not at first conscious of the  full meaning of its own creative works and behaviors.( This is a common confession of many of the world's most creative geniuses and more conscious very ordinary people.)

It is as if God and Human are dependent on each other's  conscious feedback and mirroring for mutual  fuller moral and self awareness.

Similarly, on a smaller scale, this same process is true of all culture changing events, such as  the Lincoln story. In this same way we humans are first affected unawares by  spontaneous and  strong  rich emotion by the activated archetypes  of the Collective  Unconscious(Which are always unconsciously dormant within us all. Much like the biological instinct is already present for a bird to build a very specific kind of nest.) And then, maybe now or  later, we become conscious that we  have been so affected by such archetypal autonomous energies..

 This way we come to know, be conscious of,  something  important about the nature of our personal archetypal 'religious ' like experiences (ones that are far broader than  only formal organized creedal religion and which always  go beyond  our rational thinking). These experiences  are what  make and  shape the meaning of our fully human lives.  By having some awareness of these natural internal processes we become more conscious beings. And we can trust the same is true of all other humans  as well.

The Empty Tomb

Being somewhat conscious of these internal processes need not take away the wonder(numenosity) or authority of such experiences.  But allows us to know the natural psychological principles underlying such emotional life changing  and enriching phenomena. And the great epoch making evolutionary ransformations they bring, for good and bad, to humanity's course. (We still most humbly know these living internal autonomous   factors, called archetypes,  are  far beyond our most conscious rational grasp. And we have no way of knowing, and may never, the why of these things.)

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: There are very practical and needed implications of thinking of God and Human this way. Here are a few:

1. It helps us move away from the archaic notion that God is a 'being' out there much like us only far more powerful and perfect  in its morality and use of its power. Such a God is completely unaccountable and as the Bible stories show can often get as off track ethically as the human creature. It means that everything that goes wrong is not always and only human failure, though there is plenty of that.  This outgrown image of God  is called an anthropomorphic view of the divine. Science and especially Quantum Physics has pushed modern  humans to move to a much broader view of God where God is fully present within us and also  embedded  in all that is beyond us.

2. It does not mean that God can't be thought of  as that to which we can  personally relate but it also means that God is an embedded  continually active mind  factor in all of creation and  in the deepest strata of our human Collective Unconsciousness;  that the Collective Unconscious, which can now be explored,  is what most reflects the reality of God to modern persons. This means we are all connected to God similarly and can potentially become more conscious of what that connection means in terms of the meaning  and challenges of  our personal and collective  human life.

3. This view of God not  being a perfect mind but an evolving one is not at odds with real science like anthropomorphism is. It is very consistent with the central science theorem of universal evolution. This means that one thing  we can always count on is that everything which  has come from God is in a state of evolving, of changing from one level to another over, what seems to us,  long periods of time. Some more progressive  traditional theology has accepted evolution about most parts of the universe but not  usually about the deepest origins of the universe or what we call God. It is logical that if the creation bears the image of the creator that,  like the creation,  God also is an evolving reality. And as described above that involves the mind of God and the ethical moral consciousness of God; that it is changing. The changes are  potentially  toward the better  and  in need of evolving human consciousness to help God in God's development just as the human is need of reflections of the divine in order to become more morally conscious,  more fully human and divine.  It is a mutually dependent collaboration of God and Human that is so needed to address the  problems the world urgently faces.

Without such a potential change  the imperfect human consciousness, with its increased power of the past several centuries,  is nearly certain to destroy both itself and the creation. This is the path we are most noticeably on  at present.  Peace on Earth can be a meaningful hope only to the extent that the moral consciousness of both God and Human are making progress through much creative human and divine suffering.

4. This view means the  idea and experience of God , which can only be carried by the human consciousness, can affect  humans who are not moved by any  of the forms of institutional religion  toward any 'belief' in God. This opens up  a way , without negating their best thinking or their conscience, to consider a God image maybe for the first time. This would mean such persons could confess their authentic hunch of something that is  'more than'  personal or collective human ego as a best explanation of  the fullness of reality. That the universe and human experience is not simply physicality and  rational materialism.

5. It  implies that more traditional religious people would no longer live with the motivation , " I'll do good so that I might be rewarded now or later by the Great God."  This motivation is of a lower  more self centered  level and does not really  give the human something to aspire to with the most valued parts of themselves. It would instead make ones motivation to live, strive and yearn , " to be honest, loving , compassionate and fair" in our dealings so that which is God becomes more that way also. Alone our human  striving may be seen as futile but with also an increasing moral consciousness of the God factor it can become a practical hope of a new epoch.  This all means that God needs us  humans as  much as we need God, and  that all of life is  for the purpose of expanded moral consciousness via the Human-God interdependence .  This world view  offers a genuine hope and reason to work for the goal of  Peace on Earth and good will to all humankind.

MEALS ON WHEELS PROGAM THREATNED BY PRSIDENT'S BUDGET... March 18, 2017

Regarding the discussion going around about Mr Trump's CUTTING THE  MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS which so many see as a very positive and caring American tradition. It is not as simple as many FB posts make it but neither is it insignificant.

I think we can all agree that most bumper sticker posts are not any full picture. We may should take time to make our personal comment with posts than to just quickly put them up for they sound 'right' to our present strong feelings. It reveals us letting someone else speak for us in very simplistic terms. This is a downside to FB posts on serious topics. And some complain if someone tries to make a  thought out statement instead of just passing on the simplistic blurb.

Yes, Mr Trump's initial budget does not necessarily directly cut the Meals On Wheels program. Such statements like this always over simplify. But it would be a serious mistake to not recognize the very real shift in basic values this budget represents. One that many, still often to my astonishment, adore. This budget of Mr Trump's is strongly saying that people who have basic survival needs due to near or full poverty family situations are  ' not trying hard enough' to take care of themselves independent of government. This attitude , imo, ignores the nature of our presently evolved capitalist societal system with its built in inequalities. It surely appears in direct contrast to how the Jesus Story pictures His understanding of the plight of the poor in society and the more wealthy's responsibility to them. That view can be stated as,' access to basic earth resources, and basic human needs, belongs to all humans and those with political power are obligated to attempt to make it so.' I don't think it can be reasonably doubted such was Jesus' central message to his culture's power structure. It got him killed as it has many other ethical martyrs.

We are sitting on a social volcano which this budget represents one extreme . It leans strongly toward resenting the poor who, often in America and worldwide, are present among minorities and ethnicities. Most of us adults have all heard such resentment from the demographic majority ordinary persons in barbershops, bars and beauty shops for decades.(It is not usually something someone will say in open public conversation but it is very real in private.) Now we have a president who fully agrees and says so and does so. This is our present but long forming divide come to full fruition as I see it and am troubled by.

I , sometimes misunderstood, do not think either party or side of our debilitating national polarity, presently has 'the right' clear solution. It is escaping all sides to various extents. But it seems to me that many of us are due a far reaching change in our world and ethical view of our place and role as conscious responsible humans. ...We seem appropriately in need of what has been called in pervious epochs of human development as 'Divine intervention.' A true metanoia 'from above' in New Testament language.

A beginning point is for us each to be aware of such a need and move away from our statements and excuses , in private and public, of our absolute rightness regarding  the dangers we face.

THE DANGERS OF PSYCHIC INFECTION FROM AN UNHEALTY AUTHORITARIAN LEADER..March 6, 2017

WHILE OUR PRESISENT CRANKS OUT STATEMENTS APPEARING AS PRODUCTS OF A COMPROMISED MENTAL CAPACITY THE REAL WORK OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE GOVERNMENT GOES UNDONE HERE AND ABROAD.

There are many historical precedents of where an authoritative personality/leader's personal mental health issues have collectively affected unawares his strong supporters with the same dangerous symptoms. Some such expected symptoms would be a leader who believes he is uniquely selected by history to be the 'only  one' who can heroically lead the people to great freedom and prosperity. This grandiose estimate of ones self would be expected to be accompanied by paranoia( 'my enemies are many and are after me'), use of uncompromising name calling as a preferred tool for relating with any who legitimately disagree, an inability to operate within the boundaries of normal physical and social facts, a continuous need for personal validation of one's rightness and approval, and an inability to work cooperatively and consistently with other legitimate authority and stake holders.

COLLECTIVE  DELUSION

Unless I am blind there appears to be such a story happening in front of us. The dangers are more than most of us let ourselves think about. Nothing quite like this has ever threatened America before. Our hope is there are enough sounder minds close to the president and in congress , which have not been clouded by the psychological chaos; who find the courage to openly stand against the leader when the signs of mental incompetence are obvious.

Such a moment is likely unfolding now. Those exercising a sounder mind must conscientiously speak out if it is shown, as it is so far, that the president has no verified evidence for his charge that the former president wire tapped his campaign office.

We need to keep in mind, without assigning any specific citizen as being so affected, that there is indeed tragic historical evidence of collective mental health and moral collapse. And that such a psychological phenomena can indeed be set in motion by a *archetypally (as if beyond the mere human realm) experienced mentally unhealthy authoritarian leader.

The nation's need today is many citizens , and hopefully some near our president , some of his own party in congress; persons who have not forgotten such things have happened before and can be happening again.

*Some explanation: When any of us are under 'archetypal' influence we experience being part of something that is godlike and we are mesmerized. We tend to give ourselves over to the certainty of its promises. It can be like a truly religious experience. Physical facts and logic are easily overridden by the excitement and inflation caused by the archetypal images and energies.

Obama also was charismatic and set in motion for his fans an archetypal 'savior' like experience. A big difference though is Obama consistently presents an image of a healthy and well reasoned person and does not state obvious physical untruths like this president does repeatedly. Nor did Obama constantly question the legitimacy of our democratic institutions like is daily now done.

Archetypal influences , though often a necessary source of human hope and emotional energy, are always dangerous and need to be always questioned by ourselves. They can cause us to ignore obvious facts and give us a reason to abandon our ordinary logic and 'common sense.' . In other words we can become collectively mentally fragile and unstable under their influence. And we lean on  an excited group consensus rather than on our  personal reason and critique. We can become collectively infected psychically.(The same energy we see depicted in any lynch mob scene in a movie. It has a life of its own and individuals become just a part of the unquestioning crowd.)

 This is the dynamics of how murderous dictators have come to be accepted by the mass of otherwise ordinary folks.(The German people before Hitler were among the most educated in the world but the archetypal energy over swept their good judgment as they fell for the dark racist promises of the stirred up  archetypes. ) If the archetypal images are negative , violate demonstrated facts and are inhumane a whole group of persons can revert to basic barbarism . We are experiencing a very dangerous psychological situation with the archetypes that have been set loose around this new President's personality..

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HISTORICAL TRENDS BEHIND THE PRESENT AMERICAN SOCIAL/POLITICAL CHAOS....February 19,2017

Astonishingly the new president in the first first month declares that the COURTS and FREEDOM OF THE PRESS are among his and the 'American people's enemies.' These are the two realities that most check America from ever coming under  some kind of autocratic rule. It might  be hard to imagine a more unconstitutional attitude.

My opinion is the present societal situation developed  over decades and longer does not have a 'one side is right' solution. It is much larger and we all , including our forebears, have had a hand in its historical development. I suspect it is the natural evolution of  the materialistic frame of mind which was necessarily at the heart of  the European Renaissance(Age Of Reason)and scientific mindset ( which gave us all the dazzling  advancements of science and technology.) The atmosphere of that Renaissance was America's strong  matetialistic beginning and , though once brilliant and essential,  has led over time to our present Consumer Capitalistic  materialistically possessed society.

Our first American powerful elites were mostly Deists, not church going Christians,  which set them free from literally taken traditional religious dogma. This freedom to explore the material world  was  necessary for science to flourish( But religious fundamentalism has now re-surged in many forms worldwide  and is a scientific step backward and something that inadvertently nurtures our dominant Rational Materialism world view.)

All of this , for good and ill, is our foundation, all of us. And we have finally run into the downside of what has become a one sided unworkable  approach to life and human meaning and development. Phrases that describe this situation are Consumer Capitalism and Rational Materialism  and are America's basic worldview in most aspects  in our post modern culture. The downside of these mindsets gone too far and outgrown for new times  include  the  consistent  physical  deterioration of the planet  and its complexities along with  wealth and power outrageously accumulated for a small percent of the population.

Isaac Newton- Renaissance Scientist

This has also driven Americans to, with clear and self righteous conscience, suck every material comfort and amusement from the earth that we can and given license to take far more from nature than we need simply because it's there. These attitudes have often been supported by formal education emphasis and much of  formal religion.

To control and manipulate everything we can for maximum short term pleasantness, amusement  and comfort is the unspoken and irresponsible goal of Rationalistic Consumer Materialism. This leads to a pernicious disrespect for the natural care of the planet,  diminished relationships built of mutual trust and honesty and  to a belief that 'more  for me and  mine is always better'. Success of  human life really has come to be  measured by material wealth and political power. This stands opposed to actual deepest human need and development. It ignores the demands of the human soul.

So we overtly, even if irrational, adore the wealthy and materially powerful  no matter the compromised ethics and character that often, with  exceptions, necessarily characterize the most 'achieving' humans  in a Consumer Capitalistic society. These materialistic values are still  strongly active across all economic and most education levels, even though they work against our having more safe, healthy and  less anxious  lives

Our point of view, our world view, at this point is not really religious  or ethics based  and it is  failing to give a serious damn about future generations or citizens who are in or on the edges of poverty,  or the health of the planet. And we , in much collective denial of this threatening situation, still claim to so greatly love our children and future generations. Our collective behavior  and materialistic values might give us pause.

Much of this is unconscious so most of us  have truly not let ourselves know better. Ignorance and lack of awareness is the key root of our worst sins  and  the demands and capacity to change from these destructive long developed norms are fully present and pressing at the door. We have soulful  learning to do that is more than what is in our typical history books. There is an urgent need to 'know our true selves' . This includes our darker unconscious motives that run unchecked as well as unknown potential good and neighborly compassion we can trust  are also in the depths of human hearts.

The present daily images  of ignoring common facts, creating ones own reality, material extravagancies and a self possessed President hold all these unsavory often unconscious factors up before us like a giant mirror .  It  says to us all, "This is who you are now or where you yearn to go. Is it time yet to change some of your ways and expectations for  successful  human living?  Is your way any longer effective or productive for  sustainable quality human life? It is up to you. "

This complex evolutionary  web is not just the fault of one or other side of the present political spectrum, and certainly not just the president. Because it is an evolutionary process there is no value in assigning blame. It is simply what it is. What is important is that individuals  'be aware' of  the situation, name and own it for what it is.  “Conservative” and “liberal” are equally important mindsets and practices , both essential for healthy personal and collective life. The continuous political fighting likely is only a distraction from the real threats we all face but remain the unaddressed  elephants in the room.
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There is reason for a collective HOPE in this present complexity,  HOPE of a religious or archetypal  nature as all deeper human  hopes I think must be. That hope can  include that  the narcissistic irrational chaos  and over materialized self aggrandizing images  associated with our  white house symbolize  a last crazed seizure of an enshrined  crass materialism called Consumer Capitalism.

Humans have the capacity, and it must happen for our species to survive, to adapt to new evolutionary conditions as we pass through major eons or epochs of development.  (Presently the planet and other life would be safer without us being here.  This is a recent development  due to human technology and unchecked consumerism. A  more alert and responsible form of intelligent  consciosness may be required now by evolution. And evolution would do just that if human consciousness fails its immediate task.)

No world view- religious, scientific or other, in its most developed form is ever  eternal . Eventually, perhaps major shifts occurring every 2000 years, a long held effective world view becomes ineffective and obsolete  for pressing new times. The presently  weakening world view of America and the West  is the result of  global evolution reaching a one sided and unbalanced state where the planet is threatened with chaos. We seem to now be at the cusp of such  a necessary change in epochs.

A  deeply grounded HOPE which  seems  needed and reasonable to anticipate is for a major  rebalancing shift in American human consciousness; a newly evolved perspective that will lead to  truly higher ground where Sacred- Human love  may make a quantum leap. Such a posdible transition of eons is  never one that existing traditional moral codes, religions or political parties can take sole credit for. Instead a whole nation or  a large diverse culture can come to   realize they can  experience and participate in  nothing less than the natural movement of a frightening but redeeming God  factor in their midst.

"YOU THINK THIS COUNTRY IS SO INNOCENT ? " President Trump's ethics struggle...February 4, 2017

Tonight President Trump said, “ You think this country is so innocent?” I'm glad to hear that challenging statement for it is true. Many Americans would usually be strongly provoked by such a statement. But it is true and history abounds in reminding us how we, along with our moral accomplishments, have terrorized both our own citizens beginning with slavery and denying others civil rights, and other countries in  some  of our warring efforts.  To own this difficult reality is to come to a higher consciousness and able to be more ethical in the future.  To make ethical progress.

Sadly Mr. Trump did not make his statement in the context of grieving our national shadow and expressing a kind of true repentance for wrongs done. But in the context of condoning the war crimes against Crimea and others by  present Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The president made his statement as a rebuff to any who are expressing concern that while he is wanting to generally ban Muslim countries and refugees, he also said tonight in this same context, “It is a good thing that we get along with Russia.”

These seemingly thoughtless inconsistencies I think expose the President as frequently failing  to give serious thought to ethics and 'right' and 'just' behavior from ones self toward others. Our Christian heritage could still provide our Christian citizens with the reasons and courage to own our own shadow ( “First, clean the inside of your own cup”, for example ), to recognize unethical attitudes and behaviors in our own story.  And to also not rush to approve, for our own convenience, unethical behavior in others (“ Unethical companionship corrupts good morals.”). This seems to me what Mr. Trump has consistently been doing with respect to Mr. Putin, his apparent most admired foreign leader. Do Americans want to condone this kind of unethical imbalance our President is displaying? Or do we let him know we expect a change from him?

SERMON: 'FROM THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD'...Matt 25: 31-40..edited ..Jan. 1, 2017

At age seven I lost a billfoldwith five dollars in it. I said to my concerned parents, ' Lets pretend I never had it, then we won't be so upset'. I realize we can't get through life denying losses and pains but the event does show that intentionally  changing our point of view, the lens through which we choose to view things ,  can result in  a very different emotional outlook. As an aging preacher I find myself more needing to look, I trust faithfully and  responsibly, at our sacred ancient texts through lens that may make them more relevant and transforming for the 21^st century. I do not expect all to agree with my lens but invite you to look over my shoulder while I attempt that kind of view in today's sermon.

What poetic and inspired words the ancient author of Matthew puts before us here. The nature of the gospels is not to promise the  actual words Jesus said but instead we are given  metaphorical  poetic  heart stirring images of the quality of life and love of one called Jesus of Nazareth. Such a life that it generated a new point of view in the hearts of a small group  which then spread throughout the world. We now experience only a small ripple effect of what those emotional images did near the beginning. A danger as we look at such a metaphorical passage is to take these spiritual teachings too literally,  as  being about the literal outer world and fail to grasp they are first meant to describe the dynamics of our personal inner world or what the gospels call the heart.  Let's seek an inner meaning of this passage, a meaning which is true to the central message the gospel seeks to bring to each of us personally. This passage can be seen as the crescendo of the story of Jesus's potential  influence on our common collective life, of hope for 'peace on earth and good will to all.' The emphasis here must be so important to life and love it is called the very 'foundations of the world.'  Surely worth our careful attention. 

Can this now describe a personal inner owning of Good and Evil, not future literal Judgment?

First, let us acknowledge that 'son of man' is an expression emphasizing that Jesus was fully human, son of man- not only son of God. That means the image is not just about Jesus bringing judgment but can be about us making some responsible inner decisions for ourselves. Instead of our jumping to an interpretation of a literal judgment scene, where Jesus is described as proclaiming some of God's children are saved and as many others damned eternally, as instead speaking to us of the importance of making some intentional personal  value  judgments. As describing, as it were, our taking the rightful place on our own inner throne and deciding(that is taking personal responsibility) for what we each judge as most important in our human life. In other words YOU are the 'son or daughter of man' here. Yes, we can “take our place on our heart's throne, with our own best angels , as we seek to own our truest and highest  potential as human beings.”

The images speak of ' knowing the difference between 'good and evil.' Remember the Genesis story that has so influenced all of Western Civilization, where the first human couple is pictured being told to not eat of the ' Tree of Knowledge Of Good And Evil' ... for it would result in them knowing the real difference between good and evil? Unfortunately we have been overwhelmingly persuaded  to think of the couple eating of that tree as something to grieve and to think, "Oh if only they hadn't  done that the world would be only be good."  No,  that ancient story was told  not to prevent evil but to give an understanding of why there must be presently good and evil for life to exist. And that we must be keenly aware of  the difference. And that it was necessary for humans to, as it were, eat of that tree so we could come to discern what is really good and really bad. Why I was taught in my youth that dancing, having a drink, playing cards, most anything sexual and being Catholic were among the greatest evils. You may laugh but does our culture yet get it  that good is that which promotes human beings to be more fully their fullest and finest selves, each one contributing to the well being of others? And evil is anything that questions human worth and dignity and treats humans and creation as only objects for self pleasure with little concern for the person or the planet? Now I see  that dancing, taking a drink, playing cards, being Catholic and certainly sexuality do not fit the criteria of being evil. But, for example, not caring that there are mentally ill people who our social structure has decided to put on the street and not take care of …. that is evil.  To allow, yes promote, in America the gathering of personal  wealth to the extent it makes poverty for others a necessary consequence is evil. To surgically drop bombs on those we call enemies with no strong misgiving that we will be killing completely innocent persons is wrong.

Psychologically, can't this be  a call for inner personal discernment of  Good and Evil?

What this passage's poetic images  can reveal  is that we humans are now  more capable of  knowing what true good is and what a better balance of life ordinary humans can potentially bring about in the world.  And that the world is in jeopardy to the extent  we don't. Notice the highest good we can aspire to is not about 'our church' and its traditions, dogmas and rites. It is surely not about living in luxury or about achieving notoriety, position or some measure of wealth. It is not about being right in our religious beliefs so we can judge how others are wrong. What good is , and that we as  'sons and daughters of man' are capable of proclaiming from our personal inner thrones, first  TO OURSELF, is intended to be crystal clear in this teaching.  A question is, 'Will we take this as our personal spiritual work?'  Surely this is where a safer world has to begin, individuals deciding what they really believe are the highest behaviors and attitudes for human living. By such inner work the text implies we contribute to strengthening  the very 'foundations of the World” right there in ones own space.  This is the inner human activity  that can hold the earth and all the cooperating elements of creation and humanity together. Without humans announcing this first and decisively to ourselves from our own inner throne;  life, love, hope and trust will vanish from the world, will become impossible. This due to  a sheer lack of humans not being more clearly conscious of and , 'knowing good and evil.'

We may be near such a critical need for this to happen in much measure in our present day. Have we ever seen as much degrading  human behavior and words on public display at highest levels as we did in the presidential process? No side is exempt. We and our forebears  are all implicated in it  coming to such times. Our nation's hands clearly are not lily white. We must see and own that.  It has become an important matter that we  pay close attention to the difference in good and evil as they show themselves in public discourse and in our public policies. Polices which  surely effect how citizens of our land treat each other.

(Read verses 34-36)Now Let's try to keep  our  thinking of this whole poetic image as something in our inner personal life, not a description of literal eternal judgment. Only when it is kept within and worked with can it eventually  become something commonly real in the outer world.  But be ready and expect to entertain an extremely counter intuitive paradox here. Unlike the most conventional interpretations, this passage is saying the greatest good is made possible by  first recognizing our own personal needs and fears. We are pushed to first look within, not our typical looking outside of ourselves for both problems and solutions.  Surely many of these are to be found within us? 

Surprisingly the images say we are the ones in great need. Most of us have not faced literal starvation from food and water as many others have. Yet we all can identify with having important  unresolved emotional hungers. The teaching taken as an inner discipline implies that only when we  take a caring interest  in our own sense of being a stranger and alone do we create the capacity to more fully respond to the stranger who is the other person or group of persons. And if you have ever felt barred or kept , in some way, from life and love- being in literal or psychological prison, then do what you can to release and to embrace yourself . Only then can one be most in tune to the many ways other humans are physically or socially imprisoned. If you have had the literal experience of being cold for lack of clothing or being embarrassed at not  having the latest materialistic fads, treat yourself with dignity. This way we might learn and respond more significantly to the many kinds of   nakedness that other humans experience.

Yes in all genuine spiritual teaching, compared to the preaching of rules and commands and oughts, there is an irrational paradox. The way there is not direct or   simply  calling us to 'just do it.' No, the good so needed today cannot happen in magnanimous and  efficient ways by simple willingness  and occasional 'gifts to the needy' or only community  projects of good will. For this teaching of Jesus to find fullest realization in the world, it must start with genuinely noting  and caring for ones self. Jesus consistently taught  one cannot  most effectively care for others until we  intentionally care  for ourselves. Until we experience exploring and tending to our own physical and emotional needs and stresses  are we most  preparing to do our best at effectively loving  others and loving the world.

Another paradox shown here is that those who do this inner work from their own inner thrones and strive to grasp the difference between collective good and evil are pictured as not being aware they are instruments of  generating good in the outer collective world. This may indicate it is possible for humans  to awaken to the process that such good,  should it ever fully  come into the world,  is a natural phenomenon  waiting to evolve, not a supernatural happening coming from the outside. Initiating the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven  must be the most natural of all healthy human instincts, to care for ones unique self. This awareness can potentially happen in the life of all persons. We would then no longer categorize ourselves as 'needy or blessed' or 'haves or have nots' but as one family that intentionally cares for its own. Then doing good can become no longer seen primarily as occasionally going out of ones way or a special occasion midst a world of materialistic self interest. But a  natural personal and collective response of noticing the very same needs in others as seen and seriously attended to  in one's own self. Here alone lies the gospel's paradoxical potential and power of  humans loving others as we  love ourselves, of being transformed into  lovers of the world.

A DREAM OF DONALD TRUMP... How dreams can help one have a healthier, more complete perspective...December 5, 2016

I'm going to share something very personal here, a recent dream. Ones who know me are aware I have placed  emphasis for three decades on the nightly dream being important  support  for good mental health,  more balanced points of view  and in navigating the winding path of a human life. This to me is not magic but  very natural and practical. Dreams offer something more, I think,  to our important judgments than our careful rational reasoning alone is able to. Dreams usually challenge our conscious, often unquestioned,  attitudes toward important and emotional aspects of life and  other persons. So  dreams are not always welcomed and, maybe by most Western people, are ignored partly for that reason.

Donald Trump, Melania  and their son Barron  pose at  home in NY City. 

Below is a dream regarding Donald Trump whom one knows from my FB is a person I am  quite concerned about being our next president. Let's see how the dream challenges me while not overriding my best efforts at a reasoned rational attitude toward his new presence in our  national lives. I think a dream  always says exactly what it 'intends'  the dreamer to contemplate. Though it can seem silly and preposterous the dream is not playing with us but challenging us like a true  honest friend.   Perhaps this share can illustrate how a nightly dream can serve a person well in matters s/he considers important, individually or collectively. 

Here is the dream , my initial work with it and some feedback from an experienced Jungian consultant. (This analysis  has to do only with the Trump image aspect of the dream. There is much more here for me to explore... the apartment, I am 'waking up.', my deceased wife present, the mention of our knives. .... etc )

Nov 29,2016  Dream: I was waking up from sleeping on a pull out couch in a modest but clean apartment. My deceased wife was in the background. Trump was sitting there in a chair. I got up and acknowledged him. He stood up and walked across the room to get  coffee. I noticed he was rather flabby and looked as if he had done no hard labor ever. But he was courteous, not at all pushy or egocentric acting. He looked very young with no wrinkles in his face. I commented to him how young he looked and asked his age. He said, ' Thanks. I'm 43.” It crossed my mind here was likely the most spoken of man in the world now but I was not intimidated and he seemed to expect no special treatment. He asked my wife , “ Did you hear Rush yesterday?”. ...... Finally Trump showed me his small stainless steel key ring knife. I started to show him my complicated knife piece which has scissors etc on it. But then I thought , 'I like his simple one better.' That's it.

Gold leaf room in Donald Trump's Mansion Apartment

THOUGHTS: This dream irritates me in that Trump is so different than what I see in him through my conscious ego from his words and actions via the news, and 'tweets.'  I'm pushed by the dream  to consider that in person I may find him even likable. This challenges me to consider withdrawing  the extreme negative perception I have at the conscious level which practically gives him god or devil status. The dream is suggesting I question, for my own sake, my  very dark assessment of him personally which , if  not intentionally checked,  I would retain as my 'Trump image'  at the conscious ego level. (Often times we never question our positive or negative image of another person. We assume we see the real person. We assume our projection is in fact what the other person is. Trump's persona is one which  people seem to either love or hate which is a red flag there is a lot of unconscious wishful thinking and  fear based projecting going on with respect to who he actually is.)

The dream strongly  stresses, to  my conscious ego, his  humanity.  Unconscious projections toward others  render  people, in our minds,  as more or less than human. This  unconscious psychological process dangerously and erroneously attributes to the human  archetypal powers of a savior-god or  'super'natural demon. The first creates inappropriate and blind idolizing and the other unwarranted horror.  Humans have  had this unconscious  process going on from ancient and into our  post modern times. But we can now, if we choose to, become somewhat conscious of it in ourselves.  Either extreme  of projection seriously compromises rational judgment about any situation/person and dangers can then set in.  As it's  been said, 'What could possibly go wrong?' (I'm using Jungian concepts here which I find  applicable and practical  for understanding these very real dynamics.)

These warnings  of over estimating the menace of  Mr Trump  come from the dream  yet I don't think I should naively take this dream image to  be the 'real'  man any more than my devil like negative conscious assessment. But it is how the dream advises me to consider him if I am interested in having a more balanced  and psychologically truthful and healthy point of view. This is a   constructive way for me to imagine him the dream source is saying. It is not so simple, that I should suddenly not be concerned with his likely being a severely flawed narcissistic human  about to be president. Dreams challenge ones conscious assessment of a situation, how to relate to it,  an appropriate attitude  but they do not suggest one  should ignore what she has objectively  seen and heard, to leave one's physical sense data at the door in favor of wishful or fearful thinking.   The emphasis is:  I should remember he is human, not a god or a devil personified. To think such of  him is  an example of  unconscious projection taking place. Not ever  a good  or healthy thing to be happening but happen it does for us all,  especially regarding persons with extreme double messaging persona's like Donald Trump.

We should always try to withdraw our projections  onto others as we become conscious of them ,otherwise we get lost in knee jerk emotional assessments and wishful or fearful thinking of the situation/person. Or we  take complete confidence that  our supposedly  best calm  reasoned assessment (which is good as far as it goes. But the dream, the Collective Unconscious,  takes us to  a more whole and complete level of  judgment. Bible admirers please recall the importance of dreams there before you judge me as off a deep end.) is an absolutely true assessment. 

The  psychological fact of my having this dream is noting that Trump's persona's  kind of influence and collective effect   is very much an ongoing worry of mine, for myself as well as for our  country. I am investing, the dream suggests,  too much energy into that worry by overestimating how much any human can harm the rest of us as long as we are alert and as conscious as possible. To those who have tried, it  is not easy to give up ones deepest worries or to intentionally discharge their fearful emotion  but the dream says that is my task  regarding my estimate of Donald Trump, for my own good.

President Elect Donald Trump

I have in recent days, even before this dream,  reminded myself that I do not know the real man Trump. And I  now refer instead  to the persona(the public mask) he projects to us , consciously and intentionally  or not. Maybe the dream is seeking to uphold that approach? That is, it is this persona I find so potentially dangerous , not necessarily the real man who I do not have direct knowledge of. His reference to another unhealthy figure to me-Rush(who presents a very similar persona on radio), is a clue  for me personally to not take the dream image to mean the man's  public influence is harmless. This dream may serve the primary purpose  of supporting  my  personal mental health regarding this troubling persona that  has walked onto the world stage. In its imagery the dream says to me, and maybe those who have a similar concern, 'Keep aware but also back off a little on the emotional worry. You will be healthier for it.'

Consultant feedback: "The dream is clearly a compensatory one, Jim, in that it offers an image of Trump that is normal and human and not archetypal. It may be that it's better to take Trump as a human being and not as a demonic demiurge, and  then to support whatever good he does and critique and oppose whatever bad he does.

I think the election was a protest against what many people apparently saw and felt as a wrong direction taken by Progressives. This is normal balancing in a democracy. Trump has entered politics and will discover that this is different from show biz and his business enterprises.

The dream brings Trump down to normal size. 43 is midlife. Maybe he will enter the second half of life one of these days.

Respectfully, ..."