OUR GASLIGHTING PRESIDENT MAY AWAKEN US... October 11, 2020

This is another example of our President being  intentionally untruthful and misleading to the nation. The majority of Americans have learned this and do not any longer count on him as having our best and honest interest at heart. 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-fauci/fauci-says-his-remarks-were-taken-out-of-context-in-trump-ad-idUSKBN26W0XM?fbclid=IwAR0hpucipdnlzyQW5PLyiAWAv8hgyz8iSdXVpppFiodAB44RxGWIwXrGEOM

Don't forget our gaslighting, it has all the characteristics of this kind of psychological abuse of its victims, president has taught his devotees to not listen to ordinary responsible,  even if imperfect, news sources. So they only hear what he wants them to hear and as relayed by his own one TV network, such as Fox's Hannity, and talk radio like Limbaugh. So persons  who listen with only one ear, maybe a third of us, never hear the corrections and truth calling out of his false claims and misleading efforts. 

Our nation is in peril as an experiment in democracy where the will of the people is sincerely sought and guides us collectively and where each citizen has a protected voice. 

But It's not enough now to want to return to how we were. Our awful chaotic situation now should teach us that we must expect and help build something better: more ethical, more compassionate, more transparent than what we had before most of us ever heard about Mr Trump. 

To stir us to this new awareness in the end can mean that the Trumpism psychological phenomenon has been evolutionarily just what we needed, to wake us up and to own our opportunity and responsibility to become a better, more just and honest country than we have ever yet been.

GOOD AND EVIL, SO FAR, REMAIN EQUALLY FOUNDATIONAL IN OUR KNOWN UNIVERSE...September 23, 2020

 

I wish this were not the case but it is and in the extreme. Truly opposites in quality of character. Yet no one can in honesty say why two humans can be so different. It may not be to either's personal striving and willing but unconscious factors far deeper.  

I've come  to believe that, at this stage of human evolution, both kinds of character need to be present and seen ever more clearly by the discriminating human public consciousness. We must urgently need to see these presently necessary differences as they are and how they clash and generate very different human attitudes and goals. Such a time of collective consciousness development involves much psychological human stretching and suffering which is now being experienced.

One opposing attitude is grounded in seeing humanity as a divided whole that needs to be drawn together, united, for human survival. The other sees humanity as necessarily permanently split and that one side needs to win and irradicate the other.(These opposing attitudes can openly or secretly exist in any individual, political party or religion)

My present most realistic hope is that a 'new' transformed humanity, where the nature of evil is not irradicated but in unanticipated and necessary ways is channeled to contribute creatively to the whole, is being forged through suffering. Creative suffering  in hope sadly acknowledges the necessary place of good and evil in the present state of the world's unfolding. 

My hope is that good will now be strengthened yet, because it is good, will not strive to irradicate the evil by force. But instead it is a good which restrains itself while humanity further evolves to the authentically, not coerced, higher good. Such evolved good would be a natural state of active love and valuing of all creation and its incalculable interdependent participating parts, each aspect humanly embraced as essential .

We seem to be at the epicenter of such epochal possibilities and changes. There is no guarantee which way this will go.  We can be yet another dead end in evolution's, as the imperfect mind of God, determined suffering trudge to some new optimum state of Divine/Human consciousness. 

Truly it seems to depend on the level of consciousness humans, in significant enough numbers, can by strong effort and much grace achieve. 

Individual humans, from a cleared-eyed grasp of the situation, can intentionally yearn as their primary purpose in a brief life, to make their very unique contribution to this now urgent cosmic plea for increased consciousness.

DREAM: BE KIND, TENDER HEARTED AND FORGIVING ...Sept 17, 2020

I do not carelessly share dreams.  For I think they reveal our most inimate personal selves and often need to be protected.  They are, imo, primarily for personal learning. However they sometimes touch on what is going in our collective life as a community, even as a nation. This one seems to have both of these elements. 

That is why I reluctantly post it here as an example of how a dream can significantly change how one is presently viewing an important life situation or problem. Since one's truthful dream is not created by one's personal thinking consciousness it need not be offensive to one's self and hopefully not to others. It is simply there as a psychological or spiritually subjective fact.  It arrives not through one's will. It really should not be attacked like one's conscious arguments might. So I'll not defend my or any other person's dreams. They are simply objectively what they are.  And they are generally a surprise, like this one, to the dreamer.

What a dream means is a matter of interpretative opinion. I'll share my initial thoughts about this one. That should help expand the dream. After all the dream came from or through me. So it's right I try to learn from it more than anyone else initially would. I have that responsibility to it.

 DREAM: My former white Counseling mentor, Dick D., invited me to preach at an all black church. I arrived and was warmly greeted by enthusiastic worshipers. But I had no words prepared. They gathered round me giving me songs and smiles of encouragment. I was being built up by them to a moment of hopefully having an important message. I was sweating, hoping for words to come. But nothing significant came to my mind or from my lips. I was talking  between breaks in the singing but was only thanking and praising them for their goodness toward me. This went on and on. They had unlimited patience.  They did not rush me. 

I was even given a folded bundle of bills in thanks for coming. These looked like foreign money but I was not sure. They were a bright glistening green color.

Finally these words came clear, simple  and repeatedly from me and nothing more: "Be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving each other." End of dream. 

THOUGHTS: I think dreams nearly always seek to balance and make more healthy and true one's present conscious and always somewhat blind attitudes and beliefs regarding highly emotional matters.

My conscious reaction was to think this is what white people need to be told, not blacks...to be kind to people of color for their suffering mistreatment from our deeply ingrained systemic racism. But that is not the dream's message to me. It was to black persons not whites. It is significantly counter nuanced from what I'd expect.

IMPORTANT. It needs remembered that when a human family or group has been systematically  abused and traumatized they most likely at first trun much of their sorrow, hurt and anger toward each other rather than to their abuser. For one reason it is much safer. But that use of energy  may only make them less fortified at transcending the abuse and somehow most helping to stop it. And of disarming the actual nature of the enemy, in this case the harsh victimizing  racism built into our American social and legal systems.

So the sermon is shown being primarily for persons of color. Black teachers and leaders I believe have said for decades that our minority people of color are wise to come together and galvanize themselves with acceptance of each other and with creative consciousness of their mutual wounds. Then, the dream seems to say, no outer injustice like racism or bigotry will be able to keep standing against the strong and righteous appeals for American equal justice under the law. 

So, the dream implies black persons are strengthening themselves at the very core by "being generously kind to each other, tender hearted and forgiving each other."

The dream is saying that as discriminated against minorities keep making this spiritually courageous movement within themselves, which I trust is happening more strongly than ever before in our present moment, a growing mountain of white persons of good and honest will will finally 'see' and join them in their insistence for justice. And in the goal of finally overcoming the strong forces of bigoted racism that have plagued our nation. And have hurt the souls of us all from the very start. And which sadly are now being even more overtly  expressed in highest places of national power. 

This I think this is the social/spiritual message of the dream to me.

This perhaps is more than a personal dream for my own learning but one that could speak to the collective consciousness of both American whites and of color. This dream image, as I see it, potentially  attempts to break into the one sided opposing polarities which divide us. This points toward a 'union of opposites' instead of the historical stalemate of cruel harsh divisions.

AMAZING GRACE.. September 9 2020

I suspect there can be extreme unplanned stress situations in human life that set things up for uncommon experiences of grace.  Such grace, like any transforming personal experience, is never a rational one eventually reached by reason, thought or study. It comes after those efforts of the ego will have been tried and found wanting.

A God comes when the human has exhausted every mindful resource, has done so honestly with oneself and has reserved no social or material backup plan. That coming of a God( I say  'a God' for our human 'idea' of God necessarily is a feeble, incomplete, uncertain and inaccurate one.) whether by dream, vision or what seems at first to be an external unnatural  'miracle' carries an authority like one has not imagined or experienced. It simply transforms ones point of view about self, others and the world. That change teaches in one way or another that 'all that is or can be is one' and so nothing inner or outer is to be rejected as having no value or purpose. 

Everything, including as in the pictured quote, the most serious 'error and sins' is to be considered retrospectively as not only important but necessary for the unfolding of grace in the world.  

This transforming of the human, and likely of the Sacred, is not a matter of rational reason. So it is profoundly a matter of the heart or soul, of inner awakening. This is the ineffable nature of grace and the 'insatiable love of all that is or can be' which surely must be its foundation.

I suspect that the nation and the world can now only be set on course for a good and loving/compassionate future, or any future at all, by such grace experiences.

A latest Cosmology of Physics (https://www.npr.org/2020/09/03/909423906/how-everything-will-end-according-to-a-cosmologist) points to the rational necessity of an eventual end of the universe. That, I suspect, would be only if grace is not able to find it's way to humanity so that what can be called God and Human are in union such as has not yet generally ever happened before.

So because of the Human's and God's yearning and need, whether primarily conscious or unconscious, for grace; such transformed humans now, wherever they live across the globe, rightly live in excruciating honesty with themselves. And in a Sacred respect for the role of all others and an intense caring for the Earth.

TRUMPISM, A SIGN OF A BETTER WORLD COMING? ...August 19, 2020

Destructive Trumpism, may be a sign of a much better more loving world being birthed. The seeds of a new epoch in human spiritual evolution are sprouting in a least expected  uncomfortable way. It could likely come no other way but the seeming demise of what has been the best in us. That best isn't any longer good enough for the high demands of Evolution, even of God. A better improved culture is now a necessity to meet the challenges and demands of a new epoch of human life. 

This need for an improved view of our human potential and responsibility is not to blame our forebears. I've no doubt I'd have then done what they did and mostly in good conscience. It is rather about a new understanding of our evolution as a complicated culture. Much good has been done since the Mayflower landed and especially much material progress. 

But what we can now see clearly is that often the good done for some was at the expense and evil done to others and to our home- Earth. We have lagged behind in our spiritual/psychological/ethical development. But that is why there is evolution, so we can do better. That is why we are now being pushed to  clearly see our mix of good and bad as a nation. And why in this sense we must do better...if the nation is to have a healthy and even a surviving future. 

And because the USA has won great respect in the world over the past century how we respond to present crises will affect much of the world, 'As goes America so goes much the world.' We seem to be at a pivoting point of magnitude that occurs maybe about every two thousand years.

Others' concerns about the destructiveness of this presidency are mine precisely. This  destructive Trump phenomenon is far beyond what we have been accustomed to explaining by rational or reasoned means. Perhaps something beyond the rational on the positive side is also alive and seeking its redeeming ways as well. I'm driven to such a hope.  And others have long pointed to such a way.

This would mean that an answer, a solution, a direction does not lie in our typical means of rational change.  That is our traditional politics, religions,  economics and education as we have known them. These  will not alone be the weight needed to turn this dark tide that is far more than person Trump. 

What I imagine would be an evolutionary energy that both lies, as yet mostly unconscious, at the foundation of these evolved rational institutions and structures. These 'dependables' appear to be caving in as we helplessly watch. And these active mostly unconscious energies, while building on them, will also transcend these long dependable structures and disciplines. This process will develope structures meeting the needs of a new epoch. This would be a process of collaboration between the best of developed human consciousness with the factors and energies of the Collective  Unconscious.

What I'm describing is a deeper and higher meaning, as God must be to really be God, of the word religion. We are in a strong religious climate now in the sense of needing the unknown hand, guide and creator of all which has been or can be. This would not be primarily  a revival of our institutional religions with their competition and limited rational views of 'God' but a going beyond them. We'd need to be open to 'God' being more and different than the religions presently define God. God itself will be understood as evolving as all things in the universe are. These God powers or factors would build upon yet also transcend and go beyond our rational religious notions. 'Are we willing to trust what we don't fully know or imagine?' becomes an urgent question.

Some greatest minds of theology, philosophy, depth psychology, and Quantum science have explored these hopeful though frightening, because they are beyond the rational, efforts to hold a world together. These energies, very naturally arise at times of great collective stress, are spiritual/psychological not primarily  material phenomena. 

And God gifted geniuses from different disciplines along the path of human history give us pointers to this new epoch we seem to have deeply entered. 

Some ancients would likely explain it by our now leaving the 2000 year old Sign of the the Fishes, to enter that of Aquarius. Aquarius is an extraordinarily positive symbol. Christianity in its many forms has been the effective Western religious dominant world view of the Fishes Age, Pisces(the gospels have much fish symbolism).  But in an evolving universe nothing remains static if it's to be effective for it's original purpose.

Theologian Paul Tillich spoke of and described phenomena of a 'religion above religion', a 'morality above morality', a 'God above God', a 'Reason beyond rationality.'  

So the nation and world may have now been ushered into such a transition which practically forces us to take on a new 'religious' attitude toward trusting in the unknown in ways that can be very good but far beyond our reasoning ego consciousness. Trusting such unseen powers for good Tillich called trusting our 'Ultimate  Concern'. 

Humanity finds ourself being pioneers again but at a level far grander and mysterious than that image has ever yet been in human history. It potentially can bring out of us a good that has not yet been seen or imagined. A humanity that is able to love itself and the Earth at levels never  yet possible. 

Psychiatrist Carl Jung said, "We now know our inner world is just as vast and deep as the outer world." We have no way of knowing the limits to the growth of human consciousness. That is my hope.

'TOUGH GUY' ISN'T THE IMAGE THE PUBLIC OR POLICE NEED OF POLICING TODAY...June 6, 2020

I'd like to expand on the theme of this news article. I suspect that in general American males have for many decades taken being, or subtly threatening to be, ' a tough guy' as the preferred and most effective way to be manly and  emotionally and physically  safe.

So male  police have overtly and exaggeratedly presented themselves that way to the public,  especially to the  part of the public -people of color-  they perceive as a threat to their authority.

The police are in a very unenviable impossible role because the white public has expected them to protect and shield them from people of color,  especially  black males, who they  historically imagine as a dark threat if not contained. 

Another shameful part of that false fear narrative has been that white women should fear black men. But police would protect them from assault. Little were the police expected to protect black men under ongoing physical and economic assault in America.

Much of these attitudes and motivations are barely conscious to us white folks and that makes them doubly resistant to change and to reshape.

But after 400 years of this slave master 'tough guy ' effort, especially presented in the image of police, by whites the psychological atmosphere of George Floyd's murder appears to be helping white folks to 'see' that this trusted effort to intimidate black people has not only always back fired it is simply not needed.  Instead whites can more safely dwell in an appropriate, more respectful and mutual way with dark skinned persons.

This article is about how the 'tough guy image' has become much less popular and attractive  , including among many police departments, by white Americans.

Recent days of the protest environment are  showing that dropping the 'tough guy' image is a smart and effective way to make the streets , and maybe life in general, safer and more pleasant for everyone. (Incidentally this is in strong contrast to the President's efforts. His 'law and order' rhetoric is a dog whistle to his Always Trump fans that the government will keep its thumb on people of color, poor whites and those pushing for their equal human rights.)

The ' tough guy' image has shown itself being  outgrown before our very eyes. This could become the new more mature and responsible way of white folks conceptualizing and relating  in mutual respect to blacks. And give law enforcement persons a more human way to enforce the law for everyone's benefit and safety.

I hope these observations are significantly more than wishful thinking on my part. If so we might see a ray of hopeful light in what has always been America's  most serious spiritual and ethical problem.

https://abc7ny.com/why-tough-guy-policing-fails/6235054/

TIME FOR AMERICA TO STOP EXCUSING OUR RACISM...June1, 2020

Im going to honestly vent here. I wrote this three days ago. I'm sick of our American excuse-filled  racist cycle.

If these protest crowds could just live by totally  non violence discipline as MLK did. Actual human progress is much messier. I'm confident most protestors are committed to non violence. Some who are sincere just reach that  understandable ' I can't stand it anymore' moment and lose self control.   They are young. Giving into rioting is commonly human but also a serious mistake.   I think  there are strong dark  forces, here and foreign, that want to see a divided  America so they intentionally agitate  violence to happen.

BUT when whites get single mindedly upset when looting and burning occurs we ought not then begin verbally blaming and warning protestors in general. This is where we always get to.  The blame eventually comes down on the protestors as if they are to solve this American problem they did not create. They mostly can only protest. That's their only legal significant power.  They don't have the power to make the needed changes. Only the powerful majority and its institutions can sincerely decide to do that.  We only started that with the 1960 Civil Rights Legislation. We seldom follow through after national incidents of police brutality and murder.

Why aren't national forces ever being called not to handle the 'problem of protestors' violence  but to seriously stop the  everyday systemic  violence against minorities?

We just can't ever quite turn it round and hold the true empowered crimimals and white collar officials accountable and  get publicly angry about that, the actual  problem.  The killers and abusers usually walk free with the same job whether officials or police. That is our repeating cycle.

I think I saw this pattern begin again this time with the lowest possible charge  given at the start. 3rd degree murder /manslaughter.  The crowd and now the nation saw and heard  something more serious by the alleged killer and three other professional policeman watch and do nothing . Nothing.

If this were reversed color wise I'm confident it would be very different and a charge that matches the crimes witnessed would  have come swiftly. And It's not just once , its our continuing  repetition and we all in open God's Presence see it.  And  then always expect the victims, with such limited power, to straighten it out, make it right.  The victims are regularly expected to be the example of maturity, integrity, calm and even the primary agent of change.

The whole cycle shows how irrational  and truly blind  inbred racism is in our land. It is our original sin and we've yet to consistently look it in the eye and take responsibility.

And sadly, present national leadership is less capable of facing this than we've had in modern times. I can't imagine it being weaker. That's why protestors and those they represent are so discouraged and nearly hopeless.

I suspect with our excuses we are nearly out of time to correct it. There is little light. I think of  the imperfect mind of Evolution searching for the right thing to come forth. And evolution cares nothing about where it comes from. Evolution cares not about the demise of a nation whose citizens do not rise to their necessary ethical consciousness. Evolution, even God,  will surely look elsewhere.