Opening Ourselves To Ever Present Images That Can Healthily Transform Us... January 18, 2020

'Primordial images' refers to the language of dreams and the ancient myths, including those of religious story and fairy tales.

I think Jung is saying these images and feelings, though coming from below and the past , can raise us above our temporary, local material grasp of life and its meaning and endurance.  This is the natural process by which humans have been mindfully or psychologically transformed throughout the ages. 

Primordial repeating images of all humankind and nature nearly always find their way into our best most creative art as novels, drama, painting , poetry , music and film.

When you leave such entertainment where you have been touched deeply, resist concluding , 'It was only a movie or music or play."

It was more likely your potential encounter with the depths, with the primordial images, with the Divine itself. Dont dismiss it. Take it in fully. Meditate on it. Dont miss its life shaping meaning for you. It is far above our mundane surface encounters, sound bites and trivia.

Our culture has sensitized us to give no value or emotional recognition to these windows where the Divine seeks to touch us. We are told that is only fantasy, childishness, superstition rather than the natural material for building up an inner spiritual life.

This is a tragedy-our modern acceptance of a materialistic shallow orientation toward the world, nature and the Sacred.

We can each change that by anticipating and valuing the primordial images as they seek to reach our resisting ego consciousness.

Being Responsible With Any Inner ' Voice Of God'..Jan 20, 2020

This topic is very relavant due to the  present Senate trial on the impeachment of Present Donald Trump.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/trump-supreme-court-shortlister-william-pryor-god-juries.html


Here is another real life example of the kind of controlling religious notions on which President Trump has built his "Trump Is Always Right' following .

If an otherwise rational American juror sincerely believes that God has told him to vote a person ' innocent' ( No one has a right to deny this juror's inner experience in my view) and has told other jurors this, he is ethically obligated to recuse himself or be recused from his jury seat.

Because in our American democracy a juror is pledged to render his decision based 'only on the material facts presented in court' not on his inner spiritual experience which the other jurors have not had.

Mr Trump has tapped into the mindset of such religiously convicted people , including many judge appointees. They sincerely believe their view of God and God's Will( in their heart or their Holy Bible  interpretation) is to be made a civic public obligation, regardless of the best material facts available, on all other citizens. Their religious  view is considered to be the  'right' view for all, made into  government policy, destroying our most basic personal freedom, including those claimed in the Constitution.

 There has always been a strong  thread of this  religiously inspired control-seeking effort in America but it is only now openly encouraged and supported by the President, for personal empowerment, and the appointed and elected leaders surrounding him.

 I think it is historically clear that never has America faced this specific kind of danger and threat. It can change us from a nation of collectivly evolved laws to one of an imposed minority rule. And it can happen quickly.

This is not just another passing political phase leading to any 'more perfect union.' Only determined informed American citizens can correct this contrived situation by publicly expressing themselves non violently .

Other Notes:

This is  a complicated personal and collective  ethical issue. On reflection I  seriously altered the 2nd paragraph to include, ' has told the other jurors'. (that is the case in the article)

When a person uses his own irrational inner assurances to subvert or dismiss the sincere decision making of others he has done them wrong.

A 'God's voice' must be taken seriously but also questioned. I do suspect there are situations where one must make a judgment in spite of only the best physical rational evidence present.

One with a 'voice from God' is still obligated to take in the full weight of the physical evidence even if his judgment goes beyond that. He does not escape the tension. He never parades, 'God told me.'...for that is a very difficult and suffering conclusion to reach.

One can never, in good conscience, yield fully to any human  system that requires her to ignore her heart, the irrational.

 And one also always owes much to his  human peers who are conscientiously, often without any inner assurances, wrestling for the most ethical answers.

Is Human Consciousness Sufficient For The Threats?....December 27, 2019

Evolution's truth is that it's the capacity to adapt -not brute strength , ego intelligence or military power- which wins in the struggle toward new and better human epochs.

 So in our times higher levels of human consciousness , literally more persons becoming more fully who, or better what, they really are is what holds the shape of the future; whether it's toward extinction or a kind of global redemption and renewal.

 Humans have the strongest capacity for grand leaps in suffering consciousness (Increased consciousness, without exception, includes its accepted companion of inner suffering.) in our known world.

Such increased consciousness may be well formed already in some oppressed immigrants, unselfish activists or a quiet musician, farmer, nurse, scholar, cab driver, priest, billionaire etc.

 The question remaining for the common good is, ''Is there enough individual and collective accelerated suffering consciousness among humans to overcome our threatening darkness of science denial, rational materialism and personal/group narcissism?'

 Given the above dynamics, I believe it remains reasonable to trust and ‘hope against hope’ there indeed may be sufficient consciousness for a constructive global outcome.

 There is surely no guarantee. Otherwise we'd lose motivation to become more conscious persons(Ones whose conscious life has integrated new material from our common Unconscious. All have partially done this yet humans appear to have far to go to prevent self destruction.)

 I think this deep underlying reality has long been forecast. For example this ancient question attributed to Jesus: Paraphrasing and interpreting it so it's  more universally applicable, "When such an epochal time like ours has come again to the Earth, Will there be sufficient human consciousness?"

AMERICA IS SHOWING ITS TRUER SELF IN CONGRESS...Janurary 4, 2018

Regardless of party wins something extraordinarily American  happened in November 2018. It is hard to imagine it happening anywhere else in the world right now.

America has shown it's steadfastness to our most promising constitutional roots , of valuing and honoring a broad and diverse representation for a truly living culture.

This Congress is historic, installing more elected officials from women and minority religions and skin color ever. It is regrettable that to some this threatens a deep, but not reflecting America's promise, fear of the obvious and unstoppable 'browning' and increased ethnic diversity of our courageous experiment of a genuinely representative republic government. 

This 'browning' is an evolutionary sociologically  phenomenon, not subject to any political or religious maneuvering or fears. America, to fulfill it's better heart, is fully valuing- not just tolerating -all diverse differences just as many white individuals value his/her unexpected and precious darker skin grandchild.

And this expression of Americans in support of diversity comes in midst of a fearful political/religious effort, , of constant loud anti diversity voices including the President, Shawn Hannity, Laura Ingram and Rush Limbaugh.

America, in this new Congress, clearly challenges three decades of continuous verbiage of hostility toward women, humane immigration, homophobia and demonizing minority religious perspectives.

This demonstration of Americans standing up for all Americans and future Americans is a very bright star in a time that is dangerously dark and chaotic. The promise of a growing diversely represented America is our surest hope for a still living and evolving nation.

http://www.fox9.com/news/4-new-minnesotans-sworn-in-on-historic-day-in-washington-dc?fbclid=IwAR208C3OsQEnP8bRm8BBg2dpYi3d_MrRIzFUEgFxvaZjtwb8yDmu8oidnZk

RESIGNATION OF A GENERAL AND THE ETHICAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF A NATION...December 20, 2018

An  unusually highly respected  civil servant, General James Mattis, has had to conscientiously resign his post due to the chaos at the top of our governmennt.

The statement below can help one more clearly and practically grasp  the unique  importance of individual  human consciousness in the known universe. And this increased consciousness brings with it increased responsibility for the world. The animals can't become aware of and seek solutions to our pressing national and  world problems. They are as dependent on us as the trees and oceans.

Now, as never before, the destiny of our species and our planet depend on how many humans use their consciousness capacity in an intentional creative way, like many never have before. We should know our human Consciousness can serve and support evil destructive trends in the human family just as readily as it can endorse good, truthful and redeeming trends.

The resignation of our Secretary our State may be one of those moments, which seem to be happening in frequent succession, when citizens, who have the luxury of reflecting on the health of the nation, can intentionally call upon this Profoundly Important Personal Consciousness. And with a prayerful searching attitude attune ones personal capacity to choose goodness, sound mindness and truth over their opposites .

General James Mattis

As surely as a  literal star doesn’t know it's a star or a dog that it's a dog,  humans today can understand more forcefully the singular importance of individual human consciousness in our lonely universe. That consciousness has expanded in intensity and capacity since the Age of Enlightenment(re 400 years)

A personal expansion of consciousness can happen when individuals intentionally take their ethical judgments seriously, as if the world depended on us personally. In the end it existentially does. This, I'm convinced, is the nature of the depths of reality. Moral consciousness demands we take ourselves more seriously.

When such a respected person says he can no longer conscientiously remain in leadership in our system, that can wake us from our sleep and stir our common consciousness to exert its intended corrective influence.

More persons potentially can own the importance of how we ethically and responsibly evaluate such sad happenings. Happenings which effect not just our personal world, but the whole world.

At the moment one takes responsibility for personal consciousness and worshipfully offers up an internal commitment to the care of one’s integrity for the good of our world, authentic ethical corrections begin.

An awareness by individuals of the importance of applying his/her God-evolved consciousness is the only thing, I suspect, which can protect our nation and world from the looming chaos.

Related Post:
https://jhibbett.blogspot.com/2018/05/hope-for-planet-rests-on-human.html?m=1

THE BIBLE AND THE LOVE LIFE OF GAY PERSONS....October 4, 2018

Some thoughts on something that continues to divide Americans. Nowhere are different views of the Bible more troublesome in our day than the passages that, on the surface, may seem to blatantly indicate that God is very dipleased with the active  love life of LGBT persons.

This is the primary  source of one of the crippling  splits in our American culture. It is similar to how the Bible was, and still is by more than a few, culturally used to support racism and a belief, conscious or unconscious, in white supremecy. Historians say that even Abraham Lincoln did not fully overcome the bent toward  belief in whites being somehow superior to blacks.

It is not just that  such cruel beliefs are present among us but worse is the practical discrimination, social marginalization and legalized inequality that flows from them.

First, it must be faced honestly that there is no such possible  thing as 'taking the Bible as it is' as our way of applying it  today. That is a self deceiving and, I think, irresponsible approach to the Bible.

To use  and apply the Bible means to  decide, preferably consciously and intentionally, on the means of interpreting and applying it for ourselves.

With what we know in our times I'm thinking  a most profitable way to interpret the Bible is in light of depth psychology. Since the amazing Bible  is on the surface  full of metaphors, visions, miracles and dreams from the ancient past, this is a very fitting way to approach it.

 This way of interpreting it would be similar to taking and learning from it as it were a dream someone(s)  has had. In the book The Bible As Dream by Murray Stein we get help and a feeling for what this approach to the Bible is like.

We can expect such an effort  to change what the few passages used, I think tragically and very unkindly,  to condemn LGBT love today come to mean to us. It will be  something quite  different than how they were taught to me(under the guise of 'taking the Bible as it is') growing up and emphasized as an adult.  Here is a page from that book.

HOPE FOR THE PLANET RESTS ON HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS....May 5, 2018

I don't think any of our present 'we vs them' political ideologies has the depth of energy  or endurance   to lead our American society to genuinely higher unified  thus surviving ground.

But politics, as Plato  says here,  does show us our own tragically divided, ethically decaying situation. Political involvement and interest  is essential  but will never be the sufficient  answer for  necessary change.

 Our collective mass mind is in dire need of being lifted to a truly higher level of human consciousness, above our polarites and  mean spirited differences and fears...a consciousness historically different than ever before and now essential if we are to enter a brighter more whole new epoch for humankind and creation.

Without such a successful transition now our species will have failed what evolution had tried to  prepare us to accomplish....to sufficiently expand consciousness, becoming more fully and openly who we truly are, in the world. We can instead  become another dead end in evolutionary progress and a new path will be tried.. We will have eliminated ourselves.

There are still  bridges in place that are ready to serve this change  from our past epoch of say 2000 years  to the new one. Many disciplines and institutions would serve as bridges  of such a transition and include ...politics, all the branches of serious science,  relevant government and social institutions, news media, social media, inclusive religious traditions, technology, formal education, depth psychology etc.

But none of these combined can have the energy and stamina needed to raise us to the new collective consciousness our situation is evolutionarily demanding of us.

 In short only an unimagined  transformation of the collective psyche , a dawning  of mind and heart after a long spiritual night , of a refreshed  world view and value can propel us successfully beyond our  insistent stalemate. Such an awakening is best described (in ancient  nearly forgotten Sacred symbolc story) as a 'religious'  collective kind of experience.( Not one fully fostered by any present organized religion but truly a new view of old things.)

 (The UFO phenomena of worldwide sybolism which unexpectedly  captured the modern human  mindset  five decades ago  is a mild version of such a collective psychological or 'soul' dynamic. For, whatever its actual  nature, it caused us to momentarily  imagine how human behavior might  appear to an intelligence and consciousness higher than our own. To compare ourselves with something truly superior. That  challenging  kind of experiment no doubt continues within some of our most conscious foreward looking citizens. Such a collective happening is never orchestrated by any political party or church but originates spontaneously from our common human creative depths. That is from the Sacred within us.)

Such a needed natural consciousness-raising  phenomenon in our present times seems the only dynamic capable of sponsoring a unifying shift in all our present diversities, polarities  and seeming pluralistic chaos.

Careful reflection on our unique evolutionary and historical situation worldwide  can bring the sane  and open minded human to gasp and mean it, "God  now help us a little."