The change we need, and what we need to make it.

I've always wanted to do something like this, but my previous attempts have been underwhelming. Once I tried to have a philosophical column in a school newspaper, but the students were not overly interested in reading. Or thinking about ideas. Then I tried a rather short lived blog about the same things. That didn't go so great. (though I may repost this on it, just to see.)

Here on ATS, I think I may be able to actually get some valuable feedback and some discussion going. We have some wonderful thinkers here, and many people who can form a solid argument one way or the other. What better place to try and tackle philosophical ideas?

So what am I going to start with? Well, here in north America, and I would venture elsewhere, we seem to have a very strong yearning for a better society. There is a lot of disagreement as to what that society would be like, or how we would get to it. This is causing some very vocal and worrying schisms in our society. You needn't look far to see the evidence of this.

What is to be done then? How do we get our change? How do we build a better world? And also important, how do we get everyone on board with it? Barring that, how can we keep those who aren't on board with it from destroying what we create?

Many would say it must start with a completely change government, we must get 'our' people in power and throw out the rest. Then we can start effecting change and start on our journey to a better society. I'd like top disagree with this.

I'm sure any number of you can think of your own example of a political candidate who sounded good to us, but after being in power for awhile, they seem to change. They become corrupted and just become part of the problem. Suddenly our hopeful candidate is just another power broker.

I'd venture that this comes about due to the nature of the politics game. It's a very twisted game they play, where favors and who you know is much more important then what you stand for. The only way to get anywhere is with friends in high places. So you compromise a little here, give a little there, and before you know it, just another cog.

So how do we stop this from happening to those we want as our representatives? On a more basic level, how could we keep ourselves from falling into this trap? This isn't just a problem of politics, it's a problem in business, it's a problem in our personal lives, it's a problem the whole world over. It's a problem of trust.
We don't trust people, we can't. Experience has shown us that people will rip us off for their own gain. Politicians do it. Businessmen do it. Our kin will do it. In short, we can think of examples of people of almost any walk of life doing it.

Why though? Why would we make a world so distrusting, where the only way to get things done is through deceit and secret deals? We didn't just decide one day to make this world, it happened over time. Bit by bit. We gave up honesty in favor of our 'safety'. Trust gave way to suspicion. And now suspicion gives way to paranoia.
So obviously, we must regain each others trust. We must rebuild the bridges we've burned. We must reshape the society we live in. But wouldn't that mean opening ourselves up to more pain? Wouldn't people come and take advantage of us and our new openness?

Yes. Yes they would. So then what? We change the game. Make it so that dishonesty is not tolerated. Make so that dishonesty of any sort simply is not welcome. Be it professionally integrity, personal integrity, spiritual integrity, any form of lying must be held to the same standard of honesty.

So how do we get others to do this? We don't. We can't. Nothing you say or do can force some one to be honest. They must want to. You must want to.

If enough people hold to the value of honesty, then they will be able to make a network of trust among them and their peers. People will remember you as a honest person, and some may even choose to be like you.
We would be the alternative to all the lies in the world. We would be the new game. Piece by piece, person by person, we could rebuild the webs of trust that have been broken and twisted. We could effect a positive change on the whole world.

It would be a hard thing at first though, indeed it will be a hard thing. Don't assume otherwise. If you were running a business it could be the difference between huge profits, or doing the job right. In your religious life it could be the difference between clinging to a untenable idea, or rejecting the spiritually false. In your personal life, it could be the difference between being accepted by the crowd, or taking a stand.

In my life, it has meant not being afraid of those with more power then me. It has meant casting off 'friends' who were only in it to take advantage of me, and taking a few back again once I had seen their change. It has meant throwing out ideas and beliefs that I had once though unquestionable because I had the honesty of spirit to examine things before the light of truth.

I'm no prophet. I'm no great thinker. I'm just a man who wants to make a point and make a difference. I hope you were able to gather that point from this mass of words. I hope it may make you examine your life in a new light. I hope. I hope for a better tomorrow.

It's often said that you can't solve a problem from the level at which it is created. I believe this applies to the political side of what you are saying. Correcting political issues is never going to happen from a political level. Politics is Greek for "many ticks," or more to the point "many blood-sucking insects," and politics will always be politics as usual in this capitalist society so long as something fundamental does not change.


The fundamental change I am thinking of, is learning to "think" with your heart instead of your brain. This is science, not a metaphor. Your brain has a specific purpose and it is not to dominate everything in your life. Your heart, gut and spine also have neurons in them, and in many ways are equally or even more important than your brain. One of these cases is dealing with other human beings. When we try to "rationalize" how to interact with people, like not tolerating dishonesty as you say, that only creates more problems, because we are not coming from a truly loving place when we "crack down" on liars (and who has not lied?). When you "think" from your heart, you feel real compassion and a direct physical connection with all of life, and you can sympathize and understand with love more fully, and correct the problem from the more fundamental level. You don't have to like someone, but you can still always feel that physical connection, that common breath of life that you both share, your hearts both beating, and you both yearning to feel loved and respected.


Carl Jung, that brilliant Swiss psychologist, helped many emotionally disturbed people find peace and understanding through his analysis of the human mind. But when he visited Native Americans for the first time, he was taken aback by what they told him, when he realized they did not have all these same problems that Western society does. He was told that we think with our heads too much when we should be thinking with our hearts. The natives told him that thinking all with the head was a literal dis-ease of modern man. It's such a simple thing, and yet we seem to have forgotten about that vital connection there. We can't fake being compassionate. It has to be real. Then we will be able to address these problems more honestly and effectively.

The change we need is simple, yet profound. We need to realize that all is one. That's it! Then BOOM!!! Ascension and peace.

And it is realizable, but the human ego by its nature sets itself up against it to oppose this simple truth. So you have to bypass your ego to get there which is often difficult, but it is a matter of choice. So choose already.

so true!!!