It Will Take a Revolution

Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history...the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom--Lucifer -- Saul Alinsky (1909-1972) Dedication to "Rules For Radicals" How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! -- Isaiah 14:12

This article actually started out to be about the Ebola outbreak, but as I was concluding the article my muse (Paraclete) kept nudging me in a different direction. The next thing I knew I had written this article, which doesn't have much, if anything, to do with Ebola at all. What started me going off track, or on track, as the case may be, was the subject of population control/reduction. There are currently a number of influential people who are enamored with the idea of reducing the world's population--some of them would like to reduce it quite substantially. That is not "conspiracy theory" craziness--a modicum of research will show it to be a valid concern. In a connect the dots manner the subject of population reduction led me on to other concerns, which in turn led to still others, until I was confronting a whole host of issues, and trying to make sense of it all. For example: There are Iranian radicals who are just itching to start a catastrophic war so as to bring about the return of the Mahdi, the 12^th Imam. There are any number of Christians who believe we are in the Last Days, and are in fact praying for Armageddon. There is ISIS run amok. There is the Ebola outbreak. There are scientists working in revolutionary fields such as transhumanism and nanotechnology, who have no functioning moral compass. Relativism, multiculturalism, and arrogant secularism run rampant. The list goes on and on.

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Expansive joy of surrender to God

The world seems to be rushing ever more quickly toward some sort of closure, and many of us sense it. The popularity of dystopian books and movies during the past decade appears to bolster such a view of our zeitgeist. What follows is how I make sense of it all. I'll run it up the flagpole and if anyone salutes, that's fine, and if no one salutes, that's fine too--it's just my take on things. I apologize in advance if you find my article a somewhat bumpy ride--the nature of the material necessitated numerous abrupt segues; else the article would have quickly and easily turned into an unwieldy tome. That being said, let me begin. Behind it all; behind all the glamour and glitz, sturm und drang and razzmatazz, is the struggle between good and evil. That struggle is not the ultimate reality, spiritually speaking, but for most of us here on earth it is a conflict of some import. I have found that a helpful way of looking at this conflict is to see it as a struggle between ego and spirit; between the contractive pride of self-aggrandizement, and the expansive joy of surrender to God. The ego's stance was neatly summed up by John Milton (1608-1674) when in his book "Paradise Lost" he had Lucifer exclaim upon his arrival in hell: "Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heaven." Ego would concur with that sentiment as a matter of course. In fact, because Lucifer's statement is so emblematic of the ego's stance, the ego may be said to be Luciferian--not necessarily evil mind you, but certainly prideful, self-important, and arrogant. Because ego is all about Self, it is a contractive, restrictive state of being Spirituality on the other hand stresses humility and expansion--obviously the two modes of being do not see eye to eye. We are, ultimately, talking about the conflict between the darkness of narcissistic nihilism, and the light of spirit.

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. For in [God] we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.... -- 1 John 1:5, Ephesians 5:8, Acts 17:28, Romans 8:17

When the Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal" it is stating the truth. The key word there is "created"--we are obviously not born equal, but we are created equal. Keeping in mind that spiritual metaphors are tools pointing toward the truth and never the truth itself, it is close to the mark to say that we are each divine sparks from the holy fire of Creation. Having "population reduction" as an idee' fixe, as all too many of elites do, is symptomatic of the contracting, egoic, ultimately nihilistic, viewpoint. There is not enough space! There is not enough food! There are not enough resources! There is not enough...not enough everything. Lack and limitation...woe is me! Entropy, death, angst and ennui, oh my. Spirit says bullsh--t! Be fruitful and multiply! Grow and expand! Reach out, innovate, invent and improvise. Explore outer space as if you belong there. We have a divine mandate to explore and grow. We are the children of God and our destiny awaits us. Celebrate life! A few words here on humility: In the spiritual realm true humility, that is, a healthy humility, has nothing whatsoever to do with abasement or humiliation. Essentially it is...well someone has already put it into better words than I can.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. -- Mark: 12:30

That is spiritual humility, and it is anathema to our egos. Ego loathes humility more than Superman does kryptonite. True humility may be all fine and good, but what exactly are we being asked to surrender to? God of course--but what sort of God? Folks tend to think that either you believe in God or you don't, but it is quite a bit more complex than that. What sort of God we believe in (or disbelieve in; as even atheists have some notion of the God that they refute), that is, whatever our concept of God is, becomes of paramount importance in our lives--it directs the life we lead and the type of people we are, and will become. As I have walked my spiritual path I have picked up various concepts of God, and then later dropped them as if they were shoes that had become too tight, hobbling me. I had to discard them in order to move on. I spent quite a while with a concept of God that was a sort of cross between Santa Claus and Godzilla--that concept was rather hard to let go of actually (who wants to p--s off Godzilla?). My definition of God at this point is simply love--make that Love, with a capital "L."

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. -- 1 John 4:8

It is worth noting that the above scripture does not say that God gives love, or is loving--it says that God is love. Generally speaking, when we speak of "love" we are all too often referring to a toxic mix of lust, desire, want, need, and jealously -- which is not something I would want to step in, let alone surrender my heart and soul to. Suffice it to say, our (mis)understanding of love is in dire need of a major overhaul.

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)

Be that as it may, a major sticking point for many people is a question that runs along the lines of: "How can a God that is love permit the horrors, the pain, and the misery that is so prevalent in this world?" That is, of course, a great question, and it is one that vexed me for decades. I have answered it to my own satisfaction, and perhaps my answer(s) might be of interest to some--but unfortunately the subject would take us too far afield. A partial answer will have to suffice for now. While enmeshed in the "mortal coil" that is our physical body and dominated by the demands of ego, we tend to "see through a glass darkly." As we evolve spiritually our levels of consciousness are raised, and we see things more clearly, from a more elevated position. Sometimes after a period of study a high level of spiritual clarity is experienced (although it can, and does, also occur spontaneously with no warning). At such a high level of consciousness questions evaporate as "it all" wordlessly makes sense. The sage author, or sage and author, Alan Watts put it like this:

Quite apart from the difficulty of relating this sensation to the problem of evil and pain, there is the question of the very meaning of "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well," [Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)]. I can only say that the meaning of the assertion is the experience itself. Outside that state of consciousness it has no meaning, so much so that it would be difficult even to believe in it as a revelation without the actual experience. For the experience makes it perfectly clear that the whole universe is through and through the playing of love in every shade of the world's use, from animal lust to divine charity. -- Alan Watts (1915-1973) "This Is It"

"Outside that state of consciousness it has no meaning"--you can see the problem inherent in relating higher states of consciousness to those of us in the lower levels. It is like trying to explain rainbows to someone blind from birth. Metaphors, similes, and analogies (parables) become the lingua franca of spiritual discourse out of necessity. Of course one can always retreat into a profound silence. In the words of Lao Tsu, ''Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know." (I might mention that Lao Tsu himself was actually pretty chatty--at least he wrote a lot. What that might say about him I leave up to the reader).

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. -- Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus"

While silence has a profound and vital part to play in spirituality, it is generally not the optimum means of communicating information -- it leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation. This is where religious teachings can be (but all too often are not) of great assistance. We are currently in a race down to the wire between ego and spirit, between contracting and expanding, between nihilism and spirituality, between Lucifer and God. We are on the cusp of ushering in either "a new dark age made more sinister...by the lights of perverted science," or moving "forward into broad, sunlit uplands" (or, of course, we may be on the verge of kissing our collective butts goodbye). It is true that we live in a time of great upheaval, danger, and confusion--but we also live in a time of incredible opportunity and hope. There are many people who are ready to awaken to a greater reality, a brighter reality, a spiritual reality. Would you not like to experience joy, bliss, and a peace "that passes all understanding?" For enlightened self-interest if nothing else I am sure that most people would say yes--even ego likes the sound of those spiritual states of being (and will try to co-opt them in a heartbeat). Those are just some of the levels of higher consciousness available to us--right here, right now. Please connect the dots with me: It is generally accepted that God is in a "place" we call heaven--but where is heaven? Jesus told us exactly where heaven is; he was quite specific in His directions -- which are nonetheless almost universally ignored. He told us not to pay attention to people who claimed heaven was to be found in some location "over here" or "over there." He told us that heaven was all around us (some translations say within us).

"Neither shall they say, 'Lo here!' or, 'lo there!' for, behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." -- Luke 17:21 This perfect, clear perception--which is truth. A baffling and perverting carnal mesh Binds it, and makes all error: and, to KNOW, Rather consists in opening out a way Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape, Than in effecting entry for a light Supposed to be without. -- Robert Browning (1812-1889) "Paracelsus" Part I

We live in God's world, but we do not in the least know it as it is. Heaven is all about us -- it is not a distant locality afar off in the skies, but all around us now. ...We do contact a very tiny fragment of it, and that tiny fragment we call the universe; but even that little bit we see, for the most part, all awry. -- Emmet Fox (1886-1951) "The Sermon On The Mount"

How is that possible? When most of us look around our immediate environment we will quickly conclude that while it may be many things, it sure ain't heaven. But the fault lies in us, not heaven. Let those who have eyes see.

They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness.... -- Psalm 82:5

I believe the time is ripe for humanity to stop piddling around in the puerile playpen of materialism, or waiting around for God to do something.

Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? -- Psalm 94:9

Is not he who fashioned the intellect not intelligent? Let those who have ears hear. God has blessed us with free will, and wasting our time waiting for Godot is a craven copout. We should be fanning the divine spark in ourselves until it bursts into flame, and claiming our divine inheritance. Has humanity not spent enough time wallowing in the mire of spiritual ignorance and egoic delusion? Is it not time to leave the "pigs and pods," come to our senses and return home? While I will not stand idly by and watch decency and goodness be used as a rug-mat for barbarians and spiritual morons -- I am well aware that such an attitude is merely a variation on the "same old-same-old" force versus force gambit that has played out in this world for so long, and which, at best, results in a temporary "peace" while folks reload. Humanity has tried innumerable permutations of the old "let's try kicking their butt" ploy for God knows how long, but sooner or later it always winds up with the same old end game--more butt kicking, new and improved butt kicking. It is a never ending vicious circle. Blanket pacifism is no answer. You want the likes of ISIS to run things? Like it or not we have to sometimes fight for certain things or we will lose them--freedom for example. What is needed IMO is a spiritual revolution (in conjunction with physical action on the mundane plane). I am not talking about some pumped up tent revival or some new Great Awakening -- I mean an honest-to-God revolution -- one that kicks out the jams and blows current religious paradigms to smithereens. It is the only way I can see that humanity can be saved. Intellect on its own is simply not up to the job, nor are the Judeo/Christian traditions, given their current state of anemia, doubt, confusion, and disarray (at least in the West--Christianity seems to be doing fairly well in Asia, Africa, and South America). Not all of us are born to be gurus, saints, sages and seers--but we can certainly practice faith until such a time that belief is supplanted by experiential knowledge. Faith in what? Faith in God, faith in Jesus, faith in something bigger than our egos, bigger than us. Faith in something good, something living and vital--something that compels and impels us to expand and grow in wisdom and truth.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Highly evolved spiritual souls have historically counterbalanced massive amounts of humanity's intrinsic negativity--but such beings have always been few and far between. On the other hand, the cumulative effect of millions of people turning toward God with a simple faith comprised of hope and belief would have a positive effect on humanity's collective unconscious that may well be what turns the tide. Surely each of us can do that much. If enough people turn toward the light, the effect on our world would be revolutionary--beyond the shadow of a doubt. Allow me to pass along a few words of caution as this article comes to a close. Dr. David R. Hawkins (1913-2012), whose teachings I have the greatest respect for, stated that 50% of the world's spiritual teachers are not to be trusted. These charlatans, conmen (and women), and simply misguided individuals, contribute to making the daunting challenges of spiritual progress even more difficult...but this is not the time to follow down that particular trail. Let me just say that the old adage caveat emptor--buyer beware--applies to the spiritual realm as well as the material marketplace. As I say, we are involved in a race down to the wire--and I suspect it will be a photo finish.

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. -- Deuteronomy 30:19