After weeks of silence, I just had a call from “Alice.” A pleasant surprise. She lives deep in the pure-land boonies. In her neck of the woods, internet connection is – at best — intermittent.

We were cut off four times before giving up.

Though we don’t always see eye-to-eye, she’s one of my soul family:

Alice groused over the poor connection: “We pay much higher taxes out here. But we don’t get the same internet service you do in town. It’s not fair!”

What can I say? That it’s part of the UN plan? As a matter of fact, their 2030 goal is to drive people off the land. Everyone’s being crowded into densely packed cities where they can be tightly monitored and controlled by . . . .

I thought, but didn’t say, “Honey, there’s method to the madness of your high taxes and zero service. They’re meant to force your out of your home.” The big picture isn’t her subject. She resists what’s unfamiliar. So I let it pass.

The conversation turned to the election. She’s adamant it makes no difference who’s elected. Nothing will change, either way. There, I couldn’t disagree more.

She mistrusts the President because he’s uneducated. Huh? Street-smarts don’t count? Lack of higher degrees could well be an asset. On my part, much of what was learned at university later had to be unlearned.

Alice says she’ll depend on SCIENCE to decide. ARG!! The empirical science paradigm is exactly what’s blinding the world to the inner dynamics of what going on!!!

How can there be effective communication, internally much less between friends, when your operating paradigm rules out two-thirds of existence?

How can there be unity or comm-unity when the very paradigm that would support them is disallowed?

The biased, censored “news” that filters through shows us only what’s going on at surface level: political claims and counter-claims.

The incomplete, misleading paradigm of empirical science leaves us vulnerable to propaganda. Without wisdom tools to guide us — help us see through through the maze of misinformation — we’re easy prey.

God and the good angels are broadcasting loud and clear. But it’s hard to through. The message is being jammed, the signal blocked.

I asked what Alice meant by science. It boiled down to self-interest. What’s in it for me? Whose personality is relatable.

I urged her, before deciding, to pray. I meant, “Be still. Listen to your heart.” But she misunderstood. “The clergy are just as bad,” she countered. True, though sadly, not to the point.

But she doesn’t have time for my posts. Right now she’s too busy. Looks forward to reading later, when things quiet down.

Honey, your later isn’t going to happen.

Today’s reading speaks equally to me, to Alice, and the rest of us.

Two components of Back To What’s Basic reappear here. Today’s reading begins where that one ended, with FAMILY. DEVELOPMENT returns, again from a changing line.

It bears repeating:

Inside the FAMILY one learns to play out given roles. This makes later success in roles on the job and in the larger community possible. Clearly defined relationships make communication easy. Respectful cooperation with others earns trust and acceptance from the human family. Avoid roles not suited to your nature.

Without a complete, accurate paradigm, the family unit (along with its benefits) is collateral damage. No wonder BLM calls for its destruction. That would serve UN goals just fine. But it would end all hope of human survival — life on planet Earth as we know it.

With intriguing symmetry, the bottom and top lines of Family both change. The bottom line is associated with the root chakra, the foundation of physical form. The top line is associated with the crown chakra, the human link with divine guidance.

The bottom line advises, “Clear rules and guidelines should be established from the beginning.”

My take: The foundations of a positive future must be based on a complete and accurate paradigm where all levels are included, aligned, harmonized and prioritized. The family unit (the basic building block of society) depends on this bedrock.

With the foundation established, the line changes:

Completion is the result of gradual, step-by-step DEVELOPMENT. A calm attitude and gentle actions will bring steady progress leading to success. The only way to establish yourself now is to let things develop naturally. Giving in to strong feelings and acting on impulse would defeat your purpose. Avoid hesitation. Avoid haste.

Establishing a viable foundation is just the beginning. Thought requires action. Beliefs have to integrated into daily life and expressed consistently in all we do.

Next, we shift attention to the top line. It advises, “Rise above worldly concerns. Create good work of lasting value.” There’s more than immediate personal self-interest involved. The future is at stake.

This heeded, the first word of the bottom line’s change, “Completion,” comes to fruition. The top line changes to:

Perfected actions reach COMPLETION. From this balance, however, new elements spring forth which create future imbalance. In this way, the cycles of nature are continued. This is not cause for sadness. Perfection lies in the whole life process, not in the beauty of a single peak moment. Avoid rigid attachment.

Just as the American revolution could not freeze the Founder’s values forever in our hearts, the faith and freedom they fought for cannot be taken for granted. They must be earned and redefined by each generation.

Accepting the responsibility to reinvent and revitalize our heritage, the combined outcome is:

Look within yourself for the cause of RESISTANCE from others. If you are closed, they will not cooperate. The situation will open up when your mind becomes open. Seek the company of people who can help you overcome mental blocks. Do not blame others for your problems.

Resistance occurs on every level of the Life Wheel. Physical tension. Political subversion. Emotional shut down. Mental denial. As a major 2020 theme, it appeared earlier. It comes back later.

Understandably, among us mere mortals, resistance to perceived threats is virtually universal. Sanctions against truth-bearers are horrific. (Ask Plato. Christ.) Though, on the other hand, it’s said that speaking and living truth has its rewards.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.