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FROM a BETTER PARADIGM to BETTER LEADERSHIP & a BETTER FUTURE 

Two radically different voices came to my attention today, in combination heralding the hope that perhaps the times — just maybe – are finally ready for a paradigm shift which could ensure human survival. 

The Quantum Paradigm of which I speak is, of course, the subject of Rethinking Survival. It’s the Unified Field Theory which Einstein intuited and actually had, but, sadly, for lack of yoga background, missed. Embodied in the archetypal Life Wheel which spontaneously appears throughout time, throughout all civilizations, it looks like this: 

This Unified Field Theory pictures a reality where all parts of creation are interwoven and interdependent. As such, this inclusive reality map is one which everyone everywhere can relate to and agree upon. It is equally compatible with scriptures and science, bridging the gap between them. 

This elegantly simple yet complete reality map meets the Occam’s Razor standard: maximum inclusiveness with greatest brevity. 

Working with the Quantum Paradigm empowers the “substantially new manner of thinking,” which, Einstein said, is necessary “if mankind is to survive.” 

As I wrote earlier: 

Those who succeed in linking the levels of experience are genius-leaders in whatever fields they choose to engage. They’re the fortunate ones who’ve acquired the inner wealth necessary to both hear the inner voice of conscience and act on the guidance they receive. 

Ultimately, survivors who prevail in dangerous times aren’t those with the most material wealth, possessions or political power. They’re the ones who’ve successfully navigated the middle realm, reached the far shore of enlightenment and returned to the surface with their new information intact. 

This complete and accurate paradigm will replace the fractured, materialistic paradigm of empirical science which rules out the existence of everything but the outer, m=mass level of human experience.  

Empirical science, with disastrous consequences, banned the inner levels of e=energy (emotion) and c=light (intuition) from conscious awareness. In the extreme, it cut humanity off from awareness of the common core which all share in common, call it God, Source, Creator, Tao, or Conscience, as you will.  

Earlier, I wrote: 

I’ve become certain that the worldwide leadership deficit (and related budget deficits) is explained by an underlying knowledge deficit. For lack of a complete and correct life map – paradigm, if you will — people everywhere remain bewildered as to how and why, even with the best of intentions, so much continues to go so horribly wrong. 

To the extent that the inner levels of energy, intuition and conscience are blind spots in the way people think, leaders are left powerless to move beyond the surface level of experience. The realms of light and conscience which rest on the far side of the dynamic energy level, remain inaccessible. 

Just as the Titanic’s designers failed to recognize the ship’s fatal flaw, today’s religious and political leaders, acting on misinformation, are steering the planet ever closer to the brink of destruction. The Quantum Paradigm offers a way to rethink our collective future, shift away from the current collision course towards disaster and ensure human survival. 

Now, today’s first voice of hope for a better future is that of man of Japanese American descent. Robert Kiyosaki is author of the popular Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and more recently, Capitalist Manifesto.  In an interview where he Makes Bold Predictions about the Economy, Kiyosaki connects the dots between useless “education,” dangerously weak leadership, and increasingly hard times. We need better leaders, he insists. 

On the premise that better education is key to reversing the current downward cycle, he’s written books on how the economy really works. [Keep the pristine definition of the word in mind. “To educate” means to “lead from darkness to light.” Note that “LEAD,” the essence of leadership, is inherent in that definition.] I would add, we also need to restore the wisdom of the I Ching, the Book of Change to the curriculum, as the compendium of Natural Law — the way the world really works.

The blessing in disguise, according to Kiyosaki, is that danger creates opportunity. To survive, people must stretch and improve to meet the challenges they face. He gives the example of being a war zone pilot. His life expectancy was thirty days. “The more dangerous the mission, the better you’ve got to be.” [I would add, and the more accurate and complete the map you’re flying from.] 

Today’s second voice of hope for a better future is that of a woman of French descent. Elana Danaan is author of A Gift from the Stars, and more recently The Seeders. She underscores the importance of actively taking personal self-responsibility, rather than passively waiting to be rescued by saviors. She writes: 

Humanity must take responsibility for itself or Humanity can never grow. . . Humanity must not miss the opportunity to rise up and loudly proclaim, “I do not consent [to tyranny].” 

She continues: 

The time to kneel is over. It is time to stand up, humans of Earth. It is time to embrace who you truly are. And you are quite exceptional! 

To which I would concur. In fact, the Life Wheel — the quantum paradigm of a better future — gives credence to the biblical vision of humans as made in the image of God, whole and complete. It is time to remember who, in potential, we truly are. It is our responsibility – by command – to be perfect, like the Father. 

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The QUANTUM SOLUTION

Two days ago, in early-morning dream-state, five thought-strands came together, weaving a symmetrically patterned design: the pattern of an urgent dilemma and its quantum solution. 

Here, I’ll identify the strands, then show you how they fit together, forming a single, coherent picture. 

First, I’d been rereading Harry Potter books, especially The Order of the Phoenix. In light of current events, it’s prophetic, equally dark and hopeful.  

Second, since Elon Musk dominated public conversation with his Twitter takeover, I’ve been watching past interviews. Musk, to me, resembles a Harry Potter-like hero, lonely in the muggle world of clueless humans. In a 2012 commencement speech, Elon compares leading-edge technologies to magic. He concludes:  

You guys are the magicians of the 21st century. Don’t let anything hold you back. Imagination is the limit. Go out there and create some magic. 

A patriot in his own unique way, Elon isn’t interested in buying out Twitter for financial gain. He sees it as an international public forum. Freedom of speech is at stake, and with it the future of civilization. 

The third dream-thread centers around another, equally unique patriot, Patrick Byrne, CEO of The America Project. He’s dedicated his life, fortune and sacred honor to sorting  out the unprecedented events of the last few years. Speaking at a Reawaken America Tour event, he outlines the classic, four-stage psy-op Model of Regime Change we’re now going through: 

  1. Demoralization. (politicians exploiting COVID, including lockdowns, masking and social distancing)  
  1. Disorientation. (lawlessness: defund police movements, antifa getting away with violence, intimidation and destruction of property; criminal lawfare) 
  1. Crisis. (election fraud; massive deception) 
  1. Normalization. (censorship, coverup, media whitewash) 

Though not always welcomed by fellow patriots on his locals site, I’ve felt compelled to add my voice. (That’s the final, fifth thread. More on this below.) 

The fourth, inclusive dream-thread is astrology, a core subject essential to Harry Potter’s magic school curriculum. It explains the timeliness of Musk’s appearance on the world stage, as well as the dynamics of exposing systemic corruption in which Dr. Byrne is engaged.  

Different popular astrologers look at various aspects of current events through their individual lenses. None is more comprehensive and strikingly accurate than the preeminent, visionary Pam Gregory. She sees the years spanning 2020 to 2024 as a period when corruption of the old order is exposed, expunged and replaced. In 2022, we’re halfway through this intensely dynamic breakdown as well as simultaneous breakthrough to an emerging new and better future.  

The death and replacement of corrupt institutions across the board has long been foreseen by astrologers. They unanimously agree that governments and their agencies, along with systems of healthcare, law, religion and education are slated for fundamental rethinking. This dynamic is ancient and cyclical. It’s the magical, mystical Phoenix Response of dying to the old in order to be reborn new and fresh. 

OVERVIEW 

The overarching dilemma, as Dr. Byrne sees it, is the looming threat of civil war. He’s adamant to forestall a mutually destructive clash between disillusioned, betrayed citizens erupting in outrage as hidden facts surface, facing off against entrenched powerholders clinging to the remnants of abused authority with the savagery of cornered animals. He’s found in history a successful policy of reconciliation and recommends it as a peaceful way to prevent no-win, self-destructive violence. 

The QUANTUM SOLUTION 

The fifth strand of my early morning musings is my take on the either/or options patriots perceive. My edited responses to the ongoing debate are quoted below: 

At best this [reconciliation] trade-off seems to be the surface of a well-rationalized strategy to buy us time, keep hard core evil-doers from pulling the plug in desperation while patriot goals are achieved, systems put in place. In the short-term, deals may seem expedient . . . the best option among many evils. 

However, in the long-term, because the root problem is neither recognized nor addressed, it will continue to mutate, metastacize . . . take on different forms with new faces . . . until the time when it’s finally correctly identified and rooted out . . healed. 

* * * * * * * * * *

I’m rethinking the “hill to die on” issue. Folks have different takes on what that is. Some want consequences for wrong-doers: justice, even retribution, assuming that would serve to prevent future repeats of current corruption. Whereas others call for a deal. Reconciliation for the sake of preventing civil war.  

The deep state and wall street are named as the corrupt bad actors who must be called to account. To repeat, from my point of view, they — along corporate and political “leaders” — are symptoms (puppets, products) of a more fundamental influence . . . namely flawed education systems, both secular and religious.  

Since no one (excluding mafia and/or cartel dons, perhaps) comes to positions of “power” except through the filters of educational institutions, the current selection processes rule out anyone capable of meeting the standard recognized in the Declaration of Independence: one intellectually & functionally capable of spanning the three interrelated levels of law: the laws of man, of nature and nature’s God. 

My ongoing concern remains that even if elections were pristine going forward, few political candidates or institutional leaders other than those who are products of the educational system that produces corruption (“turtles all the way down”) are available. 

Punishment/retaliation and reconciliation are two sides of the same dualistic coin. Both address surface symptoms, not deeper, root causes. What’s needed . . . in the long term. . . is a cultural, world-wide shift of awareness towards a higher octave of consciousness: a quantum solution.  

To restore Unity, first within and then without, we must first make the quantum shift to a complete and accurate Paradigm of reality. Conversely, so long as we as individuals and as a nation remain fractured from within, unity isn’t possible. Unless one is integrated — mind, body and spirit — and consistent in thought, speech, and action, any hope for true freedom is but an illusion.

It’s not necessarily different schools that are called for, but rather a shift away from the limited and limiting (fracturing) paradigm taught therein. It’s the prevailing knowledge (epistemological) paradigm which is corrupt. And corrupting. 

Further, leaders (educators in particular) urgently need to take into account the influx of (often uneducated) immigrants who are unfamiliar with the nation’s values, who lack respect for its history and have no commitment to its future.  

The face of American (and European) populations is going through major changes. Education must shift/change/evolve to include/serve the entirety of changing populations. The challenge isn’t impossible. Seen as an opportunity, it may, in fact, be a foreordained, astrologically foreseen blessing in disguise. But only if it’s taken into account. After restoring freedom of speech with the help of patriots like Elon Musk in tandem with securing election integrity thanks to the hard work of patriots like Dr. Byrne, that’s the mountain looming behind “the hill to die on.” 

The virtue of the Quantum Paradigm embodied in the Unified Field’s life wheel is that it includes, links and prioritizes the three levels of law acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence. Its elegant simplicity satisfies the standard of Occam’s Razor. It encompasses the heart of all world religions — the basics common to both the perennial philosophy and modern science. It is impartially inclusive of all nationalities, accepting without exception the common humanity of immigrants now flooding across borders all over the world, reshaping the face of the planet Earth. 

Bottom line: to have a United States existing within a peaceful world, we must first shift to a collective awareness and functional understanding of the inclusive, quantum Unified Field Theory which encompasses all humanity, free of unnatural borders. We must come to share a complete and accurate, universal paradigm which respects diversity on the outer, material level of the Life Wheel, exquisitely balanced and held together by a common core at the unchanging, eternal center of Source.

The challenge (opportunity) now opening to us as world citizens — our collective responsibility, not only to ourselves but to future generations – is, one person at a time, NOT to self-suicide, but instead choose the magical, mystical Phoenix Response of death to the old in order to emerge new and changed for the better . . . in the same lifetime. 

My Dream – 020421

Late Saturday night, the final day of January, I woke up from a vivid dream that asked to be remembered. I picked up the mini-recorder at my bedside to capture the memory, still fresh.

The original dream triggered a flow of thoughts. I kept recording.

The following day, I transcribed the entire flow. There was enough for several posts, even a little book along the lines of What Is the Freedom You Want? or Be Careful What You Dream Of.

For today, I’ll just tell you about that late night dream and my conclusion. I get back to the steps leading from point A to Z later.

In the dream, I had an urgent message for multi-talented, multi-millionaire Patrick Byrne. His well-known mentors include Warren Buffet and Milton Friedman, proponent of school choice — close cousin to the alternative school I credentialed myself to create.

In contrast, we knew my hidden but vastly more attained teacher as, simply, “Old Avatar.”

In the dream, I was sent to warn Patrick of things OA taught me probably outside his teachers’ range of experience. I urged him to understand that good intentions, a steel-trap mind and even a martial arts black belt aren’t enough. Bad guys are broadcasting from the invisible e=energy level of the Life Wheel (called the bardo, dream field, or subconscious) – affecting the masses at an unconscious level. Accordingly, psychic shielding is essential to spiritual warfare.

Unfortunately, schools don’t teach from a paradigm that includes energy dynamics, much less their abuse. Bad guys exploit this blind spot. To prevail, good guys must become more aware and skillful in the full-spectrum of quantum potentials.

My conclusion: 21st century institutional resets across the board all depend upon first restoring the complete, accurate Quantum Paradigm to common public knowledge. All else follows.

Today I’ll ask the Book of Change for feedback on this preliminary paradigm shift. Supporting details will follow in future posts.

PERMANENCE is the original, dynamic answer to today’s basic question, “What is the I Ching’s view of building future institutions consistent with the Quantum Paradigm?”

First I thought, I’ve seen this answer before. Recently. When I checked my notes, all the variables appear in the last two readings, repeating yet again from earlier 2020 posts. But their placements are different, making the immediate answer unique to this question.

In fact, at first the question was more detailed. “Institutions” was qualified to include governments, military, media, schools and healthcare, as well as legal and economic systems. The paradigm was qualified as one which balances reason and compassion with faith.

The starting point of the reading is:

Search for PERMANENCE in the timeless wisdom of all ages. Human events repeat themselves in well-ordered patterns over many generations. Although the actors change, the values they pass on through their examples endure. Nothing of permanent value is ever lost. Live worthy of your heritage. Avoid disrespect for traditions.

My first thought: at the start this shift, we need to recognize there’s no necessary conflict between the Quantum Paradigm and traditional teachings. It’s not an either/or choice. To the extent that Truth is eternal and unchanging, by definition its expressions old and new will confirm and reinforce each other. Only to the extent that they aren’t consistent are choices required.

Here’s an example. The Shema is a three-part Torah command intoned by Jews in synagogue: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

It’s echoed in the triad of the Lord’s Prayer taught by Christ. As I repeat every night, Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.

The same triad repeats as energy centers in Chinese and Sanskrit yogas. In turn, they’re compatible with the variables of Einstein’s formula and with the levels of the archetypal Life Wheel. (Later on, I’ll give you a simple picture to help visualize this unifying theme.)

* * *

Advice of the fourth line reads, “To find what you seek, look in the right place.” This is the converse of poetic I Ching wisdom, “Don’t hunt for deer in a forest where none dwell”

In my dream, I warned Patrick that tangible results on the material 3D surface of the Life Wheel cannot be not changed at the same level. Surface events flow from and are effectively improved upon only from deeper levels of 4D and 5D quantum reality.

As Einstein put it, problems cannot be solved on the same level at which they occur. To expect they could be is a form of insanity.

Put another way, corrupt political/economic practices on the surface, material plane of the Life Wheel are symptoms. The root cause and cure cannot be found except by going deeper. The paradigm which economists like Buffet and Friedman represent does not speak to 1) the e=energy, subconscious level where corruption festers; or 2) still deeper, the c=light, superconscious level from which creative innovations arise.

When advice is heeded and a complete, correct approach to creating institutional structures is accepted, the line changes to Promotion, which reads:

Promotion will come from steady, positive improvement over time. Rising to meet new challenges results in emotional maturity. Advancing on the job puts one in the position to serve those who are in need. Quiet, persistent self-discipline wins the confidence of others. Make the most of opportunities. Avoid hesitation.

Forward motion toward a positive shift will not succeed over night, but is well-worth our consistent, positive action towards this goal.

* * *

Advice of the fifth line reads, “Choose methods by purpose. Visionary projects require creativity and courage.” Quantum theory is not enough. We also need awareness methods and tools for invoking direct experience. Meditation and working with the I Ching are premier practices to this end.

When advice is heeded and balance achieved, the line changes to Inner Strength, which reads:

When difficult situations come to a head, rely on INNER STRENGTH to endure. If it becomes necessary to retreat, do so with courage and self-confidence. Make sure your inner and outer resources are secure. If you must begin a new life, you will have to depend on them. Avoid helplessness.

In geometry, a triangle is the most stable form. This strength is compounded by the intersection of opposite, complimentary strengths.

In the short term, however beneficial the outcome of simplification, it won’t happen quickly or easily. Resistance to the new by entrenched power holders will predictably be fierce and merciless. The courage and strength of solar system, “hara,” lower tan tien . . “true grit”. . . is required in full measure to see us through to the positive results of this blessed paradigm shift.

* * *

When the advice of the changing lines is heeded, Origin is their combined outcome. It reads:

All people thirst to know the roots their ORIGIN. At one level, learning about family and cultural traditions fills this need. At another level, this quest is satisfied by seeking for deeper knowledge. The vitality of all races flows from a single source which never runs dry. Avoid narrow-mindedness.

Right now, the majority are stuck on the narrow-minded surface of the Life Wheel. The prevailing false paradigm prevents humanity from accessing the deepest level for which we all thirst.

It’s like the patient’s picture in Jung’s Alchemical Studies. A bird stands before a closed door in the trunk of a large tree and weeps. The tree is the Tree of Life. The bird is the human spirit. Its soul weeps because it cannot enter.

The quest for fulfillment at deeper levels of the Life Wheel is stuff of the archetypal hero’s journey. Odysseus adventures to find his way home. The prodigal son returns to the father.

As we each repeat the pattern, one person at a time, the larger civilization as a whole will begin to reflect the sum of our individual achievements.

The Tao Is Indifferent, But I Am Not — 010621

Early this morning, on the day historians are calling the Warterloo moment of the United States, I queried the I Ching three times.

I asked, “What should we know about Biden, radical dems and the CCP?” Next, “What should we know about President Trump?” Finally, I asked for myself, “What should I be aware of NOW?”

In sum, from its universal perspective, the Book of Change doesn’t seem to care which leader prevails. It endures, either way. Its ends will be accomplished, no matter how far humans stray from the law. The Tao is all-inclusive. It encompasses and (in the end) brings us all home.

HOWEVER, from my mortal perspective, I care deeply. I woke up today feeling heartsick and afraid, overwhelmed by the magnitude of events. To me, the gravity of immanent danger in combination with the corruption and/or cowardice of entrenched upper classes is beyond appalling.

The danger is very real to me. During WW II, my maternal grandmother’s Viennese relatives were exterminated in German death camps. As relatives who died in Stalin’s concentration camps or Mao’s equivalent all know: fated to fail as they always are, in the short-term, lustful fantasies of world domination come at a tragically high price.

First I’ll share relevant passages from the Tao Te Ching which express a sage-like overview on today’s events. Then, in the reading section, thinking it may resonate with you as well, I’ll share the answer to my personal question.

In poetic versions of Lao Tze’s Tao Te Ching, the fifth passage begins, “Heaven and Earth are heartless / treating creatures like straw dogs”.

Here, heartless doesn’t necessarily mean cruel so much as detached or indifferent. “Straw dogs” were ceremonial dolls usually discarded after their use.

Here’s how the meaning came through for me:

The first two verses of the following Passage are also to the point:

Yet, though the Tao is impartial, you can take heart from this (and have a caution):

FAMILY is the original answer to today’s personal question, “What should I be aware of NOW?” it reads”

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.

In my case, within the human family, I don’t have a lot to contribute to today’s DC confrontation. As much as I wish participants well, I dread crowds. I’m not suited by nature to be either an event organizer, a politician, attorney or news commentator.

So I contribute as I can, doing what I love to do . . . writing. In the long-term, there’s an underlying false paradigm driving today’s event. My eventual contribution – when folks calm down enough to wean themselves off of stimulating conflicts – may be to advocate adoption and dissemination of the correct, compete and accurate Quantum Paradigm which will correct the mistakes driving today’s chaos and eventually create a better future.

What are you suited by nature and skills to contribute? Are you actually doing it? If not, why?

* * *

Advice of the 4th Line reads, “Any attempt to serve will benefit leaders and followers equally.”

This line confirms not only that my efforts will benefit others, but that in the long-term, it’s a blessing, not a drain, for me to keep writing.

Advice heeded, the line changes to Community:

Commitment to COMMUNITY is a necessary part of individual growth. Choose leaders who can express common goals with clarity. They will know how to assign work according to ability so that all prosper. In the harmonious community, Creative Power expresses through the skillful work of individuals. Avoid all selfishness.

Community is built on the foundation of Family. Again, the issue of roles arises. And, again, I invoke Creative Power to suffuse my work with wisdom in a way others will find beneficial.

* * *

Advice of the 6th, Top Line reads: “Rise above worldly concerns. Create good work of lasting value.” This gets my personal YES!! Financial compensation would be nice, but it doesn’t motivate me. God always, miraculously, if not a moment too soon, provides. I will somehow continue to get by.

What really floats my boat is the hope that the creative work which flows through me will be found valuable in the long-term. Ever since 1977, when a School Board Association mentor made the comment, I’ve been told I’m ahead of the times. So be it. In the meantime, it’s my job to be sure what’s needed is ready and available for when the times are finally ready for me.

Advice heeded, the line changes to Completion:

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.

Who knows? Cycles large and small are nested, wheels-within-wheels. Certainly 2020 saw the end of a major cycle. The year 2021 marks the beginning of a new one. Will I survive to see its completion? So long as the work endures, it doesn’t matter.

Do you plan on surviving? If so, how and why?

* * *

Advice heeded, the composite of changing lines results in the final outcome of Change.

Day and night replace each other in endless cycles of CHANGE. The same natural law generates flux in human events. The unprepared see change as a threat, but the well-prepared face the unknown calmly. They know that after degeneration reaches critical mass, regeneration follows. Welcome the new. Avoid short-sighted fear.

This hexagram is the outcome of the first post, We’re At Critical Mass, in The Lessons of 2020. The year 2020 saw a culture building to a constitutional crisis. The Waterloo moment of January 6, 2021 marks its culmination.

Whatever the outcome of the election controversy, it is best to Avoid short-sighted fear.

Welcoming Change doesn’t necessarily mean liking it. It’s enough to remain open, rather than resisting whatever may come. Accepting the future brings, giving it space to evolve, leaves me open to recognize and make the best of new opportunities.

I hope you choose to remain courageously, confidently open to the opportunities in your future. May 2021 be kind to you all.

Look for The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future later 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.

WHAT IF? – IC – 121420

December 14th‘s New Moon is in Sagittarius — sign of wisdom, faith and optimism, ruler of careers in the judiciary, military, broadcasting and higher education. He’s a centaur — half man, half horse — pictured with an arrow pointed upwards, charging towards his destiny. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is a healer whose wisdom links Heaven and Earth.

New Moons usually offer the opportunity to make a fresh start. But today’s is full of contradictions.

It comes at 2020’s low ebb, the darkest hour of winter. It shares space with and is marred by the unhealthy, regressive energies of a South Node – overwhelm, hopelessness, and avoidance. It magnifies unwillingness to face life. “I can’t deal with it any more.”

Still worse, this New Moon is eclipsed. The sun’s light is literally, if temporarily, hidden. Blacked out. The positive qualities of Sagittarius are blighted. Law, order, and communication are at rock bottom. Not looking good for the Electoral College’s scheduled proceedings. (We’ll see.)

That was the bad news. On the flip side, there’s good news ahead.

Eclipses are like a computer shut-down and reset. When systems come back on-line, they’re upgraded. You wake up from a temporary funk to operate at a higher level. Then you’ll find you’ve got your inner spark and spunk back. You’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This solar eclipse New Moon offers the opportunity to break free from South Node escapism. The impossible now seems possible. The power to face life with firm resolve is renewed. Your “can do” gene is switched on.

Let your heart not be troubled. This powerful eclipse is followed in short-order by an even more powerful reset. The planets which rule law and order, Jupiter and Capricorn, both move from a dark, heavy place to a more positive, enlightened location. They join (which happens only once in 20 years) to begin a fresh new cycle.

That’s a lot of jargon. Here’s the upshot. However dark and regressive events may seem right now, it’s almost over, Starting on December 21st with the winter solstice, a new era lies ahead. The archetypal pattern repeats. At the lowest, darkest point of the year, energies reverse. They start to move forward again towards the light. Wisdom, faith and optimism return.

End-stage 2020 dynamics are the last gasp of a decades-long conflict. The issues facing us now have been brewing behind the scenes, waiting for the right time to surface and be released. For example, here are two sample Essay Sketches written in the year 2000.

Sound familiar?

Here’s another:

In this context, at the time of this temporarily eclipsed New Moon, think about possible reset alternatives going forward.

WHAT IF:

  • . . . we decided to tune out distracting external conflicts long enough to calm down, clean out the inner swamp, and think carefully about what we believe, intend, and in that context, recognize who our real friends and enemies are.
  • . . . we recognized the choice between right and left-hand paths and chose wisely.
  • . . . we saw through the ancient tactic of “distract and divide in order to conquer,” and acted to reunite our country.
  • . . . we recognized that incendiary information being released is intended to set us at each other’s throats, luring us into the trap of civil war, making us easy prey for foreign overlords take over – and didn’t take the bait.
  • . . . we used this extraordinarily powerful solar reset New Moon to set a positive intention for the future, one that cancels out the decades-long dynamics that have driven us to Constitutional crisis at end-stage 2020.
  • . . . we returned to the essence of wisdom traditions embodied in the timeless I Ching and shifted away from false, fragmenting beliefs towards the complete and accurate Quantum Paradigm.

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve been bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts have been intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

ADVERSITY is the unchanging answer to the solar eclipse New Moon question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

ADVERSITY is a test of fortitude. When it cannot be prevented, the wisest response is acceptance. Use times of hardship as opportunities to strengthen character and focus on inner resources. Misunderstandings are likely to occur. Remain calm, take care of yourself and support those who depend on you. Avoid despair.

How can we count the hardships which beset the world at end-stage 2020? In alpha order, here’s a short-list related to COVID and draconian lock-downs:

It seems as if the angel of death has been loosed. It’s out and about, stalking the land.

On December 14th, those of faith are warned to protect themselves and those they care for by keeping their minds, hearts and physical doors safely sealed, allowing the wrath of God to pass over, leaving them untouched and better for having survived the ordeal.

Eclipse season is not a time for the faint of heart. STAND TALL. STAY THE COURSE. Use this magical reset time to imagine a better future.

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.

Miracles We Shouldn’t Take For Granted – IC – 121020

“At times when it seems as if one’s resources are exhausted, care must be taken to soften the harmful effects of DEPRESSION.” Until today, this reading was woven into the fabric of 2020.

But we’ve finally reached a turning point. Not coincidentally, December 10th is the first day of Hanukkah. At the low-ebb of winter darkness, it begins the eight-day holiday which celebrates the miracle of light.

It’s not just an ancient holy day. It tells a timeless story that repeats over and over throughout the cycles of time, December 2020 being one of them. Humanity has been around this curve before. Wisdom traditions serve to put current events in perspective.

In this week, the inner, eternal light which miraculously sustains us during hard times is celebrated. Historically, Judah Maccabee and his group of rebel followers recaptured the stolen Temple of Jerusalem. The story goes that afterwards, when it came time to rekindle the Lamp of Eternal Light – the Menorah – there was only enough oil to last one day. But, miraculously, the flame continued to burn brightly until more arrived – a full eight days later.

The threat of oil running out and the flame going out is the essence of Depression. Resources seemed to be exhausted. But . . . with a little help from friends. . . the light endured, uninterrupted.

But that’s not the only similarity between the past and present. Once again, a center of civilization, in this case the White House, is threatened by a hostile (deeply, darkly covert) take-over. Then as now, the enemies of freedom oppress the practice of religion.

And a small, self-described “rag tag” team of protectors led by Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Michael Flynn is valiantly defending the Constitution, giving their all to reclaim their country’s mantle as a beacon of light to the world.

We’re not taught to look to the timeless Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve been bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts have been intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

COMMUNITY is the original but dynamic answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?”

Interestingly, a pattern similar to the last reading which moved from Restraint to Determination repeats today. Again, three lines of the hexagram change, with emphasis on the mental and spiritual levels of the Life Wheel. It begins:

Commitment to COMMUNITY is a necessary part of individual growth. Choose leaders who can express common goals with clarity. They will know how to assign work according to ability so that all prosper. In the harmonious community, Creative Power expresses through the skillful work of individuals. Avoid all selfishness.

The miracle of a harmonious, prosperous community is necessary to human life. Today, divisions are enforced in the name of a health crisis weaponized to political ends. Dangerously, when social distancing and religious suppression take hold, the blessings of community can not be taken for granted.

As traditional social structures continue to fail us on many fronts, it’s natural seek out friends and form groups with common interests. Pastor Joe Fox, for example, speaks of MAGs (Mutual Assistance Groups). At Shofar Mountain, he leads an intentional community.

* * *

Advice of the 3rd line reads, “When motives become unclear, mistrust grows. Restore clarity in time.” When careful thought is given to clarify motives and reestablish trust, this line changes to Clarity:

Cultivate CLARITY. Listen to the pure and childlike voice of your inner being. Even if this results in new and unexpected experiences, you will benefit. Take joy in being true to your Self. Modified by consideration for others, this will give you creative abilities. Avoid fearful attachment to the familiar.

End-stage 2020 is a time to remember our basic values. We’re called to rethink how community is created and sustained.

And, Yes. In this uncertain time, survival will depend on following conscience wherever it leads. Attachment to the past is futile. Trusting in the promising potentials of an unknowable future is the best way to get through current confusions.

* * *

Advice of the 4th line reads, “If you have become isolated, understand why and correct yourself.” When heeded, the line changes to Family:

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.

Taoists and Confucians agree that well-ordered families are the basic building blocks of community. These families need not be nuclear or biology-based. Wherever people come together around common purpose, shared values and love of life, they become family.

* * *

Advice of the 6th, top line reads: “Work for a larger purpose, either alone or with others.” Once an overview of the big picture is careful considered, and purposeful plan of action is chosen, we’re read to get to work in all ways. At that point, the line transforms:

Day and night replace each other in endless cycles of CHANGE. The same Natural Law generates flux in human events. The unprepared see change as a threat, but the well-prepared face the unknown calmly. They know that after degeneration reaches critical mass, regeneration follows. Welcome the new. Avoid short-sighted fear.

Indeed, We’re At Critical Mass, as stated in the first post of this series. But the miracle of regeneration is at hand. The extraordinarily powerful eclipse season we’ve entered begins not only a new 20-year cycle, but also ushers in still longer-range changes (depending on how it’s calculated). Rick Levine, for example, says:

. . . this upcoming conjunction is part of the Great Mutation Cycle, one-quarter of the 800-year Grand Conjunction Cycle.

This is HUGE. It can’t be understated.

Now, as in during Columbus’s exhausting first voyage, there’s no turning back. But for those with the vision and spine to Stay the Course, the risk, wait and work will be worth every bit of of the effort.

* * *

The composite end result of Community’s changing lines is realistic, not rosy. A New Era is struggling to be born. We are at the earliest stage of a process which must be played out, step-by-step. There will be inevitable Problems along the way:

When a new life is struggling to emerge, there will be PROBLEMS in the beginning. Seek help from people whose ideas and methods can help to create inner and outer stability. Take an active part in the growing process. This will help you to define your own identity. Avoid helplessness.

The Idea which I urgently recommend as the foundation for a better future is the Quantum Paradigm imaged in the Life Wheel. It is the complete and accurate reality map upon which sages and scientists can agree. It embodies Einstein’s intuited Unified Field Theory, placing each the three variables of his famous formula at increasingly deeper levels of experience.

The life-altering change of this fundamental paradigm shift will move civilization away from the fragmenting, limiting empirical science, restoring original wholeness.

Change your paradigm. It changes the way you think and the way you see the world. First the shift will change your personal life. Then, on the wings of butterflies, it will affect lives clear across the globe.

In a Unified world view, each of us is inherently okay. No one can take your inborn divinity away. Simply not possible. Nor can anyone take away the God-given okayness of another fellow human being. (The challenge remains, of course, that by abusing the gift of free will, our own bad choices blight the gift of inner light.)

The Method associated with the quantum Idea is working with the Life Wheel to make our scattered lives whole again. In combination, they give us a means to heal fractures, first within, then in the larger world around us. Restoring light to the world in this practical way would be a miracle indeed. The one I live and pray for.

To make the most of this opportunity, may we each accept that we are all children of God, and choose to live our daily lives in that light.

Family, Community & Organization

Today’s bonus blog supports Back to What’s Basic, where the final outcome is FAMILY. The subject is both timely and vitally important.

According to The Common Sense Book of Change:

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.

Family is the fundamental unit of society – the building block of community. It’s key to success at every larger level, lacking which entire civilizations crumble.

To restore today’s decaying foundations, however, Sages tell us to first look within. Thus, the Basic blog concludes:

The end goal is harmonious relationship with the entire human family. This reading is so value-rich that, to do it justice, I had to publish a self-standing bonus blog, Family, Community and Organization.

Bottom line: There’s intense pressure – coming from all levels – to destroy core unity. It starts with internal consciousness and extend outwards to breakdown the family unit and then social organization. What’s the consequence of this breakdown? Who wants it?

Do you? If not, what are you willing to do about it? When?

To help in rethinking what we take for granted at great risk, here are three supporting essays. Though originally written in the year 2000, they’re key to overcoming 2020 madness.

There’s a lot here. But it deserves your careful attention. What could be more basic to building a better future?

ESSAY 13. FAMILY

One who wishes to have a well-organized family should first cultivate his personality. / One who wishes to cultivate his personality should first regulate his mind. / One who wishes to regulate his mind should first be honest with his consciousness. One who wishes to be honest with his consciousness should first attain true knowledge. — Confucius, Great Commentary

In the family we learn love, patience, respect, nurturing, affirmation, and health. The family also teaches us about competition, domination, selfishness, and deceit. The family is thus a relatively efficient learning system for the development of mind, spirit, and body. It involves the whole self. — Tom Chappell, The Soul of a Business

For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Jesus Christ, St. Matthew 12:50

THE FRONT

The Latin root of family means household establishment. An obsolete usage refers to all the people living in the same house, including servants and slaves. A later definition refers to all the relatives living in the same house, including extended family. Only recently has it come to mean a nuclear unit, the traditional set of parents (one husband, one wife) and their off-spring.

A family can mean a group of people related by ancestry or marriage, including relatives. It can be all those claiming descent from a common ancestor, tribe, or clan — a lineage. A crime syndicate under a single leader is also called a family.

Ideally, children learn the basics within the family. If we trained ourselves and our children in I Ching ways, there’d be no need for each generation to reinvent the wheel over by repeating the same mistakes. Sheltering them from the “real world” isn’t a kindness. A better way to protect them is to provide the wisdom tools to give them the practical edge, help them meet the challenges of adult life with intelligence and self-confidence.

As Chappell indicates, within the nuclear family as in the human family, everything, both positive and negative is possible. As we learn to articulate what we see and respond wisely to experiences in the family environment, we become increasingly able to apply these skills in school, business and extended political situations.

But as Confucius teaches, the goal of improving and sustaining family relationships isn’t achieved by extending ever outwards. It requires looking inward:

  • Efforts to improve personality lead to the need to know one’s mind.
  • This leads to exploring inner awareness.
  • Then, in due time, inward movement cycles outwards, incorporating benefits of the inward journey into personal and practical everyday life.

Within families of every size, whether communities, religions, corporations or governments, some live by the law. Others don’t.

Christ taught that those who love and choose truth are all members of his extended family.

Those who love life, who seek truth and understanding and do their best to help others as they can, have more in common with each other than with evildoers within their own groups.

THE BACK

Opposites of family include strangers in our community whom we’ve never gotten to know, foreigners raised abroad who speak languages and practice customs we don’t understand, as well as others we’ve been taught to mistrust and dislike.

The antithesis of family is foe, including competitive opponents and military enemies. Whereas families are ideally founded on common beliefs, goals and mutual support, those who threaten or sabotage others undermine healthy relationships. Gratitude and hope build communities. Mistrust, hostility and abuse break them down.

ESSAY 14. COMMUNITY

We can create communities and relationships based on love and intimacy rather than fear and hatred. We can learn from the suffering of others. Awareness is the first stage in healing. . . Dean Ornish, Love and Survival

As we accept the smallness of the world, the density of the population, and the myriad influences on individuals and families, someday we may recognize the community and even the whole society as the patient. Imagine, then, what a “doctor of society” might do, what kinds of diseases he or she might treat! — Patch Adams, Gesundheit!

Each celestial body, in fact each and every atom, produces a particular sound on account of its movement, its rhythm or vibration. All these sounds and vibrations form a universal harmony in which each element, while having its own function and character, contributes to the whole. – Pythagoras, quoted in The Healing Power of Sound

THE FRONT

Community stems from a root word meaning fellowship. In English, the word refers to all the people living in a particular district or city. It can also mean a group of people living together as a smaller social unity within a larger one, and having interests or work in common, such as a college community.

Alternatively, it can refer to a group of nations loosely or closely associated because of common traditions or for political and economic advantage. It also covers similarity of tastes and preferences. The last definition Webster’s gives is the condition of living with others in friendly association and fellowship. The last definition comes full circle back to the original meaning.

Communities are founded on a common cause. It can be as practical as survival or as idealistic as freedom. Often, community cohesion is artificially stimulated by fear and hatred of a common enemy.

For example, Hitler inflamed passions against Jews and foreign bankers to mobilize his war-weary country into a second world war more devastating than the first. Then Americans rallied behind the common goal of defeating enemies of democracy on two fronts, Asia and Europe.

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine wrote about the relationship of divine, natural and human law in a way that inspired readers at the time of the American Revolution to fight for freedom from tyranny.

Winning that war did not, however, automatically secure freedom for all times. Democracy isn’t a static achievement that can be passed on unchanged from one generation to the next. It must renewed and earned again, one individual at a time, each generation at a time, continuously redefined in the context of immediate circumstances.

The music of life that moves every organization, smallest to largest, is the basis of harmonious fellowship. Approaching natural law and social organizations from the deeper understanding of the ancients could inspire a new, more humane and effective approach to international relations now, one based on energy dynamics which the human community share in common.

Sages say that freedom from tyranny begins with dispelling ignorance and overcoming negative emotions. True freedom and stable communities begin with the self-awareness and self-mastery which can be gained by diligent use of wisdom tools like the Book of Change. First remembering the core of compassion and caring within, we can then extend and expand this good-will into healing society as well.

Put another way, it’s useless to fight for a democratic world before first cleaning out the inner swamp of negative emotions. Inner life conditions attract corresponding external experience. Fighting in anger and hatred reaps results in kind.

Working to establish positive community relationships before personal attitudes of good-will and willing self-discipline are established is futile. As Covey reminds us, first things must come first.

THE BACK

Street gangs, terrorist groups, religious cults and secret societies are subgroups within the larger community. To the extent that their goals oppose and even endanger the community at large, these organizations are antithetical to the general good.

Pariahs, nomads and outcasts are individuals excluded from society, either voluntarily or by edict. Whether justified or not, their attitudes and behavior are out of harmony with accepted norms. If enough of them find common cause to band together, they form alternative groups which become the foundation of new communities.

ESSAY 59. ORGANIZATION

Because it is a structure of structures, the design of the I Ching can generate analytic systems of potentially infinite complexity and variety, and can be applied to any conceivable realm or situation. . .The I Ching analyzes the interplay of relations as functions of qualities, roles, and relative standing. It can be applied internally to any system of human organization, regardless of scale or configuration. — Cheng Yi, The Tao of Organization: The I Ching for Group Dynamics

THE FRONT

Roots of organization start with organ, originally referring to a tool or implement in the context of music, such as a church organ.

Organic means made up of systematically interrelated parts. Organize means to provide with an organic structure, or to arrange in an orderly way.

There are two basic approaches to social organization:

  • One builds from the smallest unit, organizing from the nucleus and extending outwards.
  • The other starts from the outside peripheral rim, incorporating smaller units, often swallowing them up by force.

I Ching thinkers focus on the smallest unit, making self-mastery their primary goal. World-domination seekers, from Alexander the Great to Napoleon and Hitler, represent the opposite extreme.

Natural Law reveals bad-faith motives of would-be conquerors. Pay attention to the rule, “The larger the front, the larger the back.” Those with the most to hide are exactly the ones most eager to seduce with promises of peace and acts of extravagant generosity.

Hitler, for example, didn’t bring war-weary Germans into WWII by announcing war plans. He promised just what his people wanted to hear — peace and prosperity, but then delivered a holocaust. For this reason the UN, for all its rhetoric, is suspect. Its “peace keeping” powers mask ominous potential for another push to world-domination.

An I Ching martial arts precept observes, “To push a man right, first push him left.” Chaos of natural disasters, famine and economic collapse play into the hands of empire builders. In extremes of social disorder, desperate people impulsively accept any strong man who promises to impose “order,” no matter how drastic the form, ruthless the “how” or self-serving the “why.”

After the immediate crisis passes, however, they wake up to find they’ve been maneuvered into a state of martial law where human rights no longer receive even token gestures of respect.

I Ching thinkers understand that unity and peace refer primarily to states of internal awareness and experience. When leaders use such words in the context of imposing organizational control, especially on an international scale, it’s time to proceed with great caution.

THE BACK

Disorganization is the opposite of organization. Since roots of the word imply natural order and coherent structure, the opposite implies a departure from the natural order. Disorganized lives reflect a lack of rhythm and harmony in outlook and lifestyle.

Perversions of organization include routinization and mindless, mechanical consistency. When attention isn’t focused on the immediate situation, there’s no appropriate adjustment to accommodate changing circumstances. An inflexible approach is likely to be wrong as often as right.

The ELEVENTH HOUR

11th hour sized

In drafting “Do You Have the Time?” I brainstormed all the possible ways this seemingly simple question can be taken (and mistaken). Different interpretations yield significantly different answers.

I also browsed for clip art clock faces to illustrate my point. Coincidentally, the one I chose adds yet another perspective, giving the question a deeper, philosophical meaning: “Do you know what time it is in your life?”

What stage of personal evolution / growth are you going through now? From a larger, historical perspective, what point in its life cycle is your business, nation or even the world experiencing today?

The pictured clock face shows the stage many say the world is now in: its eleventh hour.

Even then, there are different views as to the best way to respond to being at the eleventh hour in human history. The cliché is currently used to mean “running out of time, at the very last minute, or almost too late.”

But biblical origins of the cliché offer an alternative viewpoint. In Matthew 20: 2-16, laborers hired at the last, eleventh hour worked for only an hour. But at the end of the day, they received the same reward as those hired early in the morning, who had worked all day.

Christ’s parable of the eleventh hour epitomizes the hope humans have in God’s compassionate mercy. It’s never to late to change. It’s not over til it’s over.

(Of course, there is no such thing as coincidence.)

globe

Do You Have the Time?

Early this morning, I was startled awake by a cell phone alert. The power was out – for a second time. The first outage occurred over night. I was still asleep, so didn’t know the difference.

Roommates who commute long-distance to work got started just before the electric garage door came to a standstill. (They don’t know how to open it manually.)

Emergency protocols immediately kicked into place. I reached out in the dark for my wind-up flashlight. It was where it should be, on top of the disabled alarm clock. It supplied enough light to find a second, larger LED flashlight. It too was where I expected, on my work desk next to the powerless computer. I made my way carefully down the pitch black stairwell.

Next: get the battery-run lanterns out of storage. In one, the D-cells had gone dead. Look for back-ups.

Fortunately, there’s a battery-run wall clock by the main office door that keeps accurate time. Which is the subject of this post. “Do you have the time?”

Have you ever thought about how many different ways there are to answer this seemingly simple question, “Do you have the time?” My smart-mouthed high school friends, for example, would have answered, “If you have the nerve.”

The most straight-forward response is to look at a time-piece and give a literal answer. It’s 6:30 in the morning.

Alternative answers go along the lines of, I don’t have enough time . . . . to get the many tasks that need doing done well . . . to take care of my health . . . to check in on elderly relatives. Etc. etc.

Philosophical answers might include regret for the shortness and uncertainty of life. “Here today. Gone tomorrow.” Or, as the carved and painted wood plaque over my Grandfather’s fireplace mantle put it, “We get too soon old, and too late smart.”

Which brings me back to the point where I left off in the last post, “Rethinking Our Common Humanity:”

While we all have the option to remember who we truly are, most of us are like Lambert, the sheepish lion. It takes a smack with a two-by-four upside the head before we’re finally ready to WAKE UP.

Often it takes the form of life-threatening danger to those we care for. A personal health crisis will also do the trick. So will job loss or a run-in with natural disaster. But, like Dorothy stranded in the Land of Oz, when you want dearly enough to return “home,” you can click your heels whenever you chose — and come to find out, you’re already there.

Most of us live as if today will last forever. We prefer to live in the moment. In part, this is a good thing. The mindful focus of a “Be here and now” attitude allows us to savor our immediate blessings.

However . . . on the other hand, heedless lack of foresight can have extremely dangerous consequences.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow add up, inevitably sneaking up from behind like a thief in the night when least expected. (And not just a temporary power outage like this morning. Think Pompeii.)

Impending disasters, even those right before our eyes like handwriting on the wall, can catch the unprepared off guard, robbing them of the precious time which could have been used to wake up from their deep soul sleep and re-member who they truly are.

I understand. Given today’s economy, many have little choice but to live hand-to-mouth. Check-to-pay-(or welfare)-check. Even the well-off who could afford to prepare are besieged with putting out day-to-day fires — or by other glittery distractions.

There’s no time or energy reserved for assessing possible risks. It’s not a priority to think through “If / Then” preparedness scenarios.

I find it most peculiar that even Millennials, who have grown up fluent in computer-driven technology, usually don’t apply if / then computer logic to their personal decision-making and daily behavior. This makes them even more ill-equipped than their elders to cope realistically with sudden change.

For example, in a personal email sent in response to “Give Millennials an App for Their Inner Compass,” Tom Richards detailed his frustration with Millennials:

I live in NJ where Hurricane Sandy hit dead center. Devastation like you would not believe. No power in most of the state for over 8 days. Here are actual examples which I came across immediately following the storm . . .

1. An hour after the storm ended, early in the morning, a car load of kids in their mid-twenties got stuck in a washed out piece of road in front of my house. No power, of course, and trees down everywhere. When the kiddies came to my door to ask to call for a tow truck, I had to laugh. When I asked them why the hell they were out on the roads, in their PJ’s none the less, immediately after the storm of the century, I got this. “We don’t have power and want coffee and breakfast. We are going to WaWa to get some.” Didn’t even dawn on them that if they have no power, and the state has no power, the WaWa doesn’t have power. Nor did it dawn on them that with the storm and devastation, that the people who work at WaWa would not be able to go there and open it for them.

2. Three days later the local farmers market opened, even though they only had power to keep the refrigerated items going. No power within 3 counties at this point. A young couple who lives two doors down needed food. Went to the market and came home empty handed. They had no cash, and the store was obviously only able to take cash. They pay for everything with their debit cards. Never dawned on them to have some cash around for emergencies and things like this. They were mad that the store wouldn’t sell them anything nor that they couldn’t take the debit card. It also is interesting that they never even thought to prepare even though warnings were given over and over.

3. My daughter and her friends were hungry. Her friends hadn’t had a hot meal in days. Plus, it had gotten cold and most had no heat. They came over to our house. Saw we were using my wood stove in the music studio to cook on and stay warm. It never dawned on them (or their parents, which frightened me) to use their BBQ propane grill or make a fire to cook with nor to build a fire in their yards to at least get a bit warm.

4. Just about every traffic light was out, and roads were blocked by either police or downed trees. I cannot tell you how many younger people stopped in front of my house when they saw me there to ask me how to get to a certain place, and also how many could not understand when I gave them road names where those roads were. . . .

What most amazes me is that repeatedly, after each disaster, whether natural or man-made, in media interviews, the “victims” chant the same mantra. “It was a WAKE UP CALL.” But life goes on. After the initial shock wears off, people get mired once again in the routines of daily living. And they forget. They go back to sleep.

We aren’t changing! And time is running out. As the late computer leader-innovator Steve Jobs poignantly observed:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Time is a blessing and a luxury. None of us knows how much time we have left to WAKE UP, think, prepare, and perhaps survive whatever is to come.

Commenting on “Change the Rules of the Knowledge Game,” Peter Fellingham gave his opinion:

Another reason why people avoid critical thinking is because it usually results in significant introspection. Introspection tends to make clear the responsibility the individual has for the resolution of their own troubles.

I answered back:

Peter, you’ve pinpointed the blind spot in curriculum — the information deficit of which I speak. Clear & critical thinking isn’t often taught in schools, nor are problem-solving tools provided as essential basics. They should be.

Then there’s the question of motivation. Requires a carrot & stick approach. The stick is awareness that laziness comes with horrific consequences. The carrot is assurance of the benefits which accrue to living a self-responsible life.

In part, people often avoid issues they find too fearful to face. If there truly are no better options, and only dangerous consequences, keeping still is an understandable choice. However, if better options ARE available, then making them known and available is an important first step in positive change. That’s what I’m working to accomplish.. . .

So, if you and/or those you lead and care for have been avoiding introspection, if you’ve been ignoring the warning signs and denying fears for the future, waiting for dangers to miraculously disappear and problems to be solved without effort, it’s time to take the striking two-by-four hint from escalating wake-up calls worldwide.

It may be a matter of survival to rethink priorities while there’s still precious time left to do so. Ask, If not now, when?

And consider the likelihood that the life / family / organization you save may be not only yours, but those of generations to come.

How Can I Be More Clear?

Whenever I tweet Einstein’s warning — “We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive” — Twitter followers favorite and retweet it. But it seems as if anything longer is too much for the majority with little time (and/or short attention spans).

So here — in pictures and bullet points of 140 characters (or less) — is a summary of my work:

  • Paradigms (ideas, beliefs) rouse emotions, which in turn fuel the actions which generate results.
  • Complete and correct paradigms result in positive emotions and lead to well-being in every area of life.
  • Incomplete, dysfunctional paradigms fragment the mind/body. They result in misery and failure across the board.
  •  Tampering with the consequences of dysfunctional paradigms doesn’t help.
  • Restoring a positive paradigm is the basic first necessary step in generating positive change.

HERE IS THE COMPLETE AND CORRECT POSITIVE PARADIGM OF CHANGE:

PPoC Wheel

  •  This mandala picture repeats in artworks throughout the ages, worldwide. It is the basic archetype of the human psyche.
  •  It embodies the timeless basics, consistent with what Aldus Huxley called the “perennial philosophy.”
  • It is also compatible with the philosophy of the Book of Change, the Chinese I Ching.
  • The PPoC places the three variables of Einstein’s formula of energy conversion into the concentric circles of a wheels-within-wheels model.
  •  The PPoC embodies the Unified Theory which Einstein sought, and ironically already had, but for lack of yoga wisdom, didn’t know it.
  •  The PPoC is a worldview which answers Joseph Campbell’s call for a way to recognize the humanity of a man on the other side of the globe.
  •  This model of change is equally compatible with ancient yoga, the world’s enduring religions, and modern physics.
  • It mirrors the basic structure of natural creation, from the atom’s rings around a nucleus to planets revolving around the sun.
  •  The center of the wheel is the unchanging source of life. We emanate from and return to this eternal source.
  • The PPoC is the picture of human completion. Each individual contains all the potentials of the entire universe.
  • To the extent we have forgotten this, we bring misery and destruction upon ourselves and others.
  • We are bent out of shape in countless ways. Levels are dissociated, unbalanced, unprioritized or even cut out entirely.

HERE IS A PICTURE of WAYS in WHICH the PPoC WHEEL of LIFE IS DISTORTED:

 

0 Bent out of shape

  • To reverse this process, re-member and restore our True Selves, self-actualizing potential, is each person’s primary personal responsibility.
  • Lasting, enduring change begins only from the inside out, and one person at a time.
  • The Positive Paradigm Handbook gives the step-by-step method for initiating this positive change.
  • At this critical point in history, human survival can no longer be taken for granted.
  • As Einstein warned, “We will require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”
  • The Positive Paradigm Handbook gives the method for cultivating this new manner of “thinking like a genius,” making theory REAL.

  • Millennials, who have little vested interest in prevailing dysfunctional paradigms, are our best hope of the future.

globe

Sometimes I get discouraged. (Today especially.) Current events seem to parallel the story of Noah, who prepared to face immanent danger alone in his calling.

I begin to doubt whether it’s worth the time and personal anguish to keep writing. It seems as if, no matter what I say or do, people will persist in ignoring every wake-up call, heedlessly scurrying about their daily errands as if blocking out anything/everything they’re afraid to face will prevent the unthinkable from happening to them.

But then I remember the words from the end of Schindler’s List that have become my mantra, “To Save One Life Is To Save the World Entire.” In PPoC context, each of us IS a universe complete. This Talmudic saying is literally true. So I continue to write, passionately hoping that the life which could be saved is yours.

Do humanity a favor. Reblog and share this message of hope with those you love and wish well, as I do.

When the Lights Go Out, Who Will Millennials Call?

Whenever I hear how addicted Millennials are to their iPods, social media friends and electronic war games, I cringe. It reminds me of the biblical story about handwriting on the wall. As I recall, in ancient times, a mysterious message magically appeared on a decadent palace wall, writ large by an invisible hand in a script unknown to King Belshazzar or his corrupt cronies. To those able to decipher such warnings, however, it predicted the ruler’s extinction.

Millennials are touted as the golden children of progress. “They’re the last best hope for our future,” I hear you say. That’s the rumor, anyway.

But there’s another rumor. Ever hear the maxim, “Whatever has a front has a back?” It continues, “The larger the front, the larger the back.” It’s another way of saying, “Every coin has two sides.”

In this case, let’s ask, “On the day when the lights go out, what would happen to wiz kids dependent on their electronic toys? What use would their extreme investment in computer skills be then?” The logical answer: None. Zip. They’d be helpless and useless.

Nor is this scenario as unlikely as most would hope. Look at the decrepit condition of overworked national grid systems. Consider the frequently threatened possibility of hostile cyber attacks.

I have a powerful memory of the night the lights went out in New York City. It lasted only a span of a few days. I don’t recall the exact date or duration. Only the horror of that early warning remains clear.

Thousands were trapped in high rise apartment buildings. Their windows didn’t open to fresh air. Phones were down. Radios and TV didn’t work. They couldn’t communicate with loved ones or connect with the outside world for help.

Kitchen and bathroom gadgets were useless. Food and water supplies ran dangerously short. What little food remained in freezers started to spoil. Without central air, slow suffocation was a real possibility. Without lighting, folks could barely fumble their way down long flights of stairs. Those who managed to get outside faced a nightmare war scene of muggings, looting, widespread panic and riots.

After that, if I’d lived in any large city, I’d have relocated as quickly as possible. Some said it was a wake-up call. But, surprisingly, people still continue to go quickly back to sleep, even after a long string of similar wake-up calls. Life appears to get back to “normal” (whatever that may be). Most just shrug and revert back to their old dependencies.

In my last blog, “Early Adapters Are Most Likely To Survive,” I hinted at my best hope for Millennials. [See wp.me/p46Y5Z-c8.] I held that once Millennials start connecting the dots and seeing the larger picture of how the Book of Change resonates with their own computer and game addictions — as well as the enormous implications — there’s a genuine, valid basis for future hope.

This hope is the up-side to the same maxim, “The larger the front, the larger the back.” Name, the same computer technologies turned outward to connect with peers and dazzle (or alienate) their elders have biological and metaphysical equivalents. When turned inward, they have the potential to empower Millennials in a way that changes the dark side of dependency on technology to an opposite and equal survival advantage — even and especially in the face of a (God forbid) technology-poor future.

Here’s the key. There are powerful correspondences between technology and human anatomy. Inventors have always depended on self-awareness to create extensions. For example, the violin’s resonant music depends on the same science of sound vibrations that powers the alternating pulsations of the breath and the lub-dub rhythm of the human heart. It’s no accident that the musical instrument’s parts have human anatomy names — neck, belly and spine. Other examples are legion. Think of the horse-drawn chariot, steam engine, train and automobile, to name a few.

Those who practice the I Ching-related discipline of yoga intentionally tune their bodies as instruments. By regulating the breath and slowing their heart rates, they heighten awareness and increase lifespan.

IF (dare I say when) Millennials connect the dots and recognize the powerful correlations between computer technologies and the human brain — how it’s wired, stores information, etc., —  they can, with appropriate disciplines, change themselves into instruments of higher consciousness. Because, just as violins don’t have souls — it takes musicians to fashion them and then activate their potentials — so also, computers don’t have souls. Their inventors and those who choose to use them wisely do.**

Lumosity computerized games are tapping into the vast potential for good. But so far, based on the limited and limiting research methods of empirical science, they’ve just scratched the surface (quite literally so). To go deeper and actualize the unrecognized potential for expanding human consciousness latent in computer technologies, it’s necessary to look to the tried and tested science developed over eight-thousand years and counting that’s hiding in plain sight. Yes, I’m referring to the Chinese I Ching.

Here’s a picture of how it fits into the larger scheme of things as an essential puzzle piece of the larger, atom-like structure of Einstein’s intuited Unified Theory.

Fits in the Picture

There’s powerful magic latent in the timeless Book of Change, albeit written in a language not all understand. Like the ancients who were able to read, heed and survive the handwriting on the wall, those of every generation who attune themselves to the wisdom of this interactive book will have the edge on future survival. By this I mean not just clinging to the bare minimum of animal existence, but a hopeful new beginning.

And no, this isn’t new age hocus pocus. Although it resonates in musical ways that seem magical to the uninitiated, the modern sciences of atomic physics, computer binary digital code, and DNA structure/function now give intriguing explanations as to how/why it works on a cellular or even atomic level. To repeat, once Millennials start connecting the dots and seeing the larger picture of how the Book of Change resonates with their own computer and game addictions — as well as the enormous implications — there’s a valid basis for genuine future hope.

How can this be? How does this all work? Here’s another pair of maxims, rarely understood, even less often applied: “As within, so without” and “As without, so within.”

In any case, on the day when the physical lights go out, those who depend on inner light for guidance will be the ultimate survivors. In the interim, intelligent use of the interactive Book of Change can serve to reconnect sincere preppers (early adapters) with their deepest core. It gives those with an open mind the wisdom needed to navigate successfully through dangerous times.

Electricity and the many kinds of vehicles it powers are ephemeral mirrors of the inner source upon which they depend, the eternal light which sustains those open to receive it. To repeat what was earlier written for a Millennial who challenged me with a leadership question, “Dangerous Times Call for True Radicals.” [See wp.me/p46Y5Z-aA.]

When preparing for danger — the eventuality, for any host of reasons, that the physical lights go out — the best answer to the movie question “Who you gonna call?” isn’t “Ghost Busters.” But close. Call on the myth busters who dispel dysfunctional paradigms like the limiting exclusively empirical science paradigm which has gotten us into our current mess. Call on the radical truth-and-light-bearers of all times.

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** [Atheists may argue the point. There’s no time left for such nonsense. Besides of which, this has already been addressed at length elsewhere.  See Atheism Answered.]

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