Archive for the ‘Behavior’ Category

There are two types of anger… ego based anger and righteous anger.  As frustrations and demonstrations mount here at home and around the globe, it’s vital that we distinguish between the two. Without such discernment, we will become victims of our own misguided behavior.

Ego based anger is about control and lack of forgiveness.  When we have an expectation or plan that does not result in the outcome we desire, feeling out of control results in anger. The thought process is as follows: “If I were in control I could have made happen what I wanted to happen.”  Likewise when we (or someone else) do something to negatively affect the outcome we seek, resentment and blame for the interference causes the resulting anger. Lack of forgiveness is the culprit.

Righteous anger, on the other hand, is not personal. It originates from an awareness that I, or another, am not acting in a way that causes growth and spiritual advancement. Perhaps the most recognizable example is Jesus striking down the tables in the Temple. Yes, he was angry. But it was not self-destructive anger, nor was it destructive of others.  It was anger born of knowing that the behavior was inconsistent with the highest good.

Why is it so important that we understand the distinction? The answer lies in the effect each has on ourselves and others.

Ego based anger feeds itself and builds accordingly. It has no purpose or end other than destruction. Righteous anger is a wake-up call. It is meant to bring one present and stimulate honest inquiry into intention, behavior and direction.

Spring and summer are coming. So is a national election. The Occupy movement, and those with less than altruistic motives who seek to capitalize on the discontent, are already talking about and planning for “Days of Rage.”  Unless we are fully conscious and aware of the distinction between egocentric anger and righteous indignation then rage, when stoked, will thrust the Nation and the world toward the annihilation of personal freedom and the implementation of rule by force… of the many by the few.

It is up to each of us to make certain we identify the source and quality of our anger and be certain it is righteous in origin and not motivated by personal feelings of inadequacy or control.

This is the most assured path toward overcoming the planned destruction of ego looming on the horizon.

 

Just when you think it can’t get any more absurd or bizarre…Herman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich.  Of course, if I were Newt Gingrich, I’d be standing as far from Herman Cain as I could. But then again, I don’t share the common values of 1) objectifying women and 2) being unfaithful in marriage that these two men share.

I want to believe that we as a Nation, not to mention human beings, have reached a point where we no longer believe the image that politicians and media outlets project but rather make our decisions based upon actions not words. If that is in fact the standard then Newt Gingrich is unacceptable as a Presidential nominee.

Mr. Gingrich was disgraced as Speaker of the House of Representatives, has left a trail of unethical and shameful personal behavior, and is a Progressive.  His most admired U.S. Presidents are Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Wilson began the Progressive movement and the drive for big government under which we now suffer and Roosevelt implemented Progressive policies with abandon. In fact, Roosevelt was so power hungry and dismissive of the Constitution that his Presidency led to the passage of a Constitutional Amendment limiting the Presidency to two terms so no individual could ever again so abuse access to power.

I believe that we get the leader we deserve. If we refuse to think for ourselves but instead follow the herd, we will have as our choice either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich on one side and Barak Obama on the other.  Each of those is noticeably flawed.

If, however, we do our homework and look deep into the policies, actions and character of the leader we seek, Rick Santorum will be the next President of the United States. Remember, we get the leaders we deserve. I hope we deserve Santorum.

I wonder….

 

The Gingrich candidacy deserves the two consecutive posts I am giving it. It deserves both because it’s critical that his candidacy be terminated as quickly as possible. Newt Gingrich is dangerous man, I am sorry to say…dangerous because of something we all struggle with: ego.

So many Americans, in their haste to be entertained and their willingness to abdicate personal responsibility are distracted by Gingrich’s intelligence and showmanship. Intelligence without ethics is a vacuum waiting to be filled by whatever steps up first. Usually, it’s pure ego. The desire, one might even say the inherent need, for self-aggrandizement.

I have no doubt Gingrich will have to bow out… either gracefully or perhaps, with that theatrical “hook” around his throat that you see in comedies when the actor refuses to timely exit stage left. My certainty comes from the fact that he’s left too much ugliness in his past personal and public service lives… and too much of it is recent.

We are a forgiving people, but the mea culpa goes a lot farther when the act(s) needing forgiveness occurred in the distant past.  When you’re asking for access to the control button on ultimate power…well…even recent acts sincerely seeking forgiveness will be forgiven.  It’s just that the forgiveness will be followed by a “No thank you. We forgive you your past we just don’t trust you with our future.”

So, yesterday Nancy Pelosi hinted at one of the dark sides of Newt Gingrich.  Today former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams reveals another. The House Ethics Committee considered his prolific “doodles” where he routinely drew himself as the center of the political Universe. And so it begins. Exit stage left.

My real concern is not if he will go but how soon before damage is done. We are heading into the most important election of our lifetime. Our continued well being depends on its outcome. Literally. Gingrich’s showmanship and eloquence are a distraction.

Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama are examples of intelligence without ethics. The Nation is in dire need of a candidate with an ethical foundation who is bright enough to discern and gifted enough to lead.  It’s the ethical foundation that is key.

At the moment the alternatives are Santorum, Romney and Paul.  Stay tuned and stay alert. Your voice and your desire to be more than simply entertained for the next 9 months is why you’re here.

There’s an expression among con artists that refers to a habit or gesture that gives away the con. It’s called, if I am correct, a “tell.”  Newt Gingrich has a tell.  I’ve noticed it every time he is questioned by either another Republican candidate during debate or when asked a question by a reporter. He sort of furrows his brow, squints his eyes, looks somewhat askance and gets a quizzical look on his face as if to say, “huh?” A noticeable uncertainty for a man so eloquent and ready to respond.

I most recently saw that look last night during the final Republican Presidential debate when Mitt Romney accused Gingrich of “influence peddling” and “lobbying” based upon Gingrich’s financial relationship with Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal mortgage giants.

I’ve written about why Newt Gingrich should not be President in a prior blog post. Then, it was based upon his rather unseemly behavior with ex-wives and paramours. Then there’s the whole ethics violation charges while he was Speaker of the House and his inability to garner sufficient votes within his own party to maintain that position. Now there’s Freddie and Fannie.

What is astonishing to me are the amount of people who seem willing to make the same mistake in 2012 that was made in 2008: Take the candidate at face value and rhetorical eloquence even if it flies in the face of reason…not to mention past behavior and/or accomplishments.

I think there are three reasons so many are on the “Newt Wagon.”  First, they want to see him verbally crush President Obama. Gingrich is a heady match for any opponent. But it would be darn close to entertainment many would pay for to see the teleprompter dependent and manipulative Obama have to go up against Newt. Second, many people want to believe that words are the same as action and since Newt can speak a good game they want to believe he will deliver one.  Finally, too many want to abdicate personal responsibility by looking past the surface razzle dazzle and do the homework it takes to know where a candidate really stands and what he or she has actually accomplished. All together, these three reasons combined make for a tragic outcome for the nation.

If the choice is ultimately Obama vs. Gingrich, we will have to choose between two very flawed men. Gingrich is flawed in both his personal and professional life. Obama is flawed by lacking anything resembling leadership capability. Both men lack integrity.

What’s the solution?

Let’s support integrity over show and values over theology.  If we do that, we’ll at least have to choose between either Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

Then, at least, we’ll have a fighting chance to turn this sinking ship upright.

In a recent conversation with a friend, she told me that the reason she has never been interested in politics is because it’s all a lie.  However, recently she delved in for a brief visit and came away with her beliefs reinforced.  After watching the Republican Presidential debates, she called me and said “Obama has lied to us for three years. I watched those Republican contenders and it’s so obvious they will say anything to get the nomination. They are all alike. Politics is professional lying.”

I didn’t have much in my bag of responses to dissuade my friend, mostly because my heart wouldn’t have been in refuting her conclusion. The lying and pandering has definitely played itself out.

So, just maybe it’s not a political leader we should be seeking as much as a spiritual one. By spiritual, I don’t mean religious. The bureaucracies, corruption and politics inherent within organized religion are as much the cause of our current state of things as is secular politics.

By spiritual, I mean the likes of Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi.  These were not people marketing religion. They were people who each had a deeply personal and profound spiritual experience and then lived the truth of that experience.

Perhaps Gandhi, a former lawyer, is the best example for our current needs. Mainly because by his applying his spiritual awakening to his beliefs about national autonomy and individual dignity, he achieved politically what all the politicians and militarists were unable to do. One man, certain of his faith, his ethics, and his path changed the destiny of two nations and perhaps more.

So, as a former lawyer myself, I am rightfully an advocate of exercising our Constitutional right to vote. As such, I encourage all to stay alert and involved in the 2012 election process and make your voice heard. However, your greatest impact will be in emulating Gandhi and following his advice to “be the change you want to see in the world.”

You never know.

You could be the spiritual leader that turns it all around.

I read a startling statistic today. Consumer debt increased in November to a decade long high. Not counting mortgage debt, Americans owe $2.48 trillion. Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 10%, with credit cards rising 8.5% annually and auto or education loans growing at 10.75% annually. I can only assume it was mostly due to anticipatory Christmas shopping.

So let’s see.

In memory and tribute to the birth of Jesus and all that he lived and died for, most people decided to increase their enslavement to materialism…not to mention China.

Is this possible?

Can it be that in a world of disintegrating global economies and a national unemployment rate that translates into 23.7 million unemployed who are unable to find work, our collective response is denial? That’s precisely what more debt signals. It signals denial of reality by all those people who are increasing their indebtedness. Denial of what it means to the economic health of the nation…and therefore, freedom and liberty.

I know something about debt. I know what it does to an individual. I also know what it can do to a marriage. I once lived with credit card. Only when it reached a point that was personally intolerable did I do something about it. Now, I use no credit cards and only purchase what I can pay for at time of purchase. The difference is undeniable. Without debt, there is an absence of anxiety and a feeling of security…not to mention responsibility and autonomy. So it’s easy for me to project the exponential threat to our national well-being and autonomy that the effects of exorbitant consumer debt will have. On top of that, heap our national indebtedness to China with the tenuous state of the dollar and, well, you get the picture.

Or do you?

If you’re reading this post and have debt, stop buying and stop borrowing. Do everything you can to free yourself from enslavement to that insatiable monster. Consumer debt and credit cards are like betting chips at the crap table in Vegas. It a fun ride while you’re on it, but sooner or later someone taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that 1) the chips aren’t real money; 2) they represent real money and 3) since you kept asking for more and adding interest to “borrowing”…here’s an offer of repayment you can’t refuse. Pharaoh started this game thousands of years ago and the end game was ugly then and will be again.

Let’s not be distracted by all the hype over the 2012 Presidential election.  Our way out of this mess isn’t by way of one single individual. Each of us has to personally step up and disengage from the illusion that has enslaved us to forever needing more.

Disengage from it…not deny our continued participation in it.

I have consistently watched the Republican Presidential debates because I like to form my own opinion of what occurred rather than be told by someone else what they saw and heard… especially when its main stream media doing the recap. Last night was no exception. I watched the debate from New Hampshire and my disappointment was palpable.  All of the candidates are, for the most part, missing two ingredients: honesty and passion.

The passion I can live without. I think we all can. While it makes for compelling TV and equally compelling campaigning, I think it entirely possible to have vision without passion. After all, we had a charismatic, passionate candidate in 2008 who took the White House by storm.  In hindsight I suspect most of the electorate, given the opportunity, would gladly rewind and trade-in all that “Hope and Change” for “Honesty and Character.” But hindsight is what it is.

However, while we can live without the passion I don’t think we can live without the honesty.

President James Garfield said, “The truth will set you free but first it will make you miserable.”  We have arrived at this low point in American politics precisely because we have acquiesced in allowing ourselves to be deceived for a very long time. As long as the money was flowing and our lifestyles weren’t affected, we stayed unconscious.  And while we slept, the monster we were feeding grew.  I’ve always believed that people get the leader they deserve.

If we are prepared to face the necessary corrections to get the ship of State, and the culture, back on track then I think we will call forth a candidate who is willing and able to speak truth to us.  If not, then we will have much more to concern ourselves with than the 2012 election.  We will be struggling for our very survival.

I think we are ready for the truth. I think we have exhausted the emptiness of materialism and the alienation of technology.  But it’s up to each of us to make that readiness known. It’s up to each of us to say, “No, I will not choose between two people who have been chosen for me by the powers that be.”

We in the West, raised on Aristotelian logic, think there are only two choices. It’s called a dilemma: “di” meaning “two” and “lemma” meaning problem.  The 2012 Presidential election is not a dilemma. It’s a tetra-lemma taught by the Buddhist philosopher, Nagarjuna.  There are at least 4 possible choices and, maybe even more. And I don’t mean there are 4 viable candidates at the moment. I mean there are many ways out of this situation other than the two obvious ones.  But we have to refuse to respond like trained animals that cannot think for ourselves.  We have to be heard saying, “I reject A or not A” as my only choices.  I demand competency and honesty and until I have that as one of my choices I will not sit down and I will not be silent.

Socrates was one voice. So was Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs.  I’m not comparing missions. I’m only shining Light on the power of one voice imbued with determination and certainty who will not sit down, will not be quiet and demands an alternative way of doing things.

You have one voice.  Are you standing?

“Where the rubber meets the road” is an expression used to make the point that whatever is being referred to constitutes a moment of truth.  I suggest, along that same line of thought, 2012 is where reality meets spirituality. At least it’s where these two aspects of ourselves must meet if we are to survive and prosper beyond where we are now.

We have made advances in science and technology that were thought to be inconceivable 50 years ago, with greater advances yet on the horizon. But in our blindness, or our arrogance, we refuse to acknowledge that other cultures, other civilizations came before us leaving remnants of their own inconceivable technological advances as well and yet, they vanished in totality from the face of the Earth.

The most important lesson we should take from their disappearance is that it isn’t enough to be scientifically or technologically advanced. It is also necessary, in fact critical, that our spirituality…our humanity…be equally developed and advanced. Without common, life affirming values and core ethical principles to act as a framework to contain our creations we will find ourselves also relegated to the dust bin of history.

Which is why the 2012 Presidential election is so important.

It may seem almost ludicrous to write about concepts so daunting and then tie them to something so charged with corruption and greed as politics.  But the import about the 2012 election isn’t about the process or even the candidate.

It’s about you.

This next election is when each of us must step up and take responsibility for what we do with the right to vote. We must look for a candidate to support who stands for those life-affirming values and core ethical principles upon which our future rests. We must not follow the pack or allow someone else to do our thinking, and our concluding, for us. Each of us must realize the crucial transition we, as a species, are passing through and the pitfalls inherent within.

2012 is when the rubber meets the road. Now is the moment each of us must go within and reconnect with our spiritual Selves, allowing that light to illuminate our way forward.

Take this election very seriously. It’s way past the time for complaining about corruption, greed and victimization. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Do that and we may just find our way out of this fire swamp.

 

There are are two stories out today that defy logic and call into question our humanity.

The first is about Iraqi interpreters who worked for the U.S. military.  Now that we are gone, the lives of those brave men, and their families, are in peril. They have been marked for death.  Yet, that’s not the shocking part of the story. The real shock is that bureaucrats at the U.S. Embassy, in processing applications from these individuals seeking U.S. visas (hoping to save their lives) have been dragging their feet at best… and been downright arrogant and rude at worst.

In the second, unrelated story (unless you consider the lack of humanity in both stories as common ground) farmers in Pennsylvania have been using human feces as fertilizer to grow crops. While local residents have done everything they can to stop this public health hazard (waste in their drinking water for starters), what they have been told by their local government is that it’s a Federal issue as permits for such use are issued by the EPA.

Now I don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t want the EPA to be my first, or last, line of defense against harm. Did you see “Norma Rae” or “Erin Brockovich?”

Common sense…that’s what’s lacking. Common sense and respect for all living Beings. If you’re still asleep and thinking that the Federal government, or even your state government, isn’t too big or too busy to protect your wellbeing…think again.  As for how we treat our friends, look no further than these Iraqi translators…or Britain…or Israel, for that matter.

If there’s one takeaway from both of these stories it’s that we must rely upon ourselves, have compassion and concern for life wherever we find it and wake up to the fact the bureaucracies are helpful to a point…beyond which they become a breeding ground for inhumanity.

Now that we get it, let’s start curing this disease by voting out every incumbent in 2012 and starting over. In the meantime, call you Congressional Representatives, and the U.S. State Department, and advocate for those Iraqi translators.

I don’t know how to even begin to cure the EPA. So, for now, I guess we pray for those people in Pennsylvania.

I’m certain that I’m not telling you anything you don’t know… but I am most likely reminding you of something you are trying to forget.

We are in a mess.

In some of us it’s manifesting as uncertainty and fear.  In others, it’s aggression and violence. For yet others…denial and escapism via alcohol, gambling or sex. Whatever the method of choice, each is a diversion from accepting personal responsibility for how we got here.

We’re here because we have been self-absorbed, greedy and lacking in compassion. We have denied our connection to one another and to all sentient beings. Our priorities have been wrong. Our values have been lacking. Our goals have been materially focused. We have ignored our spiritual Selves. We have been unconscious in our choices, believing that irresponsible choices bear no consequences.

I am astonished at how many people are still trying to avoid the reality of what is occurring. How many people are “continuing to dance in the ballroom” so to speak, as if the Titanic is not sinking? Too many.

We need to awaken now, on the eve of 2012, and accept that we are Consciousness Itself, experiencing Itself in physical form. And as such, Consciousness creates what it thinks about. We have spent much time and energy worshipping false idols…from politicians to movie stars to the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the expense of the down trodden, the children and the elderly.

We have been here before. This is a do-over. But only if we get it right this time. If not, I feel fairly certain that Consciousness will conclude that It’s experiment in trusting that humanity would awaken to Its Own Awareness of Who We Really Are was an error in thought and, in an effort to start again, will simply stop supporting the idea.

When Consciousness ceases to intend our existence any longer, humanity will cease to exist in that very instant.

Let’s us make a global New Year’s Resolution that we commit to keeping. Let us resolve to awaken to our Oneness, our Divinity and our commitment to use Free Will to choose, in every situation, the Highest Good for All Concerned.

Consciousness has been watching, and patiently awaiting, our arrival at Awareness. Time is a construct of Consciousness in matter. As Consciousness experiences us repeatedly choosing to remain unconscious…we are running out of time.

Quite literally.