Archive for the ‘The Nation’ Category

I am a Jew.  It’s one of two reasons why I feel compelled to weigh in on Glenn Beck’s recent three-part presentation about financier George Soros and the puzzling response to Beck’s presentation.

I am particularly intrigued today by the New York Times piece painting Beck as an anti-Semite while actually holding out the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a source for that conclusion.  The glaring inconsistency between quotes from Abe Foxman of the ADL in the Times article versus a personal letter from Foxman to Beck implies behind the scenes intrigue.  The Times quotes Foxman as calling Beck an Anti-Semite while just three weeks prior Foxman wrote Beck acknowledging his stand for Jews and Israel and calling Beck an obvious “friend”of both.

So what’s up?

As I said, my Judaism is the first reason I’m writing this.  The second is that I am a lawyer by education and so the facts matter to me.

I have watched and listened to Beck for several years now.  My impression and conclusions about him are derived first- hand.  He has been unequivocal in his support of Jews and rationally wavering on his support of Israel.  I say “rationally wavering” because even Israel makes mistakes and when Beck, in his opinion, perceived one to have occurred he has been vocal in his criticism.  Such criticisms have been the exception rather than the rule.

On the Soros airing and analysis, Beck could not have been clearer that the issue was not Soros’s choices and behavior at age 14 in working for the Nazi’s in confiscating personal property of Jews being condemned to the concentration camps, but rather Soros’ audacity, insensitivity and obvious lack of conscience in stating, after the passage of almost 7 decades,   that he had “no regret” about his behavior and that it has been “the best year of his life.”

I think Beck’s synopsis of Soros’ life experiences and financial dealings was less about an Anti-Semite than about a sociopath.

Quite frankly, any interpretation that paints Beck as an Anti-Semite for his having aired Soros in Soros’s own words has to be based in either 1) ignorance of what was actually presented or 2) a masked agenda to distort the facts in order to denigrate Beck.

Either way, as a Jew and seeker of truth who is trained to base her conclusions in fact, I can assert with certainty that Glenn Beck has consistently been an advocate for Jews, a supporter of the Jewish homeland, and a darn good investigative reporter (my characterization of him… not his own).

The New York Times could learn a thing or two.

While we have known for some time that the country is headed in the wrong direction, we have been unable to uncover what we can do about it. Glenn Beck, long warning of impending difficulties, has most recently suggested prayer in order to enlist Divine intervention and assistance.

While that may seem extreme and a somewhat desperate act unlikely to affect much there is, in fact, historical evidence that to the contrary it is exactly what can save us.

Enter the Book of Esther.

It’s the story of ancient Persia and how one woman’s voice and the prayers of a multitude were all that were needed to rescue a people from the evil intentions of a corrupt and deceitful public official. It was fasting and the prayers of many that summoned Divine intervention and revealed a hidden political agenda for what it was.

The Relevance & The Answer

The people of Pur (hence the holiday of Purim) were facing down entrenched power. So are we. It was fasting and prayer that summoned Divine intervention. It is now our turn. We are at a critical stage in our existence. We are plagued by threats from multiple directions, from without and from within. Our government has become so big as to be unmanageable and our People have come to feel so small as to believe themselves irrelevant.

The Timing

Purim will be observed five months from now on February 28, 2011. Five months may be precious time we cannot afford to waste. However, Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement is observed from sunset Friday, September 17th to sunset Saturday, September 18th…16 days from today. It is a traditional day of fasting and prayer.

I would like to suggest that on Yom Kippur, this most reverent and biblically ordained day, each of us as citizens of this remarkable Nation, regardless of race or religion, fast and pray for the safety of our land and its inhabitants. Further, that we ask for Divine intervention to shine Its Light upon illusion and deceit while guiding us in turning, once and for all, toward the Light of Love and Truth.

Imagine the power and magnitude of that petition!

On Sunday, August 28^th I found myself with my 17-year old daughter in Washington, DC amidst at least 500,000 people attending the “Restoring Honor” rally organized by Glenn Beck. I was there, so the CNBC (and other media outlet’s) estimate of approximately 87,000 is at best laughable and at worst deceitful.

My presence was, quite frankly, shocking to me because throughout my entire life, beginning with Woodstock and all the self-awareness seminars marketed since the 80’s, I have made it my mission to avoid large crowds and events aimed at ”group consciousness.” To have voluntarily arisen at 2:00AM to ride a bus with 58 strangers to an event 3 hours away that anticipated 100,000 attendees was definitely out of character.

So what was that all about?

It was about listening and watching Glenn Beck evolve over the past 3-4 years from entertainer to spiritual messenger. It was about his “track record” for successfully anticipating and, dare I say, accurately predicting economic and political realities. It was about his sincerity… and about the fact that there comes a time in everyone’s life when you must push through where you have been in order to get where you want to be.

So I pushed through.

The rally drew 500,000 courteous people. Hard to imagine, but true. It was a perfectly executed “production” from beginning to end. The content of the 3 hour event was religious, patriotic and uplifting. The highlight for me was Beck. And while he didn’t say anything I have not heard from him previously on radio or TV, he none-the-less continues to hone a vital and timely message, a wake-up call really, for a Nation in need.

I had but one disappointment. While Beck brought onstage 240 clergy from various religious disciplines to close the event, everything that preceded it was decidedly promoting Jesus Christ as a particular path to God. The audience was well in agreement.  It’s important that I say I take no issue with that approach, or personal choice, to a connection with the Divine.  What I do say is that to get to that place where humankind transcends its historical divisions, animosity and limitations, we must move beyond religion and into a Consciousness of Oneness.

I do not say this lightly. I am a Jew with a 5000 year history, and DNA, that teaches its particular path to God as well. But after decades of exploring not only my ancestral path but many others as well, I have come to the conclusion that there is only One of Us… and that organized religion…  no matter who’s it may be … perpetuates separation.

Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Buddha… did not have religious experiences.  They had very personal, spiritual experiences that showed them their connectedness to all of humanity. Later, men lusting after power and hoping to ride the coat tails of someone else’s epiphany, turned those personal experiences into structured and organized dogma with rigidly defined criteria for “getting it right” and getting to God.

Spirituality, as I define it and have experienced it, is a unique journey each of us must take within ourselves until the moment when we reach our own center only to find every other living being having patiently awaited our arrival.

Coming home, as it turns out, is a reunion of fragments of our lost Self.

I hope Glenn Beck continues on the path of energizing and educating our Nation. It is a noble task.

I also deeply pray that either he, or someone else, expands the message to include those who walk every other path so long as they all lead home to the indisputable knowing that there is only One of Us.

Either way there are going to be people unhappy with the outcome of the ethics violation findings against Congressman Charles Rangel.  If it turns out there’s no deal, but rather a full trial before the House of Representatives, some will scream it’s a carnival show deliberately created by the obstruction of the four Republican members of the investigative sub-committee.  If, on the other hand, there’s a deal some will scream “foul” and special treatment for the privileged that would not be afforded a more common criminal.

For me, the outcome isn’t the big story.  For me, it’s the long-awaited public airing of the ethical misdeeds and illegal behavior of a sitting member of Congress and, by definition, a representative of the People charged with our trust and well-being.  But as happy as I am at this long-overdue occurrence, I’m not surprised.

You see, I frequently write about the transition we are going through.  Spiritually, it’s referred to as an “ascension process.”  In simpler terms, it’s an expansion of human consciousness encompassing a higher vantage point from which to view our choices. (Did I just say “in simple terms…?”)!

One of the overriding characteristics of an ascension process is that there are no more secrets.  What that means is that behavior that does not support the highest good (read as “deceitful behavior”) will be forced out into the open… or revealed for what it is.

Hence, Charlie Rangel… who for decades has been able to skate by and avoid the consequence of being confronted with his acts.

It would be a wise decision for anyone watching this drama to pay close attention and take heed.  One need not be a public figure or famous to experience the weight of it, either.  Wherever there is deceit in our lives, whether with ourselves or with another… the inevitable outcome will now be revelation.

So like any “outing”… it’s probably best to do it ourselves, first, rather than have someone else choose the time and place.

Human beings, and particularly Americans, are surprisingly compassionate and forgiving of a mea culpa… and equally hardhearted and unforgiving of those who are caught throwing stones while living in glass houses.

Carpe diem.  Make honesty in your life a priority.  Clean up the muddy stuff.  It’s not too late… for you.

Not so Charlie Rangel.

Okay. These are tricky times.  As uncertainty and fear escalate so too do the voices of polarization.  The Left hates the Right and vice versa.  But there is a more subtle polarization going on that I think is of greater importance and the strongest impediment to our successfully coming through this transition.

The other polarization is between those who wish to restore the past and those who wish to transform it.

Going back is never a good idea. The saying that “the only thing good about the good old days is that they’re gone” is true. The past had a time and a place and they are both gone. Likewise, to so fundamentally transform our Nation that it becomes unrecognizable, is to commit grave and irreversible error. To do so would be to “throw the baby out with the bath water” as another saying goes.

We, as a Nation and as human beings, are on an evolutionary journey.  But this journey requires vigilance… for we have been gifted a quality found nowhere else in Nature: Free Will.  And so we are not only known by our choices but, in a very literal sense, we create our reality by them as well.

Today’s choices are the womb wherein tomorrow’s circumstances gestate.

If we can’t go back because the past is no longer and we can’t discard what the best character and minds of the past 5000+ years have been working on perfecting where does that leave us?

In need of open minds that are ready and willing to comprehend the world differently.  To retain the best while jettisoning the worst.  To understand that change and instability are the norm.  To get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  To learn to be fully present, flexible and compassionate.  To be able to let go while being poised to embrace.

Ever the optimist (while fighting a learned pessimism) I am certain we will succeed.  I don’t think it will be easy but I think it can be exhilarating, and yes, with the right perspective and outlook, even enjoyable.  Roller coasters are uncomfortable and a little scary, but fun.And when the ride is over you’re grateful to have survived it and know with certainty that you’re alive. 

It’s how we’re wired.

Being highly intuitive, I have lots of like-minded, or should I say like-spirited, friends.  At the onset of BP’s Gulf Oil crisis one of them said, “There’s another one coming.”  What just reminded me of her prediction is the FOX Breaking News headline as I write this. 

Seems there’s been another spill.

The obvious question is “What’s going on?” How can there be so much crisis and bad news day after day?  How much stress can people take?  And why are things as they are?

For me the answer is fairly clear since I have a habit of frequently looking at Nature to clear up the unknown.  In reply to these very valid questions I look at how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.  Its a process of transformation… and a difficult and deadly one at that.  There are stages to such transformation.  As one aspect (or form) disintegrates and ceases to exist, another more graceful and less dense emerges.  Such is the stuff of Life… evolving.

Einstein taught us that matter is neither created nor destroyed, only redistributed.  That’s what a butterfly is…a redistributed caterpillar. Unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that for the caterpillar, its the end of the road, so to speak.  But all roads end when you’re in the physical world.  All those roads that led to Rome did also.  The only road that does not end is the one that traverses the cycle of life. 

That road transcends what is in a continuous journey of self-discovery.

My heart aches for all the destruction that accompanies transformation just as my Soul simultaneously delights in the potential expansion of consciousness and quality of life present in the same evolutionary moment.

The chrysalis, that stage of caterpillar transformation, where the adult structures of the butterfly are formed while the larval structures are broken down, must be stressful and can’t be all that much fun.  Neither is all that we are going through.  But as with the larval breakdown, we too are in a breakdown phase of our more infantile or adolescent development as sentient beings… inevitably to emerge as the butterfly…more adult, more graceful, more Light.

Amen.

Two phrases frequently repeated on the spiritual path are “the ascension process” and “paradigm shift.”  Often repeated… but not often understood. 

The ascension process refers to a period when the consciousness of a Soul, or many Souls, is elevated to new and expanded realms of understanding and possibility.

A paradigm shift is movement out of, and beyond, one framework of reality into another.

We are currently in the middle of both the ascension process and a paradigm shift.  Therefore, there are four qualities and characteristics that apply and that we can count on during such a transition. 

Infusion of Light

Light is energy.  Light illuminates.  Light obliterates darkness.  Light is intelligence.  Where the Light goes, obscurity is revealed.  “Darkness” in the context of spirituality is manifested as deceit, greed, arrogance, misuse of power, and oppression… among others. 

With the infusion of spiritual Light during the ascension process all that does not support higher consciousness is revealed.

No more secrets

General McChrystal … BP … open microphones for Joe Biden and Carly Fiorina …  Bernie Madoff … Obama appointee and jobs czar Van Jones having co-founded  the militant and revolutionary organization STORM… brothers John and Tony Podesta : John, CEO of the Center for American Progress advising President Obama on off-shore drilling in the Gulf and brother Tony, lobbyist for B.P. (can anyone say “conflict”?)…and the list goes on and on. 

So why are so many things surfacing that clearly were supposed to be kept secret?

It’s because during the ascension process there are no more secrets. 

Personal responsibility

Being unconscious is a little like being a child. Someone else needs to take responsibility for your actions.  Not so when we’re spiritually conscious and awake.  Now is the time to own that our every thought and action determines, in a literal sense, the reality in which we live, the quality of our relationships, as well as the world we are bequeathing the next generation.

Duty to question

Being responsible means questioning the status quo.  It’s no longer productive to be part of a “herd” mentality… to go along to get along.  Courageous inquiry is the watchword of the new paradigm into which we are moving.  

So why write about corruption and you?

Because it’s up to us now.

A good friend recently expressed being overwhelmed by it all and his feeling that, other than the ballot, we individuals are helpless in the face of so much obvious governmental and political corruption.  I would tell him this.

Things are probably no more corrupt today than they have been for a very long time.  What has changed is 1) access to the information; 2) the speed of dissemination of that information and, 3) the paradigm shift.  For just as the new paradigm has no room for that which is not in the highest good, so too does it require that each of us, on a daily basis, demand the highest integrity from ourselves and never fail to speak truth…your truth… to power.

I’m optimistic.  Change, while scary, is always for the good.  It just takes us awhile to gain the distance, and corresponding perspective, needed to be certain of this fact.

In the meantime, while you’re waiting, be the Light.

I can think of no better example of the cause of the economic (and political) turmoil we are presently enmeshed in than the recently passed health care law.  It is a misguided plan destined to fail… and no one knew this better than the Framers of the Constitution.  They advocated decentralization, as in states’ rights, as opposed to a centralized authority, as in the federal government, because they intuitively knew a basic premise of complexity theory:

The more complex an organization(company, society, government etc.) the less able a centralized administering individual or body is able to know occurrences,and direct remedies, regarding aspects of that organization that are located literally miles, and figurative light years, from the centralized authority. 

The very nature of complexity theory is that in order to discern the changes and shifts that directly affect the whole, it is necessary to determine, as close as possible to the occurrence of change, those actions or events that are impacting overall functioning.

In plain English, and one word, decentralization.

Applied to the political reality of 50 individual entities, each with their own economies and societal preferences, it amounts to states’ rights… not central planning by a federal bureaucracy.  It’s why the Framers were careful and adamant that the powers of the federal government to be limited to preserving, protecting and defending the states.  These enlightened men (as well as the women who,I am certain, played a vital although unrecognized role) were able to anticipate the growth of the nation and the impossibility of governing it from “central command” so to speak.

But that’s exactly what this Administration is doing. In every aspect of our lives… from the auto industry to Wall Street to health care to the oil spill…the means is a centralized authority making decisions about and on behalf of the collective.At best, the policy and approach is misguided.  At worst, it’s sinister… if not in intent then, surely, in its result.

I can give those in power the benefit of the doubt and say what is in their hearts and minds is the highest good for all concerned.  

How does that saying go?  Oh, yes…“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

So, now that we’ve identified the source of the problem, what do we do about it?

Here’s a 5-step plan.

1.       Pray that the hearts and minds of those in power be turned toward what is consistent with freedom and the core principle of individual rights upon which this nation was founded.

2.       Speak up for what you know to be true in your heart and fear not the outcome of being the voice of reason.

3.       Hold fast to faith in the highest good for all concerned… which is different than thinking for and acting by and on behalf of “the collective.”  The highest good for all concerned is the individual’s right to express her or his creativity and intelligence in any way they please, absent harm, and to participate in a free market that bases success or failure on the merit of that effort.

4.       Do not compromise what you expect of yourself or others in order to maintain a status quo.  Be unwavering around ethical and moral behavior and demand a level of adherence by public officials or quickly remove them from office.

5.       Draw upon your own connection to a Source that maintains infinite possibility and boundless creativity in manifesting miracles through the unimaginable acts of goodness and courage.

I never said it was a perfect plan… but unless you’ve already got one… its a plan.

I am not at all disappointed with President Obama’s style, or priorities, in governing thus far.  I did not vote for candidate Obama because I thought, or more accurately felt, something disingenuous and dangerously egotistical about him.

And so I think the country bought exactly what was being sold… if not exactly what it actually wanted.
 
Now, under mounting pressure for his detachment, non-performance and delay, our President is looking to “kick ass” rather than lead.  He is unconcerned with fulfilling the job of leadership for which he was elected (and for which he campaigned) while allowing the judicial process to work as designed to determine negligence and fault, if any, and corresponding liability. The President apparently believes he is judge, jury and executioner.

The problem with his approach is that it is un-American and, more importantly, dangerous.

Our current challenges…economic, societal and global…are not akin to those of a misguided adolescent needing his or her parent to extricate them from the unintended outcome of poor choices.  We are a nation of individuals founded, and grounded, in both freedom of thought and enterprise…going through a period of transition.  What we need is leadership to mirror strength and compassion as we move through new and uncharted territory fraught with pitfalls.

What we definitely DO NOT NEED is an elitist, egotistical ideologue with a specific agenda whose personal mission is to impose the will of a few upon the many.

We are, and always have been, a nation of differences.  It is strength tempered by compassion that creates an environment that fosters the peaceful co-existence of diversity.  Its why the heart chakra (center of compassion)  is located above the solar plexus chakra (center of power).  We are meant to temper strength with compassion. 

We are not meant to “kick ass.”

Its a reasoned guess that this President and I differ on considerably more than we agree upon.  However, I would hope that we agree on this.  The most successful and enduring experiment on Earth in individuality and personal liberty is the United States of America.

The answers to its current challenges will be found in our individual and collective histories, our ingenuity and our continued reverence for personal responsibility. 

The answers will definitely not be found in the failed efforts of undemocratic nations who have repeatedly and unsuccessfully used force, combined with a diminution of personal liberty and personal responsibility, to force upon its citizens an unsustainable political and economic construct.

There’s a lot of talk these days from this Administration and its supporters about “unsustainability.”  I would  suggest that there is nothing more unsustainable, or more unproductive, than a kick ass mentality.

Strength with compassion. Now there’s a winning combo.

And a better campaign slogan.
 

This morning I not only see the silver lining I can actually feel it. 

Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed universal health care. Today, much of the fear that had been plaguing so many people in this country has shifted.  Against all odds, and almost in defiance of reason, the immobilization and concern that are hallmarks of fear have been replaced with a call to action and optimism.

Why?  Because Life has its own agenda.  And as the saying goes, “Man plans and God laughs.”   There’s a parable that’s instructive here:

A horse and cart were being driven down the road when the horse tried to veer off to one side against the wishes of the driver.  So, she lightly pulled on the reigns and the horse returned to the original path.  Moments later, the horse once again veered off the road and this time the driver jerked on the reigns much more aggressively.  Reluctantly, but quickly, the horse resumed the direct path. Finally, on the horse’s third attempt to stray, the driver cracked the whip. Whereby, the horse immediately, and thereafter, stayed on the straight and narrow.

We have had countless “tugs on the reigns” as we, as a nation, have strayed from the direct and intended path.  To each of those we have responded in a way that returned us to where we needed to be… but only temporarily.  We are a “stiff-necked people” with a short memory, it seems.

So, yesterday, we received a miracle! 

The House of Representatives, at least 219 of them, cracked the whip…and while that was not their intention, God was laughing.  For the miracle of passing universal health care is that it has awakened a sufficient amount of people to conscious evolution that we have reached the tipping point.  Now, enough people understand what tyranny looks and feels like.  Now we can actually begin to move in the direction of real change… toward individual freedom, personal responsibility and the kind of oneness that reveals the perversion of socialism and other political systems that purport to speak and act for the best interest of the people.

The best interest of the people is best spoken and acted by the people.  Yesterday, 219 of our elected officials ignored that Universal Law in a push to pass the law of universal health care.  They’ve declared victory.

Listen.  Can you hear that sound?

God is laughing.