Our beloved country is at a crossroads. Economic and cultural failure raises the question who are we as a country, and what is our destiny. We are citizens committed to personal integrity, expanding education, and ending repression and violence. We pursue the American Dream for ourselves as model for the whole world.
Rebirthing the American Dream
Celebrating Inauguration Of Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President Of The United States of AmericaBy Dudley BennettAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Dudley Bennett
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4389-8841-2Contents
Chapter One Rebirthing the American Dream...............................1Chapter Two Soul Is Destiny.............................................13Chapter Three Integrity Is Being Whole And Complete.....................21Chapter Four Life Force Is Love.........................................37Chapter Five The Simplest Truth.........................................47Chapter Six The Reach Of The Human Mind.................................57Chapter Seven Anthroposophy.............................................61Chapter Eight Mortal Mind Divine Mind...................................69Chapter Nine Glossary...................................................81
Chapter One
Rebirthing the American Dream
The inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as 44th President of the United States brings new hope to a morally and economically tattered nation. Citizens are palpably excited about the election that elevated this calm and clear headed citizen to the highest office of the land. Equally moving, was the recent celebration of the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. of blessed memory. His "I have a dream" vision of a free people burst out of his heart on the steps of the Lincoln Monument and continues to inspire generations. As citizens of a democracy we know we are responsible for our beloved country both its conception and fulfillment. We walk in the footsteps of great men.
We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ...
With this vision embedded in our hearts, whatever position and station we hold in life, with hard work, innovation, and quick learning, we will fashion new approaches to vexing challenges. We do this to prove ourselves worthy of our great heritage. My intention, to the best of my abilities, is to fulfill my duties as citizen. This collection of essays is designed to put citizens in touch with their deeper selves, unlock their greatness, allow them to regain control of their destiny in order to benefit mankind. When marching in the same direction, a free people are undefeatable.
I intend for my countrymen to experience depth of soul and paths of honor. We shall create classes, schools and institutions to bring this about. What I desire you see lies beyond ordinary sense perception. I delve here into the spiritual nature of life and immortality. In approaching the indescribable reader must wonder and wander a bit in places not usually visited by ordinary consciousness. I am impelled by a larger vision to discover and rebirth the dream that made America great.
I join those who argue for the sanctity of human life. Surrounded by ugliness and violence we have much to rise above in order to promote human dignity and equality. Life is not a game in which competition eclipses cooperation and we are known by our absurdities. Rather our short stay under the sun is an opportunity to recreate the expectation of greatness that empowered our forefathers. Holy writ counsels: "Honor all men, love the brotherhood, reverence God ..."
Three fundamental ways of viewing the world include Mechanistic Materialism, Mythic Ritualism, and Metaphysical Monism. While they evolved historically, all three can be seen in any age, and most vividly in our own.
Mechanistic Materialism
Once sent in motion and governed by the immutable laws of cause and effect the world proceeds to a random and chaotic end. German pessimist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) said at its core the universe is not a rational place. In a world of endless strife that has no meaning the best path is to minimize desire, value the quiescent aesthetic, and moral life. When life is a jungle and values instinctive, survival is the only concern. Newtonian mechanistic materialism asserting a closed universe indifferent to human effort inadequately explains the continuous vigor of the world.
Ritualistic Mysticism
Stories about supernatural beings, sacred ancestors and heroes employed to explain the nature of the world, human psychology, and social customs are no longer compelling. Whatever its pretentions for truth and revealed wisdom too often religion has become another snout at the public trough of political and financial advancement. Placing rationalization above reason, physical above metaphysical, survival above honor, the institution makes itself adjunct to the powerful. When indifferent to the pain of others it appears able and ready to promote injustice, conflict, and terrorism.
There is irony in no-compromise theology. Human destiny, it avows, depends solely on divine providence who before time began predestined individuals to heaven or hell. Revealed in holy writ, religious doctrines are not open to investigation, discussion, and testing. It is alleged that due to its own corruption mankind suffers original sin. It is argued man is placed on earth for the sole purpose of glorifying God not obsessing on earthly problems. While humans deserve eternal damnation, an inscrutable God grants Grace of salvation to an elect few.
Making God arbitrary and vindictive is blasphemy. To dismiss the life force as empty drama is too facile. To reduce human discourse to ritual display is too banal. To overlook the elegance and depth of the cosmos is too shallow. To obviate tension between good and evil is too simple. Life is real. It is not practice. In pain and joy we participate with that which is coming into being. Not arbitrary adjuncts, the human soul is at the heart of the business of creation. What we do here is to discover our true destiny.
Metaphysical Monism
Reality is a unified whole and all things are part of a single existent consciousness. Monism is a nexus between ancient Gnosticism and contemporary physics. A paradigm is emerging, enabling us to deepen our understanding of the universe and the role of human consciousness. We are on the verge of a new incarnation on the planet where individuals share in the creative power of the life force and bring about the much dreamed of peaceable kingdom.
Physicists tell us the world is composed of waves of possibilities and probabilities that do not exist in space and time and have no objective content. It is indeed mysterious that waves collapse and become elemental particles of the physical when observed by man or machine. When there is an observer in the equation the physical world comes into being. In the wave/ particle duality, we cannot know what is going on in the waves because only what we see is visible to us. While the collapse has a machine like nature, it takes a conscious person to set up the apparatus, observe and measure the results.
All matter is connected to the farthest reaches of the universe. All sentient life shares consciousness and participates in the field of boundless possibilities. Moment to moment, the aware person shares the dimensionless underpinnings of the micro and macro universes. There is vast physical and metaphysical power in calm abiding. Through the process of intention the human spirit is a powerful tool to influence reality. Artists, saints, and musicians who spent their days and lives in prayer, work, and retrospection have produced much good for mankind.
The reality we face daily is not what it appears to be. Consciousness is the unseen power in the world in which we live. When consciousness enters matter it creates mind which is the secret underground of existence and the realm from which we come. As a fundamental part of the universe, we were born to be involved in reality and influence it. In some supernatural way we put our understanding into the world.
Countrymen must awaken to challenges at the beginning of the Second Millennium. Life on the planet has a phantasmagorical quality as fanatics seek to destroy unbelievers by waging terrorist wars. The peace-loving majority, distracted by sports and pleasure, cannot sit back and let it happen. The peaceful majority in Russia let the Communists murder about 20 million people. Chinese Communists killed a staggering 70 million people. German genocide destroyed 6 million Jews. During World War II Japanese slaughtered their way across South East Asia killing 12 million by sword, shovel, and bayonet. Rwanda collapses in butchery.
Holding life to be a jungle where only the fittest survive, the neighbor becomes predator. When survival and comfort are paramount, fascist leadership expand its geopolitical domain by enslaving others. Irrational fierceness drives the zealot, fanatic, and terrorist. Secrecy, deceit, double-talk and violence are means to social control. To amass power it makes sense to conflate the sacred and holy with the barbarous. Reason put in service of warfare, becomes a casualty itself.
Let us awaken from our stupor and no longer tolerate fanatics who seek to rule the world through fear, boasting of their desire for a martyrs death, and welcoming the end of the world. As free people let us resist fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, and butcher the innocent. We must obviate those who teach their young to kill and become suicide bombers. Not misled by pious slogans, we shall not surrender honor nor be cowed by threat. Let us not sit aside indifferent to life and death matters.
We are in danger today of forfeiting the precious legacy of liberty bequeathed by our founding fathers. With an inspired view of the ordinary man's ability to rule themselves, our founders created a self-correcting system of checks and balances that has protected us from tyranny for 200 years. Today this system is in crisis not from inquisitions, feudal monarchs, or mischievous nobles, but from the cynical view that national problems are too complex and change too rapid, that it is beyond an ordinary citizens capacity to understand much less to act through channels of republican government.
Leaders arrogate increasing authority to act on personal and individual motivations unconcerned with the outcome for the rest of us. While assuring they have our best interests in mind, they subvert civil liberties and close down open society. Human self-determination is a thrilling and radical idea; transforming human society vastly increases human potential.
Citizens are not commodities. They are not just consumers. Let us elevate our sights and mount a higher vision of citizenship than the mercantile idea of endless consumption. Driven by the current fad or fashion they are encouraged to buy and spend, leading to indebtedness. It becomes unpatriotic not to consume since economics is the central way we relate to the rest of the world. Social status and rank are determined by the size of a persons bank account, stock portfolio, and mansion.
Let us commit ourselves to creating a country that models the rule of law, promotes education and science, and furthers world-wide peace. America is bright city on a hill, a beacon that models justice and compassion for the rest of the world.
Lets us cherish sacred honor, Abide peacefully in life and death. Calm self with silence of the field. Do no harm. See yourself essential part of the whole. In conflict not loose sight of your destiny, Spiritualize, all of it, always Reverence and value life in all its forms. Take responsibility for all of it. Source energetic healing for others, Rejoice in the arts, Practice tenderness and compassion.
By indifference we participate in degrading the human enterprise and passively support evil. Founding fathers held out the dream for citizens to be responsible for themselves, each other, and the nation. As citizens we must work to keep alive the splendid and unprecedented experiment in human self-determination. Be alert to these anti-democratic moves such as are included in the diagram below.
When you see these know it is time for a new civil rights movement. We must resist forces that distance citizens from protections of the Constitution. Use every opportunity to define and resist fascist tendencies aimed at glorifying the state and increasing control of citizen ambitions.
When we become fully conscious we recognize our spiritual heritage and see the common potential in all mankind to heal and transform. Mutual recognition is the realization that all beings share the same life force. All are able to manifest love, build trust, proclaim forgiveness, and serve the common good. We dare not recognize the divine imprimatur in each other, or be dissuaded by fear. God confronted Cain by asking "Where is your brother?" Cain replies with the off-putting line of the self-absorbed who turn their backs on the poor and oppressed in the world saying "Am I my brother's keeper?" Living secure with material abundance the indifferent allow themselves to believe others are distant others and not real beings like themselves. Turning away from strangers, denying their right to be cared for, is to disaffirm and disallow the life force in ourselves and others. To tolerate persecution and destruction of others is to deny our own personal integrity and honor.
The life force embedded in us is the inherent movement toward goodness and holiness. It is a force for transformation and healing fitting our present state of evolution. Our task is to bring forth aspects of ourselves that have always been there. Recognizing the universality of the life force is the defining moment in an individual's life. Nothing is fundamentally missing from the human experience. Reality is not piecemeal; it is all here and perfect just the way it is. By elevating our sights and recognizing our self-constituted ability to reflect love and healing, we become part of the creative and redemptive energy both inside and outside of us.
American Dream
Let us rebuild the American dream of small self-contained functioning communities spread across the nation composed of ethnic family structures. A place where individual moral and social ethical values are vibrant and alive within individuals and their institutions. Where the value of something can be ascertained. Where institutions are scaled to the human size. Where the false idol of wealth has no devotees. Where education built on the humanities, arts, and science fosters transcendent visions for humanity. Where healers garner citizen love and respect. Where life and death are cherished in the daily activities of citizens.
When able to quiet retro and neo minds and are without bodily disturbance, individuals align with the ganzfeld and experience peace, equanimity, and joy. They have a sense of omniscience and participation at the heart of the life force. External oriented life driven by desire to wealth, power, and position recedes and is replaced by a conscious desire to be a source of healing during a finite visit to this planet. High lighting the life force gives meaning to mortality. Rather than manifesting absurdity, our "three score and ten" are our part of possibility which sentient life is.
The scale and complexity of problems today call into question the ability of democratic government to frame issues in such a way they lend themselves to meaningful plebiscite. We face strong fascist tendencies from elected officials who experience citizens distance from and impertinence to complex multi-national issues of statecraft. Due to rapidity of change, immediacy of conflict, and rationalizations galore, leaders assurances they act in the best interest of the citizenry are met with dubiety. If we scale down the size of representative government, the hearts and souls of the electorate become pertinent to political discussion and ballot
This America exists. Let us hold up the rural community as model of what we seek for future generations. Democratic communities join in representative State government. State Officials meeting in the national capital create a federal configuration to further, not world-wide hegemony, but functional values of included communities. This life respecting model where the power of love replaces the lust for power will inevitably attract others.
The future we seek involves rethinking who we are as citizens. How can we maintain democratic values in representative government? Our 200 year history has taught us much about what to avoid and what may lie in our best interests. We do not worship at the altar of the false god of world-wide sovereignty. With proper education and support we assume all cultures, nations and ethnic groups can find their own place in the sun.
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Excerpted from Rebirthing the American Dreamby Dudley Bennett Copyright © 2009 by Dudley Bennett. Excerpted by permission.
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