Category: Manifesting our Future

The Perpetual Relationship Between Freedom and Power

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Manifesting our Future, Personal Development, Politics, Spirituality, Sustainability

There is freedom and there is power. They are not the same thing. However, our human cultural reality is that these two things very often rise and fall in a correlated manner within a population. I remember a few years back when someone asked the question of a young person what freedoms they would like to have. The young person said something like the freedom to travel by air whenever I want to so I can see the world. The person who asked the question then responded that what they were asking for essentially is the “power”, financial power, to travel by air whenever they wanted. They already possessed the freedom to travel by air whenever they had the means to do so. Sometimes we confuse freedom and power.

They truly are two different things. In the United States the Constitution of the United States of America has theoretically guaranteed our freedom as a God given inalienable right for over 200 years now. Yet, even from the first day that this Constitution took on the effect of the law of the land not all people within the new country were the beneficiaries of this noble, legal, statement. Why? Because some people did not have the power to effectually claim this freedom that theoretically existed all around them. Freedom and power, power and freedom, sometimes they are directly related. Sometimes power is essential to claiming one’s freedom, and sometimes power is what others use to take yours away. Even a cursory look through some history books should produce a number of striking examples of a cause-and-effect relationship between a people establishing their freedom through the use of power or losing their freedom due to someone else’s wielding of power to deprive them of it. So if power is essential to freedom, and we want freedom, how do we get power?

Francis Bacon, a Brit who lived between 1561 and 1626, is credited with delivering the pronouncement that “Knowledge is power.”. For most of humanity’s recorded history on Earth that statement has undoubtedly explained how one tribe or group has ascended into a notable position of recognized power. The knowledge of fire, of metallurgy, of gunpowder, of steam, gas, jet and rocket engines among other things has gradually increased one tribe or civilization’s ability to conquer another. Knowledge has most definitely been closely associated with power and it still is. Knowledge is still a key to humankind’s ability to survive and move forward into a brighter future. However, another kind of power has been growing, competing with knowledge. That is the power of wealth.

Some might say that knowledge is still the key source of power because it takes knowledge to accumulate vast wealth. There is some truth in that. There are ways in existence today, the stock market for example, via which someone who does not possess the creative talents to succeed as an inventor or farmer or entrepreneur can by sheer predatory cleverness amass a great fortune. Also, it doesn’t necessarily require a whole lot of knowledge when it comes to how wealth is utilized. Spending wealth on the myriad high-tech population management and weapons technologies that exist in the world today simply requires the will to do so. And it can require mere information, to employ surveillance and weapons technologies against others. Combine all this with the reality that a predatory shrewdness combined with marked deficits in empathy and sound ethics can and does lead people to “engineer” wars in order to increase sales in war related products and to acquire new resources for further exploitation. The point is power can be and often is simply bought these days. Consequently, the ability to give or take the freedoms of others with less power (money) can be bought along with it.

I think one basic principle of life which most people have learned is that too much power concentrated in the hands of one man, or woman, or relatively small group can and usually does lead to intentional, or unintentional, misuse and/or abuse of that power. Now substitute “money” for “power” and you should be able to see the fundamental problem which underlies a great many of the problems in the world today. We, the global masses of humanity, have allowed an economic reality to emerge in the world which not only allows but glorifies the acquisition of inordinate wealth. And we’re suffering the consequences of our short-sighted follies and and neglect. Of course, in our defense, we as individuals and as populations are all on a learning curve. Yet sometimes critical points are reached at which the costs of lessons unlearned, or unimplemented, can have disastrous effects beyond our expectations.

The real life quote “Greed is alright, by the way.” which Ivan Boesky delivered at a commencement speech at the U.C. Berkeley School of Business, which later seems to have been changed to simply “greed is good” by the cinematic character Gordon Gekko, seems to have been internalized by a large segment of the world’s population. Without going into a lot of detail this has resulted in a competitive business environment which has eroded the foundational ethics necessary for trustworthy, sustainable, healthy enterprises to flourish. At this point in time though, I think there is change happening among many young, and some older, entrepreneurs. Will this change prove to be lasting and genuine or is it merely PR tactic utilized by those who are trying to capitalize upon whatever human decency remains in the world until they get big enough to join in the orgy of greed?

It is important to realize that there are two ways in which greed driven individuals and businesses which routinely sacrifice morals and ethics upon the altar of “profit” negatively affect the prospects of humanity for a long, healthy life. The first is by what they produce in terms of goods/information that sabotages health, trust, and longevity. The second is by what they intentionally withhold that, were it released, would stand to greatly benefit human kind. This second method of harm is especially salient in any discussions of medical/health care and technologies for sustainable energy production. The latter arena of withheld technology has a huge, twofold, impact upon the environment. The first impact is in the opportunity to prevent pollution and the second is in the opportunity to clean up existing pollution. Both opportunities are being criminally ignored. A true crime of omission.

The “bottom line” to all this is that unless we, the majority, want to have our freedoms and many other aspects of our lives perpetually at the whim of one extremely wealthy individual/group or another, it is critical that we limit the amount of money/wealth which any one individual or small group can personally/privately acquire. Not to do so is to continue into a future filled with the sort of ego/profit driven wars, rampant poverty within the world and, as is clearly shown in this essay, the relinquishment of peoples’ freedoms and the stability of their futures and their children’s futures to the whims of the inordinately wealthy.

To do so will require a significant amount of restructuring of our current economic environment. I’m not going to try to delve into all the potential scenarios I’ve contemplated on this subject. I am going to say we can’t have simply a flat income for all people. Such a system would discourage personal incentive. And we can’t have too great a gap between the lowest income and the highest income. I’ve been told there is a Japanese study that suggests when the highest income is 7 times that of the lowest the culture can remain stable. Although I’ve tried to contact the source I heard about this study from I haven’t been successful at obtaining a reference. However, this figure does seem like a potential framework to look at. Some prices will drop, some will rise. Overall I think the cost of living will decrease. I invite you to mentally explore the possibilities that can accompany such a system.

As I heard somewhere recently: information is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom. We need all three of these resources being simultaneously employed for the benefit of all of humanity if we wish to avoid the dystopian future our current trajectory has us hurtling toward.

The Congressional Hearings on UAP are fraught with the same worn-out denials and obfuscations which sincere investigators into these phenomena have faced for decades.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Integrity, Politics, Science, UFOs, UAP

We need to stop giving equal time to the “flat earthers” of Ufology.  The “flat earthers” are those who directly or indirectly attempt to negate all the evidence which has been brought forward by hundreds of conscientious men and women over the past few decades.  Sometimes this negation is expressed by feigning a genuine, healthy interest in the subject and then repeating the worn-out, nihilistic mantra: “Wouldn’t it be great if we had evidence.”

Is it just me reaching this conclusion at this time? I’ve been interested in our beautiful night sky, space, UFO’s (UAP or whatever name is currently in vogue) for decades. I’ve read books and articles, watched videos and documentaries, listened to authoritative people describe their first-hand experiences with alien technology and, in a smaller number of cases, with extraterrestrial beings. A lot of the first-hand accounts come from ex-military personnel who have had distinguished careers. There are the many brave whistleblowers who risk much professionally and personally to come forward with their first-person accounts. Additionally, there are so very many people from all over the world who don’t and have never worked in a profession which would particularly lend them to encountering extraterrestrial craft or beings, yet they have. And again, taking personal and/or professional risks, they speak out.

Why?  I believe it is significantly due to an underlying realization that it matters. Having a reality-based understanding of the world we live in matters. Knowing where our tax dollars are spent matters. As the de facto financiers of so much of the effort that has gone into the investigation of the extraterrestrial phenomena, we deserve to know what our money is being spent on. Which evidently includes the acquisition of extraterrestrial technology and the subsequent research and development which has taken place. Humanity should, by all rights, be able to reap any and all benefits from this technology which stands to improve the quality of lives around the world.  Benefits which, from all reports, will improve our efforts toward a cleaner and healthier environment.

Yes, there are some people who for whatever reason offer up untrue, fabricated information or intentional misinformation. But as with any new field of natural science, with repeated exposure to the samples coming in from the field, one increases in ability to discern a fabrication from an authentic article. That being said, this task is becoming more difficult with the deployment of human built and operated gravity drive vehicles and the technological advances in the ability to create convincing illusions.  It is our great misfortune that there are unscrupulous people who already have and as long as they can continue to engage in employing such technology in their efforts to confuse the public and obfuscate reality will do so. This becomes an even more grievous assault on the citizenry when we consider that we the citizenry have footed the bill for much, if not all, of this technology. However, overcoming such heinous efforts at confusing and disorienting our understanding of the world we live in is not an insurmountable task.  A lot of people are working to counter such despicable actions with their continued efforts toward sharing the genuine knowledge that is available.  I want to add that as a mental health professional I find the efforts at confusing people about our reality to be as heinous and as dangerous an assault on our minds as is the assault upon our bodies by those who persist in polluting our environment and the products we consume.

Thankfully there are many people with a genuine, healthy interest in “UAP” who have spent countless hours pursuing this area of study.  To you who are also on this path who haven’t experienced this already, I can state with assurance that there comes a point in which the accumulated knowledge which has been brought to light by all the aforementioned contributors moves a person from curiosity to certainty. There is such an abundance of evidence, ranging from the credible to the undeniable, that for any person who wants to represent themself as a serious student of this field of knowledge, much less represent themself as an expert in the field, to engage in overlooking, or in any way stating or insinuating that such evidence does not exist reveals themself as a charlatan or worse: someone who is intentionally working to undermine the perceptions and credibility of a great many intelligent, astute, honorable people.

Just as we have stopped lending an iota of credibility to “flat earthers”, it’s time we stopped lending an iota credibility to those whose presentations directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, serve to downplay, obfuscate, or deny the realities which conscientious people have brought forward. We need to be aware that sometimes the obfuscations and denials are done by someone pretending to be an “expert” who presents how wonderful it would be if we only knew for sure that intelligent life existed in other places in the universe. Such a presentation is a de facto refutation of the accumulated knowledge and evidence that has come forward over decades. Knowledge and evidence that authoritatively speaks to the reality that contact has taken place between extraterrestrial beings and people from Earth.

Lastly, much more is known about extraterrestrial life and human contact by those involved with and jealously guarding the “black” programs.  This includes the knowledge that some highly advanced technology (relative to what is in general use) has been gained and is being employed in a covert manner.  This will continue with the technological imbalance between covert technology and what is widely known increasing. This dual reality which has been created constitutes the very reality of a relative handful of men and women acquiring the very “unwarranted influence” which President Eisenhower warned us of in his farewell address.  “We the People” need to wake up to this reality, step out of the darkness and denial, and demand full disclosure of, and inclusion in the management of, the knowledge and technologies which have been and are being acquired from contact with extraterrestrial beings.  For the sake of humanity.

Vital, thinking human beings are not meant to be turned into mindless automatons.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Manifesting our Future, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability
A path in the beautiful North Cascades.

We are consigning children’s education to school systems which teach them to blindly trust and obey the people who occupy the governmental offices within our society.

For the survival of the human race, that needs to stop. Governments and the people who work within them are only beneficial to a society to the extent that their primary goals are the genuine health and well-being of the society which they serve. This necessarily means working within certain parameters. An essential quality which must be present within the parameters any and all governmental bodies operate within is truthfulness. Hand in hand with truthfulness is openness. Merely saying that the government is not going to allow it’s citizens to know what the criteria are that governmental officials are considering in their decision making does not meet those criteria. Not even close. Somewhere along the line, since the second world war, Americans allowed the Government to take the stance that America is on a permanent war footing and that the type of secrecy which was put in place during the war needed to exist on an ongoing basis. This culture of secrecy creates a fertile ground for corruption, lies, misdirection and unexplained actions. If we treat the whole world as a real or potential enemy, we create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I believe John F. Kennedy either intuitively or intellectually knew this. One of his primary goals was to take America out of the war-mindedness which had continued after WWII ended, and put America and the world on a course for true, sustainable, friendships and harmonious coexistence between all nations. This flew in the face of the aspirations of wealth and power hungry, militant, individuals who believed they saw a path to their desired version of the future. A path which President Kennedy firmly rejected. Having any nation, or group, especially any with predatory economic goals, act as an ongoing dominant overlord of the people of the world is not a viable, sustainable condition. It is clearly something most people in the world will loathe and reject if an attempt is made to force it upon them.

For sound mental, physical and spiritual health, people desire, need, to feel a vital, reciprocal, interaction with their environment, their world. That desire/need is an innate quality of being born into the human race. However, the connection to, the awareness of, this quality can be dulled. Through repetitive instruction from trusted adults and authority figures, a child’s attention can be redirected from this innate desire designed to support and sustain human beings throughout life, to a dependency upon the declarations of those aspiring to godlike power within the lives of others. However, this innate desire of humanity cannot be dulled indefinitely.

The first allegiance a person should learn is the allegiance to the positive human values we know work toward creating and sustaining healthy people and healthy communities: honesty, fairness, intelligence, analytical thinking, reason, compassion, ingenuity, resilience, strength, love and kindness.

It is time to remember our humanity.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Healthcare, Integrity, Medicine, Politics, Vaccines
Image (c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

Over the past 6+ decades “our” Federal Government has lied to us about the JFK and RFK assassinations. Also, the Vietnam war, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the first WTC bombing, MK Ultra, UFO’s, 9/11, WMD’s in Iraq, and more. Why are so many people so willing to blindly accept that we are getting the truth about COVID and the “vaccines”? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a time, nor a set of issues, when so many qualified, independent, professionals have felt compelled to speak out against what the Government and “mainstream” media are presenting to us. Professionals from various medical, biological, other scientific and legal disciplines are putting their professional credibility, their livelihoods, on the line to speak out.

What is the reason for the “tunnel vision” that has gripped so many educated, caring people? The “masses” have blindly followed the directives to destroy livelihoods, to impose isolation, to deprive youth of educational opportunities, to witness dramatic increases in poverty, depression and suicides. To be complicit in coercing neighbors to be injected with an experimental substance which those people did not want inside their bodies. All this based in fear of a disease, which, if left totally untreated, has a 99.9% + survival rate. If the WHO had not unilaterally redefined the term “pandemic”, from it’s traditional meaning, during the time of the Swine Flu, what is going on would not be a “pandemic”.

It is time to remember our humanity, our individuality. It’s time to stop trying to force our own health care decisions upon everyone. The value and necessity of individualized care has been a standard within the medical field for some time. Prior to being “vaccinated” or treated for COVID, are people being truly given the benefit of informed consent? Are the options which are recognized and utilized with success in other countries being made available? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a time when those at the top of the pyramid of the medical, political and media establishment in the United States have worked so diligently to keep accurate information about a disease, and about viable treatment options, away from the general public. And there has never been a time when the American public has been so amenable to such censorship.

It’s time we recall our humanity. It’s time we remember that while we all are of essentially the same biology, within the basic similarity there are many significant differences. Differences which have come about via genetics, injuries, and/or exposures to a variety of experiences. Some of these individual differences can have a determination upon how various medical treatments and pharmaceuticals affect us. That is an essential reality of our human experience. Is it something we are ready to cavalierly dismiss in deference to…what…corporate profits?

The Noble Failure

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Integrity, Manifesting our Future, Oppression, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality
(c) mrdoggs http://www.fotosearch.com

The Noble Failure is a character in American politics which has been showing up with increasing frequency. The Noble Failure knows what people want. When campaigning for office, the Noble Failure speaks to the needs and wants of the people, and does so convincingly. The Noble Failure will emote, inspire, speak of noble aspirations and a better, fairer, more equitable world. People will be led to believe if only they can get the Noble Failure elected, things will improve. The thing is, that is all just part of the show, the main attraction. It is intended to draw voters, and the reality of Presidential elections last few decades show it works. Why wouldn’t it? People aren’t going to vote for what they don’t want to hear.

However, the promises are never, not from day one, meant to actually be fulfilled once the Noble Failure is elected. Once in office the excuses are pulled out of the closet. “The Legislature won’t get on board.” “The projects can’t be funded.” “We need to first increase the military budget.” “It’s not a good idea to increase the national debt.” “We need to infuse cash into our big corporations to compete internationally.” “It’s the damn ________________ (Democrats/Republicans, liberals/conservatives).” “We need focus our energies on attacking _______________ (fill in the blank).” Or, maybe, the new standard: “It would be a socialist program.”

So, the Noble Failure puts forward the face of grief, of sorrow, maybe even of having been betrayed. They bemoan the inability of others in power to appreciate the vision they sold to the American public. They may villainize those identified as obstacles to their stated campaign goals. This is the 21st century American Presidential/political reality. It didn’t begin in the 21st century, but it’s the only one we’ve had since the turn of the century. It’s the contemporary script: align your stated goals with what the people want and need. Make a few gestures toward fulfillment, then blame someone else for the failure to produce. Repeat in the next election cycle. The only people who don’t get excuses after the election are the 1/10th of 1%’ers who always come out ahead. Sometimes more than others, but the national wealth, the wealth resulting from the work of millions of people, just keeps flowing into their bank accounts. Policies keep coming which support their goals.


At the end of the day, the key players attend their private clubs, extravagant parties, concerts, events, have a few drinks and pat each other on the back. Maybe arrange to give each other official accolades and medals. Or, quite possibly engage in some dark rituals or forms of entertainment. A troupe of Machiavellian actors showing up for the after show reception.


It was the script from the beginning of the campaign, as it has been for several decades. It’s one reason why, from the perspective of the Noble Failures and their cronies, control of the White House, and the Legislature, cannot be allowed to slip from the control of a small circle of “their” people. They have been exercising an increasingly pervasive control that has been jealously guarded since 1963.

What does the general population get from all this? Frustration, disenfranchisement, increasing debt and poverty. One thing we can see from all this is that when the majority are not able to see the issues that are negatively affecting their lives addressed at the source, people will turn on each other. Like an animal caught in a trap. The animal can’t open the trap, so in order to escape, it chews it’s own leg off. “We the People” turn on each other, divide and be conquered. And those who occupy the seats of power and control the monopolized media are all too ready to throw some fuel onto those fires.

The difference between us and an animal caught in a steel trap is we that have minds capable of finding better solutions. We need to stop inadvertently, or as “wannabes”, cooperating with corruption, the disease, that is destroying the dream of a society that can work for all. Quit turning on each other. Quit buying into the incessant fear mongering dispensed to keep us distracted and paralyzed. Treat each other right; personally, economically, and in every way. Not just within the United States, also internationally. Create a culture that doesn’t have to kill and conquer in a misguided attempt at creating international “cooperation”. Create a culture that others want to emulate because it works and works well. Create a culture with the organizing principle of human wellbeing, reflecting our mutuality rather than fear and greed. Stop blindly following, believing in, the proclamations of those whose goal it is to keep us distracted, disorganized, fearful, and subservient.

The Essential Nature of Circulation

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Manifesting our Future, Politics, Psychology, Science, Spirituality, Sustainability

Circulation. Everything that keeps humanity alive circulates. From what we know at this time, it seems that everything that supports life in the entire universe, circulates. What happens when circulation is hampered? Stagnation, toxicity, starvation, illness, death. Without the proper circulation of the blood within our bodies, our cells will begin dying from starvation of oxygen and life supporting nutrients. Then our body as a whole will die. Without the circulation of the air and water upon our planet, our planet will lose it’s ability to sustain life. Within our cells, if the processes of life, of replenishment of nutrients and the disposal of waste were to stop, the circulation of the materials which sustain our bodies, the cell will die. On every level, from the microcosm to the macrocosm, circulation is an absolutely essential feature of the maintenance of life. Quite possibly of the existence of the universe itself.

Turn on the circulation of electricity through a light bulb and the light comes alive. Turn off that circulation and the light goes dark, dead. That same principle applies for the circulation of every life giving, life sustaining substance that there is and the existence of human life on Earth.

The awareness of this inescapable truth within the natural world leads one to ask whether this same principle applies to the realm of human creations? For those versed in metaphysics, it calls to question whether the axiom “As above so below; as below so above.” applies to the essential nature of the circulation of life sustaining resources. First, we must define what is a human, rather than a nature, created resource which is essential to the sustaining of life in the world? To the very best of my knowledge, there is only one: money.

This may be argued by some. Some may present that a person living simply off the land (first you must have land) which is blessed with the resources of water and temperate climate suitable for agriculture, can live quite nicely. In fact, there still are a few primitive tribes which live in such a fashion. Of course that means doing without all the conveniences and the assistance which modern technology and medicine offer. While I tend toward the simplification of life as a general proposition, there are limits beyond which I find myself reticent to venture. I like a number of the medical and technical benefits we receive from our collective human ingenuity. In fact, without some of those, it is a salient question whether or not I would still be alive in my current incarnation. Certainly I would not be writing this essay on a computer.

The reality for the vast majority of people alive on Earth today, is that money is an essential resource for the sustaining of life. Of course this is made a truth by the systems of commerce we have constructed within our societies. We have made money an intermediary, a regulating agent, between us and the, more or less, natural resources we inescapably require. Resources such as food, shelter, fuel and even water. I am quite sure that there are people, at this very moment, trying to figure out how to make us pay for air. While, in our modern world, there is often human effort required in the manufacture of what in earlier times were more purely naturally occurring resources, the fact is, ALL material substance comes to us via the beneficence of the creative forces of the universe. Humankind can manipulate these naturally provided resources to better suit the needs, or wants, of any or all of us, but the raw materials, the substances required, are all provided, free of charge, by the creative forces, the creative intelligence, underlying and within everything we see and are.

All the resources, all the life sustaining substances we rely upon are in circulation within the universe we exist within. All of them. From the most fleeting to what we perceive as the most stable, the most solid. Everything, including planets, stars and galaxies, is in circulation. Everything material comes into being, exists for however long it exists, and then ultimately is recycled back into the primordial stuff from which it emerged.

The rate of circulation conducive to the healthfulness of various substances under different conditions can vary. “Healthfulness” being relative to human life. Why would we measure it in any other terms? For instance, water, when frozen for centuries, can still retain the healthful qualities necessary and conducive to human life. However, if water sits for much less time, relatively motionless, within a pond or a puddle, it is most likely going to be stagnant. Stagnant, anaerobic, and possibly/probably containing substances toxic to human life. For us humans, the value of natural resources exists primarily in the value of that resource in sustaining our own lives.

That being said, how we manage that resource can depend a great deal upon how well we understand the interrelatedness of the world, the universe around us. For instance, to primitive humans the value of trees may have been exclusively their usefulness in building structures and making fires. Later we came to understand that trees and other plants are responsible for producing the oxygen we require for life. Now, a living tree has value where previously it’s value was realized only after it was chopped down. The value we place upon the resources, the “things” that exist around us, is dependent upon how well we understand the function of those things in relation to the interdependent web of existence, of which we are a part. This reality of how we place value extends to every person being born on Earth. We have no idea, no matter how inauspicious the circumstances of their birth may be, what contributions a person, newborn or elderly, may make to our communities and to our lives. It is a fault which surfaces frequently with us humans that we tend to judge the value of a thing, or a person, using the particular criteria the society we live within espouses. Often, if not always, in the greater scheme of things, that criteria is liable to be narrowly defined and hampered by lack of awareness of the interconnected realities a particular society does not yet recognize.

Which brings us back to essential circulation, resources, and the essential human-conceived resource; money. While the concept and reality of money is a human thing, the fact that money, in it’s practical application, has to do with the acquisition of the natural resources one needs to live, makes money, by extension, a critical aspect of life on Earth. The excessive withholding, hoarding, of money from circulation within communities, among citizens, has every bit the stagnating and/or deleterious effect upon life as would the withholding of the air or water from circulation upon the Earth. This is a lesson we must learn from our own bodies. We need enough. Too little, or too much, leads to unhealthful conditions within the body.

The viable management of all resources, including money, is a task which is all too easily sabotaged by the human ego. The challenge we all face is the cultivation of true humility, to recognize one’s genuine place, and role, within community. None of us are “all that”. And none of us are nothing. We exist as components within a spiritual/organic system. We are all dependent upon that system. For any of us to think we can co-opt the balance, the viability of the system for our own purposes is a symptom of a spiritual/mental illness within that individual. When we learn to act within a spirit of love, in our contributing to and taking from the collective wealth which has been developed by collective effort, we will find ourselves facing a present, and a future, wondrous enough to meet, and exceed, our most cherished expectations.

In the Absence of Representative Government

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Integrity, Mental Health, Oppression, Politics

In Washington State a State Senator recently bemoaned the ongoing nature of the special emergency powers ceded by the Legislature to Governor Inslee. This is a very important, very timely issue. It appears that on both the Federal and the State level, Chief Executives have gotten way too comfortable with a unilateral decision making ability. It is time we restored the democratic republic to the form it was intended to be. Would we be experiencing, suffering from, the ongoing oppressive mandates, nominally justified by the, again, nominal Covid pandemic, if the experiences and the wisdom of the people were indeed being followed by a representative government? I don’t think so. The fact is a relative few people have experienced the kind of devastating illness potentially resulting from Covid that the media persists in broadcasting as if it were the reality in every house next door.

This is not to trivialize the suffering of those who have been the hardest hit by the virus, but that being said, we cannot continue to react to the experiences of an extreme minority as if that is the reality for all. While giving such minority experiences the time and attention they deserve, it is not wise governance to base the parameters of the functioning of the entire society upon the abilities or vulnerabilities of the most vulnerable among us.

If the vast majority of Americans took inventory of their own first-hand reality and urged our State and Federal legislators to either enforce, or lift, the harsh mandates based on that inventory, mandates which have led to many citizens losing their jobs, incomes, mental health, physical health or even their lives, we would have seen the mandates lifted months ago, for good. If we would have ever seen them imposed in the first place. I tend to think we may have opted for the initial “flattening the curve” 2-3 weeks, but not the ongoing, oppressive marathon we have experienced.

But that is not the reality we are facing. When it comes to the Covid mandates, we are not being governed by a representative body. We are being dictated to by an authoritarian few, often in an arbitrary manner with only the sketchiest, if any, actual evidence to support their dictates.

It is past time for us to insist upon the reassertion of a genuinely representative government.

Believe in the science! What exactly does that mean?

by kendunning, posted in Integrity, Medicine, Science
Image: (c) solarseven http://www.fotosearch.com. Caption: Author

We are hearing and reading a lot about “the science” these days. When it comes to the Covid-19 phenomenon, we are constantly being urged to trust the science. There seem to be many who believe that trusting the science is a knee-jerk type of thing. If it’s science, trust it, enough said. Without belaboring the point, that same unquestioning trust used to be expected by religion. Those who refused to offer up a show of obedience (trust) frequently found themselves facing harsh consequences, possibly death. But we’ve outgrown that type of thinking, right? Have we?

There seems to be a mind-set in the world the carriers of which truly want (need?) there to be an ultimate authority. A worldly parent (god?) figure, or institution, which can answer all the most difficult questions and protect us from that which we don’t understand. This mind-set is to be found within people of all ages, races, genders, ethnic groups and political persuasions. If you spend much time among people who want to dig for their own answers, those of this aforementioned mind-set are frequently called by derogatory names: sheep, cattle, or other such terms. I think using such terms just serves to muddy the water between us as human beings. Beyond a shadow of a doubt there are people scattered around the world who are more developed, in various areas of knowledge, than others. I tend to think we humans are spiritual beings, in search of a harmonious physical existence, and some of us have been around longer than others of us. We all most likely fit somewhere in the middle of an infinite spectrum of knowledge and development. So let’s be a little kinder with each other, okay?

Getting back to the original topic, in order to “believe in the science”, don’t we first have to know what science is? If you’re expecting a long, technical, complex explanation, don’t, it doesn’t take all that to define “science”. Science is just a methodical, systemized way of looking at things, or working with things. Good scientific methods can give us answers to our questions about the world which can be relied upon to be provable and consistent. And when they do that, it’s great. They don’t always do that however, sometimes the answers we find mostly give us more questions. But that’s okay too, because it means we’re in the process of understanding whatever it is we’re studying. When we’re using scientific methods in our efforts to produce a thing, those methods help us track and understand our efforts, and insure that if we are successful once, we can, most likely repeat the process and be successful again.

One of the great things about science, is that when we’re using it to understand things, or to create things, it almost always is an evolving process. Just think about all the things we humans were sure we knew at some point in our history, only to learn we missed something. Then, after a sometimes long and violent process of change, we again became sure we knew it for sure. Only to again find we needed to refine our thinking. I think it’s a safe generalization that the more complex the question being studied is, or the thing we’re attempting to produce is, the more likely it is that we are going to find ourselves facing many revisions over time. And that’s okay, because, again, science is a process and being involved with it is better than not.

It’s when we start thinking we have the ultimate answer, that we know it all, that we setting ourselves up for a fall. And that is a big problem when we have concurrently developed a culture that expects perfection. As with religion in medieval times, today people expect “science” to be infallible. It isn’t, and it never has been. It is a dangerous proposition to pressure scientists to be infallible. What that is likely to mean in a significant number of cases is that there will be a lot of effort put into defending the indefensible.

Which isn’t to say that scientists don’t ever get it right. The point is, it is often (always?) in our best interests to be circumspect when it comes to the “facts” and products brought to us by those professing to be utilizing science in their methods. The ethical position of “first do no harm” (meaning “…your actions should not cause injury or injustice to people“) is a position we should expect, if not require, from those developing new ideas and new products.

Science, scientific methodology, has no inherent ethic or morality. The positive motives and practices within scientific endeavors are there because the people involved brought them. There is nothing in our natural world, nothing in the human mind, that prevents those who may wish to do so from using scientific methodology (science) to produce things, even products which they may market as medicines, which are harmful to us. Some of the malignant things brought into the world by intelligent, highly trained, scientists include: DDT, water fluoridation, Zyklon B, the atomic bomb, microwave weapons, and many other devious means of incapacitating, enslaving, and killing our fellow human beings. Science is a method, not a product. The quality of the products produced by scientists is dependent upon the goals, the ethics, those scientists bring with them. Science is a tool, that is all. As with other tools, it’s utility is only as benevolent as the methods and goals of those applying it.

Time to shed the dysfunctional personal and cultural patterns the way a snake sheds a skin it has outgrown.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Manifesting our Future, Personal Development, Science, Spirituality, Unified Field
Image (c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

I woke up in the middle of the night, my mind filled with thoughts of how disorienting, how contradictory, how hostile, the world can seem right now. Around this genuinely beautiful world there are people of all ages, genders, educational levels, people with sometimes vastly different experiential realities. We all want to live, we all want to love and be loved. I also believe that, if we are in touch with our core, innate being, all of us genuinely want to be contributing to a world which, in return, sustains us with the material requirements of a whole and healthy life.

However, many of the prevalent societal models humans are endeavoring to live within (all?) contain some degree of short-sighted, ultimately non-survival oriented reactions to the challenges we all mutually face in this world. Reactions which can and do become internalized, and go on to become manifest within the lives of people attempting to formulate a healthy life within our respective cultures. Short-sighted, ultimately non-survival oriented reactions which, in truth, stand in the way of our achieving the criteria needed to be genuinely whole, healthy individuals. Whole healthy individuals which, in turn, are needed to constitute whole, healthy communities…and cultures. Collectively, around the world, there are many cultures filled with, being run by, people caught in such ultimately self-defeating reactions. Reactions which are in their nature, circular, self-reinforcing, and which we need to escape… in order to save ourselves.

How do we know if such ultimately self-defeating, short-sighted reactions to the world, are widespread within the culture, the society, we live within? Does the culture have extreme poverty? Is there an extreme imbalance of wealth within the culture? Are the emotions jealousy, anger, envy, fear, hatred, even contempt toward one another common within the citizens? Does a person have to work long hours every day and still find themself unable to afford a decent material livelihood? Do people spend time and energy judging each other’s worth/value as human beings based on either superficial physical characteristics or what amount to culturally imposed inequalities of wealth and education? Is one’s ability to compete with the others within the culture seen as more important than one’s ability to cooperate with others? Is depression, apathy, isolation a common experience among many of the citizens? Is complacency common among others? These feelings and behaviors are all symptoms of ultimately self-defeating mental/spiritual reactions to our world. Reactions often reciprocally fueled by, and resulting in the emotions listed and italicized above.

In reality, there are so many combinations of emotional/behavioral, individual and cultural self-defeating reactions, thinking and behavior patterns, one could spend one’s entire life studying them, categorizing them, and still not encounter all of them. In an infinite universe, there are probably infinite ways to get it wrong. However, ultimately, having a detailed understanding of all of the errors possible in understanding and behaviors still doesn’t necessarily mean we are equipped to “get it right”. It’s time to rein in our worldwide busy-ness with all the self-defeating, nihilistic reactions which occupy us. The people of the world need to all stop, take a deep breath, and ask ourselves “how is this working out for me”. In the vast majority of cases, for the genuine health and well-being of most lives, it isn’t. Most people in the world are economically “treading water”, if that, while a relative few are hoarding the resources needed to revitalize the cultures of the world.

That being said, what’s needed right now among the people of the world isn’t primarily the assignment of blame. What is needed is correction. Which, in a strictly material sense, is a simple matter. However, within a human psyche writhing with various obsessions with personal wants, desires and grievances, it can be anything but simple. It will only be when we learn to think substantially in terms of “we”, instead of limiting ourselves to “I”, that humankind will have a chance at achieving a harmonious world that supports all humankind. A world in which our ongoing, innately present, desire to enjoy our lives and to realize all of the incredible potentials which are present in every human being can actually become manifest.

The goals of “making a killing”, or putting all of those ________________ (fill in the blank) in their places, or of being the first and/or the only at anything, need to be shed like a snake sheds a skin which has become too small. We need to look at the world with fresh eyes, realizing that poverty, sickness, hunger, homelessness anywhere is decreasing the health and the well-being of the entire world. We need to devote enough of our time, energy and resources to lifting up, healing, educating, the downtrodden to bring this world into stability and vitality. Prophets and sages have been saying this, in myriad ways, for centuries. It’s time we listen and take it to heart. They have been right all along. With all the knowledge and resources we as a species possess in this world, it does appear that all that is missing, all we need, is love.

Where to start? One of the gems of knowledge we already have has come to us via Abraham Maslow. With his hierarchy of needs, he gave us a blueprint of how to go about it. Some of the hierarchy, particularly those pursuits nearer the top, are pursuits which are more dependent upon our own, individual, efforts. However, particularly the issues present on the first two tiers, the most basic issues relative to human life, are issues which ultimately require our cooperation with one another to fully achieve. If we encourage a competitive culture, even the attainment of meeting those requirements is always tentative within our lives. And if our attainments are tentative, they are continually taking time and energy from us in order to work at reinforcing and protecting them. Time and energy which we then do not have to devote to the higher, more uniquely human and at the same time more divinely miraculous aspects of our being.

Who do we trust? Governmental authority & conflicts of interest.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Integrity, Personal Development, Politics, Science, Trust and betrayal.

One of the biggest threats to human well-being in the United States, and the world, today is the number of individuals who occupy offices entrusted with overseeing critical aspects of our culture, but who have a vested financial interest in whether our perceptions and actions follow one path as opposed to another. Further, the path which may offer them the most financial gain is often (always?) one at odds with the well-being of the general population. “Conflict of interest” is the often heard description applied when such a situation exists. But something has happened within the consciousness of the American public. Possibly the consciousness of people around the world. We have stopped taking such a situation as seriously as the possible negative consequences warrant. As a matter of fact, conflicts of interest on the part of those occupying elected office and those working within governmental agencies, even agencies mandated to oversee public safety in some critical areas, have become so commonplace they seem to be accepted as business as usual.

How pervasive is the reality of public office holders with conflicts of interest? We frequently hear or read about the “revolving door” between governmental office holders and private industry. We increasingly see persons with a history within an industry which comes under Federal regulations show up working within the regulatory agency overseeing that industry. Possibly even directing it. And then there is the reality of elected officials, and others employed within governmental agencies, who are invested, via stocks or other investment, in private industry and so have a vested interest in seeing that industry being profitable. Thirdly there is “Citizens United” which has, in effect, turned elections into dueling bank accounts. For a candidate to have a chance at being elected all seems to commonly require their becoming beholden to private interests.

People with “a foot in both worlds” would have us believe they can simultaneously maintain objectivity about the good of the public and the profits of an industry they have a vested interest in. You know what? Bullshit. What we are seeing in practice is that far too often the special interests of private industry, and the correlated personal financial benefit of the individual, will take precedence over the good of the general public. We, the people of the United States, and of the world, need to be taking such conflicts of interest way more seriously than we have been.

It is not enough that an individual who aspires to public office, or who holds public office, fills in some sort of paperwork declaring their conflicts of interest, or (supposedly) turns their private interests over to someone else to manage for them while they hold public office. In order to preserve the intent and the integrity of functioning of our public offices, of those who are entrusted with the governance of our nation, of our lives, we need to disallow any person from holding elected office, or to hold a position within a regulatory agency, who has even the shadow of conflict of interest about them.

Right now, with the information and mandates being handed down around Covid-19, here in the United States and in many other countries, we are extremely vulnerable. We are led to believe that the people handing down the mandates, making the decisions, are doing so in order to protect the health of the people. People, in general, want to trust those holding positions of authority within our government. We want to believe that individuals who represent regulatory agencies, or agencies mandated to look out for our health and well-being, are performing that task in good faith.

Yet what we currently have are individuals with a foot in both worlds making decisions which, depending upon the direction they choose, potentially stand to personally profit greatly. And in reality, we are seeing some private enterprises reaping windfall profits during this time, with promises of more to come. The pharmaceutical industry for one. Then there are the large corporate retail concerns which are taking in record profits during the same time in which millions of small businesses, individuals and families are experiencing devastating financial losses.

What is going on right now; the policies and mandates taking place around Covid-19. cry out for independent investigation. There is too much conflicting information being put forward by medical and scientific sources. There is too much glaring illogic and inconsistency in the specifics of the mandates coming from both State and Federal governments. It is all but impossible for a person thinking critically and examining the opposing points of view, to simply accept the mainstream narrative on Covid. It is equally, if not more, difficult to see the mainstream narrative as having anything to do with the well-being of the public.

Yet who would conduct such an independent investigation? The fact is, we have allowed so many persons with conflicts of interest to occupy the halls of power in our land, there seems to be no one. At least no one is yet stepping forward from within the halls of power. We must look out for ourselves, as those wielding power at this time are looking out for themselves. The demands, the pervasive intrusions into and upon our lives, our bodies, being inflicted upon us behoove us to busy ourselves searching for all the information we can access regarding what is going on. We cannot trust those in the governmental or industrial positions of authority to be completely honest with us. If an individual who represents themself as a medical or scientific authority, such as Bill Gates or Anthony Fauci, has a vested financial interest in how things play out, and they do, we must consider that heavily when we are deciding what medical and scientific authorities we are going to place our trust in. As mentioned before, there is a lot of information which contradicts the mainstream narrative coming forward from reputable professionals in the field of medicine and related sciences from around the world.

If the magnitude of the events taking place lead us, as a nation, to engage in an overdue and serious examination of the criteria we use to scrutinize those to whom we entrust our public offices. If such scrutiny leads us to demand a much greater singularity of purpose on their part, that will be some good to come out of these times.