Tag: Personal Development

Vladimir Putin is not Russia and Donald Trump is not the United States

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Donald Trump, Environment, Health, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability, Vladimir Putin
(C) Alex Max, http://www.fotosearch. com

When did it happen? When did people around the world begin to identify an entire nation on the basis of the character of whomever happens to occupy high political office within that nation? It’s as ridiculous a practice as trying to characterize the ocean on the basis of the behavior of a single fish. It always, absolutely always, provides us with a distorted, inaccurate, conception of the nation concerned.

Vladimir Putin is not Russia. Donald Trump is not the United States. Nor was Joe Biden, Barack Obama, nor any other President. Likewise Xi Jinping is not China and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not the Ukraine. Droupadi Murmu is not India. No single man nor woman ever has nor ever will be the sum total of the nation which they find themselves in a position of leadership within. And so it goes with every single nation on the face of the Earth.

A nation is the people who live within it. A nation is the people who farm the land, occupy the cities, build the houses, clean the streets, cook the food, create the art, attend the concerts, eat at the restaurants, and generally participate in all the activities which sustain, enliven and enlighten the bodies and spirits, the hearts and minds, of the citizenry. If you travel the world it doesn’t take long to realize that the citizenry of every nation on Earth is pretty much the same. We breath, we eat, we love, we work, we play, we worry, we laugh, we eat, we read, we celebrate,  we grieve. With our work, with the time and energy of our lives, we strive in myriad ways to improve our lives and the lives of others within our communities. So why do we, the citizenry of the nations of the world, allow the misbegotten, and often grandiose, aspirations, or the fears, of one person or group of people to lead us into conflict with one another? Conflicts which obliterate so much of what we and our ancestors have worked so hard to build? Cities, homes, farms, shops, restaurants, concert halls, hospitals, schools, the productions, the dreams, of so many people over so long a period of time. And then there are the human costs, the suffering, the deaths of so very many including family and loved ones.

War, conflict, any extreme competition which theatens the life or well-being of the citizens of any nation, or even a single individual, is something which threatens the life and well-being of us all. Why? Because the spirit of competition for territory or other worldly wealth inevitably leads to larger conflicts. Larger conflicts which lay the stepping stones on the road to war. It is like a contagious virus which spreads through the hearts and minds of people who are vulnerable to it. It breeds fear of those whom we perceive, or more often are told, want to take something from us which we hold dear. And we human beings have an innate tendency to try to destroy, to kill, that which we fear. On the other hand, to want others to fear us is inescapably, no matter how much we may think otherwise, to lead others to desire to destroy us.

We cannot fully develop our innate capacities as human beings when we live our lives burdened by fear; experiencing the stresses and debilitation, the actual trauma, which fear inevitably brings into our lives.

It’s high time we average people, average citizens, the true builders of civilizations, stop letting ourselves be blind followers of those among us with the most needy egos, the most avaricious among us, the most callous among us. It’s time we see through the half truths and outright lies the bought and paid for media outlets insistently try to present to us as reality. It’s time we realize our shared divine heritage here on this planet and treat ourselves and the planet with the love and respect we, and it, rightfully deserve.

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.

Trust in Government: Do we base it upon Governmental action or inaction?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Personal Development, Politics, Spirituality, Sustainability

When we in the U.S. have a new President, a new administration, come into office, a lot of people are watching to see what happens.  Will this President and his staff be more or less interested in the well-being, the health of the general populace or will they just be another place holder in the line of succession of Governmental servants of big money?  Of course, every new administration presents something different.  Different positions on the issues of immigration and abortion are two perpetual distractions.  However, since JFK was so brutally removed from office there has been an ongoing movement within Governmental activities toward wars, extravagant military spending, along with legislation and policies most favorable to the wealthiest few among us.  The past few decades have also brought us a number of domestic events, which the official explanations of have raised lingering questions among critical, reasoning, knowledgeable people.  A few such events are the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK, the Sept. 11, 2001 WTC attack.  There are a lot more.

The lack of satisfactory official reports/explanations for such culturally important events, events which have significantly affected the overall culture of our nation and the lives of everyone in it, raises questions about the level of trust we the people should have in those persons putting such questionable explanations forward.  This pattern also raises doubts about the integrity and the agendas of those in positions of high office who do not concern themselves with restoring and/or maintaining the public trust by honestly addressing the many lingering, sound questions.

Which brings me to the main reason I’m writing this.  It is to say that we as responsible, concerned citizens and human beings, in our assessments of the veracity and loyalties of our elected officials, need to look at what they aren’t doing with as much critical awareness as we put into looking at what they are doing.  The things that go undone indicate as much about the agendas and priorities of those in elected office as the things they take action on.

That being said, here are a few of the things clearly not receiving Governmental action.  Items which if addressed would go a long way to indicate to the general public that the agendas and priorities of those in high elected office are consistent with the best interests of the general population.

  1. More stringent, effective prevention of toxic substances in our water, food, air and the merchandise being sold in our stores.
  2. More regulatory control over prices especially in the area of fundamental necessities such as medical care, health insurance, housing, food, utilities.  In general, we should not turn our nation into an anything-goes feeding ground for predatory corporations.
  3. Disclosure of all information relevant to the culturally significant issues of the past and present for which satisfactory, complete and conclusive explanations have not been forthcoming.
  4. The utilization of our national wealth to address domestic issues which reflect a definite and effective prioritization of the health and well-being of the citizens of the United States.  Actions which show a healthy respect for the well-being of the populace in both their aims and the processes used in implementing them. 
  5. A cessation of the practice of retaliatory attacks by Governmental officials and agencies upon whistleblowers who are bringing to light truths regarding covert and illegal conduct on the part of our Governmental officials and agencies.  Conduct which the public should be aware of in order to participate effectively as responsible citizens within our democratic republic. 

We need a Government in which our officials and agencies embody a primary value of service to the general citizenry.  The sanctity of the trust of the general public should be one of the highest priorities within Governmental function.

In the U.S.A. and around the world people are enduring a most grievous wrong.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Environment, Innovation, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability

The United States has often been portrayed, and I believe seen by many, as being a nation of individual rights and liberties.  The Bill of Rights (1st ten amendments to the Constitution) were a pretty enlightened and bold action in the face of “Old World” authoritarian monarchies and dictatorships.  The right to freedom of speech, to bear arms, of religion, the protections of the accused in criminal investigations, these all represent a radical departure from the manipulative controls repressive authoritarian regimes routinely seek to impose.  However, as wonderful and enlightened as they are, they fall short in a critical way of addressing possibly the most universal wrong that one individual or group has historically and contemporaneously waged upon another. 

The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence evokes an essential spirit of human desire:   “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.”  Allowing that the author used the word “men” to indicate all human beings, not just those of the male gender, these words evoke a sense of unity. A sense that all people should be embraced within a spirit of kinship and equality.  But again, in a very essential way everything that followed ignored a grievous wrong which some individuals and groups have been imposing upon others for centuries. A wrong that has been practiced so pervasively among people around the world, that it seems to have been accepted, or neglected, even in the enlightened thinking of the 18th century American revolutionaries. 

This is the inherent moral rightfulness of all who contribute their life’s time and energy to the sustaining and advancement of their civilization to reasonably and fairly reap of the benefits of that civilization.  This is not to say that all should benefit equally from the fruits of an endeavor, because in either quality or quantity there undoubtedly are some whose contribution weighs more heavily in the achievement of the fruits of civilization.  However, each and every individual’s most precious contribution is of their life’s time and energy.  Whether it is sweeping floors, washing dishes, planting or harvesting crops, building necessary infrastructure, working in education, providing art and/or entertainment, seeking/understanding/disseminating spiritual truth, serving within the operation of government, serving to protect lives and property, working in the sciences to further human well-being, working in industry to invent and provide needed products, working in the care of others whose young age, illness or infirmity disallows them from engaging in adequate self-care, or any of the other myriad ways individuals engage themselves in the service of community and civilization: those engaging in these works are all significantly contributing to the sustaining and advancing of well-being within their communities and of civilization itself. 

All of us, everyone of us alive on Earth today, has parents, grandparents and further ancestry who have given of their lives’ time and energies in the effort of establishing a viable human civilization here on Earth.  Further, most, if not all, of them held the hope and desire that not only themselves, but that their children and their children’s children should share in the benefits of the civilization they were contributing to.  So why, after all these centuries, after all the work, the strife, the good intentions that have gone into bringing us into our present time and place, aren’t the fruits of humankind’s combined efforts being shared more fully and fairly than they are? 

At this point in time the inequity of the distribution of wealth among humanity is extreme.  Around the world those who have sought after and grasped the reins of industry and government are showing themselves to be consumed by their egos and self-importance to the degree that they apparently hold in contempt the majority of humanity. The very same humanity responsible for the vast majority of the effort which has gone into the production of the wealth they now lay sole claim to.  It is this inequity which is the most grievous wrong which even the enlightened revolutionary thinking of 18th century America overlooked. 

Through the ages those in positions of power, governmental, industrial, even within the academic and religious establishments have imagined and devised myriad rationalizations and schemes to justify and implement their desire to acquire inordinate wealth and power.  The myth of divinely ordained royalty, the creation of religious and other stratified social systems which use fear to achieve compliance from populations. The creation of a global predatory economic system which allows a relative few to control the vast majority of the world’s wealth. Even the withholding of technological developments which would allow greater freedom and well-being to the world’s population. All of these things have contributed to the economic, if not the literal, enslavement of children and adults. These things and more are going on the world today including within the United States. 

Along with the above mentioned actions, those with the mind set to exploit whatever is exploitable are also engaged in the production of toxic products, including food products, and in the disposal of highly toxic waste in ways which are destroying vital natural resources and habitats.  Relative to the degree worldwide pollution is taking place, the world’s recycling programs, while an admirable idea, are in many places weak, if they exist at all. There is a correlation to be drawn between the intellectual/mind toxic pollution which is being generated in the world today and the physical/chemical pollution which happening simultaneously.

These things: lies, greed, exploitation, and pollution, have gone on to a greater or lesser degree for centuries.  However, in the 21st century, technology which allows for the mass dissemination of information, or misinformation, along with advances in transportation technology and weaponry, has exponentially amplified the abilities of those with the mind set and who are positioned to do so to exploit the financial systems, resources and the people of the world.  Further, to do so in ways that are homicidal in their callousness toward vast elements of humanity.

Those in power might say that they are doing nothing illegal. Which is always an easier statement to make when you control the lawmakers and the laws. The thing is, legal or illegal, does the current state of economic inequity and callousness toward human well-being represent what humanity in general wants or needs to be experiencing in the world? Now or in the future?

That’s up to us, isn’t it?  All of us.  What kind of world do we want to live in?  What kind of world do we want our children and children’s children to grow up in?  What kind of species is the human race?  One that is so lacking in intellectual ability that recognition of what is or is not conducive to our happiness and survival is beyond our ability to comprehend or act upon?  I don’t think so, I certainly hope not.  Reasonable expectations as far as a work week goes with reasonable reimbursement. A worker who works a 40 or more hr. work week does not really have a reasonable opportunity to explore and develop their life to it’s fullest. 24 hours over three days would be more in keeping with a balanced life. And for that a worker should be able to afford to live comfortably. To have the time and money for housing, food, recreational pursuits, ongoing personal development, and spiritual development. These are things a healthy, vibrant person requires to stay vital. 

However, both as individuals and as populations, we have been and are able to be manipulated.  Too many working, contributing, people are kept busy worrying about having a roof over their heads and food to eat. By design or default, we often are too distracted, too exhausted to pay adequate attention to the long-range agendas which others are putting in place around us.  Agendas which are too often aimed at serving a minority of people at the expense of many. 

We need to discipline ourselves to pay attention.  We need to ask questions about any and every program, policy, and action our governments and industries engage in.  We need to own our heritage of being descendants of the people who have with their sweat and blood, their lives’ energy built the civilizations and the wealth of the world.  And I venture that at no time were our ancestors thinking that the purpose of their life was to forget about themselves, their families, their loved ones, and simply feed the greed of a few.  So the question becomes: what do we see as our purpose?

We need to recognize in this increasingly connected world that we are one people:  the human race.  We need to take on that awareness and act upon it in all our dealings.  We need to treat each other with compassion. We need to consistently work toward health, education and enlightenment, for ourselves and all around us, within all aspects of our lives.  To do so is to own our very humanity and to work at being the enlightened architects of our future.

Why so many people binge watch TV?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Personal Development, Science, Spirituality
(C) Alex Max, http://www.fotosearch. com

As with all life forms on planet Earth, we humans are sentient beings. Some would say we humans are at the pinnacle of sentience on this planet. I think, in reality, the jury is still out on that. However, regardless of the relative status of sentience of our species, we all, to a greater or lesser extent, want to know what’s going on around us. Of course we use our eyes and ears to acquire information from our environment. Also we use our body’s sense of touch. And some tune into and work at interpreting the energetic fluctuations and vibrations we feel within ourselves. We sense, intuit, these vibrations. Energetic fluctuations and vibrations which are set in motion by the activities, all the activities, taking place in the world.  Some are more aware of this particular aspect of our sentience than others. But we all are touched by these energetic fluctuations and vibrations and I tend to believe that on some level, maybe deep within an area of our mind which we may seldom visit, our curiosity is piqued by these activities. Further, I tend to believe that generally we are more aware of/tuned in to the energetic ripples set in motion by/and/or occurring with other humans. It would make sense because the frequencies involved would be the ones our bodies and minds are most familiar with. Frequencies we identify with. 

Of course this ambient energetic reality of ours has some messages which are broadcast more strongly than others. The building of pressure within the Earth preceding an earthquake for example. Particularly strong sunspot activity. Thunder and lightning storms, tornadoes, hurricanes. The vibrations being sent by an animal stalking us for whatever reason are ones about which we commonly might hear someone say, I sensed something, turned around, and the animal was moving closer. Or when our child or mate is distressed in the next room. I imagine most people can offer an instance or two of when they “just knew” that something was going on and they followed that feeling. 

For most of our history we as individuals have been able to have some awareness of all of the human activities taking place within our known world. However small or large that world was in our minds at the time. We held in mystery, possibly awe, possibly fear, what may be taking place in faraway, or unseen, places. We constructed yarns, myths, tales of our imaginings of what might be going on outside of the geography or the realm of our understanding. We would sit by the campfire, or fireplace, and entertain each other with these tales. Often morals or warnings would be woven into the tales, or possibly wisdom about hunting, farming or some other aspect of daily life. We took some comfort from filling in the unknown with our own imaginings. Is this just another aspect of the adage that “Nature abhors a vacuum.”?

The fact is we do sense the activities that are taking place in the world around us. We may sense them with our eyes, our ears, our emotions, and always, consciously or below the threshold of our attentive awareness, we feel the sometimes strong and sometimes subtle energetic emanations of all of the activities taking place within our world. This includes the activities taking place among people, animal life, plant life, geologic activity, cosmic activity (sunspots, the energies from the planets, our moon, radiation surges), and manmade electromagnetic activity, such as from communications technology, to name a few. Further, because we are sentient beings, we want to know what the activity which we feel is about. What is our world telling us? Possibly it can be likened somewhat to a spider rushing to see what is pulling on the thread of it’s web, our minds want to understand what forces are pushing or pulling upon our energetic bodies. 

All that being said: Today we are misled and lied to on an ongoing basis by our government along with many industries, banks and others in positions of power about what activities they are involved with. There has never been another time of such rampant deceit in all of recorded human history. Our “mainstream” media may be wholly honest and forthcoming about what went on at the local sporting event last night, however, when it comes to the activities of governments and multi-billion dollar industries we are given pablum if not carefully tailored misinformation. There are many factors which are going together to produce this unfortunate reality. Not the least is of which is the desire of too many occupying high positions government and industry to keep us greatly misinformed or uninformed. It seems we might become nuisances if we know too much. It’s better we continue to drink beer, obsess over sports and celebrities, continue giving up increasing amounts of our worldly wealth, and let them operate behind closed doors. The way they like it. 

So we spend our days living within, being affected by, an energetic stew made up up the resonating frequencies being put in motion by the activities taking place in the world around us and we wonder…what?…why? Where can we find some answers? 

So many turn to the medium that is throwing all manner of human interactions at us, 24/7. Through various TV series and movies we can experience an infinite variety of events, interactions, intellectual and emotional actions and reactions. Sometimes what we are experiencing via the show we are watching resonates with something real inside us. We may then feel enlightened, affirmed, strengthened. It’s like finding a piece to the puzzle. This experience, repeated hundreds of times, little by little, piece by piece can begin to lead us to feel/believe that we are acquiring a larger picture of what is taking place in the real world. Sometimes we are able to learn that the picture developing in our minds from fictional tales does reasonably accurately reflect real-world activity. And sometimes it is woefully lacking.

Such learning via sensory led association can be enjoyable, can at times be enlightening, and can sometimes truly help us feel more connected to the world around us. However, it is a rather pitiful shadow of how a well-rounded education into the reality of life on Earth for intelligent sentient beings might more ideally take place. We should be informed on an ongoing basis by those in governmental offices and agencies who are supposed to be serving the best interests of the nation. We should be taught the truth of how our financial system, medicine, industry work in the world rather than the idealized, sanitized versions so commonly presented today. We should not have to play amateur detectives all the time: painstakingly examining the pieces of reality we can find and then trying to fit them together to try to find a more holistic picture of the real world around us. Because, bottom line, we do want and need to understand our here and now. The known truths of our world should be open before us like clear water in a mountain lake. Pure, pristine and there to benefit from for the effort we put into it. Our souls would find nourishment in such a reality. We would be able make choices in our lives which result in better results within ourselves, our families, our communities. We could make choices which result in our being revitalized and renewed. From the most humble household to the global village of humanity. 

Of course, as Sigmund Freud said “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” And not everyone is trying fervently to glean truth from the hints and resonances, planned or unplanned, taking place in the movies and television shows they watch. Sometimes it is just entertainment, or straight-forward education such as in nature shows. But there are many people in the world who are hungry for the truths being denied us by those in positions of governmental and/or industrial power. And those people are often trying to glean what may be gleaned from the scraps thrown us, the shadows, echos, and resonances of truth which occasionally show up, intentionally or unintentionally, in various television shows and movies. 

It’s time all the closed door meetings, secret reports, secret deals and “black ops” became disclosed. It’s time we, the citizens, the builders, the foundations of our communities and nation were honestly informed about the happenings, developments, inventions, and business dealings going on in our world. Only in this way can an honest, viable democracy function.

How did the United States take such a wrong turn?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Environment, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Science, Spirituality, Sustainability, War

As the song says, “War, huh, good God, y’all, what is it good for?” Something war most certainly is, is the violent introduction of some, if not all, of humankind’s most ill-conceived, lowest frequency, motivations into the spiritual/physical realm of our planet. Into our communities, into our lives.

The act of war, or acts of violence on an interpersonal level, without exception result in vibrations of dissonance reverberating within our energetic/spiritual environment. The traumas which war produces can, and too often do, resonate within generations becoming a self-perpetuating source of hatred and violence. The result is traumatized people blindly acting out of impulse to perpetuate more trauma and on and on.

How different our world would be if following the Second World War the United States had decided to “be the change we (the vast majority of people on Earth) want to see in the world.” How different the world would be if the United States had decided to model what an evolved, educated, caring nation could be instead of deciding to try to accomplish global domination via military might. How did a nation so blessed as the United States in the period after the Second World War take such a wrong turn? It isn’t what the people wanted. In 1960 we voted for a man who promised to take the path of an evolved, educated, caring nation. The early 1960’s with John F. Kennedy in the White House and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the pulpit, held so much promise for an enlightened future for humanity. Under Kennedy, foreign policy meant constructive cultural exchange. What we have seen foreign policy devolve into the past few decades is vicious attacks upon whatever nations aren’t getting into lockstep with the wealth/power/control aspirations of a coalition of a relative few of the world’s wealthiest and most politically powerful.

We, as a people in the United States and around the world, need to stop engaging in, or supporting, the madness of materialism, imperialism, competition and profiteering that has become commonplace in our world. We are, all of us, children of the Universal Divine Creative Spirit. We are all brothers and sisters in the spirit. We are all connected by the energy/spirit that we are made up of and that we live within. Sooner or later the cruelties expressed and the suffering taking place anywhere in the world are going to touch all of us.

At our core, our needs as human beings aren’t all that different. We do have differences in appearance: skin color, hair color, eye color, height, weight, and other physical attributes. We also have differences in the way we relate to the world. Some people are more intellectual, some more physical, some more visual, some more auditory. These differences may affect one’s values, likes and dislikes. They can affect who we seek out for companionship. All of these differences together lend each of us a certain uniqueness. And thank goodness, what a drab, boring place this Earth might be if we all were in lockstep with how we view the world, our likes and dislikes.

However, at our core, we are all of the same ilk. In order to be healthy, we all need clean air, clean water, nutritious food, shelter from extreme weather conditions. We all need to have other people we socialize with, share our thoughts and feelings with. We all need to love and to be loved. While we all may enjoy periods of isolation, some may say they don’t need socialization or love at all. However, that condition, if it exists at all, is rare. Abraham Maslow recognized these shared needs among people and produced his “Hierarchy of Needs” to help us all understand them, and ourselves.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Our natural way of relating to one another is copacetically. Babies and young children don’t want war. They know instinctively that it is not good for them. It’s only after we become acculturated into competition, envy, jealousy, greed, hate, essentially all the things that trauma and deprivation (also a form of trauma) nurture in the world that we as adults begin to imagine that there is gain in violence and war. When we know love, belonging, we don’t want to throw that away to go kill someone, somewhere, in order to try to achieve some ill-begotten, grandiose plan. Or more ridiculously to devote our lives to support someone else’s ill-begotten, grandiose plan.

We cannot fully develop as human beings when the higher functioning capabilities of our brains are diminished due to trauma. Do we want to keep living in a manner more suited to the beasts of the field while we live in a universe of unlimited possibilities? If so, all we need to do is build and sustain a culture of competition rather than cooperation. To keep on warring instead of working together. To keep on destroying each other rather than honoring the innate kinship of all of humanity, of all life.

It is when people are mistreated, traumatized, deprived, destitute, suffering, and/or deluded that fear, greed, callousness, and myriad other negative thoughts/feelings/and motivations arise. Competition as cultural norm breeds these all of these things and more. Within a framework of a few basic laws, within a culture of people who are thinking in terms of mutuality, trust, fairness, and compassion, the wondrous possibilities of this world are endless.

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.

Lies, Profits, and Protecting the Integrity of Our Place in the World

by kendunning, posted in Economics, Politics, Psychology

During my lifetime I have witnessed the people of the U.S. and the world be lied to frequently via “mainstream” media. Lied to by individuals and groups who occupy the positions of Governmental and industrial power. Some of the events which stand out in this regard are:

The JFK assassination.

The Gulf of Tonkin attack.

The Oklahoma City Bombing.

The events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The origins of the COVID virus.

The safety and efficacy of the mRNA vaccines.

In all cases the stories put forward, the lies, have served clearly served the agendas of a minority of people within the military/industrial/governmental complex. All of the lies have served to increase fear, division and often hatred within the general population of the U.S. Some of the lies have promoted hatred toward the people of other countries. In at least three cases, the lies have been used to promote military action, war, against the people of other countries. All of the lies serve to demonstrate to any and all who are paying attention, that those occupying key seats of governmental/military and industrial power and influence in the U.S. are not interested in the wellbeing of the general population of the U.S. Nor are they interested in the genuine wellbeing of the people in any other country. They have their own, narrow, self-serving agendas and will lie to further them. Their lies have resulted in the suffering, maiming, and deaths of multitudes of men, women and children in other countries along with the lives of Americans.

It is the responsibility of all citizens who want to see our nation, we as a people, regain a positive, healthful quality of life to wise up to these calculated manipulations of our hearts and minds. Read, watch, listen, learn, think through, and always follow the money. With the desire and the effort to do so, we can become invulnerable to such manipulations. When being asked to hate or kill, or to be ready to die for some agenda or cause being promoted by those in political power and parroted by the “mainstream” media, ask yourself four things:

1. Are the reasons being given to promote a war real or is there evidence to reasonably believe that the reasons/events which are the basis for the call to war are being manipulated or even created by those putting forward the call to war?

2. Is it really in the best interest of myself, my family, my community to follow the direction being put forward? Why, or why not? (Or does it seem to primarily serve some other peoples’ agenda of acquisition of wealth and power?)

3. If there is a real, immediate, compelling problem, is there a better solution to the problem than that of violence, death and destruction?

World conquest 2.0 and how to resist it.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality
Photo: Ken Dunning

The problem with the proposed U.N. gun ban is that it leaves the most ruthless criminals; the governments who routinely use armies and police as enforcers for special interest agendas, fully armed. Such special interest agendas which are being enacted and enforced which strip people, families and communities of their individual rights, freedoms and economic stability. Within this worldwide dynamic there are, in many and various places, “sub-elements” of individuals and groups who can and will use weapons to engage in their own more localized criminal activities: robbery, intimidation, assault, murder. These elements are what most people want to see disarmed. Yet these elements are those which would be the last to, if ever, turn over any weapons they possess. As the saying goes: “When guns are criminalized, only criminals will have guns.” The Second Amendment was intended to enable a well-armed citizenry to defend itself against armed assaults from either criminally authoritarian governments or smaller criminal groups. Regrettably, the threats which it is designed to address are no less present today than they were in the late 1700’s.

Yet there has been a movement within people around the world to embrace greater understanding of, and empathy toward, others. Via international tourism, this movement was rapidly picking up momentum in the past few decades. Perhaps this momentum threatened those who see authoritarian control as the system they want to see in place: with themselves as the authorities. The appearance of COVID was used to almost totally quash the increasing amount of international tourism. Tourism which was having the effect of bringing people together; which was allowing people to see first-hand the similarities and kinship innate within all people on Earth. The past few months international tourism has been opening up considerably, however, simultaneously plans are being laid among the international governmental powers-that-be to bring international tourism under an increased level of authoritarian control. A concerted attempt to bring a “vaccine passport” into being is underway among the G20 nations.

Which brings us back to the proposed U.N. gun ban. There can be no question that there exists an international elite who see themselves as the leaders of the world. Further, they want to impose their vision of the future upon the global citizenry. A vision which lacks the merit which would allow it to be globally embraced by an enlightened populace. If their vision had such merit, it would be spontaneously embraced. It would become a globally internalized behavioral guidance system which would lead to a harmonious society. But it does not, so lies, manipulation, and force are being employed in an attempt to establish the desired authoritarian system. Ultimately, as it is highly oppositional to a healthy human nature, it will fall apart. Yet we are left with the question of how much pain and suffering this attempt will cause while it is underway? It depends on several things. One of which, possibly the most significant, is how susceptible people around the world are to being convinced that participating in military, and/or police, violence against other nations and people is a good thing to do. This will largely depend upon the amount of fear the powers-that-be are able to cultivate among one person or population toward another.

What will go the farthest toward keeping us safe against this insidious attempt at bringing the general population of the world under the control of a self-serving minority, is simply not buying into the persistent rhetoric, the fear mongering. The more we stay centered in love, loving our neighbor as we love ourselves, and then acting upon that love, the better chance we have of keeping the most positive aspects of our humanity alive and well.

As a species we face the need for a major transition.  Will it happen by design or default?  And if by design, whose?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability

An article carried on the AP recently has the statement: “…the United States and Japan are expected to agree to changes in the joint defense posture this week as the two nations confront rising threats from North Korea and increasing aggressiveness from China.” These kinds of statements in the news are nothing new. It is common for news reports these days to be about the threats and violence one country, or faction within a country, are inflicting upon another. It is so common that I imagine many adults who were born in the 1990s just take it for granted that this is the inescapable way of the world. It isn’t.

I also know that gratefully there are many people in the world, people of all ages, who have a different vision for the world. One in which headlines can read something like: “A cooperative international effort has eradicated hunger in 99.5% of the world’s population and is expected to have completely eradicated it within another year.” Or “International efforts in education and health care have resulted in greatly improved educational and medical treatment options throughout the world.” Wouldn’t that be nice?

I can remember the world during the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. The optimism, the dreams, the good will being expressed on the international stage. Of course, as we know, people enamored of war and violence killed President Kennedy and effectively turned that optimistic trend around to express what they knew. Toward what they envisioned as the future of the world. And now we’re experiencing their preoccupation with war and violence being expressed in the world.  The world which is our home. 

Is this any way to run a world? No, it isn’t.  Not if a healthy, thriving, worldwide population is the goal.  However, a healthy, thriving worldwide population evidently isn’t the goal of the money/power “elite” that are pulling the economic, political strings in the world.  It is apparently their desire to establish a worldwide political/economic system which is essentially a return to something more closely resembling the medieval feudal system. 

The above pyramid roughly illustrates the composition of the 21st century feudal system that is being engineered into existence.  However, it is not absolute in it’s designations.  For instance, many Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other national heads of state fall in the category of “Lords” rather than being part of the actual international ruling/governing body.  And some with a high level of a particular skill which is needed by the ruling body may find themselves at least honorary members of the “Lords”. 

The following illustration roughly provides a reference point for how the wealth, which is largely manufactured, mined or otherwise produced by the Peasants and Serfs, is ultimately currently being distributed.  The ongoing increase in automated systems which perform labor previously performed by human workers calls to question the need for as large a general population as historically been needed.

Largely by manipulations within the educational, media and entertainment systems, the King and Lords have managed to convince the general public that such an inequitable distribution of wealth is right and proper.  This is no small feat considering all the wealth has either been provided by either the natural composition of the Earth itself or the labor of the Peasants/Serfs.  Often it is a combination of these things combined. 

One inescapable problem with this system (among many) is that people tend to look enviously, lustfully upon the wealth of others.  Possibly the money/power elite behind current events believe that by consolidating world rule under one ruling body, as opposed to many fiefdoms which existed during the medieval times that they will have effectively prevented any serious challenges to their position. However, when there is such a disproportionate distribution of wealth taking place we may be certain that there are persons with resources whose egos, whose greed, will not allow them to accept such conditions.  This ensures that there will be wars, uprisings, revolutions and the like.  Which simultaneously ensures that the conditions which prevent human beings from more fully discovering their innate gifts and abilities will continue to plague humanity.  Too much stress and repeated trauma are not conducive to positive, holistic, human development.

So, do we have any options?  Yes we do if we work together.  We desperately need to largely replace competition with cooperation.  Cooperation between individuals, groups, professions, businesses, nations, and with the Earth itself.  Humankind has ample stress/challenge placed upon us simply by existing upon this Earth at all (yes, a certain amount of stress is healthy/needed.)  We do not need to be continually creating lethal amounts by our own actions.

I love the following illustration.  I’ve used it a lot in my blog articled because it sums it up so graphically.  It beautifully illustrates for us all we need to do to maximize our potential both as individuals and as a species.  To work together so beautifully will, of course, take work.  It will require that we sincerely and diligently work to overcome our prejudices, misunderstandings, relatively trivial and not so trivial differences.  Impossible?  Not at all.  If we want it, really want it, and are willing to work for it, we can have it.  Might it be hard?  Yes, at times it might be.  However, it couldn’t possibly take any more work and resources than we currently devote to violence, killing, war.  Ultimately it very well may be our only long term option as a species.  We are currently in possessions of the weaponry and delivery means to wipe ourselves from our Earthly existence.  To think such a potential exists but that some crazed authoritarian head of state or rogue military officer would never actually employ it is, I think, naive.  We very much need to curb our intolerance, judgementalism, and other ego driven constructs which separate us and pit us against one another.  We very much need to realize our interdependence, our interconnectedness and begin enjoying all blessings which lie in wait for us when we do.

(c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com