Tag: Psychology

Can humanity achieve global systemic change?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Science, Spirituality, Sustainability
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

We as individuals, and humanity as a whole, whether we know it or not, are facing a crossroads of two increasingly distinct paths. This crossroads has always been before us. Some individuals have already faced this crossroads, made their choice, and are journeying toward the inevitable destination of the path they have chosen. Although, sometimes, along our way we find we are offered an opportunity to reevaluate our choice and alter our path. At this time the two distinct paths are these: one is the path of love, truth, cooperation, kinship and it’s correlated regard for the interconnectedness of all things. The other is the path of competition, greed, materialism, and it’s correlated manifestations of ego, pride, envy, illusions, deceit and disregard, if not contempt, for all that does not serve the competitive process.

While these choices have faced individuals, small groups and localized cultures for all of recorded history, at this time due to the increase in population and the advances in communication, transportation, and destructive technologies, this has become an inescapable choice facing the mass of humanity around the world. For any individual to not make a conscious choice is to, by default, accept the dominant value system in one’s surrounding culture. It is a choice which stands to profoundly determine the quantity and quality of life for every individual and thereby humanity as a whole.

There may be, and reportedly are, some groups of spiritually advanced beings who have established their own isolated cultures which exist relatively insulated from the painful cultural/spiritual contortions taking place in the world. However, that is not the condition in which the vast majority of humans live. Billions of people around the world are painfully exposed to the whims and fantasies conjured within the egos of those who, at the moment, occupy the seats of worldly power within various national governments and the world’s increasingly monopolized industries. Whims and fantasies which increasingly manifest as predominantly serving a relatively small percentage of the population.

The phrase “the world community” has never been more acutely descriptive than it is at this time. We are in our daily activites one world, one community. In reality we always have been, however, in the past, up until possibly 1900, it was easier to ignore that fact than it is today.

There is no question that in many ways simply allowing the world to continue on it’s present course of pervasive materialism and competition would be easier, at least in the near future. However, the price in the long run will undoubtedly be high and I can’t imagine that it will be anything but horrendous involving widespread death and suffering. Death and suffering not only within the human race but among all the various species of life on Earth. This is due to the callous disregard for our environment displayed by governments and industries around the globe. This callous disregard for humanity and the Earth itself is a direct consequence of the highly competitive grasping for wealth taking place among the captains of industry and tolerated, if not subsidized, by governments. This governmental tolerance and subsidizing is usually, if not always, due to those in power within the respective governments being paid off, in one way or another, to insure their non-interference. The competition to be the “first”, the richest, the most powerful has been in active among various individuals and groups for centuries. However, the aforementioned changes in technology and population have produced a world with decreased tolerance for imbalance and non-cooperative methods. The ultimate form of competition is war and to think a highly competitive culture can lead to anything else is to ignore fundamental logic along with what reality has been showing us for centuries. Continuing along the competitive path allows us to avoid facing the undeniably difficult and painful process of revelations around the lies and manipulations which have been taking place within our human cultures for centuries.

This is the choice which humanity faces at this time: do we face and accept the process of cleaning up our cultural myths, lies, and intentional misconceptions? Do we accept the challenge of reorganization along more reality oriented, more cooperative, more survival-oriented lines? The changes which are necessary to realign our world culture with a more truthful and survival-oriented direction will impact some, if not all, of humankind’s deeply programmed religious and cultural precepts. To be successful such an undertaking will require empathy, caring and cooperative behavior on the part of people around the globe.

Are we, as a species, mature enough to choose the path of work and difficulty now in order to manifest needed corrective change as opposed to simply riding out the current materialistic, competitive trends? Those for whom the greatest material sacrifices would be required are predominantly those who have been benefiting the most from the competitive, materialistic paradigm. The “1% ers” as they are commonly called. Or maybe it’s the 1/10th of 1% ers. However, we should not underestimate the degree of mental/psychological challenge which would accompany cleaning up the factual errors and lies which have become embodied in various cultures. Factual errors and lies which may often serve to kindle the fires of competition with, if not contempt for, others. Is it in the realm of possibility to effectively redirect the ego-driven, destructive behaviors currently manifesting so pervasively around the world? Is enough of humanity capable of recognizing our innate interconnectedness/interdependence for global systemic change to take place?

Something it is good and wise for us all to keep in mind is the basic principle of personal, or societal change: that every change that a human being undertakes is first preceded by the desire for change. When that is present there is usually an accompanyng conception of the change desired. There is no doubt in my mind that at this time very many people around the world are desirous of change: major systemic change. The motivation to change exists. We feel it, we talk about it, we dream of it. This being the case, what we most need in order to move away from a competitive paradigm toward a cooperative one is a fundamentally common conception of the changes we want to see become manifest. Governments, political candidates, industries, religions, use advertising, news shows, and other forms of media in their efforts to influence the citizenry to adopt the conception of change, or resistance to change, that they want to see. It’s happening right now. The thing is, we are currently going down the path, the competitive, wealth centered path, that most governments and industries are unmistakably enamored of and working to keep in place. For positive systemic change to happen in the world we first need to free our minds and desires from this agenda.

Then we need to embrace a conception of a different social paradigm: one of genuine, common good. A world in which people who work and contribute to society can expect to see their lives, and their childrens’ lives, rightfully and justly improved as a result. A world in which it is recognized that nobody should be subjected to conditions approximating slave labor and that no one’s, absolutely no one’s, contribution to the public good is exponentially more valuable than anyone else’s. Yes, we need to reward exceptional achievement, however, if we want a stable and healthy society, we need to keep in mind that the contributions of the nurses, teachers, garbage collectors, cooks, and every other contribution which serves to maintain, improve and enhance our lives and society is important. It is a reality that the greater the nature of the contribution of any one individual: the broader the base of contributing achievements of others that it is built upon. This is always true whether the individual claiming great achievement is willing to recognize that reality or not. No one ever has, or ever will, singlehandedly contribute to such a great degree that their contribution is worth 25, or 50 times more than the contribution of the average, positively contributing worker.

Today we see myriad CEO’s, sports figures, entertainers, politicians and others who believe they should receive rewards many hundreds and thousand times greater, if not millions of times greater, than the average positively contributing worker. And due to the effect of media propaganda, we see average, positively contributing workers who seem to support, possibly even worship, that situation no matter the consequences within their lives or communities. As stated, this is in large part the result of the media campaign of those who are in possession of inordinate wealth to keep the reality of inordinate imbalance appearing right, unavoidable. Abraham Maslow, with his Hierarchy of Needs, gave us a wonderful tool for use in helping determine appropriate parameters for material reward within a viable society. As a global community we desperately need greater balance in the distribution of reward for contribution than we currently have. Not a flat line, but a much greater balance.

In closing, let us all strive to create and hold the conception of a world in which we all have a good life. Where basic needs are met and everyone has the opportunity to improve their lot in life through their own personal initiative. A world in which we recognize and honor our spiritual and worldly interconnectedness. This desire and conception, based in love and reason actually already exists, and always has, at a deep, spiritual level within all of us. So, it may be said that the challenge we face is to get in touch with our own personal, yet interconnected, spiritual reality.

Healing the world, saving the world, call it what you will Jeremy Griffith presents a summation of the work of scientists, religions, poets, and others that rings true.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Psychology, Science
Image (c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

This post is dedicated to facilitating people viewing the one hour six minute video of Jeremy Griffith’s abstract of this summation. It is filled with research, reason, love and optimism. Coming from the primary perspective of biology, it explains much about our present and historical human condition. Further, this explanation serves to free humankind from deeply embedded, internalized conflicts and self-condemnation.

I truly hope you will take the time to view this video and tell others about it. This is genuinely information the world needs to have.

Jeremy Griffith, the interview.

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.

Demonstrations, protests and riots are going on all over the U.S. Why?

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

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Why do I use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs so often in my articles? Because it informs us of a concept key to a successful life as a person or for a culture.

In many important, essential ways, people, by and large, aren’t all that complicated.  Maslow knew this aspect of our reality and took the time to try to organize our needs by importance in relationship to our survival and well-being.  Of course we don’t always find ourselves involved with filling each need in exactly the order Maslow arranged them, however, if our needs aren’t met at one level, the more desperate the need we feel, the more we’re stuck on that level.

We need to keep this reality in mind when we are working to understand and/or figure out how to respond to the demonstrations, protests and riots going on in the U.S. and elsewhere.  What these events are, every one of them, are symptoms of unmet needs.  They are populated by people who can no longer stand idly by while feeling their innate human needs go unmet.  It might have worked for them at one time.  A time when they were, for whatever reasons, able to suppress their internal urges because they felt hope that a pathway was going to open up for them to pursue fulfillment.  But when that hope wanes, desperation comes in on it’s heels.

The “rugged individualists”, particularly the ones who have found themselves in comfortable positions, might say:  well it’s their fault, they didn’t work hard enough to take care of themselves, they’re lazy.  Maybe, to some extent, for some of the people, there is some degree of truth in that.  But there is something obvious that really flies in the face of that logic:  those “lazy” people are out marching in the streets.  They are feeling a need and somebody, or something, provided them with a direction.  When one is desperate, doing something, anything, even if it’s wrong can be preferable to doing nothing.  If a direction offers some degree of even blind, hope, it is going to have an attraction.  That’s how desperation works.

The fact people are out marching, protesting, even rioting, shows that, given a direction, they are willing to take action to do something, anything, to try to gain fulfillment for their unmet needs.  It is clear that what most people need in such a situation is direction.  What is being demonstrated in these events is raw, potential energy looking for a way to become kinetic, to provide what is needed to fulfill the unmet needs.

In a civilized society it should just be a given that we are working together to meet the needs of all.  Whether we privately own things, communally own things or work with a model that embraces the best method for the immediate needs at hand, as long as we have the mind that it is a combined effort for the good of all, we will be fine.

Have you ever been poor?  After two-thirds of the month has gone by have you ever found yourself wondering how you’re going to eat for the remaining third?  When you are in that position, and you walk into a grocery store, you want EVERYTHING.  It can seem that you couldn’t possibly buy enough to satisfy your hunger.  However, if you’re not poor, if you’re well fed and you enter a grocery store, it’s not that hard to be totally satisfied picking up whatever it was you came for.  People are like that, in more ways than simply regarding food.  When we are feeling an acute shortage of something, a deep-down need for something, we can easily find ourselves thinking we want it all.

No matter how absurd or grandiose the participants’ expressed demands in the heat of desperation may be, when the people involved see and feel their needs are being genuinely fulfilled, they will, however tentatively at first, begin responding favorably to whatever is providing, and shows it can continue to provide, that fulfillment.   To merely offer such a movement resistance is to stand squarely in the way of much needed hope and change.

A footnote:  This is not to advocate for a program of ongoing free stuff for all dissatisfied people.  In Maslow’s hierarchy, self esteem is a basic human need.  Working at a fair rate in exchange for what one receives is a part of healthy self esteem.  Sometimes a person’s being able to accept “free” stuff is needed in order to pull that person up when they are down, but it’s not a viable long term solution.

A house divided against itself…

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Environment, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Science, Spirituality, Unified Field

Fotosearch_k22192444
(c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

In our attempts, our efforts, at building a viable, vital society, we can learn much by observing and understanding the functioning of our own bodies.  There is a saying attributed to Hermes Trismegistus:  “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.”   This is often shortened to “As above, so below, as below, so above”.  This concept, or the observation of the nature of our reality, provides us with an understanding, which, if applied to our efforts at creating and maintaining a human culture, can do much to guide us toward what will be in harmony with the natural world.  The natural world which we are working with and within and therefore toward a more vibrant, stable and enduring culture.

Our bodies are miracles of design.  They are self-repairing, self-renewing, and they offer us multiple senses, or avenues of interface, with our environment.  They provide us with much enjoyment and pleasure.  And provide us with discomfort and/or pain to let us know when we’re not supplying them with what they need, or too much of what they don’t need.  Ultimately what makes the whole thing work is the the organs, the cells, within the body work together to keep the body, the whole, alive and well.  One of the serious threats to the health of our bodies is the occasion when some cells become sickened and engage in a pattern of runaway duplication (growth) and a voracious appetite for energy.  One could say they get greedy for resources and want to take over.  They behave more competitively than cooperatively.  Of course, as our ancestors knew centuries ago:  Mark 3:25, Jesus states, “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”  

Now really, just think about that last statement for a minute, it’s not rocket science.  It’s something that immediately makes sense both intellectually and emotionally.  I think this is one of those truths that people just innately know, that comes with birth.  Yet it is one many people quickly turn their backs on when the world dangles some bling in front of them and says:  Go now and compete.  Within human cultures around the world that is the genesis of a cancer that is destroying our cultures with the same certainty that an untreated malignant cancer destroys a human body.  I can imagine someone thinking, but isn’t that just exercising personal freedom?   Yes it is.  And freedom is an essential aspect of a healthy human culture.  However, it is also just exercising personal freedom to take an automatic weapon to an elementary school and start shooting students.  Freedom is a double edged sword and is only an asset to humanity when it is combined with wisdom.  Such as the wisdom that if we aren’t all working together, cooperatively, for the good of the whole of humanity, the body of humanity, we are in the process of destroying that body.  And just as the cells of a body cannot survive for long once the body as a whole becomes unviable, no matter how adept a survivalist one might think they are, human beings cannot survive indefinitely outside a viable human culture.

All my life I have heard Charles Darwin exalted as one of the, effectively, high priests of the natural world.  I don’t think it’s possible to think of Charles Darwin and not think of the phrase survival of the fittest.  That is the phrase those most industrially disseminating information within popular culture have locked onto regarding Darwin.  But today those who are seriously researching Darwin’s ideas and adaptive strategies are saying friendliness and cooperation is the most successful strategy for survival.  This is just one more example of how spirituality and science are converging in the world today.

If we are to survive as a species on this planet we must recognize our oneness, our interconnectedness and interdependence.  Not merely within cities, or nations, but as global body of humanity.

The Lifeguard Principle: What it is, what is it good for, how to make friends with it.

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

Fotosearch_k22192444
(c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

I am realizing that many of us, me included, have a tendency to readily notice and respond to the things in the world that are blatantly wrong, or problematic, and that this may consequently mean we simultaneously are not giving enough attention to the things that are right. 

I first became aware of this tendency decades ago when I worked a couple summers as a lifeguard.  When I found myself in the lifeguard chair, looking at a large, crowded pool with lots of noise and activity, I had a moment of doubt.  I wondered how in the world am I going to see someone in trouble in this chaos?  I asked an older lifeguard that question and he replied that I just needed to keep my eyes on the pool and if someone got into trouble, I’d see it.  Sounds too simple, right?  It isn’t.  As it turns out our attention is drawn to the things that aren’t right.  Whether it is inconsistencies, differences in movement, sometimes the obvious shout for “help”, or some other more esoteric phenomenon, it is a reliably real thing.  I would always find my attention drawn to someone in trouble.  Sometimes a few seconds before they were actually experiencing the distress.  Of course it is also true that my mindset, my internal desire, was to see such occurrences.  That may be a part of the function at work.  I began calling this tendency to have our attention drawn to what is wrong “the lifeguard principle”.

While paying attention and looking for trouble was an explicit part of that job, I think it is something we all do to a greater or lesser extent.  It definitely is a survival trait in times of threat.  Maybe it’s a carry over from the days when we were walking through forests or jungles and we had to be aware of our surroundings to avoid being eaten.  It definitely is a behavior that is necessary in times of warfare, one person, gang, tribe, nation, attacking another.  I believe it is universal among humankind.   For those interested in looking into such things, there is some correlate in the functioning of our “exciting” and “calming” neurotransmitters.  Our bodies have evolved in a way that we deplete our “calming” neurotransmitters well before we are in danger of running out of “exciters”.  I suppose that would help keep us from just lying down and being eaten when being chased by a tiger.  But now, in the year 2020, for many if not most of us, the dynamics we face in our day to day lives are not quite the same as they have been through much our existence.

It’s not that there still aren’t some acute dangers in the world; in some places much more than others.  However, the dangers most of us face in developed nations are more of a chronic nature.  We don’t get pounced on and quickly killed and eaten by a tiger, we get killed more gradually by being slowly consumed by worries, fears, anxieties, and insecurities.  Just as the nature of the threats has changed over time, our reactions to the threats we’re facing needs to change also.  A sudden, pervasive startle, fight or flight reaction to all the, sometimes subtle, threats an average person may face during their day would certainly result in a person becoming overly stressed, burned out, and significantly more at risk for a plethora of diseases.

Sometimes we need to intervene in what direction our “autopilot” chooses and become more reasoned with our reactions to life’s events.  Having an innate sensitivity to things that are “wrong” in our environment can be part of an important survival system.  Our “lifeguard principle” exists for just that purpose, to help guard our lives.  This brings to my mind a book by Gavin De Becker:  “The Gift of Fear”.  It addresses the important role fear can and does play in our lives.  However, with both the “lifeguard principle” and “The Gift of Fear”, whether or not these innate aspects of our being serve us or sabotage us depends entirely on how we react to the input we receive from them.

In our complex, more populated, human culture primitive responses to what are often sophisticated situations become less and less viable.  As a culture, we need to get way more invested in learning more about what it is to be human and what we inherently, and universally, require to establish and maintain healthy, vital, lives.  When we learn to respond to human, social, problems in a manner based in seeking to solve those problems on by seeing needs met and lives stabilized, it will benefit us greatly.  We are going to find ourselves in a thriving, vibrant world such as we have only had glimpses of, during a few periods of time in the past 150 years.

Within the current available knowledge from the fields of psychology, sociology, physiology, and spirituality, we have all we need to have more than a good start.  It only requires our will and determination to do so.

What does a new “case” of covid-19 mean? (And is it okay to shout “fire” in a crowded theater?)

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Healthcare, Medicine, Politics, Psychology, Trust and betrayal.

fake-news-2

One of William Shakespeare’s most well-known questions is: “What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  However, it is also well known that names, words, can and do make a great difference in how we perceive a thing.  The noun “case”, especially when relating to illness/disease is one of these words.  We have to be aware that sometimes a word means something in common usage, and also, within the specialization of one discipline or another, that word may have a particular meaning.  For example, we all know what the common usages of the word “head” are.  Either a body part or possibly the boss, or leader of something.  However, in the Navy, the word “head” can and often does refer to the toilet/WC.  Sometimes it all depends on the context the word is being used in.  The word “case” has some similar usage issues.

In common usage I venture to say we usually think of a “case” as being something that holds something else, like a cellphone case.  Or, when speaking about illness, a case is commonly thought of occurring when someone is actively ill with something.  We’ve all probably heard about someone coming down with a case of food poisoning, or, heaven forbid, a case of cancer.  The fact that someone ate some food which somehow, later, turned up as tainted, means that maybe the person might “come down with a case of food poisoning”, but not necessarily.   With cancer I have heard that at any given time most (all?) of us have some potentially cancerous cells in our body, however that doesn’t mean we’re suffering with a case of cancer. A “case” of something commonly means someone is actively suffering, ill, with whatever it is.   The CDC and other public health related people and agencies however, seem to have a different meaning for the word “case” within their technical jargon.  In that usage a “case” can evidently mean simply a positive test result which may, or may not, indicate the presence of detectable material from a COVID virus. Remember, at any given time most of us have some potentially cancerous cells in our body which does not indicate we have a case of cancer.

So when we hear about all the new cases of covid-19 turning up, what does that mean?  Does that mean all the people represented by that number are actively suffering from the severe ravages of covid-19, which we’ve heard so much about?  If we’re thinking in common usage terms, the word “case” tends to lead our minds down that path.  However, the reality is that in terms of the daily covid “scoreboard”, it doesn’t mean that at all.  It means more people have been tested and some of the test results are positive.  Kind of like someone eating some food with some unwanted bacteria growing on it.  It doesn’t mean that they are necessarily going to come down with a case of food poisoning.  As with exposure to just about every potentially harmful substance on Earth, there a few other variables involved such as the amount of the “dose” of bacteria and the person’s pre-existing state of health.  I think that the robustness of the human immune system is being largely ignored as the covid scenario progresses.  Which brings us back to: will someone who tests positive for covid become ill, develop symptoms?  Maybe. I’m not sure there are any reliable numbers on the relationship between testing positive and becoming symptomatic.  But even if odds are that an infected person will develop some symptoms, as the World Health Organization states:  “COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization.”

At this point I find myself asking, would the daily news have the same quality of sensationalism if what is reported as “cases” are more accurately reported as “positive test results”?  At this time the sensationalized use of the the word “cases” is an instrument for the production of fear.  Imagine the headline:  “Today an additional 1,000 people tested positive for covid.”  After a few weeks, how many people are going to be on the edge of their seats waiting for the latest tally?  But if they say there are 1,000 new cases of covid, especially without any qualifying explanations, our minds, our imaginations, tend to take us down the path of common usage to a forest of doom and gloom, don’t they?  So, are we being misled?  I think so, I think the folks putting the words together know exactly what picture those words are likely to conjure up in the minds of the general public.  However, are they lying?  I think it can be easily argued in a court of law that, no, the health officials are merely reporting the facts as they define them.  And the media is just parroting what they’re being told. 

I think the reporting which is taking place around covid by the mainstream media in the U.S. begs the question: is it okay to shout “fire” in a crowded theater?

Always, never, sometimes, all, none, some.

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

Fotosearch_k17282832 (1)
(c) mrdoggs http://www.fotosearch.com

I’ve been writing letters to our local paper and articles for my blog for some time.  However, all that pales in comparison to countless conversations with many people over many years.  When you converse with and/or get written feedback from intelligent people on the ideas that you’re expressing, it can lead one to have to refine one’s communications.  That’s a good thing.

One thing which over the years I have had to face repeatedly in my communications, and which I often see in the communications of others, are the instances in which, by design or default, a person makes an all encompassing statement which, in it’s breadth, renders the statement inaccurate, untrue.  One often sees this in cases in which someone is angry about something, or purposely trying to sway the opinion of an already biased audience.  The thing about the heat of emotion is that it often abates in the presence of objective (coolheaded) thought.  This can be good if the goal is to find rational resolution to problematic issues, or, possibly not considered a good thing if the goal is to incite thoughtless anger.

One clue that what is being communicated is not based in reality, often is the use of the words “all”, “no”, “always” or “never”.  Or statements which clearly imply the use of those words, even if the words themselves are not present.  This is particularly true when the topic has to do with human traits, characteristics, and/or behaviors.  For example, and I am going to jump right in with a loaded example, if I write that all men are emotionally shallow, cruel people, I, unfortunately, may be accurate about some men, but because I include the word “all”, my statement is untrue.  The same is true if I omit the world “all” and simply say that men are emotionally shallow, cruel people.  The implication is clear that I am referring to all men.  But if I state that some men are emotionally shallow, cruel people, that is a statement which is defendable, true and accurate.  This same principle is at work if I make the statement that no men are shallow, cruel people.  At this point some reading this are probably going, yeah, been there, done that.  Some are possibly considering this information for the first time.

The difference this adjustment in our communication, and our thinking, can make in the world is tremendous.  We human beings are complex beings and, in our complexity, sweeping statements trying to characterize genders or races, referring to deficits or strengths in any particular area of our thinking and/or behavior, are seldom, if ever, accurate.  This is the case no matter the gender or skin color of the people being referred to.

So the next time you’re arguing with a friend, or your spouse, or getting ready to deliver a characterization of a particular person or group of people, please give some thought as to whether or not what you’re about to say, or write, is actually, literally accurate/true.  Sometimes doing this can lead us to realize that we are not correct in our initial thinking/perception.  Sometimes that can be a very good, comforting thing.  And it is always going to put us a step closer to resolving issues, reaching agreements.  It is a positive thing if we aren’t inciting defensiveness and hurting feelings by mischaracterizing those we’ve found ourselves in a problematic situation with.

Electromagnetic Radiation: The New Pollution

by kendunning, posted in 5G, Building our future., Community, Environment, Innovation, Psychology, Science

OscilloscopeI have practiced neurofeedback therapy for a few decades. I have seen the power that altering brainwave activity can have upon individuals. Depending upon the dominant frequency active in our brains we are asleep, relaxed, content, busy, anxious, angry, panicked.  I have also seen how susceptible our brainwave production is to “suggestion”. Our brainwaves can be pushed toward one frequency or another via external stimulation. I’ve used this technique, successfully, in therapeutic situations. However, the outcome being sought by those utilizing such methods is not always benevolent.

In general, the lower the dominant frequency our brain is operating at the closer we are to the sleep state. Delta brainwaves, around .5 to 4 hz, are the lowest and are most often associated with sleep. Conversely, the higher the frequency of the dominant operating brainwaves we are operating at the more “high strung” we often become. We tend much more to anxiety at a higher (say, 20 to 30 hz) level of brainwave activity than we are at the lower frequencies.

The higher frequencies we’re being subjected to via 5G are not pushing us toward relaxed contentment. It is pushing, with however much subtlety, toward anxiety, tension. 5G, with it’s high frequency, power and dense mast and satellite distribution can easily affect the electromagnetic workings within people within the broadcast areas.  This does not necessarily mean those employing the technology are intending whatever effect the technology is having upon people.  But it does mean that the technology has the potential to be deliberately used to affect people in whatever way those manipulating the technology have in mind.

This impingement upon our biological reality is the reason we need to wake up and start taking all the microwave towers going up around the world very seriously. Technology can be wonderful or technology can be a horror story. It all depends upon the wisdom and the agendas of those utilizing the technology. As we have seen in our other industries, manufacturing, banking, media, those controlling things at any given time may, or may not, have the public’s best interests at heart.

As I read the articles about the experience and expressions of anger that are taking place in the U.S. I find myself wondering how much the public’s predisposition to anger is being heightened by the microwave activity in our environment.  The influence of this technology can be mitigated to some extent with meditation, centering, focusing on positive values, positive thoughts. This isn’t an ultimate answer, but it can genuinely help. It is certain that in the face of such a real and pervasive environmental influence toward anger, we all should be doubling and tripling our efforts to relate and act toward each other with care and civility.

Many scientists with knowledge of the technology being employed, and medical/healthcare practitioners from around the world have called for a moratorium on 5G. In his book “The Invisible Rainbow”, Arthur Firstenberg has given us a researched look at the history of the effects of technology upon humankind since the late 1800’s.  As is the case with the methods of a lot of other industries; the telecommunications industry’s use of microwave transmission brings with it a danger of pollution. In this case, of polluting our environment in a harmful, even potentially deadly manner with microwave radiation. We need to very deliberately examine the potentials of this relatively new industry and see that our communities, ourselves, do not become collateral damage in someone’s rush to riches.

To learn more about humankind’s relationship with electricity and electromagnetic radiation read Arthur Firstenberg’s “The Invisible Rainbow”.  The link is to a 17 page summary of the book.

Added July 4, 2020, quote from Albert Einstein:  “We are slowed down sound and light waves, a walking bundle of frequencies turned into the cosmos. We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.”   Einstein also said: “Future medicine will be the medicine of frequencies.”

We know, via our increasing understanding of our physical reality, that the first quote is absolutely true. The second is a prediction not yet fully realized, however, the truth of the first definitely implies credence to the second.  If vibrational frequencies can heal (and it is known they can), they also have the potential to harm. This is why we must wake up and demand greater accountability from those who are filling our environment with powerfully broadcast frequencies. To think they are of no consequence is to be in denial of the foundational reality of our existence.

 

The most important battle going on.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Mental Health, Oppression, Personal Development, Politics, Science, Spirituality, Trust and betrayal., War

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

 

This post is essentially an invitation to watch a documentary which was produced in 2010.  However the subject matter of the film is timeless.

Whether you’re watching FOX, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc., you’re being fed bullshit. But it comes in different flavors, because those controlling the news know, everyone doesn’t like vanilla. However there are certain constants no matter what channel you tune in to. Some of them are:

1. Accumulating vast wealth is good.
2. We should all admire those who have accumulated vast wealth.
3. Be afraid, be very afraid.. Depending upon what channel you’re watching, what we’re supposed to be afraid of can vary. But it’s never the extravagantly wealthy, nor war.
4. War is a necessity.
5. We need to spend more on war.

It is important to those busily accumulating wealth and power, regardless of the effects of their actions upon the majority of people in the world, or the planet itself, that we, the masses, believe these things. They are constantly endeavoring to engineer consent for their actions. Our continued belief of these concepts enables them to maintain and advance their agenda.

All we need to win this war is to realize our kinship, our innate interconnectedness. To love one another as we love ourselves. And to love the universal creative spirit that gives us life. To respect the creator, respect the creation.

The most important battle going on is to control our perceptions of what is going on. The battle to control our thoughts.  This documentary provides a clear picture of history and nature of this battle.  Click on the link to be taken to the full video on YouTube:

Psywar