I meant to post this blog a while back. I will be posting blogs on Monday and Friday until my muse decides to take a vacation and the flow of topics ceases.
I came to this realization when I was drifting off to sleep wondering about a question I posed in my last blog. Why do people continue to elect Ruthless Predators as our leaders? I have spoke about how religion and science has led to a disconnect with Spirit. Strangely, Darwin's Theory of Evolution didn't just change how we see the world it also changed our society. We saw the ideas he described at work within the human community and we applied them to various areas of our society. Scientists seem to think this is some sort of natural law of behavior of animals that includes humans. Science, for the most part, is against all things that might appear to coincide with religion. The last thing they want to do is support religious beliefs or reinforce them in any way. The antagonism between Science and the Church is understandable as many scientists were killed for telling the truth. The idea that humans have a responsibility that is above that of animals is equated to suggesting that the Earth is Flat or that the Sun actually revolves around the Earth. Strangely, there is a sad little group that believes the latter and would still not consider the former in our science focused society. Survival of The Fittest There is another aspect of science that has done a great disservice to our Society. When Darwin described his Theory of Evolution many of the ideas that he suggested began to be identified in our society. The most dangerous of these is the idea of Survival of the Fittest. The idea of Survival of Fittest is applied in our politics, economics and business policy. The idea is that competition will cause the weaker people to be removed and lead to a healthier environment. I see this as a natural aspect of the Hopi World of the Animal. When we were experiencing life as animals perhaps this makes sense. However, as I will explain, I don't think that this fits into a truly Human Experience. There will not be room for this in the 'next world' of the Human Being. Survival of the Fittest In the Animal Kingdom When we look at the Animal World Survival of the Fittest does exist. The most prominent and recent case of this was in Yellowstone. The wolf had been hunted to extinction in that region. As a result the Bison of Yellowstone began to become sick and their herds were becoming smaller. With the reintroduction of their natural predator, the wolves, the Bison packs are now more healthier than ever. The weak and sick are no longer allowed to live very long. So they are not able to pass their viruses, diseases, or genetic disorders to the rest of the pack as they were in the past. The wolves are also thriving. The natural balance of predator and prey in that region has been restored. In both of these animal species we have a common behavior. Both the wolves and the Bison actually protect the weakest among them. The Bison place the weakest at the center of the herd so that they are no easily picked off. The Wolves have the weak and older members of their packs lead setting the pace for the rest while the Alpha Wolf actually takes up the rear. The species don't turn on themselves and destroy those that are different! This is going to be an important aspect of animal behavior that I will return to in the next section. I will also note that Humpback whales have been observed protecting other species from the Predatory Killer Whales. They have physically put themselves into danger to keep the Killer Whales from killing the animals. In the video that I am going to share a pair of Humpback Whales unsuccessfully try to save a Gray Whale Calf. This selfless form of compassion is definitely something we see in the animal kingdom but is unaddressed by Darwin's Theory regarding Survival of the Fittest. Survival of the Fittest in Humanity The problem with applying this idea to humanity is very simple and obvious. Humans do not have a natural predator that will pick off our weak and sick. Further, such an idea is abhorrent in the view of modern humanity. We try to find cures for those with diseases and viruses instead of simply killing them off. We protect the elderly, those with genetic disorders, the handicapped and the mentally disabled. Also, because we don't have a natural predator our species separates itself into predator and prey. We call this competition. We reward the person who acts like a predator and competes the best defeating everyone else. This behavior of acting like predators among our own species is unnatural. As I pointed out, this is actually different than what we seen in animal behavior. Wolves, the predators in the Yellowstone scenario, are just doing what they do when they hunt the bison but they protect their own kind including the sick and elderly. They work to benefit every individual within the pack. Therefore, this idea of competition of survival of the fittest within humanity is unnatural and found nowhere else in the Animal Kingdom. This is a psychological sickness that needs to be addressed. Humans Are Unlike Anything Else On Earth Secondly, if we depart from the "spiritual ideas" are bad mentality of Science and realize how unnatural we are to this Earth it begs some other questions. First, we are able to recreate our environment into what we see fit. We do this by using our uncanny imagination to design the environment the way we see fit and then our ability to practically apply this idea to our environment. The Chimp, our closest relative according to science, cannot even conceive of changing it's environment in such a way to suit its needs. Mankind is the only one able to recreate the environment in a way that suits our needs. This is a very grave responsibility because we have to question how such a way of living may throw off the natural balance of the world. We must also realize that it makes us very different from the rest of the world. Thus, we cannot live in the same way that the animals do and behave as animals. We are not subject to those 'natural laws' that Darwin put forth regarding animal behavior. Instead, we must regulate ourselves. Competitive Humanity Gives Rise to Ruthless Leaders We have based many of our ideas of Survival of Fittest and Competition on the faulty logic that we are no better than our animal cousins. Yet, within our own species we deviate from the normal behavior of other species. We unnaturally behave as both predator and prey. Victim's become Victimizers and an unending unhealthy psychological chain of pain stretching back eons continues. Further, we reward predatory behavior with power. The strongest most ruthless leaders are the ones that we put into power thinking that surely their strength will protect us. When in fact, these people do not change their behavior and have never cared for the 'little man' or anyone but themselves in order to achieve their power. Instead of protecting the citizens that look up to them they exploit them ruthlessly. Those who decide to chase power, in truth, are those who feel the most powerless and will do anything to keep that power. At some point they were the ultimate victims, and they do not seek power out of some altruistic need to serve, but to create a multitude of victims that suffer as they did. Strangely, competition within our species is so unnatural that we see businesses practicing something really profane. These companies are cannibalizing and gobbling up companies that are similar to them. They do this to stay competitive and retain their supremacy in a market because they must continually grow according to our current way of think about business. This completely illogical drive for ever more profit is destructive in it's very nature. Human society is far removed from the natural order of life. Some people will say that it is power that corrupts people. Some say it is money that corrupts. This is a very backwards and upside down way of thinking. This suggests that spoons make people fat. This goes back to what I was writing in my blog on Service. People who wish to be teachers or leaders need to do personal work in order to truly achieve that goal. Only the most psychologically healthy should be placed into roles of power and that includes teaching. Disassociating Oneself From The Group In order to be a good leader a person must be able to distinguish between their own needs and the Groups needs. Sometimes, what the group needs is a detriment to the leader. For example, the popular saying of the Three Muskateers, "One for All, All for One!" A good leader must be willing to make personal sacrifices sometimes to save the One. To be able to distinguish one owns needs from the needs of the group requires a certain amount of detachment. That detachment from self requires personal psychological work. The person must go about identifying their own personal failings and shortcomings as well as belief systems in order to differentiate them from the group. If they fail to do this they might think what they want is what the entire group wants instead of really observing and listening to every member of the group. As Yeshua said in Matthew 7:5: "First remove from the plank from your own eye; then you will see well enough to remove the splinter from your brothers eye!" First, we must work on ourselves and then we may see clearly (called clairvoyance) other people and we can then address their needs. If we do not do this work first we will inevitably project our own issues onto others and may end up doing more harm than good. The sad thing is that the people that haven't worked on themselves psychologically might think that they are working for the betterment of their people- such as in the case of Stalin or Hitler. When, inevitably, they destroy the very group they were trying to help. Few People Tread This Path I have read that the people who do this work very rarely go for positions of power. They are usually so focused on working on themselves that it never occurs to them to pursue it in any other fashion. This is why so many of the spiritual people are depicted as homeless monks living in caves. The people attracted to money and splendor rarely devote the time to develop themselves spiritually. This is why Yeshua said in Matthew 19:24 "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich person to Enter The Kingdom of Heaven." If the Kingdom of Heaven is truly a state of consciousness or state of mind of the servant we can see how true this is in our lives. The rich man often sets himself up as a predator because he is focused on money, sometimes even referring to themselves as a tiger among men, and so he does not have the attributes of a servant. He will never reach the state of consciousnesses known as Self-Actualization that Maslow talked about (I will cover this topic in my post on Wholeness). Those that do reach such a state don't seek power, because they realize that power is just an illusion and they prefer working behind the scenes because they don't have a thirst for recognition. However, it is my deepest dream that as a society we walk away from this "surviival of the fittest" point of view where competition is considered sacred and the predators are rewarded. To do this we need to start encouraging all children to begin the process of self-reflection when they are young. The process never really ends but can go on on for a lifetime, perhaps many lifetimes in the case of Buddha and Yeshua. Yet, if we start encouraging and embracing this self-reflection and it is the majority of our people as opposed to a minority of the people on our planet we will really begin to see change. Good leaders that are servants to the people will emerge...not because they thirst for power...but as administrators to ensure all people have a better life. Conclusion My sincere hope is that we will see less people choosing to be unnatural predators who hunt their fellow humans and more servants of humanity. With this change there will be far better leaders in the vein of Yeshua and Buddha. They shared a vision of humanity so long ago that has not yet come to fruition. However, in our technological age, we are able to change the way we think and with a great deal of love for our own species we may yet return to the natural way that a species operates with Compassion for each other. We can begin to heal the pain we have caused among ourselves by separating ourselves into predator and prey among our own kind. We can also begin to heal the pain we have caused the planet with our unnatural abuse of resources. Further, as the video that I posted at the start of this blog shows...Humpback Whales show inter-species compassion. Why is it, in humanity, we have so little compassion for our fellow humans? Survival of the Fittest is clearly not the way of nature.
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Brave Soul! May Your Journey On The Path Of The Seeker Bring You Joy and Peace! I'm currently posting every Saturday. With a new addition the family I have pre-scheduled most posts through December 2022. Full Moon Posts will contain up-to-date content when I can get to them. Thank you so much for your support and understanding! This is a place where you can encounter new spiritual ideas that have helped me develop as an Individual On The Path of the Seeker. Take or Leave this information as you see fit. Archives
April 2024
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