CHAPTER 1
The Path to Being Infinite
The Question
As you begin, my request is for you to ask yourself one fear dissolving question:
How would your life change if you knew that you, your children, family, and loved ones would be guaranteed that they would always have plenty to eat at every meal, have a great place to live, be educated, be fulfilled, never be threatened by other human beings, and live forever – no matter what you did? In short, how would your life change if you knew you and your loved ones were infinite?
In the move "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" the main character is a high school freshman named Charlie. He was sexually abused as a child and had his best friend commit suicide the previous spring. Going into high school he had all the normal anxiety everyone faces in that situation but so much more. He is quiet and introverted. He never raises his hand in class and eats lunch alone in the cafeteria. The night of his epiphany happens after he builds up the courage to strike up a conversation with a senior from his shop class during a football game. He ends up hanging out with the senior and his friends after the game. They go out to eat and then are driving around the city listening to music. With the music turned up and windows rolled down, the senior asks Charlie how he is feeling and with a huge smile on his face that shows the thankfulness he feels for the connection to this group and the hope of friendship he replies:
How would your life change and how would your relationships to our fellow human beings change if you felt infinite? What myths could you now dismiss that you have bought into because they gave you a sense of security and belonging? What values have you adopted because you were told that certain things were wrong and right and with rightness came acceptance and even salvation? In what ways did you settle, a little bit at a time and what corners did you cut so that you might sleep a little better at night? How did the fear of not having enough food, clothing, shelter, and value for yourself and your loved ones effect the choices you have made in your life?
How can we go forward now and eliminate the fear in each other and in our society as a whole? How can we teach our succeeding generations about the true nature of man and spirituality? How can we all come to feel infinite?
Through the long course of human history we have collectively tried to climb the mountain of Maslov's hierarchy of needs. We have been bogged down in the initial level of the hierarchy - insuring our physiological and safety concerns. The need for sustenance and protection made us territorial, insecure, and suspicious. It created the need for us individually to be identified as part of a group or what is called being "nationalistic". Another description for this is "us vs. them". It also caused the endless wars and struggles that has marred our history up to now.
As these needs have been filled and as the weapons of "protection" have caused their own threat to our existence we are starting to evolve towards the higher levels of the hierarchy of love/belonging and self esteem fulfillment. I believe we need to move even further and quicker and use our dealings with each other to advance to the highest need of self actualization. To do so we need to change not just the way we do things but rather to also change the way we think and relate to each other. We can't be self actualized in a vacuum nor as individuals. It is only through each other that we can achieve this heightened state of spirituality – as a collective. The only path of growth is through each other.
Elevation of Mankind
Our growth individually and as a society from this point on will depend on us moving from fear based thinking to love/trust based thinking. Humankind is simply getting to the point where we cannot support ourselves economically any more. In placing personal value on possessions and in turn ignoring each other as well as our ecology we have put ourselves and our survival in a very precarious position. We have committed far too many resources in terms of people, natural resources, and money into providing defense against one another, escape (numbing) through the use of shopping, gambling, drugs, cigarettes, etc., and cleaning up after the continuous devastation of the deteriorating weather systems. Old way, fear based antiquated thinking must come to an end. The burden of buying food, clothing, shelter, medical care, energy, transportation, education, and technology is no longer supported by the economic structure that created it. Only the very top of the economic food chain (the very fittest in our survival of the fittest) can afford these things. The gap between the very few rich and the very many poor in increasing exponentially. Our citizens are reduced to playing the lottery as their only chance for economic prosperity. Victimization is not a choice, it is quickly becoming a way of life.
When I was young my father worked and my mother stayed home to support the family. As prices continued to rise my father's pay did not rise proportionately and so my mother had to enter the work force. This fact of life was played out over and over in most households throughout the country. Now we are at the point where prices are so high and rising and incomes are so low and lowering that even with both parents working the cost of living can't be met. Families are coping with this gap through an increasing load of debt and now are facing very drastic choices. This cycle will not end however and the solution must be found outside of the "normal" solutions such as working harder, tightening the belt, finding alternative sources of income, taxing the rich, etc. We must think of new ways to live and prosper and gain comfort with the new interdependence that will be needed in the coming one world society. What we cant solve economically we must solve socially. We simply don't have a choice any more – we must trust. Two of our continents are already there – both Africa and Russia do not have the economies to be able to feed themselves. This dire situation will become worse in the coming years and be more widespread. We must elevate our society by taking care of each other. I know this goes against everything you were taught in our capitalistic "pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps" philosophy - things like welfare is for the lazy, I pay for health insurance for my family so why cant everyone else, why should I support someone who chooses not to work while I kill myself everyday, and if you really wanted a job you could find one. These are the same worn out slogans that have been repeated for decades. If you listen to your feelings you know that they are spoken by fear not love.
The teachings of our great spiritual masters Buddah, Mohammad, Jesus, and Confucius – all spoke of the exact same messages that we have a spiritual self that is your real self and that it will never die no matter what you do, and that it is not there to be created – it already exists, and that your life's journey is to become one with that spiritual self and help it grow through a living experience of adventures on this earth and with the other parts of the collective soul – called people. Life is not a trial of sins, confessions, black marks on my soul, and guilt but rather that life is a beautiful gift that should be filled with experiences and relationships, adventures and danger, sex and longing, losing loved ones, worry and peace, and celebration – all because that is what life IS. There is no wrong way to do it except to not do it at all, especially by living through a false set of "rules". As long as you are fulfilling yourself and staying true to your passions and not infringing on the passions of others – you are ok. The sin is against the sinner, not the victim. The real sin is to not act in line with our true spiritual God-like selves. You acting in line with your spiritual self is enough.
We are punished by our sins, not for them.
Remember Jesus's commandment: Love one another. That pretty much sums it up. Prejudice is taught father to son and people are gullible especially when fear is involved. It is time for us to break the cycle of fear and mistrust. We need to challenge one another in regards to all of the limited things we believe and have bought into because we were afraid for ourselves, our loved ones, and our way of life. It is time to forget the past, forgive each other, and buy into the things that "feel" right, that are based on love and truth.
Man's Core Desire is to Ascend
In all of us is inbred the desire to become smarter, better, stronger – to fulfill man's strongest core need – to ascend. This desire should be channeled into the process of spiritual growth, - that is to use this earthly living experience as a method to enhance our soul. For the entire history of man's existence, however, this sacred process has been ambushed by our own fear and mistrust of each other. Its tool has been the ego (short for Edging God Out) - my success at the expense of yours, my value at the expense of yours, my religion is the correct one, my territory is bigger, my weapons more destructive, my strength more superior. We are taught at a very early age that my value as a human being is dependent on my wealth, my looks, my popularity, my connections, my social status. Life is spent enhancing my value and also decreasing yours so I can feel even more superior. Just look to the current glut of reality shows for proof. Instead of looking for ways to enhance how other's feel about themselves all of the effort is on how to degrade them and make them feel inferior. It is never about the joint success we can co-create by us working together.
Are people buying into this new "shame based reality" where after your performance you are lined up and ridiculed and judged (and the harsher the judges are - the better). Look to the epidemic of suicides, unnecessary spending, addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex, drugs, and shopping.
They are an escape from the feelings of not feeling valuable.
The endless battles mankind has fought have been against the wrong enemy – each other. Instead of working to enhance each other we spend our time, effort, and money gaining position on each other. It is as ridiculous as the lung desiring to be more valuable to the body by destroying the heart. As sections of a society we are all individual parts of the same body. By this infighting, the lung might grow strong but if it at the expense of the heart than in the end the lung, the heart, and the body all lose.
If the lung and the heart could lift each other so each organ as well as the body as whole would be stronger we would discover the next step in human evolution.
Now the war we have been waging is against a new and previously unseen foe – the clock. As mankind's technology has advanced so has its media capabilities. While the news "machine" can disseminate information it can also spew out hatred and fear. It can offer false security oriented "solutions" in the form of armaments, public opinion, embargos, policies, and politicians branded as "protections". Choosing a new path means open mindedness, acceptance, and honoring other's life mission and passion as we hope for them to honor our own. Through my grace I invite you to experience yours. Through our collective grace we honor humanity and give permission for all to live their missions and fulfill their passions. I will never attack you and promise only to ever enhance your living experience in whatever manner you choose. I will not judge your manner as right or wrong. I empower you to grow and fulfill your passions. I ask you to do the same for me. We must help each other discover and be true to their true spiritual selves. The biggest service we can offer is to tell another:
"you are safe with me".
Not to the strong goes the battle, not to the swift goes the race, but to the true and the faithful, victory is promised through grace.
Grace is the process of your soul and your personality being in line, of you living your ministry, of you being in tune with your higher purpose, of doing God's will. As you are in grace you feel more powerful, more energetic, more alive. It is by getting out of your head and into your heart, by tuning into your feelings, recognizing your passions, by being totally present that you tap into your purpose. The true calling of each of us is to enlighten each other and be the light for others to follow. By enlightening each other and having this communal growth, development, spiritual acsention, our society is destined to grow and become more god-like. What does this have to do with the drudgery of paying your mortgage, the duty of attending your daughters dance recital, or things even as mundane as raking your leaves you might ask? The answer is to seek the connection that there is to all things. The quality of your life is based on 2 things – the relationships you have and the experiences you encounter. All of life should be geared towards enhancing these 2 ends. To do so you must be part of the process of living and above it all at the same time. There is a magic to all things if you are in a state of awareness. It is a choice you make every day, every minute. As Scott Peck said in his book "The Road Less Traveled" –
"Grace is the growth of a society to become more God-like, empowering each other to reveal the God like riches we all possess."
Citizen of Humanity
We will need to become citizens of the world and relate to each other as fellow travelers through this life experience as opposed to citizens of our specific nations, states, religions, ethnicities, and economic structures. Once you attain an identity in a nationality it is easy to identify "us" as right and good and "others" as wrong and bad. I was struck during the recent presidential campaign that candidate Obama was openly chastised for not wearing a US flag pin on his suit lapel. The media accused him of not being patriotic. Whether you agree with his politics or not – no person willing to put his life in the spotlight and subject himself to the huge amount of ridicule and criticism that presidential candidates are could ever be considered un-patriotic. That type of silliness is how far fear, suspicion, and media manipulation have gone into gripping our consciousness. Disavowing your nationality in favor of a world-wide humanity is considered the greatest sin imaginable yet it is precisely what we need to do to move forward. We need to think and act as a world wide community and think of ourselves as citizens of humanity and of the world first and then as a specific country, region, religion, or race second.
The greatest good is not to show other people our riches but to help reveal in them, their own.
You are also saying- you are welcome to be your true self with me. The task we are set to is to be both secure of ourselves and also to tolerate, support, and understand the insecurity of others and to know that they too are on a journey to discovering and creating their true self. In our service to others we open each other's eyes, help each other grow, and remove the masks that we have put on ourselves to hide our true selves from the world. Attackers are those that let fear and insecurity and mistrust dominant their thoughts. They never think of themselves as attackers, rather as defenders. As Master Walsh asks in "Conversations with God" "What hurts you so much that you feel to have to hurt me to heal it?". The answer for us is to make manifest the connections to each other that President Kennedy spoke about in his speech at American University after the Cuban Missile Crisis:
"We all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal"
While he was running for president he used these words in accepting the New York Liberal Party nomination:
