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Watching the political discourses within our nation and between nations of the world, there’s no doubt that our world is locked in a state of global dysfunction. If we are to have any radical change in our world and personal relations, perhaps we should see with a clear and open mind what is going on, not just look away, see the root cause of it. If we are really to be a cause in this change, instead of judging or blaming our leaders, we must see how we are deeply intwined with the perpetuation of this dysfunction.
If we are simply observing and not involved in some way, we can clearly see how conflicting view points are holding the entire world hostage. It seems, our leaders are living and acting out of their own perspectives and agendas, with we the people, caught in the effect of their actions, whether we approve or disapprove. Immersed in their own views, each side is vehemently right by their own truth and logic. Anything that differs from their point of view, their ‘way of life’, is considered a threat to be defended against. The strategies of defense and attack we see play out in the world are justified by each side as logical courses of action. Even violent acts of terror, war, and suicide bombings are justified to defend a ‘way of life’. Leaders will take lives and sacrifice an entire nation in order to uphold their point of view. In fact, people will give up or even take their own lives to protect a ‘way of life’.
The problem is we’re barely ever simply observing. Most often we have some feeling, explanation, or idea of what’s going on, and how it ought to be.
Identity
We’ve grown up immersed, defined, and shaped by a nation, a religion, a political affiliation, and ideologies. Through our family, communities, studies, and social upbringing we adopt pre-determined beliefs and ‘facts about life’ that shape our perspective, point of view, and ‘way of life’. Our logic, actions, and way of living are defined by this upbringing. In fact, our very identity is shaped deeply and subtly by our affiliations and ideologies.
When we say, I am an American, Chinese, Russian, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, a Scientist, an Environmentalist, Liberal, Conservative, Rich, Poor, etc, we align with these pre-set views and ideas. Their beliefs become our beliefs, Their views, our views, their fears, our own fears. Now we make personal decisions that are validated by the group and fear making decisions opposed to the group. Now, with a common point of view, we as a group, community, nation, or religion, make decisions that validate and defend our ‘way of life.’ Now we raise our children to ‘fit in’ with this pre-determined perspective and ‘way of life’ – as if their life depends on it.
In our affiliations, following some pre-set doctrine or ‘way of life’, we have lost our own freedom of thought and sanity.
Change?
These days we can always change nations, religions, or ideologies. We can say, we have found a new way! I’m now a Canadian, a European, an Asian, a Buddhist, or I’m a Rebel, an Anarchist! Or I am now Zen. But what does it mean to be a Buddhist, a Rebel, an Anarchist? What does it mean to be Zen? What should I know? How should I behave? What is expected of me now? How do I explain myself? The process of learning and indoctrination begins again. That’s how we wind up in the safe security of a leader, a teacher, a guru, a group, or community in the first place – to learn and validate our belief system.
Whenever we align and identify with a certain perspective or belief system, the seeds of dysfunction are already sown.
Even if we feel we come to truths about life through our own search and learning, we still risk formulated conceptual perspectives. ‘All is one, man’; ‘nothing means anything, dude’; ‘everything is nothing’; ‘it’s all non-duality, you know’; – all of these sound like interesting, heard from someone else, formulaic, concepts, rather then a genuine experience.
No matter how we arrive there, the effect of our knowledge, our perspective, our ‘way of life’ is the same. We serve to validate our beliefs and defend against anything different.
The thing to notice here is, our perspective is not just seen as an idea, or simply a points of view, we are acting out of our learned ‘reality’, from what is fundamentally real for us, what we think life is all about. When we hear or talk with others that share our perspective, it validates our reality. The problem arises when others have a different version of ‘reality’ which is just as true for them.
From our pre-determined knowing, reality, and way of life, there is no basis of listening, understanding, or communication. We are literally talking at each other and past each other. Another person’s perspective is so foreign to our understanding that it is literally categorized as non-sensical and illogical.
‘What do you mean I don’t understand?! No! You don’t understand!’
Caught up in different, totally logical perspectives, neither party understands. Witness, the end of communication and the beginning of our defense strategies both personally and globally. In our personal relations, and world relations, it is the same system at play.
Lost in our learned realities and ways of life, we easily dismiss what is actually going on.
Independent?
We think we are free standing, independent individuals, exercising our free choice. But in these social constructs of nations, religions, and ideologies, we are anything but free. We are slaves to our group or community thinking and validation. Our leaders are slaves to the same systems.
Only when we are free from the righteous charade of our affiliations, our knowledge, our way of life, can we actually come into an independent experience of life, to listen, understand, and discover something anew.
When we recover our true intelligence, we finally see what our world, our life, our relationships actually require.
This of course brings up valid questions such as, ‘how the heck can we even be free from our learned predicaments?’
But even more important questions are, why is our self identity so tied with these pre-set doctrines? Why do we seek such solace in pre-determined blueprints for life that wind up dictating our lives, where we loose our own freedom of experience.
By earnestly understanding what is going on in our psyche, we get a clarity that can lead to intelligent action in our personal relations and the world.
That’s the inquiry we’ll continue in upcoming articles.
– Jeff Singh –
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For further inquiry, check out my father’s words which helped me craft this article…
http://AwakeFree.com/Man-vs-Lizard
& the work of J. Krishnamurti…
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Join us to continue this journey to break free from social conditioning…
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