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consensus reality
August 2009 
Voting With Our Hearts
Bruce
In his brief talk on "Nowness" prefacing the final edition of Zeitgeist, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche says that perhaps our inability to face the power of the present moment is what accounts for our needs not only for religion, but also for political activity like marching in the streets, complaining to our fellow humans, or voting for the presidents.
Recently, I have been bemused by the extremely emotional flocking of otherwise self-identified progressives to the banner of Barack Obama, falling all over each other to find the the most florid superlatives for him, comparisons to JFK, to Martin Luther King, to Lincoln, FDR, Gandhi, etc. His speeches are being given names, lauded for their frankness, courage and vision. From my close readings, however, they seem shamelessly sanguine, cynically manipulative - pressing all the right buttons, riddled with generalities and inaccuracies, avoiding difficult truths while portentously embracing easy ones, and saying almost nothing specific about the political programs he would implement. Beyond this, examination of his political career suggests that he is a creature, since college days at Columbia, of Zbigniew Brzezinski, and his powerful faction of the Democratic Party/Intelligence nexus which is deeply involved in U.S. foreign Policy.
When I mention any of this to people who are attracted to Obama's candidacy, I almost always hear something to the effect of "So what do propose to do? Nothing? Where do you hope to find a perfect candidate?" Sometimes, people react very emotionally on having the hope that they've now placed in Obama questioned. I tell them that I don't know WHAT I will do.
If one accepts the precept that s/he is a separate entity, whose actions have an impact on an external reality that we're responsible for, it seems clear that we must then get involved in recognizable political action that can have some positive effect, at least help select the leaders whose choices and policies shape the world. The emotions surrounding this complex of ego-identified beliefs are very powerful, and driven by the seemingly obvious fears arising from our interpretations of "reality."
This whole situation is not about institutional positions of power, or about representative democracy. It's about DIRECT democracy, but not through any organized system of voting, or through information democracy, the control of physical media by popular sentiment. It's about democracy in the form of inner creativity, the direct, moment to moment consciousness of all of humanity, and more than that, of all of the living beings in our reality continuum. What we see appearing sensorially each instant as the world of form before us is already the perfect effect of how all of us see the world and ourselves.
We are now ready to see more deeply, to see the formless source of this bountiful creativity within ourselves, to return our attention to that and see the inherent beauty and wonder without the mediation of our interpretations and filters. Then, as we learn to stop projecting blame on ourselves or others for the state of a world we subconsciously demand should be different, our creativity will be freed up to flow into the world unconditionally. We will learn to vote with our hearts.
Access: Public
Hi Bruce,
I've heard with increasing frequency the complaint that Obama isn't “saying anything” in his speeches. He did an interview a couple months ago and this criticism was brought up… his response was that when he first started campaigning he DID speak about his programs and specific issues… and was criticized for being too “professorial”. So, he put all of that specific information in a document on his website and changed the tone and structure of his stump speeches. And now, because most people are never satisfied, he is being criticized for not being “professorial” enough. Damned if you do, damned if you don't!
I think I'm a little fuzzy on what it is you are advocating people DO right now… you said “We will learn to vote with our hearts.” What exactly does that mean for today, for the election coming up in a few months? Do you mean that when we all have a shift within ourselves, the “outer reality” will also shift and we will have drastically different candidates to choose from?
I like what you've written and am looking for some clarification…
thanks!!
f.r.
I have read a great deal of what Barack Obama has said in interviews, speeches, etc. IMO, he is self-contradictory and vague, no matter how much “detail” he provides. This is necessarily true if, as I assert, he represents the Brzezinski faction of the elite interests that think they run the country. It's fine to demonize “special interests” as long as you don't talk specifically about those that have created and benefit from the way the current system operates (defense industries, big pharma, agribusiness, insurance, the illegal tax system, “Federal” “Reserve,” etc.), or about the continuing need, first articulated by his long-time mentor, Zbigniew, to dominate Central Asia. Also, he must constantly take pains to praise and promise support for our “stalwart allies,” the Israeli government, yet now even so is being attacked by the Israeli lobby because his military advisor has previously dared to mention forbiden truths about the Israeli occupation.
What I'm saying is, I don't think that there's any reasonable chance that the oligarchs who have worked assiduously for years to keep dark horses out of their political races, are going to allow anyone they fear will threaten their plans for control and continuing social engineering the kind of prominence Obama has. And, IMO, Obama is probably going to be our next president.
But, what I suggest in my post is that this highly manipulated situation is just a small part of the world of form, and that this whole manifestation is, moment to moment, a perfect reflection of the collective consciousness of every living being. If we want to see a different world, the imperitive is for us to wake up, individually and collectively. How? Follow our hearts. Our egos can never improve the situation through opposition, so we must drop into our essential nature by intuition and cultivating stillness. Then our actions will arise out of that realization.
When I stop fighting what always already the case, then I am one with it, and the “suchness” of all-that-is arises in a directly self-authenicating way. We have no way of knowing yet what can happen to the reflection of formal reality if and when a large part of humanity begins to find this new consciousness that blesses them with possibilities of skillfully releasing egoic striving. It might involve having different candidates, or more likely entire new patterns of social relationship will evolve. In a sense, there is, sadly, nothing “we” can do about the situation as long as we cling to our mind-generated sense of self. But such clinging is more and more becoming optional.
all of that makes much sense and i concur… one last question remains… what do you think people should do on election day in November?
(btw, i'm right there with you on The Fed… if you have a chance you can check out my post here and here along with the comments.)
Hi Fenix. Well, Gosh, I dunno. I actually voted for Al “throw in the towel” Gore and John “you can choose either skull OR bones” Kerry in the last two pres. selections. It's a good feeling voting for winners. Then there's always the admonition that you shouldn't vote as “it only encourages them.” That's if you're a believer in “Them.”
I will probably write in Ron Paul, though it's likely this is just a pose for the sake of impressing my imaginary self. As if it matters to anyone, particulary to the Registrar of Voters who's unlikely to count it. I am sure that the “right” person will win, whatever the outcome, and that the implications of this will far exceed the limited goals of any possible elite planning team.
For those who may be interested in an extreme-case analysis of the current situation, check out Dave McGowan's most recent newsletter:
http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr92.html
Life is the Dancer, we are the Dance. BTW, I'll take a look at your posts on the Fed…