Saturday, September 29, 2007

Mohamed, Prophet Without a Religion

Mohamed. Prophet Without a Religion

Well, there probably was once a Religion, out in that God Forsaken Desert. I’m guessing Zoroastrianism – the first and perhaps finest of the Higher Religions (now practiced exclusively by the Sufis), being the first Religion to discern Good and Evil and to develop a sense for Morality. But what bothers me about Mohamed was that he seemed to have insisted that his own Revelation should entirely wipe out everything that had come before him. Islam has no Bible, has no Torah. It has Mohamed’s personal diary. It has stories of his Table Talk. Then we have complete Sects of Islam obsessing over the Political Succession Struggles. And we have no religious context at all for any of it. And this is why I suppose that Islam, generally, has had such a problem discerning right from wrong, good from bad, wisdom from folly. Why Islam has usually been its own worst enemy, when it hadn’t been busy provoking even worst enemies. It’s because it is a Religion without any solid Religious background or content.

Well, what exactly was Mohamed’s Revelation? First he insisted that all Religious Idols should be abandoned. When the Idol Merchants of Mecca refused, he went to war with them. Bloody war. Religious Truth would take priority over Life and Love. Kill Kill Kill. Incidentally, perhaps no Religious ‘Truth’ has ever been more bloody. For awhile the Jews had killed people for Idol Worship. They used it as a pretense for genocide, to clear out the valleys they wanted to occupy. They needed to find a reason to hate their enemies and so they invented the hatred for Harmless Little Religious Statuettes. Of all the Religious Revelations in the World to choose from, this became Mohamed’s Pet Cause. And it didn’t stop with at Islam – killing over idols – it spread to the Greek Orthodox Church, and they became killers. Then the European Protestants caught the bug and used it as an excuse for stealing any number of monasteries and raping any number of nuns. Now, shouldn’t we wonder about Doctrines that turn Religions into Huge Storms of Death. When Christ told us we would know a Tree by its Fruit, shouldn’t we wonder of a Revelation which completely centers upon a Doctrine that had only spelled out widespread death at its every irruption, and then ended in Failed, Corrupt and Morally Bankrupt Religion. No Religion that had destroyed its Small Representations of the Divine has ever gone on to either Spirituality or High Moral Inspiration. Jews became Pawnbrokers. Muslims killers. And Protestants are now Republicans, when it became illegal for them to continue as Slave Masters.

Well, Religions can insist upon their Truth, and claim that their Truth is more important than Life itself. Well, okay. If somebody really believes that Idol Worship is a sacrilege then what can you do? But the problem with Mohamed was that after he had sent thousands of his men to die for his Anti-Idol Campaign, when he was finally beaten back into the corner himself and the Idol Merchants of Mecca were holding the sword to his own throat, suddenly it all changed. When it was his life on the Line, surprise, surprise – a New Revelation! Suddenly Mohamed was signing a contract that would guarantee that every Muslim would come to Mecca once a year to spend their money on Idols… bowing to Idols… marching around Idols. Idols Idols Idols. Mecca, the City of Idols would become, well, their Mecca! In the very same Koran where we have the damning of Idols, we have the philosophical slam-over to the complete other side of the Thing – a complete surrender of all previous principles. We have Mohamed sign an Eternal Contract that would commit every Muslim for all Eternity to bow down to the Idol Merchants of Mecca, five times a day, and promise that they would and visit and spend their money, even specifying the various Tourist Stops. Any ordinary person would have recognized in all of this the most humiliating of defeats and betrayals, and see in their Leader his and their own worst Traitor to the Cause.

But Muslims acclaim this self-contradictory, self-betraying Prophet as the Best of All Prophets. Well, perhaps if they had a Religion, they could have somebody to compare him with. Mohamed can only be a Best Prophet if he is an only Prophet. Compared to absolutely anybody else, Mohamed would have had to come in Second Place. Or maybe I don’t know enough Arabs. It may be that he just seems so much better in comparison to the rest of the Home Town Crowd.

Or maybe the Koran just sounds so much better in Arabic. But we still have the Newspapers that describe a Dysfunctional Islam. The Principles of Religious Tolerance should only go so far. When a Religion obviously has serious moral and spiritual problems, it needs to be fixed. Islam should consider listening more to its Sufi Minority, rather than persecuting them. Islam needs a Religion. Resurrect Zoroastrianism. It can do without its Prophet… it has enough enemies already and doesn’t need that one more.

Burma – Democracy or Anarchy

Burma – Democracy or Anarchy

We should all prefer to look at events as they really are and not simply through the prism of Western Imperialist Propaganda. Yes, Imperialist Western Capitalism looks for any occasion to topple any existing order, to ruin it, and then go in and buy up everything while it is at its cheapest. So to the Imperialists, ‘Democracy’ BECAUSE it is such a de-stabilizing influence, is pushed forward. Nothing collapses prices like good old Democracy. For the Imperialists, they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by sowing the seeds of discord and ruin.

But much can be lost. We need to remember that the Chinese Cultural Revolution, that killed millions and set China back ten years in its development, that it started as Pro-Democracy Demonstrations, as they are generically called by the West. Also, the insurgency in Cambodia was labeled Pro-Democracy. You see, the West only wants to shake things up. You see, it simply does not matter to them. If they can destroy a Golden Palace just so they can make off with a single candlestick, then they see it as all gain on their part. The West is not after Win-Win, but they only care that they might find some business opportunity in the Chaos.

And we do know that the West is hypocritical in regards to Democracy. Iran is a Democracy. Venezuela is a Democracy. In Palestine, Hamas had won the democratic elections. But in every single case where Democracy brings forward a party not already corrupted by Western Imperialist Interests, then it is immediately rejected and the Propaganda Machine goes into overdrive, even using CNN and the BBC, to tell us that these democratically installed Governments are ‘dictatorships’ and that the elected officials are ‘tyrants’ and ‘dictators’.

But, we need to consider that there is some truth to the matter that democracies are not all the same. We need to wonder what the ‘Pro-Democracy’ Demonstrators are after. And we need to consider what the Military Juntas are trying to protect. We need to consider that Democracy is indeed inherently corrupt. If some party of individuals can corner a Country’s government throw revolution or election, or whatever, then they are basically in control to commit any pillage or abuse – to tax an entire nation for their own personal benefit. Stuffing the bureaucracy with cronies and supporters. Selling mineral rights to God Know Who. Look at the Republicans in America. They win an election and use their Political Power to sign over Public Lands into their own pockets. They make laws depriving Workers of their traditional rights. Democracy is inherently corrupt.

Then we need to consider Democracy as being primarily a force for Ethnic Self-Determinism. Woodrow Wilson had said so, and then Hitler had proved the principle. All else being equal, a Democratic Majority will be an ethnic group (American Republicans mince their words about it, but demographically the Republicans are the White Nazi Party of America). And then Democracy becomes a simple vehicle for certain Ethnic Privileges on one hand, and certain institutionalized oppressions on the other, against the Minorities. The Nazis did it in Germany. And today the Zionists do it in Israel (ask any Non-Jewish Israeli citizen why they cannot own property or have their own business). Democracies are inherently racist.

Indeed, this is what the entire Burmese Thing may be about. Certain Ethnic Divisions in Burma see Democracy as an opportunity to take everything away from everyone else and grab it for themselves. While the Generals see their own Regime as the only hope for maintaining a United Burma despite its ethnic divides. Remember that the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Iraq had only been able to live in peace, among so many ethnic divisions BECAUSE they were NOT democratic. Democracies brought Blood Baths in its wake.

Also, there is some kind of a myth regarding Non-Violent Protest. As I stated above, until the huge Blood Baths transpire, and until we see the rise of horrible Reigns of Terror, then, yes, these are all ‘peaceful’ protests. You see, while the Government can still defend itself, then the demonstrations remain ‘peaceful’. But what happens when such governments weaken and begin to crack. Then we see ‘Protestors’ move to take over Government Buildings. We see Protestors beginning to make arrests of their own. We see the Non-Democratic Usurpation of Government. We see Revolt and Chaos.

Look at the Indian Experience. What started out as Peaceful Protest under Gandhi turned into the worst ethnic riots in the History of the World. Peaceful Protests are anything but peaceful, if allowed to prevail.

China is blamed for its Tanumen Square Massacre, but what the Chinese Government had averted was probably another disaster on the same dimensions as their Cultural Revolution. Indeed, the Chinese Government was comprised of these former ‘Peaceful Protestors of the Cultural Revolution’ – these were the last people on Earth who could be fooled by ‘Peaceful Protestors’. In the end, nobody is more bloodthirsty and violent than a ‘peaceful protestor’ who manages finally to get his way. Oh, there are some exceptions. It amazes me that South Africa didn’t revert to a frenzied slaughter of the minority whites. But elsewhere in Africa we are seeing that Democracy is beginning to take its toll on Fairness and Equity. Majority Rule is about Winning and Losing. It has nothing to do with Fairness or Principle.

And again the West is hypocritical. 30 years ago when Iranian Students took over the American Embassy in Iran, America was not so enthusiastic about these “Peaceful Demonstrators”. When America is the target, then the American Presidents are not so quick to prod forward the beasts of the mob.

And then, 5 minutes before Timothy McVeigh blew up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, he had been a peaceful protestor. And Lord knows that all such violent murderers, in fact or in heart, are not opposed to gaining their ends by Vote as well as through conspiracy, murder, and rebellion. Indeed, the National Rifle Association probably spends as much money in its political lobbying as it does on its own versions of Terrorist Training Camps… they call them ‘shooting ranges’, but I suppose that the indoctrination goes much the same way.

So, anyway, we need to put aside the simplistic Good vs. Evil picture that the Media is now presenting in regards to Burma. I’d be willing to give the General’s the benefit of the doubt. In a World in which Democracy has tossed up Winners like Adolf Hitler and George Bush, we need to have some sympathy for those who do not immediately trust in the automatic perfection of Democratic Institutions. Oh, and then there is the healthy distrust of Western Capitalism, where just 3 individuals own controlling interest in all of the News and Entertainment Media. Is it any wonder that we only seem to be hearing ONE VOICE in all of this?

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Splendidly Enlightened Dreams... So What?

Splendidly Enlightened Dreams

Often people new on the Spiritual Path suppose they are being neglected by the Great Spirit, or whatever, when their Enlightened Experiences come few and far between.

Then, when I speak to them of my own Experiences, hoping to inspire them, well, what actually occurs is that these people again focus upon their perceived spiritual depravations. Well, then I need to explain to them that I am an old man, and though my own experiences had been few and far between, the great deal of time that transpired in between seems to have made up for it all. Just consider, if I had just one decent Vision or Dream per year, then that would make for 60 wonderful stories. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? But it is only one per year.

But now my concern is that when one has amazing Dreams and Visions, then one expects that there will be some carry-over into our Real Lives. But it seems that life goes on more or less the same as usual.

I’ve had something of a Trilogy of Dreams relatively recently. The dreams were either Lucid or Vivid to the same degree. In one I was in a Church and began to levitate, and as I floated toward the front of the Church toward the altar I became a body of light and became like a ball of golden light. For a moment I WAS light.

Several evenings ago I had the most vivid dream of being levitated up, this time with some assistance from a very powerful Spiritual Healer, and felt that I was made porous, and I could feel the flow of energy going through me, and as I was horizontal facing upward, the energy came up through me. I felt that it was to purifying me, but I felt at the same time that I already felt very clear. There seemed to be no points of resistance or obstruction. I was clean at some ultimate level of being.

In another dream I began to levitate, but with a degree of power, and so I took off like a rocket. It was with great effort that I could steer, but worked toward a northerly trajectory. I wanted to rise up into the sky and then attain a kind of Universal Consciousness – to see all and Be All. But what happened was that as I began to see the entire Universe, it became a small garden just below me. I woke up wondering, but it seemed to indicate that my Universe should be done to scale, that my universe should be of a manageable size.

Now, some of the establishing premises for those advocating Dream Work, and Lucid Dreams, and indeed all of this kind of Spiritual Effort, is that there should be some effect that comes through to our Lives from these successes on the Spiritual Plane.

Yes, one could dodge the primary issue, the expectation of a pivotal All-Transforming Moment of Enlightenment that is supposed to lift us up to some new Super level of being and consciousness. Instead I could speak of incremental change, of the Improving Self. I could claim to be better than when I started. Well, who isn’t? Maturity and Age is supposed to bring a certain amount of Wisdom. There is no magic there.

Indeed, this suggests a new point, and that is that these Spiritual Experiences really are not all that unique, or shouldn’t be. Perhaps every spiritually normal and healthy man should have this same species of experiences.

But, still, to speak of incremental change is still a dodge, an evasion of our expectations. We have only to go over the Literature – that of the Catholic Saints, or the Hindus, or the Sufis, and that of the few Buddhist Saints there have been, and we see that there had been Experiences so powerful that they reached all the way into the Actual Lives of the recipients.

Now, I have not lost hope. And forgive me for discussing the incremental improvements even after I dismissed their importance, but I noticed that I am both receiving more help from others, in my dreams and Visions, as well as being more of a Team Player… less of a Spiritual Loner. You see, we need to remember the Most Important Distinction between Good and Evil, between Spirituality and the Demonic, and that is that True Spirituality is Collective. Love is Unifying. It is the Demonic that stands off alone.

Oh, that reminds me of one representative dream. I was walking along a jungle trail and was singing “I Can See Clearly Now”, and was getting kind of funky with it. Then I happened upon this one Theatrical Troupe, and I found they were rehearsing the same material. So I found the Production Manager and asked if I could be given a job somewhere, since we seemed to have the same Interest. Well, that apparently indicated I had passed some test and they included me in a small group that set out toward the Top of the Mountain.

I guess if this essay has a Point it must be that if I were alone I would have to worry about my eventual Fate… that is, whether I was doing all the right stuff. But now that I find myself in the hands and company of others, some of them Saints, Gurus and Goddesses of the Highest Reputation and Acclaim, then I really shouldn’t have anything to worry about. As long as I keep being a Team Player, I will get what progress I am supposed to get.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Morality for Profit

Morality for Profit

The Moneyed Interests that have taken such huge strides in conquering the World (Globalization enslaving us all more than any Nazi or Communist had ever envisioned ) have a constant mantra that they repeat endlessly, and that is Public Government should be completely eradicated and supplanted by Private Contractors and Private Companies openly motivated by Profit. The supposition being that the Profit Motive would impose a level of discipline and Efficiency to be preferred over Public Corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Well, honest people around the World supposing that People are basically good, decided to give it a try. The argument seemed to make sense and nobody was told that the real intent was to rip everybody off.

Now we have discovered that no Public Corruption, those small inefficiencies due to human error, could possibly compare to Private Corruption propelled by the Profit Motive.

In Health Care we find that every refusal to provide care made some rich class of property owners even richer. And so every trend to refuse care was encouraged and rewarded. It became company policy to refuse every service that the company was nominally contracted to provide. After all, it only makes good economic sense to suppose that the most money can be made by giving out absolutely nothing, or as little as possible. And so the Public traded off Good Services attained at the expense of some small inefficiencies for a system that refused everything, but where the benefits of the Efficiencies went only to the New World Conquerors – the Idle Rich Shareholders in these Private Profit Pillage Companies.

In all matters of Insurance and Public Service, Private Companies have calculated that they have better access to the Legal Courts than their clients, and so no Payment and no Service is ever simply given because it is due, but all policies must be brought to Court. Private Insurers now suppose they owe it to their Stock Holders to NEVER operate as contracted, as they had once promised with all of their Propaganda.

We were once indoctrinated to believe that Power was corrupting. Well, now we know that there is one form of Corruption that exceeds anything that an over-enthusiastic Politician may ever envision for the Public Good, and that is the Corruption of the Profit Motive, of those who NEVER EVEN PRETENDED to desire to do Good for the sake of Goodness, but from the very start claimed only to care about MONEY.

What should we do, as a Society, about all of this. Well, first, ban any For Profit Company where monetary self-interest would be in conflict with their Charter or Service. All Health Care, All Insurance, should be administered by a Public Account, and all such Services and Benefits should be Universal.

Medicine, Law, Insurance, Utilities – ALL of it should be universally provided. Rich people should not have their own Doctors or their own Lawyers, or even better insurance. What is good for the Rich must be good for everybody. And if the Rich and Powerful do not like what is Equally Available, then that is their motive to improve it across its entire range. But while the Rich and the Powerful are allowed to pursue their own Happiness while climbing on the backs of everybody else – buying up all the Bread to leave the crusts for everybody else, then, from what we know of Human Nature, they will continue to do so.

If History has shown us anything that we can fairly generalize upon, it is that Rich People are Bad People. We must begin to reject all the Modern Propaganda, given from those who wish only to screw us, that wants to hypnotize us into believing that Greed is Good.

If there truly is an Anti-Christ, it is in this notion that what had always been considered the most reprehensible of Evils is now to be considered a Virtue.

A generation ago we were told to reject Communism because it was Materialistic. But now the Capitalists are teaching a positive Satanism.

Really, Good and Bad, Virtue and Vice shouldn’t be that hard to distinguish.

Is Barbarism Better?

Is Barbarism Better?

It is a favorite theme in modern Western Culture to denigrate Advanced Civilizations while glorifying the characteristics of Barbarism – individuality, freedom, snubbing one’s nose at Authority. The Bandit, the Rebel, the Viking, the Outlaw are set across to us as Heroes, while Civilizations are portrayed as Evil Empires and the advocates for Civilization are represented as degenerate dictators.

Yes, one factor involved here is that it is so much easier to make Barbarism appear to be attractive and fascinating … with the right editing. Civilization, though, looks boring.

But lets remember the basics. Civilizations can be distinguished from Barbarisms entirely on the basis of Population Density. The Institutions of Civilization permit greater population densities. Barbarism, on the other hand requires broad open spaces. In order to support so much Individuality and Freedom, great distances have to be placed between the individuals involved, so as to avoid conflict. The Pursuit of Happiness is fine until there is no longer enough Happiness to go around. So when the Population increases within Barbarisms begin to stress these Barbarian Values, then the very bloody conflicts that ensue, cut down the very Population increases that had been the problem. So it is that Barbarisms depend upon Wars, or violent civil conflicts… whatever can be the excuse for wholesale slaughter. It is this cyclical violence inherent to Barbarism that is edited out of the Popular Media Presentation of ‘Noble’ Barbarism.

The movies tend to depict Barbarian Violence as accidental or aberrational… these noble savages were minding their own business when some other nasty tribe attacked them. Actually, the violence really is built into the System. Every Barbarian People will resort to violence as it feels itself being squeezed. It’s a defining characteristic.

How are Civilized People different? Well, Civilized People develop a tolerance for the Institutions that permit for a higher population density. Respect for authority, property, accepted roles, polite forms, shared values, and especially the inhibited resort to aggression and a respect for peace.

Now, Barbarism is applauded for its Freedoms, but we must understand that it rests upon Violence. We are told that Civilization is oppressive and is essentially boring, but we need to know that this is what Peace looks like. Well, Barbarians pretend to admire Peace, but usually as a consequence of their endless Wars, where Peace is understood to be a much desired breathing space – a vacation from their day to day work – before they find they need to rush into another conflict. Yes, they enjoy these momentary respites from violence, but it doesn’t keep them from pursuing their same violent tendencies as a matter of course.

Now, there are no perfect Civilizations and no Exact Barbarisms. No Civilization has yet survived. They have all fallen. Their Institutions should perfectly enable an Infinitely Dense level of Population, but in practice we find that Civilizations eventually bust apart at their seams. The better Civilizations get further and last longer. They have Population Control Institutions – we see widespread institutionalizations for Monks and Nuns and we see a Virtue made of celibacy, virginity… indeed, anything that restrains population growth, so that Civilization might be able to hit a viable Equilibrium, where it may be able to sustain itself at an Optimum but not increasing Population Level. And this is theoretically possible. Now, some people confuse Ideals with Realities and object that since babies are needed, no virtue should be made of celibacy. Well, such objections are silly. No matter WHAT a Civilization teaches, the Sexual Urge will always be strong enough to guarantee MORE than enough babies. Whatever ground can be gained against the Sexual Urge, and the Female Instinct to create much cherished Pet Babies, is to be appreciated, but will never be enough.

But Barbarisms can never be self-sustaining, not without murderous violence. You see, Freedom involves a great deal of copulation, and copulation brings population, and population will engender either Civilized Institutions that could promote the tolerance of higher population densities, or the Barbarisms will simply explode, setting back the numbers back to comfortable levels.

The World today pretends to be Civilized – the Barbarians, like the Ancient Greek Barbarians before, call themselves Civilized… apparently not knowing what the word really means. But as the Media reflects, and as History describes, much is conducted by the Ways of Barbarism. The World Wars of the 20th Century came about as Population Pressures were beginning to manifest along with the opposing doctrines of Anarchy and Communism – Communism as a Intellectual Civilizing Mechanism which could support a greater population density; and Anarchy as a visceral spark to begin the Genocidal Slaughter that could return the Barbarism back to its comfort level.

Then we have what almost seems like accidental Institutions for Population Control. For instance, in America, we have the widening Police State where 25% of the adult population is jailed – and jailed at that time of life where they would otherwise be raising families. Prisons are the New Monasteries and prisoners are the new Monks and Nuns. And it seems as though it had all be organized by some vast accident, until we think that most offenses are Drug Related. You see, after the First World War, alcohol was criminalized, but when popular discontent ended that Prohibition, the State went on to criminalize Drugs, all while maintaining a large enough flow of drugs to guarantee that 25% of Americans could be incarcerated. It seemed like it was somebody’s idea that there would be Prisons, and a body of laws was created to enable these Prisons to be packed to capacity. Nobody published a Political Philosophy to justify this Police State Mechanism, but it exists nonetheless. It is a strange way of running a Civilization, but it is indeed an Institution for maintaining and controlling Population Density. I have been a constant defender of Civilization and Civilized Institutions, but, really, History shows us much better models than this, and it is difficult to defend just any Civilized Institution.

We can only conclude that some Civilizations are better than others.

Now, we can have hope in the fact that all Civilizations arise from Barbarisms that had decided to organize… Barbarisms that had gotten tired of their endless wars and conflicts and decided to give Civilization a try. Perhaps a new Rising Barbarism, aspiring to a Better Civilization, would be better than a Civilization that depends now upon its Prisons.