We live in an amazing time! Think back when there were no cell phones. And when the first CD's were released. I remember where I was when I wanted to use the first hand-held video camera to make my own commercials--and now kids can pick up a camera the size of a playing card to download onto this thing called the internet to create their own webcasts! And here I am, drinking coffee and listening to the birds in the palm trees, while I type on my miniature laptop and create my own stories--and I have a way to share them with everyone though social media sites! Our high school reunions have been through the use of connections and everyone I talk to responds to me on these communities and we can even share our children growing up together through that little camera attached to my little box. And my daughter does her homework via the interactive information sites on the web. And my son can keep in touch with me. And my baby girl started her own club online--the next generation of leaders. We are doing something right. I am grateful for those pioneers who stuck their necks out repeatedly to put out a marvelous, life-changing system of codes that created these innovations for us.
Many people, however, panic at the thought of "invasion of privacy." I have heard from many that they fear what is out there because they don't want the government or whomever to interfere in their lives. This, my friends, is hogwash. First, if the US Government is so inclined through what we allowed to pass as the Patriot Act to monitor for the good of the Nation our every move, so freaking what. I want them to see what I think about what they have done or not done. Second, the more we put ourselves out there, the less likely we fear "invasion" and the more we live our lives as we should. In fact, look at it this way. Those that create those systems of control (agencies who believe it is in our best interest that we are monitored) are more afraid of their own shadow than the millions of us that are angry at the constant stream of injustices within the very nation's borders that created such an act. So why be afraid or upset? We have this technology before us to express what we truly think and feel. Nobody will have the same exact idea, we are still individuals. But we have these gifts of innovation that allow us to be as open about our joy and our children as we have the freedom of expression to share our disdain as well.
So beyond the illusions of control and fear, we have another, more pressing issue at work here. We have the illusion of constructs. The collective consciousness of everyone on this planet is connected. Now, you could have argued with me a dozen or so years ago--six degrees of separation and all that--but we now have the internet. So, even if we did not wish to evolve into a collected and globally reaching nation, we were already destined to do so. But it's in this knowledge that we must also face the other fears we constructed: we are also connected to the thousands we do not relate to and whom many hate or are afraid of being connected to: those of other countries, races, colors, ideologies and religious, many of our kind who believe they are "evil" or "satanic" in nature. I am fully aware that I too have these prejudices that were instilled in me and for which I have had to spend my lifetime ridding myself of these thoughts and constructs. I have had some tragedies in my own life and who I once thought were my "people" and my affiliations are no longer as such because of the handful of selfish, toxic people who created a negative construct for me--the "Religious Right." I have nothing but love for those who have hurt me, and I still struggle with self-righteousness because I feel sorry for them. I am not the Buddha so I am not all loving and detached! But I try.
Meanwhile, I challenge you. Think of this: what are your constructs? What do you believe? Who do you find to be different from you and to whom or what do you answer? Tell me, do you have anger or hatred to the Jihad and suicide bombers of extremist Islamic groups? Do you find you talk to your closest friends and relatives of how shallow people are in Hollywood, or how much you can't stand rap stars or the latest pop sensation? Or do you watch the news and comment how disgusting you find those people whose mugshots are shown on the evening news can be because they killed another drug dealer or raped or murdered someone?
What are you thinking? No seriously. What are the actual thoughts that go through your head every day? Let's go back to the above examples and I am going to bring all this together. (What, you can't understand what modern technology, the Patriot Act, and extremist religions have to do with you? No, I'm not smoking anything.) We are a collective, connected Creation. We are not separate from that which created us! You and I and Mohammed in Afghanistan and that yogi master in India and that child in Australia and those farmers in China and the indigenous tribes of Brazil who have not been named or recorded--WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. And now, more than ever, we can prove this--we have these articles and words and connections all on the internet! We have Google and Yahoo and MSN and the world wide web. Every place that exists on this planet and thousands that we see outside our universe are written about, photographed and recorded through this macrosystem of ones and zeros that translates itself into thousands of languages and megapixels and finds its way into our personal space on the web. The true web of life is virtually streamed into your consciousness! Isn't that amazing??
So many who have come before us in fear, who impose rules and regulations and Acts to impose order or to try and limit freedom cannot do so. The Chinese government may not want its constituents receiving information freely. But it's still out there to find. Even the "bad" stuff, like pornography and American violence in cinema, is still a part of the greater whole on the internet. We allow the American press agencies to show us how bad the world is when a major disaster strikes. We allow forums like meetup.com and craigslist.org to connect us when we need something. We allow music to flow freely and movies to be downloaded. And we can even watch our favorite television programs, sometimes for a price. We capitalize on wholesale-retail commerce through website constructs that sell everything from cars to clothing to pieces of land. And we communicate to one another.
This comes to my final point thus far: so what do you do with this information? If your conscious mind is connected to criminals, extremists, prejudices, governments, and all other sorts of corruptions, how do you manage your thoughts, what you do and with whom you connect? According to the comprehensive yet considerably subjective site called Wikipedia, "Collective consciousness refers to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_consciousness). Have you heard of the terminology "memes"? A meme is suppose to be a quantifiable unit of information that is passed from one being to another which in turn affects the receiver's genetic code. This is an amazing concept. If we are affected by our input, and we evolve accordingly (emotional development is a symptom to this collected information being downloaded onto our brainwaves-hard drive), then it is also our responsibility to affect those around us in kind.
What am I saying? I am pointing out that it is all of our responsibility to go back to basics and learn what it takes to create a greater society: Do unto others as you would have done to you. One statement that affects us all. How do we do that? We have to re-think our thoughts! We must rewire our brains. We need to take a step outside ourselves (not literally unless you have the awareness to do so) and see what we are inputting and outputting each day. If everyone of us that does this teaches others to do so, we have affected those by one degree. If we put it out for those who we have affected to teach the next generation, or their friends, and so forth, we can affect two degrees or three degrees and so on. I write this today because I am fully aware that I can send this message to many who will affect even further, from my friends who are missionaries (hello to all those from Wheaton!) to those who are professors and scientists, to those who live in the US under that very same Patriot Act, to those who I know throughout the world who I have met along the way who I share a common forum and chat through Facebook and other social forums.
I have recently become an ordained minister of sorts. SO now I have a new forum and also even a minimal elevation of responsibility to enhance my own existing network so I may give freely the gifts of gratefulness and true love and compassion to all who come into contact with me. So you want to know my thoughts? They are thus: I truly love everyone as I love myself. And my experience on this planet we call Earth will be one of creating a light that will affect MY world and those around me because I am truly grateful we are all connected. As for the destroyers of this world, I see you too. And so does everyone else. So we will have to embrace that part of ourself that is destructive, learn to love it, and evolve. So we can change as a Collective.
Anyone want to come over for a cup of coffee and listen to the birds with me?
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