Head in the Sand, Ass in the Sky

By

Greg Calise

There are far too many people that refuse to question or investigate the world around them with a clear, logical and rational mind. They don’t want to know. Most of them are gripped by fear of knowing the truth. They would prefer to listen to what their authorities tell them, no matter how absurd it is, rather than question or expose the deceptions that are presented to them as facts. Wouldn’t you want to know if someone is lying to you?

Take, for example, the collapse of the World Trade Center, on Sept. 11, 2001. To this day, many people refuse to look at the piles of evidence pointing to the truth. They believe whatever the mass media and the government tell them. Such people are seriously programmed to believe whatever the authorities tell them without question. Many have been sufficiently programmed to become angry whenever the subject is brought up, and ridicule those that try to expose the deception. People have become so deeply programmed, that they can’t even acknowledge the chemtrails that hover above their heads daily. That is serious denial. Don’t you think that something is seriously wrong with this picture?

You would think that if the government, the politicians, the banks and the corporations are not only corrupt, but are also robbing the people blind and poisoning them with chemically tainted food, fluoride and vaccines; well, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Don’t you want to know why or what they are spraying over our heads? What kind of person would rather pretend that it’s not happening? This is major denial. It is completely devoid of any rationality. What they are ignoring has the power to crush them, yet somehow they believe that if they just pretend that everything is fine, then there’s nothing to worry about.

If there were ferocious animals in the forest that you were going to walk into, wouldn’t you want to know about it? This is exactly like the ostrich that sticks his head in the sand to evade danger. Remember, if your head is in the sand, your ass is sticking up. If a tiger is attacking you, do you believe that if you just close eyes and think of unicorns, that the tiger will disappear? Because this is exactly the mindset of a person that refuses to question or investigate the world around him. This is the mindset of a person that believes his authorities without question and conforms to the many programs that control him. Think about that.

If you don’t know what is really happening in the world around you, how can you navigate through life properly? You don’t even know which direction to take or where you are going. You will steer from one storm to another, never reaching safe harbor.

This is the plight of humanity. They have been sufficiently programmed to believe whatever they are told, no matter how absurd it is, to obey the authorities, be politically correct, follow the script and conform. They have been sufficiently programmed to have tremendous fear of the truth. Neither do they have the psychological tools to deal with the truth. Such people become easily angered at anyone that speaks the truth, and ridicule and attack him. This is a very serious plight that humankind seems to be lost in. They have reached a point where they are completely incapable of coping with the truth.

Now that alone is a scary situation. Think about it. You are living in a world where the majority of people have been deeply programmed to believe the most absurd, illogical things without question, causing all kinds of havoc. They have allowed themselves to be hypnotized to believe just about anything. This is the world you are living in. Even if you try to explain the most obvious defects in their script, they cannot grasp what you are even saying. They think you must be crazy.

In Star Trek, The Next Generation, there was a species of half biological, half machines called the Borg. They are a collective of a hive mentality, and they travel around the galaxy looking for species to conquer, so they can assimilate them into their collective. That pretty much portrays the world today, with so many people that have been assimilated into the collective, to become an automaton.

There really isn’t a whole lot you can do about it, except to try to wake people up. But that is becoming a dangerous activity these days. No, this is the world we find ourselves in. A stranger in a strange land.

Somehow humankind has chosen a very irrational life:

“Man has found it more satisfactory, and believe me, this is irrational, but nevertheless, he has made this irrational decision – As irrational as it is, he has made the decision, to submit to external forms of tyranny, external forms of control, which are partly punitive, but also partly permissive; I mean the slave is going to have food, and he’s going to have some shelter, he’ll be told what to do, he’ll have the camaraderie of other slaves and so on. So the slave mentality, the man that submits, has in fact, chosen to submit to external authorities, regardless of how tyrannical they are, rather than face the journey on the Siddhartha Road towards an understanding and attainment of his own Selfhood.”
– Michael Tsarion

“Here is a man that has committed, within his subconscious, to not live an authentic life. Then he wants to cluster around people that have made this similar decision. And that’s what we have in societies, is an inauthentic collective. But it’s based on people that would rather submit to the external tyrannies of Big Daddy, who would rather cling to the handrails, who would rather lean on one another, than to face the anxiety that arises, when you have to go on the inner journey of Truth, where you have to discover what you’re really here for on this planet, and who you are yourself.”
– Michael Tsarion

“As soon as I hear that someone is thinking that another authority, another person, has the rights over their mental and emotional and attitudinal and psychic life, I’m worried about that person. Because I know that that person has some very serious psychological and existential problems, right off the bat. Then that person is going to be a part of a herd, or will be a controller of a herd, or be manipulated by the herd, or whatever you want to call it. But you will never find that person doing any good in the world. Not any real necessary good at all. It’s a contradiction of terms. They may be sold the illusion, or delusion that they are doing wonderful work, because they gave to Live Aid or the next stupid charity that pops up out of the woodwork. [They are] the people’s champions that lead you away.”
-Michael Tsarion

So why is it that mankind would make such an irrational decision to submit to external authorities? It’s the path that they know, the path that was programmed into them since birth. Most people are incapable of deviating too far from the status quo. They fear the unknown, that which deviates from the accepted norm. Also because it’s the easy path, the path of least resistance. Consciousness is like water, which always chooses the path of least resistance, which is a downward path. It takes effort to raise one’s consciousness, just like it takes effort to move water upwards. The world is laid out for the child, with all of his authorities telling him what is real, and what is expected of him. It is not easy for a child to rebel, as he is scolded into submission. The child is always facing punishment for not accepting the status quo. Once the state schools, the media and religions get hold of the child, he is forced to conform even more, with the fear of being drugged into submission if he chooses to rebel against the system. By the time the child becomes an adult, he is completely programmed by the state, the society, the media and the religions. Is it any wonder that everyone is lost and so fearful to know the Truth?

They refuse to even entertain the truth, because it stirs up a lot inside, and they are unable to cope with it. They were never given the tools of rational, critical thinking or logic. They were only taught to memorize what they were told and to conform and follow authorities. All of the various programs create a person’s false beliefs. He then uses these false beliefs as his support and stability in life. His entire life story and perception of the world hinges upon these false beliefs. If they are shaken, it causes disturbances to the individual, which he is incapable of dealing with. Therefore he remains caught in the grip of the matrix, and is extremely fearful of the truth. He will fight and kill to protect the prison which he is bound in chains.

This is the predicament that we find ourselves in. Each of us must choose which direction on the path of life he wants to take. Most people follow the herd, to remain trapped in the matrix, but the person who wants to know the Truth is traveling in the opposite direction. This is his choice, no matter how difficult it is, that an authentic person takes. Why? Because he is tired of living a lie. He is intelligent enough to see that there are many things wrong with the world, and has decided not to become a member of such insanity. It is a difficult path, but for one who has focused his attention on traversing such a difficult path, there can be no other way. Such an intelligent, sincere and authentic person will not submit to tyranny in any form. For him, it is much more difficult to walk the path of the herd, to submit to authorities and to live a life of lies and deceptions.

– Greg Calise

 

By

David Cain of Raptitude

 

When one of my favorite radio hosts, Shelagh Rodgers (pronounced ‘Sheila’), announced on air that she was leaving her morning show to take some time off, she had a way of explaining why that left a lasting impression on me.

She said that for years, a colleague of hers (Peter Gzowski?) insisted on making frequent trips to a remote cabin up North, where he spent the time chopping wood, reading books and walking with his dogs. When she asked him why this ritual was so important to him, he said, “Well… I guess I really like who I am when I’m up there.”

Rodgers explained her departure by saying that the morning show had made the reverse true for her: the job required her to wake up at 3:30am, shuttle herself to the studio, and force herself into professional-mode hours before the sun came up, and she didn’t like who she was when she was doing that.

When I heard her say that, I was sitting in my office at work, and realized that I definitely didn’t like who I was when I was in there. I didn’t like who I was when I was on the phone with clients, or out talking to contractors, or sitting at pre-construction meetings. Without any better ideas at the time, I imagined that eventually I would need to build a cabin up north and escape regularly to chop wood and read books by a fire.

That thought — Do I like who I am while I’m doing this? — has visited me a few times a year ever since, and I’m finally seeing how crucial a question it is. We ought to ask it about everything we do regularly in our lives. If the answer is “No,” then it makes sense to ask how we ended up making it a regular part of our lifestyle, and whether it’s necessary or worthwhile.

You might think we’d naturally gravitate towards whatever activities do give us this self-affirming sense, but we seem to be driven more by expectations, gratification and momentum. Between watching a bad movie for the third time, and calling up a friend, we’re often inclined to go with the former, not because it promises a better day or a better life, but because we’re usually operating from more immediate incentives: predictability, ease, freedom from risk. The idea of doing something because it we like the person it makes us probably doesn’t enter the picture at all. 

The question of “Do I like who I am when I’m doing this” is a different question from “Do I like doing this?” You might find some gratification in arguing online, or overeating, or staying home Saturday nights, but that doesn’t mean that you feel great about who you are when you’re doing them. We’re all very complex, and certain activities reward the avoidant or argumentative drives in us, while other activities reward our compassionate, wise and helpful sides.

We can easily fall into habits of doing any of these activities, so long as there’s some kind of reward for them. Years can pass before you notice something’s wrong; you’ve followed the wrong trail of breadcrumbs, and you don’t feel good about where it’s led you.

For example, over the last few months, I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in how it feels to be me, and I think it has a lot to do with how my habits changed when the cold weather arrived.

Every other day in the summer and fall, I went running in my neighborhood, and riding my bike almost every evening. I felt active, disciplined, and close to my community and city. I was more mindful, I walked everywhere, and I was preoccupied by thought less often. Essentially, I liked who I was while I was doing almost every activity that made up an ordinary day.

When winter arrived, the activities that made up my day changed. I stopped running when the sidewalks got icy. I started driving more and walking less. I stayed in more often during the evenings. I spent more time surfing the internet, developing an (in hindsight unhealthy) interest in global politics and the inevitable debates it inspires. My mental dialogue grew more pervasive and I developed a greater resistance to mindfulness.

As it got less hospitable outside, my activities began to supply greater amounts of gratification and comfort, and relatively little self-esteem. When it’s 4pm and you haven’t been outside yet, it’s hard to feel like you’re embodying your best qualities. This deficit only intensifies the need for comfort and gratification, and you gravitate towards more of it, when what you really need is more of the alternative.

We all have those moments where we feel like we’ve gotten away from our best selves. We might not know what’s gone wrong, but it’s clear something’s gone off, and we know we have to step back and reassess what’s important.

Often we respond to these lapses with a freshly written list of familiar “shoulds”, which many people compile perennially, just before January 1st — I should be exercising more, I should be reaching out more, I should be working on my book, I should be helping my community more. But these unfulfilled shoulds only deplete our self-esteem even further, until we’re either happily achieving them, or we realize that they’re not the problem. Self-esteem seems inextricably linked to the specific feelings of identity we get from the activities that make up our days.

Asking yourself, “What am I doing when I like who I am?” seems to me to be a more direct way to figure out what you need more of (and what you need less of) in life, regardless of what you think you should need. Often, the healthy, fulfilling things we’ve drifted away from are things whose significance probably wouldn’t occur to us, until we start doing them again and see how much they contributed to our well-being. You might not have even noticed that you really like the person you are when you’re with a certain friend, but you don’t see that friend much anymore. Perhaps your schedules have changed, and the personal routines that kept you in touch (poker night, or the book club) are no longer habits.

Combine this with a few other unplanned changes in circumstances — you got away from the gym over the holidays, you were given a new responsibility at work, you find yourself binge-watching the Sopranos again, oil paints have become too expensive for you to justify — and one day you notice something feels conspicuously off about your life, because how you spend your days no longer makes you feel like someone you’re proud to be.

I can see now (but only after thinking about it in this way) what’s so different about last summer and this winter for me:

I like who I am when I spent time outside in my neighborhood. I don’t like who I am when I argue about politics on the internet. I like who I am when I get up from meditation. I don’t like who I am when I’m staying in all weekend. I like who I am when I’m visiting my friends. I don’t like who I am when I’m quitting work early.

They’re all interconnected, and in this case the weather clearly is a catalyst. I haven’t gone off the rails, or lost a step, I’ve just responded to the cold unconsciously, in ways that have led me away from who I like to be.

Note that I may like, on some level, doing all of these things, but I don’t like who I feel like I am while I’m doing half of them. In the same way, there may be things I find difficult or strenuous, but which are rewarding in that I like who I am when I’m doing them. Chinups come to mind.

And there are many more truths of this kind to be known. You can apply that question to anything you do, or don’t do any more — do I like who I am when I’m doing that?

It’s clear to me now that this is an improved litmus test for identifying what’s truly important in our lives. It makes clear what’s likely to get you back into top form, if you feel like something has slipped. Compared to admonishing yourself to smarten up or try harder, this is like navigating life with a map and compass, rather than simply moving toward whatever terrain looks most inviting from where you are.

You don’t have to understand quite why certain things hit the spot in this sense and others don’t. You just have to ask the question while you’re out living your life, and the vital pieces start to reveal themselves.

David Cain of Raptitude

by Michael Tominac at Waking Times

When you reflect on your life, do you sometimes lament the choices you’ve made, directions you took or didn’t take, and wonder what could have been? You may find that you’ve achieved success in one or more areas of life, yet feel like you have fallen short in others. You might ask if your life is really going as planned? But do you ever ask yourself if the plan was even really yours to begin with? If it wasn’t yours, what got in the way of living the life you wanted to live?

Have you stopped to think about what you believe and how it has impacted who you are and what you have become? If you take a minute to reflect on the path you’ve taken so far, can you say it was aligned with what you really wanted for yourself?

If you weren’t listening to your own heart-felt desires and aspirations, what were you listening to? Whose voice was in your head that made you choose a certain direction in life? Was it your parents, caretakers, family, religion, other authority figures, friends, peers, media and entertainment personalities, advertisers, the Internet?

Belief systems impact every aspect of our lives from our definition of right and wrong, good and bad, to what we do for a living, our idea of a perfect relationship, how we raise our kids, what we eat, how we spend our money and in countless other ways. Our beliefs forge a path for us, whether we know it or not, because they influence how we feel, our actions and the directions we take in life.

Regardless of where they came from, it’s important to ask yourself if you truly agree with the beliefs you have adopted and how they’ve served you. Are they liberating and empowering or limiting and fear-based?

Fear destroys personal freedom. It is a major obstacle to connecting what is in your head with what is in your heart. Fear can prevent you from making choices and taking actions that are aligned with your authentic self.

Limiting thoughts can echo in your mind every time you decide to play bigger in the world. They may say… you’re not good enough, good-looking enough, strong enough, smart enough or that you shouldn’t be doing what your heart calls you to do because it’s not realistic. Yet somehow that deep desire or calling in us to do something more doesn’t go away.

That desire to pursue our calling reflects a deep wish to be our authentic selves and to use our unique gifts and talents in the world- the very reason why we were put on this planet. However, along the way, we learn that self-expression doesn’t always feel safe, as that journey comes with challenges. It’s at these times, that it becomes convenient to adopt a restrictive belief system to assuage our fears, whatever they may be.  Often we end up placing ourselves in a confining box that may make us feel safe and secure, but at what cost?

If you find yourself agreeing with beliefs that are limiting and fear-based, ask yourself why? It’s important to determine the source of the belief so you can discern if it’s valid, as many fears are just possibilities generated by the creativity of our minds, fueled by programming from our past. We tend to focus on “what ifs,” worrying about all the things that could possibly go wrong. But ask yourself – What if I don’t pursue what I am called to do in this life? What would that mean to you?

Inaction towards what we are called to do is really action towards something else that may be less desirable. You’ll never know what will actually happen in life unless you take action towards what you want. And if a challenge crosses your path, transcending it is an opportunity for growth and for you to use your creativity productively.

You have the power to overcome the thoughts in your head that hold you back. You can start with being conscious of who and what you are listening to, whether in your internal dialogue or your external environment. You may have subconsciously adopted limiting thoughts and belief systems throughout your life, but you can become conscious of them…if you pay attention.

Listen to what you say to yourself. Think about where it comes from and if it serves you. Think for yourself – you don’t need anyone’s permission. You have the power of discernment – use it. Consider who you spend your time with and what you spend your time doing. Does it feel right? How does it serve you? How will being around a certain person or watching a particular program make you feel or help you to achieve your goals? Question everything.

You can change your path anytime and plot a new course, but first you need to know what you really want. If you are already clear on your next direction, what beliefs prevent you from taking action?

From here on out, spend some time every day reflecting on what you believe, where your beliefs come from, and how they serve you. You might be surprised at what you find.

The closest thing to perfection in this world is you being your authentic self.  In fact, it’s beyond perfection because you are a unique creation. Believe in yourself.