My 2 cents

Know it alls and Show-offs

2009-04-30T04:26:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has had a recurring experience with someone she wants to throttle. Whatever she, or anyone else has done, let's call him 'Tom', has done. Whatever book anyone has read, Tom has too. In Tom's 30 odd years of life on this planet, he has managed to become an expert in every field anyone can mention. The sad thing is, it's obvious to everyone that Tom doesn't have a clue what he is talking about most of the time. You know the saying 'bullshit baffles brains'? Well, the only thing that baffles Tom's friends is why he would keep making an idiot of himself in this way. He's a nice guy, he has a lot to offer, but his relentless attempts at one upmanship irritate everyone he knows. He thinks he's impressing the hell out of them, and when they don't seem impressed, he immediately sulks, because 'everyone is jealous'.

Obviously this behaviour is an indicator of low self-esteem - so when I come across it, I tend to be indulgent and listen, while wishing I could say something to the person to make them understand that what they do or don't know has no bearing on their value. People on the Earth plane are obsessed with hierarchy and pecking order. 'I'm more beautiful, therefore I am better than everyone who is not as beautiful as me, I'm smarter.....I'm more well-read...I'm better educated...I'm sexier...I'm more creative....I'm more SPIRITUAL.....'. Being anything '-er' raises your status in the currency of this world, and it's easy to see why someone who doesn't think too much of themselves might try to raise their 'worth' by trying to be 'more than'. We probably all do it to some extent, but for some, it becomes a lifestyle.

Well the problem with this is - no matter how good looking you are, there's bound to be someone better looking, no matter how smart you are, there's bound to be someone smarter. If your self-worth is dependent on proving your superiority to everyone you meet, you are going to run yourself ragged. The only people who may buy into your apparent self-belief are those who also have equally low self-esteem, and the rest will use it as ammunition to 'prove' that, as far as they are concerned, they are superior to you.

I believe there is only one value, and it applies equally to all Life. William Blake's words 'Every thing that lives is Holy' (my italics). This value applies equally to the plant and animal world as it does to us. It applies to the tramp on the side of the road, and the dim-witted celebrity with more money than sense. If you look at the world from the point of view of Karma and re-incarnation, we are all of exactly the same worth, the difference lies only in our chosen journey in this incarnation. And we all will arrive the same destination eventually, no matter how circuitous the route.

It's almost as though we have all jumped into a giant computer game, each chosen our role for the duration of this game (our life). George Bush may be a despicable politician (I know I keep picking on him) in this life, and he may have been, or will be a complete saint in another. There are people who have taken on dark roles, and as long as we are in the game, we need to avoid them. Outside of the game, we are all eternal Souls of Love, and no-one is a stranger or enemy. In a play, every character has a role to play, and that role forms a part of the story being told. One role is not more or less important than the other - even the smallest role has it's part to play in creating the story. Superman could not be a hero without a villain and a victim - he would be without a story and a reference point. Think about it - there would be no charity without poverty, no opportunity to be heroic in a perfect world, no growth without adversity. I think we all get a chance to play out roles across the spectrum of light and dark in our incarnations. That's something to ponder on the next time you judge someone.....

The role you play in this life is no indicator of your worth. It is an indicator of the lessons you have chosen to learn, and the karmic debts you have accumulated. Why do we fall into the insanity of trying to compare ourselves to everyone else, and assign our status in terms of this? Your personality in this lifetime may be incensed or astonished to discover that in the next world, the garbage collector you took no notice of, because he wasn't important, is now your equal. Here everything you valued so much, all the things you impressed people with, including egotistical spiritual knowledge, evaporates. All you are left with was how you lived your life, what life lessons you learned, and what karmic debts you accumulated or paid. No amount of money or knowledge can exempt you from this reality. No expensive lawyer can argue for you here.

I have friends with astonishingly high IQ's, PHD's, etc and they are unable to function in the world - they have no EQ at all. All they have is their superior education, and IQ, and they use these as a weapon to feel better about themselves at the expense of everyone else. And they need to do this because they have no faith that their, or anyone else's value, is in their very existence. Your existence means you are worthy, and you don't have to justify your value in any other way than just being. I shy away from the notion that life is just one big talent show. The people I admire the most, are those who are comfortable in their own skin, use only themselves as a reference point for 'where they should be', and have no interest in trying to climb social and corporate ladders. What education someone has, what car they drive, and what clothes they wear are of no real interest to me. This is not to say that 'all of this' is 'bad', or that you shouldn't aim to be the best you can be. I'm saying that 'all of this' cannot be the basis of who we are, what our identity is, and a yardstick to judge yourself and everyone else by.

When I was grieving for my beloved Grandmother, none of my qualifications comforted me, my hair-cut and clothing certainly didn't lessen my loss. A relative's fancy new car and job title did nothing to ease my pain. The Gardener, Cedric, who would stand at my door holding my hand in his rough hand, and pray for me, gave me comfort. The kind words from a neighbour who is one of those people you would pass by without even noticing, gave me comfort. I value this kindness over any status laden encounter I have had, or will ever have.

Your Soul is so much more valuable than your ego. Why would you want to cultivate your ego when you can only do so at the expense of your Soul?

Obamamania

2009-01-20T23:03:00.000-08:00

I am not American, and generally find politics abhorrent. That said, I am fascinated by America politics. Regardless of where you are in the world, what happens in America affects everyone else. I would take it further, and paraphrase what Martin Luther King said from the Birmingham jail all those years ago - injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Because America is the largest, and most visible democracy, their influence on the world in massive. I have watched a predatory, aggressive, greedy, unjust America wreak havoc on the world for the last 8 years under the Bush administration. This election was critical. Four more years under a Republican administration headed up by McCain/Palin would have been catastrophic.

As much as I resonated with the ideals of Barack Obama, I was hoping that Mrs Clinton would get the nomination. My reasoning was based on my lack of faith in the America people - I did not think that a nation who voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush a mere four years ago would be able to embrace a man who is, in every respect, his polar opposite. Bill Clinton was a good president, and Hillary is an extremely experienced politician - I thought she had a better chance of thwarting yet another Republican administration. I am so glad to have been wrong.

Yesterday I watched the inauguration of the first Black president of the United States. It was extraordinary - my sense, shared by so many, was that things had changed. Irrevocably, irretrievably, and without doubt, for the better. No-one has forgotten the crisis in the midst of the celebration, or the long hard road ahead, but when so many people, not only in America, but all over the world resonate with optimism and joy, then there is hope. "Yes we can, yes we can".

Barack Obama is an remarkable man - I watched as he walked through the corridor, and out of the doors to take the oath of office. There was no arrogance, or smugness. What I saw was the humility of a man fully cognisant of the enormous responsibility he was about to take on. He walked out to a rock star welcome, the biggest crowd ever seen at the inauguration of an American president, without losing any composure, and leaving no-one in doubt of his grasp of the gravity of the occasion. His speech was everything we expected of him, and more.

It seems that Barack Obama is the miracle, the central force of change. I disagree - Obama is the tip of the iceberg. I think his election, and the joy that accompanies it, shows that the world has changed. It is a triumph for all people who have rejected fear, force, aggression, and seen history repeat itself so often that it finally sank in - the old ways do not work, they are unacceptable, and there is a better way of doing things. A new way is being born, accompanied by all the labour pains you would expect. At the same time, the old ways are dying - clinging desperately onto life, but you can hear the death rattle, and it is getting louder.

When the election and inauguration of an American president causes so many people all over the world to resonate with joy and hope, it raises the vibration of the entire planet. What we witnessed was an unprecedented number of people all over the world united in a common optimism. This unity of people of all nations, races, and creeds is the true triumph of the day. In all of recorded history, we have no precedent for this. I feel deeply privileged and grateful to have been a witness to it.

Trans-gender issues

2008-09-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was recently party to a discussion regarding Thomas Beatie, the former woman who is now pregnant as a 'male'. The judgment and derision heaped on him, as well as all other transgendered people just blew me away. Let me say that I am a terminally straight female (at least in this incarnation) with zero trans-gender issues, so my viewpoint is in no way invested in my personal situation.

I don't think any human being has the right to judge their fellow travelers, least of all for their sexual orientation. There are plenty of heterosexual perverts in the world who make dreadful parents. I'm a lot more concerned about children in those circumstances, than I am for a child growing up with gay or transgendered parents who can provide stability and love.

My opinion is my own, regardless of any written 'scripture', but I do resonate with Logion 22 in the Gospel of Thomas in this regard. Here, Jesus is asked if we will enter the (Heavenly) domain as babies. This is his response:

'Jesus said to them "When you make the two into one, and when you make the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, ...so that the male shall not be male, nor the female be female,...then you will enter the (Heavenly) domain.' (My italics)

In my view, trans-gender issues are coming to the fore at this time because a part, at least, of humans are evolving to a Higher Consciousness, which requires awareness that our gender and race and nationality etc are only relevant to our incarnation at this time and place, and meaningless in terms of our Souls and eternal existence. Souls are genderless, and only define themselves in terms of love.

I applaud the Souls who have the courage to incarnate with these issues, so that they can show us that 'male' and 'female' are not the cornerstone of who we are. If you cannot see the beauty in every person, whether gay, or trans-sexual, or trans-gendered (and forgive my terminology if it is in any way incorrect), or black, or white, or whatever, then perhaps you can, at the very least, try to heed the biblical injunction to 'Judge not, lest ye be judged'.