​Faith Hope & Politics - what's going on here?

Oh my! What an amazing state our world is in right now!
So many systems falling apart around us!
So much confusion about what's actually happening!
So many people caught up in the drama of it all - or the fear...caught up in religious fervor about politics!
So many things that seem to need to be done that it's hard to know where - or if - to start!

Part of that's because we really don't know what to believe about what we're being told. There's so much drama - and propaganda - filling the commercial and social media, and there seems to be no way to get clarity.

So, what's really happening here and now?

Yes, there is a lot of dramatic hype going on - partly because there's really not much "bad news" to actually report (It's hard to "lead with the bleed" when there's not much bleeding happening out there (Really! the numbers tell us that most of what used to be reported regularly isn't happening any more!), so the newscasters have to go further and further from home and strettttttccccchhhhh every story out and milk it for everything it's got.
   Yes, there is a lot of propaganda being pushed - in every direction, with all kinds of social, political, and economic intentions: everything from "follow this leader" to "rise up and overthrow the rulers" to "buy more" to "you're going to suffer if you don't do it our way", and more. Fortunately, it is possible to distinguish between information and propaganda - it's called "checking the facts." Propaganda will always include a kernel of truth, but leave out huge parts of the story in an effort to push the viewer in a particular direction. The good news is that there are multiple "fact-checking" services out there, by which, if you scan several, you can usually determine what the facts of any story actually are.
   But mostly, we are  nearing the end of a major historical process - one that began with the American Revolution. That was the beginning of the dissolution of empire-building monarchies, which culminated in the 1960s, when the last European colonies were let go. Now we're in the next stage of the process: the other forms of empire are dissolving - and are rapidly reaching the point where no national entity has the resources to control lands and people outside its own borders.
Instead, an economic structure has been put in place to do so. It's still largely controlled by European-American men, but is steadily being eroded by men of other nationalities - and the planet itself.
 
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   In such times, many folks (raised and carefully trained to feel they have little or no control over their lives) feel lost and powerless - and great effort is made to keep them afraid of the world around them.
   In such times, many folks (raised with empire-culture values of acquire, accumulate and control) see opportunities to build a power base of weaker-minded people, and work to ensure they remain followers. Those folks' goal is to be powerful, and they will use any language, any means they can, to acquire that power, accumulate resources, and control the people around them.
   In such times, to think rationally is difficult at best, and frowned upon by the fearful and the power-hungry alike. 
 
  So what can we do? 
   I've been talking this past few months about how the current political problems cannot be solved in the way they used to be (the old Einsteinian issue: "can't solve a problem at the level that created it"). I've been offering some alternative approaches, demonstrated to be effective by some pretty good research, that have to do with.... you guessed it!
     CHANGING THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS FROM WHICH WE ACT
"Easy to say" many of you have quipped. And you're right; it is much easier to say than to do or be.
   I've put together a program designed to help people find the level of consciousness that will be effective for them to work from, and begin to identify the specific actions they can take. 
   I'll be offering this program in Florence, at the Florence Unitarian Universalist Fellowship hall, on Saturday, Sept 10, from 1-4pm. Again in Corvallis, October 23. VIDEO LINK HERE.

The program has 3 parts:

1. What's Going On?
2. Where Are We Headed?
3. What Can We Do About it?

It's designed for the walk-in-the-door concerned citizen, so you won't be getting much depth in the applied metaphysics that I usually teach.  But it will provide a direct application of proven principles to a part of our lives that we don't usually think of as spiritual or metaphysical. 

So I hope you'll join me - in Florence (let me know if you're coming in from out of town - we may be able to provide housing), Corvallis, or online. And let me know if this is something you want me to offer wherever you are - we may be able to work something out.

With Gratitude, always, and Blessings for clarity and effective action,
    R
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