HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN AFFLICTED WORLD – part 1

HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN AFFLICTED WORLD – part 1

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How to Cause your enemies the maximum difficulty

There is one sure way to maintain your focus and to cause consternation among your foes. That way is to not let them ruffle your feathers.

For you see, that is part of their plan. They want to keep you in a perpetual state of upset, and they derive 'great' satisfaction from seeing you disturbed.

One Republican stated he was drinking 'the cup of tears' of the liberals and progressives with 'great' relish.

When you really understand their game plan is to distract you and try to force you to be reactive to all the false flags they throw up, you can avoid falling into their snare. It is a cynical and calculated game they are playing because they are stuck in a sick narrative. They are playing a mean game and a mean- spirited one. They just want to wear you out. Don't let them do that.

The more upset you become, the less able you are to use all of your focus and attention to work against the forces of division, the forces of greed and self-interest, the forces of hate and intolerance, and the age-old technique of divide and conquer.

If you want to maintain your maximum effectiveness, and your peace of mind, which allows you to utilize 100% of your capabilities, do not allow

yourself to be distracted or worn out or your spirit to be troubled.

Whether it is the mighty poobah who is now 'our' President or small and dangerous demagogues like the calculating Putin of KGB and Russian notoriety, the techniques are always the same. Lies, damned lies, and statistics are all used to good effect.

I have also read that their technique is like “throwing a dead cat on the table”. It effectively short-circuits any attempt at sincere dialogue.

They figure to exhaust you with the minutia of their supposed upsets, but keep in mind, it is all part of a hidden agenda to wear you out, distract you from the big picture, and spoil the calmness of your focus.

In “the art of the deal”, Trump writes, “I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after” and “when you go into a negotiation, you must begin from a position of unassailable strength. “

In the negotiations for the Menie Estate in Scotland, Trump wore Tom Griffin down by making one outlandish demand after another and bargaining hard on even the most trivial issues of disagreement. He never quit fighting.

- taken from Dan McAdams long article - “The Mind of Donald Trump” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/toc/2016/06/

So, in the face of this belligerence and deliberate aggression, how do you maintain your focus and the calmness of your spirit? I would suggest that this is a huge opportunity to refine your core beliefs. Trump and his minions have provided a huge gift to the rest of us. Everything is now on the table.

We win when we maintain the bulwark of our beliefs, when we stay humble, and when we look for Greatness only in what has always provided inspiration to humans: a belief in the sacredness of life, a belief there is a holiness to this world which is beyond price and beyond the efforts of would-be tyrants to sully. We are great when we bow our heads and admit there is something far greater than ourselves, by whatever name you give it. Some call it the Creator, some call it God; by whatever you deem to be holy and beyond “deals”, place your faith there. Look to the fact you are an integral part of this 'Holiness', you have an absolute right to be here, you are part of the life of this planet, and the perfection of the natural world. Allow your spirit to remain in your 'quiet place' of peace and acceptance, and your heart to find solace in gratitude and awe of the real beauty that surrounds you constantly.

This is the only way to defeat the forces of darkness and chaos. You defeat

evil when you chose 'the good', and keep your focus on what is real and true.

Public Discourse in America or We are All to Blame

    It is not fashionable to be "religious" or to believe in God now.  But it is ironic that a Nation founded in Christian values, should now come to think that we no longer need God.  But without some idea of what is sacred, how can any nation survive?  Without the absolute values of belief only available through belonging to a "faith tradition", by what agenda or set of ideals do people make decisions?

For some time, we have not had a set of 'core' values driving our social and National discourse which unite all Americans.  And because our country is so polarized into opposing camps, we are unable to talk to each other reasonably.
It is a perfect storm we have worked ourselves into and we are all to blame.
When we stop giving some respect to each other, especially because we disagree, we lose something very special: a sense that we are all in it together.

There are many reasons we have come to this point.  
    People who have given up on religion, for whatever reason, no longer understand the concept of Christian tolerance and the fact that our Nation was founded on the idea that 'each' person was entitled to determine how to worship God in their own way.   But worshiping atheism, the absence of a sense of what is holy, was not on the radar of our founding fathers.  If I am a believer, I have no right to expect you to believe what I believe.   If I am an atheist, I have no right to think that others are foolish for believing in a Supernatural Being. 

        People who are religious and who retain similar outlooks to those of our founding fathers, regard God as the ultimate authority, and separate the world of God and the world of man.  They do not understand how values can be determined by using only man as the measure of all things, as in humanism.  That kind of progressive and 'liberal' thinking eviscerates any concept of an "Ideal", an absolute standard that all people must adhere to.  So for them, taking God out of the equation is anti-thema to everything American.

        The other big input into how we fail to talk to each other now, is that our culture has come to a new low in demonstrating civility and mutual respect toward each other.   That is not the America I knew growing up, and I think, is distinctly anti-American.  I will not go into all the reasons for that, but all of us should agree, it is an untenable situation. 

       The U.S.A. is ringed with enemies who do not believe in free speech.   Are we willing to throw away everything we have, and our rights to worship freely, to voice our opinions, and everything else many Americans have given their lives to protect, because we are no longer willing to listen to our brothers and reason together?  If that is the case, then we will have done a great mis-justice and a great disservice to our fore-bearers and to our children. 

     For America to be great, we must settle our differences, agree to disagree, put our oars in the water, and row in the same direction or we will not have a country where we have the right, and the freedom to express our various points of view.

Doffing my hat to Mike Pence

Doffing my hat to Mike Pence

                                           written Nov. 23^rd, 2016               521 words

                                 after the cast of 'Hamilton' called out Gov. Pence & family

Everything starts with a simple hello, a nod of the head from a place down below,

a place in the heart where dwells our true soul, a holy place beyond the reach of a poll,

for we want to live and hear sweet songs, we know what's important truly belongs

not to us and our world but to a greater Sea, “no man is an island”, all want just to be

part of God's Great parade begun long ago, whose source is a mystery we hope to know,

all share the Lord's light given before birth, a holy communion points our spirit to earth,

The love of God is sown in our blood; it's not for us to judge another after the flood,

of feelings and our need to be right, take a moment to breathe easy and try not to incite,

all of our angers, our righteous indignation; when we're at each other's throats, we are risking our Nation,

what joins us is sacred and more than we can know, let's be patient with each other and agree to go slow,

We applaud all our children, the folks on the stage, the family of Man, a truth greater than rage,

no matter how we see it, none have all the answers, put your trust in your Faith, and still applaud all the dancers,

so hear me, my Brethren, my Great Cousins and Brother, have faith in your Father and the spirit of Your Great Mother,

put your trust in the decency of 'We the people', let's guard our words, after all, we are all still equal,

everyone pulls their pants on one leg at a time, some use poor words to make bad rhyme,

what keeps us free is allowing our spirits to shine, sharing our hearts by speaking our minds,

where is Uncle Sam's sage counsel and wit, when he said, 'Wait a minute', and never gave a low hit,

A voice of quiet reason without blame, pours oil on the waters, and sullies not the game,

we give up the meaning of our Great Constitution, that we are holy joined by an uncommon institution,

when we forget our far country, those who have died, so we can live free, following faith glorified,

hold onto the wisdom our founding fathers displayed, when quill inked the paper and cornerstones were laid,

what we say has meaning and carries real weight, remember, all leave the building to share the same fate,

far better to light one candle of hope, than curse the darkness and act like a dope,

some say, don't pee on my back and tell me it's rain, to get human respect, you must give the same,

yes, our time here is too short and we need celebrate, the show must go on, if we all can relate,

so thank you, Mr. Pence, for your wise words and calm, you showed all some respect with your benevolent balm.