Love

We cannot solve our problems from the consciousness that created them. Yesterday I received a recommendation from someone I love to watch a vitriolic political youtube rant; you know the kind. Everything the ranter said was of the same quality as the things he ranted against, his recommendations for dealing with his problem with others exactly the same as the actions of others that he decried as evil and  tyrannous. It is surely now the time to step out of the mindset that has separated our world into us and them and to embrace our own longing for belonging and communion.

Each one of us has the power to shift the conscious resonance of our entire world, it is our sole and most important duty as the ones being born into this duality now. Any time we deny the rights of other we shut off a part of ourselves, we make ourselves smaller. Forgiveness is not for anyone other it is only for our own self; for the acknowledgement and blossoming of our own heart.

This is where faith comes in, do we have enough faith in ourselves to know that if we grasp acceptance and forgiveness and if we embrace those we make war with the battle really will dissolve or is our faith such that we will we be swallowed up and destroyed as the myriad voices of doom insist?

It is time to seize the power of our own heart to release its power of love and to embrace all of our world as part of ourself. It is time to require our mind to join with the highest of ourself and deny those who would insist that war is necessary, deny those who insist that “the other side” is wrong, evil, stupid, going to ruin the country or whatever. None of the seeming “terrible” things out there are real, they are projections of our inner duality a tangle between the wise and profound love of the heart and the controlling machinations of the egoic mind. Let go of the constructs, the work to keep hate going is overwhelming us all and must finally be dropped.

Unum meaning?

Now that I am beginning to develop the products associated with this art series, I think it is important to clarify the true meaning of this E Pluribus initiative. I am not really in the business of selling flags, or making and selling cards, posters, jewelry or other hopefully exciting items that may come from the E Pluribus inspiration, I am only in the business of touching an idea and attempting to make that idea real, tasty and deeply felt. That idea is that we are all one – UNUM. However, I hope that you will buy these products so that together we may share this principle of unity and respect for each other.

E Pluribus might be thought of as a new idea technology. It is a technology for living together. Think of it, billions of dollars are spent almost daily on the technology of war, technology to keep us apart and fearful of each other; what if we spent even a fraction of that considering how we can live together in harmony?

This is not really a new idea; it has been done throughout history. There have always been intersections of culture where brilliant enhancements to civilization have blossomed. Pasta, flamenco, and jazz grew by cultural fusion. Silk, coffee and law as we know it would not enhance our lives if not for exchange of ideas and of knowledge.

We are one in so many ways as humans no matter what race we are our DNA proves to be only minimally variable. But what about the greater part of ourselves – that part that feels, loves, cares, strives, shares, expresses and lives? That part of us that seeks out love and cares for family; how different is that in each of us? I can only imagine how you may feel when you experience loss or love or triumph or humiliation by examining how I feel under those circumstances. When I do that and I conclude that my experience is probably similar if not the same as yours then I desire from the bottom of my heart that you will have the very best experience in this life.

One of the best books I’ve ever read, The Bhagavad Gita, speaks of the nature of war and refers to the dharmic war as opposed to the adharmic war. The dharmic war is the righteous war, not in the Christian sense of a righteousness that is explained or taught but in a sense that is a heartfelt understanding of what is good and right and respectful. In the adharmic war the opponent is seen as inhuman, some kind of devil and is treated as less than oneself and represented as evil. Sound familiar? This is how human beings can be convinced to kill someone else who is exactly like themselves- a person who strives to live a good life and provide the best for their family.

I know: some of my friends think I’m crazy. So OK maybe there are a few “bad apples” but the rest of us don’t need to follow those trouble makers. If we follow our hearts we can’t follow trouble.

Instead let’s look for and create technologies for living together. This E Pluribus initiative is about inspiration and celebration of diversity, it is about showing off how we can live together even though we may live differently. DIverse dress, food, music, customs, celebrations, worship, lifestyles and yes, even religions enhance our civilized world. I hope to build an E PLURIBUS shop where you can share your products that celebrate diversity along with mine. All ideas are welcome and will be carefully considered.

My first recommendation in the spirit of this blog is a new book by Ed Strosser and Michael Prince entitled, “STUPID WARS”. The premise of the book is if we haven’t learned how to stop fighting each other by reading about “successful” war efforts then let’s examine the really dumb campaigns. I haven’t finished the book so I am not writing a review, but right off the top it is funny and engaging.

buy STUPID WARS

www.stupidwars.com