Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.2013-05-22T11:44:47-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=kingsley-dennis-phdCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.Good old fashioned elbow grease.A Time for Re-Calibrationtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.31846152013-05-01T14:08:08-04:002013-05-01T14:08:15-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/"It is no longer the time to be better, it is the time to be otherwise." -- Satprem
For thousands of years humanity has been conquerors. We never thought about opening our borders to entire nations, sharing resources, and grouping together as larger bodies of nations. We built fortresses, great walls, and opened our doors only a crack to let the caravans of exchange slither through to bring luxury goods. And now the whole planet depends on the global exchange of basic necessities and goods. Now the nations of the world are negotiating how we can next shift toward a planetary society. Yet still the old minds prevail, wishing to control this transition by controlling the resources and the consequences. Such old ways, and models, are hoping that the planet can be held in the greedy hands of the few, as it has been until now. Yet this is not how things are going to manifest -- there are other forces now emerging that wish to assist in this coming together as a planetary society. And these "other forces" are manifesting through the hearts and minds of the people of the planet. A collective force is arising through humanity that knows -- instinctively feels -- that other ways are now needed if we wish to transition to a new era within sustainable and harmonious limits.
This has never happened before because this point was never reached before. And why humanity never reached this point before is simply because it was not ready. In terms of new ideas and innovative thinking, it's a case of "we don't yet know the things we don't know!" New ideas come when we are ready to make use of them -- it's a process of activating access to information, rather than of significant discovery by accident! This process is difficult to frame in a "rational" manner, especially since humans like to think of themselves as the central agents of free thought and discovery. That's why we have the syndrome of simultaneous invention/discovery, when suddenly multiple persons happen to have breakthroughs almost at the same time -- history is full of such examples. Coincidence? No, it's called re-calibration...
New ideas are simply things we've never thought of... until they arrive. And they will arrive -- increasingly so as we move into a time where a different frequency/energy of consciousness is manifesting. And with this will arrive solutions to some of our most pressing problems -- especially around energy and resources. The solutions are already there, we are just waiting for the "Aha" moment! You don't have to believe me; just wait and see. There are those people now who are working hard on the problems, and many young minds are soon going to join the laboratory of human problem solving. Connecting, collaborating, sharing ideas and thoughts -- the planetary membrane of consciousness is an active crucible of change and vision.
At each moment of need the human mind accesses solutions to overcome the current pressing problems. Once there were predictions that the world would run out of wood to burn... then we discovered coal. Then came oil and electricity, and once again we are standing on the collective problematic precipice of need -- will we leap into the abyss of chaos and break down? Or will humankind somehow break through yet again? In times of need, new solutions come into existence. We need to prepare for the structural changes that will accommodate these new developments. Instead of lingering in the stagnant swamps of static thought, we should be acquiring an evolutionary perspective. And this is a perspective of sudden and innovative breakthroughs (what evolutionary biologists refer to as "punctuated equilibrium"). Just as in our human fossil record, so too in our patterns of human consciousness: Long periods of stasis followed by sudden leaps of progress and change. Often in those periods of stasis the seeds of developmental change are planted. The farmer knows that planted seeds do not sprout overnight. Philosophers, artists, creative change agents, amongst others, all work to plant the seeds of evolutionary potential. Then when the right temperature arrives (when the "cosmic wind blows"), the crops will gain their moment of optimum nutrition and push rapidly through the topsoil to partake of the sun's rays -- rapid growth will thus occur.
Our seeds have been planted -- and continue to be planted -- and the new sun is radiating upon the earth. These seeds of radical and necessary change are poking through our planetary topsoil, and will be the harvest for the generations to come. We need to start getting excited about this, rather than lingering too long in the despondent waiting rooms of old energy. The cotton (yourself) needs to get closer to the flame -- if you wish to be set alight!
This next phase in human evolution will be focused on internal development, which means forming greater contact with one's self. Of course, there will be impressive technological changes emerging too, yet a balance will need to be found where our technologies work in conjunction with our real needs, rather than as crutches to conquer the world "out there." It is likely that technologies will become less abrasive and more subtle, even blending into the background of our everyday lives. This is already occurring, as we have shifted from the telegraph cable, to optic fiber, and now to WiFi -- and this transition into the ethereal will continue. Yet the real question will concern how we, as individuals within the collective, learn to access our own truths. This will be the essence of the re-calibration needed upon this small yet beautiful planet of ours -- and will be the heart of the genuine revolution set to occur.
For more on emotional wellness, click here.]]>Stepping Away: The Art of Self-Detachmenttag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.28103442013-03-05T14:12:18-05:002013-05-05T05:12:01-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/self-vigilance and become more mindful of our external impacts -- and those niggling moments of negativity. In this final blog on the theme of "breaking the spell," I wish to discuss the simple technique of stepping away.
The technique of stepping away involves a person being able to detach from situations that they may find distracting, noisy, or confusing. What this suggests is that a person should be able to move inward for a short time when they feel it necessary to have some space away from tensions, or events that are antagonistic or disruptive to one's state. It is also about stepping away from using all of one's physical faculties, in order to conserve energy. For example, if you are sitting quietly, you don't need all your senses on full awareness. A person should learn when to not only step back from physical engagements, but also from emotional attachments and other involvements of the senses. This can be achieved at various moments throughout the day: five minutes here or there. It can be done on the metro, traveling to work, or on a bus. You don't need to detach to the point that you are not aware of external circumstances -- especially if you are on the street! It is about shifting your priorities of internal and external involvement.
Each of us can successfully insulate ourselves from unnecessary external noises and impacts by a reasonable and calm, organized withdrawal. There is no need to put cotton wool in the ears! This technique can be used whenever it is felt to be appropriate -- there is no hard-and-fast rule. As in everything, it depends upon each individual's circumstances and their state of being. It also allows for each person to create moments throughout the day for quiet reflection, moments to halt the flow of chatter. These can be small moments to be enjoyed, and that refresh one mentally and physically. In a sense, it is like taking a break, only that the break is often in the middle of everyday life. For example, you are traveling on the metro and the carriage is full of passengers all squeezed together with an armada of free newspapers. There is the screech of brakes, the hum of the train, the almost inaudible buzz of music seeping through earphones. The situation is both disturbing and stressful. Why should you always begin your day like this? So: Step back within yourself. Pull your focus inward, turn down some of your senses, recollect some fond memories, or recite some words to yourself. Don't allow the external impacts to affect you, or to enter into your inner space.
There is no need to leave the world behind: You still need to be relatively alert in case there is a madman loose in the carriage. You only need to step away from the bustle of external impacts and impressions. In effect, you are suspending a part of your social involvement. You are conserving your "self" and your energies. Involved in this is also a measured degree of restraint. Exercising restraint means imposing self-discipline in that you are avoiding conditioned reactions and sudden impulses. As in being vigilant, a person can, after observation, decide to refrain from exercising conditioned responses. Such impulses, judgments, preconceived attitudes are put to one side. This is a halting, or stepping away, from indulging in particular social terms of reference. A person is thus learning to restrain themselves at specific moments.
So stepping away infers exercising patience and restraint under the right conditions until a situation is better understood. The alternative may be an impulsive response based on layers of conditioning. So if you are not sure about how to act within a particular situation, pull back a little and show some personal restraint. By doing this you are in fact looking after yourself. You are learning how to detach from unnecessary conditioning, whether mental or emotional. This also helps a person to refrain from acts of pettiness and unwarranted attachment. Forms of pettiness and attachment are traits that quickly drain personal energies, and in the end become something that a person is unable to let go of.
To summarize, in a modern global world that increasingly seeks to distract our attention and awareness, these are small yet useful and significant techniques. After all, as we walk our individual paths we each need to learn about our innate powers that we possess to change the perspective of our lives. We are, after all, surrounded by a constant stream of impacts, influences, and events. We should never forget that we have at our disposal a great reservoir of human energy. We each must take personal responsibility to take care of our inner states of harmony and balance, in order to create such balance in our everyday lives.
For more on emotional wellness, click here.]]>Being Vigilant: Waking Up From Our Self-Slumbertag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.27230352013-02-21T11:14:02-05:002013-04-23T05:12:01-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/"break the spell" of our many layers of social conditioning is not as difficult as it sounds. The first step is one of awareness, that is, to acknowledge within ourselves that our personas are part social-construct put together from a whole range of external impacts that we receive as part of growing up. In a previous blog post I discussed how we could begin to manage our everyday energies as part of this self-awareness. Revitalizing our energetic and creative capacities is thus, in one aspect, about being vigilant with oneself, as the rest of this blog discusses.
By exercising self-vigilance, a person can learn to become more aware of the multiple interactions that engage us with the exterior environment, its forces and influences. One method in developing vigilance is through awareness of one's own "steps" that are taken within daily life. What this calls for is observation and attention to those times when either action or inaction is required. And in such situations, to always act towards the positive. There are also situations when positive inaction is important. When a person can observe and feel when correct action or inaction is required, then this triggers the right use of energy. In our daily lives it is critical that each person uses their store of energy correctly. This involves correct thinking and/or right action at the right time. It is not about being critical of oneself or observing with the intention of finding fault. Self-vigilance is more about producing a state of watchful harmony. By being more open to positive impacts and situations, a person can be more alert to develop and capitalize upon such beneficial moments and conditions. Such moments can also be developed further, and the energies extended. Yet we should also be careful not to contrive or manufacture artificial conditions that are not in genuine harmony with our state or inner priorities.
Being vigilant also requires that each of us feel natural and at ease with ourselves. In other words, we should become used to observing ourselves and come to feel quietly confident with the relationship. Within this vigilant state, a person can also observe their own thought processes, and exert greater control and discipline over them -- not letting them run around like wild tigers causing internal havoc and distress. This disciplined attentiveness to one's own actions, thoughts, and general participation in everyday life does not concern critical judgment or chastising oneself. We can each be gently critical, for sure, yet it is all too easy to become hostile toward oneself, and then the blame-game begins. It is necessary to make sure that we are comfortable observing ourselves -- sometimes passively, other times in a critically constructive manner.
The intention behind self-vigilance is to stimulate a degree of awareness so that a person may be in a better position to observe their forms of conditioning (physical, mental, and emotional). A person can then develop upon this knowledge to gain a better understanding of themselves. Developing awareness involves a level of discipline that in turn helps to focus an individual's personal energies. These energies affect the quality of life of a person, their environment, and the people around them. Therefore, what each person "puts out," so to speak, is their own responsibility. Within such a conscious universe, each of us should learn how to behave! This does not imply being "more-than-human"; rather, what is required of us is that we become more fully human.
Being vigilant also involves being on the alert for when negativity is acting within and against a person. Negativity by itself has no capacity for control; it seeks only to exploit vulnerable situations and circumstances. For example, if a person's state is not fully balanced, the negative will try to "sneak in" to give a further push away from the positive. In this case each individual needs to exercise discipline and be on the lookout for negative intrusions. When negativity is sensed to be present a person needs to act quickly, as it often takes longer for the positive to "wake up" and counteract the situation. In normal circumstances, however, the average person has only a tiny portion of negativity within them. Yet the positive is less alert than the negative and a person can be momentarily taken over by negative impulses if they are not careful. The positive needs more time to kick in and get the situation under control. This is why being vigilant is so important when guarding the self against unwanted impacts, intrusions, and loss of personal energy. If an individual's social environment is more exposed to negative impacts (from work or people) the more imperative it is to be on-guard during these situations. The negative is nothing to be feared; otherwise there is the tendency to give it more importance than it deserves. Try to remember that every negative experience contains its own learning factor. In general, negativity seeks confusion, to react against the opposing energy, which is balance and harmony. Negative energy thus acts to disturb harmonious and developmental thinking. Yet it cannot control you or take you over -- unless you yourself give power to the negative energy. It is also a matter of how a person perceives the situation at hand. All of us, at some point, have been faced with a problem; however, for most of the time we are faced with daily situations. Every problem is also a situation, yet not every situation is a problem. First we must ask ourselves what we are facing: Is it a problem or a situation? Once a person knows this they are better equipped to deal with the matter, and with an appropriate investment of energies.
Being vigilant is one technique for dealing with the everyday social matrix of distracting influences and impacts. The other technique is what can be referred to as stepping away -- which shall be the subject of the next blog.
For more on wisdom, click here.]]>Revitalizing Our Creative Energiestag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.26166032013-02-06T11:09:47-05:002013-04-08T05:12:01-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
Energy is a force of material quantity and should be considered in terms of its quantitative value. Too many people too much of the time spend energy needlessly on unnecessary and unpleasant emotions, thoughts, and actions. Energy gets used up on expectations, mood swings, nervousness, irritability, wrong imagination, negative thoughts/intentions, self-pity, etc. Desires and misplaced attention, for example, are primary ways of losing this quantitative energy. The fanciful desires that come into us from our exterior social world distract and sap our energies. If we could but form small specific goals within our everyday life, and achieve them, this would create more permanent energy within us. As an exercise, we can try to begin with small aims that are realizable before moving onto larger goals. Allow these aims to be formed not from want but from need.
A helpful formulation is energy retention, energy intention, whereby storing and retaining as much personal energy as possible helps to strengthen other faculties. This personal energy can then be made available for physical aims and achievements through focused intention. A lack of a conscious aim within life goes hand in hand with unfocused and undisciplined interior energy. It is a basic fact of our lives that we give away our energy too easily. It is thus necessary to save, store, and manage one's personal energy, even if for the primary reason that a person needs enough personal energy for self-development. Energy is often lost through unnecessary physical/muscular exertion, unfocused mental distractions, and emotional nervousness or stress.
The picture may become clearer if we consider that one of the functions of the human being is to assist in the movement of energies. Humans are agents of transmission -- for themselves, for people around them, and for their environment. It can be said that humans both individually and collectively operate as transducers of energies. The human body is like a biological battery -- it accumulates, develops, and distributes energies. As such, it is necessary for a person to be in harmonious relations with their interactions: with people, situations, emotions, and physical posturing. These concepts are not new; in fact, they form the basis of our everyday world. People often talk of sensing "bad vibes" between people or even in a place. When something just doesn't "feel right," we need to trust these instinctual signs. It is our responsibility to find and nurture right alignments. For example, when in the presence of some people, we may recognize that we always have a feeling of being drained of energy. It is as if these people were sucking the energy away from us. In these circumstances we can refer to such people as "psychic vampires." Not because they are necessarily evil or dangerous, but because their energy alignments are such that they "pull in" the energy around them. The reasons for this are various, yet the outcome invariably the same. If it is not your function to "feed them," then move away -- just don't entertain their energy.
The quality of a person's energy fields/vibrations is thus relative to their mental and emotional condition. Negative mental states will be accompanied by discordant vibrations. Some of these vibrations will remain within the energy of the person's body, affecting them physically, whilst the remainder will resonate into the exterior environment. Just as in the vibration of musical sounds, a person's vibration affects the people around them by a form of "induction." In simpler terms, everything is in resonance with every other thing. Every thought we have, every act we perform, has its direct and indirect results through the resonance and transference of energies. It is a universal law taught by all the perennial wisdom traditions that like attracts like. A person is liable to attract the positive just as they can attract the negative. One's interior mental state is thus a valve to exterior energies and conditions. Being mindful of one's thoughts and state of mind is primary to a disciplined management of personal energy.
If an external influence impacts upon your mental state, as in feeling stressed or confused, then create a mental "stop." Assess the situation and restart by calling forth and generating intent. By putting deliberate mental intention into a situation or event, a person is creating an energetic force that both fuels and protects them. Similarly, to alter a disagreeable state of mind, we each should seek out those activities that feel harmonious to us. For example, when the mind is confused or frustrated, we can listen to some relaxing music. Or we can go for a favorite walk in the woods or be near to nature. By engaging in activities that create a favorable resonance, we can learn to revitalize and plug our seeping energies. This is a necessary practice when dealing with energy management. After all, if you had a pot of gold, you wouldn't go about throwing out handfuls of gold coins. Why do the same with our individual quantities of personal energy? In this sense, we need to be ever vigilant in how we exercise our attention.
Managing and revitalizing our creative energies is all about placing our attention onto the awareness of our physical, mental, and emotional energies. Once we can learn to place our attention onto these issues, it may surprise us how our perceptions begin to change!
For more on wisdom, click here.]]>Breaking the Spell: Dealing With a Distracting Realitytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.25190962013-01-22T06:44:02-05:002013-03-24T05:12:02-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
Being more aware as a person first requires of us that we listen to ourselves. It then requires that we take great care in how we listen and interpret the external world. It is not a practice that requires one to be skinny and ascetic, nor need it be mystical or hysterical. In fact, it is more often humorous and straight-forward: more science than superstition. For many people the linkage between the exterior and interior worlds still remains murky and fuzzy. Most daily perceptions and thought processes remain constricted by layers of social conditioning and operate largely mechanically. It helps if we can begin by understanding how much "wrong thinking" we perpetuate in regard to everything we claim as our own: our thoughts, views, beliefs, tastes, habits. In actual fact, so much of our "baggage" is formed through imitation or from our cultural patterns of conditioning. An old proverb says, "They that drink of the old wine have no place for the new." Our "old wine" has been provided by our social conditioning; and whilst they may vary according to various cultures, they all follow some fundamental basics.
With few rare exceptions all people are brought up within very clearly-defined cultural parameters. These dominating parameters attempt to construct sets of accepted socio-cultural norms of thought and behavior. These operate through such social mechanisms as personal faith/religion, science, language and emotions, denial and doubt, happiness and fear, safety and security (identity and belonging), status and materialism. In the end, we reinforce beliefs that have grown into us, accepting and defending them as our own. Of course, we only "believe" those things that we want, or that fit within our perceptual paradigms. And we wish to support the investment we have made in "our beliefs." Thus, people seek out and promote those activities and experiences that serve to reinforce and validate their own beliefs. People rarely seek out those experiences that will actively challenge their perceptions and thus create flexibility of thought. How many far-right conservatives would spend time reading the latest socialist newsletter? Yet the fixed idea is the enemy of free thinking.
Our collective consensus reality is a bewitching spell. It is an illusory shared "reality" that both fascinates and beguiles. Thus, to "awaken" our faculties of perception and awareness, a person needs to recognize the ways in which they think and react, and in doing so to develop their own inner strengths. The average person far too often acts on their thoughts and desires without taking responsibility for them. Thus, we need to assume the responsibility of our presence in the world. By taking responsibility in this way we make each moment and encounter our own. By not taking such responsibility we let events drift away from us, or are powerless to defend against their disruptive influence. To break the spell of our multi-layered social conditioning requires that a whole new system of perception is brought into being. It calls for mental, emotional, and energetic reserves of concentration that can replace a person's old conditioning with terms of reference that are more positive and useful.
To summarize, in a modern global world that increasingly encourages a 24/7 connected lifestyle it is important that each of us manages to find balance, harmony, and coherence within our inner states. We each also need to manage our energy levels as we seek to gain a meaningful perspective on our lives. In a series of blog posts I hope to discuss some short yet useful and significant techniques for managing our attention and focusing our perceptions within the modern world. After all, we should not forget that despite the constraining forces that surround our social lives, we have at our disposal a great reservoir of human energy. We each must step forward into the driving seat of our own change, and learn to steer our own future(s).
For more on wisdom, click here.]]>Welcome to 2013: The Future Is Going to Last a Long Timetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.24008562013-01-04T05:32:50-05:002013-03-06T05:12:01-05:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/Sincerity -- with others and with oneself -- is one of the few tools we have for gaining our personal freedom.
The value of sincerity is of great importance, now more than ever, as we are surrounded by tales, stories, and gossip, selling us such things as immediate ascension, new "light bodies," cataclysmic futures, and so on. The reality (or the "greater truth") of this is more subtle and yet more powerful -- it is the ongoing development of human society and the evolution of human consciousness. And it is an ongoing work in progress -- and it is as simple and as difficult as that...
So we need to be sincere with ourselves; for if we are unable to be, then who can do it for us? This sincerity means acknowledging that no matter how the world appears to be, external to us, the real work begins within us. And the real work does not arrive with a megaphone announcement, with sign-up fee-paying courses, or with emotionally stimulating/gratifying commercial events. Often, such subtlety of work begins with a silence -- a quietness of acknowledgement, attention, concentration, aspiration, and intention.
There will be no great "end of days" cataclysm at the end of December 2012 -- the proof of this is that you are reading these very words after December 21, and no doubt relaxing as you do so. You are still here, aren't you? If the "greatest event" of the last 26,000 years couldn't shake you off the planet -- or out of your skin -- then what can? So, I would say we can safely acknowledge that the human species is here to stay. That's the good news. The passing of 2012 heralds the passing of an important signifier. It signifies that we are entering a period of human history where ignorance can no longer be used as an excuse for inactivity. If anything, the "Cult of 2012" woke many of us up to the realization that global humanity, and our planetary civilization, is going through a period of transition -- and all may not be well at this point. Transition signifies a re-organization: a shifting of energies as well as physical systems, world views, perceptions, and lifestyles. And in the midst of such "spring cleaning," we need to be prepared to be adaptive, flexible, and open for positive developmental change. Why should this be so difficult a concept to grasp? After all, we wouldn't spring clean the house without first taking out or re-arranging the furniture. So why should it be so different for us? We need to re-arrange the furniture of our thinking, beliefs, models, etc. in order to welcome in the new spring arrangements. After this, we can learn to appreciate that things can -- and will -- get better. First, we just have to deal with the discomfort -- and the responsibility -- of grand planetary change.
With the responsibility of change comes work -- mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Since being "human" means that we are not one "simple unit" but an integrated and inter-related being of many "bodies," it is crucial that we exist and operate in harmony. For example, we are in dis-harmony if our physical body is in good shape yet our thoughts are erratic and disturbed, or when we think we have balanced thoughts yet our emotional selves are distressed. So the real and true stability is within ourselves: From here, real change emerges.
Change upon planet Earth will come through us, the people, and the attitudes, awareness, compassion, sincerity, etc. that we embody and manifest. This is the real stability that can be passed on to those around us: our family, friends, communities, social networks, and so on. As centred, subtle, uplifting energies manifest through more and more people, change will then emerge also within our physical environments. It will not appear overnight. There will be no post-2012 fifth-dimensional paradise. Yet the energies are moving in the right direction, and there are millions of people already feeling this joy of change. We must therefore maintain this intention of great opportunity within change, and not become disheartened. As the infamous phrase puts it: "Illegitimi non carborundum." ("Don't let the bastards grind you down.") Why should we any more put up with "people-potential-bashing"? Yes, we do have the potential to bring forth the unprecedented potential of human energy, creativity, and vision. We therefore need to align ourselves with this potential.
Working in life, as part of life, with infectious energy, motivation, and focused intention will allow us to ride the waves of change rather than be engulfed by them. If you are reading these words now, it is because you are ready for this change and responsibility -- and have the capacity to participate. Generational change is just that -- it takes place over generations. Sounds like a long time? Well, in evolutionary terms we are zipping along; we are witnessing exponential change that would awe our ancestors, and make our descendents proud. No time to stop now -- the future is right here where you are standing...
Welcome to 2013, and beyond -- the future is going to last a long time.
Society offers the entire stimulus we need; there is no need for us to seek out more. Likewise, it is not necessary that we retreat to a cave in order to escape this sensory overload. Any true spiritual endeavor has to be in harmony with one's life.
For more on wisdom, click here.]]>Crisis Is a State of Mind and a State of Placetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.22171282012-11-30T07:49:23-05:002013-01-30T05:12:01-05:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
This confusion is constructed in the world around us as our external projections -- it is the wants, hopes, greed, security, possessions, etc. that we manifest in our heads to be the objects we reach out for. In other words, we have become accustomed to living in outreach rather than within reach. The consequences of this behavior, and state of mind, are that many of us increasingly live outside of our means. We then normalize this state of affairs; and if we slip away from this we then crave it more. The more we are accustomed to living amongst our external projections of possession and security, the more we are vulnerable to their absence, and their dire financial costs. Crisis is often a state of mind because we live in a world that is not in the present, or perhaps not even possible for us -- so we create a world of falsity to supply the needs we either think or are persuaded to think we need.
We feel anger at the banks because they are the new robber barons* who exploited our needs and wishes for credit loans, houses, new cars, modern kitchens, etc. Then the banks were repaid with taxpayer's money when their dubious trading practices turned to mush. Yet by not living with the reality of our present -- by living within the allure of our external projections -- we became weak and vulnerable to these temptations and promises of betterment. Their crises are now our crises for many of us because we bought into the same game, whether we understood the rules or not. We shared a similar state of mind; and this "mind" was lulled into living in a world where we thought we could have it all at little extra cost. We forgot about paying the ferryman**, his interest at 20 percent above inflation. To continue with this metaphor, it is like being stuck on the river, dependent upon the oars of another. Globalized media loves such an image that shows our collective predicament. Only that it is not a collective crisis.
Global transition is, as it says on the tin, a global phenomenon. Yet "crisis" is about a state of place as well as a state of mind; and this state of place is not universal. Where a person lives dictates, to various influential degrees, how one lives. As a traveler I have lived and traveled through various places that, as an English-born "Westerner," I am socially unaccustomed to. Such places include Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and recently India. When I was driving through Morocco in late 2009 -- a year on from the first financial troubles -- I noticed how people did not appear to be involved in our crisis, as they had their own daily survival issues to deal with. They were living within the needs and struggles of their everyday present circumstances. Such living was focused upon another kind of world. It was still a world where crises existed, only that such challenges took forms related to their cultural context. These were immediate needs, and still very much within their means.
In my recent journey in India, and the intense experiences it offered me, I felt a similar sense of a people who lived within the present. The notion of a global banking and credit crisis just is not part of the everyday experience for many of the local Indians. And why should it be? After all, this is a context and situation that has largely been constructed and maintained by Western peoples forging a world that exists to provide for us beyond our means. This, like our insatiable exploitation of finite energy sources, is clearly unsustainable. So why are so many of us "addicted" to living in a world that projects beyond our present means? Is our mind-set -- our greed for need -- insatiable?
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the world appears to becoming increasingly confusing for so many people. It is becoming a distorted fantasy -- like walking through a carnival hall of mirrors where shapes and sizes are oddly and grotesquely distorted. These are the distortions and distractions of our externalized objects -- our projections onto the reality-canvas around us. As the safety phrase on the side mirrors of motor vehicles so expressively warn us: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. This is because the mirrors' convexity, whilst providing a useful field of view, also makes objects appear smaller. Similarly, the mirrors of our perception distort the immediacy of our situation. Instead of living in outreach for a world that is constructed for us seemingly farther away -- i.e., beyond our means -- we need to be living much more within the present, and thus within sustainable needs and wishes.
The immediacy of our world -- the "reality" of our essential life -- is closer to us than it appears. Perhaps the side mirrors we manoeuvre our mobile lives by should serve as signs to awaken something more in us.
* A well-known term used in the 19th century that applied to businessmen, and thus businesses, who were viewed as having used questionable practices to amass their wealth.
** A reference to Greek mythology, where Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades.
For more on wisdom, click here.]]>Adapting to a World in Revolutiontag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20915362012-11-08T04:26:55-05:002013-01-07T05:12:01-05:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
Western civilization has created a mindset that, although termed "modern," is one that is overly rational and logical, and which seeks to regulate and control. It has also, unfortunately, succeeded in taking the enchantment away from a mystifying universe. What is clear is that humanity is in the midst of great revolution. Ecological, biological, social and technological systems are now being reorganized because of new developments in energy, communications, and consciousness. Life on planet Earth is entering a phase shift of almost ground-breaking dimensions.
The 21st century has been reached through a growing series of critical thresholds, moving toward current global, social and environmental limits. However, at such thresholds new arrangements are forced into being. Such emergent new arrangements generally occur within the context of interrelated systems, where change in one system/structure has potential to affect many other structures both directly and indirectly. We can say that the revolutions set to occur on this planet will have profound physical -- structural, environmental, sociocultural -- as well as deep psychological effects.
The media report dramatic changes due to climatic disruption: earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions. We are also witnessing a surge in popular protest, as decades of corrupt or inefficient social systems face their nemesis. Yet within this outward turmoil, more subtle shifts are occurring, such as the transition of the "modern" mind from the industrial-globalisation model toward a life-sustaining, ecological-integral world-view. Western thinking, with its linear notion of history and progress, has robbed us of much enchantment and promise. Many ancient teachings (both spiritual and secular) and many indigenous cultures speak to us of cyclic processes over long periods of historical time, such as the Yuga cycles. These cycles also coincide, or are coexistent with, changes in perception and worldviews. In other words, major social revolutions are accompanied by great shifts in human consciousness. Such shifts also correspond to changes in how the human species understands, and subsequently harnesses, varying forms of energy, upon a progression of discovering ever-finer and less dense/corrosive forms of energy. It is my view that in the years to come, humanity will find itself part of a world "in revolution" in adapting to utilize and make good on new developments in energy, communications, and consciousness.
With the understanding of how finer, more subtle energies work, we may develop a relationship with technology that catalyzes a "re-wiring" of the human psyche. We are already seeing this emerge with the rise of a globally connected empathic mind. This empathic mind, which is born out of increased physical and emotional connectivity, may then be the forerunner to new generations being born with heightened intuitive minds. We might refer to them as "supramental" minds, where intuitive rationality, or heightened common sense, becomes the predominant state of mind. In other words, it is recognizing mindfulness beyond our physical mind, and which encapsulates our growing awareness of our place within a grand, creatively dynamic cosmological order. We can say that it is a mindfulness that is simultaneously vertical (transpersonal) as well as horizontal (integral). Within this transpersonal-integral mindfulness, we can tell ourselves a new story -- a story of a living cosmos that is dynamic, creative and which is a continuous flow-through of energy. Within a living universe the whole underlying energetic order is recreated and sustained at each moment, rather than being a lifeless, random mass. Such a shift in perception of the meaning of our cosmos holds profound implications for our understanding and significance of human life. In the coming years, humanity may advance not only in its scientific discoveries of "finer energies," but also in the species development of innate capacities and organs of intuition, empathy and new patterns of thinking. In stepping further along its evolutionary journey, humanity will see that the cosmos not only continuously sustains us but that we are all intimately related to everything that exists. After nearly 14 billion years of evolution upon Earth, humans may finally regard themselves as agents of participation within an active, creative cosmos.
In the years to come, humanity will find itself needing to adapt to a world in revolution -- in energy, communications, and mind -- as our lives are catalyzed into new arrangements and possibilities. We need to be prepared to adapt to new worlds and new world-views, and to perceive our opportunities for a creative future.
For more on consciousness, click here.]]>We Are the 'New Normal' -- Not the 'New Age'tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.19184972012-09-27T06:43:02-04:002012-11-27T05:12:01-05:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
The nature of "truth" in our subjective world lies more in the realm of rhetoric than it does in relation to any objective sense of the word. Nobel laureate writer Doris Lessing makes a parody of this in her novel The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire, where one of the main protagonists falls victim to the dreaded disease of "Rhetoric." In a bid to cure him, another friend introduces him to what outwardly is tactfully disguised as the "Institute for Historical Research," when in reality it was constructed as the "Hospital for Rhetorical Diseases." Rhetoric then, for Lessing, is a disease which can afflict people almost unknowingly -- the dis-ease of misapplied language for an explicit agenda. I wonder if many of us are not also suffering from the disease of rhetoric? Is it not, after all, the "forked tongue" that creates much of our polarity?
Unfolding global events are creating polarized energies -- fear, stress, tension, etc. -- that also create disruption in our everyday lives. It feels as if we are being distracted by deliberate design. Further, the presence of fear, anxiety, and distress, as it permeates through the fabric of our societies, can weaken the mental and emotional resilience of people. Then slowly as we begin to see so much of the negative aspects of the world, we find it easy to lose our focus, often without realizing it. The creep of negativity can be imperceptible at first. Maybe we just have feelings of restlessness, then an encroaching apathy. The shadowy wisps of negativity slither in to disturb, disrupt, and distract our thinking, focus, and energy. Anger may also arise, as well as the feeling of deception and loss. Emotions of blame and injustice may also creep in, adding to their counterpart -- disempowerment. Negative energy thus acts to disturb harmonious and developmental thinking. One of the immediate responses to this is frustration -- a sense of being disempowered in a world where everything is seemingly breaking down. It is as if we are being swung back and forth upon some giant pendulum. This is part of the human experience of existing within a physical reality of duality. Life can be likened to a polarity game -- a pendulum swing between opposites.
Polarities trick us into the illusion of taking sides, such as choosing which is the "winning" side and which the "losing." Yet we pay for taking emotional sides: To emotionally feel victorious, or defeated, is an energetic state of duality. We are being distracted into wasting considerable energies if we divide the world into people who are good or evil, rich or poor, intelligent or stupid, important or insignificant. These are social categories based on artificially manufactured criteria -- they are not fundamental truths. By being distracted into the "good" and "bad" of the world we are blighted by the illusion of duality and forced to make judgments. The act of judging is yet another external distraction that takes the attention away from the real source within a person. So too do the strongly polarized energies of fear, stress, anger, etc. disrupt our inner balance, and distract us from ourselves. Polarity forces us to view events and challenges as blessings or curses -- rarely do we see them as simply events to be experienced. So we should refrain from too easily jumping into the polarity game. This is an emotional seesaw that sways a person from one encounter to the next. Hakim Sanai, an 11th-century Persian poet, wrote that: "Good' and 'evil' have no meaning in the world of the Word: they are names, coined in the world of 'me' and 'you.'"
Let us remember that we are living in the 21st century A.D. -- "attention distracter."
We may not be able to escape the effects of polarity completely, yet we can shift ourselves to a more harmonious position. Physical life will ensure that the pendulum will continue to swing, only that with awareness and restraint we may escape being carried along with it.
We need to tell ourselves that negative feelings only control us if we give our power to the negative energy. Negativity by itself has no capacity for control; so it seeks to exploit vulnerable situations and circumstances. Negativity is not self-sustainable, so it must be fed. It requires that we give it our energy, our focus, fear, and importance. Its presence is a distortion. Imagine that we walk into a dark, unlit room; the darkness surrounds us and we feel that it is overpowering. Yet we only need to light one tiny match to bring a glow of light into the room that disperses the darkness. This analogy fits also for how negativity operates. We feel it is overwhelming, when in fact this is its weakness. The truth is that no matter our states of bitterness, anger, frustration, even depression, they can be overcome by only the slightest presence of positive focus (the lighted match).
Our responsibility then is to empower ourselves against distraction. We should be ambassadors for the change we wish to see. In order not to sell ourselves short it is important we normalize the new ideals. If we become sucked into conspiracy, paranoia, or angry behavior then we do a disservice to our ideals and give our detractors their excuses to use against us. In our everyday life we are the "door-to-door salespeople" for the ideals and change we wish to see in the world. After all, we wouldn't buy any products from a frantic, frustrated salesperson... would we? So in order to quietly overwhelm the current models we need to become the best we can be, and to normalize the future into being. We are no longer dealing with alternative theories. We are representing the "new normal" -- not the "new age."
We are not interested in the world's mental games anymore. The negative aspects within the world know they are clinging on for their last gasp, which is why they are struggling with a fury. We can take this not as a sign of their winning, but of their desperation. Their time has already come -- it is now only a matter of time for allowing the transition to penetrate.
For more on consciousness, click here.]]>Holding It All Together: Integrity and Our Sense of Selftag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.18386092012-08-29T11:51:50-04:002012-10-29T05:12:04-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you...
... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it
(Rudyard Kipling -- "If")
The above lines -- taken from Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" -- serve to remind us that we have gained the Earth, our sense of self, if we are able to "keep it together." This loose phrase of "keeping our head" can be interpreted in various ways. To me it suggests that in these times we need to be more mindful of our actions to stay grounded and balanced -- by reliving and connecting with our integrity.
As things around us continue to go awry, plans derailed, and uncertainties magnified; we will be open to increased potentials of frustration. Our comfort zones are also likely to be tested, and we may feel the rise of emotions within us that are waiting to lash out. After all, change is coming at us paradoxically both too fast and too slow. The world around us appears to be shifting fast, yet the real change we wish to see in our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, is for many of us coming too slow. We perhaps have the sensation of being stuck in some dimensional riptide. It can be like the sensation of running in a dream -- our mind is running, or telling us to run, whilst our legs are moving in slow motion. The sensation of change, and of passing time, is rapid, yet the physical activity of change is reduced to cloud-walking. One of the immediate responses to this is frustration -- a sense of being disempowered in a world where everything is seemingly breaking down.
Another feature of our full, information-rich lives is the possibility for "burnout" -- that is, receiving too much information too quickly, trying to process it at an unnatural pace. It is important that we each find a rhythm that is right for us. Recently I heard of a restaurant in the Netherlands that was offering "Dining in the Dark" -- that is, eating your food in pitch black darkness. A person had tried this experience and had written their response -- they said it was a revelatory experience. All the senses were alive -- the food tasted better than they could imagine. There was no distraction from the actual experience of eating. And this is the important point -- no distraction from the self.
We live in a world immersed in sensory and information pollution, and our mainstream media distracts us by design. Entertainment is entrainment, i.e., something that pulls you into its resonance. So amidst busy and rushed lives it is important that we hold everything together. We need to stay focused and ground our energies. Staying grounded is also, for me, about valuing and respecting the self. It is crucial that we do not allow ourselves to become disheartened. Listening or watching the latest mainstream news does not appear to provide us with much hope for the world. More importantly, however, it does not stimulate us into aiming for self-betterment and well-being.
So we need to take a step back and to observe our lives, and to be at ease with who we are and what we are doing right now. A little gentle reflection should not be about beating ourselves up about perceived faults or lapses. It is about acknowledging where we could make some improvements that might add to where we wish to be with ourselves. And it is about taking back our empowerment from external forces that depress and devitalize us. Many external impacts in the world serve to drain us, distract us, depress and disempower us. We have to break away from this and focus on that which uplifts us.
We can, and should, be representative of our ideals. Further, we should aim at normalizing our new ways of thinking and being. This means not being afraid of what "consensus society" may say about our perceptions and perspectives. We are living through an era where we are called upon to be responsible for bringing these new models of thought, behavior, and perception to the world. Let us begin by acknowledging our integrity and stay true to our honor and focused balance. It is important to speak our own understanding -- not only to share where we are each at, but also to validate and give strength to our sense of self. The world we exist in often seems like a topsy-turvy, upside-down reality. When we can observe this more objectively we will see that our established systems of ideas are no longer sustainable or for the betterment of humanity. We thus need to acknowledge this, yet without fear or anger. Then when we have processed these truths we can be in a position to talk about them more freely. We can live our new perceptions and perspectives with inner freedom and integrity. We can hold it all together in ourselves -- after all, we have within us all the tools we need...
For more on emotional wellness, click here.]]>For All We'll Ever Need: The Law of Energetic Exchangetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.18157952012-08-21T15:25:02-04:002012-10-21T05:12:12-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
Could we eat our homes, our shares, or our retirement fund? If the supermarkets stopped supplying food, would we know our neighbors well enough to ensure that we would all have enough food to survive? Do we even speak with our neighbors anymore? Or are we constantly occupied with thoughts of how we are going to sustain an unsustainable credit rating? These questions may appear absurd, yet they form part of the fabric of reality by which the value of our humanity is judged.
Yet there are many alternatives to meeting our needs. However, for our needs to be met we must also be completely certain of what our true needs are to sustain us. In this, we require a small manner of self examination. We are called upon to examine our life, our priorities, aims, and what fulfils us. Such self-examination also requires that we embrace and adopt change in our lives. Yet "change" does not necessarily have to be met with associations of fear, doubt, or unease. Sometimes when we are faced with the urgency for change there is a very good -- and real -- reason for this. Part of the current need for change we are faced with is the incumbent value systems that categorize our worth, and our belief system in the illusion of wealth.
We are using past measuring sticks as part of our tools for creating our future(s). This must surely be inefficient or even absurd at best, and disingenuous, unhealthy, and disastrous (or more) at worst. In order to move forward, to embrace new paradigms of change, we need to begin listening to new narratives. One of these new narratives is the one around how our needs can be met outside of current, and old-paradigm, economic systems. After all, what if we were to find ourselves in a situation where our assets were no longer worth anything -- how would our needs be sustained? This is now occurring to many people within the so-called "wealthy nations" of the world.
Today we are experiencing a range of "shock impacts" to make us reconsider our financial well-being, and our needs in the world. We should be aware that all shocks are in fact catalysts to push us toward co-creating new economic paradigms. We can begin by shifting our patterns of belief away from the accumulation of goods for "accumulation's sake," and toward seeing ourselves as the solution and look to a more globally inclusive approach. The solution to our needs could be on our very own doorsteps. We should look towards the power of the collective -- that is, toward each other for our needs and sharing. After all, there are enough of US on the planet.
With almost seven billion of us on the planet we exist in a world where for every need there can be found a corresponding offering ready and willing to meet that need. This has been referred to as "The Law of Energetic Exchange." The challenge that we have faced, up until now, is that we have not known where to look or how to find that offering for our need. This is no longer the case, as the solution may just have presented itself in the form of an alternative system that actually brings together and matches all needs with all offerings all around the world. This new model is known as Energetic XChange -- a project that connects needs with offerings worldwide.
Imagine, if we can for a moment, that the law of energetic exchange holds true and that for every need there is a valid offering, then we have just completely done away with the need to value any human being's offerings against any form of monetary exchange system. This approach differs from known barter systems and gift economies. If each unique need on the planet has a matching offering then the value of that exchange, in today's monetized system, makes no difference because it is fulfilling a person's need on the planet and is of great personal value rather than monetary. This could be a significant revaluation of our socio-cultural value systems if fully realized.
The model of Energetic XChange offers a new economic paradigm that is dedicated in service to all humanity. Further, the practicality of Energetic XChange lies in its simplicity. There is no cost to use the system and it is not a commercial venture. Its great potential lays not so much in its ability to assist us through the transition in our faulting economic systems, but rather in that it is actually bringing humanity together with every offering exchanged. In participating in Energetic XChange a person will in all likelihood come into contact, as a minimum, with two people whom they will have never known before. These new contacts may also be people who are on opposing sides of the planet. This cross-cultural pollination of needs with offerings can bring the world together in the knowledge that there are essentially no differences between us.
The law of energetic exchange can be applied in every community, in every home, in every country on the planet. All it requires is our whole-hearted participation -- and a little faith that all of our needs can always be met in Energetic XChange.
For more on the spirit, click here.]]>Interiorizing the World -- Moving Toward Unity Consciousnesstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.17138742012-07-30T11:39:43-04:002012-09-29T05:12:39-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
The Chinese, with their extraordinary technique and skill, created an elaborate and ornate room befitting the emperor. In the other room, the Greeks polished a room full of mirrors, from floor to ceiling. Once the rooms were done, the emperor got a peek into them.
The Chinese room was done in rich brocade, gold and finery. On the other hand, the room prepared by the Greek artists was so well-polished that it reflected everything in the other room, yet with more brilliance and energetic shine -- whilst at the same time remaining completely empty.
Our external world can be said to be like the elaborate throne room, full of gaudy items that fill and stuff our vision and overload the senses. Our interior world, however, is the refined room of mirrors that reflects the world to us from a place of uncluttered "emptiness."
The reality of our lives is centered around how we absorb the world, take it into us -- inside us -- and transform its energy before we project it out of us again. We can be as alchemical vessels, transmuting the coarser energy of the world through us into the finer. In this way we can participate in co-creating new worlds and new realities.
To interiorize the world is an act of the imaginal. This is not our imagination -- the fantasies, escapist thoughts, etc. that dance in our heads -- but focused and conscious intentions that come from directed thought. A person's own imaginal world -- the internal visionary perspective -- can be a powerful transmutational energy for participating in the world. The imaginal world is not make believe: It is a perception of reality perceived inwardly. The reality of the "invisible interior" can work with us as an important contribution to the world. Perhaps the true alchemy is being able to successfully interiorize the world whilst simultaneously living full and balanced lives within the world.
By bringing our focused conscious interior gaze into our lives we can transcend beyond the illusion of banality. Many people recognize the lack of significant meaning in the social environments that constitute the world(s) we inhabit. The noise of distracting events, news, gimmicky sell, and gadgetry galore stuffs us as turkeys for the cooking. We are in danger of being cooked within the stew of a world accelerating into the absurd. We need to take a step back. We owe it to ourselves to make moments for stepping out and to integrate and connect with our sense of self -- we deserve it. By integrating our lives -- our outer and inner worlds -- we can also integrate our modes of consciousness, and a greater perception can be brought forth from this coherence and unifying consciousness. When our imaginal world actively participates in how we see the world around us, things begin to shift. The world responds to how we interact with it. By developing a grounded and balanced interior "imaginal world," a person is better placed for stepping out into the manifested exterior world.
A person must become as a crucible -- able to act as a synthesis -- between an energetic and vibrant cosmos and a matter-reality of action and consequence. By becoming a crucible (by definition able to withstand high temperatures), a person can act upon the world by actively participating within the sense of reality-making. This ultimately serves to create meaning and significance in everything we do -- even the small, seemingly-mundane things.
In acknowledging and understanding that the inherent interconnectedness, and thus patterns of coherence, between our interior gaze and that which we gaze upon forms a unified whole, we catalyze unity consciousness. Through this we have the capacity to transmute what our "realities" mean to us, and thus how we wish to deal with them. By working on ourselves, our interior world, we are able to also transform the world external to us, as in truth there is no separation -- each a mirror that reflects back the other.
In order to "change the world," we must first become change agents within ourselves. We must aspire to a conscious participation with the constructive forces of the world. Human consciousness is already integrated with every aspect of our reality matrix. All forces and energies are susceptible to the presence of human consciousness. If there is a separation then it is human-made -- a consequence of human thinking -- and thus askew. It is this inner sense of something being askew, or out of place, that makes us feel a lack in our lives -- whether it be a loss of meaning or sense of dislocation. Humanity is naturally integrative and does not consciously seek to separate. Unity consciousness is a conscious awareness of this, and of bringing our imaginal worlds into constructive play within our daily lives. It is as simple and as hard as that.
For more on mindfulness, click here.]]>The New Monastic Individualstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16082042012-06-20T10:13:47-04:002012-08-20T05:12:05-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/Benjamin Barber has noted that the commercialism behind the global takeover of the mental sphere amounts to a kind of "default totalitarianism." If we are not careful, then emerging pockets of positive change are in danger of being consumed by a cultural-social environment where platitudes are taken as profundities. Social critic Morris Berman, writing more than a decade ago, noted that '"'Thinking' now means nothing more than wandering through the latest mental theme park."[1]
The "theme park" is in full swing because our interconnected societies are passing through a period of deep uncertainty. It is a time when the "central core" finds itself vulnerable to the periphery. That is, the consolidated structures of control are seeing disruptive elements emerging to help bring in a new model more appropriate for the next phase. Rather than have sudden collapses, what we have are transformational patterns in which the fragments of the old civilization persist alongside the emergence of the new one. Yet within these "transformational patterns" are the windows of opportunity for the soothsayers, false prophets, gurus, and self-appointed "spiritual" teachers to take advantage of the increased sense of dislocation and fluidity.
There is often a fine line, yet an important one, between becoming empowered, and being pacified and mollified. The status quo loves nothing more than to consume the pacified that are now more comfortable with the situation. However, until the mass at the periphery shift toward the core, the forces that foster social conformity will co-opt these challenges by incorporating the murmurs of the discontented into their own speeches. This serves to give the illusion that serious changes are under way. The truth, unfortunately, is that there is little change from the core stance of the status quo -- our platitudes become theirs, and the only thing that changes hands are empty words.
Yet as we know from the life of social cycles, real change occurs when the "anomalies" -- another word for the change agents -- become too numerous to be absorbed into the incumbent system. That is why individuals and groups "doing their own thing" are so important right now. All great ideas and innovations began life as "disruptive" from the periphery, from "outsiders" -- those people just going it alone, often "outside the box." Morris Berman calls these people the New Monastic Individuals (NMI), and Berman thinks this is where the future lies. I'm inclined to agree with him. Berman puts forth a "new monastic" model of action whereby individuals/groups get on and create new ways of doing things, without fanfare or large billboard announcements. Such monastic work, so to speak, often operates below the radar, being authentic in activity rather than seeking visibility. The monastic worker, in seeking change, chooses a way of life that has meaning and that can be a heritage for the family. Often the monastic worker strives for assisting change within their own communities. They are like ink dots on the paper, slowly spreading their impact by diligent yet creative work. What makes this model not only more appealing today, but also much more effective, is the rise of global communications and distributed networks. Now,the hard-working monastics can connect, share, and collaborate.
So let us be wary of waiting around for the "next big thing'"or some grand televised miracle. If we are waiting for the current global system to implode completely we will have a very long wait. World systems don't disappear -- they re-structure. This re-structuring usually occurs during the decline phase, with the parts of the old model struggling on until they become the materials from which the re-structuring emerges. It's not a simple case of one model suddenly coming in to replace another. During the "rise and fall" pattern, there occurs the recycling and re-use of social structures, practices, and resources. In other words, it is a process of transformation that occurs within the dynamics of internal collapse. It is difficult at times to see this transformation, as if transition is indistinguishable from disintegration in the early stages. Yet in times of transition (such as now), the monastic workers -- or "disruptive innovators," as they can be called -- have greater potential because there is so much instability in the world. That is, the larger "system" is more vulnerable to shocks.
So doing things our own way, participating through our "small-scale" contributions, can have greater impact than would normally. It is an ideal time now to look toward our own lives, our future, and start to create for ourselves that which we wish to see. A time to examine our lifestyles (the food we eat, our securities, our dependencies, our networks, our finances, etc.), and to be truly honest with ourselves. Can we, for example, start new community food projects? Can we begin new local currencies? What can we share, or barter, with others?
The future is going to be about the people on the ground. It will be about the changes each of us makes in our lives to be more aligned with moving forward. It will be about how resilient we are to the shocks/changes that are coming. It will be about how to cultivate a focused and positive state of mind and being. And importantly, it will be a question of how to be inherently spiritual in our selves yet practical in our applications.
Transitional periods are not normal times -- they are periods where individual action can have a much larger impact on historical developments... a time for monastic endeavor perhaps?
For more on the spirit, click here.]]>Changing the Game Play: Time to Feel Empoweredtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15732652012-06-07T17:18:14-04:002012-08-07T05:12:03-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/"If you never change your mind, why have one?" -- Edward de Bono
There is a story that is told about a wandering stranger who once stopped a king in the street. Furious, the king shouted, "How dare you, a man of little worth, interrupt the progress of your sovereign?"
The stranger answered: "Can you truly be a sovereign if you cannot even fill my begging bowl?" And he held out his bowl to the king. In wishing to show his generosity to the crowd that had now assembled, the king ordered the stranger's begging bowl to be filled with gold.
But no sooner had the bowl appeared to be full of gold coins than they disappeared and the bowl seemed empty once again. Sack after sack of gold coins was brought, and still the begging bowl devoured them all. "Stop," screamed the king, "this trick of yours is emptying my treasury!"
"Perhaps to you I am emptying your treasury," said the stranger, "but to others I am merely illustrating a truth."
"And what truth is this?" asked the king.
"The truth is that the bowl is the desires of humankind, and the gold is what humanity is given. There is no end to humanity's capacity to devour, without being in any way changed. See, the bowl has eaten nearly all your wealth, but it is still an empty piece of carved old wood, which has not partaken of the nature of gold in any respect."
Our old ways of doing things are devouring both the world and our own sense of worth without affecting real change within us. Observing our current epoch, with its varied ideological and political conflict, mental conditioning, and strife among peoples and nations, it appears that our collective body is in a state of global psychosis. This state we find ourselves collectively a part of is a reflection of our perceptions and current modes of consciousness. The state of our human consciousness is different today from how it was in our distant past.
Our far human ancestors exhibited a magical-mythical mode of consciousness, where the world around them existed together as a vibrant matrix of connected, living energies. It appears that this mode of consciousness participates in correspondence with the flow of matter-reality, both organic and inorganic. They may not have been self-conscious of this model, yet it was an interpretation of reality where consciousness was primary, and all of life was magically woven together.
Western science, which for the last millennia has asserted itself as the dominant hegemony, has been at pains to stress that matter is primary and that consciousness is a secondary by-product from our mental activity. This emphasis upon the primacy of matter promotes a materialistic reality and lifestyle.
The modern worldview that denies the primacy of consciousness is fostering forms of human alienation, both psychological and social. Yet human beings, as social creatures, are in need of meaning and significance in their lives as much as they are in need of air to breathe and food to eat. It is a great paradox that modern science (human consciousness) has produced a view of the cosmos that has no room for consciousness.
The tragedy of humankind may be that it has almost no suspicion of how the collective psyche is contaminated through exploitative use of mythological images, collective stereotypes, and subconscious signifiers that play upon our perceptions. The result is that we have now arrived at a critical time in our socio-cultural evolution, with all focus and attention placed externally onto physical trappings, material gains, and security fears.
Any society or civilization that makes the material world its sole pursuit and object of concern cannot but devolve in the long run. Such misappropriation of perspective is partly responsible in creating the present chaotic situation of our world.
We need to make our mental focus and conscious potential a part of our everyday experience. This includes being conscious of the type of impacts we receive and to avoid those impacts and influences that are negative. We should each take responsibility to seek out exposure to more positive forms of influence. For example, words and expressions of perennial truth encourage us -- they give us strength because we instinctively recognize truthfulness. Our physical body unconsciously reacts to this as through the form of galvanic skin response, pupil response, or through our electrical nerve responses. In short, our body feels the essence of what impacts us, and negative or false information weakens us. This concept was researched scientifically through testing muscle strength. Dr. David Hawkins* has written extensively on how muscle testing shows that various impacts create either strong or weak reactions from the body. In his work he relates how people who listened to lies proved to exhibit a weakened muscle reaction, whilst those who listened to positive words and statements showed a strong muscle response. Dr. Hawkins's research found that particular lower energy "attractors," which serve as negative energy depleting emotions, are shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger and pride. Higher energy attractors are the welfare or positive emotions such as courage, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, and joy. However, he also notes that more than 99 percent of humans calibrate below the level of Joy. Now, this is something that surely needs to be changed.
We need to take charge of how we participate in the life-reality around us. We should not be afraid to say NO to insane conditions and demands. We need to accept the possibility of inner evolution (work on ourselves) and the larger potential for conscious evolution as a species. It is time to change the game plan: to be conscious and mindful of our interactions, our perceptions, and our emotions. We need to recognize we often live our lives within a distracting social milieu, and therefore the imperative that exists to shift to a positive understanding of our inherent capacities and strength. In other words, to feel empowered and not powerless, to possess an inner confidence that allows us also to work in our external environments in the ways most appropriate.
The art of living with a vibrant human consciousness entails that we each bring a strong, creative energy from within us and project this, with intent and clear positive focus, upon our external environments.
It's time to stop playing their funny games and to begin taking responsibility for our own minds.
For more on emotional intelligence, click here.]]>Clipped and Trimmed: The Conformity of Human Perceptionstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15056502012-05-10T17:14:04-04:002012-07-10T05:12:16-04:00Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kingsley-dennis-phd/
Throughout our lives we are subjected to indoctrination by a systemic structure of processes and institutions. Within this conditioning environment, beliefs almost "grow" into us. And once they are a part of our socially-constructed self, then they are sustained, reinforced, and protected, often unconsciously, by psychological processes of perception. With few rare exceptions, all people are brought up within specific culturally-defined environments. A person's dominating social milieu then attempts to offer a variety of accepted socio-cultural norms of thought and behavior. These may operate through various forms, such as personal faith, religion, science, language and emotions, denial and doubt, happiness and fear, safety and security (identity and belonging), well-being and materialism. Once ingrained, a person is liable to perpetuate such traits, believing them to have been obtained through "free thought." In the end, we reinforce beliefs that have grown into us, accepting and defending them as our own. So when we say "I don't believe," what we often in fact mean to say is "I automatically reject everything my brain is not wired to receive." The end result is that for most of us, we only "believe" those things that we want to believe, or that fit within our perceptual paradigms and/or experiences. And because we have committed ourselves to such beliefs, we then feel it imperative that we support the investment we have made. After all, who likes to be proved wrong?
Not only do we often strive to support our own cherished beliefs, but we also end up agreeing with anyone, or anything, that appears to be in agreement with us. For example, notice how we often "vote" for positive online reviews of things we like, such as a book or a film, yet will ignore, or be unlikely to vote as "helpful," for the disagreeable reviews. By nature, people seek to affirm their structures of beliefs and identity by promoting those activities and experiences that serve to reinforce and validate their own conditioned sets. People rarely seek out those experiences that will actively challenge their perceptions and thus create uncertainty and/or doubt. How many far-right conservatives would spend time reading the latest socialist newsletter? Yet the fixed idea is the enemy of free-thinking.
It is often the case that in order to get along successfully in life, it is important to "fit in" with the crowd, to avoid being a social misfit or an alienated individual. We have to learn how to get along with everyone else. We are, after all, social animals. To attempt to live according to other than the "norm" of accepted social behavior and thought has usually led to difficulties and certain degrees of estrangement. It can be said, especially in these current times, that leadership increasingly belongs to the mediocre. And whereas the famous edict of the temple of Delphi stated "Know Thyself," such ideals have been eroded, or at least diminished, in successive generations. Such ancient temples have been replaced by the edifices of education, religion, law, and politics. Various individual traits and capacities have become "authorized" by a select few cultural and/or religious iconic institutions.
Many people may not be fully aware of these processes operating in their lives, for the impacts are often gradual rather than sudden. And the process begins early on in a person's life. Through the combined effects of early childhood indoctrination, parental socialization, and educational impacts, we are often successfully conditioned to a specific "cognitive and perceptual reality." Once established, these belief sets then form a kind of dependency.
Collective society further serves to reinforce and modify most physical, mental, and emotional behavior. Thus, the person who becomes deemed most socially valuable is often that person who has demonstrated their ability to adopt (and adapt to) consensual social behavior and patterns. And when such individual beliefs are never, or rarely, called into question by the social milieu it is easier for a person to forget why they hold them. It should be remembered that beliefs are not facts: A belief is a "belief" because it is neither knowledge, nor truth. It is a conviction of faith -- a thought-form backed by emotional attachment. When examined, many beliefs are found to result from indoctrination through various processes, such as emotional language and heavily-laden associations. Examples here include love of country (patriotism, nationalism), love of god, love of family and tribe, love of principles and a sense of moral self. For many of these beliefs a whole group of people -- even a nation -- may sacrifice much in defense of shared emotional investment. And if a majority of people share the same belief(s), then it is unlikely they will be called into question. To do so could result in a person exhibiting "abnormal" behavior.
It can be said that society "clips and trims" the human mind -- our daily consciousness and perceptions -- in order to form a general consensus in thinking. This way, a collective mass becomes more manageable -- the eagle becomes the pigeon.
These are processes we need to be aware of, so that we can reflect upon our behavior, social roles, and our attitudes. The world, and our social milieu, is undergoing rapid changes. These are times, therefore, to begin developing our awareness, and to participate fully in the consciousness expansion that awaits us.