Dearest Deepak,
It can be said in every place and time, that inherent in power, comes the elements of compassion. And yet, how often does the intent for good, fade away, with pomp and circumstance.

I do admire you, and I thank you for your willingness to write with courage, and yes - confusion in the asking - of why this happens.

Certain Truths are Self-evident. Freedom, Peace and Beliefs to Practice as one wishes, with respect for All - America still does stand for these principles.

Though it may not seem so, for the mirror is most cloudy in recent years, this still is a nation that embraces these ideals.

Please believe this Deepak.
With love,
~~ Kate

I do not remember who said it,
But it went something like this, famous qoute,
I think it was communism-related, but don´t sue me! ;)

´It is peculiar, how men´s ideals, when coming to power, turn into the opposites´

Love, Passion, and spirit

Dear Deepak - Everything that you said in your post can equally be applied to the liberals. PETA is a hate group like any other. The person who murdered Pim Fortyn in the Netherlands was an angry leftist liberal. Way too much blood has been shed in the name of "liberty, equality and fraternity". The only difference between the two sides is that the Conservative believe they have God on their side and the Liberals believe they have Intellect & Reason on their side.

Consulting the dictionary doesn't help because I'm sure you can derive some sort of a warm and fuzzy defition for conservative just as easily. The ground reality as you have written, is quite the opposite.

Dr. Chopra,

Remember this: "I am a uniter; not a divider?"

These were the famous words uttered by a man who wanted to be, and became, president of the United States; yes, it's the same man who had barely travelled outside the contiguous United States, and who did not know the names of prominent world leaders who were in the news nightly.

Yes, this is the same 'morally upstanding man' who promised to be fiscally responsible and to do things differently. Yes, the same man who claims that JC is his mentor. Mentor? What do they regularly rendezvous at Starbucks for coffee? Just wondering!

I am also a little confused, Dr Chopra!

Peace.

Why does it have to be liberal vs. conservatives? I feel very passionate about politics, but I do not like being labeled as either a liberal or a conservative. I side with liberals on some issues and conservatives with others. I think most reasonable Americans feel the same and associate themselves as Centrists/ Moderates rather than Liberal or Conservative

That´s very easy, Matt, thats because we´re from the law camp, we kick both their asses, when their butts crosses the lines,

Stay away from politics, son, it´s infectious!
a filthy disease!,
It´s all grey, shallow and nasty, very nasty!

Though, it´s all about the economy!
As a wise ladiesman once said..;)

Love, Passion and good spiritual vibrations!

Deepak, I have seen my father go from a political moderate, to an out right angry Republican. Last night he was railing against immigrants. Ironically his parents were immigrants. Kind of sad really, but I now think of my father as being in a cult complete with an uncaring and vengeful God. I blame both my father (for being so weak minded) and media outlets like Limbaugh and Fox news. There is no shortage of places he can go to help fill his rage. I also believe that since most Republicans believe, these days, in limited government, that they should have a limited role in it. Perhaps making sure tax dollars are spent in an efficient way, but having a limited say in how it is spent.

Deepak,
Thanks for a good article. I could not agree with you more. Since you framed the title as a question, I will have my comment in the form of an answer. It is simple. Conservatives who are currently in power are not honest. Bush coined the phrase "Compassionate Conservatism" for election purposes and often boasted that he means what he says, that he is a man of faith, and that he has a loving heart (he was seen with tears sometimes!). But we know that he is not honest; contrary to his public statements made earlier, Karl Rove is not fired yet - this is just one example. Other lies are harder to prove. If he is compassionate he would not have started the Iraq war. He is conservative in the sense that he is anti-abortion and supports tax cuts even during war. He is compassionate to that extent that he is loyal to his family and supporters. The purpose of conservative politics today is to be in power not the welfare of the nation. Theoretically, both conservatism and liberalism are compassionate; they both want prosperity for the people. It is the practice of any "ism" that throws compassion out of the window.

Dearest Deepak,

I enjoyed your piece very much. Thank you. But I have to comment on the "God" part, as you and I both know that God loves every body, regardless of their position.

Love,
Char

How is Peta a hate group? I don't think you fully understand the word hate, nor do i think you truly understand Peta. You may not agree with their methods or their cause, but to simply label them as a hate group is quite unfair. Do we label Civil Rights groups as hate groups?

Also be careful not to label a group by a few of it's followers.

THank you Deepak for sharing with us. I am glad to finally know the true meaning of the word Liberal.

Reverse Mirror?????

Haven't heard that one before, so I looked both words up in the dictionary to try and understand what this combination means.

...opposite (reverse) of truth (mirror)...

??????????

Divya, I agree with you that the liberals very often aren't better. But the appeal is in the liberal stance of *less* restrictions and *less* dictates in every day life - true freedom that the Bush's mouth but don't comprehend. Of course, the opposite is true with environmental, administrative, and financial policy of liberals. The latter is where they are the weakest, often misguided, and most hypocritical.

Re. the environment - at the end of the day, I feel most discomforted by the conservative stance here. Exploiting the environment is even more dangerous than the wars for our collective future. I am sure you've read some left leaning segments who claim the next world war will be about water. Coming from India, that rings true. And no can possibly justify the rate of deforestation.

I wince at your negative reference to the PETA because I happen to be a card carrying member :) But you are accurate about their radicalism, a myopic and self-serving shock-and-awe stratgey. Yet, it is a tragedy that there are no other heard-of organizations that fight for the right of animals. Most today don't event come close to guess-timating the true number of animals killed for human purposes per day.

The last mainstream source I had: the US Food and Agriculture Organization estimated the killing just for food to be 45 billion per year in 2000 (the US share was 10 billion), growing at 2+% annually. It hurts me the most that with India economically resurgent and westernizing, the world's only cultural vegeterian holdout is shrinking faster than the rain forests. And that hurts me a brazillion times more than a Goswami style lament on Indian spirituality being threatened by materialism. Sorry for the rant.

Well Happy Rememberance Day to remembering the real heroes of our time...and to me one of them is you...
Sending Love,
Rita

I think you can frame part of the discussion beyond the dichotomy of "liberal" vs. "conservativism" but that there are significant distinctions between the two groups that are worth noting as well.

The meta issue is how people identify self and other. Most people are only spiritually evolved to a point where they care about what happens to people they lump into the "self" category. That group winds up varying in size from person to person. For some it only includes immediate family and friends. Others expand to include members of a group they identify with, such as other hunters, or other Christians, or other whatever. All compassion is reserved exclusively for members of that "self" group. Bush is at this level of functioning, but he is advised well enough to know he can't win an election if he doesn't get the votes of some of the members of his "other" group. So he just lies. It can't be a sin to lie to people who have no real value can it? He's only lying to those damned "others." I use him as an example, but you could find examples from among liberals too.

Yet there is a distinct difference between how this plays out in liberals and conservatives. It seems to end in violence a lot more with conservatives. (examples: MLK, Jr., JFK, Malcolm X at a personal level; Vietnam, Iraq at a national level; clear-clutting causing mudslides, pollution causing acid rain, fires that kill locked in sweatshop workers at a coporate level).

I have to guess about why that difference is there. Maybe the foundations of the two beliefs give rise to different manifestations of the separation and judgmental mentality described at the meta level. The conservative is dedicated above all else to protecting values he believes are threatened by encroaching voices of change. The liberal wants to embrace the new and is reacting to attack by the conservative who wants to prevent him from having access to new and better ways of doing things.

The liberal would love for everybody to just get along so he can focus on enjoying the novelty of all the innovation in life. He likes encountering different people with different views, even if only to argue with them until sunrise. It's fun, stimulating. Unless he is attacked in such a way that there is real danger for him or someone else, he isn't on the offensive. Even then, that is defensive.

But the conservative feels there is an inherent attack in the very existence of the liberal. The liberal is the problem. And different views are not welcomed, they are to be stamped out for they are what lead to the erosion of the previous way of doing things which the conservative is sworn to protect. He is sworn to God, to country, to family legacy, whatever, but must hold the banner and defend against the forces that would drag down the sacred into the gutter.

I could go on, but I think you get my point. The solution can easily be lost if we look at the very real differences between the two groups in practice, since the solution comes at the meta level. The fighting between the two groups and the meanness some within those groups will direct at those they brand "other" will not end so long as the "other" exists as a guiding way of seeing the universe.

Someone posted this on another thread and I want to share it hear:

"But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.
- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)"

In our hearts and minds, let us work to take the "other" out of how we see liberals (if we are conservative) or conservatives (if we are liberal) so that we can enjoy the diversity of our lives, in peace.

Waaaahhh, waaaaahhhh, waaaahhh....wait a minute guys....my little boy is cryi.....aww that's not my little boy...that's just Deepak whining again!!! And Ron joins in on the chorus...Krish will join in in a few minutes with his "right wing" and "fundamentalist" buzz words...and we'll be having a liberal hoedown!!

As for meanness, and vindictiveness of the opposing philosophies, I'll give y'all a challenge. Find a conservative blog, and read it for a few days. Then go to Huffington post and read that for a few days. You will find filth and venom that is almost undescribable there. Weigh the two against each other...now who's vicious??

Deepak, you're confused, because you're intellectually dishonest when you analyze conservatism. The stuff you wrote above as a description of the conservative movement is hogwash. You libs invented demonization of an opponent. You arrogantly carry the banner of 'enlightenment' and anyone who dares to defy it, or speak against it, or liberal causes surely must be evil, or callous, or non caring about their fellow humans. Well...a lot of people disagree with that philosophy. That's why conservatives are in power now, and will probably stay there for the forseeable future.

As for your selfishness assertion...prove it. Bush, as one of your bloggers pointed out a couple days ago, has tripled some of the aid that your posterboy gave out during his admin. So does this prove his selfishness?

Liberalism will never take hold in this country until those involved come up with a coherent policy that 'grabs' the American people. Right now your policy is just more...whining. Get over it.

norm

ATM and AK - I do agree with PETA in principle, but as both of you have implicitly observed, their methods seriously undermine their cause. Even Bush in principle claims to be acting in the name of freedom, and all kinds of good things, but . . .

I heard this Interview today with, Octavia Butler. She is a science fiction wrtier and she read from one of her books. "Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery." Applies to both left and right.

"Deepak, Probably you misunderstood Bush. Though I don't like to bring in his english here, I am sort of forced to do it because of the misunderstanding it has created. By compassionate conservatism, he wanted to mean "compassionate to conservatives". He is doing exactly what he said. If you don't get what he said and if you feel offended by what he is doing, then it is your liberal way of understanding his english. You animal terrorists, eco terrorists, ACLU terrorists cannot understand Bush's compassion. You can understand only if you had voted for him. Till then whatever you are saying are liberal bullshit."

Sorry. For a change I wanted to sound like few other prominent commenters in this blog. Now I could really understand where they are coming from. They are just confused. Thatz all.

Dear Deepak,

In all honesty, I think that the two extremes--liberal and conservatism are not much different. The only real difference is that the conservatives DO feel that God is on their side, and you can't argue with that--it is like trying to move a mountain. BUT,
my personal one on one experience with liberals is that they have an equally offensive way of patronizing the person they are speaking to. They have their own set of dictates--only most of the ones I have met personally feel that it is coming from an enlightened intellect rather than from God. There is something that makes me wince in these encounters--I want to say to them "Who made YOU God? Why are you so SURE you are right?"

I can empathize with liberals however. I think they are "reacting" to the "if you don't do it our way you're going to hell" philosophy of the conservatives. That is enough to make most people furious. However, they combat it with a set of strict dictates. The two polarizations fuel each other to go further and further away from understanding the humanity of the people they are dealing with.

I think that there are generous, giving people of both liberal and conservative sides. When people start "dictating" what others should or should not do in a strict, no exceptions allowed sense, that is where problems come into play.
What is lacking on both sides is humility.

haha,
Great one, Krish, eventhough you don´t get Quantum P..;)
(and I for the hell know..ACLU?..?)
;)
Maybe he just meant.be compassionate..please..
at the AA they were..are..where? why..? don´t you..?

please..you..you..Peace terrorists, you!

P(l)eace Be! (com)passionate! to.o.me no! with!
euh for.I meant! me! heck!, Laura, where me bottle, be!? hik! call the CIA! no..not again..

the Navy! they know me! there..sort of..
Nej, afterburner(ed) the..don´t drink and fly accident..

The Rangers!
Texan! preferably! or Walker! Johnnie!

´Geooorgggeee! what have we learned..did I tell you..?!!!!!´

nevermind, Laura,.I´ll..just..call me daddy..again..

With Passion ;),
and a bottle of..
United Stuff..of..something..
but it taste, sooo good Laura..;)
love,

One last tiny comment just to summarize: my feelings are that both liberals and conservatives must both stop A) making extreme generalizations about the other side and B) stop going to extremes and backing up those extremes with the conviction that they are either guided by God or guided by an absolute certainty of what is "good" for other people.

PS. I don't feel you are doing either. I am just speaking from personal experience. Maybe the conservatives are responsible and they have created their own monster.

Dulcie I see this same demonization of the "other" as the chief problem, though I phrase it differently. Liberals and conservatives can argue (civily preferably) and endeavor to see their viewpoint prevail in custom and law - and this is productive for a society. But when it turns into a situation where people are willing to make choices that end the lives of those they are arguing with, now that's going too far.

It's not just the direct, psychopathic type of lethal action that I am referring to (i.e. assasination), but also the decisions that indirectly lead to death. This administration which calls itself conservative (but seems quite radical to me) repeatedly makes decisions that cause suffering and even death. And I believe that is what Deepak is referring to when he speaks of them lacking compassion, though they came to power promising to bring benefit to all, not just the members of their in-group.

To me there are two different arguments between why true conservatives have a tendency to be callous to the point of endangering the lives of so many (don't give money for head start even though the stats are clear it gives kids a hugely increased chance of academic success, drill for oil in a place that destroys a priceless wildlife refuge though the oil is only enough to feed the country for about a week, etc.) versus those who call themselves conservatives, such as the Bush Administration, while actually coming closer to radical fascism.

Would you expect a fascist to be kind?

Norm,the bottomline is a new humanity has to emerge.Which means all things that are traditional and old which have contributed to all the mess around the world has to go.
Neither a republican nor a democrat can solve any of the problems that we face.
What we need a completely new way of thinking,new way of solving problems,new perspective on life,a fundamental transformation within and without.
WHich means that a person should cease to be labelled a conservative or a liberal and understand what it is to be human.

Re-reading my last comment, I realize it can sound like I'm then demonizing what I call radical fascism. Well, I'm afraid there I must confess. I am. I think moral relativism is a poisonous pill. There are somethings that you just have to call "bad" and the often lethal oppression and exploitation of the weak by the strong, simply to benefit those who have the power to do so, that is just plain wrong. And that is what I see this Administration truly standing for.

How cynical they are as they label legislation, with a wink and a sneer: "Clean Skies" means weaken current legislation protecting air quality. "No Child Left Behind" means eliminate small special education classes. "Support our Troops" means cut funding to the Veterans' Administration.

What amazes me isn't why conservatives lack compassion, because I don't think true conservatives do anymore than true liberals. It's that conservatives are willing to stand for this wickedness being offered up with the "conservative" stamp on it. That would be like liberals electing Charles Manson as our representative.

The real question is, why are conservatives so willing to let this man represent them when he does not actually stand for some of the values they hold most dear, such as individual liberty and traditional community cohesiveness.

Indigo,

I enjoyed reading your post. And I will definitely say that there is something very closely resembling fascism within the conservative ideology. In addition, they are without mercy in their insistence that they simply know what the lord wants. On the other hand, liberals do something equally bizarre--they try to act as if any belief in God is grounds to put someone in a mental hospital. What I mean is anyone who is deeply religious. Liberals act as if that person has displayed/embraced the highest level of stupidity and primitve thinking. Intellectual snobbery maybe is the right word. And the problem I think is that liberals are saying "you are primitive, please oh please let me redeem you from your sad pathetic state" but, as another blogger said, they are not offering anything
appealing/substantial enough to displace/replace this deep religiosity. I hope this is coherent--I'm a little tired today.

You fail to take into account the huge impact that television news has on the entire population.

Until recently, TV news was separate and apart from entertainment. The TV networks' (ABC, NBC, CBS) news divisions routinely lost money - and that was acceptable to the networks because they were providing an important public service and, at the same time, gaining prestige for their networks.

Now we live in a New World in which TV news IS entertainment. The Iraq War, the flooding of New Orleans, etc... these stories only have value to the extent that they can draw viewers and hype ratings. If there is no compelling video to go with a particular news event, then that story (no matter now important its content) gets pushed aside or axed altogether.

And there is another way to get ratings - by inciting strong feelings in your audience. So extremist views get aired regularily. Fox News, masters at extremism - don't care if you agree or disagree with what they are saying. They only care that: (1) those who agree are cheering loudly, and (2) those who disagree are booing loudly. (Anger sells. Just ask Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. They market rage and frustration.)

So what happened to "compassionate conservatism"?

(1) It never existed at all but was merely a "Karl-Rove-created" political slogan, and (2) any attempts at rational, intelligent and careful thought have been pre-empted by loud extremist blathering.

TV news (Fox News, et. al.) is creating a nation in which the vast liberal middle class has no voice and no oppprtunity to join the public debate.

(We can only pray that C-SPAN decides to form a News Division.)

Indigo: I agree Bush is a radical not a conservative. That is what all the yelling is about. He (Bush) has pushed the Republican party far to the right, or just exposed it to be there. Either way, right wingers are in a position of defending him and the left is forced to attack. P.S can anyone please tell me how in the world you all get paragraphs breaks in your posts? aferr1@yahoo.com. Thanks.

What "Compassionate Conservatism" has accomplished:

- Manipulation of intelligence to push our country in to invading a foreign country that has never harmed us.

- Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children killed.

- Violations of the Geneva Convention by failing to protect the occupied country's hospitals, schools and cultural artifacts. (But we DID protect the Oil Ministry.)

- The looting and disappearance of some of the World's greatest treasures due to our failures.

- Over 2,000 American soldiers killed.

- Torture and abuse of combatant prisoners.

- Destruction of the largest financial surplus in America's history.

- Creation of the largest financial deficit in America's history.

- 35 million Americans without access to Health Care.

- 1 million Americans forced into poverty.

- The gutting of our Bankruptcy Laws (which were originally based on Biblical passages) so that the poorest of the poor can not afford bankruptcy protection.

- More air pollution.

- More water pollution.

- Giving the mining industry that right to make the decisions concerning mining in our National Parks & Forests.

- Giving the logging industry that right to make the decisions concerning logging in our National Parks & Forests.

- Rampant cronyism (resulting in the deaths of hundreds of U.S. citizens because the Director of Federal Emergency Management was a previous Arabian Horse Show Judge.)

- The purposeful leaking of covert AMERICAN undercover agents purely for political advantage.

Whew..... (can we afford THREE MORE YEARS of this??)

Conservatives: A minority of people, who are willing to make noise without being asked to speak. They put themselves in front of others. Their goals are to take attention and power, and their method is to bully others, verbally or otherwise. This collection of souls calls itself conservative, and so they are: They desire control over what things go to whom, and their secret goal is that most things should come to themselves -- thus they are conservative, in that they attempt to prevent the movement of resources beyond their own circle. Their desires form them into a natural party and constituency. On a deep level, they know their selfish views are wrong. They have a common guilt and shame at their own crassness and inhumanity. They actively collect together to form enough volume to intimidate others, and prevent themselves from hearing others' opinions. They paper themselves with symbols of historical people and ideas to hide their motives, give weight to their position, and convince themselves that they are other than what they are.

Liberals: The great majority of people who are caring, and reluctant to condemn their fellows. They are very often caught by surprise by conservatives' aggressive tactics, and are thus overridden for a while as conservatives gain power.

(Some who are at heart conservatives may label themselves liberals to leverage themselves into notice, like wolves entering a sheepfold. They may dominate for a while, but isn't it true that they are usually found out?)

Yes, the majority of people are open-hearted, generous, and kind -- in a word, liberal. What proof is there of this? Well, murders, corruption, kidnappings, and cruelty are still news, and most of us are able to live day to day without interference.

Life is inherently tragic, and from time to time events will shake conservatives to their souls. At those times, conservatives' shame will be felt more strongly by themselves, and if they are in power at such a time, the conservatives will falter and stumble back. As the illusion of conservative stength dissolves, liberals find room work even more actively in the organizations humanity has made in its attempts to even out the distribution and timing of the burdens and gifts of life. The very existence and persistence of these organizations (governmental or private) is further proof of humanity's natural liberalism.

Viewed over time, liberal actions and motives predominate. Compared with behavior of past centuries, humans have trended more kind and compassionate towards their own species.

Now, if only we would pay more attention to the historical philosophies and present actions of India, and the behaviors of many long-lived cultures and private rural traditions, to learn to extend our liberal generousity and compassion to other species and the Earth...

In this respect, many of us are still conservatives. We fail to be constantly aware that exerting no control over our need to reproduce, and no check on our need to acquire to allow survival of our too-numerous species, strips all non-humanity, living and otherwise, of its right to coexist in this universe. If we continue thus, this world will be ruined of all the beauty we look for in it, and we and many other segments of this world's living beings, will be lost. By including everything we see and experience as part of ourselves, we will encompass those other beings and things with our own natural generousity, and extend the boundaries of our liberalism, permitting the healthy survival of others beyond our species.

Deepak,

I fully expect your next book (or other media project) to delve deeply into the political nature of the human experience. That is the only reason that I can see for you to be exploring these polarizing political issues on Intentblog.

Is your inciting all this political chatter leading up to a big "ah-ha" that you will soon share with us? I, for one, would like to hear you explain how politics fits in with synchrodestiny, self love, personal growth or peace. I know you know how they fit together.

The strings on your page of this blog have not been too peaceful since your stream of consciousness has been about politics and terrorism.

In answer to your being confused... Perhaps we could use an astrological parody here, the USA has a "liberal natal sign" nature with a "conservative rising sign." Right now her Mercury (planet of expression) is moving through her twelfth house (house of mystery). That is why you are confused about what is going on in the USA right now. Her stars are crossed.

Please forgive my astrological example, plus my totally faking any knowledge of Mercury or the 12th house.)

I respect you and I love you. And I am in awe of your passion. I also long for you to balance your passion with your profound philosophy on Intentblog.

Love, Bo

Bo your astrological reading of America alarms me. I truly hope you miscalculated something. Liberal natal with conservative rising would suggest the nation was founded under liberal principles, but in effect that will prove to be little more than a ruse, as our destiny is shown to truly be one of holding back progress not leading it. Noooooo!

Dulcie, hope you're still around, though fatigued today. I appreciate your viewpoints in many of your posts, but we have not had the opportunity to directly "converse" previously.

I think we both share views of what "conservative" and "liberal" mean that are respectful to each group. That respect is essential for meaningful debate to ensue. Otherwise there is just attack and self-defense, which is mostly what we are seeing in our media. As another commenter noted, conflict and crisis sells so the media focuses there. Rush Limbaugh would not be hugely popular if he didn't arouse so much anger from both his supporters and his adversaries.

I would like to be a little less popular perhaps, but a lot more helpful to the creation of a world we will all be better off living in. It isn't an abstract debate to many of us, but for some of our "leaders" in power, it is actually quite abstract. They don't have the compassion awakened within them to feel the pain their behavior is causing.

Dulcie, I appreciate that the religious conservative (to distinguish the term from financial conservatives, politcal conservatives, etc.) yearns for something that offers more meaning than what the liberal political establishment has been offering. I am a deeply spiritual person myself, yet politically liberal and socially conservative. I want to see new (and presumably better) ways of approaching political governance - that's what makes me liberal. But I want to conserve the personal dignity and civility that I see as part of a dying era - that's what makes me a social conservative.

Liberalism and conservativism have important roles to play. I would like to see more political leaders and commentators coming forward to address the benefits of each in a way that really helps people clarify what they want and select candidates who fully represent them. As a spiritual person myself, I don't think Bush represents religious conservatives when he drops phosphorous bombs on civilians, burning the skin of women in children all the way down to the bones as they sleep in bed at night. That can't possibly represent anyone of compassion, and the religious heart is one full of God's compassion.

Let us do the opposite of what our leaders have been doing. Let us speak to each other with truth and real attention to the details. Let us not cover anything up with labels or dismiss it out of hand, without really clarifying what we are each saying, beyond the labels. I believe there is more than truly does unite us than that which divides us. But we may need to be that voice of dialog ourselves, instead of expecting to hear it on the nightly news.

Happiness,Wisdom,salvation,wealth,love can not be sought after in an individual.

Bubba Freejohn once said that his followers reminded him of a pack of wolves who would run in and snatch a piece of the prize and go in to a corner and knarl on it for a while untill it became stale. then they would come back to the master to beg for another bone to knarl on.

First accept that it is totaly OK to be what you already are, Know that it is the ego who thinks that you are anything less than OK.

When you are about to do something hence forth that you dislike about yourself or want to change then try this practice first before you give in to the darkside of the force.

Take off your clothes and be totaly naked as you were in the begining, sit cross legged or in a position that is comfortable for you. Place the tip of your tounge on the roof of your mouth and relax your eyes or close them. Keep your back straight as if your head were suspended from above. do not expect anything, do not try to stop thinking, just BE, observe the tightness of the body...it is taught.. undo that taughtness by letting go of it...observe it again...still taught...let go of it. Temptation will rise in your thoughts inside of yourself say in your head the word "Anada"..... temptation will come the mind says give up....say the word "Anada" the word Anada should be like a noise in an empty cathederal..rising up in to the domb and resonating in every place.

sit still and listen to the Universe...be aware of nothing. The breath is coming in and out all by itself.. on the incoming breath resonate the word "SO" on the outcoming breath resonate the word "Ham". sit still and be aware of the universe that is in no place but is in every place. Do this for half of an hour as often as you can and remember there is no sin, there is no should or shouldn't there is no reason.

whatever it is you are afraid of, or think you should not do or should be, then after the half hour is up you are free to go and do it or be it.

;-)

Wherever there is love there is hate, wherever there is compassion there is opposite of it.

Harb.

Why don't we look at the obvious?

A free and natural economic system works like this.

One adds value in the form of a product or service and then one extracts value equal to what they put in. In a system such as this every one is happy.

Imagine an economic system where there are ten contributors. There are three others that do not add value but they extract value. When the ten go to extract the value they put into the system there is a shortage they are unable to get back what they put in. There is a shortage they fight amongst themselves and become selfish, even greedy. They feel insecure. This is our system.

There are those that can extract wealth without making a "real" contribution. These are not people on welfare they are people that manipulate and play the system.

There is the government used as a tool to take the wealth and then return only a small portion in services.

Then there is the cost of participating in the system. About 6% for every US dollar of value you create. This is taken in the form of interest.

What really causes problems is the lenders never write a check for the amount of the interest only the principal. So there are not enough funds collectively to pay back the principal and interest.

This results in one of the borrowers having to default and losing their collateral "tangible" assets. Eventually a small number own all the tangible assets and the rest own nothing, they rent and lease and are like servants or slaves. Again we have the borrowers fighting amongst themselves to get enough money to pay back the interest.

See how it all gets started?

Funny people miss the obvious reasons for the world’s problems.

It is a game and when it is realized how it is played it will stop.

Just a reminder:
“The goal of www.Intentblog.com is to present original voices on and from Asia and India to inspire, stimulate and engage a dialogue about new paradigms of creativity, communication, and fulfillment!”

We are talking about a Conservative who goes to war because “GOD TOLD HIM SO” and listen to a confused Liberal who “BENDS SPOONS WITH HIS MIND”

How more inspiring and stimulating can it get?

Conservatism is an attitude or philosophy that places great emphasis on tradition. Conservatives want to conserve (save) traditional institutions, values, and ideas and apply them to the benefit of their ilk.
One does not have to search far or deep to realise that the traditional 'institutionalised' values of conservative America include racism, bigotry,intolerance,conceit,fascist authoritarianism,demeaning arrogance,evasive
condescendence towards other Americans who have the nerve to hold a broadminded inclusive point of view of their fellow human-beings.
Compassion is that force which, when it departs from an individual's domain and lands in the lap of the privileged gentry, rapidly acquires an unrecognisable form devoid of sympathetic consciousness and depleted of soul.
Combine the two together and the current picture of 'Compassionate Conservatism' becomes crystal clear.
The zeal of the Neo-cons or 'CONE HEADS' has to be admired.Their organisation,planning,investment in vocabulary, language,stratification of their ranks into those staying absolutely in the background, and those clear cut sharp looking powerful erudite crypto-Nazi type tele-genic personalities,to those loud-mouthed abrasive radio talk show hosts and those hiding behind the priest's frock or the churches banner has to be applauded because with seamless unison they have successfully tapped into the sub-terranial cess-pool of hatred, ignorance and bigotry that is oh so palpable around you in this current climate.

WE HAVE BEEN DIVIDED AND DECEIVED BY SOPHISTICATED MANIPULATION OF THE MEDIA.THE ONLY THING OUR CONSERVATIVE LEADERS ARE COMPASSIONATE ABOUT IS MAINTAINING POWER/WEALTH THROUGH ANY MEANS IRRESPECTIVE OF THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Deepak I'm a big fan and long time admirer but I've got to take issue with the basic premise of this post, i.e. "Conservatism Could Be Compassionate." On this count you are dead wrong. Compassion is based on our sense of connection to others and our ability to identify with others. Conservatism, atleast the American brand, is based on a philosophy of radical individualism and extreme competition fueled by pure self-interest. Conservatives don't simply attack the various groups you identified (the poor, gays, etc.) they also attack the very idea of society, denouncing any interpersonal cooperation that is not based on self interest as "socialism" and "collectivism." They're rhetoric constantly advocates fear and mistrust of others to convince the public that the only person able/willing to help you is yourself. A philosophy predicated on isolating people from one an other and pitting them against each other has no room for compassion which draws people together.

The sad truth is that Compassionate Conservatives call themselves "compassionate" for the same reason the Nazis claimed to be socialists and North Korea claims to be democratic, it's a PR ploy nothing more. True conservatives can at times act compassionately. This only natural as the only people who truely lack a capacity for compassion are psychopaths. Compassion is part of human nature and to expect conservatives to be wholly devoid of would be as absurd as expecting liberals to be wholly devoid of self interest. The problem is that conservatism holds compassion to be a weakness as it is non-competitive in nature. They may not explicitly say so, or even consciously think it, but conservatives view compassion as a vice and equate it with naiveté. Thus, when a conservative behaves in a compassionate manner they are not acting on their conservative beliefs but rather giving in to what they see as a base impulse.

The truth is, Deepak, you're inability to understand conservatives and conservatism is shared by many liberals because arises from a well developed sense of compassionate. Until you realize the fundamentaly anti-social nature of thier belief system you will never be able to grasp why they do the things they do or how great of a threat to our society they truely are.

There is a field beyond all notions of right and wrong.
Come, meet me there. -- Rumi

.
..You people really just don´t get the whole,
spirituality or love thing, now do ya..?

Nevermind, here in Neverland, we can drink,
Nevertheless, and sing..sing along..!

Green Day!
no..not..´Basket Case´

American idiot!

Don't want to be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new mania.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mindfuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the allie nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the fagg*t America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the allie nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Don't want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

GREEN DAY - AMERICAN IDIOT LYRICS

Love, and..compassion ;)

Do not take life's experiences too seriously.
Above all, do not let them hurt you,
for in reality they are nothing but dream experiences . . .

If circumstances are bad
and you have to bear them,
do not make them part of yourself.
play your part in life,
but never forget that it is only a role.

-Paramahansa Yogananda

The issue is not liberal vs. conservative. The issue is this administration which flew the banner of compassionate conservatism and hasn't lived up to it. They simply lied. This administration knows how to campaign but not how to govern. That idea comes out of a NY Times editorial. Sorry, I don't remember who wrote it. Probably Friedman.

Best,
Rich Machiz

deepak,if you read this than just one question.why dont people like you write against quranic teachings which are a motivation for terrorists?why dont you write about jihad?i guess it is very easy to write against bush n comapny.what is that which is stopping you from criticizing islam?

"Bush: A compassionate conservative"
Interpretation: An oxymoron

Take the word Bush out of the phrase, and then you can define a compassionate conservative as a centrist or moderate, something Bush is not.

´..why dont people like you write against quranic teachings which are a motivation for terrorists?..´

´..what is that which is stopping you from criticizing islam?..´

my god...this is really kindergarten level..

Ok, boys and girls,
gather around, religious history, today,
for dummies,

In a place, not far,
from your present moment in the neverending story of the moment of the now,
or you may call it their stories,
Where these Ego´s..,
divine human beings, having a very, very, veeeery, bad trip, without acid, this was real!

And the problem was, that for some strange ´sociology´ reasons, they could brainwash the rest of the sheep, with propaganda, frequently reffered to as religious doctrines, for their own Ego-centrical, (sado) masochistical purposes..

the problem was that some just could not distict
the true intent of these power struggles,
and for generations there later, people were still indoctrinated, grievences for the losts,
and poverty of the mind.. with a vengeance!

For more information, please do, buy a library card, and head down to the history section..

Schools out!
Peace!
Love and Passion, and compassion to some souls..

Hello Deepak and Everyone,

Compassionate Conservative...the now famous politiical ploy of the GOP...Karl Rove must have had a good laugh coming up with that one as their campaign slogan. They were betting on all the political currency that slogan would help them aquire- in their road to power. It paid off, handsomely.

The problem is not the political parties, conservative or liberal, but the voters themselves. When will we learn? We have, certainly, had plenty of experience in the "political game", you would think we could see through the hype, but, alas, we can't. Like the jurors in the OJ Simpson case, we only see what we want to see and the facts are not what we want to see. We still buy into the hype, the one with the catchiest slogan gets the prize, we, the American people are like children when it comes to politics, whoever can produce the shiniest ring will get our vote. We are a sad and sorry lot!

Have you hear that Senator Rick Santorim(spelling?)is pushing for medical lawsuit caps of $250,000 for you and I, but his wife filed and won a medical lawsuit for $500,000. Of course, when it comes to politicans what is good for the goose is not good for their political constituents. I do not know about you, but I am pretty sick of politicans with these kind of self-serving reasoning tactics.

I am getting old...will I have afforable health care? Probably not, but that Chalabi character in the Iraq soap opera will have millions socked away, that our government will have paid him to help us into this war.

Will I have Social Security?..probaly not, but, then, we have this trillion dollar deficit we need to pay down, you know wars are expensive and someone has to pay for it, certainly not VP Cheney, he has Halliburton to help him with is pension, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has his Tamiful stock holdings to help with his medical costs during retirement....

Who will be there us, the American people? Do you think Iraq will share their oil with us?

Marek,

Why is Deepak afraid to criticize Islam, or Quranic teachings, a motivation for terrorists?

My friend, Marek, how brilliant!!! One could not have asked a more cerebral question! Your mind is a fertile oasis!!!Polish superstar!!!

Looks good on you.

Love, Cherry.

P.S. How is the apartment now? Got all the laundry and cleanin' done yesterday?

Oh, Cherry, baby,
I love it when you talk to me like that..Can I have it like that..?..because there´s..this one thing.. that got me trippin´..
know the song.s..?

I have tons of babysit expercience, you see,
on intl. students and lawyers promostly..;)
so I cut to the bottom line ASAP,

Love & Passion..?
Ps. ´..P.S. How is the apartment now? Got all the laundry and cleanin' done yesterday?..´

eeuh..,yes..no!, well..cherry, girl, it´s still
kinda a mess..to be honest.ly..I need a babysitter! ;)
Ps. 2.
Scorpio, November 12, 2005
Physically you should be feeling strong and powerful, and therefore you're probably looking especially handsome, as well. This is certainly not lost on your significant other, so expect a lot of admiring glances and a lot of physical affection! You may spend much of the day together out and about, perhaps seeing friends - but should return home early for some quality time alone! Enjoy!
Ps. 3. ..what you the Stars say for..Cherry´s..
..a picture of yours..? what kind a gem are you..?

the way the Right co-opted the term "liberal" can't just be reversed overnight, because they drew a very specific cultural association and repeat it many times in the same context, at every opportunity over many years. that word has replaced "yankee" (i.e. damn yankee) in the vernacular, and, like it or not, now it stands for the same things yankee once stood for, someone northeastern who carries the cultural airs of the northeast and isn't welcome elsewhere. it was formed into this by constant repeating by many coordinated individuals in the same charged context.

thus, the meaning of liberal can not be redirected by citing the broad, historical meaning of the term, but by a widespread change that narrows the semantic field and ridicules the current definition with humor, much the way Mark Twain's novel and a certain new york baseball team re-cast
yankee into something benign and even admirable. anger and vitriol are the domain of extremists; the best weapons to expose unfounded extremism and bring moderation into our lives are humor and fun. in this vein, i would like to point out another universal truth: sex sells.

since time is of the essence in selling a new definition of liberal, changing the meaning of the term in the public realm, a method is needed to grab attention away from the current definition and cast the word liberal in a new light. toward that end, i suggest that henceforth every mention of the word liberal should be attached the sexual connotation of the term, in every context. that way any mention of the term by conservatives would immediately draw the laughter that their universal uptightness merits.

on the basest level, liberal means someone who enjoys sex, and it's time for that definition of the term to take center stage. conservative means someone for whom sex is work, something they do because they have to in order to procreate or fill a physical need. (which i guess makes me a moderate.)

so, next time someone calls you or one of your friends a "card-carrying liberal," don't anybody respond with the same old lame comebacks, just smile and say...

"liberal? all liberal means is someone who enjoys sex. and yes, i guess do like sex sometimes. don't you?"

Dear Deepak and Everyone,

Correction needed...that is (R)Senator Rick Santorum's wife sued for $500,000, medical malpractice and won $350,000.

He is would like for his constituents and the rest of the American public to only be able to sue for $250,000. Such a public servant he is.

Dear Deepak....it is rare to find such provocative posts from you, but of late I see a lot from you here on this blog. I guess that is one of the intentions to spark off debates and it is not primarily a spiritual website like chopra.com. So, that way I reckon it's fair enough.

They are no doubt very good food for discussion and heated debates, but sometimes as you say "Reverse mirror". Not sure what precisely it means, but it does convey something like "Screwed up mirror" LOL!! It can goa little crazy. Yeah....If there is that beauty in the American Ideals of liberalisation and diversity...it also has a negative side to it, when it gets way too stretched. As always, in this subject of discussion....Where is the line drawn? Who draws the line? Whose line is it anyway? If one party thinks the other is going crazy, the other thinks the same. Generally stepping back from the scene and seeing it dispassionately gives you a nice idea.

Regards&Love....Sachin

Dear Deepak,

Your post made me sad. I have many Conservative friends and many liberal friends. To be perfectly honest, only when the topic of politics comes up do I ever know the difference. The Conservatives I know are generous people who give of the their time and money to those who are suffering. I don't know any of them that are anti-gay or anti-minority. They love their children and want peace. The Bush administration has more minorities in positions of power and influence than any previous administration. How can they hate minorities? They just have people that share their philosphy...you would too.

My wife and I went to a local meeting that was advertised as a forum to discuss strategies for ending the Iraq war and for peace in general. The room had about 15 people in it and the speaker began to talk and encourage others to share. I don't think I have ever heard more hateful, more judgmental speech directed at other people in my life. These were all so-called liberals. People that talked about tolerance, love and peace, while at the same time spewed hate at a group of people that they didn't even know. To be perfectly honest, on this blog I have read more mean posts from those that claim to be tolerant, loving liberals than I have from the few conservatives that post here. Someone with posts a more conservative thought and many here call them names and tell them how stupid they are.

Your post seemed so opposite of all of the things that you teach that it threw me a bit.

Conservatism is just a political philosphy as is liberalism. Can't we seperate out someone's ideas from them as a person? Isn't a Conservative view even a valid viewpoint?

I felt quite sad when I read your post because I have a need for everyone to be included and none to be labeled as "mean" because their ideas may differ from others.

Peace,
Scott.

When people refuse to accept ambiquity and refuse to learn how to think, we will continue name calling and telling lies long enough that people will believe them like using traumtic events to grind their axes and chopping. We will continue to put God in our own little boxes. But like Mark Twain reportedly said, "Man, is God's greatest creation. Who said that?" Anyway, I am old and getting to the point that my own death will be a nice parting.

The meaning of liberal and conservative, as well as what it means to be a Republican or Democrat, is constantly morphing in the American political playground. Teddy Roosevelt, the President a 100 years ago, was a conservationist and a naturalist and also a Republican. Woodrow Wilson, President from 1913 to 1924, was a conservative Democrat who believed in states rights and lower tariffs. He was also an egotistical and pompous man who's refusal to find common ground with Congress over the League of Nations lead him to his death bed for 3 years and prehaps to World War II.
There was some major morphing on the political landscape in those years. Socalist Eugene Debs, the Ralph Nadar of his day, got his best showing in the election of 1912, a four man race between Taft, Wilson, and the returning Teddy Roosevelt who decided to split the Republican party because he didn't like where Taft was taking it. This morphing continued and was greatly influenced by World War I and the Great Depression. FDR's to the rescue! He's governing style it could be argued was a combination of the four platforms from that 1912 race. He cetainly inacted many socialist reforms to get the us out of the depression, and certainly helped with the rise of the 'military-industral complex' and the arms race, althought to be fair he was just trying to win World War II.
Another great morphing could be attributed to the Assinations of the 60's. Great smart men, leaders of the liberals, were simply gone, leaving an unguided mass to create a welfare state ('uncompassionate liberal') ,and cement the current meaning of 'liberal'. One of my favorte quotes from JFK came at a press conference when he was being asked about some solders who were on a hunger strike because their tour of duty was extended: "...there is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded, and some men never leave the country, and some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some men are stationed in San Francisco. It is very hard in the military or personal life to assure complete equality. Life is unfair." The press didn't even bat an eye. They just wrote it down on their little pads. Could you see Charles Schumer saying that today? How about George, could he get away with that?

Currently there has been another morph. The right used to cater to the non-informed masses, that was their game, but the left has taken that stratgy and is running wild with it. Media conglomorates that own 4 and 5 or more major outlets each have influtated entertainment and news publications and broadcasts (and the patroulie crowd is worried about Wal-mart?). The blue on the east and the west controls the content for all. They are actually going to kill the President next week! Catagory 7! A huge storm is going to distroy the White House! It's Sweeps! (and that's what he gets for not signing Koyoto!)
The majority of Americans who have no interest in diving deep into the issues get their facts from headlines, maybe the first paragraph, and from 10 minutes with Katie and Matt where the opinions of Tom Cruise and Jennifer Addison are deemed to have just as much clout as a head of state. The lines are blurred more because news and entertainment (and political campaigns) are marketed and packaged the same way, mostly with fear, sometimes with hope, and sponsered by prozac, coke and pepsi.
Then these same people are polled. They, I believe, are the major factor in the swing between the bases of 35% and 35%. They are the ones who hear no good news from Iraq, are told that this booming economy is not for them, and believe that President Bush has repealed both the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. Then these Polls are deemed to be very important, and people are influenced more by the polls results (personal prediction based on gut feelings, coming soon: Pollgate).
The left seems almost giddy with the new game plan. Why not, it's working! Charles Schumer can actually say, 'well, we democrats have nothing to bring to the table right now, maybe next year', and it's just accepted. Instead they concentrate on the traditional second term scandal (thank you Nixon!). What Scooter was indited for was the same thing Clinton was impeached for. Not the crime, but lieing about it. Personally, I'd like to see how any of us would do with a Special Proscutor on our ass, but the topic is kept front and center (Saturday Night Live sucks now because of this media bias. It's saturday night, it's late, we've heard it all already, just put a fat guy in a dress will you! Remember Seinfeld: Funny comes first!).
There is hope, of course. Habitate for Humanity, the home building charity backed by Jimmy Carter and President Bush (political enemies finding common ground) is a great example of compassionate conservatism. We help you, you help yourself, you help others, you get a home.
This is the kind of morphing we need.
I personally don't believe that the next great change in society is going to happen with buisness as usual. I don't believe another FDR is going to show up and put things in order for awhile. The Presidency is not the power base it once was. The private sector is going to have to step up. We need actions like that of Oprah, who put a bounty on the heads of child abusers, a very compassionate and conservative action.
We need more independant press coverage. How come I haven't seen a even slight speculation about the Jordan attacks, the Australian attempted attacks, the cruise ship attack, and the riots in France being connected. Would the mainstream press hold back such a speculation because it would help Bushes poll numbers?

Here's some more thoughts on ways to a new humanity:

Politics: If they raised and spent the MOST money, then don't vote for them. Stop letting them market to us like coke and pepsi (Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton, Bush). The Mayor of New York spent $100 a vote. Now he gets to keep running the city? (ironic that liberal New Yorkers keep electing republican mayors. Not in my backyard mentality?)

Don't vote for lawyers. They weren't meant to make law, but to practice it as lawyers and judges.

Reward great ideas with your vote. Don't say 'that will never happen'. Example: NASA, you want to go to the Moon? Ok, give me a water powered auto that can go 0 to 60 in 5 and a way to mass produce them. You got five years. Then we'll talk about going to the moon (and while your at it build a cheap disaster proof house).

Religion: There will be no peace on this planet until everyone accepts the fact that a Man, then another Man, then another Man, ect., filtered these great spritual texts to paper through their Egos and that's where 'no God but me' comes from. A lot got lost in the translation. It should be celebrated that God chose so many diverse ways to find men thoughtout the world, not a reason for war. Unfortuantly, I personally do not believe this will change until the Vulcans arrive.

Hello Indigo,

I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond to you earlier! I too very much enjoy getting this chance to chat with you!
I feel like I was in agreement with everything you said. I also have been reflecting about the whole issue of "compassionate conservative" and what that notion means and also about the "liberal ideology" prevalent in the culture. I thought about it, and I think that "compassionate conservativism" has gone out of style in some ways because of a perverse understanding of religion. It came back to me that I had spoken to a conservative who told me that "people benefit spiritually from pain". He told me this in the course of "discussing" the Terry Schiavo case. I disagreed with him, and that really angered him, like I had said something incredibly subversive. He also felt that he had lots of Christian learning to back that up. I myself feel an affinity with the Christian faith and do not believe that he was correctly undersanding "his studies". Theo's post speaks of this--where compassion becomes viewed as a vice.
This being said, the liberal philosophy, I believe, has become reactionary to this, but in so doing, they have gone to too much of an extreme as you have very well stated, Indigo. I believe they have come up with dictates to which they "demand" allegiance as part of their counterattack.
If a person feels some spiritual reason not to agree or to partially disagree or to simply feel the liberals are being unnecessarily zealous about a particular belief, they then launch a seek and destroy mission against "the ridiculous notion of God". So, as can be seen here, neither side is being particularly "fair". Althouth I will say, in agreement with you Indigo, that this "radical conservatism" has sunken to an all-time low--turning reality upside down--where all those who do not yield to their God-sanctioned actions/beliefs are incorrigible "supporters of haters of freedom". The conservatives also must stop abusing language--this has become very apparent to me in the last 48 hours or so. I can see now clearly what they are doing with language, and it is disgusting. I guess I was always so busy laughing at George Bush I didn't really pay too much mind to that.
Anyway, I loved hearing your thoughts along with everyone else's!!!!

Hi Deepak,

I think the answer to your question lies in the answer to this question.

Where does compassion come from?

I would say that it comes from seeing One's self in others.

It is also a product of empathy, putting One's self in the place of another.

So the answer is they see others as being separate.

A situation where perhaps they project the things they do not like about themselves on others, rather than seeing what is good about themselves in others.

One wonders if we respond to Illusion with an answer based in Illusion is it really an answer? Should we not respond to questions born of Illusion with those that would destroy the Illusion?

~Richard Thomas

because it's an oxymoron

Compassionate Conservitave

Military Intelligence
almost totally
A Fine Mess
A Just War
Conservative Democrat etc. etc.

There is no New Humanity.... This is not a blog based on "Asian" Thinking.

What is here is just here without location, Race, culture, or any identity you care to ask the thinker to provide you with in the deep place where your thoughts come forth.

Before Television was invented it was not possible to throw a television through a window because it had not came into the field of the infinite possibilities. The same thing applies to being run over by a Bus before the internal Combustion engine or the Bus was created.

I love you... not because..but for no reason.

This is the heart of the matter. As long as you believe that only the outer world is real, you remain its slave. To become free, your attention must be drawn to the "I am", the witness. Of course, the knower and the known are one not two, but to break the spell of the known the knower must be brought to the fore-front. Neither is primary, both are reflections in memory of the ineffable experience, ever new and ever now, untranslatable, quicker than the mind.

Wittnessing takes place, there is nothing to be done. It is total freedom for those that do not identify with the Body.

Given from the teachings of the enlightened master and divine knowings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Dear Deepak,

It appears that there is a kind of schizophrenia in American politics and thinking, between liberals and conservatives, Hawks and Doves, and other ideological groups.
I am reminded that the American constitution was largely borrowed (stolen) from the "Iroquois League". (That group of five Northeastern Indian tribes who governed and kept the peace over a large portion of North America for 400 - 500 years, prior to the arrival of the Europeans)
George Washington, and the other framers of the constitution, never acknowledged this fact, and the newly formed America, promptly began a massive ethnic cleaning over the next 100 years, on these tribes in particular, and the rest of the millions of all North American Indians in general, resulting in a frightening statistic. Based on the census of 1870 their were, at that time, more Chinese in the country than original native Indians, 35,000 Indians verses 70,000 Chinese!
Most Americans either forgot or were never taught in school that just after Lincoln freed the slaves, California made it legal to own Indians as slaves, and had a 5 dollar bounty on the scalp of any male Indian. This policy over a 20 year period reduced the California Indian population by 90%!

Why do I bring this up, relative to the current situation in AMERICA?

I believe Dr. Chopra that not unlike an individual person, the American collective consciousness, bears a deep unaddressed guilt for these and other crimes against humanity! The enslavement of millions of Africans to name one. I believe America now ,unconsciously struggles with the desire to make up for these atrocities, by helping other Nations, and showing, on many occasions a great humanitarian spirit, but, at the same time we continue to fall back into the old brutal aggressor role that helped us conquer this country in the first place. One solution to correcting this problem of National schizophrenia, is to have an honest re examination of how America really came into existence in the first place. Then we need to make a real attempt to give restitution for National mistakes. One possible attempt at restitution, I have outlined in my post under Your October 14, 2005 Bringing Down Our Berlin Wall .
One more point on the subject of mirrors. I was taught that we have three mirrors to always look in. "The Mirror of reflection" "The Mirror of opposite reflection" and "The Mirror of contemplation"

To your Love and Honor,

Stan

I have found myself trapped in Illusion and I shall wake my Self up.

What do you do if you meet your Self trapped in Illusion?

You know your Self at that moment and the Illusion is not.

~Richard Thomas

Words create Illusion and words destroy Illusion.

The right words spoken and the spell is broken.

Before you speak or write ask what will your words do?

You know what they say….

Shift Happens

Liberals and conservatives are Illusions.

See beyond them to the reality in this side.

I attended a healing class given by Sant Guru Dev Singh Khalsa today. At the end of class he responded to a question by saying that "the shield of purity is the shittiest thing in the world." (interesting choice of words I thought) Then he explained that some "cables" are not connected right for all of us...

Reminds me of a story my husband told me he read in Iyangars new book, Light on Life. When someone gets bitten by a mosquito and gets malaria we don't blame the person or the mosquito. The mosquito is just doing what a mosquito does and the person who was bitten was bitten because that's part of what can happen in life. When someone is greedy, it's the same as being bitten by a mosquito. Greed is a trap in life. Just as we don't hate the person bitten by the mosquito who gets malaria, why would we hate the person "bitten" by greed? Our response to the person with malaria is to want to help to heal them. Why not have the same response with a person bitten by greed... or hatred... or... ?

Love to all,
Kristin

ps. Guru Dev is the master of Sat Nam Rasayan (which is the healing art associated with Kundalini yoga.) He's definitely aware of his "field". Being around someone with that much awareness made me aware of how much potential there is in all of us for awareness. And, how far I have yet to go.

Hi Deepak, I have to agree with BO WISE. I miss the spiritual stuff. I'm not trying to put anyone down in any way. I know people like discussing/arguing politics and that's fine, but I sure miss the days over the summer when I couldn't wait to get home just to look up IntentBlog for a little inspiration.

So this goes out to Deepak, Shekhar, Mallika, and other contributors--PLEASE BRING THE PASSION OF LIFE BACK TO INTENTBLOG! I MISS IT!

Does anyone else?

As BO reminded me, Mercury (planet of concrete thinking and communication) will be in retrograde until December 3, so expect the confusion to last a few more weeks.

K, a big hug to you for your wonderful advice a few weeks ago. I still appreciate that. :)

Love, Tiffany

Anger fuels fear; fear is a controlled method used by "powerful" intent, to oppress.

Mental terrorism, they call it. This cannot be achieved compassionately.

This is the governments weapon against it's people. Many countries may never be able to provide themselve's with social/medical provisions; as we provide here in Canada/USA.

Every government should be making quality of life; a priority.

Bush and the USA; are spending billions to fight in Iraq; while the American, aged/disabled/single parents/children/social mis-fits; become ever-increasingly, more prominent a permanent fixture!

Imagine the quality of life a homeless person/family can have; with part of those billions in income instead? A shack would be good, compared to the streets!

People caught in systems like the medical or social circle's(clients) are considerd to be; not much more than red tape, overly-documented, redundant repitition of exhausted "old" theory and applied fundamental errors.

WE have not made forward advances in science or medicine, nor social-advocating; as we could in providing the service's; because government has the "need" to control; they are an authoritarian source of power )A minority over majority(

They do not so much serve to protect as much as they may once have; or as much as we percieve they should be; now, it would seem; the world is up for grabs by the greediest, the most corrupt and the ever-powerful force of war and global terrorism; that we have been witnessing, these past few decades.

Politics does not save much room for compassion; it's appetite is: preservation and increasing political/corporate corruption gains.

The world is learning the hard way; how things should be; not much unlike the human systems of growth and awareness?

WE do not "own" the country we live in(regardless of geography) because it is our governments, which "own us."

Each one of us; are technically, slaves to them.

North

Remember "Government" is a label, an idea, don't give it any power in your mind.

Government is a bunch of individuals, and you can actually print out their names.

Of course they inherit a lot of policy and beliefs that are passed on to them, and the citizens do have influence if they exercise it.

The truth is the people are the authority over the government. Government is the manifestation of the collective and beneficial will of the people it rules over nothing.

The illusion that some create is that it is "authoritative" it is not the people are it's master.

Dear Deepak,

I'm with Scott on this one. I felt sad hearing you say that many conservatives "are proud of their intolerance, authoritarianism, and selfishness." I felt sad because I have a need for all of us to see beyond labels in order to realize our essential unity.

No group is better than another. It's a mistake to attach ourselves to groups, to identify with groups. My group (liberal) is better than your group (conservative) or that group over there. What is the point of that? All that does is create more of a division. And ultimately more hell.

I was thinking about this same thing (identification) yesterday. I had been identifying with the middle class or lower class as opposed to the elite. I was seeing myself as standing for (wanting to communicate for) the "underdog" so to speak. Why?

I can still be who I am without identifying with any particular group.

Where is my heart? What is God's will for me? How can I serve? How can I be more aware? More loving? And more kind?

I know that you work very hard to spread the message of peace. I have personally learned a great deal from you. God bless you in your work and all areas of your life.

Love, Kristin

Stan,

The American Constitution was based on the English Common Law tradition.

You're right that there were attrocities that happened to the Native peoples. But, every tribe in Europe and Britain was ultimately overrun by the Romans and exactly the same things happened. Every one of us has an ancestor that was a slave and in fact slavery still exists in some parts of the world. I think it's time to put that one to bed and move on.
Peace,
Scott.

´..I love you... not because..but for no reason.´
..
Simon,

Dear friend,

Damn..good party tonight..though..wat is love?
Betty? or the field of infinite possibilities..

quetions to ponder..when..I wake up..

or was it..Maya..

ah,
no reason, just wonder..
.ing..was it.

.love or just passion, or a cause set in e-motion..what is..;)
saturday night..

Very true, Richard Thomas; thanks for grounding me(wink!) And me, being one; often irked by labels herself(shame on me!)(smiles)

Underdogs are underdogs; because of labels; lack of opportunity and social capitol.

North

Scott,

You might want to try researching the laws and customs of the Iroquois league, to find how much of the American constitution was borrowed from them, before attributing it all to English common law.

Relative to the atrocities, I am not referring to ancient history here, as recently as 1970 native Indian children were being forced into government schools, where they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their customs. The ethnic cleansing of the Indians that occupied North and South American is unparallel in modern history! We still celebrate Columbus day in this country. He was personally responsible for the deaths of hundred's of thousands of Indians and had the disgusting habit of feeding Indian children to his dogs! Yet we still celebrate his birthday?!
Come on Scott, I agree that we need to move on, right after we make a legitimate attempt to set the history books straight and pay some long over do Karma on the subject, and I'm not talking about giving the Indians special 1 dollar a month telephone service on the reservation!
Saying it happened to everyone at some time in the past is a pusillanimous excuse at best, to ask us to forget about it. I am not an Indian but I see a Nation living in denial about it's roots while trying to be God's gift to freedom around the world.

Truth above all,

Stan

A compassionate conservative is simply a realistic Liberal. At least that is what i think of myself. The problem with Liberals is that they are too idealistic . compassionate conservatism corrects that problemo..
About Bush..he is a professional politician..Good for him choosing the correct political platform (ie compassionate conservatism).. Since he is a politician, i think the question of if he really believe in this ideology is irrelevant. At least, in my opinion, he is doing a pretty good job keeping that image...

´..Hi Deepak, I have to agree with BO WISE. I miss the spiritual stuff. I'm not trying to put anyone down in any way. I know people like discussing/arguing politics and that's fine, but I sure miss the days over the summer when I couldn't wait to get home just to look up IntentBlog for a little inspiration.

So this goes out to Deepak, Shekhar, Mallika, and other contributors--PLEASE BRING THE PASSION OF LIFE BACK TO INTENTBLOG! I MISS IT!

Does anyone else?..´

Aqui! Ici,! I second that motion!

Not only for transcending, the inner dialogue,
of most, being stuck in the (des)illusion of..politics..?

or ..love, Passion..! and the mystery of..

Kristin & Scott

Even though I'm addressing this post primarily to you both perhaps I'm just talking aloud to myself. I guess living in India, Bush politik and all such matters hardly move me to passion or trauma. So often I just skip the posts related to them. But now and again, like you, I read a title of Deepak's and begin to wonder what he specifically is trying to say on the subject and muse long and hard. Like you both I firmly believe he is genuine intelligence using mind and language tools to prod us on to our own consciousness circuits. And specifically his presence on Intent has always done that for me (irrespective of subject/object/content.) What is remarkable and near wonderful is that the challenge never ends. Often I will see a title posted by him and hear myself groan, 'why is he saying this?' or 'why is he wasting his breath on this?' or worse still 'he can't be attached to this idea?' and of course my favourite one 'why politics when he has so much to offer for the soul?'

And it is precisely these doubts/confusions/sceptic moments which have yeilded the deepest insights into who he is, which I prefer to be read as the canvas of Truth( and Leela) he unerringly expands. And no I do not refer to him clarifying Bush, Iraq, conservatism versus whatever, Intelligent Design etc for me because they continue to be peripheral in my scheme of things. But he does push me to look at why one such as him( who can see and know play for what it truly is) enters the confines of schools of thought, isms, governance in all its hues and the ensuing language which sets him up for so much attack. Unrelentingly at that!

And I always discover yet another fragment of my intellect ready to judge and waiting to fence with doubt and ire at some chink of clay in his feet. Strangely as soon as i spot the culprit and disarm me a new aspect of Deepak's compassion, indefatigable commitment towards prodding a higher understanding and the dharma/karma of a modern day master all fall into place.

Does my intelligence filter function everytime the question turns into- does one who has mastered so much complex wisdom and translated it effectively really preach categories like conservatives versus liberals? Or to quote Divya one 'warm and fuzzy' school over another. I think not. Many will rush to quote him I know. But if that be true why can I hear and read something so totally different?

Is this a defense for Deepak? I hope not since I do not presume that someone as articulate and independent as he would need a defense, less so by me or anyone else. It truly is sharing aloud my journeys into 'bending the spoons of my mind' (to steal a line from the committed Skeptish) and discovering everytime that the finger pointing to the moon is neither shaky nor an optical illusion. It is committed to none else but the wholeness of the full moon. I guess in the hope that one day my eyes will no longer need/think/wonder about the finger, having found the light.

I know I could have gone the way of interpreting exactly why I think his piece is neither for nor against but talking about something beyond it all. and for that I would have to address Bush, conservatives/liberals and all those intense, catatonic words. But then like I said in talking to you both I found myself talking from my heart to my mind and this is what it had to say.

"Just as we don't hate the person bitten by the mosquito who gets malaria, why would we hate the person "bitten" by greed?"

Kristen - There are stories for every occasion, depending on what point you are trying to make. There are many stories that illustrate the importance of keeping good company - that is, they clearly advice running a mile away from those infected with greed. Moreover, there is no need to hate the person infected with either malaria or greed. But if you want to live a certain way, it is necessary to take precautions not to be infected with malaria or greed.

Jasjit - I don't think it is up to any of us to second guess Deepak's intentions. His words speak for themselves and by no means suggest that he is "beyond it all."

Jasjit, I can't find words.

SCOTT:

I agree with Stan. I do think we have to move on but will not be able to until karma has been played out. I believe the hemorrhaging of America at this moment is due in large part to these atrocities visited on the Native Americans and the Africans brought here by Europeans not being acknowledge by the collective conscience of Americans.

If we were all intellectual and well read as you are then I would say let's move on. To many Americans live in ignorance as to why they have a relatively better standard of living as compared to most of the rest of the world. There is blood on our money.

When we build on the blood of others karma demands payment.

I am not an America hater. I just moved to another country. If one cannot stand the policies and way things are done one should do something about it. To just complain about America is not going to bring anything positive. So I found a country that truly practices compassion as a collective whole.

I wish we could move past the Native American and African slave issues. Without some kind of accountability and truth telling I'm afraid I don't see it happening.

Governments divide and conquer the human spirit; it is their greatest weapon.

WE must all, strive to disarm our personal holding-cells; of anger and hatred and segregation as a race; and apply new, improved grounds for survival on this planet, for all.

Our future, depends on this peace-movement of compassion; to heal the cracks and crevice's left by man's own devices; like, pollution, poverty/famine and war.

Loving thoughts can heal a nation. Some people I know; are insinuating; that all the tornado's and hurricane's hitting the USA this past months; are in lieu, b/c of negative-thought projections; coming from around the globe in their direction.

Any thoughts on this anyone? IS this, a possible scenario?

North

The Blank tape again,

Then he explained that some "cables" are not connected right for all of us...

When we begin with our blank tape depending on the recording we make in our lives gives us our take/view on this thing we call life.

It is ok if any of us have not realised the ultimate truth...infact to say that something is not connected right for us is not a truthful statement in any sense.... what is right for this person is not the same right for the next person because they are as Deepak says different probability amplitudes.

My right (if I had one) is not the same as His right and His right is not the same as Her right and so on.

In the end or the middle when all the crap has been explored and exhausted...and different points of views have been clung to then there is just the surrender to the truth that is left, and in this surrender the points of view don't really matter because the one who had the point of view has no point. It just is.

we may journey a lifetime and never know any better, but then we have to ask the question who do we think it is that is on the journey in the first place. Whoever it is on this Journey there is one thing for sure, they are a master of disguises

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily! Life is but a dream.

In other words, live your life as best you can, you've only got today. Be happy (there's no reason to not be) and know that one day you will understand this earth walk. (You never will now, so don't sweat it.)

And pray. Pray for all the things that will lift us up and bring us out of the dream: food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, respect for each other, brotherly love.

We help ourselves, our family then we do what we can to help others.

If we do this, others will do it too. Back to basics: critical mass. Remember critical mass? We are creating it now by moving toward a harmonious tone on Intentblog.

Love, Bo

Ego's usually are great master's of disguise Simon; they have to be; it takes cunning and constant plotting, for an ego to non-surrender it's power to truth.

Ego's can even fool our own Self. So, how does one indeed; know their true form?

So, it would come to a time for each person; regardless of level of cognitiveness; when one is peeling their own layers of disguise; that the patient Self; is in waiting.

Every being, through-out the process of aging(evolution); seeks to find their own inner sanctuary of Self; apart from ego-need, which can be a self-fulfilling prophecy of desire ; or strengthens the journey; through failures and success's, and experiences.

North

Nope, we are NOT all slavers at one time or another; that's just not true; and to urge it's time to move on; is what keeps this wound from healing.

Forgetting or ignoring does not heal a wound; it only proves to make it prone to fester into an infection.

North America cannot/ignores it's own wounds with north american indians; and yet, both our country's (CAN, USA) seek to dominate third world countries via industry and corporate growth; much of that, being served through corrupt politics and nepatism in the ranks that govern fundamental laws.

How can we, as north americans; truly feel right; in dominating another country; when our own, festers and seeps of infectious wounds, with homelessness, starvation, and poverty, from unhealed wounds?

I'd say; it's time to clean up our own back-yards on the homefronts; and stop forcing others to clean theirs.

World wealth is from OLD money! Generations of accumulated wealth; they did not suffer as slaves to poverty; they suffer slavery to wealth through war and the many ways to acquire wealth, through war.

This is why being a politician is a top-ranking job! This is why usually, ONLY old-money-family's kids get to be one. This is how they keep their piggy banks full, generation to generation; not unlike Joe KennedY?

North

Scott,

You can find out all about how the Iroquois League helped shape the American constitution at the following site:

http://www.ratical.com/many_worlds/6Nations/NAPSnEoD-75.html

Cheers,

Stan

Divya,
I enjoyed the story about the mosquito because when I first heard it something rang true for me and I was able to feel more compassion. It made me think, yes I'd want to help if I could. And if I couldn't, still I'd have compassion, knowing that there are mosquitoes in many places and under certain circumstances it could have just as easily been me.
I can see your point about keeping good company too. And I think that certainly makes it easier to stay focused on your path.

Love, Kristin

Jasjit,
thank you for taking the time to share.
Love, Kristin

Dear Tiffany,
I am so glad to read your post! I keep you in my thoughts and have been longing to know that you are finding the spiritual threads to weave a tapastry of Wholeness.

I too look forward to reading more Deepak articles - and to the magical, mystical, magnificient discoveries in the realm of healing and consciousness, in the future, (like very soon :)

Love and Blessings to you!
Kate

Yes North the Ego is at many levels of Understanding,

I think one of the greatest tellings of the Ego's power was written by Tolkien when he wrote about Saruman the wise.

Saruman with all his wisdom and relisation was still not beyond the reach of the ego and it's deadly game.

;-)

Stan and Laurence-

Good points all and I agree with you on all of them (or...most).

The Native peoples of America have gotten (and are still getting in many cases) a raw deal. Colombus was a despot in my opinion and right up there with Hitler and Stalin in his regard for people that weren't "exactly like him". American Indians deserve a stronger voice in the American experience. Many are still disenfranchised and

On the subject of slavery: it was and is an abomination wherever and whenever it happens (as it is still happening in many countries). Historically, we are still trapped by the tidal wave that American slavery caused. But in my opinion, it is not because we live in denial of slavery, but rather it is because we all feel the need to identify with it. White people feel guilty because some Europeans (that 90% of white Americans are not even related to) used black slave labor. And black Americans (a large percentage that are not even related to former slaves) feel justified in hating white Americans for slavery. America has not been prosperous because of slavery...in fact slavery is a terrible way to run an economy. If slavery were so efficient, then the southern states in the US should be the more prosperous than the North, and the exact opposite is true. The standard of living is much lower in the former Confederate states than it is in the North. The south is paying an economic price for the decision to hold slaves even today. At what point do we all decide to move forward rather than live continuously in a state of guilt and victimization?

I think we've actually spent too much time discussing race in the US and not enough time finding common ground; a way to make us see the bonds between us rather than the bondage that focusing on the past brings.

Also Stan, I haven't had a chance to review your link to the Iroqois. I am very interested, Native American cultures are one of my passions.

Peace,
Scott.

´..Saruman with all his wisdom and relisation was still not beyond the reach of the ego and it's deadly game..´

Simon,

Dear friend,
But that´s only because Saruman never read,
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Succes,
and could transcend his Ego,
en therefor had crappy, very crappy Karma,
and even less..Succes..go figure..;)

And the Law of Giving he transformed in a pretty
lousy party,

but then again, the Orcs and the Wolves..,
what was he thinking! inviting such a company! ;)

Love, Passion what other good fairytales do you have more up your sleeve, Simon..?
I´m into Peter Pan! ;) Tinkebell! man..! ;)

North,

It is a fact that any one of us could have an ancestor(s) that were enslaved. And most ofus can trace our lineage back to an ancestor that owned a slave. Slavery was big business long before a European ever set foot on North America. Romans owned slaves, in fact, there was a time that 1/3 of the population of Rome were slaves. All of the "barbarian" (I use that term only because the Romans did) tribes of Europe were conquered by the Romans and their native tongues and culture absorbed by Rome. England was conquered by Rome and held British slaves. Many historians believe that Hadrians Wall (which was built by Rome) that seperated the northern half of England from the southern half was the beginning of the rift between the "British" and Scotland to the north.

Many Celts were enslaved by Viking raiders and most Native North American tribes held slaves from other tribes. African tribes held (and in some cases still do) individuals from other tribes as slaves, and in fact most African slaves were captured and sold into slavery by other Africans.

It is therefore likely that every person on this planet has slaves and slave masters somewhere in their lineage.

I don't say any of this to minimize the suffering that is slavery, or the suffering that Native North Americans have experienced. I only say this because this process of conquering and absorbtion of culture and language has been going on as long as Homo Sapiens have walked the planet. And all of our ancestors have experienced it in one form or the other.
Peace,
Scott.

Well, Well, Well,

Hello my friends! How are you? I am a happier camper now that all my beauties have returned safely from their various exotic global destinations.

Pssst!

Did you hear Brother Simon going off about that Blank Tape, again?

Wow, Simon, my man, you crack me up, Dude!

Been down to the ol' neighborhood watering hole lately? Or did Marek say to some "astral journey?"

Simon! Simon! Simon! Have a nice week, my man!

Big D.

Am out!

Yo double DD (cup.?) D.!

Got any nice ´home videos´ on those ´blank tapes´
everybody´s talking about..? ;)

Full of applepie, cheescake and other delious..
delicasies ..? ;)

What did those Diablo´s Angels bake for you..? ;)

..Love..Passion..?
Ps. Bolivian, our Latin girlfriends, whatcha think ´bout those princesses? Been there done that, D.? ;)

SCOTT:

Interestingly the issues that my reactive mind wishes to bring up concerning your post are not worth bringing up. Why? Because the core of your response is oh so important. It is time to move away from the race issue specifically. There you are right on. As a black man I was brought up almost exclusively among whites and I do recognize the guilt = need to identify as opposed to the denial.

So as not to allow my reactive mind to argue (Oh it so wants to) let me pose a question. Do you really think that at this time 90% of white Americans are not directly related to our colonizers? Also what percentage of black Americans do you think are directly descended from African slaves.

I know that the thinking was/is that in the long run slavery was/is economically unfeasible. Is there a chance that the short term economic gains in cotton production and sugar cane and alcohol not to mention demand could have been distributed to the north through the new deal, carpet baggers, dismantling of the south? Would America be as wealthy, more wealthy or less wealthy had slavery never occurred? I have a black friend that is convinced he and his people are owed a considerable amount of money for development and outright genetic legal property inheritance laws. I'm lost.

Again I believe with all the opportunities afforded free Americans today it's time to move forward and focus on the opportunities available to all Americans.

Scott. Thank you for your open. honest and non reactive response to my post

MAREK:

You just jump over the fantasy line. How do you know

"......Saruman never read,
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Succes,....."

Maybe he did as you have. Did you ask him? Some just don't hold the truths others do valid.

Wadda ya think of cherrylane pie?

Laurence,

Thanks for your response. Most white Americans are 2nd or 3rd generation Americans. I don't know the actual numbers, it would be interesting to find a source and find out what the exact percentage of them are. Slavery was also only legal in a few states which makes the "pool" of multi-generational white ancestors to choose from much smaller.

As for black Americans. Currently here in Minnesota we have a high percentage of African immigrants (Somalians in particular)as well as many immigrants that are first or second generation Americans from Jamaican ancestors, Brazillians, etc. Not to mention that Minnesota has many people with mixed racial parentage. Which begs the question: What is race? If you are from the south and have a white parent and black parent, which race do you identify with? If your "white" side comes from a line of slave owners and your "black" side comes from a line of slaves, then who are you?

Science tells us now that race doesn't actually exist. We all have various adaptations that have allowed the human race to survive in different climates: Darker skin shields a person from higher levels of UV rays which protects the skin from sun damage. Lighter skin allows for more vitamin D to enter in climates that have less sunlight. Our view of race is not even a view of race, it is a view of the perception of race, and therefore completely malleable. Science also suggests that life began in Africa, so techinically all Americans are African-American, or African-Indian, or African European, etc.

I used to love the old Star Trek series. I remember the episode where there were two aliens that were black on one side and white on the other. They hated each other because one thought the other was inferior because of their differences. The crew of the Enterprise is amazed, because they see no difference at all...the two aliens are shocked!

"Can't you see that I am white on the left and black on the right, and he is black on the left and white on the right..."

It seems that humans will find ANYTHING to seperate one from the other. Look at Christians that have all these different sects and believe that only their faith is the real Christianity . Unless you really know what to look for, the belief systems are identical...even if you DO know what to look for it's a real stretch to find the difference.

People murder each othere every day over who is the "true" profit of God.

It's an insane world my friend. And my prayer is that one day we will all awaken.

Peace,
Scott.

SCOTT:

Your response brought tears to my eyes. Thank you. If I had challenged you I would not have been privy to your knowledge. At last I have freedom from the race issue. That one day may be upon us.

God bless.

Deepak Chopra fails to grasp an essential fact. By respecting people and their natural abilities, and encouraging them to be more dependant on themselves, conservatism is compassionate by definition.
>
Liberalism patronizes, condescends and shows contempt for individuals and believe that "progressive elites" know what's good for everyone else. The very definition is, "A liberal thinks he or she knows what's good for everyone else, far better than they do."
>
In this essay all Deepak wants is for conservatives to be "less mean" and to act like liberals and guarantee outcomes instead of opportunities.
>
Has Deepak listened to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Dick Durbin, Pat Leahy, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Al Sharpton, et al recently. He obviously listens but does not hear, because it would contradict his own pre-conceived notions. If he did hear he would know what REAL "bitter and mean" sounds like.
>
If Deepak knew what he was talking about he would know that President Bush has almost DOUBLED the budget for poverty programs - I thought ultra-liberals like Chopra gage success by how much money the government spends to make people more dependent on them - has increased black homeownership levels to an all-time high, and steered inner city public schools on a positive trend and away from policies based on "the soft bigotry of low expectations" that is the hallmark of the liberal education lobby.

Laurence,

To answer your supposition about the cotton industry. I would agree that for a period of time, that cotton was subsidized by slavery. Having said that, I believe that those farms would have been much more successful had they paid for the labor. It would have created a market for more cotton and other goods by having a whole group of people that were more prosperous. As it was, their slaves could not buy anything and contribute to the economy because their labor was stolen rather than purchased. In the short run cotton farmers had cheap labor, but in the long run they strangled their own market because their laborers never became their customers only their property.

If Africans had immigrated here on their own, America would have had a much stronger economy than it does even now.

I wish it were so, but if wishes were fishes, we'd all cast net.

My hope is that we can all stop identifying with our tiny group and begin to identify with your shared ancestory and our shared humanity.

Peace,
Scott.

Scott,

It's taken me a life time to come to the point of listening. I've always considered myself a great listener. Somewhere in the mix I was still editing. It's so refreshing to just listen for a change. thanks for your knowledge and I look forward for reasons to question you in the not to distant future. It's so much more rewarding then endless debate.

I always wondered what a mentor was really about. Although I won't burden you with that role it's great to know I have someone to question when I'm in inquiry. The spiritual stuff is all good but once in a while we earthly creatures need a good old fashion dialogue. Monologues don't have to prevail. Do they?

I should say monologues like my own.

I just love Deepak Chopra. He sure knows how to join a bandwagon. As a trained medical doctor, over the years Dr. Chopra is recognized as an expert in the following fields:
1. Psychology
2. Quantum Physics
3. Political Science
4. Religion
5. International Policy
6. Govt. Affairs
7. Business
8. World Peace
9. Yoga
10.You name it , he probably wrote a book about it.

Now of course it's quite popular to criticize the President and conversatives as angry. Why doesn't he make an appointment with the President and Republican leaders of Congress and teach them methods or techniques to relieve stress, so they will be less angry? Be a sport, do it for no charge, then when they decline your offer, then you can say "Hey I tried and they turned me down, then I would have more respect for the good Dr. Otherwise, he says nothing new here.

Once this has past, I'm sure Dr. Chopra will be writing a new book, based on tomorrow's headlines.

AmbaSteve

Laurence,

Thanks for talking with me. A mentor I am NOT LOL! I am a former pro fighter, (probably somewhat punchy) and a recovering Republican :).

Topics of race are "dodgy" at best. On the one hand we all have different experiences of what is "real" and on the other hand it's helpful to transcend those experiences while realizing that we can never know exactly what it's like to walk in anothers shoes.

I always appreciate your discourse and thoughts as well.

Peace,
Scott.

Having graduated from Bay Area during the time of herbert marcuse and aldous huxley, i've some nostalgia for my old (jewish!) professors who're so instrumental in teaching us to THINK! No matter how many mistakes one makes....
Now that I'm sitting here in wintry Europe, and just finishing Gibbon's 8 vols. on "Decline...."
I cannot but react, to most of you,especially Dr Chopra, that the 13 american colonies were united rather late in history after a great struggle and civil war,more or less somewhat akeen to what the Romans called the "barbarians".
Now, don't ask me how long it will take for american civilization to assimilate its own recent past, compared to the Europeans, and find solace and peace between races. If you just think of the Crusades, and what it meant for the western empire of the time, it's mind boggling to read some of the stuff surfacing as part of american culture. But Marx introduced us to the dialectics of contradictions in modern politics. May be it is just possible that the rate at which american culture is destroying/making/renewing itself, simply fortifies its inherent socio-political strength. The europeans admire american naked political culture, similar to past barbarians of our ancient times!
I've studied american politics since my student days in Bay Area, and never stopped! Why? Because the unpredictability of what will follow is sort of the genius of america! For all we know today about political labels, which Dr chopra cleverly posted(!), my guess is that here in europe we simply don't understand those old labels anymore. Reason why some clever student must try to find out, I suggest, and write a book. Because if genetics is a science, then the chances are better than even, america will finally give us a culture which is very different and divergent, if not already.
My advise is to avoid getting out a dictionary to understand the political labels: better try and use your intuition and tradition to ask why the other fellow thinks so very differently...because in final analysis it's part of our tribal inheritance. My granny always taught us to respect the views of the other's and try to understand them...and not start a new conflict.

MAREK:
How do you know "......Saruman never read,
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Succes,....."
Maybe he did as you have. Did you ask him? Some just don't hold the truths others do valid.
Wadda ya think of cherrylane pie?

Well,
Larence, because the outcome was not:
´..If we share with caring, lightheartedness, and love,
we will create abundance and joy for each other.
And then this moment will have been worthwhile..´

´..wadda ya think of cherrylane pie?..´

Gee..I really don´t know..the girl does reads the good stuff, and has a sense of humor,
but..can she ..;)
will she..?
is she..?

Love, Passion,

Mareck,

Only you will know.

About Saruman....

One can read and not hear.. but that's apple what about cherruyuyguy?

You are influrbtial dude.

Hari,

That's a good point. Interestingly, the description "Liberal" was originally used as a label for the early framers of the Constitution (who in many ways would be considered Conservative by today's standards, hence the word 'Libertarian'), and Conservatives were the party or parties that wanted to remain as a British colony.

So even in the brief 2 and a quarter centuries that the US has been making noise the word has done a 180 degree shift.

Peace,
Scott.

Sri Hari,

When did Europe ever assimilate the races? Or perhaps I missed something or perhaps France missed something?

Regarding American assimilation, we do have a saying and it's even printed on our coins:

Epluribus Unium, Out of Many One

I guess that's perhaps why so many are coming to live in America.

Cheers,

AmbaSteve

Mareck,
Only you will know.
About Saruman....
One can read and not hear.. but that's apple what about cherruyuyguy?

Huh? heck, I havn´t seen the third part, though
in the second Lords..trust me that party was unsave-able,

And speaking of a party with Cherry..;)
for you babe..

You must listen, hey turn up the FREAKqualizer,
you must not close your mind, no,
Don't close your mind,
See this attitude of yours has got to go,
I just want to be your friend.
This heavy situation that you bring in my direction,
It puts a damper on my affection

See I'm a child, I don't care, let's play!
Talking about tomorrow always messes with today...
So let it go that way.
I'd like to be your friend now

BOOM! slide a little booty in my room,
Singing when we do it and we´re always in tune!
I'll make a bet by the goddess moon,
You can stand on your own two feet and still not get them wet.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying?

I just want to be your friend..;).

..Love & Passion...?

"What did those Diablo's angels bake you?"

Hey, My Man Marek, Polish Intellectual Extraordinaire,

How are ya, Bra?

How's life on the Terrace? Here on the ranch, things are heating up. The Holiday season is coming and D's beauties will be goin' home to mama for some home grown bakin'. Others have booked for Ocho Rios, Jamaica, as you already know. Your man D is looking forward to some white sand and surf and not the white stuff that is likely to fall from above.

Here, at the ranch, they bake often some pies, but not the tart stuff... a whole lot of sweetpies.

Love, Passion and Compassion.

So, I see you got a thing goin' with a charmer named Cherry.

Whoa, Bra, keep it spicey, keep it hot. You burnin' up cyberspace, like only you can.

Am out!

Postscript.

This Saruman all you intellecuals talk about, does it have anything to do with Istari and Lord of the Rings that I read about a while back?

Curious!

Am out!

Diablo -

Yes.

Touche' Scott; makes logical sense; however, I was talking mainly about current slavery among native american/Canadians, living in poverty on defunct reservations.

Just a few weeks ago; one reservation was closed, due to e-coli in the water; the people went through proper channels, and the government just ignored their plea.

That IS, until they started developing illness's skin diseases, etc. This is what I meant, by being slaves to government.

Being one quarter status Ojibwa Indian myself, I resonate with the you.

thanks for the upgrade on this Scott, appreciate very much, conversing with you about things; and thanks for setting me straight.

North

Talking about Saruman,

One of the things Gandalf said was Saruman's most powerful weapon was his voice, I have met people who have this power, many politicans have it, it is some times called the gift of the Gab. I have suspected for many years that the reason people have this ability is because they have opened something that is commonly known as the voice chakra. There are thought to be seven Chakras in the human Body and by focusing our spiritual energy on their virtual positioning we can develop energy in certain ares such as wisdom, Kundalini Sexual energy, Voice, Healing abilities and so on. Saruman Like Hitler and many other people in History used the Voice Chakra to persuade people and control them for their own needs. Spiritual Understanding is not always a good thing in some curcumstances a little bit of awareness can have what can be deemed as disaterous consequences. There is an old saying and it goes "Ignorance is Bliss" LOL there is a lot of truth behind that statement.

Love, passion and all the other stuff xx

I tend to agree, Simon; "ignorance is bliss" is perhaps the only thing about our human psyche, not disguised.

North

Yeah funny for me that the Lord of the Rings has such prefound answers to life in so many different ways, Like Saruman and then there is other charachters which we meet in life everyday Like the Gollums of the world and the Samwise's and so on...

Through the realisations within Tolkien we can understand and be aware of so many things, He knew somewhere inside of him that Ignorance was bliss because as you say North, maybe it is the only part of us not in disguise.... In the Lord of the rings the Hobbits are totally obliviouse to the affairs of the world and enjoy the simple life and are totaly in love with thier Mortality, I really dig that, to enjoy the comforts of life and to be close to nature...what more could a soul want from life than those experiences?. It is funny how the Hobbits are described as being people who are just in love with the world not for any particular reason or gratification and how Tolkien had the insight to know that love of that kind is far greater than the darkest Lords of Evil.

So many people I have practiced with over the years have been in search of an answer to thier very being and follow many different priecepts and religions and you know what? they are only involved with the idea of being spiritual rather than just being spiritual in thier hearts and relinquishing this search for thier holy grail. It is totaly ok for that to happen ovcourse, we are all somewhere on the road to understanding.

maybe we should take a leaf out of a Hobbits pipe and smoke it!

LOL

;-)

XX XX XX

Deepak, you are a wonderful man in spite of your political hangups.

Peace and Love

Dear Deepak,

I completely agree with your original post. Its funny how the GOP in my opinion has been using good kind hearted conservative evangelical church "folk" to push their fiscally unsound, and hateful agenda on this nation. I don't hate Bush or blame him for the mistakes, hes just another good ol' country boy that the GOP picked up, do I think he should be president? No. Do I blame him for being a GOP robot? No.
I have also become very frustrated with our "christian" politicians in office and running our nation. I keep using this as an example, its odd I visited the website for the "center of moral clarity" a while back and I looked at its statement on "christian" issues. The CMC, as its called, was designed to help promote evangelical christian oppinions in the united states and abroad. Yet I am disappointed with its focas on primarily only two issues which are, of course, abortion and homosexual marriage. They are acting as if this nation will soon go under a hostile homosexual take over and their forts are abortion clinics (I wouldn't be surprised if their are people out their who believe just that). I myself am a firm prolife citizen, but I don't base my whole vote on that issue as many seem to do. This is a mistake by many conservative Christians who feel a moral obligation to vote for the irresponsible, foolish, GOP member because he supports prolife interest, which always in itself is questionable. If these conservatives are pro-"life" then why exactly do they support the "death" poenalty? Why do they support unjust wars? Its another method of deciet, basically they all say the same thing when it comes to capital punishement "revenge is justice", they go back to a few Old Testament Bible verses and then move on to their most important issue, "the homosexual conspiracy against Christianity". What they fail to mention is that Jesus Christ saved a woman from stoneing because of her adulterous behavior (the Jewish equivalent to the death penalty). They also fail to mention that Jesus Christ HIMSELF was the victim of the Roman death penalty, killed an innocent man, for our sins. They also forget that God said "vengance is MINE". This is typical of so many of our fellow Christian's evangelical groups, they are afraid to examine ALL aspects of the issue instead of taking good firm Biblical and social stands on issues. Yes I do believe that the CMC and many other attepmts to promote evangelical values are more genuine then not. Yet that doesn't change the fact that I disagree with them on certain issues, and i believe they are being used by the GOP to further a cause of hate, and poor fiscal management. Conservatives in America that preach this stuff are literally under the grip of a political illusion set up by the GOP and their fiscal conservative minions. These politians claim to be "moral" or christian but they truelly are nothing but frauds and can be reveiled as liers by examining their actions that completely (not just always remotely) confilct their words.
Also you must note that conservatives have been trying to gain a small amount of black voters and use them to try and get blacks to follow their agenda. Us african americans unlike alot of other minorities WILL NEVER buy the lies that the GOP spews from their mouths. They don't give us Affrimative action, they want to deprive us of our rights to vote, they take advantage of us in the polls as they did in 2000 in Florida and 2004 in Ohio, they call our leaders "liberal extremists" and fail to value their opinion, they support tax and economic policies that have lead directly to poverty in the black community. I don't know if you've seen the tape of the Congress meeting in the year 2000 when about 2 dozen black representatives tried to argue before the house not to allow president Bush to be president because of the controversy. The white supremecist men in senate would not even let these respected educated representives speak! It goes to show you that the government has little to no repsect for black leaders, unless they are "yes masa'" house negroes, or GOP trained robots. Of course this is a nation that anybody can speak their mind and have a valued opinion IF YOU ARE A WHITE MALE!
The Bush administration has been successful in ignoring completely the opinions of African Americans as it relates to Affirmative Action, repairations, the war in Iraq, Katrina relief, welfare, tax cuts for working middle class families, education, the execution of Tookie Williams, the courtship Justice Janus Brown, John Roberts, and now Justice Allito.
I personally believe, on another note, that people are beginning to wake up from their political sleep. Look at the states that would be labeled conservative "strongholds". Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, all of which have horrible poverty, education, and crime rates. I believe I read that the south in general takes up 60 some percent of welfare(don't take that as fact) yet the GOP wants to cut the welfare payments to promote their idea of "personal responsibility". People are getting tired of it, they truely are, they want progressive change, and new innovative ideas, something the GOP fails to provide for its people.

Nice work! -order tramadol

Nice work! -ambien cr

Nice work! -online sport book gambling

Nice work! -viagra sample

Nice work! -dating web site

Nice work! -tramadol side effects