The era before World War One (I keep feeling like typing "World War Part One") was one such moment, and the 60s/70s was another. I lived through the reaction to the social changes of the 60s/70s, so I feel that I have some right to comment, whereas I was in another incarnation - two, actually - around the World War Part One era, so am more cautious about commenting.
So ... what went wrong?
Well, first off, what was the big deal? Well, this era saw things like acts against discrimination. Here in Australia, discrimination against women in the workplace was banned (I think - may have been a little later, but I thought it was first passed in the 70s: Wikipedia US bias led to nothing there about women's right in Australia), and indigenous people were given the vote and counted as human beings in the Census for the first time - I kid you not, on that last one; in the US, the Civil Rights movement seems - to this outsider - to have largely focused on race. (I recently read some descriptions of the appalling treatment of slaves, and consider that the energy that has been built up by that still has to be addressed - as does similar appalling treatment here. On the plus side, I listened to a radio programme which was proposing that some of the indigenous warriors who fought against the white invasion should be regarded as heroes.)
Decades later, and we're still fighting the same sorts of battles - we've made a lot of progress socially, that is true, but we're still fighting that war against discrimination - or, perhaps I should be more specific, and refer to nonBPF discrimination (choosing not to drink poison is an act of discrimination in the broadest sense ... perhaps better referred to as discernment :) ).
The 60s/70s were a time when the environment became an issue of concern. I went to uni in the late 70s and argued with my lecturers (politely) that wastewater treatment should prevent nutrients being released, and that we should be using sludge beneficially. Well, after three decades, we're getting there on that one. (I also argued, a few years later, after I had graduated, with architects that houses should not be built to rely on air conditioning ... I actually consider that argument one still very much under way, as so many people are not making the sort of bold changes we need in order to have sustainable houses.)
In general, the 60s/70s were a time of social change when much that was rigid started to get shifted, to make way for new ways, much as some social changes -both for better and for worse - had come about as a result of the World War Part One.
Of course, not all the new ways would be found to work, but that isn't the problem I'm referring to here: after the Summer of Love [2], where did the love go? Why did the Hippies give up and go mainstream?
Well, I consider part of the problem was that the change was being led in a way that was confrontational, and anti- the obvious materialism of mainstream society. That set up a pendulum that simply, rather naturally, swung back the other way. Had the change been less confrontational and more designed to take the older people with it, or more designed to introduce a new point of view (much like a new point of view that resolves a deadlock between two opposites), the energy that drove the social pendulum backwards would not have been established.
Some of the confrontation was unquestionably needed: I watched a TV programme last night about the Freedom Riders, and their nonviolent confrontation was unquestionably necessary (there was incredible courage and commitment to nonviolence shown by the Freedom Riders - and Robert Kennedy's response was appalling ... see my quotation below about my favourite action movie: Gandhi). More recent episodes, such as the blockaders here in Melbourne a few years ago who tried to take down details of the Licences of people who genuinely lived in the area being blockaded were a very different matter, and that episode is why I am EXTREMELY wary of the activist movement in my home city, some of which shows appalling signs of what I've covered in previous posts about spiritual immaturity.
Going back to the issue of the swing back against the attempted changes of the 60s, I happen to be of the view that there were other forces involved as well - totalitarianism, the stresses of mismanaged economies ... and some rather powerful uncooperatives - what some would term "demons", perhaps, although many of them were [are] human, and I have certainly not tried to clear them ... yet :) . It was these latter, in my view, that started to become more apparent with changes such as the introduction of xenophobic fears by Australia's most evil - in my view - politician, John Howard.
That fear has not been addressed in any sensible fashion by anyone, as yet, which is why I am starting to try and work on courage in all those associated with the forthcoming (Australian) Commonwealth election.
There is a MASSIVE need to clean up other negativity as well, but that is a battle I'm going to have to wait before I recommence my work on that for a little while yet ...
Oh, by the way, another thought on this is that, when trying to evolve the world to a better (spiritually) state, one is largely, perhaps, introducing something new. That something new is rare, and not well established in the world, whereas the old world views are well established, and have lots of momentum ... That might explain some of the difficulty ... but unquestionably not all!
[1] BPF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Forces. See here and here for more on this.
[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").
Love, light, hugs and blessings
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux?)
My "blogiography" (list of all posts - currently not up to date) is here.
I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "pagans for peace" project, and here for my bindrune kit-bag.
- One size does NOT fit all.
- May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
- A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
- The secret to being (financially) rich is not to have lots of money: it is to have an income above the poverty line, and then make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to live within 90% of your means.
- Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master.
- Armageddon is alive and well and happening right now: it is a battle between the indolence of "I only ..." and/or "I just ..." and what Bruce Schneier [2] calls "security theatre" on one side, and perspicacity and the understanding that the means shape the end on the other.
- The means shape the end.
- Sometimes you just can't argue with a biped that is armed with a sharp stick, a thick head and not too much in the way of grunts.
- Spiritual love is far more than just an emotion - it is a concept, thoughts, actions and a way of living.
- One of the basics of serious spiritual / psychic work is that the greatest work is that which we do on ourself, which seems trivial to many. Our own Innermost Essence, which is our Higher Self / Soul / Spirit, has the power to do so much, and is actively participating in the creation and sustenance of this physical reality. Some mote of our conscious or unconscious knows that, which is why we seem inclined to be dismissive of Self Mastery - which is a bit like the child who sees an adult spending money to buy toys, and fails to recognise the daily grind of work which has led to having the money.
- My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi". However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. (based on writing by) EDMUND BURKE
Your children are not your children. ... They come through you but ... they belong not to you ... for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow KAHLIL GIBRAN
We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Those whom we cannot stand are usually those who we cannot understand P.K.SHAW
Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY (US Attorney General 1966 Speech)
People I'm currently following or reading, or have considerable respect for, include:
- Red Catherine, a Romani woman living on Artemis, in South Australia;
- T. Thorn Coyle;
- Fire Lyte;
- http://paganinparadise.blogspot.com/;
- The Wild Hunt;and
- the Order of Scathach.
First published: Manadagr, 5th August, 2013
Last edited: Monday, 5th August, 2013
