First, what I think is happening:

Reading the media, I notice that there is a strong anti-war movement which I believe is ineffective. I suggest what essentially amounts to a pro-peace movement that uses the perfectly valid theology of the pro-war partisans.

What often happens is people with the anti-war stance iterate rationalaity, or later stages of psycho-social development as being right in opposition to religious fundamentalism, which they claim to be the cause of such war. I am uninterested in the veracity of this approach, I observe that it is, for the most part, inneffective.

Certaintly, different worldviews exists. This does not imply some are better than others - that some are right and others are wrong. It implies that we have different perspectives and appreciations of divine truth. Where is the wisdom and compassion that supposedly comes with these higher levels of development?

Second, what I think should happen:

Here is what I have to say to pro-war, christian, Americans...

Jesus did not say, "if you think that someone is out to destroy you and is developing weapons that will harm you, you should attack them and call it premtive defence." The divine pronouncement that he did make, as recorded in the sacred scriptures is: "If a man strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other."

Did Jesus march on Rome? Do your soldiers go into battle wearing WWJD bracelets?

And before you accuse me of being Satan citing scripture: did Jesus destroy Satan when he came to tempt Him in the desert? These justifications of war that you have - that is Satan come to tempt you to destroy human souls - those of your enemy on the slaughtering fields of battle; and your own by you resorting to violence in contravention of the divine and loving message that Christ brought us.

I do not know what you should do, so I shall refer to the highest authority: "Go and sin no more."

Two thoughts for both inner-peace and to co-create world peace:

• Nothing and no-one is better nor worse than anything or anyone else; and
• There is no encumbent duty of existance - there is nothing that one has to do to survive.

These are not easy to adopt as they remove one's justification for making onself and others right and wrong.

Us humans seem to think that because we can differentiate between forms - because we can perceive a difference between two things (or people) - that the one must be better than the other. Forms, and people, are differertiated - not seperate.

Here are two subliminal - or, if you prefer, transcendant - truths:

• Humanity has only one soul and you have full access to it. This requires that one not deny - and pin upon evil others - aspects of one's own humanity.
• We are one. One is not better than another - we are all expressions af of different aspects of the same humanity.

There is no predetermined right and wrong, we create humanity by each thought and by each action just as we define our differentiated body-minds by each thought and each action.

The basic instinct of human being is not survival, it is love. Want some evidence: watch 911 or a similar program and listen to what the hero's say. It is always an act of love that occurs without thinking (that's a definition of what instinct is) before an act of ensuring personal safety.

I'm going to post this on the internalism pod, if you would like to render comment and discusssion on it. :)

You are my love - mon amour est à vous.
I love your happiness pour je t'aime.
I love your sadness pour je t'aime.
I love your shadow pour elle est moi.

You are always within my mind.
You are always within my heart.
You are always within my love.
You arise from my shadow - de votre ombre je suis surgissons.

Je suis toujours avec votre esprit.
Je suis toujours avec votre coeur.
Je suis toujours avec votre amour.
Nous surgissons de l'ombre.

We arise from the shadow.

---

After much pondering and contemplation of technical approaches, I get the urge to write poems and songs and things. I'll be back with some more internalism and shadow psychology next time. ;)

I was reading Julian's blog and, in the comments to it, Mushin posted a link to http://www.integralworld.net/index.html?visser15.html - a criticism of Ken Wilber's criticism of his critics' criticism of Ken Wilber. (Welcome to the wonderful world of circular blog-logic.)

So I followed all the links and read all the blogs. I particularily liked the shadow stuff - there is way too little material on it about.

As to Wilber's blog entries about (some) of his critics... When I read them I thought, "I've watched Ken Wilber in so many dialogues displaying and astoundingly vast array of knowledge and understanding. Whilst busy studying all that stuff, where does he get the time to write thease blog entries?"

Oh dear! You know what that means, right? My fucking shadow is Ken Wilber!

Polymnemonic Endnote
I have a deep and cutting compassion for Ken comparing himself to Wyatt Earp. This appreciation is, rationally, because (a) He has stated that he would prefer writing crappy novels and mindless poetry; and (b) I think that Stuart Davis may well make for an excellent Doc Holiday.

Okay, seriously, I'm going to start a thread on the internalism pod about this Wyatt Earp episode of Wilber's. I believe that by debating this out, we may find a method to implement Wilber's (stated) intent with a diferent methodology.

The internalism model starts with human being. The idea is to explore what makes humaness and what makes being. (The name, internalism, was added later as the model evolved to fit the academic and philosophical idea that reality is created by the human mind.)

Being itself can be differentiated into existential awareness (a quality of Consciousness) and thought, which is one's experience. The awareness is what observes one's thoughts. This is sometimes called "the witness". Essentially: thoughts and experience occur within time (the relative realms) whereas one's awareness is transcendant of time. Awareness is being in the causal and non-dual realms and experience is being in the physical (gross) and mental (subtle) realms.

There are two aspects of being, two basic ontological actions, if you will: expression and perception. Both of thease - expression and perception - can be performed regarding oneself or regarding other. One is humanity expressing itself (to humanity) and perceiving itself (as that expression).

When one perceives an object or another human, one is aware of a phenomenon and has thoughts about it - this constitutes and experience (and adds to one's knowledge).

From here, the model goes into the five precepts of internalism, after a brief explaination of the ontological realms mentioned above.

I am also going to post this at the internalism pod. I'd appreciate any comments, questions  and/or crits as this would aid me in enhancing the understandability. :)

(I know I promised a blog on my shadows model - it's comming annon.)

I was thinking of people whom I've met that have been or are alcoholics, suicidal, depressed, etc. And it occurs to me that, in general, the rehabs that they have attended and other medical and psycological help that they have sought is just - and I'm sure that the professionals in this feild all have the best of intent - less efficacious than it could be.

Firstly, none of the people whom I spoke to was ever told that their addiction was a symptom of some deeper cause. People drink and take drugs to escape something in their lives. (Those that do it as an enhancement to, say meditation, don't seem to get addicted.)

Secondly, there is too much of a tendency to medicate whatever the problem is.

Thirdly, there is no teaching of detachment.: e.g. explaining to someone who is suicidal that they are not their pain and that their solution is to kill the host of the pain.

Fourthly, I'm not so sure about this inpatient method: what do the patients go back to and how can they expect to be able to apply tools learnt in a "safe" environment in a dangerous one?

I haven't had a chance to give it all much thought, yet I do have some ideas. I'd also appreciate any comments or suggestions as to what can be done to change this whole situation.

Well... my arial for my connection blew down. At first it was swirling around in the wind, the signal fading in and out. And then it fell down (onto the roof) and I was disconnected. A week later my friends helped me resurrect it to a better more secure place. Thanks lads!

It occurs to me that it is very much a type of life metaphor:I'm sorta getting what's going on in the world, then I'm not. Then I have to redo the whole recption/transmission device with a little help.