Category: Teachings

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The Mysterious Cause of Division

June 12, 2017June 14, 2017 Joseph Dewey

June 12, 2017

The Mysterious Cause of Division

Finding the Key Word

I generally stay away from partisan politics on this site and will delete political posts unless they deal with a metaphysical principle or will be of strong majority interest to the group.

I will definitely delete posts that focus on attacking and belittling the other side. Mindless name calling in particular is not welcome.

Once we take away the focus of emotional attack, bias and one-sided thinking we, as metaphysical thinkers, are left with looking at some of the spiritual principles that actually play out in the world of politics. This seems to be something that few have the mental capacity to be able to accomplish as the two sides are at each other’s throats with the greatest intensity since the American Civil War.

When I was younger the advice was to not discuss politics or religion at the dinner table or an otherwise friendly gathering. Now politics and religion seem grouped under one tent so most any discussion of religion doesn’t result in seeking to understand a religious view, but the politics of it.

For instance, if Islam is brought up then there will be no intelligent discussion of its doctrine, but will turn to the political implications of the religion.

If Christianity is brought up the discussion will lean toward whether this is a Christian nation, or abortion, or LGBT rights.

If Jesus is mentioned the discussion may tend toward whether he was a socialist and would have supported various social programs. Or would Jesus take in all the refugees and illegal immigrants?

Many listening to the sharp division of views and the very strong and immovable conclusions reached by each side wonder about a number of things.

First, how is it possible that intelligent people on both sides see things so differently? Why can’t they just reasonably discuss, understand each others views and reach some middle ground of agreement?

This question has even puzzled researchers and some have come up with differences ideologues have in their brains and genes that they think explain it.

It is almost amusing to look through the eyes of the two sides as to how they see each other. The idea of each as to what is right to them seems so obvious that the other side just seems to be irreparably stupid and bordering on insane to hold to the views they do.

The perplexing thing is that there are true believers on each side who are very accomplished, highly educated, have written books and created projects that demonstrate considerable intelligence.

It just seems very mysterious that two highly intelligent people can disagree so strongly on some very simple things, such as: “Should we reduce our deficit spending or not?” “Should we increase taxes or not?” “Should we increase public transportation or not?”

The answers to these and many other questions seem so obvious to various partisans who just cannot fathom why the other side sees things so differently than they do.

There has to be an answer to this illusive conundrum. What could it be?

Actually, the answer is quite simple and one word supplies the key. What is that word? Here it is:

POLARIZATION.

Polarization occurs when there is more focus, attention and energy on one side of an equation than the other side. This polarization may cause the person to not see what is right in front of him staring him in the face.

Example:

The teacher in a class has the right answer written straight ahead on the blackboard. Bob is looking out the window to the left and Bill is daydreaming, looking out the window to the right. When the teacher demands an answer all that is in the head of either are the scenes outdoors that have nothing to do with the real truth.

Bob and Bill may be the smartest kids in the class, but if they keep their focus only on the left or the right they will both find the real answer to be illusive. The answer is not outside among the flowers and the trees or the lakes and the streams, but by focusing in the middle between the two extremes. The answer was right in front of them written clearly on the blackboard, but they could not see it because they were not paying attention.

The natural question to be asked now is this: What is the difference in the political polarization of the left and the right that causes them to miss the truth that is to be found at the midway point?

The Big Difference

The answer as noted lies in the keyword of polarization. The question then becomes this: What is the difference in focus of the left and the right that causes opposition in polarization?

The answer lies in the fact that our brain is composed of two halves called the left and right brain. Each half of the brain is so complete in itself that a lobotomy can be performed where half the brain is removed and the person can still function.

The left side of the brain is normally associated with the calculating, analytical, male part of ourselves while the right side is associated with the feeling, emotional, female nature.

This accurately mirrors the internal makeup that we all know that we posses. All of us possess feelings and all possess analytical and calculating abilities.

Many of us miss the message that lies inherent in the construction of the brain itself. We have two halves of the brain that focus on two different aspects, yet work together to create a functional and mentally healthy individual. Anyway that seems to have been the plan.

Unfortunately, many go against the plan that would achieve balance and place most of their attention either on the analytical or the emotional part of themselves. They therefore become polarized on the right or the left and ignore much of the feedback they could be receiving from the other half of themselves.

So we now have the nature of the creation of the problem for when an emotionally polarized person encounters an analytically polarized one and begin a dialog it will not be long before the hairs on the back of their necks will bristle with irritation. The analytical one will think the emotional one makes no sense and the emotional one will think the other has no love or concern for his fellow men.

So which is which? It should be obvious. Those on the political right are centered more in analytical thinking and the political left are more centered in the emotional. To understand them we must realize that their polarization will determine the process by which they will make decisions and decide which beliefs they will incorporate.

I can hear the objections now. One says, “I am from the left and I do lots of analytical thinking.” The other says, “I am from the right and I love my fellow men and women.”

Anyone who makes this objection was not paying attention to the meaning of polarization. It merely means you lean more on one half of a duality than the other. If your makeup causes you to lean 60% in favor of the feeling side and 40% on the analytical side then you are emotionally polarized.

No one is 100% one or the other, but just a small difference will cause most of the decision making to favor one side over the other.

For instance, I would guess that the polarization of both the Democrats and Republicans is about 60/40 favoring their side of duality.

The question that now arises is which side is polarized in the feeling/female side and which the analytical/male?

The answer should be obvious to the impartial observer. The right is polarized in the analytical side and the left focuses more on the feeling.

This explains why those on the right put a lot of attention on the business world which requires analytical thinking and those on the left excel in the creative arts which requires one to be in touch with the feeling nature. Poetry, for instance requires a lot of sensitivity toward the feeling nature and how often do you hear of a Republican poet?

Interesting studies show that the feeling nature can boost dopamine levels, a brain chemical that inspires creativity while analytical thinking is promoted by testosterone.

The difference in the way we vote illustrates the division of the left and right into the analytical/male and feeling/female polarities.

As a whole, the majority of males support Republicans and the majority of females support Democrats.

For instance, in the 2000 election, where the votes were split down the middle, Bush received 53% of the male vote and only 43% of the female. Gore received 54% of the female vote and only 42% of the male.

In the 2012 election Obama won the female vote by 12 points, 56% to 44%, over Mitt Romney, while Romney won among men by an eight-point margin, 54% to 46%.

The 2016 election saw similar results: 54% of women voted for Clinton and 42% for Trump. On the other hand 53% of the men voted for Trump compared to 41% for Clinton.

This general trend repeats itself in elections at all levels and doesn’t change that much when a female runs for office. Voters are more attracted to the polarization of the party, as a whole, than to the gender of the person running.

The media preferences give us another example. Republicans dominate talk radio; the Democrats dominate just about everything else.

Both sides complain about the domination of the other in the media, but few seem to be asking why this is the case. Democrats say that Republicans dominate talk radio because they are angry and want to let off steam. Republicans often think the Democrats control the rest of the media because they lack any moral standard and are corrupt.

Both sides are in error. The fact that 61% of talk radio listeners are male tells us that talk radio appeals to the male analytical mind, and this is the reason it is dominated by the analytical/male-polarized Republicans.

Outside of Fox News, Democrats dominate the major TV and print media. This is because the major media appeals more to the feeling nature, as well as the creative side, which also draws emotional energy.

The proof of the Democrat domination here is indisputable, as many studies have been made.

One of the most notable studies was done by S. Robert Lichter of George Washington University, and Stanley Rothman of Smith College, surveying 240 journalists from the major print and broadcast media including ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Report. This study was presented in their book published in 1986, The Media Elite. It found that in the presidential elections of 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976, a whopping 86% of responding journalists in the major media voted Democrat.

Then, in 2001, Rothman and Amy Black did an updated study and established that 76% of the established media voted for Michael Dukakis in 1988 and 91% for Bill Clinton in 1992.

A Freedom Forum Poll did a secondary study and found similar results in that 89% of the Washington reporters and bureau chiefs voted for Clinton in 1992 and a paltry 7% voted for George W. Bush.

So, why is it like going against a brick wall for a Democrat to succeed in talk radio or a Republican to shine in the rest of the major media? Does it have to do with bias on both sides? There is some, but that is only a small part of the answer.

The real answer is that the male-polarized Republican just enjoys talk radio and the feeling/female polarized Democrat is more attracted to the major media. Why is this?

The reason Republicans gravitate to talk radio is because they get to use the male-oriented analytical mind. The host and the callers are always mentally analyzing, arguing and debating. These are activities shunned by the female more than the male.

On the other hand, the major media offers more outlets for the female feeling and creative nature. Face-to-face emotional interviews are a huge draw for them. Is it any wonder that we hear “how does that make you feel?” over and over again on television, but not radio? The female polarization helps us understand why the feminine Barbara Walters excels, in that more often than not she brings out the female feelings in even the most hardened male figures. The big question is always, “Is she going to make him (or her) cry?”

Another big draw for the female feeling nature is that major media concentrates on creative work more than the mere analyzing of facts. Creativity appeals to the feeling nature and depends on expressing it to achieve success.

The female feeling nature uses the news and information toward creative ends and this is good in that it helps keep us entertained so we do not change the channel while absorbing otherwise dry news. It also has a negative aspect in that the media person can creatively assemble facts in a story to present a picture that runs contrary to such facts, but supports the agenda felt true by the reporter/journalist.

It matters not that males anchor most of the news programs; the overall polarization of the media is still female and oriented toward feeling, harmony and creative presentation.

It is interesting to note that Fox News is seen as Republican oriented, and this broadcast is more like talk radio than the other television media. The highest rated programs have lots of high testosterone arguments.

It is interesting to observe that Republicans attempt to explain their issues using logic. Democrats present theirs with feeling and emotionally charged words.

This is not true in every case, as members of both parties are influenced by both mind and emotion, but as a general rule it does apply.

As evidence of this, we need only look at how both sides attempt to sway the public.

Perhaps the most powerful tool of the Democrats in swaying public opinion by emotion is sound bites. By this I mean they use short catch phrases that appeal to the feelings of the people, and add little or nothing for the reasoning mind to digest. Here are some examples:

Tax breaks for the rich

On the backs of the poor

Right wing extremists

Give peace a chance

Working people (catch phrase referring to anyone on a salary that’s not a Republican)

Politics of personal destruction

Support the troops, not the war

Make love, not war

Hate radio

Hate speech

Star Wars

Trickle down effect (this phrase was created and used by Democrats – not a quote from the Reagan Administration as thought by the majority.)

Then the Democrats are adept at seeing catch phrases in Republican speeches and using them to their advantage:

Example: “Wither on the vine” (From Newt Gingrich concerning Medicare)

We can’t leave this list without including one of the most potent emotional catch phrases of all time. It was not for political effect, but spoken by a true Democrat (Johnny Cochran) and accepted by a large portion of the Democrats:

“If the glove does not fit you must acquit.”

Compared to the logic of a DNA match the reasoning in this phrase was very weak, but was more powerful because it had emotional punch.

Now, there are catch phrases that appeal to the mind, but these are generally non-political, such as “the grass is greener on the other side.” Members of both parties respect these type of truisms. Political catch phrases are different in that they appeal to the emotions and are used largely by Democrats.

The important point to realize here is that the Democrats are more successful with such catch phrases because they appeal to the emotions. It matters not that the phrase itself has little meaning.

The Republicans use catch phrases once in as while, but with little success. The distortion of the word “liberal” is their one great achievement, but this is one word, not a phrase. Because of their more mental polarization, they seek to explain things instead using sound bites.

This appeals to the reasoning person who has time to listen, but because so much more time is involved to make the point, the Republican is at a great disadvantage.

For instance, in an argument about spending on missile defense, the Democrat merely has to state something with “Star Wars” in it. This immediately conjures up war in space raining down upon the earth.

The Republican will counter with a long explanation as to why the missile defense is necessary – that it could lead to less war. Before he gets half his point made, the subject is changed and the emotional listener feels the point of the catch phrase, “Star Wars,” while the Republican explanation seems to be meaningless gobbledygook to him.

It may seem that the emotional catch phrase could dominate forever over the lengthy logical explanation, but talk radio and debate programs on cable TV have changed that somewhat. These programs give time for lengthy talk and reasoning, and often the person commuting in his car or doing mundane work has plenty of time to listen.

This shift in media, which gives time to see beyond the catch phrases, is one of the main reasons for some Republican domination in recent times.

Republicans generally choose their issues because they seem logical; Democrats choose theirs because they feel right. Both generally have good intentions, but often come to opposing conclusions. Because their conclusions are so different, neither can understand the thought process of the other.

As a result, Republicans see Democrats as downright stupid for supporting illogical beliefs and opinions. On the other hand, Democrats see the Republicans as mean-spirited, greedy and unfeeling for not jumping on their bandwagon.

At times, both parties see the other as power hungry in their motivations and sometimes they are right, but what else is new?

For Part 2 of this Series go HERE, Part 3 HERE

Index for Older Archives in the Process of Updating

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The Three Levels of Mastery

June 6, 2017June 8, 2017 Joseph Dewey

June 6, 2017

The Three Levels of Mastery

Every once in a while we ought to go back to our religious roots and reach out to our friends there and extend a life saving branch for them to grab to give them a chance to move on to higher ground.

One of the big problems there holding them back is the idea of salvation, for seeking it takes them a step forward and then just leaves them there when they have many more steps to go.

Evangelicals have a particularly easy salvation. All they have to do is accept the right version of Jesus and believe. Then they feel their salvation is secure.

The Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah witnesses and others believe that faith without works is dead and that you need to show both faith and works to achieve salvation.

But even the religions that require works miss out on seeing the big picture and how much we really need to attain in order to secure liberation from this material world that holds us bound.

Among standard Christian religions, perhaps the Mormons have the most hoops to jump through to achieve their end desire of, not only salvation, but exaltation and onwards to the path of becoming gods.

But even here the injunction is the same as many other religions which merely boils down to “obey all the commandments of God.”

For a Mormon this means the member is to obey the Ten Commandments, love your neighbor, obey all the injunctions in the scriptures, pay tithing, secure a temple recommend, and finally whatever the prophet and General Authorities tell you to do.

They go a few steps beyond the “believe and be saved” crowd, but the end result is the same. After they meet all the requirements for the highest heaven they can then relax, thinking their salvation is secure.

The true seeker may at this point ask – what is the real truth here? After I do all I can do to become a good person and obedient follower – am I done? Or is it possible that more will be required?

Indeed there is more and the scriptures highlight an important end result that must be achieved before we are liberated from this lower world so we have the liberty of going “no more out” of the heavenly realms unless we want to.

The end result that must be accomplished is the overcoming of all things. Here are several scriptures from the Bible on this:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Rev 2:7

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Rev 2:17

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.“ Rev 3:5

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: (does not have to reincarnate) and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Rev 3:12

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev 3:21

That last one gives an interesting wording telling us that we must overcome the same way that Christ did and in the one life of which we have a record we see that he accomplished what he did after making a great effort.

Now, the LDS scriptures are in harmony with the Bible here:

“And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God– Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things.” D&C 76:57-60

“And he who is faithful shall overcome all things” D&C 75:16

“He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.” D&C 63:47

It is interesting that the scriptures place a great emphasis on overcoming, yet you never hear a sermon on the subject. Instead, we are just told to yield to Jesus who did all the overcoming for us.

BUT… that is not what the scriptures say. Instead of just taking the lazy man’s way and letting George or Jesus do it, we are told that we are to follow in the steps of Christ and overcome just as he did.

Now the LDS have a very enlighten scripture that points them in the right direction, yet largely ignored. It reads:

“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

“Verily, I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

“But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.” D&C 58:26-29

So here we are clearly told that just obeying commandments like a walking computer program is not enough. There is a power in us that must be accessed of our own free will to bring to pass much righteousness.

So what is it that we must overcome if we are to follow in the footsteps of the Master? To understand perhaps we should examine that which he overcame shortly before his Transfiguration on the Mount.

Let us take a look:

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” Matt 4:1-11

These three temptations illustrate three levels of mastery, or overcoming, by Jesus to which each of us must also eventually attain. Few who think they have secured salvation for themselves are close to this necessary accomplishment.

The First Level

Let us take a look. The Devil, representing the lower nature of Jesus, first approached him during extreme hunger and suggested he turn stones into bread.

After 40 days without eating it seemed from one angle entirely appropriate to use his divine power to satisfy the physical appetite. Then he realized that more important than satisfying the physical appetite is to feast on the words of God, or the Spirit. The Spirit brings eternal satisfaction whereas that which feeds the physical appetite is temporary and must be fed regularly.

The overcoming represented in this first temptation is the mastery that we must obtain over the physical desires and appetites. Most of the commandments in the scriptures of all religions are centered around guiding the pilgrim toward this mastery.

Religions have a lot of commandments and regulations centered on the sex nature. The basic one is to be faithful to your companion and many seekers face great temptation here when placed in the right circumstances with a very attractive or exciting person.

On top of this many religions have additional restrictions that must be imposed on the sex urge that requires significant self control from the member.

Numerous religions impose additional restrictions on food and drink which are related to the most basic physical desire of all, hunger and thirst.

Mormons command their members to not drink alcohol, tea, coffee or smoke. Others require a vegetarian diet or Islam and the Jews require a restricted diet. Many have some type of fasting or partial fasting days.

These various commandments all guide the seeker towards mastery of the physical appetites, his first great overcoming. This mastery though is not achieved in full by merely obeying outward commandments, but the final overcoming of the appetites occur when the aspiring disciple takes control, through his own initiative, and tests himself until he knows where he is, related to this path.

The Second Level

The second level of overcoming is represented in the second temptation:

“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

So, when the disciple overcomes the appetites and all that appeals to the senses what is next? In most religions that about covers it and the person is ready for salvation, but we see here that this is only the first step. In this account we see that Satan moved on to another category of temptation that places a barrier between the seeker and the real world of Spirit.

To what did the temptation appeal to in Jesus when he considered throwing himself off the pinnacle of the temple for all to see?

Right. His ego. If he jumped from the tallest part of the temple and landed safely for all to see then the people would recognize his greatness and immediately listen to him. Such a demonstration would make his work much easier and it would be uncomplicated to convince people he was the Messiah.

Also his ego would immediately get the praise and recognition that it seemed to deserve.

Note that in this temptation Satan tempted him with the scriptures and a literal interpretation thereof. He need not worry about falling from the temple for angels would protect the Messiah.

Jesus was thus tempted to feed and glorify the ego, the false part of himself rather than focusing on the glory of God. He overcame this deceptive use of scripture with pure reason and a counter scripture:

It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

How would such an act tempt God?

Jesus was promised protection until his mission was completed, but it is contrary to the will of heaven to use spiritual powers to glorify the ego. Therefore this act of self-glorification would put God in an awkward situation. If Jesus jumped from the temple and died it would seem that God could not have fulfilled his promise of protection. On the other hand, if Jesus was saved by the power God, then we have God glorifying the ego which runs contrary to his will.

Jesus jumping from the temple would have placed God in a situation where he would have been tempted to break his own promise. This was indeed a cunning temptation created by the Adversary.

Fortunately, Jesus saw through this deception and refused to place the promises of God in a no win situation.

In doing this he demonstrated mastery of the ego.

Many there are who have mastered the pull of the appetites and give of their money but still have not conquered the ego.

The ego tells us how important we are and that we must take steps to let friends, associates and the world know of our specialness.

Just as Jesus was tempted to let everyone know how special he was through a great miracle the ego of the typical spiritually minded person loves to glorify itself by letting others know how wonderful he is.

Making such an attempt is called a glamour.

These glamours are often very subtle. The seeker may even project a false humility so his ego can receive praise for humility from his peers.

Many glamours clamor for attention among the religious and spiritually minded people . Here are a few out of many:

He lets others know that he has been saved.
He broadcasts to all who will listen of a special relationship he has with God or Jesus.
He lets others know how righteous he is or how much he contributes to the church.
He projects the image of having the perfect marriage or family.
He broadcasts his spiritual experiences
He broadcasts his talents, seeking praise for them.

If you are a good or talented person people will find out about it naturally, but the one who is deceived by glamour will broadcast his virtues and abilities in such a way that the ego is fed which puts a cloud between the seeker and the Spirit of truth.

The true disciple must carefully examine his life and motives and one by one eliminate all the subtle ways that he has been feeding the ego,

His glamours may even be associated with a literal, but wrong interpretation of the scriptures as Jesus was tempted to accept.

It is a very natural thing to want to feel important. The key here is to make important contributions and let them speak for themselves. That will produce the greatest satisfaction. All attempts at self-glorification backfire in the end and the ego’s attempts to broadcast them must be put in its correct place.

The problem with these glamours is that those who are deceived the most by them see them the least and will generally feel they have the ego under control. It often takes a personal revelation before they are all seen and mastered.

The Third Level

Those disciples who have mastered the appetites as well as the ego still have a great hurdle to overcome as illustrated by the third temptation:

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” Matt 4:1-11

Students do not understand what it was that supplied the real temptation to Jesus in this situation. Most figure that the obtaining of the kingdoms of the world appealed to his ego – that he was tempted to bask in the glory and praise of the world.

But, he mastered the ego in the second temptation. He who has mastered the ego would not be tempted to be a ruler like Caesar to merely satisfy a feeling of importance.

Once a disciple has mastered the appetites, the pull of matter and the ego his main goal will then be to concentrate on a labor that will be helpful for humanity to progress. What is the most frustrating thing for disciples who feel they have an important message or work to share?

The frustration is that many consider it a huge handicap that they do not have more power in the world to draw attention to their labor. Thoughts go through their minds, such as:

Wouldn’t it be great if I won the lottery? Then I would have the time and money to really accomplish something.
If I were president or an important leader then I could have the influence to cause people to see truth the way I do.
If I knew the right people or had friends in high places then I could really accomplish something.

The seeker who has advanced to this third level could be considered a very fine individual by regular moral standards. He has self-control, is faithful to his companions and beliefs, has overcome the ego and always has good intentions. He doesn’t want power for himself or his ego, but wants it so he can be a more powerful servant to others.

Even so, Jesus did not want to be a Caesar for the glory of the world, but as he contemplated his mission he also gave much thought as to how to go about convincing people he was the true Messiah. After all, there had been many before him who had made such claims. How was he going to succeed in convincing people when others had failed?

Just like many good seekers today want power so they can do good, this direction crossed through the mind of Jesus to the extent that he was tempted by it. And a real temptation it was because he knew he had the power of God with him and the ability to to obtain great power in the kingdoms of the world. He realized he could tread a path that would give him more power than Caesar. Then, of course, he imagined all the good things he could do with that power. With his abilities it would seem that he could manifest the kingdom of God on the earth.

The situation would be like you and me wishing we could be president and make some constructive changes, except in the case of Jesus he really had the ability to obtain great power in the world. This made his temptation much more vivid than the disciple with good intentions daydreaming about desirable circumstances.

What was the flaw that was at the root of this temptation? It was not immorality, the ego or glamour. It was something more subtle. It was caused by a trick that captivates the minds of all people now and then, called illusion.

The temptation came because the mind of Jesus considered that the most logical use of his abilities was to gain power in the world and then use that power for good.

Fortunately, after contemplating the options Jesus saw the truth behind this illusion.

He realized that a Caesar would not attract the true spiritually minded people that he would need. Secondly, he would establish a base of power that would eventually be taken over by others and corrupted. Thirdly Jesus would loose some of his focus on the power of the Spirit by pursuing earthly power.

He rejected the illusion and decided to place all his focus on the realm of Spirit and that if he did this his mission would be successful.

We as seekers of a higher way are also beset with many illusions. They are like blind spots to disciples and very difficult to see until the ego is mastered. When the ego is mastered the person will draw in additional light that is thrown upon all his thinking. Through contemplation he will unravel illusion after illusion until he can finally see truth as it is.

Two people who have overcome these three temptations will see eye to eye on all basic principles.

Is this the end of the journey then?

No. It is just the beginning of a greater one where the disciple finds there is still much more to overcome on many different levels. Remember that overcoming these three temptations was the beginning, not the end of the mission of Christ.

For more on this subject go HERE.

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Dales Proof

June 3, 2017July 3, 2017 Joseph Dewey

Avatars and the Internet

May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 31, 2017

Avatars and the Internet

It is interesting that DK saw the radio being an effective means of promoting a point of view after 1975 (which it still is), but didn’t seem to catch a glimpse of the internet, or at least he didn’t mention it.

On the other hand, it seems that Jesus saw the internet age when he said:

“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Luke 12:2

Indeed – in this age of technology that which was before kept secret is broadcast to the housetops for the whole world to access.

In addition to this he said that

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, (the Internet) that was cast into the sea (the peoples of the earth – See Rev 17:15), and gathered of every kind” Matt 13:47-50

Isaiah tells us:

“And there shall be a highway (the Internet) for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” Isa 11:16

Here we are told that there will be a highway that will be a means to gather the lights out of Assyria (the prosperous areas of the world) that will be a higher correspondence to the gathering of the Israelites out of Egypt.

DK did tell us that communications developed through science correspond to higher spiritual abilities we already have within us, but haven’t yet developed as a people. For instance, the telephone foreshadowed the development of mental telepathy where we will be able to communicate over long distances by the power of thought.

The internet is one of the greatest correspondences of all time to the future development of humanity where we will be able to tune into the “raincloud of knowable things” and access knowledge from any cooperating mind. I’m sure that DK, and others who were intuitive, sensed some development that would allow for a great sharing of knowledge among us.

In my previous posts I mentioned that because of free will the Hierarchy is not able to predict everything that will happen on this planet nor are their plans infallible by any means. Certain end results are pretty much a sure thing but the path to getting there is often altered numerous times.

Several Avatars were expected to accomplish much more than is apparently the case, but there is a bright spot that is advantageous to the plan and that is the internet. It is indeed like a net in the parable that is cast into the sea of people and gathers of every kind.

From the beginnings of the internet like-minded people started forming groups and sharing their thoughts. Later Spirit Web, Yahoo groups and others provided gathering places for groups. At the present time Facebook seems to be the most advantageous place to go. Groups are more interconnected here than ever before and an interesting post may be shared in many places instead of just one.

There seems to be one, and in many cases numerous groups for every belief system and any spiritual teacher living or dead. Any avatar, initiate or messenger of note will have some presence here. He will be either directly participating or there will be someone representing him.

After a fashion we could say that the internet fulfills a need for an avatar for all the teachings of the ages are available here.

Free online are all the scriptures of the world, information about every significant person who has lived in the past couple millennia, and spiritual teachings of every significant initiate.

Even though current seekers have not banded together and accepted any one person or group as the fulfillment of predicted messengers, we know that what has been revealed is available to us. The true seeker will thus delve into the various teachings out there, run them by his soul and discover truth essential to the new age.

Even though seekers are presently divided into many different groups I think we will see the power of sharing thoughts and intelligence will cause many like minded people to gather and participate in group endeavors that will lead to the spread of goodwill and right human relations as envisioned by DK.

In the meantime disciples must focus on diffusing the hate and the political divide that faces us. The two sides are at each other’s throats as never before, each seeing great evil in the other. Seekers must focus on lifting “the downward focused eyes unto the soul, the true healer within the form.”

When we focus on the soul and spirit in our brethren then we will not see evil but struggling souls like ourselves. We need to be reminded of the great teaching of the past that we are all of one blood and one family and we need to love our neighbor as ourselves.

To love our neighbor we must understand our neighbor, and such understanding is indeed lacking today in the political world. There is civil war occurring on the astral plane and the resolution will occur through the clear presentation of truth on the plane of the mind, which will eventually dominate in the Age of Aquarius that we are now entering.

The energies of the new age will lift us from the astral consciousness to the plane of the mind and this will be speeded up when many sixth ray souls are replaced by seventh ray ones who will assist in bringing order through just law.

The call then goes forth to all aspirants seekers, initiates and disciples to assess themselves correctly to make sure they are not a part of the problem, but are participating in the solution.

For Part 1 of this Series go HERE Part 2 HERE

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Manifesting Avatars

May 29, 2017May 31, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 29, 2017

Manifesting Avatars

Djwhal Khul in his writings that ended in 1949 expressed high hopes for the spiritual evolution of humanity after the war. In expressing his vision for our future he ever reminded us of the fickleness of mankind and how unpredictable their progress may be because of free will.

Even taking into consideration our flaws he expected powerful results by 1975. He expected a release of the Shamballa force at that time which would lead to the teachings being given out to the masses “on a worldwide scale via the radio.”

Rays and Initiations Pg 255

Lucis Trust did their best to get a few things broadcast through the media, but all they could afford were a few local efforts – nothing of a worldwide scale. The Ancient Wisdom never even managed to come up with a national radio figure as potent as a Rush Limbaugh or even a Larry King. We have no one who is well known either nationally or internationally through the media.

If many of the principles of the Ancient Wisdom had been able to permeate society through the airwaves since 1975 it would have paved the way for his other hopes. He said:

In twenty-five years’ time enough work will have been done by groups such as yours so that the pattern of unity in the world will be distinctly seen. The theory will be comprehended and much straight application will be made. Unity will become a definite world goal in a sense different to the present one. The words “The souls of men are one” will be recognised doctrine of every world faith. So go on with the work of unifying, my brother—in rain or shine.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Page 458 Written 1946

The problem before the Hierarchy at this time is so to direct and control all five of the powerful energies that the Divine Plan can materialise, and the close of this century see the Purpose of God for humanity assuming right direction and proportion

Externalization of the Hierarchy, Page 72

We are clearly told that he expected the teachings to be broadcast through the media, and great strides through seeing the divine plan materialize with unity becoming a definite world goal of the nations.

While it is true that there has been gradual step by step spread of new age teachings along with the Ancient Wisdom there has been nothing significant enough to cause the people of the world to contemplate the divine plan or seek world unity.

Instead, what we saw, right after the turn of the century, was the 9/11 disaster that initiated division in the country and the world to an unexpected degree.

When I was younger most people didn’t care which political party their friends belonged to and rarely did the subject come up. We all realized everyone had different political opinions and let it go at that.

Not so today. Today there is a great political division not seen since the American Civil War. In some circles one may be at physical risk if he lets people know for whom he voted. Instead of unity there is great anger and disgust from both sides with little desire to understand each other or to reason together and find points of agreement.

DK tells us that several avatars were supposed to show up before the turn of the century. Obviously something did not go as planned for the hoped for progress has not been made.

Now one may say that things are going as planned but we do not see it. Avatars have shown up and done their job but we are not aware.

Students must realize that a successful avatar will initiate. Let us look at three named by DK which are the Buddha, the Christ and Abraham Lincoln.

What they all have in common is that they all initiated things that helped humanity. Buddah and Christ initiated world religions and new teachings and Lincoln initiated the freeing of the slaves and solidified the union.

A successful avatar just doesn’t come and go with no one taking notice or making little effect.

If a disciple was able to initiate a radio program around 1975 that took the teachings worldwide then this would have correlated to the statement by DK that we could identify them by their works proclaiming them.

Since 1949 there have been no works by a spiritual teacher significant enough to “proclaim” their presence so a significant number of students can agree that an avatar is here and who he or she may be.

Something has gone wrong. What could it be? Is it that humanity has backslid to the extent that the avatars and high initiates have not been sent?

I do not think this is the case. I think they were sent as planned but the resistance and the problems encountered were much higher than expected.

Let us take one example:

In 1925 DK wrote:

“The Master Jesus will take a physical vehicle, and with certain of His chelas effect a re-spiritualisation of the Catholic churches, breaking down the barrier separating the Episcopal and Greek churches from the Roman. This may be looked for, should plans progress as hoped, about the year 1980.”

A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, Page 759

“From the chair of the Pope of Rome, the Master Jesus will attempt to swing that great branch of the religious beliefs of the world again into a position of spiritual power and away from its present authoritative and temporary political potency.”

Destiny of the Nations, Page 61

I believe this prophecy was attempted to be fulfilled by Pope John Paul I who was overshadowed by Jesus. He was Pope for a mere 33 days and was poisoned in Sept 1978 by those who fought his reforms.

The fact that He was in office 33 days which corresponds to the 33 years in the life of Jesus of Nazareth is far from the only correspondence.

His given name was Albino Luciani which means “white light.”

After John Paul I was killed he was replaced by Karol Joseph Wojtyla who became John Paul II. Ironically this replacement pope was born during a solar eclipse. This is symbolic of his reign during an eclipse of a true son of God through the death of Luciani.

Albino Luciani means “white light” but the new Pope’s name of Karol Joseph Wojtyla means “man who adds increase to war.”

The book, “In God’s Name,” written by David A. Yallop makes a convincing case that John Paul I was poisoned.

So, what happened to the others then?

The reason no great spiritual work has been initiated is because of human imperfection that has been skillfully manipulated by dark forces.

Then too we cannot overlook the fact that avatars and initiates are not perfect and often are not able to accomplish all their plans.

The story of Sampson teaches us this truth. The Bible tells us he was expected to be a Messiah to Israel, but succumbed to human weakness and didn’t fulfill his mission as expected.

The biggest problem is always with humanity itself and those who should know better are often the greatest hindrance. DK says:

“It is the disciples in the world and not the mass of men who today hinder the Coming of the Avatar and render useless His intention. He dare not come until the disciples and aspirants in the world bring about the needed changes in themselves, for the reason that there would not be ‘enough of the will-to-love with the fiery essence.’”

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 1, Page 72

If one potential avatar falls down on the job another disciple can be chosen and overshadowed, but if students and humanity as a whole are not ready to accept additional light, even the hands of the Hierarchy will be tied.

So where have we as students and human beings failed and what can we do to fulfill our part?

Where we have failed is with the principle of evocation. For any great revelation, teaching or work to manifest among us there must be a powerful evocation. If the evocation is not strong enough then the messenger may be here among us, but unable to manifest the work he came to do.

What causes disciples to be lukewarm in their evocation of additional light?

The most common reason just laziness. They are happy with what they have and are not seeking more light or responsibility.

Another common one is they are caught in the glamour of anther disciple who may be no more enlightened than themselves.

For us to see the “greater works” promised by the Christ and to be of true assistance to the Hierarchy we must put our heart and soul into wanting such things to appear. We must use evocation with applied heart and will energies. To evoke, we must call out to God, our Source, and our souls for power to manifest through disciples so light and love and power can restore the plan on earth.

One of the things that DK anticipated was the appearance of the Avatar of Synthesis who would descend as far as the mental plane and then inspire certain disciples and groups.

I believe that this avatar has made an approach several times but there has not been enough power of evocation to sustain his presence.

I’ll thus end this post with an evocation for him:

Avatar of Synthesis Invocation

From the center where the Will of God is known, let Purpose guide the little wills of men.

Let the One Great Life manifest Its Purpose and send forth his Avatar.

Let this Master of Purpose come forth and amplify our wills to synthesize them with his own, giving us power to serve.

Let the Avatar of Synthesis manifest to the group of which I am a part.

That we may prepare the earth for the Lords of Light and Love.

Let Will and Power and Purpose manifest the Christ on earth.

For Part 1 of this Series go HERE

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Where are the Avatars?

May 26, 2017May 29, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 26, 2017

Where are the Avatars?

Down through the ages believers have looked for an avatar, a Moses or Messiah to deliver them from their problems and conflicts. Indeed great beings have shown up from time to time, but often they have been largely rejected by their generation.

Today the Christian world awaits the Second Coming of Christ, The Buddhists look for Maitreya and the Muslims watch for the Imam Mahdi. In addition many Mormons anticipate the coming of One Mighty and Strong before Christ appears.

Students of Alice A. Bailey writings are looking for a number of avatars. In addition to looking for Christ to appear they expect a numerous masters and avatars to show up. Avatars will either be great beings in incarnation or they will be overshadow a devoted human.

Concerning these avatars Djwhal Khul writes:

“It is not permissible to say more in connection with the plans of the Great Ones. Their appearing will not be simultaneous in time, for the people could not stand the tremendously increased inflow of force, and recognition of Them and of Their methods will depend upon the intuition, and the training of the inner senses. They come with no herald, and only Their works will proclaim Them.”

TCF, Pages 759-760

That last statement, “only Their works will proclaim Them” eliminates a lot of self proclaimed great ones who want attention because they think they are the reincarnation of a great one from the past.

DK tells us to expect an advanced revelation soon:

“Occasionally (usually once in a century after Their Conclave at the close of the first quarter) there is the imparting of a more advanced body of teaching. This teaching will only be recognised by a few of the foremost disciples in the world; it will, however, prove to be the ordinary form of occult teaching during the next developing cycle. It is this type of work which I have been endeavouring to do with the aid of A.A.B.”

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Page 318

In support of this he tells us that he will reveal new teachings around the year 2025.

DK finished his work with Alice A. Bailey in 1949. His writings reveal that he had high hopes for humanity between then and now. A number of avatars were supposed to have appeared. It even sounded like Christ should have been here some time ago. A great extra planetary avatar called the Avatar of Synthesis was supposed to be working with individuals and groups inspiring them toward great service.

The question many are asking is, “Where are the avatars?”

Sure, there have been strong leaders and innovators show up since 1949 but where is someone who is changing esoteric thought as did H. P. Blavatsky, and where are writings with depth as revealed through Alice A. Bailey or where is a new Holy Book as influential as the Book of Mormon?

We have great material available written before 1949, but where is the new stuff? Have we flatlined as a people?

DK tells us the principle behind the appearing of avatars and it is that of evocation. Just as the enslaved Israelites cried out for a deliverer which brought them Moses, even so must humanity cry out for more light and truth before the great ones can manifest. Keep in mind that they can manifest at any time. Even if a Master is not in incarnation, he can overshadow a disciple and become present on the physical plane when properly evoked.

So if students cannot find the avatars they think should be here it is because they are not reaching out to them and not seeking as they should.

Indeed, it does sound from DK’s wrings that we should have made much more progress toward the New Age than has transpired. DK was hoping that we should have achieved reasonable world unity and instead we have people going at each other’s throats more than any time since the American Civil War.

DK did not claim to be infallible in predicting the future. He said:

“Again I tell you that even the Hierarchy itself, with all its knowledge, vision and understanding and with all its resources, cannot coerce and cannot forecast what mankind will do.”

Externalization of the Hierarchy, Page 113

“I have told you frequently that the Hierarchy itself does not know what decisions humanity will make in world affairs, or if mankind will profit from proffered opportunity.”

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Page 74

So even though Christ and his Hierarchy had high hopes for the people on this planet, all things cannot be predicted because of free will. Even though the forces of light won World War II and it appeared that a path was set toward great peace, enlightenment and achievement humanity can create its own obstacles through falling for illusion and glamor.

There are five reasons that seekers have not seen the predicted avatars and new revelations of truth.

(1) The powers of darkness and materialism are always more cunning and seductive than anticipated. They present seductive ideals, but materialist methods that violate free will to achieve them. This has caused a great division centered around the Principle of Freedom.

We fought the Great War to secure freedom, but still the door to the insidious evil that enslaves minds is not shut or sealed. We have been tricked into letting it stay open.

(2) Seekers hold on closely to the founding documents of their belief system and see the teachings in black and white terms. They reject anything that is in conflict or goes beyond them, or in many cases just uses a different vocabulary. There is more light and truth available than meets the eye.

(3) Students may be very devout in adhering to their belief systems, but many neglect running all other teachings they encounter by their own souls. Truth speaks to the soul whereas pleasing illusion appeals to the personality.

(4) Many of those who are sensitive to true principles do little to act upon them.

(5) Many who have come in this cycle with an important mission to manifest light have been captured by illusion and have not found their true path.

As it is the most successful lights have appeared in the world of technology rather than spiritual thought. This has created somewhat of an imbalance. We have great technology, but are lagging behind on right human relations because of a lack of success in spiritual progression.

Nevertheless those who are sensitive to inner contact must keep moving forward and seek to ever evoke the help of higher lives to avert a possible holocaust not seen since Atlantis. We still have better than a fifty-fifty change of bringing in a new age of peace and establishing right human relations without an apocalypse. Let each of us do our part to make it happen.

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Recognizing True Messengers

May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 23, 2017

Recognizing True Messengers

Jesus had some pretty strong words for people who considered themselves the enlightened in his day:

Alas for you, lawyers and Pharisees, hypocrites ! You build up the tombs of the prophets and embellish the monuments of the saints, and you say, “If we had been alive in our fathers’ time, we should never have taken part with them in the murder of the prophets.” So you acknowledge that you are the sons of the men who killed the prophets. Go on then, finish off what your fathers began!

You snakes, you vipers’ brood, how can you escape being condemned to hell? I send you therefore prophets, sages, and teachers; some of them you will kill and crucify, others you will flog in your synagogues and hound from city to city. Matt 23:29-34 New English

Notice that these people who are now known for participating in the crucifixion of Christ and the later persecution of his followers to prison and to death thought that if they had lived in the days of the prophets, such as Moses, Jeremiah or Elijah, they would not have rejected them or sought their lives. Surely, they thought that they would have stepped forward to help. They would have stood with Moses and not worshipped the golden calf. They would not have thrown Jeremiah in a pit, nor would they need Elijah to bring fire from heaven to prove he was a prophet. They saw themselves as the good guys in the present who would have also been the good guys in the past.

Jesus, who must have heard such talk in their conversations, replied starkly that they did not see themselves correctly. If they had lived in the days of the prophets they would have shared in the mob mentality and soon in the present they would prove Jesus correct by showing their true colors.

This incident gives us good food for thought for our own consideration. We need to ask ourselves that had we lived in the days of Jesus would we had been one of the 120 that believed on him after the crucifixion, or even during his life?

He tells us that he will come again. Most Christians think he will come in such a blaze of glory that it will be obvious who he is, but suppose he comes again like he did last time – as a regular mortal.

How many would recognize him then?

Djwhal Khul through Alice A. Bailey gave out many teachings and has many followers in the esoteric world. He tells us that he will teach again around 2025.

Suppose that there are a dozen people claiming to be his new vessel. Do you think that you could pick the real one? And what if none of them represented the true DK?

After all, students will recall that he did not reveal who he was last time. Someone else let his identity slip out against his will.

So it may be possible that none of the claimants will represent the real DK. The real vessel may be an unknown who just posts enlightening material on the internet.

And suppose the real spokesperson says something positive about a controversial Republican or Democrat? Would this cause you to write the whole of the teachings off?

I guarantee this would happen with many.

One of the reasons that enlightened prophets and teachers are rejected by the very ones who are supposed to be expecting them is this. The Spiritual Hierarchy does not like to repeat itself. If a teaching is out there and it is clearly written then it violates the law of economy to just repeat it again. All any regular mortal has to do is reference a page number.

When a true teacher arrives he will present something new and different – something thought provoking that will stimulate thinking and move forward spiritual evolution.

In the days of Jesus the devout were expecting a messiah. Some were expecting him to come in a blaze of glory, similar to the Christian expectation of the Second Coming today. Others saw him as one like Moses who would deliver them from the Romans as Moses delivered he Israelites from Egypt.

As far as teachings go they expected an extension of the Lawgiver, Moses, who would place great emphasis on living the letter of the law.

As it turned out, Jesus was none of these things. He didn’t deliver the people from the Romans. He not only didn’t place emphasis on the law, but seemed to disregard it. Instead of concentrating on refining the law he had a new message centered on love. They had never heard anyone teach such a thing before.

Since Jesus did not correspond to their expectations they rejected him outright and put him to death for blasphemy.

It is interesting to contemplate what he will teach when he comes again. Most are expecting a repeat of what he gave us last time. These are likely to be disappointed and not recognize him. Of course, he will not contradict what he gave out last time, but we must be prepared for the fact that he will teach many new things that will far surpass what we have in the Bible.

And how about DK? Again the new teachings will be in harmony with those given through Alice A. Bailey but he will move on to new material, much of which may be rejected by Bailey students, just because they are new and different.

The last time he taught we went through a great division resulting in World War II. He was one of the few teachers that called it right on Hitler from the beginning. Most teachers either tolerated him or embraced much of what he stood for. Just before the war almost every prediction from the alternative folks was there was nothing to worry about, that there would be no war.

If, when he teaches again, we are still in a state of great political conflict as we are today he may give out some controversial teachings and mantras in an attempt to bring students together as he did last time. Will those who are attached to their ideals reject him just as the idealists did last time?

Unfortunately, it is often the case that several generations must pass before the true avatars are recognized by the many, or even a significant number. But let us hope that we can raise our consciousness up so we can appreciate true messengers when they are here in front of our eyes, instead of merely participating in building beautiful monuments to their name after they are gone.

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Facts on Fukushima

May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 21, 2017

Facts on Fukushima

A reader posted an article sounding alarm that traces of cesium 134 have been found on the west coast of the United States linked to the Fukushima disaster. To this I responded:

This article is trying to create alarm where absolutely no alarm is called for. It says it has found radiation from cesium 134 in samples from the Oregon coast measured around 0.3 becquerels per cubic meter. Researchers in both the US and Canada said the recently detected radiation levels were extremely low and pose “no risk to humans or the environment.”

Extremely low is right. It would make over three cubic meters of water to produce one radioactive atom which would be much less radiation than you would get from holding a brick in your hand or looking at your watch with luminous dials.

The article says there are no safe levels of radiation which is nonsense. We are subjected to radiation every day through normal living and in small doses that some argue they are beneficial.

Here is what Snopes says about the salmon in the story.

“To be sure, the Fukushima disaster was a worldwide environmental catastrophe with global effects. The presence of a single North American salmon with trace levels of cesium-134, undoubtedly the result of the Fukushima event, will nevertheless have a barely negligible — let alone catastrophic — effect on public health.

LINK

To this the reader responded insisting there is a problem – that Fukushima is spilling its 500,000 year half-life lethal-level radiation into the Pacific.

We have to deal with the facts here my friend, not our feelings or alarm from others that has no foundation.

First, there is nothing released from any nuclear reactor that has a half-life of 500,000 years. Plutonium has a half-life of about 24,000 years and radiation from that poses no problem. Radiation from elements with a long half-life is not that dangerous. A while back, Bernard Cohen, a nuclear physicist volunteered to ingest some to demonstrate it was no more harmful than caffeine.

The second fact is that there were no deaths related to radioactivity from the Fukushima disaster. In addition Wikipedia says this concerning other effects:

“There have been no observed or expected deterministic effects. In pregnancies, there has been no expected increase in spontaneous abortions, miscarriages, perinatal mortality, birth defects, or cognitive impairment. Finally, there was no expected discernible increase in heritable disease or discernible radiation-related increases in any cancers, with the possible exception of thyroid cancer.”

A threat to the thyroid from iodine no longer exists, as its half-life was only eight days.

The Japanese have been carefully monitoring any possible radioactivity in fish and food in the area and radioactivity poses no present danger.

There are three major radioactive elements released that are of concern. The first and most serious is Iodine-131 which has a half-life of only eight days. That has spent itself out long ago so the danger there is long passed. The second cesium-134 which has a half-life of about two years. This means that around 87% of its danger has now passed and will too become negligible soon. The third is cesium-137 which has a half-life of 30 years.

There are traces of cesium-137 in all our oceans caused by the testing of atomic bombs by the United States and the Soviet Union decades ago. This is of little concern as the amount is thousands of times lower than that required for any health risk. Any additional amounts of cesium-137 and cesium-134 linked to the Fukushima disaster is so small as to have about zero effect.

The main negative health effect from Fukushima was the displacement of citizens who lived near the reactor. This was an extreme inconvenience.

Although there were no deaths directly related to radiation from the reactor there were 15,894 deaths, and 2,562 people missing caused by the tsunami itself. It was also the most expensive disaster in history costing around $235 billion. This comparison is often overlooked.

The Fukushima disaster was created by a perfect storm of condition that taught us to not make reactors in areas where a possible tsunami could occur. Even so, the new generation of reactors and those in development are much safer and would not duplicate this problem.

The situation is a little like the history of the railroad. At first the bridges that made were not that safe and a number collapsed. The public was alarmed and, for a time, everyone thought that we should cease expanding our rails because we could not make safe bridges. But we corrected our mistakes in construction and soon the time came that all bridges were sound and safe.

We are at that point with atomic refactors. The newest ones are very safe and those under development will be even more secure. This should be good news for those concerned with CO2 emissions, for nuclear energy is responsible or more carbon free energy than any other source and it is not intrusive and does not clutter up the environment as is wind and solar. In addition it poses no threat to birds.

Excessive regulations and lawsuits by environmentalists is making nuclear expansion difficult in the United States, but fortunately this has not prevented other nations from forging ahead. In 2016 China increased its nuclear generating capacity by a whopping 25%, giving it power to reduce coal consumption and CO2 emissions. In addition it has 20 nuclear reactors under construction.

In the western Hemisphere atomic energy has the record of being the safest form of producing electricity. I have only been able to find one death linked to radiation exposure at a power plant in this hemisphere in the last 60 years.

Instead of worrying about harmless amounts of radiation in our oceans we ought to be concentrating on real problems. A major one is the polluting of our seas with garbage, most insidiously plastic bottles which are very harmful to sea life. It is outrageous that citizens of the world have allowed this to happen.

A second major problem is the dumping of nitrogen and phosphorous into the Mississippi River that drains into the Gulf of Mexico creating a dead zone that is destroying life in the waters. We need to focus more attention on natural methods of food production where no harm is done to the land or the waters.

A third problem is overfishing. This needs more international attention.

Finally a fourth major problem is the pollution of our seas and life therein with mercury, mainly from the burning of coal. This is why I support nuclear, wind and solar as replacements as soon as possible and any coal we do burn should be clean coal which reduces mercury and other emissions.

In conclusion there plenty of things to be concerned about with our oceans and waters, but radiation from Fukushima is not one of them.

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Self Love

May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 Joseph Dewey

May 19, 2017

Self Love

Here was a recent quote:

“Without duality there can be no love. There can be no love unless there is two or more of something. One of the great purposes that God created the universe was so love could become manifest. If God had not created us there would be nothing to love.”

A reader disagreed with this mentioning the importance of self-love. So does love of self mean that duality is not necessary for love to exist? Could God have just not created anything and been happy with self-love for all eternity?

Would it shock you if I told you that there is no such thing as self-love? It doesn’t exist because love is only manifest in a relationship involving two or more.

Love is a divine impulse, and to manifest an entity has to serve, assist and provide benefit for another person, group or humanity itself.

We manifest this love, not by trying to love oneself, but by forgetting self as expressed by Jesus:

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matt 16:25

If we can’t really love ourselves then what is happening inside the person who says he does love himself?

Generally what is called self-love is merely self-acceptance. It is difficult to love and serve another person if one loathes himself. Those who love the most are those who live up to the highest they know and accept themselves even though they are not perfect.

Now when speak of self here I am talking about the conscious entity within the form. It is possible to have a lower aspect of love toward parts of yourself but for this to happen one must see himself as not one being but one composed of several parts. Some of these parts include the body, the emotional self, the thinking self and the personality.

It is possible to have a lower aspect of love toward your body. Maybe a person thinks he is great looking and loves the way his body serves him. Maybe he thinks he has he greatest personality on the planet.

This aspect of love can only surface when one sees himself as more than one. One part of his makeup can express an aspect of love toward another part.

But if the person sees himself as a united whole then the parts are accepted but the love is then directed toward others. The disciple loses his life, or thoughts of self-love, and directs this aspect of God toward service to others. He realizes that in serving others with whom he has relationship that he is also serving himself. When this principle is understood he can then forget self because self is part of the group that will be taken care of through the spreading of love.

One of the problems with understanding love is that there are several levels. The highest level that can be comprehended by most is the love that emanates from our spiritual self, called by many the soul or higher self. This love energy is then reflected down in mortal life through our mental and emotional selves.

The emotional self distorts everything that is divine and interprets love in selfish terms. Its idea of love lies in possession and what the other can do for him, whereas the love of the soul is directed toward service rather than being served.

True expression of love then requires a forgetting of self and a focusing on serving the greatest number possible while producing the greatest benefit.

When the disciple focuses in this direction he finds that he has not lost himself, but has found himself and received much more self benefit than he did when he placed his attention on serving self.