New Tax Bill, Trump and Partisanship

As the announcements come out about the new tax bill the politicians are seething with wild claims on one side and trying to build hope and optimism on the other. Neither has clear knowledge of what will happen with a new tax code; all is hypothetical. But when one party comes up with a partisan bill, the other party vilifies it.

This new plan has some good, beneficial rules in it. No one knows exactly what it will do. As with any bill, it will benefit some and some may inadvertently be disadvantaged by it. There is not any legislation that does not have this result. Any big new laws are complicated and impossible to predict the final outcome. The authors are doing their best to solve a problem.

Whether a bill is presented from the right or the left, the other side begins immediate fear mongering, as if the writers are purposely trying to hurt the population.

The truth is this new tax plan isn't a big change. Many people won't notice much difference. It doesn't solely benefit 'rich' people, (the fear of this is an underlying belief that all rich people are evil). No, most of them just worked like crazy with a strong passion for what they do. Some are very spiritual, highly ethical, not all.

On this particular bill, the democrats are continuing to enforce the belief that corporations are selfish, greedy, unfeeling, monstrous beasts. They are just groups of people, most well-meaning, offering a service or product with a desire to make it successful. Our tax laws are so punitive to corporations, with corporate tax being much higher than in other industrialized countries, that they have moved their headquarters out of the United States. This tax would hopefully bring them back, adding a whopping increase to the government's bottom line.

We create our reality. When the right continued to blast Obamacare, eventually a great number of people had bad experiences with it. The left wasn't trying to hurt people, but offer affordable health care. Yet the right convinced many that it was going to be too complicated, unsuccessful, too expensive, etc. etc. Some good and some inadvertent harm did come of it, and we can correct the parts that didn't work so well. But the right continues to forward the belief that it is a tragic and failed piece of legislation.

The anger and hatred from each side to the other just creates more anger and hatred; there is no benefit to anyone from it. The anger and hatred toward the president does the same thing.

On Trump, he suffers from a mental condition of which he has no control. We act like he can change, or shape up, or somehow wake up. It's doubtful that will happen. He has malignant narcissism, serious version of narcissistic personality disorder. He is ruled by impulses, driven to continuously act according to what he thinks will enhance his persona. It can be saying one thing one minute and the complete opposite in the next few minutes. He is oblivious. He isn't a party line guy or conducting himself from any particular dogma; he is just trying to enhance his self-image. He is in a constant state of anxiety, feeling like he has to boldly convince everyone how great he is, (yet he's really trying to convince himself.)

Anger toward him, hatred, seeing him as a villain, spreading bitter sentiment all over social media, lampooning him constantly, doesn't help the situation. It just causes us to become much more stressed and anxious ourselves.

Understanding the real situation does help. The more we seek to understand, the more we rise.

We are called to evolve and mature, raising our own consciousness to be able to calmly and intelligently seek solutions to this situation. Only a calm mind is able to resolve this dilemma in our country right now.

People to follow that are offering intelligent voices:

Ken Wilber, psychologist, philosopher. He has a free PDF online called Trump and a Post Truth World

Michael Smerconish, journalist, balanced thoughtful reporting on SiriusXM and CNN

We're in a Swamp!

We seem to be in such a swamp of negativity these days, and we are certainly not at a loss to find causes. It's affecting all of us to some degree. We are emotional beings. And just look at the waves of horrific sound, sight and facts bombarding our children daily, as described in Peggy Noonan's column this week.  We need to learn how to deal with this.

It is alarming to see my sweet, spiritual, religious, positive friends post angry messages, even using name-calling themselves. I'm seeing hateful rhetoric no matter what side of an issue someone is on. I'm seeing the normalization of violent language in our media and entertainment. Dreadful violence with vulgar and profane language in our movies and shows. I wrote about this over ten years ago in my short investment book—how, since the advent of television, in their competitiveness, the industry has continually ramped up the shock value to keep eyeballs glued to the shows. The material induces us, thus capitalizing on our human nature's impulse to watch a train wreck.

There are many reasons our culture is going through this big upheaval, of course. I'm not suggesting there is one single cause, and I've written more about that in the blog entry, Where are Our Leaders?

Eventually all will be fine. Eventually a balance will be found with a higher, more just culture. Such is the unfoldment of evolution. So, how to we get there? Does it have to be so painful?

We can, as we have in the past, get there through force, anger, violence, protests and more chaos.  It's worked before, after much beating down and many victims.

OR, we can begin the elevation now. We can shift the conversation. We can shift our attention to emulating what the evolved human looks like, and by that, lead the way. Jesus's teachings, Buddha's teachings, the ancient Vedas, are all scriptures that define a just, wholesome way of living, leading to better health, greater ability to serve, less suffering, and finding happiness and personal fulfillment.

One common thread amongst all of the great teachings is looking for answers inward and not out there in the cultural messages. Ask within. Meditation and prayer.

We all need examples of how to do this. Be one. 

Where Are our Leaders?

There is a leading edge of evolution functioning within humanity. This leading edge is a minority of the population, yet large enough to have an impact by showing the way, being an example of where we can go, how we can be, and what we can accomplish. According to Ken Wilbur, author and integral theorist, in his recent e-book, Trump and a Post-Truth World, this leading edge has been failing to lead inclusively for a few decades now.

The leading new evolutionary movement emerged in the 1960s full of promise, compassion, forgiveness, and love. War wasn’t the answer, cultural, racial and gender divisiveness was to be overcome, and an optimism spread over the land that it was possible to have a just, good and truthful world.

But this leading edge of the most evolved expression of consciousness in any numbers somehow lost its way; somehow ran itself off the rails when it began embracing the idea that it was elite, better than, and took upon itself to rescue the lowly, the less than, from imagined oppressors. This edge saw victims everywhere, and surmised an oppressor or oppressors were always to blame. This created grounds to become angry and hateful to those it deemed oppressors. Also, the ones seen as ‘less than’ weren’t respected as much as those who followed the leading edge beliefs.

Those who were targeted by the leading edge as unworthy felt the disdain thrust upon them, hence a deep anger grew.

Everyone is operating at their own level of consciousness, we know that. Each level has value. At each level of consciousness there is a relatively balanced, healthy state and an unhealthy state. A balanced healthy state at all levels contributes positively to the whole, and gives impetus to grow into the next level. No matter where we are on this measurement, we hold all the previous states we have moved through, just as we still carry our childhood and adolescence within us. When the leading edge, that highest evolved state in large numbers of the population, is balanced, healthy and sound, this progresses the whole by leading productively, defining truth and goodness, acceptance of all expressions of consciousness, acceptance of differing opinions, thoughts and ways of living from previous states.

What is needed is an environment of inclusivity. We need strong leaders who exemplify goodness, truth, and compassion, and show us what that looks like. Leaders who don’t partition off segments of society and label them. Someone to get the leading edge back on the rails so that it moves forward once again. We haven’t seen this in a long time.  

There are two ways this could happen. One would be for someone or some group within the leading edge with these ideals to emerge into our awareness and get our enraptured attention. Pretty tough job.

The other way would be for the quite small, but extraordinarily effecting, edge beyond this one (that began in the 60s). The new furthest edge that automatically holds the truths of goodness, beauty, inclusiveness, compassion, and love, and will not be infected by elitism, judgmentalism, or divisiveness. At this level, the purpose is to serve by being an example. Which serves everyone.

And this edge can lead the current edge, show the way, help get it back to where it can be once again productive and positive. 

A Better Way

So many angry people. So many fearful people. It matters not what political view one has, there is plenty of vitriol flowing on every side. Anger is a step up from powerlessness. Anger gives us a feeling of control, a feeling of relief from victim-hood, from passivity. So for that, it has a function. It pulls us through unacceptable circumstances.

Fear and anxiety, on the other hand, tends to hold us still while we wallow in the stew of these toxic emotions. Until it morphs into out-picturing anger, it only destroys our own wellbeing.

But even anger, if it isn’t transcended into a higher state, cases more chaos.

In this political climate, this level of stress in the world at the moment, this feeling of unwanted unfolding situations, what should we do? How should we approach our own future and our own plans for our lives? Do we have any way in which to move the global meter toward more peace? Have we any influence to raise the consciousness of the masses?

There are, of course, infinite solutions, from every spiritual tradition, from new thought leaders to ancient sages, we are not short of paths we can take with life-changing, even miraculous results. The important thing I want to relay to you is, find one. Take one. Seek one that speaks to you. One that centers you in your own peace, establishes you in your immortal source, your authentic self, your soul.

Release the attachments you may have to one side of a system, one view of governing, one version of right and wrong. This is a state of separation in which you project an enemy out there; where you see those who think differently or hold other ideas as wrong. This is a falsehood.

Remember, the only true reality is your inner world and when you identify with this reality you are far more compassionate, open, loving, understanding, and ultimately more effective in the outer world, even if it is just the energy you are emitting, which, alone has great benefits.

Contrary to many opinions, the best way to change conditions isn’t to take to the streets in angry protest, because it creates a backlash of the opposite view. What you push against grows stronger.

The way out? Love your brothers and sisters. Hear them. Attempt to understand while you listen instead of creating your response in your head. Listen with love. Watch as they begin to shift, change their posture, as the anger drains from their body. You’ll be creating a healing in your corner of the world.

Thinking one side is right and one side is wrong causes a societal illness, like a disease taking over the land where people are cells trying to annihilate each other.

A new system of thought is trying to emerge. All of us can foster this new, fragile form of being as it spreads among those who are ready and open. A better way is dawning.