Time for Lightworkers to step up

[mysticalchick]

... this came to me this morning as I was blow drying my hair: as things start to get ugly(ier) on here and in general, this is the time for those of us who can hold the higher vibrations to do so.

Think of it like this: We're the poles holding the tent up so people can find their way. Because, really, we are so so so lost in this country. Anger at targets we can't even name and making choices from anger and frustration that will take us further from the goal that we can even imagine.

If you are able to keep a high vibration and not go down into the fear and depression, it will benefit all those around you. We MUST do this. I have no idea why this is coming through so strongly to me but we MUST do this.

Thoughts? Maybe you can share how you manage to hold the vibration in your own life.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. I'm with you!!!!

This is the time. It's easy to go down the same path we've seen teabaggers go the last two years (they were pissed at the world, pissed at the turn they view "their country" had taken).

We have a right to be angry and afraid, and there's a lot to be angry and afraid ABOUT, even beyond politics.

Vent and feel what you need to.

But, I beg you to not STAY there.

Return your focus to what you CHOOSE TO CREATE.

I didn't understand why I've been delayed in launching this I Choose Campaign, but now I do.

It's more important now than ever, especially given the disappointment and fear many are feeling after yesterday's results, to find your way, stand in your truth.

Yesterday's results provided the contrast. It's a world of values and ideals we DO NOT CHOOSE.

But, after working through our anger and frustration and grief, let's shift our focus and actions to what WE DO CHOOSE.

We're going to be okay. We are. WE ARE OKAY. When some of us are down and can't see the light, we can hold that space. That's what we're here for.

:grouphug:

[rosesaylavee]

2. I was thinking this too...

Not feeling like a 'pole' yet but hope to be one. Have refrained from at least half dozen inappropriate statuses on FB... do I get points for that? :)

:hug: for this op.

[OneGrassRoot]

3. lol...you get points!!!

And hugssssssss............

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Actually, all my FB right-wingers are strangely absent this morning? n/t

edit for poor choice of words in keeping with a loving spirit...lol

[I Have A Dream]

11. I agree.

I did not see one person crowing about or even discussing the election results this morning.

[Kookaburra]

16. I've seen a couple of them crowing about their victories

Delusional FB friends from South Carolina. I swear, there must be something in the water down there. Otherwise, why would ordinarily sane people vote to put crazy people in office? I do not get it.

Sorry OGR, but I'm having a little trouble holding the light right now. I'm just overwhelmed by the ignorance of the American people.

[I Have A Dream]

17. I was in the same state last night, kookaburra...

and if I had seen it on FB this morning, I might still be feeling it also.

Much love and light to you, my friend. :hug:

[Kookaburra]

18. Thanks IHAD

[OneGrassRoot]

19. Please don't be sorry....

You have every right to feel as you do. (I may find myself there soon again, even though I'm not there at this moment.)

Feel what you must...but try not to drown in it.

That's all I'm saying. :hug:

And, even though you certainly don't need my permission, I'll reiterate that you (and everyone else) have every right to feel what you're feeling.

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

:loveya:

[Kookaburra]

20. Thanks OGR

[Ricochet21]

33. Remember

these are largely the same "folks" that chose Reagan for 8, Bush for 4, and Moron for 8 more. We have have 0 expectations.

[Kookaburra]

38. So true.

It's so disappointing to think that people I've been friends with and even taken care of their children would be such racist butt heads.

[get the red out]

24. My cousin was actually angry

He was saying it was actually still a victory for "Obama and Socialism" and calling on people to return to "Jefferson Constitutionalism", whatever the hell that is.

I, personally see no hope and have had any belief in spirit dimmed considerably. I can't see how anything does any good right now. I don't see a way out. Maybe I will at some point.

How does one hold their vibration up if they already feel total despair? Focus on something else completely so the evil doesn't have my mind, or at least not all of it? I can't much focus on good in the world because I see little hope of that. Focus on my canine familiar (as you suggested in another thread, and thank you for that, it helps tremendously). Start a new knitting project. Other than distracting myself from despair, I have no light at all and don't know if I still believe any exists.

[OneGrassRoot]

25. I'm so sorry....

I feel despair periodically myself.

We can't help how we feel. It's knowing that others here aren't feeling it at the same time I am that makes me feel "better." I know they're holding the space when I can't...and vice versa.

I would be truly concerned if every single last one of us felt no ray of hope. So long as someone has hope, they're holding that out for the rest of us, too.

All I can tell you is that when I see that pic in your sig line, I see light...and she lights you up beyond words. We've all witnessed that, and it's beautiful.

Do what you need to, GTRO, and let us know how we can help. Or simply feel free to vent. Whatever you feel like doing...or not. ;)

:hug: :loveya: :hug: :loveya: :hug: :loveya: :hug:

[get the red out]

28. Thank you

I would be worse if I hadn't found all you guys at ASAH (and Layla, you are right about her).

I am venting a LOT. Here and to whatever is out there that I don't think cares right now. It does help to know others feel better.

[I Have A Dream]

4. Yep, you definitely get points for that.

:)

[MorningGlow]

5. YES!!

Totally agree, MC. I'm with you.

A good point about being strong even for other lightworkers when they're down--absolutely.

At the moment you can lean on me, folks, because I feel untouched by last night's election results. I woke up to the blaring headline on the front page of my local paper, "GOP RETAKES HOUSE", and I just shrugged. Truly. I did. The message I got is that it means NOTHING, because now we have to work with something bigger, not just the "teams", the "us vs. them" of our current political system. The light will out, peeps, no matter who's trying to make the laws (or, in the GOP's case, trying to keep them from being made). It's like our current political system is out of date, and in the near future we'll work with them or without them--however they want to play it. It is suddenly bigger than their petty squabbles.

I dunno; I just keep thinking about my favorite Life Is Good t-shirt--the one with a glass that says "half full". I am grateful that Dennis and Barbara were re-elected. I am grateful that here in New York State, Paladino was NOT elected.

Of course, the first thing to do to hold the light is to stay the hell out of GD and GDP. The weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, and rending of garments is epic right now. But that will calm down too.

"All is well. And all is well. And all manner of things shall be well." :grouphug:

[OneGrassRoot]

6. Pole here....

People can lean on me right now, too. I don't feel defeated or disheartened, though I don't know why.

It just feels like now is our time, regardless of how yesterday played out.

Time to choose worlds.

(btw, did you mean Russ Feingold? He lost. :()

:hug:

:grouphug:

[MorningGlow]

8. Whoops--fixed--thanks for that

So much for cursory glances at stuff before morning coffee! (I went to bed early last night.)

I do wonder why some of us are not touched by the current turn of events. Any ideas? I feel like the elections--or, really, any politicking at all--is a very very small part of a bigger picture, and that small part is getting more and more inconsequential by the minute. But that's all I'm getting.

[I Have A Dream]

10. Wow, I just wrote about gratitude in my response as well, MG.

Then I read your response here. That's very interesting...

I gnashed my teeth last night (Pennsylvania was hit hard), but I've picked myself up, brushed myself off, and I'm ready to continue down the path wherever the Universe leads me. I have faith that it will all work out for the best.

:hug:

[MorningGlow]

14. It will indeed, Dream

In a weird way, I find it kind of exciting. I really feel like whatever low points we hit will be short-lived--small potholes on the road to a really great future. And that's strange, because the older I get, the more cynical I'm supposed to be, but I'm feeling the opposite. :shrug:

[eilen]

12. yeah, this am on the Home page

there was a great hurling of invective at Ralph Nader of all people. Merely because he pointed out there was little difference in positions on war, Patriot Act--where were the great ideological divides in this election? Go figure.


I'm looking into alternatives.

[MorningGlow]

13. It'll calm down in a few days

It always does. :hug:

[Delphinus]

36. In some ways,

I feel exactly like you - that it means NOTHING. Four years ago I was devastated - this time, it's like I *know* something more ... just don't know *what* it is that I know. What I can say for sure is that on November 11, at 11:11 PM, I will be joining my consciousness with others who are bringing in a world of love, and harmony, and peace, and oneness.

[MorningGlow]

45. Thanks for the reminder, Delphinus

I will be there as well. :hi:

[lildreamer316]

40. Could not agree more.

My other post said about the same thing.
I'm holding the light with you, MG.

[MorningGlow]

46. Yay!

:hug:

[I Have A Dream]

9. I've also been trying to see what the lesson in all of this is for myself.

My inclination is to say that everyone who is not of my political persuasion just needs to wake up and that if they'd only do as I say, the country would be on the right path.

I still feel that (;)), but I also realize that the lesson in all of this for me is perspective. My sister just spent 10 days in Rwanda helping to teach women who were victims of the ethnic cleansing that occurred in the 90s to have skills to support themselves and their families. These women suffered beyond my ability to even begin to understand (I won't go into the details here), and it looks as though Rwanda is a tinderbox again. Yes, this election's results are extremely disappointing, but, even with this, we really are very lucky to be living where we are. Let's continue to work to bring light into the political process and in how our country treats its citizens in need, but lets also realize what we do have by default from living here.

So, mysticalchick, in answer to your question, I agree. I will try to stay balanced and centered with my eyes on what I know is possible for our country, and I will express my gratitude for what we already have because we live here.

Thank you for this thread. :hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

15. Beautiful...

Thanks for sharing...:hug:

stay balanced and centered with my eyes on what I know is possible for our country, and I will express my gratitude for what we already have because we live here.

[Kind of Blue]

21. I love you MysticalChick.

Working now but I'd want to answer the question later. :hug:

[mysticalchick]

23. back atcha KOB

... and everyone.

[mysticalchick]

22. Thank you all for the response ...

I'm glad that it resonated with you guys. All that matters is that you do what you can to hold the vibration to the best of your abilities. If you feel like being snarly, that's fine. Just come on back to center, grab a pole and continue to help hold up the tent. Lots and lots of people can't do that and need our energetic assistance.

Do what you can - where you can.


(I sound like a damn cheerleader, don't I? Where are those pom-poms??)

[Habibi]

26. Cheerlead away!

I appreciate it. For the last few days I've managed to climb into and maintain a sort of "central peace." I can feel the despair and anger like a crumbling brick wall wanting to crash down on me, but somehow I'm holding it off. I'm sure I won't always be so lucky, but I'm trying ("have some fun, for gosh sakes" is my mantra right now, lol). Your post is reinforcement, and you have my thanks.

[Proud_Lefty]

27. Wish I knew what I could do to make a difference

The Republicans were always displaying themselves as ignorant and easily manipulated, but the tea party movement seemed to completely pushed them over the edge. These people are angry over something they can't even identify because they can't say it comes from a black man residing in the White House. I am amazed when I see these people on FB who openly attack our president with their hates messages misspelled. It doesn't matter that their great leader, Glen Beck, was exposed on how he got those big crocodile tears, people still blindly follow. When Rand Paul won, my heart sank, but I'm so relieved many of the other crazies didn't make it. As Rachel Maddow went over in detail, the tea party movement was created and funded by a right think tank run by Dick Army. It was never a grassroots movements, even though the tea partiers think otherwise. It has lots of money and manipulation (Fox News) behind them. People that follow them are just plain crazy.

We live in a society of winning and losing. It always feels great to win and horrible to lose. We also live in a two party system where the power constantly swings back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth again. As long as it is set up this way, neither party will always remain in power. It also didn't even matter that dems had all three branches of government, they did nothing with it, except use more excuses when nothing could get done. It's all a big game that we can't control, but we allow ourselves to become depressed because we're told we do have control, that our vote really counts. However, the outcomes of the elections are decided way before the polls even open.

I guess what I'm trying to say is we can attach ourselves to this game which is ugly and disgusting, or we can attach ourselves to what we really want out of the world. Whatever we give attention to becomes empowered.

[Howler]

29. As Usual your right MysticalChick.

I have had a pretty awful dry white season since August.
And have fallen into a pretty black depression but its time to shake it off and get back into the light.

LOL! Why is it when we most need to meditate and bath in the light we least feel like it????

Or is this just me?

[Bluestar]

30. I was trying to figure this whole thing out, too, then I saw this link on

another site:

http://www.akashictransformations.net/mc/page/ARon

It's someone who reads the Akashic Records and is giving a reading for Obama and the elections. Here are some major points from the article:

1. Obama is a catalyst for change, he doesn't make the changes happen. He is here for the world, not just the US. He is here to give power to the individual to make changes themselves in their own lives.
2. He fulfilled his karmic contract shortly after the election.
3. Elections have swung like a pendulum for 30 years. The pendulum is swinging shorter and shorter now and party changes will happen every 3-4 years, instead of every 8-10 years. Within 10 years the political ideology will settle in somewhere in the middle.
4. The Ascension is creating this instability. As more people take back their own power it makes those around them act crazy and unstable.

This all coincides with what my guide has told me about Obama. Instead of being the "change we are looking for" he was placed where he is to stabilize and "hold it together" while change occurs. That is why he is so conciliatory with Republicans and makes those on the left so crazy at times. As the shift plays out people act crazy as they are looking for their "savior"--sounds like religion, huh? When they can't find it one place, they look in another.

[I Have A Dream]

37. This is very interesting, Bluestar.

Thank you for sharing it with us. There's much to think about.

:hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

42. +1 :) n/t

[kimmerspixelated]

31. Profound words, MC!

I will keep the task of the higher vibration at hand. United Lightworkers of the World Ignite!

As always, wonderful words, MC!

[Ricochet21]

32. Righto MC

Time to step up! We MUST do this is the answer! :hi:

[BlueIris]

34. Funny you should post this, as I've been feeling for a while now

that it's a good thing I let go of the proverbial tent pole about three years ago. For others who want to continue to support in that way, that's fine, but I think it's better that I stopped thinking of my responsibilities as collective and/or spiritual. That line of thinking was allowing a lot of people to neglect their own responsibilities to, first of all, think for themselves, and second of all, do their part to clean up this mess.

[OneGrassRoot]

35. I know many who feel that way...

and there's a lot of truth in that, too.

I hear you and respect that, BlueIris.

We're all finding our way.

:hug:

:grouphug:

[gblady]

39. I was thinking the same thing.....

last night after watching all the hulabaloo on the teevee machine.

I felt a brief twinge of disappointment, then a sense of being grateful it wasn't worse,
followed by a deep sense of gratitude for feeling loved and protected by Source...
which, bottom line, is the most important thing to me....that Connection.

I totally agree with what you said "Do what you can - where you can."

In my little space in the world, I do my best to bring light into the all that I do...
Sometimes it's simply a smile, sometimes taking a deep breath and really listening when I feel rushed,
sometimes holding my thoughts, sometimes sharing them, always trying to recognise the Divine in everyone.

It feels these days like nothing else really matters, but how I live the now of my days. I have no regrets about
my past, I have no clue about my future, so what that leaves is right here, right now...that's it.

It also feels like, in a strange way, that I am becoming increasingly connected with the Eternal aspect of myself...
and that definitely helps with perspective.

Hope this makes sense....thanks for raising the subject.


:hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

41. "Do what you can, where you can."

:thumbsup:

Hi, gblady!

:hi:

[I Have A Dream]

43. That is very beautiful, gblady.

Thank you so much for sharing it. It makes total sense, and I'm trying to do the same thing. :hug:

[Ricochet21]

54. Right on gblady

see my latest post

[Oak2004]

44. Admittedly I don't consider myself a "lightworker"

because I don't believe in many of the complex beliefs and ideas many others do including the very notion that there is a category, "lightworker", that can be distinguished from any other category of humans, except, of course, by that some persons believe such a category is meaningful. It strikes me less as a description of a fact than as an article of theology, and I don't do theology.

I am not depressed about the election results, even as they certainly don't reflect my choices, even as they create danger for myself as a disabled person, because they do reflect two realities that would be true regardless of results--- in fact, realities that would be allowed to fester were the results anything other than the way they are.

The first is that our politics and our culture is fundamentally broken. Many people are spending a lot of time and energy trying to make a broken thing better, whether progressive or teabagger. But that's never going to work. You can't fix a dead car with a new paint job.

The second, a corollary of the first, is that many people, after slapping whatever paint they could on the old car, have been standing around waiting for someone else to start it up. There is not, and never has been, any "someone else". Politics and culture are not things produced by others that one passively consumes, they are things one actively creates, whether or not one knows one is actively creating them.

Long ago the left forgot what it means to organize: at its core it means talking to people who do not see things the way you do, persuading them of your point of view, and welcoming them into a supportive community of those who hold their new point of view. While this post is largely political, if I make it on GD I'll be jumped on for saying it is a necessity to talk, face to face, human to human, with freepers and fundamentalists and teabaggers and all the other "others" out there, and persuade them of another point of view. Anything less is not political organizing.

It's necessary to put some practical faith in the power of truth and love, and turn people around one teabagger at a time. No matter what brave facade is put forward, selfishness and narrowness and hate are not a satisfying way of life, and many people within what we think of as "the right" desperately want out of it. But this can only work if indeed one has within oneself an alternative to it, and not merely the same thing, other team. If it's our selfish hateful narrowness versus the other side's selfish hateful narrowness, people will go with the winning team every time, and it's not us.

Nor does fake love persuade. Fundamentalist religious "love" often disguises hate, and so too does a "love" that is all about keeping things quiet and pseudo-blissful for those who are conveniently not among the actively oppressed. If one is not angry at injustice, and further, one seeks to suppress anger in others because it is upsetting to oneself, then one is practicing denial, not love. Anger is the force of movement away from error -- it is to the conscience what pain is to the body. Anger perpetual, misdirected, and out of control is a problem, just as pain that long ago lost its warning function and now merely festers is destructive to the body. But trying to suppress all anger lest any of it ever go bad, is like using large doses of opiates to suppress all pain lest any of it ever become chronic. In doing such a thing one is surrendering one's ability to feel, to react, and to participate in life. And, unsurprisingly, those who one might persuade don't find numbness to be a selling point.

We are social creatures. The right understands this and embeds those it has won to its side in a supportive (and often controlling) community built around institutions like the megachurch. Our side talks community but doesn't act it, complicated by our habit of calling "community" loosely connected groups sharing some common ideas but lacking sufficient mass, identity, structure, or location to ever be relied on by its "members" for anything communities normally provide. We have created, what? Too often what remains of left-leaning community are decaying structures left over from the '60's, are internet-based "communities", or are cash-dependent. If tomorrow you persuaded a fundamentalist of the error of his or her ways, would the only thing you have to offer in the way of spiritual community be a $500.00 two-day meditation retreat, combining at once both a big up-front sticker price and lack of continuity?

Every megachurch started with one preacher enrolling one church member, relying on each other and supporting each other as the two of them worked to enroll still others. Once one began in earnest, mathematics favored explosive growth jf each member attracts on average even a fraction more than one more member.

In 2012 we here could find ourselves embedded in massive new communities of our own making, and that's an utterly realistic, not pie in the sky utopian, appraisal. Nature and mathematics favor community. All it takes is a solid foundation (that truth and love thingy) and a new vision that isn't stuck in the old habits of diffuseness and fragmentation. And of course abandonment of the notion that we are consumers of community made by others. No one else is supposed to make these communities for us.

My aide is here and I need to get out of bed now. I may add more later.

[MorningGlow]

47. Got news for you, schweetheart

If you're here (in ASAH), you're a lightworker!
:rofl: :hug:

I know it's a New Agey term, but its definition isn't exactly what you'd think. It doesn't mean anybody is "special"--only that they pay closer attention to the spiritual and incorporate it into their perception of daily life. According to Google defs:

# The New Age (also referred to as the New Age movement, New Age spirituality, and Cosmic Humanism) is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightworker

# A person driven and motivated to do work which makes the world a better place, improves peoples' lives, and/or elevates people to a higher level of consciousness
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lightworker

(More: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Lightworker&sa=X&ei=7MDSTM6wIoeglAfHl-XnDQ&ved=0CBMQkAE)

Anyway, thanks very much for sharing your thoughts, Oak. You are right--our politics and culture are definitely broken. We are in a transition period, and everyone's flailing about while we figure out what's going to replace the old. Teabaggers want to "take the country back", but they have no idea to what (or to where). We want to move forward, but the New is hazy. What does it consist of? We don't know yet. Hence the reliance on the old "apocalyptic" visions of the future, with complete destruction (of the physical, but I suspect it's more destruction of the old traditional societal structures) and a hardscrabble existence where we fight over the last jugs of potable water. (As you can probably tell, I'm not a believer in that future scenario.)

What really matters is that our worlds are splitting. We have to choose which existence we want--sticking with the old and outdated and being miserable about it, or freely moving into the new. That's each person's choice, and nobody else can drag anyone else into what they feel is incorrect.

Yes, of course we should try to talk to others, but unless they're really willing to listen and be convinced of an alternative life choice, they aren't going anywhere based on someone else's persuasion.

I think the best thing we can do is just...BE. Be ourselves, be an example; hold the light but don't push it on anyone, get comfortable in our own skin and the future we have chosen, and some others may be intrigued and come along.

Or not. It's their choice.

[OneGrassRoot]

49. See, I agree with what you say here, MG....

What really matters is that our worlds are splitting. We have to choose which existence we want--sticking with the old and outdated and being miserable about it, or freely moving into the new. That's each person's choice, and nobody else can drag anyone else into what they feel is incorrect.

I really resonate with that, yet I still struggle. And I don't know why.

I mean, it's not like I'm a teacher or a leader or any of those roles which tend to make people have a calling to "reach out" to others and show them the way.

I don't know the way...lol. I do believe very strongly that a way based on love, versus fear, is a more pleasant experience for all concerned and can alleviate suffering.

That's what I want to do: alleviate suffering, and somehow encourage people to know they can alleviate much of their OWN suffering by choosing love over fear.

I don't know why, but between Oak's post and yours and the original OP, I feel so torn and that I need a good cry....but that will have to wait until I get this work done. :rofl:

:cry:

edit for typo

[MorningGlow]

51. Because we were always taught

that to be a good person meant not leaving anyone behind. That we should always not only LIVE a life of love, but TEACH the same. CONVINCE everyone else. DRAG them, if necessary.
:rofl:

It goes against our very nature to let people make a "wrong" choice without trying to stop them. We've always been taught that it's selfish to move forward ourselves without helping everyone else down the same path. But now all we can really do is take care of the people who want to be taken care of.

Don't get me wrong--it breaks my heart that we can't convince everyone. But again, I believe in just "be-ing" and letting others gravitate to what we have to share when they're ready--a form of detachment. Because otherwise, it's wasted energy on our part. :(

[I Have A Dream]

53. I completely agree.

As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

That's where free will comes into play. People have the right to choose either way. Ultimately, everyone will awaken. It may be 10000 lives from now, but everyone will awaken. It's just a blink of an eye anyway outside of this 3D experience.

We just have to passively share what we know. Those who are ready will express an interest and will drink.

I've realized that my work here is to work with those who are at the point where they're starting to awaken. I'm just to offer support and be there for them as they work their way through the initial fear that comes with having to reject everything that they've ever been told. I can't push, or I'll scare them off.

Of course, this is all just my opinion. :)

[bigmonkey]

55. We used to call that "consciousness-raising"

I mainly remember it in a political context, but the spiritual and the political were a little more closely fused in the late 60s and early 70s than they are now.

I don't think what Oak and MG are saying are incompatible, it's just that there's no firm place to stand between them. The lack of a firm, stable place to stand can be annoying, or a stimulus to growth, as I see it. (One meaning of the middle way, or another example of the nature of holons, or even the pain of life.) I think my life tells me that almost all people can be reached on a human-to-human level eventually, but I can't actually reach all of them, mainly because I'm only one person (on the everyday level). Lots of different methods would be necessary to reach people, depending on the person you're attempting to reach; only real personal attention will find them.

For instance, I have a person in my life who is about 99% my soul mate, but the other 1% is so frightened that it poisons our relationship. The person is a really rabid follower of the Richard Dawkins cult (which is probably different from what Dawkins actually says), and although we've known each other for almost 30 years, my merely technical atheism (I'm nominally a Buddhist) is not enough, and I'm suddenly the enemy of mankind.

It broke my heart when I decided I can't fix that. It would mean an enormous amount of work, crowding out all other activities, probably moving across the country and losing my job, and working patiently through all the fear – that's what I think would be necessary for this particular person in this particular case. They're otherwise very progressive, extremely intelligent, and I'm just hoping they figure it out. But I know enough about their life story to know that they were originally inspired by Christian charity, and disappointed that no-one in the family actually took it seriously enough to actually follow through. Like G.K.Chesterton said: “Christianity hasn't so much been tried and found wanting as it's been found difficult and left untried.” The homeless person brought to the family house for a meal was way too far, it seems.

I've found some similar stuff on this board. A few years ago a DUer named mopinko wanted to start a conversation about the harm done to folks who had been classified as “gifted” or “advanced” in their school systems, and was really viciously attacked as an elitist before the discussion even got started. Posters were absolutely determined that no such discussion would be allowed to occur. But a curious thing happened when I engaged one of the really rabid attackers – I had a human conversation with them in a long side-thread where they eventually revealed that they had been subjected to that kind of classification themselves, and it had hurt them so much that they were determined to suppress any discussion of any such programs, I guess in an attempt to prevent them from occurring again. So, in short, this person had thought about their experience, had decided that it had severely harmed them, and so was opposed to ever bringing the subject up for discussion – which discussion of damage was the whole purpose of mopinko's OP.

So, I do think that engaging people on a human level is what cuts through this, but the limit is that you can only be face-to-face, feeling who they are, with one person at a time. Yes, the Tea People are mostly trapped by fear, but there may not be enough time to reach all of them. There is enough time to reach some of them. No firm place to stand, again.

I remember a story about consciousness-raising that I heard once about Cesar Chavez. Somebody asked him how you do consciousness-raising, and he replied: “Well, first you talk to one person, then you talk to another person, then you talk to another person, then you talk to another person ...”
When the questioner walked away, Chavez was still saying “...then you talk to another person, then ...”

So, I guess we have to learn to really be while we really act.

[OneGrassRoot]

56. No firm place to stand....

Very true. That's a great way to put it. :)

(Sorry about the relationship difficulty you mentioned...:(...that's so hard.)

I wanted to say that the face-to-face versus online, in my experience, is irrelevant. The exact same walls exists whether I'm talking directly to the people in person or online.

Actually, I've found that discussions online are EASIER. Emotions can get too out of control and people say things they regret when face to face. One can have a more measured response when engaging online.

That's my experience, at least. ;) I tell ya, it's helped me a lot. Emotions tend to get the best of me and I start spewing profanity (not directed AT the person, but just profanity in general, but still...), so online discussions have really helped me maintain more a balance and steadiness, and this conveys offline as well.

Thanks, bigmonkey.

:hug:

[bigmonkey]

57. Maybe I shouldn't have said "face-to-face"

because I, too, find that one-on-one is enough. I don't need to actually see the person.

And I think some part of the Tea People problem is that they can't deal with "no firm place to stand". The Mahayana differs from the previous monk-focused Buddhism in that the rules are relaxed, but the responsibility of each person in interacting with others is enhanced - you have to figure out what the best thing to do is in constantly changing circumstances, which is harder. A similar evolution occurs between the Old and New Testaments, and I'm sure there are other, more obscure examples. The Sufi way in Islam vs the fundamentalist Muslim, etc.

The Tea People want a simple rule, and they've been propagandized into thinking that it's something like "Every man for himself". If we could just get them to go back to the Golden Rule, if they want only one rule, we'd be light years ahead of where we are now.

[OneGrassRoot]

58. Geez, isn't that the truth?

If we could just get to the Golden Rule it would be a vastly different landscape.

Well said.

:hug:

[I Have A Dream]

50. I completely agree with this.

I think the best thing we can do is just...BE. Be ourselves, be an example; hold the light but don't push it on anyone, get comfortable in our own skin and the future we have chosen, and some others may be intrigued and come along.

I see it all the time on Facebook. I have seen people change their political parties and remove Fox News from their television information. Many people are hungry -- even those on the political right. They know that they're not happy, but they have no idea what to do about it. Little things make a difference, but in my experience, only when not pushed on them. Set the table and let those who want to eat do so. Often, they realize that they're happier and a better person from having eaten there. That's the beginning of the metamorphosis; the awakening has started.

[MorningGlow]

52. Oh, I like that, Dream

Set the table and let those who want to eat do so.

Yes, exactly. Make it available, and those who are ready will find it. But we all know we can't force-feed anyone.

The awakening has indeed started. Sometimes I think that electing repubs AGAIN, so soon, will show people that that's not the answer either. It's a lesson that needs to be learned, and sooner rather than later, so let us deal with a GOP-controlled House once again, so the People Who Just Don't Get It might have a little light dawn in their skulls that the republicans aren't going to Make It All Better either.

[OneGrassRoot]

48. There is so much to digest here....

Oak2004, I truly, truly appreciate your sharings. You have such insight and clarity, and express it so well. Thank you for sharing here.

:hug:

I don't consider myself a lightworker either. I'm not very good with labels, but I understood what MC meant; those of us gathered here with positive, loving intent.

Long ago the left forgot what it means to organize: at its core it means talking to people who do not see things the way you do, persuading them of your point of view, and welcoming them into a supportive community of those who hold their new point of view. While this post is largely political, if I make it on GD I'll be jumped on for saying it is a necessity to talk, face to face, human to human, with freepers and fundamentalists and teabaggers and all the other "others" out there, and persuade them of another point of view. Anything less is not political organizing.

It's necessary to put some practical faith in the power of truth and love, and turn people around one teabagger at a time. No matter what brave facade is put forward, selfishness and narrowness and hate are not a satisfying way of life, and many people within what we think of as "the right" desperately want out of it. But this can only work if indeed one has within oneself an alternative to it, and not merely the same thing, other team. If it's our selfish hateful narrowness versus the other side's selfish hateful narrowness, people will go with the winning team every time, and it's not us.

I posted this earlier on FB, where I have quite a few Limbaugh/Beck/Tea Party fans as friends, as well as several family members:

I think about this a lot (entirely too much, really...lol): What is the core difference that leads to such vastly different worldviews? It's not politics, it's how you view other people; political affiliation is secondary to how you view ...the world.

Do you have a general respect for people -- for humanity -- to begin with (and try to keep respecting them even though you strongly disagree with what they're saying or doing), or do you generally dislike humanity and everyone has to work hard for your respect?

It's not a right or wrong thing. It's two different ways of being in the world. This quote kind of summarizes this for me and it was like BAM! when I saw it:

"Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear." ~ William E. Gladstone, 1866

I would really appreciate more of your thoughts about this, and how you would proceed to organize and engage those who are led by fear. I struggle with this so much -- as you are all privy to. I don't want to STAY angry (I agree that BEING angry is natural and necessary in many situations), I don't want to fear their worldview; I do want to get to the heart of the fears (of everyone, not just "left" or "right") so we can move forward to truly create these authentic communities.

Starting a community with people of one worldview -- those of like mind and like heart -- seems to naturally exclude others. It is automatically set up as an "us" against "them" scenario even if not intended that way. It's perceived by others of another worldview as excluding them, or they simply choose to see it that way.

I try to stay open. My discussions on FB and in person with those of other worldviews is my way of being open, even if it adds to the stress level. Yet when there is a wall -- because the worldviews are so very, very different and we seem to want such vastly different realities -- I am inclined to detach.

That has been my experience more often than not. There is not a desire to have a genuine discussion; people simply want to prove their "way" is the right way. Unless I'm deluding myself (which is very possible), I can honestly say I am seeking genuine discussion. Remember, I'm the person who keeps saying she doesn't "know" anything, so I really am not one to profess truths or that "my way" is the best or correct way. I really am seeking genuine discussion...and give and take, with an open mind and open heart.

I rarely experience that, however.

I end up wishing them well and try not to judge their way as wrong (rather, it's simply not what I choose), but detach and move on.

I don't know how else to do it.

:shrug:

[Oak2004]

59. They are wrong*, but they aren't aliens

Two things are absolutely true about them: their life issues resemble our life issues, and (asterisk applies here) "wrong" is a linguistic oversimplification of their state of relative error.

Relative error? I like to use the analogy of a spiral staircase. Assuming the purpose of everyone on the staircase is to climb to the top of the stairs, a small slice in time would show that some persons are more "right", some less "right", and that most of everyone's energy was "wasted" swinging back and forth in big loops, loops often moving in opposite directions from each other. A complete view would show everyone running up the stairs in the most efficient -- indeed, *only* -- way possible.

The fundamentalists, freepers, teabaggers? They're the folks a few steps back at the moment. That's the kind of wrong they are, not an alien, other, "wrong". What I have found is that if I do not opposite-ize people, but deliberately seek out commonalities with them (not political common ground, or false moral equivalencies, but a common humanity), I can reach them. Yes, even right wing extremists (an American Nazi Party youth group member far enough right for you?).

But for this to happen I have to not just stop seeing themselves as a bundle of opposing ideology. I have to jettison any political ideologies I might be holding.
People are primed to defend themselves from the "enemy" point of view--- they've been taught what to look for and how to react to it by their misleaders. They know they're supposed to shut down and drive you off when they hear certain cues. Don't give them the cues, and they don't shut down. The best way not to give those cues is not to have them in your head in the first place.

That's part of what I mean about trusting truth and love. Don't talk politics, talk truth and love (and not even that in an ideological way), listen as well as talk, and trust that truth and love will boost one (or both) of you in the right direction up those stairs.

Not everyone is reachable at this time, or by oneself, of course. That's less interesting then that some are.

One other thing, The net is pretty much worthless for this purpose because there isn't much. if any, uncontaminated ground with sufficient continuity (and the ability to read cues indicating sincerity).

BTW I put only a little weight on the idea that somehow we're destined to be what we are on the basis of personality type. If that were true there would never be any political change. The attributes described by researchers may be a predictor of what someone is like at the same time they hold certain views, but those attributes are mutable. Not to mention that I've seen a whole lot of fearful Democrats certain the problem is that everyone else sucks, too.

[OneGrassRoot]

60. I'm trying...

I don't approach it from "right" or "wrong"; I try to be very mindful of that, because I don't assume that "my" way is "right." ;)

I do feel choosing love over hate alleviates suffering, and that's at the heart of everything I'm working toward, I've realized. So, to me it's about choices, not right or wrong.

The spiral staircase sure is an apt analogy. I do try (usually unsuccessfully) to find that common ground so we can go up the stairs together with much more grace and ease and support of one another.

I hear you. :)