fear – Nondualmind's Blog

Mind, Heart, and the Current Culture of Fear

September 23, 2013 by nondualmind, posted in Thoughts

Eleven-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz sang the national anthem at one of the NBA games and racist rants on twitter followed. Then, just recently, the twitter world became inflamed once again with the crowing of Nina Davuluri, an Indian-American, as Miss America. Both incidents captured a bit of on-air news time, but what is not being addressed is the underlying cause of these less-than-enlightened knee-jerk reactions.

I was reminded of something I took note of two years ago in the post The Eve of Destruction…of Fear! where I wrote:

“…look at immigration reform. If you really think about it and look beyond the rhetoric, you will see that we are being manipulated to regard anyone who is not ‘American’ as a threat.”

Only now, it’s not just people who come here from another country who are being shunned; people who are born here are not considered to be “American” because of the way they look.

I remember a talk Jean Houston, author and scholar, gave at the National Headquarters of the Theosophical Society back in 1992, titled “The Greening of the American Psyche.” She said that nationalism among a country’s citizens would become stronger. The Balinese would become more Balinese etc. Her statements at the time surprised me because I thought we were supposed to be evolving past the idea of duality (separateness) and moving toward the truth of non-duality (Oneness). But today, twenty years later, I see that she was right. With the rise of hate and so-called ‘patriot’ groups , the notion of “we are all one” is relegated to being a quaint new-age notion that has no grounding in the material world.

Krishnamurti said, “Patriotism, whether it is of the western kind, or of the eastern kind, is the same, a poison in human beings that is really distorting thought. So patriotism is a disease, and when you begin to realize, become aware that it is a disease, then you will see how your mind is reacting to that disease. When, in time of war, the whole world talks of patriotism, you will know the falseness of it, and therefore you will act as a true human being.” You can see how those statements would have brought K to the FBI’s attention. He was under their surveillance for a time and he did not speak in public from 1940-1944.

Media outlets have been reporting on the changing demographics of this country, which are being analyzed, politicized and debated with so much rhetoric, that we need a scorecard to keep track of all the perceived traits used to identify and separate ourselves from each other. Unfortunately, this separation has it cheerleaders in certain political and media circles, resulting in the acrimony and hate we saw directed at Sebastien De La Cruz and Nina Davuluri.

Identity, and thus duality, originates in the mind. All rhetoric, patriotic or religious, gets processed through the mind, which is where fear originates. Where are our hearts? Our heart is the place where our inner life is nurtured and from where compassion, understanding, tolerance, and yes, non-duality, is expressed.

When I wrote “The Eve of Destruction…of Fear!”, I stressed the importance of cultivating one’s inner life, through techniques like meditation, to get past the fear mongering, which is engendering a mean-spiritedness in people who claim to be Christian and who supposedly love God, but who continue to fail to recognize that there is no difference between us and the Divine. No Difference. But isn’t it interesting that every modality that would help us reach that understanding of ‘Oneness’ by cultivating our inner life is consistently attacked by some organized religions, who really don’t fully understand the concept in the first place, which is evident in this article from the Baptist Press. When they hear the word “meditation,” they counter with phrases like “alternative religions” or “cults.”

I’ve said before that the world is shallow, noisy, and divisive, so it’s not that difficult to keep people stuck in duality/fear as it’s constantly propagated by the patriotic and religious agenda pushing of governments, churches, and media outlets. They may be able to reach your mind, but they cannot reach your heart, unless you allow it.

“Mind, once swallowed by the Heart, is burped up as silence and peace.’ ~ Mooji

Peace on Earth

December 31, 2012February 24, 2013 by nondualmind, posted in Thoughts

I usually like to end each year (and begin each new one) with some thoughts other than “I’m definitely going on that diet tomorrow,” which okay, still happens I’ll admit. Every year, when I send out my Christmas cards, I stamp the word “peace” on the envelope. I keep hoping.

I could quote Gandhi, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” I could quote Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible,” but we’ve all heard these words before. They are wonderful and they are true, but they are still just words. They are meant to help us navigate past our egos and change our thoughts. From the looks of things we haven’t gotten the message. We’re not yet living our lives from a place of peace.

As this much anticipated year comes to a close, many will say that all the hype surrounding 2012 was nonsense – and much of it was. But I believe there was a great deal going on this year – in the realm of human consciousness – and more that will continue in the years to come. People have been waking up; there has been and continues to be an evolution of our human awareness.

Blind acceptance of authority has fallen to the wayside, as people are less willing to give away their power to those who would manipulate, lie, and control them to further their own agendas.

People are realizing that war has become an archaic notion. They are refusing to wave flags in a patriotic frenzy, glorifying the act of sending their children to kill other peoples’ children in battles that have been manufactured for the gain of a few.

People are waking up to the suffering being inflicted upon the animals, whether killing them for sport, for the dinner table, or using them for corporate profit.

We are in the process of changing centuries of behavior and thought patterns as we evolve into beings that are beginning to recognize ourselves in each other. The desire to cooperate will surpass the desire to compete. The desire to be kind will surpass the desire to do harm, not only with our actions, but also with our thoughts and speech.

The barrier to peace is rooted in fear, which perpetuates the illusion of separation. Gandhi knew that the time for words was over when he said, “Become the change you want to see in the world.” He wanted us to go past the rhetoric. Remember, what you think you become. Imagine the possibilities if fear was replaced with understanding and compassion. Do you have the desire and the courage to change the way you think? Wouldn’t that make a more meaningful resolution for the New Year? It does start with us. Peace is the ultimate grassroots movement.

Wishing everyone peace and happiness in the 2013.

The Eve of Destruction…of Fear!

July 28, 2011July 13, 2013 by nondualmind, posted in Thoughts

Barry McGuire sang the iconic song, The Eve of Destruction, in 1965, two years after the Kennedy assassination, when we were immersed in Vietnam and civil rights, and three years before the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. The 60’s were a decade of change, turmoil and fear – sound familiar?

I think back about how we were all manipulated by fear back then, especially during the Cuban missile crisis: fear of the Russians, fear of the bomb. I remember, as school children, the completely ridiculous ‘duck and cover’ exercises we were forced to practice. I remember being out in the schoolyard and being fearful of every plane that flew overhead; afraid that it was the Russians coming to drop the bomb on us. And we didn’t even have 24-hour news networks with nonstop talking heads telling us who to fear, how afraid we should be, and who was to blame for not keeping us ‘safe.’ To their credit, TV news anchors and journalists back in the ‘60’s behaved with much more dignity and impartiality than what we see today, and yes, the Cuban missile crisis was a difficult time, but fear still sells ratings and so we’ve seen the atmosphere of fear escalate, especially since 9/11. More wars, more money spent on death and destruction. Has the fear abated with all these efforts – even with the elimination of Bin Laden? Of course not. Even if we didn’t have a financial crisis going on right now, there would still be media attention focused on something to provoke fear in our hearts; look at immigration reform. If you really think about it and look beyond the rhetoric, you will see that we are being manipulated to regard anyone who is not ‘American’ as a threat. And it’s not just the politicians or the media, organized religions rank pretty high on the list of fear mongering.

Unfortunately, we cling to the material world as if it were our lifeboat. It’s not. When the stock market crashed in 1929, people threw themselves out of windows. Their identity was so wrapped up in what they had that they couldn’t live with the fear that loss provoked.

What does this have to do with non-duality? Quite frankly – everything. Fear keeps the illusion of separation alive. You cannot experience ‘Oneness’ (non-duality) while you are in the state of fear. It’s impossible. And, some will say, that’s the way ‘they’ want to keep it. Who are ‘they?’ – I’ll let you figure that out for yourselves. If you keep the masses in fear you can continue your control of them. It’s that simple.

There are two types of fear: fear that we internalize and fear that we externalize. The internalized fear results in panic, anxiety, obsession, compulsion, and worry. The externalized fear creates the hate and violence we see on so many levels of society. This type of dysfunction, whether it’s internal or external, all stems from the incorrect notion that the ego is in charge and the material world is all there is.

When we get out of our egos, through meditation or other exercises that promote a state of non-duality, we are no longer afraid because we are tapping into that part of ourselves that is real and indestructible. We no longer see others or situations as threatening.

Remember, it’s a matter of perception. It’s not what happens to us that we should worry about, but our reaction to what happens. So cultivate tolerance, compassion, and your inner life. We are on the eve of the destruction of fear.