Q: You often talk about how we are brainwashed by culture. Why is that a bad thing? What can we do to prevent this?
Cultural brainwashing teaches us not to question and not to think or act for ourselves. There are many ways to prevent this and still live a so-called normal life. It’s not realistic to set impossible expectations. Most of us will feel we can’t fully disengage from culture. But we can become more aware of how language is used to manipulate, persuade, deceive, influence, and force views on each other.
To begin the process of disengaging, start by practicing to notice when it’s happening and why it’s happening. Make an effort to use language positively. Call out those instances when the invisible force of language is used to beat people over the head in ways that seem acceptable and normal but are truly vicious, brutal, and dehumanizing.
Q: Can you give me a couple of examples? I get the idea that we don’t want to overwhelm ourselves. Can you be a little bit more descriptive?
Western culture’s key pressure and pain points are around success, money, and appearance—physical appearance, the appearance of the house and car, and the appearance of the career.
Culture is a tractor beam that pulls everyone behind it on the designated paths that support the survival of the culture. It does not truly consider what’s best for the individual. It enforces a group-think to control those who might wish to go against it. It ostracizes those who appear to think and act differently.
For instance, there are many biases and prejudices that are deeply ingrained in the American culture, sacred cows that started as nothing more than someone’s imagination. A glorified description that never was but has been established in the lexicon as unassailably true. The rugged individualist (which has recently morphed into “Don’t tell me what to do.”) The land of the free (which has recently morphed into “Free for the chosen ones.”) And so on and so on.
Every culture has similar structures, so this is not to disparage one culture over another culture. Name the culture and I can tell you the tractor beam it uses. It doesn’t matter what the tractor beam is. You just need to become aware that it is there. And to pay attention to how it is pulling on you in ways that you don’t want, or doesn’t suit you, or doesn’t allow you to think or examine for yourself truly who you are and what is right for you.
There are exceptions but, for all intents and purposes, money makes the world go around. When everything has been turned into a commodity, then everything can be devalued. It’s no longer seen for what it is but what it can do for the one who wants to use it. There’s a massive depersonalization that has been going on that allows humanity to do unspeakable things in the name of culture.
This is why it is so important to spend time in nature. Because in nature, you will automatically be inclined to speak less and listen more. Only through silence and listening can we begin to tease apart the truth of what something is versus the value of the commodity that the culture has placed on it—determining what has worth and no worth—including individuals. This practice will begin to help us see things for what they are. It’s important for people interested in walking this path to spend more and more time unplugged and in silence.
The fact is that we’ve reached a point where culture has become a disease. I’m not suggesting that you disown your culture or remove yourself entirely from it. But start practicing a method of keen observation that allows holes to be poked through, so a different light can be seen. Then that will become its own energy source. It’s all about finding the correct energy source that feeds rather than annihilates.
Once you take these steps on your own, you’ll be less and less interested in culture’s purview. So you don’t need to leave or let go. You just need to pay attention to and describe accurately what is.
Q: I think the tractor beam also seems to shed light and that outside of that beam would be darkness which would make people fear being alone and scared.
True.
Q: So how do we address that?
A tractor beam is an energy source. There are many different energy sources that we can plug ourselves into that have their own life. Walking away from the tractor beam of a culture doesn’t prevent us from participating in that culture. It just gives us an on/off switch. When we don’t want to participate, we have tools and a map to step outside of that.
Q: So what you’re describing, in a way, is getting rid of an addiction.
Yes. The nature of culture is to create and reinforce addictions that support it.
Q: So can you still have some of it but not be completely dependent on it?
Yes, it’s possible. First, we need to shed light on the addictive, diseased parts of culture. Then each of us must be honest with ourselves about where and how we are addicted and what we are willing to do to become unaddicted.
But just like building a brick wall. You can’t take out a bunch of bricks without replacing them or the whole wall becomes weakened and will eventually crumble. You cannot take a habit away without replacing it with a more healthy habit. That’s because most people cannot experience a void without seeing it as a negative. So don’t create a void. Don’t give yourself a reason to react against. Help yourself feel secure and safe at each step of the process so you know what to expect. So you can laugh at those habits and keep moving forward.
Also, know that growth is not linear. Change is not linear. None of it is linear. So if there appears to be a falling back, expect that it’s part of the path and that you are still on the path. And just keep walking. It will come around again. But don’t use it as an excuse to let yourself fall off the wagon and revert to old ways.
It is all very doable. And it is all easy to see and recognize. It just needs to be pointed out so that people know what to focus on. One of the destructive elements of culture is the ways in which it obscures what we should be focusing on. Find those places that culture wants to obscure and shine the light there.
In a time like this of transitioning reality where various realities compete, such as Republican vs. Democrat in the US, the sensation is like walking on uneven ground. Where one foot strikes the ground sooner than the other. As though you’re walking sideways along a hill and then suddenly the ground drops and shifts. It does not allow the physical, emotional, or spiritual body to develop a rhythm, consistency, speed, or comfort.
This is a deliberate tactic by various political people to continue dissent, discord, and separation. As with all short-term visions, they are not looking at the long-term consequences of what they have set in motion. It is all about the immediate gain. Most are not paying attention to how people have become fatigued, discouraged, depressed. For those who are paying attention, they see this as a good measure. An opportunity to continue to control by chaos and discomfort.
There are many traps being set during this time in history. But there are also many more people who choose not to play. Who choose not to be trapped and choose not to participate. They will move forward more quickly and will find each other further down the path where they will begin creating another reality.
While this cultural cycle will continue for quite a while, the destruction that has been in motion for the last several years is moving toward an ending cycle. This transition is where the feeling of frenzy and craziness comes from. It feels as though it is life and death for those who are trapped in that reality because they have made it their identity and have blindly accepted it.
But those who are gathering ahead are the true harbingers of the future. They will work from open systems. From non-threatening positions. From wanting to get it right. They will seek collaboration, cooperation, and creativity.
The planet is not at a point where ego is ready to take a back seat. But in this group, ego is willing to be more cooperative and less defensive. So it is an important transition. More and more people are looking for and finding that group that is ahead so that the world and consciousness can begin to change.
Currently, there is only mostly talk of change. Talk of spiritual things. There’s a hum that has begun that will draw more and more people.
Q: How do we best listen to that hum?
By practicing meditation, breathing, and communication with the inner teacher. Spending time in nature. You should have memorized this answer by now.
Q: As I think about how this works on a quantum level, are there more than just pairs of particles that feel things simultaneously? Does everything feel everything simultaneously?
True. There is no everything. There is only the all-that-is. It is not dual. There’s not a particle here that feels a particle there. It is all one. The nondual concept doesn’t lend itself well to words.
Q: If we are all one. Why do we have so many differences?
Those are illusionary. By asking that question, you emphasize the “reality” of separateness. And so, therefore, aren’t able to comprehend the reality of not-separateness.
Q; Is it possible to truly experience the all-that-is while in human form?
It is possible. But it requires letting go of attachment to the human form as the entire being. It requires transcending the human form, where the human form is in you, rather than you are in the human form. That would be the beginning step.
Related Posts: