Antinomies I Poverty

Debates on poverty, between conservatives who believe that the poor should help themselves, and liberals who believe that the state should help the poor, are flawed from the start. Because both positions are predicated on not believing in God's abundance.

Though liberals orient primarily toward the poor, and conservatives orient primarily toward themselves, neither is morally right. We have to look at what fears are behind both their positions. Liberals are saying, if the government does not give, the poor will not have enough. Conservatives are saying, if the government does give, I will not have enough. Both believe that there is only so much to go around. This reveals that neither side believes that God is infinitely abundant. Because of this common limit to their faith in God, neither position can claim moral superiority.

If they believe in God's promise to provide, there would be no reason to be afraid. We can accept that conservatives will orient primarily to themselves and liberals will always consider others. This is balance, and this is as it should be. However, if both positions did believe in God's infinite prosperity, then their reactions to the poor would look very different. Conservatives would say, you may take my resources to give to the poor, because I know God provides for me and I will in no way be less well off by sharing my wealth with others. Liberals would say, I have more than enough energy and resources in my life to follow my heart and assist the poor. I do not need to hope the government or anyone else will take care of them for me. God has revealed their burden to my heart, therefore I am part of God's provision for them. I can give of myself because I know God will take care of what I need for myself in the course of opening myself to be an instrument of God's grace.

See, both liberals and conservatives reveal by their political orientations a common underlying belief - that God is not providing for them. To believe that God is watching over and providing for you opens up a third way, Jesus' way. This is neither liberal nor conservative. Whether your heart is given the gift of going out and personally helping others in need, or the gift of focusing and channeling prosperity, your attitude and reactions will look much different if you have faith enough to follow the third way.

This reveals one last important shared point - that neither side of the debate should concern themselves with the poor as a starting point. If liberals and conservatives have an incomplete faith in God, which does not allow them to see all the ways that God has, is and will continue to provide for them, then their first priority should be healing their own situation, to come into full awareness of grace. Jesus did not start by tending to the poor. Jesus started by realizing he was the son of God.

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(* Antinomies are categories of mutual exclusivity, two positions that cannot be reconciled. Kant believed that the human mind was created in a way that causes us to see all things in terms of binary oppositions. Taoists believe that when two things seem irreconcilable, we must rise above and see the situation with a new mind, often which realizes the harmony and balance in the overall situation, as symbolized by the yin-yang symbol. This piece is part of a series that will explore underlying assumptions behind traditionally entrenched debates, toward seeing how ideological divisions can be dissolved toward mutual harmony and understanding.)

Our minds are black holes

Our minds are black holes.

not figuratively, literally.

A black hole is a center of mass so dense that energy nearby is drawn in and cannot escape.

The mind is a center of stagnant, thinking energy so dense that it draws the energy of the body into it. Once trapped in the overactive mind, the energy cannot release back into the body. This results in all sorts of problems of the mind – insomnia, headaches, anxiety – and of the body – chronic fatigue, tension, and illnesses that set in due to energy-starvation.

Theories hold that energy passing into a black hole may actually leave our universe and cross into an alternative dimension of reality.

To understand how our minds also serve this function, we must know that energy follows our thoughts. If we worry about outside things too much, our energy goes there leaving our bodies tired. If you think about your palms and hold them two inches apart, you will feel the heat and magnetism of the energy field that is created there.

Every time we think about the future, it sends energy toward the creation of that future. IF we can summon the energy to act and create that future, then it is fine. Our energy goes back into the world.

However, because our energy is trapped in our minds, our bodies are too lazy and tired to create the futures we think about. Then our future-thinking becomes idle speculation, and we spend our energy worrying or dreaming about futures that will never materialize in this world. Our thinking promotes alternative realities from that which we will experience in our universe. Another dimension is created, truly, but one that will never be accessed by our material existence.

In this way, energy leaves our universe. Collectively, as our minds race out of control, energy is sucked from this universe and poured into dreams and nightmares. Leaving our universe increasingly weak and depleted.

Reversing this trend requires that we intentionally direct our light back into the world. Loving others and bringing our dreams into reality are the only ways to do this.

First, however, we must overcome the gravity of the black holes in our heads. We must draw our energy back into our body. The body must have a greater gravity than the mind. That is why physical exercise is necessary for the spiritual salvation of the world.

In a given moment, we must exert our bodies with more energy than goes into our thinking. Eventually, moderate exercise will accomplish this when our energy stabilizes. First, however, our training must regularly involve pushing our bodies to the point of failure. Expect this period to last about two years.

He cans our vegetables

We can heal our bodies simply by paying attention to them.

Our bodies get sick because we focus outside too much.

If we keep half of our attention inside, all our problems are solved.

There is no more thinking. No worry, no doubt. Feel your body, act to make it feel good, keep feeling it whatever you are doing.

Mind is the middle man. The broker. He is not necessary.

When we speak, we do not need the middle man to interpret the symbols and calculate a response.

The real communication is heart to heart. Energy to energy. Middle-man more often than not gets in the way. We have the best intentions, we want to do our best to represent ourselves and express our appreciation, but middle man boxes it up. He cans our vegetables. Language is a preservative; it only needs to be used when our love needs to travel long distances, or be opened later.

Trust your heart. Trust your body. They can do the job without language, without mind. They can do a better job, if given the chance.

be still my beating mind

If your mind races out of control, there are 4 basic approaches that can calm it down:



1) Get away from the stimulus.

By removing ourselves from the source of stressful thoughts, we can get the space we need to decompress and re-center ourselves. This involves a manipulation of our external environment, which is not always easily under our control.


Examples: leaving the crowd, quitting the job, breaking up with the boyfriend, stopping reading the newspaper.


Problems: Sometimes there is reason for us not to leave. We need the money, the relationship is worth it despite some problems. In which case, the next three ways help us manage ourselves in whatever external circumstances.




2) Move your body.

When the body moves, energy that fuels thinking comes down into our body, leaving our mind clear.

Examples: Exercise, cleaning.

Pitfalls: We have to put 100% energy into moving our body in order to purge a thought. If we half-ass push-ups, or are distracted during sex, thoughts will hide in the part of our mind that abstains from the activity.



At the same time, if a meditative activity (such as walking or folding) is sustained long enough, we experience a calming effect that can help us increase our awareness and process our thoughts more clearly.



3) Increase your awareness

Becoming aware of our thought process can give us more power in relation to it. When we see things from a higher perspective, we can identify patterns, perspective, and appreciation that do not branch from the thought process itself.

God is the most common context used to broaden our perspective, reduce anxiety about a situation and forgive ourselves. However, many less overarching approaches can help us in the same direction.

Examples: Prayer, journaling, meditation; talking or thinking it out.

Pitfalls: Mental awareness usually relates to our physical energy level. Awareness can get us through moments of confusion or crisis, but for a more stable change in thoughts or in faith, we must also change our behaviors (i.e. via moving your body; see # 2).


Often, flashes of awareness help us to see positive changes we would do well to make. To maintain higher awareness, we must act to make those changes, consistently over time. (Tiger woods practices a swing 1,000 times for every minor correction).



4) Distract yourself.

A cut on your finger can hurt like hell, but you'll forget about it if the room behind you is on fire. When something important to us seizes our attention, the problems we think we have are reduced in importance.

Examples: Pouring yourself into work or a project, being faced with a crisis, helping those in need.

Pitfalls: This tactic can look a lot like denial. Be careful to consult your heart and distract yourself only to the degree that you truly want to forget about something. Sometimes, distraction can become compulsive, as in the case of addiction. Be careful to be aware how much and with what you distract yourself.



Note: In order for these tactics to work, we must have taken action all we can or is wise to do, and be at a place of wanting to interrupt the thought process itself in our mind. If we believe the problem still needs to be “solved?- and sometimes it does - then our minds will have trouble letting it go. The above tactics work only when thinking itself is the problem and we realize it is our minds that must be dealt with.