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“In a society that builds machines which act like men, and create men who act like machines, it is possible that you too may come to love Big Brother …”
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Tag Archives: Society
An Incubator for the Soul
Painting by Diana Graham -The Ecoshrine, Hogsback [Archive photo: JJM – 2014]
Dark Are the Days, but the Light Is Coming, Part 1 – An Incubator for the Soul
In this 3-Part series we are exploring the purpose of polarity and the nature of truth – JJM
Introduction
Throughout the ages there have been times of turmoil and times of peace. In recent years the world has been going through a period of high polarity, with palpable societal polarisation as a result. Considering all the crises the planet is facing, a unified approach to dealing with them globally is likely to remain elusive as long as societal polarisation remains a feature. This situation, with no clear end in sight, raises many important questions.
Why have some societies become so polarized? Should we not have moved into global harmony after 2012? Does polarisation have any purpose? Why is the polarisation so extreme? How long will it last? How well are we handling it? Are humans capable of living in harmony at all? How can we deal with major world problems during all this polarization?
Fortunately some of the above questions can already be answered, but some answers are more accessible when taking a metaphysical view. Keeping an open mind is therefore recommended as we delve into these rather complex issues. During our discussion it will become evident that some answers automatically raise further questions. In our search for answers we will be exploring them too.
READ FURTHER – FULL ARTICLE AT GYPSYCAFE.ORG >>
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Dark are the Days, but The Light is Coming – Parts 2 & 3 (+4)
In the next chapters we will continue to take a deep dive into how polarity facilitates human development and growth; we will consider how we as individuals can find our purpose and maintain balance within our polarised times; we will contemplate the nature of truth in a ‘post-truth’ world and we will consider how we can get get ready for the (future) incoming light of truth. Please subscribe to receive alerts for updates.
By J.J. Montagier
J.J. Montagnier is a futurologist and travelosopher based in South America. His writings on the Mayan calendars are intuitively inspired and are influenced by his knowledge of Jungian psychology. The author visited Central America in 2015 to do research on the subject.
Copyright © 2018 · All Rights Reserved · Gypsy Café
The Yin and Yang of Spirituality
The Yin and Yang of Spirituality
Carl Jung is famous for having brought the concept of working on shadow elements within the psyche into Western psychotherapy, although the process of self-therapy, self-transformation and psychic self-evaluation with subsequent spiritual elevation is indeed a very ancient practice. Advanced practice was perhaps considered to be found mainly in the realm of shamanism, priesthood and other high level spiritual roles. However, ancient civilizations and cultures integrated the identifying and processing of shadow characteristics also into their general spiritual and cosmological belief systems, but we find that these aspects are often not featured in popular spirituality today.
By having become relatively unconscious of the depth and nature of the individual shadow (which, according to Carl Jung, is a back-door to the collective shadow), behaviours and tendencies related to it have become more socially accepted. Unfortunately, the commercialization of spirituality means that the positive, pleasant and easy elements of being spiritual are usually focused upon. The deeper, underlying issues often remain unexplored, so the necessary (challenging) transformation processes are not always engaged in and the shadow elements remain submerged and active or are only temporarily resolved until it appears again later. This means that modern forms of spirituality often serve predominantly as forms of spiritual entertainment or as vehicles for spiritual escapism without reaching its full depth or potential.
Perhaps if we had been paying more attention to the collective shadow elements within our societies (as a priority) since the end of the Second World War, as Carl Jung had strongly suggested, we may have been more prepared for some of the crises we are experiencing at present and those yet to come. However, as Jung also said: large portions of society remain blissfully unaware of how world peace and stability hang on a fine thread (then and now). We have never been this connected as a species in our entire history and so distracted at the same time, mostly by choice.
The awareness that all citizens of the world are responsible for contributing towards world peace and maintaining it is somehow lacking. We are living in one of the most prosperous periods in time in the history of the world, but with the developed world being far ahead. In terms of power and influence, countries which possess the most of it, carry the highest responsibility. With power comes responsibility and it is the duty of the citizens of powerful countries to remind their politicians and leaders of the responsibility to act peacefully for the greater good of humanity, not least because virtually all powerful nations put themselves forward as democratic and peace-loving.
On a personal level: Dr Jung explained in a documentary interview, Matter of Heart, that we are all uniquely born with certain characteristics and attributes within a certain historical and cultural context. That means that we each have a personal responsibility to reach the highest state possible as an individual person within that context. By doing so we participate fully and play our part to the best of our ability as individual elements within the large organism that is humanity, in the theatre of life and the universe.
The very first step towards that process is having respect for yourself (your Self, not your ego) and that process starts within. The nature of that respect is respect for your higher-self and that higher self can take a third person view to approaching and resolving internal and external conflicts. The advantage of the third person view is that almost everything can be viewed as “theatre”, (but) with a proactive, problem solving objective in mind. In other words, the spectator is observing in order to learn how to improve, adjust, or resolve his or her own approach or behaviour by comparing with what is being observed. Without taking the third person point of view, what is being observed is often copied instead of transcended.
The higher-self is beyond the ego and has a much wider perspective and expanded vision. By living our lives from that position we are the closest we can get to non-duality on a permanent basis. A person who is peaceful within, will shun conflict. A person who comes from the heart, won’t have the heart to harm another – and will motivate others not to do so either. Those who have maintained (and have respect for) their own traditions and values within their own communities and countries, will have respect for other nations and groups who have likewise maintained theirs within their own countries or regions.
A tradition-less, value-less, culture-less world is a world with sails falling in the winds, a world drifting without an anchor. It is a destabilized world with no direction, no heart and no spirit. It is a world without a stable core, without balance – the balance within missing. That balance within the world can only be found within each individual person. The more balanced all of us become, the more balanced the world outside will be.
Within the framework of international cooperation and conflict resolution, in the context of a balanced world, nations who come from histories of dominance would do their best to refrain from returning to or repeating such history – and take the High Road. Nations, cultures or groups with histories of having been harmed or persecuted or wronged, would refrain from enacting retribution or turning to the same methods as those who have harmed them – and take the High Road.
The above is, of course, a tall order, but when we observe and learn from the theatre of history, taking the high road is the only road which will lead to genuine progress, harmony and balance, as opposed to a false sense of progress that focuses on a narrow view of who is the most powerful or “progressive” and therefore the most “exceptional”. This approach is usually at the disadvantage of others and tends to contribute to the perpetuation of the cycle of violence indefinitely.
Mutual respect amongst nations is the bedrock of international peace and stability, but it relies on everyone participating equally. Similarly, for democracy to work a respect for its institutions is required. Over and above that, democracy relies on a certain level of moral responsibility and conscience-based ethics being present within those that ascribe or commit to it and it naturally relies on a basic understanding of what democracy means in the first place.
By considering the rights of children, within the context of various conflict zones around the world and also within our own societies in relation to what they are exposed to, we may be able to reflect on how far we have drifted away from our claims of being humanitarian, peace-loving, democratic and a force for good.
Perhaps it is time for all peace-loving peoples to request their governments to kindly de-escalate all tensions which could potentially lead to major conflicts and the harming of civilians and children. We owe it to the future of a stable and balanced world. We owe it to the future of our children and to their children’s children. Not least, we owe it to our higher-selves and the legacy that we wish to leave behind.
“The human being who starts by withdrawing his own shadow from his neighbor is doing work of immense, immediate political and social importance.” – Carl Jung (as quoted by Sir Laurence v.d. Post)
Photo by JJM: Mural, Belfast, N. Ireland (2005).
By Jean-Jacques M.
Also see: Shift Of The Stages
This article was originally posted at GypsyCafé.org
© 2016. All Rights Reserved.
Copán – Exploring Ancient Maya Sites
Ruins covered with organic materials accumulated over 100’s of years – Copán, Honduras, September 2015.
“Nature’s resources and magic were at the centre of Maya life. At the same time, it was misuse of nature that paved an important role in the collapse of the civilisation. Today, we can ask ourselves what we have learned from the Maya and what message we shall leave for our grandchildren’s grandchildren.”
– Copán Nature Trail
The West court of Copán – partly covered with organic materials – September 2015.
Photography by Jean-Jacques M
Quotes from nature trail signboards at Copán Maya Ruins, Honduras, Central America
Copyright © 2015 – All Rights Reserved – Gypsy Café
Fried Grey Matter
Photographed by Jean-Jacques M.
Cordón, Montevideo, Uruguay, 12.04.2015
© 2015. All Rights Reserved.
Gypsycafe.org / Travelosophy.org
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Excerpt:
“In the present day we consume 5 to 10 times as much electronically-delivered content as 10 or 15 years ago, and much of it low quality. This situation is unprecedented in the history of humanity, yet we have no real mechanisms in place for managing it. Of course, logically-speaking, just as each and every person is responsible for their own eating habits, they are also responsible for how they consume media and entertainment. Human beings need space for self-development and with our free time being taken up by a plethora of distractions, self-development languishes. This might explain the infantile and immature actions we witness by “grown-ups” on the internet, a very recent phenomenon.
Similar to how the overconsumption of unhealthy food can contaminate one’s physical body, the same happens with the psyche with excessive and compulsive consumption of tabloid news, mindless entertainment and narcissism-inducing celebrity and social media, as well as compulsive social networking. It’s just that the effects are invisible to the naked eye as opposed to food, but binge-consumption of anything will eventually lead to negative effects one way or the other.”
Quoted from the (updated) column, Building the New World Within – Part 7, by Jean-jacques M. © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Read the full article.
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