8. Religious Evolution, Structure and Belief

The shift from animism to polytheism to dualism to monotheism to attempts at sectarian dominance and dogmatic theocracy have reduced the willingness of some religious factions to tolerate diversity, along with ambitions for political control. This is a bad sign.

In addition, for thousands of years, we have had religions and religious-like movements blatantly rail against equality and democracy, against science and against respect for one another and for oneself; religions that value personal loyalties over everything else; religions asserting that their god has given them rights that supersede any social contract or common morality. Thus, we see drives for theocracy not only in some Islamic states, but also in Christian-dominated countries, including the United States. History shows us how religion has been used to support the conquest of new lands, to oppress indigenous peoples, suppress women, censor science and oppose equality of individual rights. Since the Roman take-over of Christianity, (and before) women were treated as second class humans and, for centuries, not even given credit for having souls. This shaped and supported the abusive patriarchal culture we inherited.

Religion, it seems, is particularly vulnerable to being corrupted by secular power.

9. National Karma – An Oppressive History Creating Guilt, Anger and Injustice

I’m using the term “karma” here as a general term noting that actions have consequences. And there are lingering – and festering – consequences to America’s history of privileged classes building an economic system on the backs of slaves, the theft of others’ land and resources, suppression of women’s wages, cheap labor, and upward wealth distribution. “States’ rights” has been used as a cover for policies that support such immoral activities, making genuine discussion of states’ rights difficult, if not impossible.

Many who have enjoyed the benefits of this system are afraid of losing ground as the underclasses claim their due.

10. Constitutional Challenges

Constitutional challenges have been used since the beginning of the history of American government to clarify an unfolding understanding and interpretation of the meaning of such things as equal treatment under the law and due process rights. Arguments about the meaning of the Second Amendment have taken a moral/religious tone on both sides, making common ground difficult to find. Congressional committees are using public relations in the release of selected information instead of adjudicating issues through transparent bipartisan investigation. And the separation of powers seems to have broken down. (Ironically, many of those touting devotion to the constitution are those we see trying to circumvent it.)

Thus, those of us who look to the American constitution for equal treatment, justice and due process are seeing an erosion of respect by those sworn to uphold it – another source of today’s stress.

11. Personal Issues and the Illusion of Individuality

As if the chaos we see in the world around us weren’t enough, we each have our own personal issues, distortions, blind spots, shadow and karma, if you will (along with our gifts, talents and spark of the divine, of course). Consequently, we add our own personal stresses into the mix – stresses about social acceptance, career, health, taking care of our families, threats to retirement security, the changing economic landscape, family harmony, etc.

What’s more, we labor under the strange idea that what happens to and within us is about us alone – that we are somehow separate from the world, and from other people (which takes us to the twelfth potential source of our stresses – one that goes to edge of the known materialistic world we usually live in).

12. “Invisible” Forces

Collective Consciousness

It’s not a popular concept in our individualistic and materialistic Western culture, but we are a part of a collective consciousness of humanity: other people’s actions, thoughts, emotions, attitudes and secrets are also a part of us – as ours are a part of them. This idea has been around for ages among mystics, but science is catching up in its discoveries of “connectivity” among living systems. I’ll discuss something of that connectivity toward the end of Part II of this article.

Stress waves

For reasons I’ll explain in Part II, I’d like you to think of this “stress wave” not as symbolic, but a literal physical-but-invisible wave of emotion that is contagious and influential, and is a significant part of the stress we have all felt in the world – and to which we have contributed in the arousal of our own anger and anxiety. (Not that anger and anxiety are not warranted, but it’s how they are handled that determines whether they are helpful or destructive.)

In addition to these “stress waves,” we also see “emotional viruses” – contagious defeatism, resentments and negativity passed along in social networks, in work places, families and across the country, especially when a politically savvy group can take advantage to discount opponents or motivate advocates. But it’s not just humanity that contributes to these invisible stressors.

Geomagnetic Aberrations – from the Sun, from humanity

Perturbations of Earth’s ionosphere caused by solar events have been correlated with events and behaviors such as crime, accidents, and morbidity from heart attacks. Also, ongoing experiments have shown that mass reactions to global events can also affect otherwise random activity of computers. My point here is that there are potential stressors that are astronomical in nature and simply part of the way the world is. There is exciting research into the question of how a focused humanity might alter the ionosphere, thus improving its return influence.

Metaphysical, Religious and Shamanic Concepts: Thought-forms and Spirits

I already mentioned Itzhak Beery’s shamanic observations, but similar ideas have been floated on the fringes of things, suggesting that there are destructive spiritual forces at work (“Satanic” of otherwise), along with witches’ spells, secret societies, and various real or imagined conspiracies.

The bottom line here is that we are all in this together.

The Deleterious Effects of Stress

As if the stresses weren’t enough by themselves to wear on us, they have other consequences that detour our efforts at personal growth. What we are beset with from the outer world can take our attention away from our efforts to heal the wounds inside of us – wounds that occurred long before this last year. It is too tempting to focus on the person(s) who scratched open the wound (and keeps scratching) and neglect what is necessary to heal it from its original source. As we sometimes hear said, it’s hard to remember our objective is to drain the swamp when we’re up to our asses in alligators. We get distracted from attending to our own reasons for living by the stressors that assail us.

Finally, even though others may trigger our wounds, the wound still belongs to us and we are left with the responsibility to do something with it.

Time for Reflection

Whether you agree with this critique or you are offended by it, let’s get beyond the divergent content of thought and deal with the reality that, on either side of the issues, the emotional content is often the same. Regardless of whether we are right or wrong, anger, anxiety and depression have deleterious effects on our physiology, including our sense of well-being, our immune system, our ability to think clearly; and, the fact that our attention is being manipulated away from our own core values and sovereignty.

It doesn’t matter all that much which side you’re on if you generate the same emotional states of stress, anger and judgment. It doesn’t matter that you might have the moral high ground or a more valid right to the anger and judgment, because of three things they will do.

• They have an adverse impact on body and mind, even if you are right;
• They obscure the realization of your core values; and
• They contribute to the general stress wave around the planet.

Furthermore, when two sides lock into their opposition to one another, each becomes little more than a negative reflection of the other and neither can move toward a better outcome without the other one objecting.

It might sound like I advocate not reacting and not acting, but that is not at all my intention. I will explain how the stress turns to harm, and why and how you can and should still care. The goal at the end of this of all this is to be able to still care, and have that care nurture and strengthen us rather than torture us. For the time being, we are not interested in ideology, but the realities of being a human creature with awareness, with choice, with a body designed for survival, and a heart designed for healing and joy.

How to move on

So, after identifying some of our stresses (probably feeling all the more stressed), can’t we just go on to doing something about them? Yes, we can, but first I’d like to assert why it’s as important to be aware of how we are as it is to plan what we do. This is not a new issue. Centuries ago, Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.E.) put it this way:

“Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person to the right degree at the right time for the right purpose and in the right way, that is not easy.”

Acting out of our stress will be less effective than acting out of our inner values, which is the point of Part II. So, we will begin setting things aright with ourselves in the next section as we, first, deal with the mismanagement of one of our most powerful resources – our emotions.