Progress or Regress Begins in the Heart

Oops, spoiler: this article is one big mind-meander. I know. I wrote it.

Thoughts are us – They make us

We know that everything is energy; that thoughts generate

energy and that energy creates the fundamental building

blocks of our reality.

We know that it is no longer accurate to think that we use less than 11% of our brain power when, in fact, the low usage of our brain potential is due to the limited involvement in the affairs of our conscious mind which is ‘aware’ only some 10% of the time. Intention makes or breaks manifestation: We also know that intention is the linchpin of manifestation via steadfast motivation. We understand that a shift of any sort can only come from persons who opt for thought/determination upgrade, once they realise that the mindset they have been using has become compromised and fails to deliver as per expectations, be that regarding their health, wealth or happiness. When any aspect of our mindset no longer supports what we want to achieve, we know it is time to call it counterproductive, and we endeavour to implant a new way of looking ‘at things’, one that, we believe, has a greater chance of bringing us the incremental improvements we are seeking.

If it’s not a habit

Beyond that, we also know that habituation depends entirely on repetition. It is through repetition that we learned our first sets of skills as toddlers; that we have become fluent in the languages we have acquired along the way and with the programs we use for work and entertainment. It is through repetition that we become comfortable interacting in the sports or hobbies of our choosing. It is through repetition, too, that we have manifested our toilet- trained our furry friend if we are so lucky to have one.

What’s the use of knowing if …

Knowledge is power, how do we apply to our daily life the vast knowledge that we have garnered? The potential game-changing question boils down to how much positive energy do we, individuals, wish to inject into the redesigning of fundamental behavioural changes – the ones we dream to see actively enacted in our communities – the ones we could implement for ourselves and for/with our loved ones? How much are we willing to alter our Modus Operandi, our energetic vibrations, the energy we bring into our thoughts and interactions – while we wait for others to step up?

Dance through it

There might be no set way to dance to hip-hop music, but there are basic moves to ease into. Equally, there is no set way to change the status quo within our first circle of influence while encouraging others and our politicians to update their moves for the genuine greater good of all sentient beings. Yet, an honest look at our commitment is the lead-in first move, the one that, in the fullness of time, could conceivably usher in vastly altered control beliefs of the sort that renege every notion of separation.

Fake it till you make it

Still, having just said that, there are at least a couple of aspects that hip-hop moves and rethinking thinking have in common: you don’t have to follow how other people dance but relax your body to free your mind. Tune into the beat, tune into your dream. If you’re too anxious about it, you won’t be able to let go fully. Fake it till you make it, till you overcome your ‘rhythm deficiency’. Master the art of illusion that has made our world what it is today. Create your own Moon dance. Imagine this For the sake of this mind-meander, let us consider a cultural happening, one that, as often occurs in classic Sci-fi scenarios, would suddenly bounce us into collective thinking motivated by emotional coherence and cohesion. Imagine a system in which there would be • no more Me vs You no more Us vs Them • no more Man vs Woman or Boy vs Girl Imagine a world in which • all unauthorised hired workers, youngsters, and women working part-time were treated with dignity and paid fairly. • all troubled nations were offered – and accepted – concerted, practical means to correct factors causing massive migration out of their countries …. Imagine this! 5778 years since the creation of the world, according to the Hebrew calendar. 2017 years since the beginning of this Common Era. 57 years already since the official launch of the Women’s Liberation Movement – depending on how we choose to count the passing generations of thinking men and women – or 68 years since the Declaration of Human Rights was ratified, guaranteeing the basic concepts of dignity, liberty, equality, and brotherhood through its Articles 1–2. So, how can it be that the essential dovetailing equality of men and women – and people – is still a such a bone of contention in many homes, opened for interpretation in many workplaces, in academia, in many streets after particularly after sundown, in the political arena worldwide – and in public opinion? They are here and have always been there: As an aside, finally, this year, a woman has been appointed chief scientist of the U.S. national oceanic and atmospheric administration. Her name is Sylvia Earle. The thing is, she certainly is not ‘the odd-woman-out’ in the so-called Man’s World. l Already at the top echelons carved inside the worlds of molecules, politics, finance, music, food, film and entertainment, space exploration, social media and sports, the Police Force and the Armed Forces, women currently between the ages of 16 and 80+ have shattered the proverbial glass ceiling. That is not counting the hundreds who have already transitioned from Earth into the next realm. That is not counting the hundreds of ‘out there’ women [and reasonably recent migrants] who, like others before them, keep breaking new ground, often in their own quiet ways? Millions are out there doing it, as we speak, while millions have already transitioned from Earth into the next realm, leaving behind them their tangible legacy in all areas where coherence between one’s mind and one’s intentions made them winners against the odds. Their legacy stretches all the way back to the dawn of time. Today, we see and hear these ‘people’ in the news. We see and hear them in our place of work and our entertainment screens. We even read their words in newspapers, articles and biographies. And many-many more navigate through life humbly and coherently with gratitude and compassion in their hearts.

These persons are real

We envy them, as they present to us, from the winning side. We forget how they have ‘empowered’ themselves by steeling themselves against a number of cruel and biased odds we would not wish upon ourselves. They have made – or are making – themselves strong. They have used their intention to bring on the manifestation of the reality they sought for themselves. Forged by the painful fire of determination, they made themselves content-confident and even content-pioneers. Many broke new grounds. Regardless of their field of employment, they observed, they learnt, they worked closely with their mentors or supervisors. They flowed through the twists and turns of a karmic decree, such as it came into their day-to-day and, here they are. Yes, in just about every region of the world, unemployment still affects women – and migrants – more than any other group. Yes, women are still dramatically over-represented in such areas as clerical, service and sales, as well as in other occupations that require only basic qualifications. Yes, it is probably true that, globally, women earn 77 % of what men earn.

More balls should not be required

Yes, generations of women have succeeded as they have because they found the way to develop the proverbial testicles but … Reality check: never has the ‘liberation’ of women or their ‘empowerment’ been so reduced, as it is today, to giving young women licence to ape the most dysfunctional behaviours perpetrated by boys and men – very little of which will help them improve their odds. How about giving girls what they really need? So, instead of talking about ‘empowering’ girls and women, knowing they are quite capable of doing that by themselves, why don’t we focus on supporting our girls more efficiently as they dare to dare. Together and separately, from the homes to the streets, we can find more efficient ways to educate boys and girls on the unimportance of physical differences. A body is a body. It is not the emotions or thoughts we attach to it. What matters is the innate intelligence, the coherence and resilience coursing through the white matter of one’s brain, not the size of anyone’s feet or the colour of anyone’s skin.

Back to that essential alternate reality

No more Earners vs the Aged – No more Us vs Animals and planet Earth. They shall no longer be subservient to our needs. No more worshipping the body ‘beautiful’, as per male sexualised standards and no more struggle to conform to these standards. No more posturing. No more cowering to placate the nasty ones whether they are so-called ‘men of Faith’ – of any faith – or any homegrown bullies, narcissists and sociopaths – in our homes, in our streets, workplace or political arena. In our alternate reality, put to rest once and for all, would also be the notion that physical strength equals any power whatsoever in an era when only weightlifters lift heavy loads – by choice. Let us instead strive to gain power through emotional and physical resilience. No more prioritising slanted personal and political agendas vs the fear of figuring out who we really are. There always is the off-chance that we might, one day, choose to crawl out from under the weight of our possessions and poke our nose above the electrified fog of our emotional clutter.

Free will, anyone?

Neuroscience confirms that consciousness has a limited potential and that most of what happens in our brain gets encoded independently of our awareness. Somehow, through that process, we have en masse become addicted to impulsive and compulsive thinking, as well as to ‘clan- thinking’ fed from within our chosen social tribe, which should push us to consider a severe reframing of the concept of Free Will. Serious question: How to think independently enough to dare imagine a new normal? Do we even want to think that hard? If we do, we can begin to look for our authentic self without needing to have everything ripped away from us by the hand of Nature, by the hand of others – by the hand of karmic decree – as always happens to so many millions around the globe. Starting with our most intimate relationships and fanning outwards, truthful, honest and factual are the key prerequisites for enhanced interpersonal dynamics. We, and our loved ones, not to mention all sentient beings and our planet, deserve that we begin by taking a long and serious holistic look at family life and its values, such as they have evolved, here, there and everywhere. Equally, coming under the same scrutiny, are the relations we maintain with our extended family, our work and sports mates and our neighbours, the only real circles of influence we do have – the ones that are ours to manage because given to us by blood ties, by alliance – by karmic serendipity.

Easy does it

The first step towards any shift or agreement worth making with our self and others is to maintain the desire, the appetite and stamina to execute the change we envisage for the greater good of all and of ourselves. Whether it is about de-stressing, getting fitter, drinking less coffee or moving on or moving out, if our ‘heart’, a.k.a. our emotions, are not in it, appropriate thinking will not follow.

How big is our appetite?

Next, we want to be clear about what we expect, or desire from the alternative pathways envisaged and whether we honestly feel we can manage to trace a new path for ourselves from the inside- out. We must believe that we have the inner power to stay on track; that we are determined to put in the time and attention needed to create and nurture that shift. It is no different than if it were about a new relationship temporarily free of mind games, as healthy, budding relationships of any sort tend to be.

We can care, love and laugh

Following one’s dream, which means ‘making it happen’, is always hard work. We would have to be willing to invest time and energy into our vision. That is not for the faint-hearted but, what if we had the wherewithal to re-enable ourselves intuitively, one and all, to care, to love and to laugh, as we did as children, in this time of global change?