Projection

Projection is a term referring to a human tendency, as a defense, to project personal fears, faults, failings, emotions upon another who is perceived as safe, neutral or hostile. Example: An insecure person who is performing well at work might still accuse a taciturn boss of thinking he is inadequate if he is stressed. He projects his own feelings of inadequacy onto the blank screen of the inscrutable authority figure. I feel that projection has become an American habit, especially on the geopolitical level. We point fingers at repressive and racist regimes, while the current government in America is sexist, racist, repressive, secretive. We point at 'terrorists' as beastly, irrational and violent, while we senselessly bomb and shoot innocents in the name of democracy, a political system which we do not even have in America. America is a federal republic, not a democracy. If America were a democracy, it would not be run by 10% (the corporate wealthy) of the population. I have an idea. I think, if people began to stop projecting and start communicating about what is really happening around them, things might begin to get better. Try it.

Workaholic

I have recently read several articles about young people in America's middle class who take pride in working 70-100 hours per week at corporate jobs. In these materialistic, socially irresponsible times in America, this is seen as commendable. America ranks 5th in per-hour productivity, according to one study, behind four European nations, where work hours are much shorter and vacations much longer and more frequent. In other words, these compulsive American workers are doing less in more time. What are they trying to avoid? Are they trying to avoid conflict with insatiably greedy corporate bosses, who pay themselves exorbitantly and lavish luxury and liesure on themselves and their families? They will obviously avoid meaningful cooperative relationships with other human beings. Those relationships require time, attention and consistency. Is it any wonder that some reports indicate that sexuality among these workaholics is more and more alcohol/drug laced and utilitarian. What does it mean for a society when its educated achiever class are isolated by work which precludes quality social and cultural contact? The answer is already quite visible in newspapers and on the streets. Quality of life requires diversity of life experiences and moderation in all things. This quality lies within the Middle Path of Buddhist practice.

Violence

Israel is currently invading and bombing Lebanon. Civil war is raging in Iraq and Afghanistan (more quietly there). All over the ailing planet, violence persists. Despite great technological advances in communications and medicine, people are still resorting to primitive means to stake out territory, maintain control, sustain life. Why? The wealthy and privileged all over the planet shrug and say, "It has always been and will always be so." In reality, the wealthy and privileged promote violence to secure their own power and control. They buy and sell weapons. They play sides. They wager in stock markets on the outcomes of violence. This is the greater world-wide evil. In my practice, I avoid violence as best I can. Internal violence and external violence. However, my practice does not preclude self defense or the defense of the defenseless.

Deception

What is the inevitable consequence of trying to project a person you are not? Human beings are fascinated by chameleons and con men. Where is the line between putting a good face on things and downright lying? I see so much deception encouraged on television in this celebrity culture. Everything seems geared to the end, despite the unethical or immoral means. Human evolution depends on effort to improve one's reality physically, psychologically, socially. But, how can you improve your reality if your life is based on self-deception? Becoming centered, patient and based in reality is my first step to personal evolution.

Elitism

I am currently reading Gore Vidal's memoir, "Palimpsest, A Memoir". I appreciate Mr. Vidal's wit, educated cynicism and downright wickedness. I think he is funny. Always have. However, I am mystified by the evolutionary failure of men like Mr. Vidal, who are raised among the elite, see their failings and persist in becoming elitists themselves. Power indeed corrupts. The point of this blog, this part of my practice, is to do what the elite do not wish to do. That is to simply share what I know, think, hope and do in an effort to both learn and perhaps inspire. This blog is not a competitive enterprise, or a means to engrandize myself. My real motivation, which I cherish in my own being and becoming, is woefully absent in the elite, as I read them. I find that absence terribly discouraging of my hopes for human evolution. I read the writing of the elite to try to understand what, other than power, they have to offer. So far, I have been disappointed to find that many, although exposed to a vast diversity of life experience, avoid basic human truth. A wise man two millennia ago, as the legend goes, spoke of the eye of a needle and a camel in this respect. And, if entering what he called heaven means what I consider the evolution of being human, I have to agree with him.

Weeds

I did some weeding in my garden today. I was fascinated to find that a certain grass has developed an affinity for my impatiens plants. The grass weaves itself between the leaves of the flowering plant. The grass roots were sucking all the moisture from the roots of the impatiens. Exploitive vegetation. All beings must face scarcity and competition on this planet in some form. Learning not to exploit is a major evolutionary leap in a lifetime.

Independence

Independence is a very mixed concept. The more we learn of life on this planet; the more we realize that nobody and nothing is truly independent. Independence, as celebrated in the USA on July Fourth, was a concept born of the Age of Enlightenment. It was fed by the self interests of American bourgeoise, whose materialism was inhibited by British taxation. Today's equivalent in this Internet Age is the libertarian ideal of the yuppy entrepreneur who makes a fortune in his/her 'youth' and retires to snowboarding by the age of 35 and a life of dividends, travel and tax shelters. Despite this ideal, the middle class has raised an inordinate number of fiercely dependent young adults who are living with their parents long after graduating college. Meanwhile, the children of the poor have been thrown into an earlier independence, since welfare programs for single mothers have been severely cut. Americans are more dependent than ever on religious figures. Churches of personality are being built all over by entrepreneurial pastors, who feel free to dabble in moral directives and politics. Perhaps there is a middle path between independence and dependence. Perhaps it is an intentional co-dependence, based in cooperation and compassion.