Children of The Stars Paintings by Paul F. Mitchell An Uncommon Wisdom An Uncommon Sense Healing from Ritual Abuse 2 Children of the Stars: An Uncommon Wisdom, An Uncommon Sense Healing from Ritual abuse Researched and written by Paul F. Mitchell For The People 3 This book is dedicated to Rachel Thraves The closest thing I ever had to a daughter; an intelligent young woman who wishes to educate and teach people My wish is that she add to what I have learned and to teach young people how to become individuals and healthy intelligent human beings connected with other people and their whole environment in health Table of Contents Mitchelli Table of Contents Pgs. 1-21 Introduction Part 1 1. Pgs.22 – 25 Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry 2. Pgs.26 - 31 Compassion and Empathy on the lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane 3. Pgs.32 – 36 The Destruction of the Lower Levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane. 4. Pgs. 37 - 40 Repression, Regression and the Development of Sadism and Masochism: Enter the Addictive Personality 5. Pgs. 41 - 45 How Society Aids and Abets these Dynamics: Most Groups are a type of Cult 6. Pgs. 46 - 51 Exposing Cult Dynamics 7. Pgs.52 - 65 Exposing the Psychological Dynamics of Ritual Abuse: Covert and Overt, Unconscious and Conscious 8. Pgs.66 - 71 Control of Environment 9. Pgs. 72 - 78 Evolution, Regression and Devolution: Seeing in Reverse. Social Violence 10. Pgs. 79 – 107 Viewing these Dynamics from an Abused Man’s Perspective 11. Pgs.108 - 111 How Society’s institutions help perpetuate and maintain these dynamics. The big picture: maintaining the Machine. Part 2 12. Pgs. 112 - 134 Exploring the Healing Relationship: Healing the Mind 13. Pgs. 135 – 159 Healing the Client and Healing the Healer are a mutual Affair. 14. Pgs. 160 – 186 Enough Diagnosis: Let’s Look at the Nature of True Therapeutic Healing Part 3 Healing from Ritual Abuse 15. pgs. 187 - 193 How to Recognize a Survivor of Ritual Abuse in the Healing Relationship 16. Pgs. 194 – 206 The psychic Dynamics of Childhood Sexual Abuse 17. Pgs. 207 – 208 The General Principles of Survivor Therapy Table of Contents Mitchellii 18. 209 – 210 The Enemy Within the Healing Camp: When the Psychotherapist(s) are Cultists, Whether Consciously or Unconsciously 19. pgs. 2011 - 226 A brief Chronology of Combating a Cult: A Personal Experience 20. Pgs. 227 – 230 Problems Inherent with the Client being Regarded as Different or Special 21. Pgs. 231 – 272 The Universe: Wholeness Produces Superb Psychologists Conclusion Pgs. 273 - 282 Appendix Cult Dynamics Pgs. 283 – 288 Glossary of Terms Pgs. 289 - 294 Bibliography Pgs. 295 – 301 Index Pgs 302 – 319 Introduction Mitchell-- 1 The following quotes I place here because of their importance in the context of Human liberation, especially as it relates to the Dignity, Psyche and Soul of all Human beings “If everyone keeps taking an eye for an eye, pretty soon the whole world will be blind Mahatma Gandhi” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, ties in a single garment of destiny.” Dr. M. L. King Jr. “Each spiritual tradition looked at in the context of the particular perspective it is supposed to represent, makes each one of them as valid as the next. They all spring from the same source, therefore each one of them express a reality of that source of creation; but only one aspect of the whole truth. The solution is to include of them they which people find healthy and beneficial. No one individual is able to practice (in practice) all religions, if, however, one is able to perceive the universal truths and themes expressed in all of the traditions, the segregating effect of labels can be dropped. Then we can develop intolerance against intolerance. We can have freedom to express from the heart, to individuate. Then, it becomes clear we were all saying the same thing in the first place. Just in different ways.” Paul Mitchell Calgary, 2001 Introduction Reading this work only one time will not give an individual the entire possibility to understand what is being described here. As with most written pieces of work that deal with in - depth topics, rereading them will usually give the reader a greater insight into the nature of what is being put across. Importantly, although it is not usually good literary style or practice to repeat something that has already been said, throughout this work I will do this. I will do this for precisely the reason I just gave in the above, especially as it relates to having more information to work with each time something is repeated. Most of our actual thinking takes place on an unconscious level. As for Introduction Mitchell-- 2 rereading the material, going back to it at a later date, after the psyche has had time to “digest” what it has taken in, different and deeper layers of understanding will usually transpire. Most importantly, as you read the following material, as I say several times throughout, be very conscious of your feelings, emotions, and especially any thoughts that you have while taking in some of the material I present here. Being aware of these thoughts and physiological reactions that you have will tell you far more about the accuracy of what I am saying here than the intellect alone. Another important factor to keep in mind is to try to empathically place your self in many of the dynamic scenarios I will be describing throughout this work. Rather than spreading fear and creating separation by expressing what this work covers, my wish is that it promotes the exact opposite. I am presenting, in this book, a way of closing separating gaps between people. Although I am not saying anything here that thousands of people before me have tried to say, here, I am trying to do my part to bring everything together, to create an overall context and overview, as a way of raising people’s consciousness so that a true healing among humankind can take place. My deepest wish is that peace will eventually cover the world and that people will learn how to love themselves as their fellow human being. This will naturally develop into a love for their fellow human being as if he or she were them selves. This would then be able to extend outward and include the whole environment. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate and expose the sources of bigotry, anarchy and social violence that are running rampant throughout world society today. My main thesis is that most of this bigotry develops on the unconscious levels of the human psyche, both at an individual level and collectively. In today’s world, throughout most societies and cultures, people operate from and hold world views that stem primarily from extreme competitive ego perspectives that are dragging far behind technological capabilities and our ability to do violence against each other. I am referring to majority worldviews that have become unconsciously fragmented and dichotomized, affecting in a parallel fashion what it means to be and how to live as naturally oriented and peace loving human beings. This is expressed at the fundamental level throughout the book, with certain sections going into more detail than others. We discuss the dynamics that produce a worldview that has focused on and developed materialism that is a direct expression of a fragmented ego and psyche. This is a false ego view that only respects and honors what can be quantified and categorized, then turned into a profit. Hypocrisy and bigotry necessarily follows from this worldview that represses people’s true natures and refuses to acknowledge what it truly means to be a whole human being. One of the primary results of this disempowerment of the human psyche is a focus on, and misuse of power. Misuse of power is a way fragmented and disempowered people/psyches try to compensate for this loss of potential and wholeness; for loss of their health. It is usually expressed through a need to control and manipulate others in an attempt to obtain energetic psychic and therefore physical requirements. These are energetic needs that could easily be achieved by people in conscious and aware interaction with the whole of their psycho – physiological and environmental reality. Reciprocal interaction of people’s inner psychic realities with their environment would naturally connect them to the human collective psyche at all levels and also the greater environment providing a two way exchange of energetic needs. The result, as homeopathy has been saying for a long time, is greater health. This relative state of unconsciousness that we have fallen into has usually expressed itself through increased violence, to ourselves and also to others. In reality this separation does not exist and what we do to others we do to ourselves; what we do to ourselves we also do to others. Although this violence originates unconsciously, it eventually manifests itself psychically and therefore physically and materially eventually. Materialism, as we will explore and see, for the time being refuses to acknowledge that the individual shares a collective psychic reality with all other human beings, indeed all life forms on earth. We share a collective world environment that Introduction Mitchell-- 3 is alive and grounded in a natural desire to evolve into higher levels of integration, complexity and reality. The astounding advances humankind has made in the development and use of technology, in some cases, is being misused and, primarily unconsciously, sabotaging the human psyche and human potential. It would be nice if humankind could avoid the historical reality, demonstrated in individual as well as collective historical development that (quantum) jumps in evolution and developmental growth are usually impelled to move forward by some sort of shock or crisis if that development has been interrupted in some way. I will qualify this last statement by saying there is a possibility this frustration in growth is natures way. Although I will not develop or search these possibilities in great depth, there is archeological and historical suggestibility as demonstrated by some of the wisdom traditions that when it comes to quantum jumps in development, so to speak, this is indeed the way nature provides the impetus to propel evolution forward. In this respect I am not talking about the concept of survival of the fittest. When it comes to humanity in today’s world this is simply an outmoded mindset inviting collective suicide. Because of what has happened world wide, psychically and socially, environmentally and in a whole Earth sense, we now find ourselves on the brink of world wide catastrophe. Consciousness raising can change this. It is awareness developed through consciousness raising that can change the destructive use of technology and a technological mindset to be instead used for evolutionary purposes. Instead it is in many cases being used to maintain and exacerbate a war-like and lower level state of fragmented psychic reality that simply perpetuates the cycles of bigotry and separation between people. This is also a bigotry that goes against nature, in all of its manifestation, lower and higher, Earthly as well as Heavenly. This represents the horizontal Earth plane and the vertical Heavenly plane. This latter plane is not some sort of imaginary place in the starry night sky but a higher place within the universal and archetypal human psyche that was made in the creator’s image. It refers to the higher levels and potentials of the human psyche. We will explore the psychological reality that most of the decisions, thoughts, emotions and actions of human beings originate on levels far below the usual levels of conscious awareness, for most people. Unconscious human behavior, similar to technology developed under controlled laboratory conditions, individually, and between individuals and therefore collectively have unforeseen consequences on the collective environment that are not foreseen on a strictly egocentric level. The word occult refers to virtually any hidden aspects of human and psychic activity and thought. Everything is psyche or mind. However, compared to times in the past, we have become unconscious of what was not at one time included in the occult. We are all responsible to become aware of our selves, especially when the results are violence and harm, to ourselves, to others and to the larger environment. We are all responsible for stopping the maintenance of this destructive cycle. To say, “I was just following orders” does not cut the cake. We are all responsible for making these unconscious dynamics conscious once again. In respect of the occult, as will be explored in depth in the following work, the idea of consciousness raising is important for a very good reason. We will see that many of the unconscious dynamics within the psyche, for most people, are manipulated, in fact controlled and directed by a few elite at the top of the world power structure. Many people, and today there are greater and greater numbers, are involving themselves in the occult and expansion of awareness and consciousness. Unfortunately, most of the people entering into these areas have not overcome many of the egocentric tendencies society has conditioned into them. In other words, many people do not know themselves. When people who do not know themselves enter into the occult, ritual and the deep arcane, by not knowing themselves, in other words not being in control of themselves, they run the risk of being controlled by the more powerful forces, energies and psyches that are at the top of the power structure. Introduction Mitchell-- 4 In today’s world, these controlling forces are not always of a benevolent sort. This will be heavily explored, however, there is a very important point I am making here. Since most of what we call the occult, in all areas of society, not just the deep arcane and spiritual realms of the psyche, is so controlled, the rest of the world population, literally, is being controlled by these forces at the top of the pyramid. This is a crime against humanity and is the reverse of what the Creator intended. The only solution to this is to completely open the doors for everyone, to awaken people’s curiosity, imagination and especially a true sense of justice, equality and human liberation. In other words, to expose the hidden potential within all human beings; this is the heritage of all people. It can only be achieved by exposing many of the shadowy negative forces and energies that have taken over the operating controls of human destiny. The separation, fragmentation and bigotry that subsequently develops as long as we remain unconscious results in the formation of groups that operate primarily on an unconscious level, and primarily for reasons of survival. However, given the nature of the dynamics that create these groups in the first place, although they attempt to shield their members from other groups, there is always a domino and totem affect within groups where members overpower those weaker than them selves within the group, either psychically or physically. This is nature’s way in some cases. The problem is that with human beings, given the population of humanity on the Earth today, this primordial way of “surviving” is quite obsolete. Under natural conditions and circumstances, evolution is ever expanding. This takes place both horizontally, embracing the collective and lower levels of the human psyche and Earth environment, and vertically into the higher realms of psychic potential. The vertical movement is usually initiated by individuals, followed by the rest of the human collective. I am not talking about dictators and leaders in a political sense. I am talking about Galileo’s, Einstein’s, Martin Luther King Jr.’s and leaders of emancipation and spiritual development. I am speaking about individual developments in a psychic and therefore psychological sense. We will explore what helps development and what hinders it. We will look at the psychic dynamics of empathic connection and interdependent connection with others and what hinders that from happening. We will look at how all higher development requires an integration and maintenance of all developments that preceded it. Without this maintenance a sort of crumbling takes place individually, collectively, socially and environmentally. We will see that many of the symptoms of this psychic fragmentation are looked upon as the various problems within society and how this can be remedied; especially the problem of these symptoms being looked upon as the causes while the real causes are ignored. For example, as touched on above, even if we don’t consciously acknowledge it, the fact is that everything that occurs within individuals and between individuals is entirely reciprocal and cyclical, whether of health or unhealthy imbalance. We will explore how this reciprocity can be put to productive and creative purposes rather than destructive. Solid individual freedom to develop as discreet individual entities is the only way true interdependent and creative reciprocity can take place. Connected interaction has to develop from freedom not coercion, whether it is conscious or unconscious, psychological or physical. This is the true definition of health. Health is also defined by ever increasing levels of consciousness being attained. This recognizes that most of what takes place on the “unconscious” levels of the individual and collective human psyche takes place consciously on a level that most of us have lost contact with. A healthy recognition of the horizontal psychic plane as well as the vertical upward plane and dimension of psychic growth is crucial. Aware integration of these two dimensions and their dynamics naturally results in optimal health. Balance is the important factor to consider in most areas of human activity. Both balance and imbalance are mirrored in healthy worldviews and unhealthy worldviews. In the latter case, a conscious worldview may not even be present. Anything taken to an unbalanced extreme will set all the other factors inherent in wholeness off kilter as well. The first casualty in almost all cases Introduction Mitchell-- 5 of imbalance is a solid and well grounded consciousness. Separation resulting in nihilism, oppression and narcissistic isolation are consequences of imbalance. We will look at the antidote to this, and that is the development of true empathy and compassion. One of the symptoms of our materialistic worldview is that, unconsciously, humankind has reached a point where people work to maintain a market driven society that has stopped working for the benefit of most people. In an ego sense what this is an expression of is a disempowered humanity working to maintain a lower level, materialistic mindset. Collectively, this mindset has stripped most people of all except a competitive level mentality that keeps most of the world population in a state of psychical and physical survival mode and almost 100% of humankind struggling to maintain some sense of interdependence and dignity, individually and collectively. Scientific philosopher Ken Wilber’s concept of holarchy demonstrates quite nicely that, in order to evolve upward, in an evolutionary sense, people and in fact all life, in virtually all respects, have to maintain an integrated, reciprocal and rooted existence from which they emerged. Holarchy also demonstrates that, although no one perspective has all of the answers and solutions to existence, they are all valid in a partial sense. All of them provide a partial picture of reality but they all have to be looked upon in an integrated and whole context. In order to exist in a healthy, evolving way people have to maintain a psychic, and in extension, physical integration with themselves, with other people and with the whole of their natural environment, both the horizontal Earth plane and the vertical Heavenly plane of existence and potential. When people within the existing worldview live from a strictly ego perspective, expressed most completely through materialism, this is not possible to maintain indefinitely. Not only does evolution stop, in many cases it goes into regression. Many of the symptoms of this regression we will explore throughout this work. However, the main expression of the subsequent loss of the integration I spoke of above is a world wide collective competitiveness and bigotry that has stripped most people of any sort of integration of body, mind and spirit. Expressed collectively, it is mirrored within individuals equally. Violence, physically and psychically expressed, is a symptom of the inquisitorial and egotistically repressed soul of humankind and the unconscious rule by a shadow controlled super ego, in a psychoanalytical sense. We will explore the symptoms of this psychic imbalance in the following chapters. The conditioning factors involved in maintaining this mindset, as I will consistently stress throughout, are perpetrated primarily unconsciously. The result is that finger pointing and blame cannot really be performed; this repression results in a type of acting and theatrical performance. All finger pointing would do is exacerbate the situation and in fact is a prime example of the hypocrisy and repression of human reality that precipitated the imbalance in the first place. This is an example of “blaming the victim” that we have to overcome. Having said this, the main question people have to ask themselves is who benefits from what I have been describing? In fact, the word, “profits,” speaks volumes in looking towards an answer. We will see that reductionism will have to be replaced with an appreciation for integration and wholeness at all levels and states of individual and collective development. This is the only way true health can be achieved and maintained; by an appreciation for the quality of human existence rather than a consumerist focus on quantity. I mentioned the subsequent hypocrisy and bigotry that result from a world operating from a primarily ego perspective. Sadism and masochism, primarily unconsciously motivated, is a widespread phenomena and symptom of the mindset I am talking about. This is a symptom of alienation and lack of integration within individuals and people. It has more of an impact throughout society and the world than most would imagine. What all of this demonstrates is a type of self hate that perpetuates the machine – like cycle within a prescriptive world cult – ture. Introduction Mitchell-- 6 When I use the word prescriptive, it denotes a mindset that categorizes and divides everything into parts, assigning people to machine – like roles within society. This is mirrored in psychic development, or lack thereof, within individuals and the human collective. This is the opposite of a proscriptive mindset where people maintain as much of a whole and reciprocal interaction with their environment as possible, in whatever they do, especially work. It is integrative and holistic. These dynamics, both prescriptive and proscriptive, will be explored in depth and within many apparently separate and diverse areas; in apparently different ways in which they are expressed. What I have been describing is very political and it is an understatement to say that in the context that I am saying it, the personal is political. I will draw from the wisdom teachings of both the Eastern and Western areas of the world to demonstrate that the only way to achieve a healthy integration and wholeness is by a psychological process known as centering. This process recognizes both the horizontal plane of existence, as well as the vertical movement of evolution, represented by an integrated individual psyche. This demonstrates recognition of the inter-psychic connection with other people and the larger environment. The vertical plane recognizes the higher potentials of the psyche and is demonstrated by upward movement in evolution of spiritual or conscious development. The first plane is primarily feminine in nature while the second dynamic is primarily masculine. However, both planes have a blend of both energetic patterns. These distinctions have nothing to do with gender. One has to do with embracing and integration: this is feminine. The other dynamic, masculinity, makes this possible by the energetic creation and expression of consciousness. Both energetic dynamics have to be present in a mutually reciprocal way in order for healthy life and existence to be a reality. One of the symptoms of a lack of this existential health we will look at is an addictive mindset and tendency within world society, and how we are conditioned to it. One of the cruelest expressions of this stunted emotional psychic growth, and addictions is only one example, is pedophilia and an obsession with and distortion of a sacred expression of humanity and life, sexuality. In fact, sexuality, or rather, sensuality, is one of the casualties that will be discussed at great length. It is sexuality that has become one of the most obscene ways in which sadism and masochism, on many different levels, is expressed. It is expressed in psychic ways as much as it is in physical ways, in fact more so. This symptomatic tendency has distorted and perverted what should be a most beautiful expression of humankind and human interdependence. When we look at the potential of the human psyche we will see it goes far beyond what most people consider realistic. As an example, we will look at what used to be known as “female intuition” and how it has become degraded and pathologized into something called paranoia. This is an example of how the human psyche has been mute-lated. It is an example of how an artificially created “pathology” is being used in order to create profits in a materialistic market driven world. In looking at the above, we can begin to see the way in which power can be misused. Power has to be equated with responsibility, especially when that power involves a potential or in fact contains within it a power differential between the powerful person and other people. This would mean that there therefore is a potential to hold power over other people and misuse that power. The lethal combination in these kinds of situation is increased egocentricity, cynicism and unconscious hatred on the part of the powerful person. In looking at these dynamics we will be looking at the nature of cults. A primary characteristic of cults is one way control, from the top down. One of the main results of this type of control is dependence and the creation of an addictive personality. The two dynamics are definitely related. In respect of cults or groups, the important dynamic to look at is the one way flow of control, with a resulting domino – like affect. Society is almost completely comprised and saturated with these dynamics, on a continuum ranging from mild to severe. I already mentioned one of the causes creating a “perceived” need to exert illegitimate control: this is regression. Introduction Mitchell-- 7 The only way to reverse these dynamics is purposeful consciousness raising. This results in increased awareness of what is taking place. These dynamics are present from the family up through to various institutions, national levels of government and now international level organizations, including multinationals. When attempting to leave cult – like groups, most people leave one situation only to go to another like it, sometimes. Because of conditioning and familiarity, mainly unconscious people like this go from one cult – like group to another. This is very similar to situations where abused people leave one abusive relationship only to be gravitated to similar situations. This dynamic is well documented and researched and hardly requires discussion. All we have to look at is situations where battered people in relationships go from one abusive relationship to another. People involved in spiritual or psychological occult practices do gain power because of increased levels of consciousness. This power can be used to liberate people or to manipulate people. In most occult groups I have been involved with, because of a lack of self – knowledge the people I have witnessed allow ego to interfere and the result is conscious or unconscious manipulation of their environment, including people. Speaking for myself, when I initially got involved in these areas, in addition to reasons related to employment, as well as scholarly and spiritual interests, there were also self – defensive dynamics present, as there are with a lot of people. All of these dynamics occur in most groups, not just the spiritually or psychologically oriented groups, in a relative way. As I said, they occur on a continuum. Remember, the word occult simply refers to “what is hidden” whatever that knowledge or information may be. A symptom of manipulation and control is depression and other so – called mental illnesses. This is because of a resulting draining of masculine or libinal energy, as I will continue to mention repeatedly, and with in-depth analysis of the actual psycho-physiological dynamics. I will discuss many of the very institutions within society that increase these types of dynamics that result in psychic imbalances, while their conscious mandates are to alleviate them. They usually combine their “treatment” with an increase in dependency, which in itself depletes people of energy. In discussing the dynamics in these areas always keep in mind the people involved have been themselves wounded and conditioned, and perpetuate these dynamics unconsciously. Sexual exploitation and the use of sexuality in the manipulation of people can be perpetrated as much on a psychic level as physical. All forms of dependency, enmeshment, co – dependence and other forms allowing the use of control and manipulation result, on some level on a continuum, in a form of psychic possession. In fact, all forms of conditioning, and this includes a large segment of society, is responsible for doing this sort of thing. We can look at the ever constricting “official” definition of what it means to be normal. When I use the word constricting in this manner, I am referring to the ever greater tendency to officially increase methods of control over large populations of people This then becomes a tool used by various groups in society, to categorize and subsequently label and scapegoat people. This does more than simply turn these people into unconscious sacrificial victims. This will be looked at in depth. The most sensitive people in society who psychically recognize the above dynamics are quite often labeled mentally ill, and are psychically imprisoned and controlled, usually by medication, to avoid any type of attitude changes within society, and subsequently any healthy improvements. One of the main ways in preventing awareness of these dynamics becoming known is in making psychically aware people look or in fact become insane. This a tool used, to make these realities look like psychotic or delusional hallucinations. This is the main way society’s awareness of the realities of manipulation and population control are kept under lock and key (pun intended). Introduction Mitchell-- 8 Energy draining related to sexual exploitation and the resulting ability to manipulate is one of the main reasons sexual exploitation is used and is perpetrated by weak and wounded people This is one of society’s most widespread and horrendous methods of exploitation and control. I will not explain here these dynamics in any detail. However, I will give one other very obvious example. In Hollywood Satanic cults, that is, in ones that operate on a conscious level although behind closed doors, there is one characteristic way they keep people from escaping from the cult. Cult members are usually ones that hold positions of power and influence within society. Even if they don’t hold high positions of power and influence, when someone tries to escape, they are powerful enough to make the stories that the person who tries to escape look unbelievable, and the person telling them look crazy. The escapees are usually powerless young people. What the person has experienced is usually so horrendous, sometimes and usually, the cult members have no difficulty in making the person telling of these experiences as looking crazy. These victims are then re - victimized by other people or institutions, and sometimes by cult members in these institutions. I will expand upon these dynamics in reference to both Hollywood cults and true Satanic cults that operate almost exclusively on the unconscious or subconscious realms of the psyche. In looking at these nasty tendencies within the psyches of people, being consciously aware of the whole self or psyche is the only way to not realize the lesser admirable, possibly deeply repressed aspects and dynamics of an individual. Hollywood or “open” style Satanic cults do consciously what most of society does unconsciously. This is accomplished by a collective super ego that is controlled and dominated by a shadow infested collective operating primarily from the lower (ego and below) levels of the psyche. This is especially true of angry energies, and angry people who add to or allow themselves to be caught in these areas. As mentioned above, this is why anyone getting involved with openly “spiritual” occult practices have be aware of themselves as much as possible. This can otherwise allow wounded people become or remain perpetrators and continue to commit crimes against other people. There are some groups of people this applies to more than others. I will explore some of these groups, however, in all cases the important thing is for people to use some common sense and to ask questions for themselves. When these dynamics are not consciously made aware, people end up doing the very things they condemn in others without even being aware of their own hypocrisy. As most psychologists and people who work with other people, especially survivors, know, if a person responds to situations with anger, this will usually indicate a degree of guilt in whatever the situation represents. Nature meant anger to be a short term emotional reaction to impel someone into action; if hung onto it quickly becomes hate. In more developed people, through the development of discipline, emotions such as anger are by-passed. In these cases, as soon as they stir from within they are recognized and immediately refined and redirected upwards into the areas of the higher functioning aera of the whole psychic system. This is what Eastern disciplines and traditions such as the various forms of martial arts teach, as an example. In looking at the darker aspects of groups, cults, and human behavior, in the occult repertoire of terms, one aspect of “black magic” is the draining of masculine or libinal energy, mentioned above. In using common sense and asking questions, I will leave it up to the people to verify what I am saying for them selves, after reviewing much of the information encountered throughout the rest of this work. A deficiency or imbalance of masculine or feminine energies, usually a result of conditioning and trauma, will usually put in place or perpetuate the above mentioned dynamics. If people scoff at the realities that I am referring to, all I ask is that they seriously look at and consider the things I will be discussing. All of what I speak about is supported by thousands of years of knowledge. In addition to modern scientific support, most of the activities I speak of, I have no doubt, will reverberate with almost everyone who reads this presentation. I ask people to monitor their responses as they read what I say. If they are honest with them selves what they experience will speak volumes. Introduction Mitchell-- 9 In looking at these dynamics and how unconscious dynamics are activated or deactivated, we will look at rituals and their use. There are rituals that can be consciously performed. However, just about every aspect and level of human activity involves the activation of psychic energies and realities by ritual. Ritual, through the use of symbols and the parallels between physical and conscious activity and resulting movements within activate the deeper areas and contents of the inner psyche. Symbols activate aspects of the psyche we would not usually be aware of. Ritual can either be used to unite humanity or to separate them. We will look at both types of these dynamics. When symbols or ritual activate certain aspects of the psyche, the assimilation of emotional responses and data are not usually filtered through the critical apparatus of the intellect. This is why rituals, especially when performed “consciously” within spiritual occult settings have to be done with knowledge of the intent behind them and awareness of the possible outcomes. The whole person, beyond ego, who performs the ritual, requires that the person involved “know thy self,” and is of paramount importance. This is especially important in low magic that involves manipulation of the environment, including people. This aspect of the occult also applies to all occult knowledge and their applications, technologically speaking, and especially mental health where actual control over people and their lives are at stake. It is the aspects of low magic and environmental manipulation that that have to be considered more than high “magic”; the latter is geared towards “knowing thy self” and the joining with the source of life. In the case of low magic, when tribalism, bigotry and separation (hate) enter into the ritual, the more powerful the outcome is: the more powerfully destructive the outcome. This is especially true when the rituals focus on symbols and archetypal energies, or even accumulated negative energies, that resonate within the collective psyche. This takes place on a continuum. Although low magic can be used to heal, it can also be used as an illegitimate type of manipulation, as found in some types of voodoo. Scapegoating and any form of hypocrisy and oppression is a form of black magic that drains people of life force. As mentioned above, examples of these types of activities will be discussed by using, in some cases, mundane examples everyone will recognize. Many people within society aware of these levels and realities, unfortunately, work for the “system” or themselves in an egotistical sense. This will be discussed. The most sensitive people who are aware, intuitively, of these realities are usually subdued in various ways, “sacrificed”, in fact because of the energies they have access to as well as the threats they present to the powers that maintain the status quo; they are sacrificed more ruthlessly than any other segments of the population. This was mentioned above and we will discuss this at length. Mute – lation is the usual result. With most of the perpetrators, it is only by the awakening of consciousness and conscience, that the oppressors will more than likely stop their actions. Many would be quite amazed, “who me?.... I had no idea…” A theme I will repeatedly state throughout is that when we harm others, we are harming ourselves. Can a person recall a time they hurt someone and felt bad afterwards? As mentioned above, oppressed people, in many cases try to compensate for their disempowerment by oppressing those beneath them. This is the domino affect and is one crucial factor in the cyclical perpetuation of these dynamics. I will stress many items of importance over and over to get this point across. Fear is one of the main tools used to keep these dynamics in place. The world and society is saturated in fear. The use of fear is most cruelly used by perpetrators in committing childhood sexual abuses, even if it is coated with candies and words of praise. Taking into consideration all of the dynamics I am discussing, on the unconscious levels of the collective unconscious, these accumulated energies become shadow(y) hate and revenge seeking entities in its own right. This is the shadow from depth psychology. It is usually combined with the collective super ego and the lower level primordial aspects of the individual and collective psyche. As we will see, many of these dynamics, because people are unconscious of their true Introduction Mitchell-- 10 natures, result in antagonism between groups, men and women, and other identified concentrations of people. Consciousness raising can remedy this situation. In considering the reality of the interpenetration of psyches, consider the aspect of being in mass rallies, spectators in large sports events, and so forth. Unless a person is very aware, it is quite easy to get caught up in the much more primordial and lower level energies of the mass mind.I will provide a fair amount of material that should provide enough grist for the mill that people will seriously consider what I am saying. Consider the affects of sadism, masochism and in fact any sort of violence: emotional, psychological and physical. Consider the above mentioned energy drain in mass atmospheres. Then consider where all of that energy goes. It does not benefit the sadist, except for a short time, certainly not the masochist, and after a mass rally, once people come back to down to Earth, everyone feels drained. On a collective level, where does all of this energy go? Certainly not to constructive purposes. Consider: shadows or blackness sucks up and absorbs light, energy. Light, awareness, however, creates and radiates energy, like the sun. I will provide several real life examples, and also physical (physics), metaphysical, philosophical and other scientific documentation and facts for people to use in conjunction with intelligence when considering these questions. Groups and cults are major tools used by the collective, in manners described above, in perpetuating these dynamics. A state of mind that follows from all of these dynamics is not only a dependence on the “expert,” but also authoritarian leadership. These dynamics are present within almost all groups. Some of the more obvious ones can be called cults. I will give you examples of this latter type of organization, and the less obvious forms cults can take, and especially how the dynamics of conditioning are implemented. During these sections I will explore the idea of psychic retreats that people make because of these dynamics and the resulting psychic imbalances such as dissociative identity disorder, so – called schizophrenia and so forth. During these discussions consider the emotion fear, which is nothing more than an aspect of a false, in some cases regressive, and certainly immature ego. Consider how these dynamics attempts to maintain and perpetuate a cyclical situation as the one described above. I will take a look at how a person’s and people’s environment and their perceptions within that environment are distorted in order to maintain control over people. Most of this is unconscious, although there are ways in which it is consciously maintained. I am referring to propaganda, subliminal suggestion, through to advertising and the mass media. Only rigid skeptics and closed minded people will be able to deny validity, at least to some extent, to what I am saying. Regression in development, such as I have been describing, actually causes people to see things in reverse. Think of it. If a person denies realities within them selves, they will hypocritically project and see it in other people. This is the whole purpose and subsequent result of using scapegoats. People deny things within them selves and project it onto someone else and then blame the other person for the very thing or things they are guilty of. When the ancient people first created the scapegoat, during ritual, it was originally done to real goats. They “blamed” the goat for their own shortcomings once they “prayed” their undesirable traits into it before sending it off into the wilderness. This was an actual ritual that will be mentioned later in this book. After thousands of years, this ritual has created a psychological state of mind for the collective psyche, found within most individuals with some exceptions. Looking at the whole interactive nature of the psyche, it follows, logically, that the whole of the human being, and in extension, the collective, has become characterized by this state of body, mind and being. As will be explored, thousands of years later this tendency of psychic reversal has developed into the origination of conditions such as turrets, dyslexia, and so forth. You see, in addition to mass repressions, we are not using goats anymore. We create human scapegoats and act in bigoted ways. We are using real people. Introduction Mitchell-- 11 This is “seeing” in reverse, and because of body and mind interaction, including responses by the deeply repressed unconscious, this is being expressed by the emergence of new diseases, rampant social violence, and so forth. I’m simply asking people to keep an open mind as they read this material and think logically and with feeling as they review what I say. Put emotion, sentimental conditioning and propaganda aside. Think with your whole person, with your heart as you read this. Experience what and how you feel as these realities are considered. Especially consider the mute-lated human psyches reaction to this; both individually and collectively. Especially consider how this relates to the widespread epidemics of violence throughout society and the world. Consider the nature of bigotry, hypocrisy and the subsequent tendency for people to therefore see things in reverse. Because of this tendency people actually create situations to induce people they accuse to fulfill their accusations. It is no understatement to say accusers should be cross examined just like those persons accused, of whatever they are accused of, in some instances. I feel this should actually apply even to polygraph tests. People haven’t changed that much since the days of the inquisition and witch burnings: those particular circumstances were prime opportunities for hate-filled and jealous people to claim innocent victims. This is quite dramatically the nature of hypocrisy and scapegoating. Awareness of the main ways people are scapegoated and bigoted against, when brought to light, can counter the psychological dynamics of this process, and it will be discussed in some detail in this work. When true psychology is reduced to the material and genetic levels in trying to understand these dynamics, preventing learned and aware public knowledge of these realities, the only recourse is consciousness raising This would be similar to what many oppressed groups have done throughout history. In respect of the dynamics I am speaking about, people should become concerned about possible loss of civil liberties and government population control. Seriously consider these things as you read this material. Is this why official medicine, as one example, looks at mysticism, mystical abilities or even “female” intuition and other demonstrations of raised levels of consciousness in such a paranoid and persecutory fashion? The psychological creation of addictions followed by the unconscious, and sometimes not so unconscious, maintenance of an addictive society effectively decreases collective and individual levels of consciousness. This also acts as a form of medication that keeps people at earlier and less evolved stages of psychic development. In this state, people are more easily manipulated and turned into consumers that provide a market driven society with what it needs. As people read this material, feel how you feel, what you feel and as I will say many times, closely monitor your reactions to the things I am saying. If there has been one recurring theme throughout all of history it is the truth that when some individuals initiate a change in the common perspective of things, they are usually scorned at and not taken very seriously. Galileo was imprisoned, people thought Columbus was crazy for thinking the world was round, Martin Luther King was assassinated, and do you think people seriously thought about walking on the moon that many years ago? Consider the truth that I am by no means the first person to say the things I am saying. Consider the ways in which many people have expressed the same things in addition to the written word. Art, film, and other forms of poetic expression attempt to say similar things. Art is not fiction. It expresses what is submerged in the depths of the psyche; contents that are struggling to break out and be expressed. When it is not expressed, the repressing dynamics increases the size of the collective shadow that psychoanalytical literature speaks of. I will discuss and explore in-depth extreme examples of psychic fragmentation: dissociation identity crisis, what used to be called multiple personality disorder, is perhaps one of the most obvious examples. I will also discuss obvious forms of psychosis that can actually be caused by societies various addictions/medications, especially misuse of some of the pharmaceutically manufactured psychotropic medications. The ability of a true person’s self to emerge under Introduction Mitchell-- 12 natural conditions can be a prodigious achievement. In today’s world, consciousness raising is the only thing that can place people’s natural drive to achieve these higher levels of consciousness and psychic development back into an evolutionary mode. I am talking about integration and individuation. In the above respect, I will relate a short dream I had several years ago, very soon after I started using anti-depressants. Dream In this dream, I was standing in front of a bar counter. The bar tender however, was not serving just drinks. He was also serving prozac. Most of the patrons of the bar actually seemed to prefer this over the usual depressant known as alcohol. I think this dream sums up very well what I said in the above. Interestingly, I never even considered what this dream was trying to say at that time; not until quite recently. Years after I had that dream, and quite some time since I have had any need for any type of psychotropic medication, while doing serious research in these areas I remembered this dream and now see what it was trying to tell me. The dynamics I am discussing here will also be discussed in relation to cults and cult-like groups and how they operate. These dynamics are present throughout all of society, with more obvious levels of expression in some groups than in others. I will also demonstrate how psychic fragmentation and manipulation by the shadow/super ego of society and its various tools of enforcement are very sexual in the sense of psychic invasion and rape. This can also be far more devastating in affect than physical levels of violations. The main reason for this is because in our material culture, any physical forms of violation are usually recognized for what they are and dealt with by law enforcement and the justice system. This is not the case at the moment with the psychic invasions that I am speaking of. I will discuss both physical and psychological forms of trauma induced by abuse and for lack of a better word, sacrificial torture. In various sections of this work I will give clear in – depth examples where repression, bigotry and victimization of certain “unseen” groups and individuals result in oppression of a sort that appears to be perpetrated unconsciously. I suppose in some respects it might be unconscious. However, in the main example I am going to explicate, I will demonstrate instances where the oppressed can become the oppressors. This will show how, when people who have been oppressed in the past and in the present begin to be liberated from their oppression, or even in cases where it has stopped, if there is not a clear understanding of the dynamics that created the oppression in the first place, the formerly oppressed quite often become the oppressors. This example will illustrate the need for what has been wounded, repressed and placed out of conscious awareness to become uncovered and healed. If it is not healed, it sometimes returns in the form of revenge. This has been a recurring theme in the history of humankind. In tandem with the above dynamics, I will develop an exploration of how some of society’s institutions can create environments conducive to making or helping the formerly oppressed become oppressors. I will investigate how these dynamics affect everyone in society and the human collective, consciously and unconsciously. What these dynamics represent, quite simply, is a hypocritical perpetuation of the very aspects of oppression that one group of people condemn in others, and then do themselves. This is not exclusive to any one group either. This dynamic creates an environment that maintains illusional differences and divisions between people. A perfect example of this is political correctness. In addition to what I just mentioned above, political correctness forcibly and coercively pushes biased opinions and viewpoints onto others, and quite often to other people’s detriment and oppression. In no cases can coercion and intolerance overcome intolerance and differences. The only type of intolerance that can be acceptable in society is intolerance of anyone being hurt or oppressed. In relation to all of the above, I will explore the nature of healing relationships. I will discuss, in depth, ways that demonstrate the need, in many cases, for would – be healers to in fact heal themselves from psychic fragmentation and discover their own inner sources of bigotry. I will look Introduction Mitchell-- 13 at how many apparently healthy and well meaning people in fact can become oppressors and perpetrators. I will show that healing and being healed has to be a mutual affair in that a state of true empathy and compassion must be a living reality with the healer in order for a true healing relationship to exist. That necessarily involves a two way exchange and recognizes the truth that no one person is perfect: all can improve and evolve. That is the whole purpose of a person’s life. In the final section of this book, I will explore the dynamics of hard-core ritual abuse. I illustrate there are two distinct levels of ritual abuse. One level involves perpetrators and the abuse they commit they do in blatantly obvious ways and can most easily be recognized in the crimes of physical sexual abuse, especially within obvious cults. However, I will also discuss the less obvious forms of abuse, especially sexual, that take place on the unconscious and more subtle levels of awareness. Ritual abuse is also a dynamic perpetrated through the creation, maintenance and act of hypocrisy. The targets of this form of ritual abuse are the various scapegoats to be found throughout society. I will clearly draw parallels between the two forms of ritual abuse. I will use personal experiences from my own life to demonstrate the way cult or cult – like dynamics affected my life and the challenges I had to overcome. The main tool that I had was the ability to develop awareness of the dynamics that were taking place around and within me. The methods I used to achieve this aware consciousness was by using various techniques of consciousness raising. I used tried and true methods of meditation from both Eastern and Western traditions until I developed a unique, personalized form that suited me. In other words, the tried and true forms gave me a blueprint from where I could start to find my own true style and individuated way of mediation, of being. In fact, it is only when a person develops this awareness from within that one finds the real self. In this sense, I have heard it said that a true teacher is a person whose greatest desire in their thirst to teach, in all cases, is to teach a student and have the pleasure of seeing the student surpass them in ability. This is the characteristic of a true teacher. This is also the mark of a true healer. In both cases the person is helping to empower someone. The opposite of this would be to create dependency and idol worship. A true teacher or healer is humble. Towards the end of the book I will show how increasing levels of consciousness and wholeness cannot adequately be put into words to describe the actual process and view that subsequently develops from within. The closest way this can be done, in respect of the more highly evolved areas, is by the psychic manifestations of spiritual imagery produced by the mind. Unique to an individual’s culture and material origins, religious or spiritual imagery is the usual way the human psyche expresses these levels of consciousness, awareness of the contents of consciousness and wholeness. Later in this work, in most cases, I will draw upon and use spiritual imagery and draw as well upon personal experiences and expressions to demonstrate an experiential appreciation and understanding for the dynamics I am trying to describe intellectually. This is why I urge people to closely monitor and be very aware of any physiological, emotional and intellectual reactions they may have. To develop a feeling – toned understanding of the process they experience as they study the material I present here. As I have already said, a person’s reactions and especially intuitive feelings they have can say a lot more about the truth than can intellect alone. Throughout this work I describe the dynamics of meditation. I will illustrate that meditation is not a religion, some form of exotic and weird cult activity or anything remotely similar to that. Meditations take on many different forms and methods. In its most simple description, meditation is simply any form of concentration that follows thoughts, emotions or feeling in such a way that body, mind and spirit are united; they become synchronized. It teaches a person to become comfortable and accept everything one encounters in the mind and body, and letting it go. Tolerance is developed to the point that the various thoughts, feelings and emotions no longer have a hold on the individual. Tolerance is developed to the point where the mind is actually able Introduction Mitchell-- 14 to attain clear spots free of the clutter of thoughts and emotions, even feelings. Thoughts and associated emotions are primarily creations of the individual and collective ego. Once free spaces within the psyche have been found, movement upward to higher levels of awareness can be attained. The higher levels of awareness are free of the Earth like gravity and obsession with egotistical thoughts and fears. Importantly, the foundations or roots from which a person emerges, their cultures, will usually determine the best methods for an individual during the journey to wholeness. However, it most certainly depends on the individual and only the individual can determine the method best suited for themselves, not someone else. The only exception to this is when a true teacher can be found for this purpose. After having read and studied the dynamics above and throughout the rest of this work, I know people would then have a better idea for themselves what they themselves need or require. In fact, that is one of my main points being made throughout this book: most people have the God given and natural ability to heal themselves. To give up that ability is called disempowerment. Before I say anything else I will state at the very beginning of this work that many words, phrases, and the contexts in which I use them quite often have many layered meanings. Sometimes I will note the double of or layered meanings I intend, at other times I will leave it up to the reader to perhaps see for them selves. As well when I made Freudian slips that I wrote down as I was putting this commentary together, in most cases I have left them, and there are only a few of them. For a double meaning example, sometimes, when I say well, I am using the common usage of the word. However, I am also referring to the deep well of the unconscious. I have done so in these few instances because of the obvious or given the nature of the mind, the necessary and applicable context and meaning. Even in these few instances there might be a deeper meaning, especially when I make reference to gender. Whenever gender is used, at all times, the reader is advised to keep in mind the double nature of all human beings and the fact we all contain elements of both masculine and feminine dynamics and energies. Based on my own experience, especially from what I’ve learned from people, and of course what I’ve read and studied, and most importantly, my various experiences with some of the different socially sanctioned institutions of society and our culture, the following is an expression of what I believe our existential reality to be. When I relate my own experiences some of them may seem very difficult to understand given their traumatic and criminal nature in respect to the treatment I received, and certainly many of my very real experiences in the way I was affected will seem out of the ordinary nature. I use them in the same way that Freud, Jung, et al. used many of their very real and eye opening experiences and the affect they had on them and other people in the study of the mind. In addition, I will also use some very real examples of my own experiences that are examples of the very real types of ritual abuse I have personally experienced. Most of them will be towards the end of the work where I focus more on the actual dynamics of treating survivors of ritual abuse, however, there will be elements of these and this purpose recorded throughout. These examples are very personal and are items that I have taken from my personal journal. Throughout this work I contend that true healing is only possible when a person stops repressing and is brutally honest, with him or herself as well as with others. Some of these personal experiences are amazing to consider, especially when we are supposed to be living within a civilized and free society. More than anything else, what they demonstrate, among other things, is the fact that a lot of the abuse appears to be consciously perpetrated, and I suppose some of it is, but a lot of it must be unconscious otherwise I cannot fathom how people could actually allow themselves to do the things they do. When it comes to my own family, friends and perhaps even other people mentioned that colluded, took part in or otherwise closed a blind eye, I will change their names because ultimately blame cannot be assigned to things which are primarily induced unconsciously by the shadow and contaminated super ego and aother associated dynamics. It is a fact that in order to truly study the mind for the purpose of healing, rather than use other people as guinea pigs and the attempt of some people to learn about or control their minds vicariously through other people, a true psychology of the mind is only possible by study of one’s own. All of Introduction Mitchell-- 15 the great masters, psychologists, philosophers and spiritual saints throughout recorded time have demonstrated this fact. Taking into consideration my own personal experiences they have been quite varied. I was born into a typical family in Nova Scotia, Canada. The first few years of my life were lived in a rural area outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. As happens with so many families these days, my mother and father separated and divorced early in my life. What many people refer to as dysfunctional families is not only a common phenomenon; in fact it has become accepted by most of society’s population as being the “norm”. As I write these words never again will I ever assign blame, condemn or judge people as individuals or even as groups. What I can and do, is evaluate the unhealthy dynamics that have transpired within the world of the human psyche. As any good counselor knows, when addressing psychological issues you do not condemn the person or people responsible for them but you can deal with the unhealthy dynamics associated with the resulting behaviors and actions. In this context I will reserve judgment in saying the same about many of our institutions and the powerful dynamics that maintain many of society’s, indeed, humanities dysfunctions. Therefore, although much of what I say may appear harsh, in fact whoever is reading it may consider it, rather, to be a blunt, no nonsense approach to the issues I am trying to bring to light and provide some help in trying to address. I have learned that to “beat around the bush” and try to say something “in so many words” simply so that people who have a vested interest won’t be threatened does not, never has and never will work. I say this in the same way that to try to deal with someone or something that is harmful or doing harmful things or closing a blind eye to them, they can only be addressed by being truthful and to the point: if you are dealing with a rapist you don’t try to say what he or she is doing is wrong in a nice way so that they won’t be offended. The only thing that works is forthright honesty. Very early in life I developed a profound and ongoing need to ask “Why”. Later in my life, this developed into more of a spiritual search than anything else. Many of the dynamics I speak of in this book I personally experienced and they cover a wide spectrum of society’s different areas and levels. I did indeed experience some extremely painful, challenging and at times, seemingly unbearable difficulties. In overcoming them I can only say there was a deeper intelligence working from within and guiding me along my journey. I will not try to name this deeper intelligence however; I will say that it is to be found within each and every human being alive. As a woman I knew once said to me, “That which doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” I suppose it might be in reference to what the Buddha was referring to when he said, “Life is suffering.” I will refer to it as the illusion our egos fabricate, for good or bad, that prevents us from seeing the true nature of humankind and everything that comprises it and from which life springs. Having been raised as a Christian, I will say that it is some of what I believe Christ tried to teach us two thousand years ago. I am not Christ so I cannot speak for him, only the way I understand what he attempted to teach us. People all exist on different levels of development and therefore understanding. The important thing is for people always to ask, “Why.” The important thing to remember is that people, all people, are the same, literally. We are all made in the Creator’s image. Regardless of appearances every person in existence is fundamentally good and perfect. The other thing I want to make clear is that I will in no way adhere to modern medicine’s and especially the modern view of mental health that considers a lot of so-called mystical, even paranormal experiences people talk of as psychotic or sick. As I mentioned above, considering the nature of the mind, it is only natural that many of the psychic experiences people might encounter, given the context of the culture and spiritual characteristics of that culture, that much of the imagery and knowledge of the higher realms of the psyche can only be expressed through the filter of the human mind using images and concepts that we can interpret. Religious imagery is the only way to conceptualize or speak of some of these things. Later in this work I will provide more information showing that much of modern psychology and especially psychiatry only deal with the lower levels of the mind, usually as it relates to ego. Therefore I do closely evaluate Introduction Mitchell-- 16 modern psychiatry’s attack on human mysticism. I know from personal experience and many people I have spoken with as well as research I have done that when a client speaks about religion, mysticism or anything spiritual it is considered a sign of psychosis or illness. Yet that same individual who commits the diagnosis may then turn around and go to church every Sunday and listen to sermons that talk about a highly supernatural, and in some cases, superstitious type of God, hellfire and other such nonsense. This in itself is extremely childish, pathological and deadly to the human psyche and spirit; it is literally a crime against humanity It is from my experiences with people, and it is from other people I have learned more about myself than any other source, that I gained a true appreciation, respect and reverence for our life here on the blue planet. It is especially from people who have caused me suffering that I have obtained the greatest wealth of understanding and knowledge. I have learned that whether it was from the street people I associated with, the lawyers daughter I went out with at one time and her friends, from elderly people who appeared to be old fashioned and rigidly set in their ways or other associated people in different areas of society’s artificially created divisions, all of these people have shown me they had a wealth of resources for learning to offer me. In my thirst for information, learning and knowledge, I learned that there is a lot of information out there for people to “consume”, but very little of it is useful unless it can be put into its proper perspective. Learning how to read between the lines, separating fiction from non-fiction, separating emotional propaganda from true human requirements; all of this was to teach me that no one person, opinion and viewpoint or way of life is less useful for the purpose of human education than the rest. As I learned that no one person, perspective, way of life or way of being told the whole story I also learned the importance in realizing that from the day we are born until the day we die the process of learning never ceases. Not being able to realize these truths I now understand is the source of all bigotry. The written word is simply a vehicle for recording an individuals, groups’, nations’ or cultures’ particular viewpoint on life. I remember a book and its title I read at one time, “Aging is a Life-Long Affair”. Today, this title sums this realization up for me quite nicely. Considering my interaction with and experiences with the various institutions within society I have to say, my work in and personal involvement with medical and psychological institutions more than anywhere else showed me just how limited, controlling and regressive some of the aspects of these institutions really are. In some ways, they are more responsible for halting and in some cases reversing the growth of humans and the human spirit more than any other institutions within society. I am going to discuss the reality of the psyche within society and the world today, how the psyche is mutilated and abused in a type of unconscious sacrifice to the shadow of humankind. As mentioned, I am going to discuss how to recognize this type of ritual abuse, how to take steps to heal and then emerge from this in the form of therapeutic counseling, individual and collectively, beginning with the healer. The reality of the psyche is comprised of so more than what is usually considered “real”: only that which is able to be quantified and controlled through external sources is considered valid and worthy of respect. Ay level of the psyche that exists or is trying to emerge beyond the mature ego but encompassing all of the lower levels; that is, a psyche showing signs and expressions of the emergence of the higher levels of the human psyche, is looked upon by modern psychology and psychiatry with a pathological eye. Because they do not understand these realities of the psyche Introduction Mitchell-- 17 when they are confronted with them, they respond by diagnosing them away,1 thereby repressing them in both themselves and their clients causing only further mutilation and violence to the human psyche. As said, this only adds to the unconscious sickness of the human psyche that is known in psychoanalysis as the shadow and contaminated collective super ego. It is to be found within individuals and by virtue of every human being containing within themselves the whole of the human collective psyche, the collective as well. In attempting to understand the reality of the psyche and the world we live in we have to utilize as integral an approach as possible. In speaking about the integration or eclectic recognition of knowledge we can introduce the idea of centering and balance by using an approach that does not accept a purely objective or inter-objective approach or a purely subjective or inter – subjective approach. Each approach, situated in one of four quadrants and, placed on a graph has to be balanced by the other quadrants. In this case the left side or subjective and intersubjective approaches in understanding the reality of the psyche have to be balanced with the objective and inter – objective: individual outer and collective outer in order to understand how we maneuver and operate within the world. The left side of the graph can be thought of as a living psychic reality and the right side, because of its purely materialistic and objective viewpoint can simply be thought of as “it.” 2 It is only when one side or portion of the whole is used to the exclusion of the others that imbalance occurs. In today’s world validation is only assigned to the right, purely objective and materialistic side. What is accepted from the other side is only considered useful by the dominant structure if it can “make a profit” or further technology. The realities of the subjective and inter – subjective side, that is, the individual psyche, the collective psyche and the collective and individual interdependence of both, are discounted or pathologized. This is itself pathological and creates dysfunction in a vicious cycle, just as acceptance and recognition of only the left side as displaying the only validity of reality is equally unbalanced and ungrounded. Otherwise, we end up with neurotic and/or psychotic imbalances that do not understand and thereby mutilate both the psyche and other people’s psyches, and the world. A purely materialistic, technological and objective world view that predominates throughout this planet called Earth does just that. It destroys the psyche, both individual and collective, and by focusing exclusively on material reality thereby destroys it as well by over exploitation, imbalance; by too much attention being paid to quantitative rather than qualitative reality. Because of this quantitative, materialistic and therefore profit driven mentality we are left with a market driven society where people become Skinner’s rats. Their behaviors can be controlled and exploited, so that they purchase, in most cases, unneeded consumer products. People become bodies instead of being treated and acting like human beings; to maintain the machine – like requirements of a profit oriented society. The psychotic and sociopathic aspects of this type of society, is most evident, where people become objects simply to be used for making profits within a medical and pharmaceutical controlled “health - care” environment. The true subjective and therefore inter – subjective health of people, for the most part, is side – tracked and sabotaged because of subsequent alienation from self, from other people and their living environment. This consumer approach to living also distorts, mutilates and prevents attaining the higher levels of psychic potential and development as nature, both earthy and heavenly, intended. 1 Ken Wilber, “Eye To Eye, Shambhala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, copyright 1983, 1990, 1996, 2001 by Ken Wilber, Pg. 83 2 Ken Wilber, “Eye To Eye, Shambhala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, copyright 1983, 1990, 1996, 2001 by Ken Wilber, Pg. 83 Introduction Mitchell-- 18 Fortunately, we’ll always have our Socrates’, Galileo’s, and Dr, Martin Luther King Jr.’s who are individual enough, brilliant enough and courageous enough to go against the status quo. Thank God, so that truth, reality and justice can emerge at least long enough for humankind to see its mistakes sharply enough and clear enough to propel us into our next stage of evolutionary development. Sometimes this historical truism reminds me of watching a toddler learning how to walk: he or she takes a step forward, starts to lose balance and takes two steps backwards, regains balance enough to move forward far enough so that movement beyond the place where imbalance first occurred can be achieved. At least within the Western world, the development of our psyches to the point where we have the ability to use abstract thinking did not continue on to developing the higher levels of the psyche as this abstract ability was originally intended by nature for us to do. Instead, it has become locked in the lower levels of the ego, with the lower levels of the ego serving only the lower level reptilian and limbic aspects of the brain. Technology and the ability to manipulate matter and the human psyche increased inversely to our evolution as civilized human beings. As a world society, we have today developed a technology far in advance of what our war-like, reptilian mentalities can handle.3 The cleverness of the intellect’s ability, located in the left hemisphere of the brain, gives us apparent potential to have dominion over the more primitive limbic and reptilian (r-system) components of our psychic environment and planetary intelligence. Under natural circumstances, this is known at an instinctual and naturally forward moving and life enhancing level. The physical vessel is located in the right hemisphere of the brain. In today’s world conscious attempts at domination by the left, logical and scientific hemisphere of the brain has disconnected us from the right, more all encompassing part of our brain and psychic power (no wonder there is a medical/psychiatric condition known as bi-polar disorder). The left side of our brain is the side that is out of control, in the sense that it has enabled humankind to dominate rather than have dominion over the right side. What nature intended was to use our left hemisphere’s intellect to work in service of, to “civilize” the whole psyche,located primarily in the right hemisphere. This would provide balanced support to allow the employment of the instinctual, imaginative and more powerful side of the mind, to be used in an intuitively creative and evolutionary expansive way. Instead, what has happened is the conscious domination of the right, more encompassing Soul part of the brain, about 9/10ths of the whole psyche. This has resulted in a subsequent regression of the right side and has caused us not only to destroy by control what is represented by the right side, and we have done it with a pathological focus on materialism, it has also created a situation where the more powerful right side’s instinctual imagination and intelligence has unconsciously taken over in the form of the shadow and controls the collective super ego. This shadow destroys rather than creates by apparently working in unison with the left logical side, working to serve a primitive and war-like ego that is driven in its ruthlessness by an environment saturated with fear, alienation, and competition. As many intelligent people have said over the years, an enemy you cannot see is more dangerous than an enemy you can see. This is especially true when that unseen enemy has grasped control of humankind in a sort of unconscious, subliminal chaotic anarchy. Attempts to control the social symptoms of this anarchy in the traditional ways that produced it in the first place, obviously, will only exacerbate it. In other words humankind’s attempts to control nature and through that paradigm or world view, human nature, has backfired. The beginning point or area to heal this is human mental health. In may of the esoteric traditions, and today not so esoteric but terribly mutilated and misunderstood, it is well known that there are two terms that describe a person’s or people’s 3 Joseph Chilton Pearce, “Evolution’s End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence”, Copyright 1992, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 Pg. 181 Introduction Mitchell-- 19 conscious and sometimes not so conscious direction on the mystery path: these are known as the left hand path and the right hand path. The only reason I use the term mystery is because they refer to the higher levels of the human psyche that we have been denied access to and that for the vast majority of the human population they are a mystery, and today looked upon with a “knowing smile” and a feeling of foolish superstition. In the left hand path, the symbolic motion that represents its world-view is counter clockwise or anti sun-wise; against nature and separating rather than inclusive. The right hand path is characterized symbolically by a clockwise or sun-wise motion, unity, inclusiveness and harmony with nature and life: evolution. An example of the left hand path can be seen in the Nazis and especially the Nazi swastika. It represented a reverse of life enhancing forces, anti-sun wise, separating and against nature. The arms on the Nazi swastika cut into the air and ripped away. In comparison the original East Indian swastika, an extremely ancient and holy symbol went sun wise; symbolizing harmony with nature and life its arms flowed with the air, the vibrations of life. A natural movement in relation to the psyche, the movement from left (hemisphere) to right (hemisphere), is symbolizing a movement utilizing logic, consciousness, light. Nature flows from the left side to the “larger” and deeper right side, using the left side’s consciousness to “enlighten it. Instead, when the left side is “in charge,” what happens and has happened is that the resulting movement is from the right, psychically far more powerful side towards the left side, unconsciously. What the left logical side has done in sabotaging the right side is to, paradoxically (or should I say Pandora’s Box), cause and enable the unenlightened, primordial and pissed off uncivilized right side to take over. By society’s primarily systemic focus on the left brain’s intellect and ability to dominate and control, we have unknowingly and unwittingly, unleashed a monster in the shadow: the ghost in the machine, literally. Possibly in this respect I will relate a dream I had at one time several years ago. I know it had to do with the recollection of my integral self as I developed in consciousness and remembered aspects of myself that were lost or forgotten, ripped away from me temporarily. I also know it had to do with the frustrations I encountered on the journey to wholeness. In this dream I am outside on a green grass covered backyard. I am sitting on a motorcycle and am trying to get it started. Then, a woman comes over to my motorcycle from the right side, reaches over and presses the electric starter that powers up the motorcycle. As I start a forward motion on the bike, I start out moving in a left direction and then I decide to change directions and head right. There are many important factors I can see in this dream. However, I believe the most important elements are: 1) My inner woman or Earth level, instinctual intelligence located primarily in the right brains powerful all-encompassing depths, my anima, starts the power in the bike. She is moving from the right to the left however, similar to the way the world in which I was born has been moving. It is counterclockwise, anti - sun wise in movement because of the mute – illation and violence that has been done to the soul, my Soul and the Earth Soul. The person sitting on the bike is my ego self, but also my masculine or “heavenly” self. At first, perhaps because of frustration, unconsciousness, or even habit I begin also traveling in a leftward direction. However, I believe in my decision to turn right, that is moving from my vital left side, as it is known in Yoga, towards the right, I started to operate from a conscious position but also a moral, and ethical and life giving one rather than life denying position; the common type of position that characterizes the world into which I had been born. Morals, ethics and empathy naturally follow as one increases in true consciousness, free of the false ego. Introduction Mitchell-- 20 2) the electric power used to start the engine immediately makes me think of the pain and suffering I have encountered ever since I began to wake up and go against the backwards moving motion of the herd mentality. When I say electric I say it in the same way that an electric chair is used to murder someone. Ever read Steven King’s “The Green Mile”? Ever since I started to go against the herd, I have felt like I have been on the “hot seat” of an electric chair. The electric energy has been bone rattling rather than providing a humming and flowingly harmonized form of energy and power. Especially, I say this in respect to the way my character has been attacked, along with my psychic well being because of the severe abuses I have encountered, and in short, the barbaric and brutal treatment that has been handed to me by the very people I opened my heart, mind and various abilities to. This also applies, as well to those people and institutions I looked to receive support from to help me overcome the brutalities I endured. As I said, the motorcycle represents, in a very real symbolic way, and this had been the case for me for as long as I can remember, the power of woman, as in horsepower, earth power. This is separate from heavenly power, the other element that is represented by me, the man, on the bike. It is that heavenly or masculine aspect of my psychic makeup riding the horse. In respect to the “fallen” nature of Earth, in the sense I was born in a fallen state as in fallen away from the heavenly creator or source, there is also another dream I will share. The important element of this dream is that it demonstrates in a very powerful way the fact that each of our individual psyches share and take part in the whole of the collective psyche. This is especially true in the sense that each and every person we meet and in fact that exists in the world is no more or less than exact replicas of each and every aspect of our own individual psyches. In a collective material sense, there may be billions of people alive on this earth today, however, the fact is that every one of those individual psyches or entities are contained in the psyches of each one of those billions of persons alive. There is an important point to be made here however: it is a fact that within each human individual there is a lot of darkness and unclean nature. That is why virtually every person alive is responsible for uncovering that darkness, bringing it to light and using it for life giving and constructive purposes. Therefore, it goes without saying there are aspects of a persons psyche that have to be civilized and controlled. In the same sense as I described in the above, that can also be interpreted, in a material sense, without prejudice, hypocrisy but simply honesty and love, that there are reflections of us in society that have to be civilized. They have to heal, before they can be productive, and they have to be brought to a point of consciousness before this can even begin. To become at least conscious enough to want to, themselves, rebel and break away from the tribe or heard, long enough to begin to emerge as individuals. Individuals that truly want to give life in an interdependent fashion rather than existing in a fragmented and alienated state that characterizes large portions of society today. Importantly, when I use the word tribe, I am not denouncing tribes per say, only the aspect of tribal consciousness that creates divisions; creating us and them mentalities. In that sense, every group of people that consider themselves better than or superior to or different from other groups in a fundamental sense, whether that belief is based ongender, color, creed, nationality or religion, operate from a tribal mentality that denies the reality that all of humankind is one big family. Any differences in perspectives can be used as strengths if mutual elements are also acknowledged. This statement is no different than taking a group of people with widely differing areas of interest and perspectives, bringing them together and “brainstorming” from different perspectives to bring together the best of what each has to offer. In the next dream I am standing by myself inside what I instinctively know are a type of showers. The walls are covered in blood and I know that many people have died in these showers before me. I also knew at the time I had that dream, within the dream, that I had been about to die as well. Interestingly, interesting almost in the same way Spock from the TV series Star Trek may have used the term, I knew I was going to die in those showers. As far as trying to interpret this dream, all I will say is that what the dream meant to me was a conscious awareness Introduction Mitchell-- 21 of how many people within society are used as scapegoats, whipping boys or are in some way used by bigots and hypocrites to carry their own projections that they refuse to carry themselves. I will also say that this dream also illustrates the fact that we are all responsible for the state of the human collective psyche or spirit; the world Soul. In this context, I remember reading the words of a Jewish holocaust survivor who was a well known author and Nazi hunter earlier in his life, who had come to the realization at one point in his later life, upon deep reflection, the unity and sameness of all humankind. He said that if history and circumstances had been different it could just have easily have been him standing in the SS uniform watching the ritual sacrificial victims in the concentration camp in that blatant Hollywood style Satanic cult instead of the other way around. In this sense we are all our brothers and sisters keepers; not jail guards, not policeman, keepers; in the sense that we are all responsible for the welfare of everyone, most importantly and necessarily beginning with ourselves. If we don’t start with ourselves we wouldn’t have the energy, courage or ability to have the compassionate empathy and love required for the love of our fellow human beings. We have not been using the ego in a natural and healthy development progressing to a harmonized balance with it being the aware director in service of the whole psyche. What has happened is that the subsequently mutilated, betrayed and very angry right side of the psyche once turned into the shadow, has used it’s much more powerful energies to gain unconscious control of the puny little egos that dared to turn it into a psychotic shell of the once beautiful and bountiful life source it had been at one time. We can heal this and turn it again into a beautiful and life giving source of creativity and harmony. Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry Mitchell- 22 Part 1 1 Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry Over the course of my life I have developed a world view that is beginning to expose me to the true, and this is only my opinion, understanding of life. It is a world view which questions our present view dramatically, and whose understanding opens up awareness of a whole different set of problems for human kind and alternatively, immense possibilities. The psychological and philosophical understanding of ourselves, especially how we interact with our environment including each other and most importantly, how we use Power, capital letter, all have to be questioned. I use a capital letter to indicate the word power because it represents an extremely important dynamic within our world. One thing I will clarify: I would like to try to use the word power only in a positive sense however, for simplicity sake this is not always possible. However, when power is misused as for example, illegitimately controlling other people, that is not a sign of strength and power; it is an expression of a powerless person expressing that lack of energy by harming or controlling other people; by trying to compensate what they are not able to obtain from within themselves. Ultimately, a perpetrator harms psychic and manifest expressions of him or herself through the harming of other individual people’s integrity, individuality, and liberty, everyone being connected within the human collective psyche. Therefore, the perpetrator is also in this sense harming him or her self. There is brute power, which is obvious to the senses. Power can also be found and expressed in the subtlest and most effective forms and there are many ways in which it can be used. Awareness of the concepts and realities I will discuss would affect all people in all cultures and societies, although some of the more so-called “primitive” cultures, which still survive, retain some understanding; albeit at an early emergent level. The possible exception to this, and many people may be amazed to hear this, is the Australian Aborigines who have developed a far superior level of psychic awareness as a whole group, as expressed through “dream time” abilities, that far exceed most other groups of people as a whole. We living in the West, because of our technological development, and now going overboard with it, our subsequent dissociation from Mother Earth and Father Heaven, because of this, it has caused us to have lost conscious connection with our roots literally. Try separating a plant from its roots. Those living in the most technologically developed parts of the world, especially in North America, we will see, are more adversely affected by not being aware of our true natures This is because the environments in which we live in addition to slowly being destroyed are far more chaotic and high speed in comparison to “primitive or “3rd World” countries and outposts. There is far less stability in the former notwithstanding the huge potential which is really only to be found in the more highly technologically developed parts of the World The science of technology is a wonderful thing, and progress has lifted some of humankind out of physical misery, leaving some of us materially comfortable. Knowledge has accumulated and anyone interested in developing his or her minds have public access to much more information than any one person could ever process. Many more people potentially have the ability to reach a point where they are able to create something of their own. Now that we have Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry Mitchell- 23 the internet via computer and satellites, not to mention the possibilities with the use of electromagnetic waves and lasers, and so forth, indeed all that technology offers us, it is truly amazing the physical and psychic power at our disposal. The question is how do we use it? Power. Consider our power to create. I find it interesting to think about the concept of consciously uniting body and mind, then taking that same concept and applying it to technology and mind. Consider: when we create physically with our hands, there is a simultaneous and parallel process taking place in a person’s mind, similar to how the process in spiritual alchemy operates. This tradition, which, honors psychic or mental potentiality and promotes evolution of consciousness, alchemy gives historical evidence to the immense power of the mind. As stated above, with the substantial power now available via computer and satellite, it is simply astonishing to consider the possibilities for human development if they were combined: nature on Earth as she has always been united with the higher mind known as Heaven and the changes humankind can add through our own creations. But it has to be in harmony with nature and the elements. I am speaking here of both Earthly and Heavenly nature; the lower and the higher realms of the psyche Using technology to the benefit of human evolution is, apparently, not happening to humankind at the moment though. If one looks at history it becomes evident that, unfortunately, we normally have to be yanked into our next higher stage in development. It usually seems to require a shock, and then, FLASH, BOOM there it is. As Eastern and Western Wisdom attempts to teach us, it is already there if we simply open our eyes and see it. Potential: when we see it and feel empowered to act upon that realization, we gladly nurture it in a loving way. Reaching this point can sometimes be attained when the teacher simply raps on the student’s head at a precise moment, or we can have a “Eureka” experience. Sometimes the catalyst might require some more severe form of Mother and Father Nature demonstrating these realities The accumulated wisdom and information we have available in our libraries, combined with technology is simply astonishing. We could do what is popularly known as “good” with it. In fact there is a huge amount of good, a way of describing something that is constructive rather than destructive, being done with it now. But there is also either ignorance or misuse of it. Both the ability to do a huge amount of “good” as well as a huge amount of “bad” has a mind boggling arsenal of technology at its disposal. In talking about technology and power, this leaves us with the most important problem we have to deal with in the world described above. It appears to us as many, many different problems, but it can usually spiral into one main problem. The question all spirals around the words “human behavior” and the way technology is used by the behavior, especially toward his or her neighbor. From there it takes one final spirally turn to the location of the problem at its root: materialism, an expression of pure egoism divorced from the larger and greater whole of the human psyche. All of this as it relates to the psyche; thoughts and attitudes both conscious and unconscious. In my search for the “Truth” as I stated above, I used many different sources. During my spiritual and psychological search, when studying the various forms of occult practices over the years, one of the most recurring themes I encountered was the warning that, especially in applying occult knowledge, people are equally responsible for the contents of their unconscious psyches as well as what is conscious. It is important to realize that the word occult is a word whose true semantic meaning simply refers to that which is hidden. In this sense the word occult does not simply refer to spiritual sources of the occult. The word occult can be applied to virtually every aspect of society, politics, and science and technology, especially the technology of medicine and the various forms of psychology. Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry Mitchell- 24 Unconsciousness is no excuse for doing harm within the environment. When a person is confronted with something they’ve done wrong it is not excusable for them to say I was unconscious of this or that, or I was afraid, and so on. It didn’t work at Nuremburg and nor does it function as an excuse today. There are no excuses. If things we do which are wrong stems from the psyche, then we are responsible to know the sources of those wrongs. After all, these psyches belong to each and every individual and it is every human’s responsibility to either learn the contents of their own psyches and/or to hold accountable those persons, people or institutions that are responsible for hiding the facts. Alienation along with bigotry and violence run rampant. They range from classical examples demonstrated by visible “Minorities” through to examples of in – group back stabbing. This bigotry goes far beyond our present understanding of the word bigotry, and exists on levels and in groups which have little resemblance to our present conception of minority groups and those adversely affected by bigotry. In fact, in some of the traditional areas where bigotry exists, in some cases, it has become a two – way street. This is because the pendulum is heading too far on the other side, in many places, creating atmospheres conducive to backlash. The result is simply cyclical imbalances better known as dysfunction. This is also adding a lot of negative energies on the collective unconscious. As has been pointed out, there were certain aspects of immature human development that detribalization in the ancient world evolved out of, that have re-emerged in the form of a re-tribalization in the modern world.4 This results in the separation and magnification of differences between people instead of similarities. Importantly much of this development is unconscious and is analogous to the creation of cults, groups, and gangs, and is exacerbated by the sometimes isolating effect of technology, lowering people’s levels of consciousness. This re-tribalization is really a form of fragmented egotistical false-individualism based on competitiveness at most levels of society, reinforcing the new type of bigotry that is attempting to destroy society and the environment. Echoes of “Battle star Galactica” and the “Terminator,” to use symbolism everyone will recognize. It is materialism, in every sense of the word, expressed through our egos and in extension technology, which has prospered. Ego growth is a wonderful, logical, and a necessary development, and without egos the world doesn’t even exist for us as individuals. However, as sometimes happens during development and growth of life on Earth, especially with humanity, it has gone too far in a lopsided and unbalanced direction. Because of this we have lost a much greater understanding of our true nature. A primarily technological advance has actually reversed a good portion of human – kind’s evolutionary development. Instead of promoting the arts and culture of society, that is, civilization and especially growth of the whole psyche, we primarily train people to make widgets, if you know what I mean. We work and mold our needs to that artificial creature known as the “free market”, a term that today has become a misnomer because it is only free for a few. It has become a self – supporting, intelligent and self-aware entity on the unconscious level in its own right. People shove their real selves out of the way, and take on personas, perhaps to fulfill a job requirement or otherwise people – please and go about maintaining the machine, disconnecting from themselves in a sort of volunteer lobotomy. However, as has been historically the case with most aspects of human development, a time always arrives when civilization must drastically change if it is to continue development and evolution, indeed its very survival. In fact, a great healing is required for the Earth and her people and the time has come for this to happen. It can only come from having a greater respect for ourselves, and not just our ego selves; we have to come to respect our whole person. We have to make friends with our unconscious psyche, especially with what we shove down there because we don’t want to see it. I’m referring to individual as well as collective psyches, science having 4 “The Guttenberg Galaxy” Pg. 17, by Marshall McLuhan, University Toronto Press, 1962 Materialism, the Unconscious and the Development of Bigotry Mitchell- 25 demonstrated their interdependent nature; they naturally flow and are inter-connected by the other. Remember the light at the end of the tunnel! As it stands now, our inner psyches are being massacred and the source of our health and essence is being poisoned and destroyed. Our broken inner souls/psyches are attacking each other for energy while being disconnected from their source. In a very real sense, we have become passive in our mental ability. We have become machine like and conditioned to be passive receptors of information, orders. We are pressured by society to conform to and develop a cookie cutter type of mold for our personality. We are being trained not to think independently but to be part of the heard, a cog in the machine. The idea of teamwork has degenerated into the idea of a military type of mentality. We have allowed ourselves to become a type of voluntary behavior modification subjects. As one parent said to me: “We train our children” similar to the way we train pets, how to react appropriately to certain stimuli when the appropriate stimulus command is made. We don’t teach most of our children to be human in the fullest sense. Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 26 2 Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Over the years I have met people who exude the type of attitude, presence, and direction which indicates a compassionate understanding about what they are doing. The type of caring I’m referring to indicates they know that what they do and think has a profound meaning and affect on themselves and others as well. This is intimately connected with the way they would have others treat them, whether consciously or otherwise. In a very real sense when they provide this compassion to others they are also treating themselves, their inner selves, to this same compassion. Most importantly I have come to see that anyone who is successful in being helpful or compassionate to someone, and you can see the affects, I see that these people live their whole life in the same manner. Real compassion has to be a living reality for someone if they are going to be truly effective in nurturing themselves and others, for example, in healing relationships. Although we are all supposed to be creators of our own destiny, unfortunately, in most societies many people have not been given the tools or resources to be self sufficient or healthy. Everything, everywhere, has a profound interrelatedness and connectedness. This state is such that one aspect of our environment, our reality, seems to represent some larger truth. That is, if one takes a small part of that reality it will be a reflection of the larger whole or truth. For example, it has been rather adequately demonstrated that an individual’s “normal” psychological development, as nature intended, not what it has become, is precisely mirrored in the historical development of humankind. Existence, especially our own, can be intimately connected with the larger reality, in a growing, ever evolving pattern. The paradox is that it is also hierarchical in the sense that the larger whole is comprised of a bunch of smaller wholes moving upward to something greater, rather that simply increasing what already is in a horizontal expansion outward. It still contains elements of holistic reality however, it moves beyond a purely mirror image type of character. A good example to use in illustrating this concept, though, is the very idea that is a main theme, concept or idea behind this work. This is the idea of recognizing and using the whole psyche, not just those aspects recognized by mainstream society, especially medicine. The individual psyche contains within itself the whole of the human collective psyche, in just the exact same way an individual’s life time psychic development, under natural circumstances will mirror the exact evolution of the human collective psyche in historical terms. This is holistic because every individual psyche is a mirror image, of the whole collective human psyche. However, I expand and add to that concept: if any of those psyches are left out; and similarly if any one individual person or psyche cuts out a part of their psychic wholeness as happens when a person represses aspects of themselves, the result is not wholeness but fragmentation. Every psyche or individual human being a person sees outside them selves’ in society is exactly mirrored within their own psyche. If this is not acknowledged the result will be psychic fragmentation of self and the development of bigotry, neurosis and even psychosis; also, self-hate. When someone hates or commits bigotry against another, they do it to themselves. Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 27 In understanding that everything is comprised of parts that comprise a whole in itself, but then become parts in turn to some greater whole, this conceptualization becomes apparent. Here, if one part is removed or forgotten, then everything, which has developed so far, will crumble. We need the foundation out of which everything else flows. This applies to both individual and collective psyches. This is because the greater complexity depends on the presence of the evolutionary periods or parts that preceded it. The development or regression of civilization is an example, which reflects the dynamics referred to as Holon Theory; the holons are the parts, which make wholes, then parts that again comprise wholes, ad infinitum.5 Intact foundations are necessary for continued development, for virtually everything around us: holistic, but so much more. An empathic awareness represents, on one level, in the truest sense of the word, a world-view that is not only the starting point; it is also the end point. In other words truly interconnected, expanding outward but also expanding on a vertical axis as well: alpha through to omega. Then an apparent paradox appears, similar to the wave/particle duality. Instead of simply picturing a circle, think of a pyramid, and try to imagine the two of them combined, and think how this might relate to the idea of foundation. The circle represents the whole collective of human psyche on the material plane and the pyramid represents both individual and eventually collective movement and integration towards higher levels of evolution; the first represents a horizontal movement while second represents a vertical movement. Then we can go beyond the idea of holistic but include it. 5 Ken Wilber, “Eye To Eye, Shambhala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, copyright 1983, 1990, 1996, 2001 by Ken Wilber Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 28 Part of the above graph is produced by the scientific philosopher Ken Wilber. I have modified it to include the symbols of centering: THINKING, INTUITION, SENSATION, and FEELING, with the symbol of The CENTER: MARRIAGE; a unity of all four quadrants, with the CENTER representing, in my terminology, THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Just as the individual psyche is comprised of many different aspects and levels, ultimately it is whole in itself. However, since every whole is necessarily part of a greater whole, all psyches are then also of the collective, and the collective whole is contained within each individual psyche, what Jung refers to as the collective unconscious. Everything is part of something greater, however, as above so below and as below so above; seemingly paradoxical. Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 29 Jung was afraid of people being “infected” by their unconscious psyches. What he never took into consideration was how their infected psyches (read: repressed/dysfunctional) may affect not only the individual but in extension, the collective psyche and vise versa. This begins spreading outward including more and more of the environment, human and otherwise. It then becomes a vicious cycle. As more people become disconnected or remain disconnected to the larger reality, in this case the collective human psyche as it relates to the greater spiritual reality by virtue of being fragmented and disconnected within their own psyches, beyond the astral level, more crumbling will take place. This is because the astral part of our selves is separate and not necessarily connected to the whole. This is caused by the ego characterization of the astral double, the personal shadow. Anyway, this greater whole is so much greater and beyond what we call the “earth,” i.e., the flesh, the materialistic or ego aspects of reality. Without this conscious integration, more and more of the collective psyche will break apart and become dysfunctional, naturally including society. Not wanting to sound too pessimistic, because it can be remedied, the chaos spreading through society and the earth’s environment is a prime example of crumbling. It is expressed very well by looking at the crisis affecting our young people today, and not just in relation to violence. They don’t have a good grounding to their roots, which they have lost amid the change and instability. We have lost connection with the positive aspects of what people have always referred to as tradition. There are no stable traditions, including important initiations to introduce people into milestones during their physical and psychological growth, for example the change from childhood to adulthood. These important transitional tools are not guiding the collective psyche for the first time in recorded history of humankind. Young people are afloat a sea of huge volumes of information but no grounded knowledge to guide them. Only by looking inward consciously and thereby grounding and connecting with the greater environment, especially with other people and themselves, for example, expressed through traditional mythologies, in the universal sense, can this happen. All relationships within the natural world are reciprocal, dynamic, and ever changing. People and all life forms are constantly attempting to achieve equilibrium. They obtain this goodness of fit by adapting to their environment, in a dynamic process in which countless factors or events act one upon the other. In a lot of cases the dynamic process to achieve balance has been set off kilter. A collective, interpersonal awareness represents, within simplicity, that all relationships within the natural world are reciprocal, dynamic, and ever changing. Reciprocity is most important to consider. Relationships in which this “goodness of fit” exists may be referred to as examples of healthy Interdependence. That is, a relationship in which mutually give and take exchanges, reciprocity, takes place resulting in each party exercising relative control over their environment. However, in the process both independence and interdependence are promoted, through a process of progressive growth. Thus, interdependence, a process where individual independence must also exist, allows an adaptive process to take place. In the natural world, at times, the fit may be achieved at the expense of other organisms, thus reflecting the issue of differential power and conflict. Obviously within society this primitive level is not acceptable. However, even in these instances the important factors are those related to independence, interdependence and reciprocity. In society “independence” has become perverted into an extreme move towards a false individualism. It denies and distorts our need to be connected with others. Furthermore, this false individualism sometimes expresses frenzied attempts to break out of the rigid attitudes and ways of living that contain or imprison them, thus preventing a healthy and natural evolution in growth, both outward and upward. Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 30 The largest and most sophisticated computer in existence could not even begin to locate and chart the impact of, seemingly, the most trivial of occurrences. Modern physics, with an emphasis especially on Quantum physics and Einstein’s pioneering work, Heisenberg’s uncertainty Theory, and so on, support this assertion. Earlier physics (Newtonian) attempted to explain all physical phenomena and matter by utilizing a mechanical, hierarchical, and reductionist and static type of reasoning. We now know, once again, welcome home, this particular scientific approach, although extremely useful, is also extremely limited. It is impossible not only to understand, scientifically, the “the web of life, it is becoming increasingly clear that in order for nature in all of its manifestations, including humanity, to work properly, it must interact with all of its parts. That is, in a balanced, and therefore healthy way. A person may consider the relationship between their mind, body (Earth) and in extension, Heaven, in a similar way. Modern physics also demonstrates that the material aspects of nature are comprised of a type of consciousness that defies scientific or reductionist understanding. This consciousness is a manifestation of the complete web that many people over time have referred to as intuition, inner knowledge and what Native Americans think of as Nature Spirituality. Fundamentally, whatever one wishes to call it, it is the sum total, in all of its dynamic processes and energy, of everything that comprises the natural planes and levels of existence, united by the spiritual or vertical energies and dynamics. It is that part of reality that cannot adequately be described in an objective way. In the case of human beings, one may think of it as the life sustaining relationship one has, not only with other people but as well with all that comprises a person’s environment. All of this is alive on subatomic and ever evolving higher levels. As mentioned above, scientific reductionism is extremely useful to an extent. It would be ludicrous not to acknowledge the benefits humanity has derived from science and the scientific model. What must be understood, however, is the danger inherent in any view that claims to be absolute. This is especially true in claiming to be essentially able to understand absolutely, with scientific documentation (measurement of parts separated from the context of the whole) everything about the natural world. The negative ramifications to humanity and the living ecosystem that we are a part of are only now emerging to the surface of our consciousness as our world reaches a point of crisis. This crisis is manifesting itself socially, politically, economically, as well as, and in some ways most critically, psychologically, environmentally and physically. This “new” way of viewing the world is not seen by the majority of the world’s population. In fact, most are not even aware of any world-view they may base their life’s activity upon, except in a narrow, rigid and segregated and extremely materialistic way, void of spirit, that is, of consciousness. This is because almost all of modern society has internalized a reductionist world – view. Society is therefore structured in accordance to a mindset that reduces and dichotomizes all aspects of nature as well as human activity. It also lowers dramatically the true level of consciousness in individuals and the masses. It leads to a type of social fragmentation. In the past I would have used the term “schizophrenia” but I realize today that is simply a term artificially created by modern medicine to describe higher or potentially higher aspects and functioning of the human psyche they do not understand. Schizophrenia therefore this is a dragnet or catch-all phrase to “capture” and contain, through diagnosis, that which they do not understand. It is an example of egotistical fear. Under these circumstances, such a person diagnosed with “Schizophrenia” may indeed develop debilitating characteristics. This will be discussed further on. I would emphasis that most all of the negative elements that we associate with today’s society, extreme, unbalanced and angry competition being a good example, are not in and of themselves bad things any more than stress is always to be considered a bad thing. Rather, the problem lies in the tendency to have an all or nothing mentality because of the absolutist/reductionist mindset. Although life on Earth necessarily has to contain within it certain element of competitiveness, that Compassion and Empathy on the Lower levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 31 no human law or endeavor can completely overcome,6 in a natural setting competition is balanced successfully with the need to cooperate for survival. The human race would not be here today if it were not for this truth. The balance is out of whack today. A true sense of uniqueness and self – sufficiency is under attack. This has largely resulted in the creation of narcissistic obsession or compulsion and other forms of nihilistic psychic retreat. This leaves the vast majority of people with feelings of emptiness that can never be filled as long as adherence to this mindset continues. A circular dynamic is in motion where people in dysfunctional families create dysfunctional, unbalanced, repressed and reality denying people. A dysfunctional society exacerbates and generally helps keep the cycle of dysfunction “alive and well.” In fact, it is sometimes difficult to say where the dysfunction begins. One thing is for sure: it will be impossible to allow people, especially young people, to emerge as healthy human beings until the destructive and dysfunctional family and societal systems in place are changed for the better, in conjunction with simultaneous positive changes of society’s structural dysfunction as well. 6 “Spirituality and Society”, Pg. xii, David Ray Griffin, State University of New York Press, State University, New York, 1988 The Destruction of the Lower Levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 32 3 The Destruction of the Lower Levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane In extreme materialistic cultures, where we work for the market which, is controlled by a few, instead of the market working for the people, the state of mind to which I am referring extends beyond individual families. In fact, whole nations may be characterized with the same destructively narcissistic and nihilistic state of being. As the holarchical model illustrates, a small portion of the whole, individuals, are a mirror reflection of the larger picture: cultures, nations, the world. This is true of some nations more than others, depending on their level of subservience to this mindset, psychically, and physically. On the other hand, the deeper an individual goes into the unconscious realms, scientifically and symbolically, and subsequently archetypically, once the collective unconscious is reached and especially beyond, it takes on an actual life of its own, beyond any one individuals ability to control or manipulate. The most a moral and ethical adept will do is navigate it, although there are “arts” that are available to a few to manipulate even at these levels. This is because people usually become more unconscious as they move or are manipulated into these realms. I am talking about regression into unconsciousness instead of progression beyond the collective. This happens the more a person lives only in their egos. Therefore, paradoxically, the more a person does not pay attention to their unconscious, consciously, the more unconscious they become. Modernity tends to produce an imbalance throughout all of the areas that encounter its influence. In today’s world that means virtually everywhere. In social groups, organizations and their ways of viewing the world throughout society there are countless examples to be found where imbalances occur. These include, but are not exhaustive to: racism, sexism, classism, ageism, egoism and elitism. It has taken me a long time to understand this but it is materialism, a purely ego based, repressed and limited awareness which incorporates all of the isms within its structure. The Earth’s ecological system is virtually on the brink of collapse through indiscriminate development and application of Newtonian technology. Environmentally this may be seen through such examples as depletion of the ozone layer, the greenhouse affect, etc. Physiologically, the effects of this may be seen anatomically by the increasing numbers of people suffering from diseases and environmental sensitivities, especially cancer, so-called mental illness, and so on. Interestingly, it has been demonstrated that many so – called mentally ill people, who definitely do not just live in their egos, have a much smaller incidence of getting cancer. It makes sense; they are open to the natural flow of the environment, coercively unbalanced as it may be, not rigid, closed and disconnected from their bodies. The most prevalent psychological example is violence. In fact, symptomatically, “mental illness” is nature’s reaction, her “acting out,” to the condition of the unhealthy and unbalanced psychic and physical environments in which we exist. When a person has an appropriate physiological or mental reaction that accurately indicates something is amiss, it means they are psychologically sensitive and responding in a natural way, even if The Destruction of the Lower Levels of the Psyche: the Horizontal Earth Plane Mitchell- 33 natures way is to express it through imbalance and disease. When someone suffers a panic attack it is because their bodies have learned how to identify, resulting from past trauma, something which triggers recognition of a similar threat. It becomes like a six sense, something a consciously alert police officer, for example, develops during performance of his/her work. It means they are working the way nature intended (this will be studied with greater depth further on). Then again, in ignoring these facts, the results are huge profits for the pharmaceutical companies, right? The subsequent stress this has placed on the Earth, and especially on people, comes as no surprise. Reductionist science fails to take note of interdependent relationships in nature. Since most technology is developed under controlled conditions, unforeseen consequences result when this same technology is applied in a natural setting. The natural dynamic processes become broken resulting in unhealthy, unbalanced action. Nature requires the whole of its dynamic interactions and processes to work “naturally With people, the vast inability to find sustenance from within because of disconnected psyches, their energy needs tend to be satiated by “stealing” energy from others, literally, or through the use of artificial stimulants; stimulants that ultimately deplete the body and mind of any natural ability to provide energetic requirements. In the first instance, the usual way this is accomplished is through manipulation and control of other people. Co-dependence and passive aggressiveness are good examples. Sadism is another, both conscious and especially unconsciously perpetrated. Exclusively ego or quantitative, mathematical, and bio-chemical understanding or acknowledgement and application of that understanding within society and the world, will only promote this state. Without reciprocal interaction people cannot thrive properly because of the resulting unbalanced lifestyles that many people adopt. This includes unbalanced modes of coping, which, initially, serve as vital survival mechanisms. However, when short – term, unbalanced coping mechanisms becomes long – term they sometimes becomes destructive in nature. Repression causes the shadow, both individual and collective to increase. This is especially true if examples of people’s psychic shadows occur in greater individual combinations, and ever-stronger extremes along the continuum. The more numerous and stronger the collection of these unbalanced coping mechanisms, the greater the destructive effect. Let us consider modern society in a general, all encompassing manner. Consider both the vertical levels of reality as well as the various levels of existence of the horizontal, Earth axis, then consider the question of technology. We will see, obviously, that technology by itself is not necessarily “bad”. It may be classified into two distinct groupings: proscriptive and prescriptive. Proscriptive technology is holistic and holarchical in nature, at least in respect to the human user. For a practical example, a crafts-person may use this type of technology in producing a product in which, that person carries out all phases of production. This requires an overall knowled