Greetings, dear Sunny buddies,
There is so much dissent around us just now that feels rooted in powerfully intractable opposites. So much of the reporting around what is happening worldwide seeks to corral me into one polarity or the other. My tummy starts to churn as I try to make sense of the complexity of what is unfolding. I touch on questions like:
Where is the goodness?
Where is our humanity?
What is the right ethical and moral stance that weaves us into connectedness with each other rather than division?
Where can resolution be found to bring lasting peace across the world?
I feel like 'an innocent abroad' in these times. So much of what is unfolding feels far away from my everyday life. It is confusing, heart-wrenching and painfully beyond my comprehension sometimes. This phrase is a metaphor for someone who feels naive or inexperienced about foreign cultures. I certainly feel this as I seek to understand what is happening in the world or how best to play my small part in bringing resolution.
I recently discovered a book by Charles M Johnston called Creative Systems Theory. I started to read the book, and it is a BIG read, comprehensive and complex — a wee bit beyond me, at times. Yet, I was intrigued by Charles's approach to polarisation in our society. He writes evocatively about how to rise above the duality often presented to us. He does not recommend looking for a third way that will be a compromise to the lowest common denominator. More to look for opportunities to reframe the conversation at a higher order of working with complexity. One example he gave was about immigration. Rather than say we are 'for' or 'against' immigration, he suggests we look at it through the lens of permeability. I found that intriguing.
Charles uses the metaphor of the cell's semi-permeable membrane. This ability enables the cell to make conscious and healthy choices about what it allows inside and what it does not. I like how he uses the intelligence of the natural world as a way of reframing duality by rising above the two opposites. There, we can seek new insights, agreements and new pathways to resolution. These ideas certainly feel like food for thought.
A Wee Addendum
As I was thinking about this, I wondered how to hold respect for others when there is so much disagreement at this time. I came across the quote below from Norbu Rinpoche. Once again, I sense this rising above the ordinary view to a more extraordinary one. It is about truly honouring the other as a unique part of the web of life. We are jewels of infinite potentiality connected across this web of life. I am encouraged to act from the wellspring of integrity in how I respond to what is happening in the world.
Each individual has infinite potentiality, in that the state of the individual is also the center of the universe. For example, I have in my state infinite potentiality, and that potentiality is the center of the universe, but it means that for me, not for you. You are another individual, you have infinite potentiality and yours for you is the also the center of the universe. Yet being the center of the universe is not for egotistic or selfish feelings, or a feeling of being more important than others. Rather it refers to what is the real* potentiality of each individual."
‘Real’ to me means the potentiality that comes from the Divine guidance of our Soul.
Questions for this Week
This week, I wonder;
What are your views on polarisation?
Does 'rising above' work for you?
Do you have any examples of where 'rising above' might reframe a duality in your life?
As always, I would love to hear from you.
Ann
Thank you Ann.
Your writing reminds me of the Rumi quote "“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there."
How I am rising above what is happening in the world is to nurture an equanimity. Recognising the polarities and just saying to myself "And this is how it is". I say it alot and my body sighs each time.
Where can resolution be found to bring lasting peace across the world? - The only I can think of that gives me some level of peace is to continue to do my inner work - to resolve my own inner conflicts and then I project my pain out less. By doing my inner work it extends an invitation for others to do the same and when there builds a critical mass of such folk I am convinced there will be a tipping point into a different level of consciousness.
Thank you for writing. Big hug and big love.
I always wonder why we are encouraged to be polarized? Where does this polarization idea originate? Have we been blinded to the idea that dancing within all the perspectives is an option? Amongst our hundreds of thousands of years of history have we been taught to grasp polarizing to justify conflict against one another? I'm encouraged and discouraged by our Information Age where we can have access to so many perspectives. I wonder sometimes if polarization is connected to fear porn to keep us stuck in a two dimensional line rather than a three, four, or five dimensional perspective? Would a round table perspective of conversation provide a vortex that changes our energy to contribute to a butterfly effect collectively? We are all pieces of this earth in these human outfits having an opportunity to learn. Whoa and indeed this is a complex school! Maybe we remember that we are all immigrants to this earth and honor the challenge it takes to make it a better place to live. Again I'm just wondering if all that is possible?