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When I was a young man I was told that cash was trash and that I should invest whatever I could for my retirement in mutual funds.  I was told that social security wouldn't be there when my turn came.  And, when the 401K became the De facto instrument of choice for building nest eggs for our golden years, I dutifully put my money into them on a monthly basis for more than 30 years.  And they were matched by generous employers as well.  By now, according to those early projections, I should have accumulated almost two million dollars of assets.  But this hasn't happened.  And as we're all learning, no amount of planning can save us if the system on which it is based is crooked, unjust or just plain flawed.

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From Chapter III. We have to clear and clean up our minds


Fundamentally the Open Conspiracy must be an intellectual rebirth.
Human thought is still very much confused by the imperfection of the words and other symbols it employs and the consequences of this confused thinking are much more serious and extensive than is commonly realized. We still see the world through a mist of words; it is only the things immediately about us that are plain fact. Through symbols and especially through words, man has raised himself above the level of the ape and come to a considerable mastery over his universe. But every step in his mental ascent has involved entanglement with these symbols and words he was using; they were at once helpful and very dangerous and misleading. A great part of our affairs, social, political, intellectual, is in a perplexing and dangerous state to-day because of our loose, uncritical, slovenly use of words.

Thinking clearly and effectively does not come by nature. Hunting the truth is an art. We blunder naturally into a thousand misleading generalizations and false processes. Yet there is hardly any intelligent mental training done in the schools of the world to-day. We have to learn this art, if we are to practice it at all. Our schoolteachers have had no proper training themselves, they miseducate by example and precept, and so it is that our press and current discussions are more like an impromptu riot of crippled and deaf and blind minds than an intelligent interchange of ideas. What bosh one reads! What rash and impudent assumptions! What imbecile inferences!
But re-educating oneself, getting one's mind into health and exercising it and training it to think properly, is only the beginning of the task before the awakening of the Open Conspirator. He has not only to think clearly, but he has to see that his mind is equipped with the proper general ideas to form a true framework for his everyday judgments and decisions.

For More Information

• Wikipedia: The Open Conspiracy
• The Open Conspiracy by H.G. Wells

Image via WikipediaNext to Adolph Hitler, perhaps no person has been more hated by the American people than Osama Bin Laden.  He was a perfect storm of a man who used his wealth, privilege, and power, to manipulate a people through a religion gone mad.  On 911, his ideology and style of warfare struck the United States with near impunity. Without a doubt, Osama Bin Laden was an evil and villainous man who more than deserved to die at the hands of the American soldiers who killed him.  The heinousness of Bin Laden's actions are a matter of record and none of us will shed a tear that he is no longer here.  As horrid as he was, this is not a post about Osama Bin Laden; rather, its about how we handled this trial. It's during the difficult times that we demonstrate to the world the stuff  this nation is made of.  In our case, Bin Laden awakened a malevolent spirit within America that continues to wreak havoc throughout the world and decimate the civil liberties of us all.  Now that he's gone, it's time to stop and move on.

Within weeks of of the attack, sweeping legislation was passed that gave our federal government broad and unheard of powers of warrantless surveillance--including an ability to investigate all forms of health, financial, and personal electronic records. Homeland security, FEMA, and local police were given expanded powers of arrest and detention for those deemed suspicious.  In some cases, habeas corpus has been suspended and public agencies, such as the TSA, have been given the right to violate all standards of human decency for  those who wish to travel by air. In short, because of Osama, America decided to create the necessary apparatus for a total police state--with few checks and balances to protect against abuse.  Today we use this apparatus to guard against terrorism.  Tomorrow, it will be just another J. Edgar Hoover mechanism to violate the rights of all citizens.

In Afghanistan, the United States has more than extracted its pound of flesh for the 911 attacks.  Not only have we killed the guilty Taliban, but thousands of innocent men, women and children as collateral damage.  Without a second thought, we have used the full range of our military superpower against one of the planet's most primitive and backward peoples. Our national anger has only been eclipsed by a lack of will to oversee and rebuild the nation we have decimated.  

Freedom of the press, and the powers that accompany it, were sharply curtailed, under the guise of national security.  Learning lessons from the embarrassing exposes of the unpopular Viet Nam War, our military required all field reporters to be embedded among the troops and to submit their stories to government censorship--all under the guise of national security.   Apparently, an accurate knowledge of the number of American casualties qualifies as a national security issue--since reporters were excluded from viewing or receiving this information for the first eight years of the war. In the early years of the conflict, all who opposed the war--or even some aspect of it--were branded as traitors and excoriated by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.  One is  hard pressed to support the claim that civil political discourse exists in our country today.   

To garner national support for invading Iraq, our nation's leaders misled its people by stating that Iraq was behind the 911 attacks and that they possessed weapons of mass destruction that directly threatened our nation.  Neither assertions was true.  Later the claim would be made that our reason for attacking Iraq was to overthrow a ruthless dictator.  We did overthrow a worthless dictator; but, that was not the reason we were given for attacking Iraq.  Based upon these untruths, thousands upon thousands of American lives have been lost as well as countless thousands of Iraqi citizens. Trillions of dollars have been spent for a pointless war and modern day quagmire.

Our abuse, torture and general physical mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Grab and Guantanamo is a matter of record.  These morally reprehensible acts are nothing more than a violation of human rights and decency. Because of them, our country to lost  its worldwide respect and initial sympathy after 911 attacks.  As a result, our national and military leaders have been reduced to defending cruel methods of interrogation that can only be considered as torture by normal and decent people--methods protested by former prisoner of war John McCain.

The attitudes of the American people at home have been affected as well.  There has been a willingness to profile people of the basis of national origin and to allow police to arrest and detain them on the basis of immigration violations.  Local communities in New York and Ohio have tried to deny Moslems their right to purchase property for the purpose of building houses of worship.  State legislatures have been passed laws outlawing Sharia Law--which have yet to pose a problem for the citizens of any state.  These laws have only served to ratchet up prejudice and hatred towards Moslem minorities.

Yes, Osama was an evil man who got just what he deserves. But Bin Laden didn't take our civil rights from us--we did that to ourselves. And at some point, we must stop blaming Osama for the thousands of people who will continue to die in a pointless wars against nations we have descimated to the stone age.  Now that he's dead and gone, now what? it's time to stop this nation's malevolent backlash.  If we don't, the evils we'll unleash upon ourselves and the rest of the world will make Bin Laden pale by comparison.

Years ago, I took a three-day river trip down Oregon's mighty Rogue River. It was a beautiful time of being in nature, doing new things and learning new lessons. The river is powerful; and, unless you have a lot experience, you will need a guide to help you navigate some of the more difficult places. Now that I reflect over the experience, I see how the river is an interesting analogy for life.

Over the years that I have been working with men and women who seek to recover from compulsions and addictions, there is a saying that we use repeatedly, "Let go and let God!" While this saying is true enough, it is also very enigmatic--because the problem for most of us isn't one of wanting to let go, it's how to let go? The answer I present for your consideration is that we must learn about how to navigate the stream.

My own experience tells me that most of the problems we face happen to us time and time again. They represent lessons that we have yet to learn. The rub for most of us is that we ignore the problems that are in front of us in favor of going after other things. Using the river as our analogy, we do not seem to realize that life is bringing us the lessons it wishes for us to master and focus upon. For instance, in my own life, I have faced problems of physical health, finances and relationships. Instead of giving attention to these lessons, I turned instead to things I am more adept at, such as work, hobbies and things that interest me. Problems are not sexy and most of us would rather do things we enjoy and excel. Nevertheless, until we learn how to handle the lessons before us, we will face them repeatedly. In my case, I will continue to face situations of health, finance and relationships until I resolve them.

Rivers have currents that are impossible to resist--and so it is with life. The joy of being on the Rogue River lies in the fact of traveling with the river instead of resisting it. It is the same way with our problems. Problems represent the currents in the river. We have two choices, resist or flow with them. It is here that we learn another valuable lesson. By ourselves, we are powerless to overcome the lessons of life--we need help. When we realize this, we will discover that life, God and the universe will give us strength beyond ourselves and bring us what we need to learn. Suddenly, we find ourselves facing challenge, instead of struggle, and the river becomes something we enjoy rather than fear.

There is another thing we learn along the way. In the beginning, we think our lessons have to do with overcoming the problem or issue before us. As we seek help and address our difficulties, we learn a different lesson, which is, the purpose of the challenges we face are to prepare us for the next big thing in our lives. In recovery work, we learn that God's plan isn't just to stop people from drinking, using drugs, gambling or pornography, it's deeper than that. As recovery unfolds, we learn that God's lessons are always about preparing us for something greater.

Following the flow of the river relieves us from the constant worry of what we should do next. We learn that all we really need to do is notice the things in our lives that aren't working and begin the process of getting into the stream. Once we do, we feel peace and a harmony, instead of chaos, insecurity and struggle. We come to learn that God presents us with a problem that he will not equip us to face.

The Rogue River trip was an exciting one and the destination was not the point. Though there were stretches of calm and relaxation, there were also white waters that I could not have managed on my own. So it is with life. The journey is not always smooth and relaxing; but, as we face the problems that the river of life brings us, we enjoy the excitement of being a part of something greater than we are. We experience what it is like to receive help from the universe and to know that we are doing what we were meant to do--and that we are going to be okay.

Of all the questions philosophers have tried to answer, perhaps none is more profound than, "Who am I?" It appears that we have a universal desire to know our true identity.  We wonder: Do I have worth? Am I a body, a spirit or both? Am I more than the roles and duties I perform? Do I live beyond this physical life? We ask these important questions because we think it will help us better understand our true identity. While this may be true, one of the premises of Life on a Stage is that we are experiential performers whose actions create meanings for our audience and us. In keeping with this theme, I suggest that we are the decisions that we make, and further, that until we evolve into a mediated state, our decisions will most likely be made according to the tyranny of our ego--the default non-mediated state whose decisions are based in false alternatives.


Life is filled with opposing forces that impact how we make our decisions. For instance, most of us wish to be considered as a unique individual; yet, we want to fit in with everyone else.  Or, we like being with people--yet need our space.  When we make choices based upon opposing forces, we do so in either a mediated or non-mediated state.  A mediated state is one where opposing forces have been reconciled. In the non-mediated state, the opposing forces are not reconciled and we chose one force over the other. Often these opposing forces are nothing more than false alternatives--which we would not choose were we in a mediated state.   Because mediated states require constant attention to personal-growth, development and transformation, our decisions are most often non-mediated. In the non-realized state, shades of grey are only seen in the extremes.

To a large extent, our experiences of ourselves and others are based upon the default positions we assume as we make decisions concerning the following six questions:

1. How do we view ourselves?
2. How do we handle conflict?
3. How do we manage external forces?
4. How do we decide what is valuable?
5. How do we decide what we shall do?
6. How do we decide our worth?

Each of the six questions represents a dimension of personal decision making. Within each of the dimensions is a default polarity--a set of false alternatives--that is attractive to the ego. As stated earlier, in a non-realized state, a person does not see the wide range of choices available to them and instead chooses one or both of the false alternatives. As you read about them, see if you can recognize some of your own decision making or those of your friends.

Autonomy Dimension: How do we view ourselves?
vPolarities: Victim-hood or Self-reliance
As commonly defined, autonomy is our ability to act independently.  As used here,the definition of autonomy is expanded to include one's perceptions of the events that happen to them. The false alternatives of this dimension are victim-hood and self-reliance. Victim-hood is believing that we are have been, or are being harmed by others and that there is little or nothing that we can do about it. Self-reliance is the belief that we are the captains of our experiences and that we can control, and are responsible, for the things that happen to us.

Aversion Dimension: How do we handle conflict?
vPolarities: Attack or Avoidance
Often called fight or flight, attack and avoidance are the default positions people use to solve conflicts within themselves, between others and in relationships.  Attack positions are the things we do to neutralize or stop conflicts in a way that is favorable to us.  Avoidance is when we ignore or look the other way instead of doing something productive to solve or alleviate our problems.

Control Dimension: How do we manage external forces? 
vPolarities: Control or Indifference
All of us face external forces from the people, places or things in our lives. Often times, the wishes of others come into direct conflict with our own desires. The default position of this dimension is control and indifference.  Controlling behaviors seek to manipulate what others do so that it lines up more with something we would be more comfortable.  Indifference is our decision to walk away from the things we cannot change.

Judgment Dimension: How do we decide what is valuable? 
vPolarities: Good Right Pleasurable or Bad, Wrong, Pain
To a large extent, our beliefs, attitudes and values determine our actions.  It can be argued that, except for the reactions produced by the limbic brain and force of habit, all actions are preceded by thought.  Thoughts, in are selected in such a way as to minimize dissonance through the default positions of what is good, right, and pleasurable. Of the three, pleasure appears to be the trump card.  Even when actions are chosen that do not appear good or right--a closer look will usually reveal that pleasure was the selecting factor. Of course, a good question might be, "On what basis does one decide what is good, right and pleasurable?" Though there is no easy answer, for the non-realized, it would appear that customs, traditions, culture, family of origin and authority figures--as well as pleasure--all play important an role in these decisions.

Participation Dimension: How do we decide what we shall do?
vPolarities: Pain Risk or Pleasure Reward
All of us have choices to make; and, when they are not made for us our default choice is to pick the course that offers the most pleasure at the lowest risk.  Again, pleasure is the trump card. There are those who will take extreme risks but only because of the perceived pleasure it brings them.

Connection Dimension: How do we seek connection?  
vPolarities: Outward or Inward Isolation
The last dimension concerns how we find value--whether outwardly or inwardly.  Interestingly, regardless of the path chosen, we experience isolation from ourselves. For instance, some seek to define themselves through people they know, parties they attend, committees they lead and so on. Though one may be outwardly extroverted, they may experience little or no connection with others. The saying that, "It's lonely at the top," illustrates the isolation one may feel on the inside--even though people may be surrounding them. Conversely, some people turn inward--spending less time with others than with themselves. In extreme cases, one may turn to compulsive and addictive behaviors as a pleasurable alternative to the isolation.

To conclude, the answer to question of "Who am I?" is, in a very real sense, determined by the choices we make and the way in which we make them. Until we learn how to reconcile the opposing forces of life without resorting to polarities, we will not become the unique person we were meant to be.