The Last Stand of Patriarchy

The following is my response to the article "Dude, You’ve Got Problems" by Judith Warner.

Awareness is the best defense and the first step to change. Labels and name calling, historically, have been about creating some kind of power in one's powerless life. Domination. Control. Fear.

With the spread and domination of religions that continue to suppress women and give all the power to a single male god, the dominating fearful father figure, it is not a wonder that 'manhood' is so important.

Tribal societies lived in total equality worshiping a goddess. From an unknown research paper on linguistics: "The Saharan language was so dominant within the Goddess religion, its tribal organization and in its worldwide coverage that around 2,000 BCE the decision was made to destroy it, the oral tradition and its tribal system by any means possible. This order was repeated much later in Genesis 11:7 "Let us confuse their language so they may no longer understand each other's speech".

That was the big riff between Peter and Mary Magdalene. Mary wanted to follow what Jesus truly taught and what the true Nazarenes stood for which was an egalitarian society. Peter, on the other hand, believed that women should be seen and not heard and took the male dominated route. You can read about this in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

American indigenous tribes called people that were androgynous Two Spirited People, whether or not they sexually preferred someone of the same gender because some did and some didn't. They believed that the Two Spirited Person received a gift from the Creator, which was the privilege to house both male and female spirits in their bodies. They were seen as being closer to the Creator and to be better capable of channeling the messages from the spirit world. They were blessed and revered.

As the male dominated religions took hold in America and Native Americans became in control of the US government and their way of life destroyed, they too came to punish their homosexual members. There has since been a change. The Two Spirits are changing perceptions.

The Kuna Yala indigenous people of Panama still believe that people of their tribe that are born homosexual are blessed. The Maori of New Zealand are a matriarchal society. These folks don't seem to have any problems with name calling and labeling.

We are living in a time of disorder, commotion and dismay. Governments, financial institutions and capitalism are failing. Mother Nature is in an upheaval. Humans' souls are shredded, confused, misled and misguided. Humans are completely out of touch with what our true meaning is. Even the sacred words of Jesus are used out of context to manipulate and control. This is all reflected in our children who are ever so sensitive to these disruptions.

I believe that this is the last ditch effort…this utter chaos…to keep control, to keep the fight alive, but the tides are changing. As we reach out and through compassion allow our feminine natures to cultivate, change is inevitable. We see it in our literature, art, music. We see it with the increase of gardens…the return to the dirt. Some people may claim that growing their own food is a survival mechanism to save money, but in truth, the power of the soil brings the return to nature. The collective consciousness grows as someone new awakens.

Remember the panic and fear that Jesus stirred in people just for speaking the truth? People hold on to what can be totally sucky simply for the fear of change.

Read this interview of Mac Ruka of the Maori by Jim Yellow Horse Man of the Cherokee in 1997.

The Thinks I Think?

IN the course of my life, like the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think", I wonder many thinks.

I have been thinking recently about Christianity wondering all the questions who and what and why and where and how. I view modern day Christianity and wonder, "Is this really what Jesus had in mind?"

I have been thinking about the Original Christians and what they may have really been like. I have read the New Testament which has only four gospels that don't even coincide. Since the New Testament was written 400 years after Christ walked this planet, I imagine much was lost. Tracing back to 200 CE, there was much conflict within the different schools of thought. I read and all I keep thinking is, "I want to go deeper."

In my search, I found an interesting article entitled, "Unchristian! Have we Become So Heaven Bound That We’ve Become No Earthly Good?". The author, Coach Byron, believes that we are at a crossroads in time. I happen to agree.

I believe the crossroad is either for Christianity to continue on its current misguided course or to return to its true basic roots and this means letting go of fundamental belief and literal translations.

If Christianity has become misguided, what are the true basic roots? What are the true basic roots of humanity?

In asking questions, I google many interesting word combinations with the most recent being "agriculture religion". This search led me to the fantastic article, "Hunter-Gatherers, Farmers, Gods and Human Sacrifice". It is one of the best reads that I have had in a long time. It puts a fantastic mood on how humans, agriculture and religion evolved.

I have no place to go with this right now, but that's not really surprising for me as I continue, like a child, to think the thinks I think.

Dream Lessons and Cultivating Will

I'm a firm believer in dreams and the messages they carry. Recently, I have felt rutted, detached, and annoyed. I chalked it up to my constant headaches. It's challenging to enjoy the subtleties of life when a constant throb takes of residence in my head. I have looked into the physical outer world reasons that may lead to this, but I also can't ignore my inner goings-on as well.

The DNA in our bodies carries lifetimes of memory past from generation to generation. We also carry cell memories of past lives. Some of this DNA or cell memory is good giving us natural features that enhance our lives or gifts and talents that seem to come to us naturally. Some of it isn't so good.

It is possible that this is the true meaning of original sin? It's not that the bad stuff is, in itself, a sin, but it can be a hindrance that we must work through during a lifetime, like Karma. Is it a dark spot in the mind or body?

In Paramahansa Yogananda's collection of talks and essays entitled Journey to Self-Realization Discovering the Gifts of the Soul, he discusses that in past lives we have established thoughts in our consciousness that affect us in this life...we have planted little seeds. and we carry those established thoughts, or Karmic seed tendencies, into this present existence.

In my dream last night, my baggage burdened me. I couldn't continue on my journey due to the excessive baggage that I carried. I kept trying to consolidate and repack items to make taking along all this stuff more efficient, but every time I turned around, there was another bag to carry. I felt such strife in my dream, not unlike the strife I feel in this worldly realm.

How appropriate a dream. The luggage and all the crap in it represented all my established thoughts, cell memory and DNA that weighs me down and affects my life in a negative way.

Paramahansa Yogananda states that the way to change is to WILL it away. We WILL change. He says that upon awakening in the morning and going to sleep at night to affirm the thought, "I can change. I have the will to change. I WILL change." Will in this aspect is not used in the context of, "I will cook dinner" or the future tense, but as the present tense verb "to will" as in to will something. I will myself or under my will. The power, strength and endurance is within me.

I mentally see all the baggage that is hindering me in my dream. I don't even want to rummage through it. I see myself putting all the baggage down and simply walking away. I sever it from my present existence. I will a new day, a bright and lighter day. I will health and strength. I will peace of mind.

The practice is to continue this thought process in the morning, at night and through-out the day.

Is it really that simple? There's only one way to find out.