So in the recent past it seems that I've been enthralled with the seeming transcendence of the Island Peoples in the world, at least the ones to which I've been exposed. Maybe that has something to do with the microcosmic nature of living on an island and maybe the fact that the populace is primarily an indigenous culture, less commercialized or westernized, probably both. Anyhow this heightened awareness of the natural world seems to be in line with some of the writings of Richard, and others, regarding the need to reconnect with our roots and value the interconnectedness of all creation. We all started there and then went the path of "civilization" which had plenty of advances for homo sapiens but also had the egotistical downside of us "creating" God in our image.
Just finished a couple of books by Robert Roskind, a self proclaimed ex-hippie, a researcher of indigenous peoples and their messages of One Love. The two books deal mostly with the Rasta movement of Jamaica as well as the Hopi and other North American First Nations Peoples of the American Southwest and the Mayan civilization of Central America. The connections and common message speak very well of this movement toward transcendence, forgiveness, and universal Love. He also recognizes that the movement is slow but consistent, kind of like yeast.
Think I'll post a couple of the passages I found in the books which I found very impactful. One of the Rastas which Robert spent time with in Jamaica spoke of "Love AND Respect" as follows and I find this to be very important. "Respect is a thing that people should have in abundance so they can give it to other people because you can't run out. Respect is the foundation of holiness and is not a word to just speak easily. You have to have it confirmed in the heart because that is where the Love vibe starts from." (Rasta Heart, pg.221).
As part of his "reasoning's" with the Jamaicans Robert pointed out that being forgiving and practicing "One Love" is not so easy on a personal level. To which the thought occurred to me that "sometimes it's easier to "One Love" the world than it is to "One Love" your Brother".
Reggae and the Rasta movement certainly have their paradoxical elements and were not totally framed in the "One Love" model all the time and from the get go. However they seem to have taken that focus in recent years and are a consistent voice for Peace and Love in the world. Of course there are the adherents which are just into the movements for the sex, drugs, and music. One of the finest artists in the field, Luciano, has a line which bears sharing. "I look around in the world today, I see the children are going astray. I try to teach them how to kneel and pray and let your love be the only way." Beautiful!
As the end of this post I will enter a few paragraphs from Roberts book "2012-The Transformation" (pg 60-61). It is interesting how his thoughts are reflecting the "duality" comments from Richard Rohr. "It has been a journey into duality, into right/wrong, good/evil, win/lose thinking that has offered humanity much pain and little peace---emotionally, spiritually or physically. This age of duality is marked by delusion and deception, exploitation of the weaker, seeking happiness outside ourselves, and the two ever-present unconscious manifestations of the mistaken belief in separation---the ego and the desire for dominance over others in all their various and twisted forms.
This cycle ends on December 21,2012. It is the "end of life as we have known it for the last 5125 years" and good riddance to it! As it ends, the age of duality awakens to oneness and a new age of unity unfolds. In the past, so often peoples answer to their problems was power. Now it will be Love. This will be a planetary event and, like a rising tide rises all boats, it will touch everyone as the love of power is supplanted by the power of love. As always, every living being will be offered the opportunity to change.
As the new World Age of Unity dawns, we have the free will to choose. As Mayanist John Major Jenkins writes in "The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities:"
"...What we actually experience depends on our choices--- whether we cling in fear to familiar illusions or open to Love and trust to the great mystery that seeks to transform and elevate us...And here's the nub of the sacrifice doctrine: our goal is not the sacrifice of literal hearts. bodies, or even our egos (think 1st half of life here)(Richard's thought), but the sacrifice of our illusions. In that surrender, we loose nothing real but gain everything worth having: our true selves...the galactic alignment of the era-2012 [is] a great opportunity for spiritual seekers to reconnect with the source of perennial wisdom. But we shouldn't wait until 2012, for we are in the alignment zone now [1980-2016]. The time, as always, is now."
When duality started to express itself starting in 3113BC with the founding of the first city-states in Babylon, Sumer and Egypt, it spread across the globe. As it did, because of its exploitive and domination-driven worldview, as well as its advanced weaponry, it quickly conquered and then absorbed into itself all the unity-based indigenous cultures it encountered. It was the same in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, and then finally in North and South America. Now it is time to re-invigorate this ancient holistic worldview (without throwing out the baby with the bathwater)(me).
Basically, for thousands of years visionaries and unity thinkers have been swimming against the prevailing current of duality. On December 21, 2012, the current changes direction. Unity will be going with the prevailing current. How exactly this shift will manifest on the planet is still unknown but what is clear is that the more our "sails of Love" are extended, the more wind we will catch as this age transforms from the love of power to the power of Love.'
Pax Christi! Roberto
