No, we’re not all one, and running around the block won’t change that. Our DNA is tribal just like that of our ape ancestors. Biology demands animals pass on their DNA, and if that means disadvantaging others, that’s what they do. Humans have “civilized” that, but we can never all be one. Over the past couple of decades, social forces ha…
No, we’re not all one, and running around the block won’t change that. Our DNA is tribal just like that of our ape ancestors. Biology demands animals pass on their DNA, and if that means disadvantaging others, that’s what they do. Humans have “civilized” that, but we can never all be one. Over the past couple of decades, social forces have been to accentuate differences and create identity groups to advantage some groups over others. We have actually regressed towards worse tribalism, more conflict. And it was a conscious decision by the so called progressives to do so.
I understand completely that it does not appear we are "one" and it looks pretty damn impossible, at this point, that we could ever live and behave as "one." However, I confess that I am a mystic and, in addition to a handful of unusual "mystical" experiences in my lifetime which don't bear mentioning, I have "seen" that everything in this realm is filled with what I can only describe as an Inner Light/Energy of Consciousness. I know it sounds crazy as fuck and I usually try to keep these things to myself. But today, I was like, WTF? Who cares if folks think I'm crazy. Probably this guru dude had a similar experience, in which he looked around one day and "saw" that everything appeared to be connected, energetically speaking, and then, maybe because he was charismatic or was an especially big Ego Head, he decided to become a spiritual teacher. All this race is, in my opinion, is an advertisement for their guru guy. They probably think that by running in this race, more people will find out about their guru and then will begin following the guru (I guess they believe his spirit is still hovering above them here in the physical realm?). Personally, I don't think their efforts will bring about any additional amount of "oneness" in our world, ... at least not in my lifetime. However, it's very interesting to know about this race, which I hadn't known about until today.
I also am a mystic and have had several consciousness altering experiences in my life. One way to have them is through extreme physical events that break down all the usual barriers we have in place. I do think this is beyond extreme and achievable by very few people. If this is what they want to do, who am I to criticize. I believe there is an energy that connects all life, and striving for a sense of that oneness is searching for God, Goddess, Great Spirit, etc. There are many paths one can take to get there.
Agreed that's somewhat true of certain groups, but there's a weird case of oikophobia (opposite of xenophobia) which seems to have enthralled the West over the past 15 years. This seems most visible in the UK, but can be seen throughout Western Europe, Australia/NZ, and America. Hatred of tradition, rewriting of history to seem more diverse than it was, negative in-group bias, "anti-racism", hiring quotas, critical race theory, etc.
This seems to be a phenomenon entirely unique to our particular time period, and only in the West, although there's anthropological evidence for it being the case with some Mesoamerican peoples -- according to contemporary Spanish accounts, most Inca welcomed the conquistadors, and there was very little resistance. But that requires trusting the accounts of 16th-century conquistadors to be accurate.
To what extent the oikophobia is a good or bad thing can be debated endlessly; most universities, NGOs, corporations, and governments and have landed on the side of it being a good thing worth pushing. Most non-Western countries have landed on the other side, with extremes like China who are essentially practicing ethnic cleansing on the Uighur people and setting up colonies in Africa.
An ideal world might be one without xenophobia or oikophobia. But for that to remain a long-term stable state, it would be a world without any culture or diversity at all.
Even Christianity speaks of all mankind being united, when, "...at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father." This hope sits in the heart of every man, woman, and child, (and WHATEVER!) It is called faith, and most religions have a version of it.
Sort of true. Christianity speaks of us all being united, not of us all being “one.” Not sure if these folks are talking about us all being “one” in a metaphorical sense, thus meaning “united,” or if they really mean some versions of pantheism or panetheism. In pantheism, “God” is the universe. Everything is God and God is in everything. In panetheism, God is still outside and above the universe but also in everything in the Universe— essentially that everyone is divine and just needs to realize or actualize that true divine essence. Both are distinct from Christianity that’s says that God is above and outside the universe, though he interacts with the universe. In Christianity, although man is eternal and believers will be with God forever, they are in no way divine themselves.
Most folks that I meet that talk about us all “being one” in some spiritual/mystical way tend to fall under pantheism or panetheism. “Being one” is this way is not a Christian idea at all. Just FYI.
Agreed! My intent wasn't to say that we will all be "united", it was just that most, if not ALL, religions see the separateness that is inherent in humanity to be something to be overcome, one way or another. Pantheism is just one of the ways while Islam declares "submission" and Christianity declares eventual acceptance of reality, whether by acceptance or by realization. Judaism is kind of murky in my mind since even Jews are divided on mankind's eventual state. Many others believe that they are "The People", which leaves little room for others. A totally mixed bag, overall.
Totally fair point. Indeed it does point to the fact that one of the main questions that religions seek to answer is “what’s wrong with mankind?” Orthodox Jews and Christians call this inherent separateness “sin.” Or at least. The result of sin. But yes, fair point that all religions and systems of belief try to answer this basic question.
No, we’re not all one, and running around the block won’t change that. Our DNA is tribal just like that of our ape ancestors. Biology demands animals pass on their DNA, and if that means disadvantaging others, that’s what they do. Humans have “civilized” that, but we can never all be one. Over the past couple of decades, social forces have been to accentuate differences and create identity groups to advantage some groups over others. We have actually regressed towards worse tribalism, more conflict. And it was a conscious decision by the so called progressives to do so.
I understand completely that it does not appear we are "one" and it looks pretty damn impossible, at this point, that we could ever live and behave as "one." However, I confess that I am a mystic and, in addition to a handful of unusual "mystical" experiences in my lifetime which don't bear mentioning, I have "seen" that everything in this realm is filled with what I can only describe as an Inner Light/Energy of Consciousness. I know it sounds crazy as fuck and I usually try to keep these things to myself. But today, I was like, WTF? Who cares if folks think I'm crazy. Probably this guru dude had a similar experience, in which he looked around one day and "saw" that everything appeared to be connected, energetically speaking, and then, maybe because he was charismatic or was an especially big Ego Head, he decided to become a spiritual teacher. All this race is, in my opinion, is an advertisement for their guru guy. They probably think that by running in this race, more people will find out about their guru and then will begin following the guru (I guess they believe his spirit is still hovering above them here in the physical realm?). Personally, I don't think their efforts will bring about any additional amount of "oneness" in our world, ... at least not in my lifetime. However, it's very interesting to know about this race, which I hadn't known about until today.
I also am a mystic and have had several consciousness altering experiences in my life. One way to have them is through extreme physical events that break down all the usual barriers we have in place. I do think this is beyond extreme and achievable by very few people. If this is what they want to do, who am I to criticize. I believe there is an energy that connects all life, and striving for a sense of that oneness is searching for God, Goddess, Great Spirit, etc. There are many paths one can take to get there.
Agreed that's somewhat true of certain groups, but there's a weird case of oikophobia (opposite of xenophobia) which seems to have enthralled the West over the past 15 years. This seems most visible in the UK, but can be seen throughout Western Europe, Australia/NZ, and America. Hatred of tradition, rewriting of history to seem more diverse than it was, negative in-group bias, "anti-racism", hiring quotas, critical race theory, etc.
This seems to be a phenomenon entirely unique to our particular time period, and only in the West, although there's anthropological evidence for it being the case with some Mesoamerican peoples -- according to contemporary Spanish accounts, most Inca welcomed the conquistadors, and there was very little resistance. But that requires trusting the accounts of 16th-century conquistadors to be accurate.
To what extent the oikophobia is a good or bad thing can be debated endlessly; most universities, NGOs, corporations, and governments and have landed on the side of it being a good thing worth pushing. Most non-Western countries have landed on the other side, with extremes like China who are essentially practicing ethnic cleansing on the Uighur people and setting up colonies in Africa.
An ideal world might be one without xenophobia or oikophobia. But for that to remain a long-term stable state, it would be a world without any culture or diversity at all.
Even Christianity speaks of all mankind being united, when, "...at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father." This hope sits in the heart of every man, woman, and child, (and WHATEVER!) It is called faith, and most religions have a version of it.
Sort of true. Christianity speaks of us all being united, not of us all being “one.” Not sure if these folks are talking about us all being “one” in a metaphorical sense, thus meaning “united,” or if they really mean some versions of pantheism or panetheism. In pantheism, “God” is the universe. Everything is God and God is in everything. In panetheism, God is still outside and above the universe but also in everything in the Universe— essentially that everyone is divine and just needs to realize or actualize that true divine essence. Both are distinct from Christianity that’s says that God is above and outside the universe, though he interacts with the universe. In Christianity, although man is eternal and believers will be with God forever, they are in no way divine themselves.
Most folks that I meet that talk about us all “being one” in some spiritual/mystical way tend to fall under pantheism or panetheism. “Being one” is this way is not a Christian idea at all. Just FYI.
Agreed! My intent wasn't to say that we will all be "united", it was just that most, if not ALL, religions see the separateness that is inherent in humanity to be something to be overcome, one way or another. Pantheism is just one of the ways while Islam declares "submission" and Christianity declares eventual acceptance of reality, whether by acceptance or by realization. Judaism is kind of murky in my mind since even Jews are divided on mankind's eventual state. Many others believe that they are "The People", which leaves little room for others. A totally mixed bag, overall.
Totally fair point. Indeed it does point to the fact that one of the main questions that religions seek to answer is “what’s wrong with mankind?” Orthodox Jews and Christians call this inherent separateness “sin.” Or at least. The result of sin. But yes, fair point that all religions and systems of belief try to answer this basic question.