Swami Beyondananda aka Steve Bhaerman

Many of us grew up with this comic performer who made light of our new age beliefs. But he is also a serious thinker and also into the next wave of evolution, not just in consciousness but in political institutions. To kick off this thread I'll just post his recent blog on the whole end-of-the-world thing, but there is much more to come.

The BEGINNING of the World As We “Know” It?

“So the world didn’t end on May 21st. Sure, those who hoped to live happily ever rapture are a little disappointed, but hey – it’s not the end of the world, right?”
– Swami Beyondananda

Well, the world didn’t end last Saturday. But parts of our old world consciousness are certainly on the ropes. A few weeks ago, we witnessed (or, in this case, did not witness) the “death” of Osama bin Laden, the symbolic boogieman we’ve been fighting for the past decade. And this past weekend, when rumors of the death of our world proved greatly exaggerated, fear-and-ignorance-based religiosity took a hit.

Could this be the beginning of the world as we “know” it?

While markers of apocalyptic collapse are very much with us, so is the official definition of apocalypse – the lifting of the veils, and the shattering of illusions. Notice what happened in the wake of the “Osama” killing. While the media encouraged an orgy of celebration, it didn’t last very long, did it? You know anyone who’s still celebrating? The irony curtain has become very porous in recent years, and the manipulation is showing. In the sober light of the morning after, more and more people are asking, “So why are we still at war in Afghanistan?”

This past weekend’s rapture no-show will likewise move the upwising forward. A recent survey suggests that some 40% of Americans believe in the rapture, which might be considered “bad” news, except that six years ago that figure was 55%. So, we might anticipate even more migration from an idea whose time has come and gone to a more mature spirituality.

And that brings us to “the beginning of the world as we know it” – or as we are coming to know it.

Because what we now know about the world – thanks to “new edge science” and the liberation of perennial spiritual wisdom from protective custody (the up-side of the lifting of veils) – affirms that all is connected. Quantum physics indicates that matter is little more than vibrating energy, and that our material world is subject to an energetic field. Meanwhile, discoveries in the field of epigenetics suggest that our cells are likewise subject to a field of thoughts, feelings, beliefs and perceptions. We are not passive victims of either a vengeful God or genetic determinism. We are conscious co-creators of our lives, our reality, and our world.

Some anonymous wit once said that spirituality is our relationship with the Divine, and religion is “crowd control.” Until now, the vast majority of humanity has been subject to programmed fear and limitation, and crowd control has been deemed necessary. At this time, however, more and more children of God are evolving to adults of God. With ancient spiritual traditions being liberated from secrecy, more of us are finding that One Spirit inside of ourselves rather than through some external intercessor. And more of us are recognizing that what religion has called “spirit” and what science is calling the “field” is pretty much the same invisible moving force.

In Spontaneous Evolution, Bruce Lipton and I suggest that the next phase of human evolution is the recognition that each of us is a cell in the body of humanity. In other words, evolutionary science is now echoing Jesus’ One Suggestion: Love thy neighbor as thyself (because thy neighbor IS thyself). This new and functional understanding will transform religious discourse from the yipping and yapping of barking dogmas, to the recognition that all dogmas ultimately answer to the same Master. And, as we see ourselves as part of the same “body,” the notions of peace and cooperation that have been termed “utopian” can now be seen as “health and sanity.”

We are going through a difficult passage, and whether or not we make it is still an open question. However, the question “can we evolve?” is actually a pretty useless question. A better question is, “HOW do we evolve?”

So, let us welcome those who are disappointed that the “hereafter” isn’t here yet into the “here now” as we gather under one big intent to re-grow the Garden and have a heaven of a time doing it. We release the long-held belief that this world is a field of nightmares, and we embrace the idea that it is a field of dreams instead. We – individually and collectively – are the Dreamer.

It’s time to take the Field.

The Transpartisan Upwising Continues: People Are Waking Up, Left and Right (Well, At Least Left)

By Steve Bhaerman

“It’s kind of hard to back Obama up when he keeps backing down.”
– Swami Beyondananda

I “treated” myself to a viewing of Inside Job last night, and never have I seen a more compelling exposé on “gold collar crime.” Naturally, we see Reagan and both Bush Administrations helping to establish the absolute rule of private wealth over our commonwealth. Unnaturally, we see “Democrats” Clinton and Obama cheerfully moving the program along as well. In one tragically compelling scene, we see Obama reappointing Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the (extremely well) Fed. Obama is actually averting his eyes, as Bernanke steps up to accept the appointment. As someone at the showing said, “Without knowing who either of these guys are, it is very obvious by looking at their interaction where the real power lies.” (Hint: We the people had nothing to do with putting this power into power.)

Meanwhile, the upwising in Wisconsin continues. Caught up in the anger are remorseful union members who got suckered by the rhetoric of Fox “News” and the Koch Brothers-funded Tea Party movement, and voted Republican. Now before we fall in with those tie-dyed-in-the-wool lefties who dismiss Tea Partiers as “a sorry bunch of Koch-suckers,” let’s remember this. Those Tea Party folks at the very least got off their duffs and stood for something – before the election. If all of those who enthusiastically worked for Obama stood up with the same commitment and passion – well, we wouldn’t need Obama, would we?

Again – back to Inside Job – one of the saddest, most truthful parts of the movie shows Obama offering his heartening rhetoric before the 2008 election followed by his disheartening acquiescence to the power of money afterward. Would that qualify progressives who fell for the “debate and switch” as “Obama suckers?”

The good news in the sad news is that more progressive leaders and activists are now ready to move past Obama and create a movement that goes far beyond the Democratic Party. Along with this awakening is an understanding that to do so means reaching and communicating with those Tea Partiers, many of whom share some of the same core concerns about the out-of-control power of the corporate state.

At Tikkun Magazine’s 25th anniversary celebration this past week, Rabbi Michael Lerner spoke more eloquently than ever about reaching for a broader coalition, particularly around the common concerns the common people from all sides have about the “great banking robbery” that occurred over the past decade. As part of his presentation, he showed a clear, entertaining and well-made video that suggests a Constitutional Amendment abolishing corporate personhood (and hence lots of the corporate “poisonhood” that has been poisoning our ‘hood).

If we simply stick to speaking to our own “tribe” we will never connect with these folks, and Rabbi Lerner understands that. So does David Swanson, a pioneering progressive activist who started AfterDowingStreet.org (now warisacrime.org), and has written the highly-informative book, War Is A Lie. He recently reviewed my e-book with Joseph McCormick, Reuniting America: A Toolkit for Changing the Political Game for the Seattle Post Globe and he defines “transpartisan” as “an American interested in introducing humanity and complexity (and civics lessons) into political communications by working around the corporate media.”

Swanson continues: “For decades our televisions have taught us that only wealthy liberals care about poor people, while noble working folks care mostly about the rights and privileges of billionaires. Wisconsin shatters that crazy pretense and presents a conflict between the super wealthy who look out for the super wealthy and the rest of us who look out for the rest of us. That’s a very different division from the primarily cultural division of partisanship.”

That is a brilliant call to both sides to rise above the scam of the culture wars and recognize common self-interest. And what’s in the way of that happening?

In both of these statements, Swanson hints that the source of much of our political polarization, disinformation, misinformation and missing information is the corporate media. What would happen if awakening individuals on both sides turned off the media, tuned out the rhetoric and came together in Transpartisan circles, just as has been happening in Seattle? And what if they did so not around some pre-arranged agenda, but simply addressed the concerns that arose from those ordinary citizens present? Each side would emerge with a better understanding of how we’ve all been hoodwinked by winking hoods. Most important of all, perhaps finally a true multicultural (i.e., hippie and redneck) movement would emerge, the only force powerful enough to “higher-jack” our hijacked commonwealth.

To find out more about Reuniting America and how YOU can help change the political game in America, please click here … from here on it, it’s politics as unusual.

Integral Post-Metaphysical Spirituality

Swami Beyondananda aka Steve Bhaerman

The BEGINNING of the World As We “Know” It?

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The Transpartisan Upwising Continues: People Are Waking Up, Left and Right (Well, At Least Left)

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