52-Reverse the Golden Rule and Flow Part 3

Part 3: Flow's Bad Side and the Golden Rule's Good Side

How can flow not be right? This concept sounds incredible, something like touching perfection. But it's often energetic, disruptive, and fierce. Flow forges outcomes. The painful sides of flow are the ugliest forms of violence; think lynchings, trolling, pillaging, hazing, and war. But violence is not a singularity. At times, it is necessary. Evolutionary change is often violent and we all have the inherent right to protect life from predators. Depending on the circumstance, fighting's either the best or worst decision. Let's consider bears: on one hand, a momma bear; the other, an inquisitive adolescent male grizzly. If you fight the momma, you die. If you curl up in a ball before the boy, trying to be a grizzly, you're dinner. Knowing when to fight is key to surviving a bear attack. 

Bear Attack 

Violence itself is not the issue and flow is a basic state inherent to all minds. The Golden rule makes certain compassion is not disregarded. So, if we marry flow with the Golden Rule, do we insure we'll do the right thing? No. Hesitating long enough to reverse the Golden Rule insures we at least understand what we are about to do to another by doing it to ourselves first (even if only in our imagination).

When our intentions are pure, we make the what, why, whom, how, and where relevant when we practice upon ourselves first. We'll fulfill the Golden Rule because we'll know if treating another in a specific way is in fact the way we would want to be treated. And should we go through with it, we'll know it's not working when they react unexpectedly. As it so often is, candid communication is the firm fix for affectionate misfires.

Finding flow is about intentional, vulnerable, participation: my definition of love. Integration with our community increases the potential for flow. I know I'm at my best when I'm at peace with the question, 'can I live with myself and my tribe if I do this?' My main focus is my behavior's effect on my community's flow. So when in doubt, I reverse the Golden Rule and imagine doing to myself before I do to another. It's so simple. Want to rob someone? Rob yourself. Would you like to smash someone's face in? Smash in your own. How about destroying a bunch of lives by polluting a river? Take the first swallow. Does shooting someone in the foot sound good? You know what to do.

And for those considering killing a bunch of people with a bunch of guns, simply do unto yourself before you do unto others. 

That'll solve the problem for everyone.

When humanity embraces both sides of the Golden Rule, 

we flow into something 

magical,

meaningful,

and wonderful.

51-Reverse the Golden Rule and Flow Part 2

How does flow work? It is both individual and communal. When the experience of individuals within the group dynamic reaches harmonic resonance– think of a choir, flow constructs networks of intuitive communication among participants. And like the choir backing the soloist, at just the right time, flow focuses the singular voice to new heights, built upon the foundation of super-conscious collaboration. A cogent, almost predictable narrative plays out as archetypes become flesh. Within that creative space, flow is where we treat others as others treat us– a perfect circle. This is when we get our groove on.

Examples: think, a King James winning dunk or a tech giant's lucrative product launch; think, stubborn countries or convincing religions figures; think, solving a great mystery or uncovering a relevant, scientific truth; think, social media driven ideologies like cute cats, risky planking, or unhinged conspiracies. Imagine the explosive nature of a determined group of individuals. Consider what follows in their path, both positive and negative. Flow flourishes in an intimate, protective sphere with an expansive foundation of general agreement on key issues. Think, cults and cliques. But also think, families and tribes. 

We flow best with those we know best. We rarely find it with those we rarely compliment. From one moment to the next, those we are confronted with most often effect our flow the most. Failures fail because they lack team-spirit. Like the Golden Rule, flow is proactive; it requires attention, effort, and maintenance. In our scatterbrain society of shallow interest, most people, most of the time, simply do not flow. But who doesn't have some memory of its meaning, its potential? Watching athletes, soldiers, politicians, and celebrities find their flow allows us to vicariously enjoy their moment. Blockbuster movies are the zeitgeist of manufactured flow. We superimpose our personal mythology onto these seductive narratives. It's a kind of residue left in our neural wake, like remembering an idealized version of flow.

Flow is magical, exhilarating, empowering, and limited… our best memories. Flow pulls us, motivates us. But I want to talk about the flip-side of flow. So let's consider what not to do; how to stop the flow when the flow is not right.

50-Reverse the Golden Rule and Flow Part 1

Part 1: Giving the Gift

Do unto others… etc. The Golden Rule tells us as to how to act. Treat people the way you want to be treated. It's affirmative. It's participatory. It's also flawed. What about the prefrontal cortex's primary function of prohibition? It is not just about what to do, but about what not to do. So I propose the Golden Rule's most important side is its reverse:

Do it to yourself before you do it to others.

Want to steal? First, steal from yourself. How can one steal from one's self? Maybe you randomly hand a wad of hard-earned cash to a stranger. See how it feels to be suddenly deprived of wealth. But there's a flaw in this particular example. Discover giving may feel so good it changes you. Instead of wanting to steal from others, you begin to give to others. Be careful, as giving can be as addictive as kleptomania; oxytocin is powerful stuff. Honestly, I indulge as as much as possible, without letting it become a mindless habit. But I mean, it feels amazing to give to one ready to receive, and able to incorporate that gift into life experience. Everyone should take the occasional hit of this evolutionary neuro-cocktail. But heed the warning of George Price. His is a troubling tale of how even altruism can destroy a life. Poison is anything in excess.

The true art of giving is the ability to embody the recipient before choosing the gift. Get off the soapbox. Instead of following your intuition, watch their eyes light-up and take notes. To make a real impact, if not change a life, one must give the wanted gift. When we find this level of connection with others, we discover flow. To provide what is needed in the moment of desire is the ultimate act of participation– being human; it means you know your neighbor's story as your own, at least in that one dimension. 

Flow feels like hitting the grand-slam winning home-run of the World Series. It is the idea our brains might interact so perfectly with our social and physical reality that a kind of perceptual magic forms like a wave to be surfed. The idea of flow infiltrates our lingo: we're out of our minds; we're crushing it; we're in the zone. Fundamentally, flow comes from our relationship with our community. When we engage our tribe's great mission, we 'light up' or 'find our place,' and our contribution seems to steers our side towards victory. The minute we recognize this majestic moment, we dive-in and experience what is arguably the greatest gift of all: the validation of one's circle.

49-Trans-Racial Identity

Trans-Racial Identity

It is possible to be trans-sexual; is it possible to be trans-racial? What does that even mean? Does identity require one land like a frog on a single lily-pad? Is the rejection of one's biological origin significant? Why would anyone sport a trans ID?

In an awkward and fraudulent way, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) former Spokane chapter head Rachel Dolezal introduced us to the concept of a trans-racial person. Seeded at the center of this messy and embarrassing controversy is a truth to be faced: some of us do not identify with out natural color, our native culture. How the world views race is as much about skin-tone as idiosyncrasy. The birds that flock to your feather color the world's view of you. We operate within the aggregate of our clan. To belong to a people is as much to be define by them as to define them. But the idea identity is limited by biology in the world of the trans-gender is as absurd as the idea that skin color and native culture limits one's nature. We can choose what flock we fly with.

Just as men born as women do not feel comfortable until they are no longer viewed as male, the white-man's cliché is not who I am, despite the mirror's testimony to the contrary. Everything the racist, domineering, ignorant, myopic, veracious, condescending, entitled, leaders of the free-world represent make me sick. But they look just like me; I could be unwittingly placed in that flock. History fills with an archetype I do not fit; in fact, I cannot abide. 

What does it mean to be trans-racial? Just as a trans-sexual, if the reflected image doesn't reflect one's soul, one is trans. A core principle of this identity is the idea that stereo-types of one's biology fail to inform one's personality. Personality is heavily influenced by interactions with others. As we experience different identities, we incorporate the harmonic resonances – narrative characteristics we admire in others. We become who we are because of our story: who we love, hate, and let go. When we let go, nothing is more important than how; when we hate, nothing more important than owning our failure; and when we love, nothing more important then with whom and why. 

We are not frogs jumping from one lily-pad to another; we are the lily-pad. Therefore, we reject no other lily-pad for being a lily-pad. Despite the disruptive nature of their uniqueness, we accept the unfamiliar combinations of others, whether religious, sexual, economical, social, racial, or all of the above. And no reason exists to sever bonds with one's parentage; in fact, quite the opposite. Do not run from the rejected identity; instead, towards those to be embraced. Once our attention turns from the limits of our single hue towards the colors of the rainbow, we explore the mixture that fits. I know we are not all trans-racial but I secretly believe we are all at least a little.

Unlike a person who has undergone sexual reassignment in order to function as the newly acquired sex, I take no measures to appear as anything but what my DNA prescribes. I may not identify as white, but for now, you'll only hear it in my voice and see it in my eyes. I'm not 'Stonewall strong,' not a crusader for the cause, just a messenger. I know what I feel on the inside, who attracts me, and how I want to express my ID. I have no desire to change my skin to reflect my soul.

In this tense climate, consider what it means to actually change one's skin-tone. It doesn't feel like some absurd movie; it feels wrong. For now, we must not only respect history but current events. As long as the wealthy, powerful, secretive, cabal of white-men suppress the brown-man, to literally transition from white to non-white skin insults history and usurps just reparations; as for Michael Jackson, I cannot comment on the benefits of transitioning from black to white. But in 2015, passing one's self off as the black NAACP chapter head of Spokane when one is white crosses the line. Now for a moment, imagine 3015, a day when equality flows so fat that a simple transition of skin-tone will be mundane. Michael and Rachel would feel at home in such a world.

Why would anyone want to disassociate and reconfigure a characteristic so complex as one's racial identity? Because no matter the characteristic, the hollow depth a person feels when their self-perception does not match reality's message hurts. The distance between Vanilla Ice and Eminem is the journey of the white-rapper's struggle for legitimacy. The greatest minority along any racial line are those who cross first. It is time we deal with stereo-types such as the Oreo or wigger. Being trans-racial is really being hyper-trans-cultural. Remember, once Bill Clinton was known as “the first black President.”

Let's stop looking at trans-racial people as posers, pretenders. The Right still thinks being gay is a choice, that homosexuals are pretending. Might we extend the spirit of inclusion the LGBT movement embodies to embrace those of us who do not see ourselves as the color our DNA defines? Yes, I was born white but I identify as non-white. I am surrounded by and maintain many positive relationships (including love) with whites but I've always felt more comfortable around non-whites of all tones.

Trans-racial people, celebrate your identity. It's time to come out of the closet! If not publicly, then join me in a private moment of acknowledgment: it's okay to be trans. If the United Postal Service (UPS) can be brown, then why can't everyone? Because just like the UPS (or any cooperation), we too are people (Supreme Court approval pending).

48-The Right Side of Zombie Logic

The Right Side of Zombie Logic: How to Beat the Plague of Gay Marriage

The right side of the brain inspires creativity, timeless devotion, grand ideas, intuitive assumptions. Zombie logic is the mindless repetition of an agenda (in the case of actual zombies, the desire to eat brains). The right side of the political isle is full of many fine people but also harbors the ideologies of entitled capitalists, religious zealots, apocalyptic conspiracists, xenophobic separatists, and violent campaigners. 

When all the bad parts of the Right coalesce like a perfect storm over the center of the country, a few, irascible, paranoid crusaders spill forth tidal-waves of twisted, repetitive, scatterbrain rants; what I call the Right side of zombie logic.

The Right's continued fight against the right of marriage (not marriage equality, not anymore), reminds me of the Sea Squirt. What does the Sea Squirt do once it finds a home and no longer maneuvers through the dynamic world of compromise and reposition? It eats its own brain – the perfect candidate for zombie logic. Disgusted with the fate facing them, many on the Right refuse to enter the five stages of grief: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. Why? It doesn't apply; let the Coasts do whatever they want, but here? Not here. This is more than simply denial; this is entitlement. That's the beauty of their position: the law doesn't apply when you're Right. 

They see themselves as the true victims – zombie logic. They want us to believe the ruling violates their religious rights. What rights? The right to assemble? The right of privacy, of worship, of donation? The right of tax-exempt status? No. They believe they have the right to live in a world where gay people cannot marry. As Islamic terrorists interpret Koranic vagaries to justify their desire to create a religious caliphate, cleansed of the infidel, the Christian fundamentalist use Biblical vagaries to fuel their fight to establish an America, freed from sinners. Neither of these realities are acceptable to the rest of us. And in this particular point, they have no standing. No one is forcing any private individual or religious institution to participate. The ruling specifically exempts Father So-And-So from conducting nuptials that violate his sense of morality. 

In the '60s when civil-rights legislation swept the Nation and the Federal Government made it clear to the states the law of the land would be implemented by the National Guard, Mississippi resisted integration by closing all public swimming pools. Before this happened, it got real ugly. People were poisoned in pools. After this happened, lawsuits challenged the closures. But the courts upheld Mississippi's right because on-demand swimming is not Constitutional.

Marriage is.

That's the difference. It is no longer marriage equality. Marriage is a right, not the state of equality among citizens. Counties throughout the South are refusing to marry non-traditional couples on religious grounds. In an official capacity, the county-clerk's religion doesn't apply as they are not paid to be a county-clerk by their religion but their government – fundamentally separate from all religion. There are no conflicting rights because there is no Constitutional right of employment. They can no more refuse the right of marriage for a lesbian couple as an interracial couple, an infertile couple, or what they perceive to be any number of inappropriate couples. This is not gay marriage or even LGBT marriage; this is all kinds of marriage. It is the right of any two consenting adults to marry under the laws of these United States. There is no valid grounds for discrimination. These clerks can no more refuse to license the marriage of Steve to Steward as Steward's right to license the profitable, lawful sell of a firearm to Steve. The right to a legally recognized, lifelong union is no less subject to abridgment as the right to pack excessive heat. In the real world, when someone is either unwilling or unable to perform their job, they're fired.

These zombies are pounding their brainless heads against a very hard wall. Unlike the '60s, we have a black President who will not hesitate to implement minority rights. And in their destructive resistance, the zombies leave taxpayers on the hook. This is not Roe V Wade; there are no unclaimed rights of magical people; this is the twenty-teens; this is the moment we finally grow up. There will be no long, drawn-out war over this issue. There are no grounds, no harm, no interest. The Court was clear. 

If you disagree, you're old. Public opinion moves at an unprecedented rate. As a last-ditch effort, the zombies cling to precious votes, cast in a different time to pass, unconstitutional, state amendments. They fervently parade this withering image about and cry over the injustice of these aborted voices while we watch their fury fade into history. Who supports those initiatives today? Take a poll. These pathetic warriors slowly retreat into their narrow burrows and may tilt at passing windmills until they are no more. Sad. 

I do not doubt these zombies, with their creative, dedicated, timeless minds, will find ways to rage against the machine of inevitable change, eternally increasing the price we all pay. I call this Zombie Masturbation. Examples: Jim Crow, prosecution of sodomy, redlining, Selma, the Stonewall riots, voter ID … I could go on; the cakewalk has many layers. Their hateful distractions leave no more legacy than the expensive soil of their vile ejaculate. Who else profits from their behavior but them? Sometimes self-gratification lasts decades, sometimes mere months. But life goes on. They too will eventually grow weary and enter the five stages of grief. Thought forgiveness is personal, let us be compassionate for this painful journey of change. Although they may never face their prejudice or treat other as they would want to be treated, their depression will end with a level of acceptance. So let us acknowledge their new position, for we still have brains and hearts that remember our own transgressions, our own paths of learning; we all, after all, are human. 

The fight for legal love in places like Ireland and America has ended but continues everywhere else. As with all forms of prejudice, humanity struggles to mature. At last, the country who most prides itself upon individual choice once again shines its light onto the world. Let us embrace this example of the freedom to love and support those who continue to struggle for this basic, human right.

47-The Church and the State Part II

Part 2: A Future Cleansed and Satisfied By Justice

In private, there are few limits to one's prejudice; in public, there are many. Businesses are legally established entities. The idea a person engaged in business has the right to refuse service to an old person, a short person, a religious person, or a wheelchair-bound, blind, pregnant, black, Jewish woman is settled law. No matter what the proprietor thinks or feels, protected classes are not subject to debate. If one cannot conduct business without prejudice, one must find something else to do; there is no Constitutional right to do whatever regardless of how it affects others. However, we all have the right to sit in our basement and blog about all the hate in our hearts. 

An example of what the Indiana law lacked that the Utah law does not is the stipulation that if a government official objects to providing a service, a replacement must be provided who will. Indiana joins the Mormons and a certain southern governor with ears to hear. They're still trying to stay ahead of the game. But don't let them know how far behind they are; we don't want them doing anything rash.

Fact: bad ideas eventually fail. Example: for a very long time, it was common knowledge that one must avoid too much black-bile, the clear cause of melancholy and cancer. Today, who's even heard of black-bile or ever uses the word melancholy, the literal translation of 'black-bile'? This idea didn't pan out. On the other hand, the truth about cancer is real and complex. We now know cancer is not a single disease but results from a concert of maladies. Truth persists as fiction does its best to maintain a relevant story. As long as scientific, rational data illuminates the darkness, superstitions will continue to evaporate because nature resists ignorance as such mutations rarely enhance survivability.

This disturbing trend of the church penetrating the state, using the state to establish a special set of laws for the church, and separating the people into a strata of privilege cannot last forever. Eventually, the bending arch of justice, the changing demographics, and the dying off of the calcified-minded will led the US in new directions. Diversity is the greatest thing about America. America's history is as unique among the nations as its culture. Although one might point to specific (Christian) characteristics of this culture at this moment, individual facts are not the truth, only footnotes in history. 

The dynamic nature of American culture is its greatest asset. No single people or person represents what an American is or is not. The homogeneous, heterosexual, Christian, white man's time has come; the new majority craves variety. As long as laws like these exist, we starve. To satisfy this hunger, first let us reject the penetration and reestablish the separation so we might freely dine on the healthy parts. After all, even racoons are wise enough to wash the taint from their food before they eat.

46-The Church and the State Part 1

The Separation and Penetration of Church into State

By Jaxon Cohen

Part 1: The Problem

Centuries ago, a few Europeans fled a world where church and state were one. They sought religious freedom, but not the kind inculcating America today, the kind that says we're free to break a few laws in order to practice our beliefs. Instead, their idea was freedom from having to practice the state's beliefs. The attempt to remove the church from the state proceeded along the theory that the state must not favor one set of beliefs over another. The separation of church from state frees all religions to worship with integrity. Therefore, calling America a Christian nation is an affront to the founding principle of this country and an insult to every non-Christian American. The US is explicitly defined as secular, meaning church and state are separate with all persons equal before the law. 

Nations are populated by majorities and minorities. As the historical, Christian, white, male majority of this nation slides into the ranks of the minority, they fight the inevitable in every conceivable way. Redistricting, the criminalization of poverty, voter fraud laws, the incarceration of the ethnic male, campaign financing, cable news echo chambers, the widening wealth gap, and the growing ability of the cooperation to protect its members from prosecution are just a few examples of how this privileged clique clings to power. But as the clock ticks, this weakened majority becomes a solid minority and will have to stand on the value of their positions instead of their former position of value. And when the future majority rises, change will come from all directions. Will the one-percent shatter the populace or the populace shatter the one-percent? Whatever happens, the money-game won't protect 'the man' forever. The only useful question becomes: what's the total cost of resisting the new norm?

Of all the things the traditional majority has done, none is more un-American, more unconstitutional than the attempt to remove rights and privileges from select groups in the name of religion. The idea LGBT couples cannot marry because it threatens marriage is nonsensical and illogical. The very notion women do not have the right of biological determination is a non-starter. The victories of the mid-twentieth century took decades (even centuries) to accomplish. The cost was great but the result was too. 

Because of these strides, future attempts to target a group for discrimination can no longer be carried out openly. Jim Crow is dead. Instead, laws are crafted in angelic costumes, inhabited by demons. Legislative authors will the church beyond protected-class status; they want more than equality with the LGBT community; they will make the Church the exempt class. If the church is going to seamlessly insert itself into the state, they require the Ark fill with lawyers, lobbyists, and legislators, three by three. The strategy is no longer drafted from a position of offense but instead defense. 

This is cunning yet obvious. Consider Utah's religious discrimination law. Suddenly the LDS church wants us to believe it intends to protect gay rights? How are we suppose to buy into the idea the authors of Prop 8 suddenly work to insure the very thing they continue to resist? Answer: cognitive dissidence. This group continues fight any kind of definitive, unifying, Federal mandate. A more extreme example of how the state moved against the people in the name of the church is the Indiana legislation, recently 'clarified.' The backlash to this overreach prompted Arkansas' Governor to reject a similar bill. In the aggregate, these laws allow the church to supersede the state by placing its values above all others – the very thing the founders fled. A new confederacy of the like-minded marshal their forces behind bills that place their desire to practice prejudice above the Constitutional right of equal treatment before the law. They are reversing the very initiative that led those few to cross the deep. There is still so much wrong with the Indiana law because the very existence of any such law is the real problem.