Can we possibly come to terms with each other and transcend all ideology? It may not be entirely possible during our present state of being, but we can work on our egocentric ways and find a common-ground to expand upon. Cooperation is the key here. We can do it. Let us stop thinking with our guts and move into the heart center just for a brief moment. Once we allow our heart to direct the rules of debate we will arrive at a commonsense approach to cooperative understanding and a bolstering of the great societal strength our Founding Fathers once dreamed of. Here is the final piece of the new state of leadership “Governance.”
…There are many more nations now than in your day. I don’t know the exact number, but it must be in the thousands. There are many more small nations. The ones that were larger have divided and reconfigured into more compact and efficient sizes, usually along the lines of geography and common heritage. However, even with more nations, we maintain our shared Source of Life. Diversity, absent ego structures, contributes to wholeness rather than divisiveness. We live the ideal of unity through diversity.
Each nation is unique, with its particular customs, languages, and institutional forms. At the same time, each participates fully in the outer life of the planet. We are in accord with our global awareness. Internationally, we all have one common language, as I mentioned before. Most nations are republics now, with parliamentary-type systems. Many are structured as interactive hierarchies of representation. Normally, there are from five to seven levels, depending on the size of the population. The voice of the people is thus heard at all levels, directly and efficiently.
“What do you mean five to seven levels? How does this work?”
On average, each local group within a given community or region has about twelve individuals. Each group chooses a representative or two, to go to the level above them. Then, if each level after that does the same, you rapidly achieve representation in very large numbers. Do the math; you will see. Twelve times twelve, repeated six times equals 35,831,808. In just six interconnected, nested levels, over 35 million citizens can be engaged. None of our states is larger than that; most are considerably smaller.
Not all nations are politically democratic, however. A few are still monarchies. Some are managed by corporate structures—more of a business model, where many decisions are taken without a direct plebiscite. The citizens of these states prefer not to have the burden of continuous decision-making on their shoulders.
“What if these leaders make bad decisions?”
If questions arise about the skill of the leaders, they can always be called to account and even replaced by a direct referendum. This happens only in the rare cases of mental incapacity or serious mistakes.
“Hold on. How can you say this is anarchy? It doesn’t sound very different from my world.”
Again, the difference lies within the deeper nature of our relationships. Our greatest strength is the acute sense of appreciation of what is. Since we are united at the foundation of awareness, there is much less dependence on the outer formalities. Governments—either national or local—actually play very minor roles in our normal lives. The frequent ad hoc congresses and community assemblies are much more active. Our anarchy exists within ourselves, in the way we understand our engagement with the whole.
“I’m still confused about your use of the term anarchy. What you’re telling me sounds very orderly. You say you have institutions and organization. This doesn’t sound like anarchy.”
Individual freedom is felt everywhere in my world. That freedom is nevertheless balanced by strong collective responsibility. Each person is in charge of his or her own life and behavior at all times. We know what is appropriate and fair through our interconnected spirit. This is truly alive in us; it is not a philosophical or moral supposition. Government’s main function now is to give counsel. Councilors have become counselors again.
“What about an extreme case? What if a vigilan was to murder someone?”
For one of us to even imagine such a thing would be literally painful. To carry out such an act would hurt the perpetrator more than the victim. We truly do feel what others are feeling; it is genuine empathy. Psychological harm to any individual is be felt as harm to the whole. The best analogy I can give you is that of organs in your body—injury to one part is felt everywhere.
“Well, what about cancer? Isn’t that a case where some cells rebel or malfunction and cause havoc in the whole system?”
Yes, that is a disease of your time. It demonstrates my point: This deviant behavior brought great pain to the whole body. Cancer, however, does not exist in our systems, neither as a physical dysfunction nor as a societal metaphor. The simple reason is that our genetic channels of awareness link us to the Source of all health and balance.
Each cell in our bodies is wired consciously to the whole being. Any harmful mutation at the cellular level is corrected rapidly, instinctively by the cell’s own awareness. You see, the awakening did not just happen at the individual level, it happened to the cells themselves. The very atoms of our bodies are awakened and alert in new ways. Conscious Evolution saw to this in selecting the mutations that brought us about. All new mutations must pass the test of fostering the species’ well being.
“To be the devil’s advocate, what if a new mutation occurred in the genes that might become beneficial to you later? Would this be blocked or eliminated before it could be recognized?”
No. Such mutations are occurring regularly. The system that determines harmful or helpful is the direct channel to Source intelligence. This is one of the things meant by the term Conscious Evolution. That channel is appreciation. We now participate consciously in our own evolution—personally, collectively and microscopically.
We are not mentally aware of these constant changes, but we do feel them as a deep sensation. We can access understanding of them, if need be, through intuitive techniques.
“This sounds wonderful, but difficult for me to imagine.”
It shouldn’t be. Many in your time were already training themselves to be more sensitive to their body’s needs on a perpetual basis. You can do it right now. Simply close your eyes and feel within yourself. You can sense whether what you’re doing—what you’re consuming for instance—or what you’re thinking about is healthy for you or not. Lie still and feel the root sensation within you if you want a more profound experience of this.
“What is this root sensation?”
It is the vibration of Life energy within your tissues and cells. You can learn to feel it by lying very still and feeling below your normal senses. Once you have learned to touch this level, sensation is accessible at anytime. It is simply a matter of recognizing what the inside of your body feels like.
You can even know whether the immediate timing of an activity is appropriate. Your body is constantly transmitting messages about these things. Intellect overrides most of the messages in humans. Nevertheless you do have the capacity for deep sensation, if you choose it. I tell you this to let you know how easily the evolutionary adaptation was made within the existing human makeup. For us this capacity is now ever-present, and indeed unavoidable in our waking minds.
“OK. That sounds useful. But can we get back to our topic of governance? What about the institutions you mentioned?”
We maintain many that you have in your world, with a few notable exceptions: We do not have armies or police forces, for instance. Most communities have constables and elders to whom we can turn for external guidance and support if needed. But they do not control us; they do not enforce any constraints on our behavior. There is no need. There is no crime in our world, nor are there separative attitudes among individuals or nations. Our disputes and challenges are dealt with through friendly gatherings and dialogues, through congresses, sports and entertainment.
“You still have sports?”
Yes we still have competitive athletics, which probably surprises you. But the basis of our competition is not a divided self-interest; it has a holistic orientation. We have returned to the original essence and meaning of the word compete, which was to ‘seek together’ in Latin. It originally did not have the adversarial connotations it came to have for you. When we engage in competition, we seek the best, most helpful ways of reaching a goal. We use competition to enhance our mutual skills and resourcefulness.
“Give me an example of one of your sports that is competitive but not adversarial.”
Football, or soccer as Americans called it, is still played, but the rules have evolved considerably over 500 years. For one thing it is no longer played with a ball! It is played with a sphere of light that can be in more than one place at a time; goals may be scored at both ends of the field at once. The players are not divided into teams that are opposed to one another, but are acting as one group.
“What is the objective of such a game? How do you win?”
The entire assembly wins, including the spectators. The object of the game is to see how many goals can be scored, and how many goals can be prevented. But the most important part is not either of these. What generates the most enjoyment and edification is the ingenuity of the game strategies. During the course of any game, many different, spontaneous configurations of players form and dissolve depending on the flow of scoring and blocking. Players change configurations at will, under intuitive influence.
Within each new arrangement and strategy, there can be very satisfying outcomes. The overriding objective is always to exercise our sense of appreciation, to explore new ways of sharing sensitivity. The players pick up impressions from the audience, on an energetic level, and use these to enhance their performance, and in fact to guide the match. The more closely aligned the spectators are with the players, the more exciting will be the players’ performances. The more overall engagement, the more fun it is!
“Well, that is baffling to me. But I guess any sport would be difficult for an outsider to understand quickly. So, back again to governance, I can’t imagine a world without crime and police. This sounds like utopian dreaming again. Why would crime cease to exist just because you don’t have egos?”
Because crime is based on fear, hatred, and a perception of lack. The ego nourishes the sense of defending ‘what is mine’ and the desire to always have more. In humans, that often became a desire to take from others. Consciousness infused with presence has none of these reactions. We cannot feel hostile to a society that is the embodiment of ourselves. This same desire was already in your genes; it was just masked and repressed by the separated self.
“You say we already had this as humans. That makes sense to me. When people are not stressed or abused in my society, they are largely gentle, benign, even compassionate creatures.”
Quite so. You can see again how easily evolution could make the leap into awakening.
“What about a world government? Do you still have something like a United Nations?”
No. True, we are in fact united, but not through government. From our view, this would defeat the purpose of true unity. It would be a highly inefficient means of practicing our oneness. To give that function to an institution would deny our inner awareness of reality. Governance for us is an outgrowth of our unity, not the reverse. This again points to a critical distinction between your time and mine: Our approaches are often totally opposite. You, in fact, did need governance and civic structures to bring you together.
“Now, a most interesting question for me personally. Please tell me what happened to the United States?”
I live in a part of your former nation. So, I share your interest. As you know, your government was a very advanced system for its time, even though it had many flaws. The model put in place by its founders—guided by spirit, to be sure—was profoundly helpful to the forming of many other nations around the world. It set the stage for later experiments in democracy. That model enabled people everywhere to move toward empowerment and freedom. It was no accident that the acronym US means the collective ‘us’. The United States was a statement and symbol for all humanity. This system demonstrated, finally, that the ancient Greek ideal was ready to be manifested—that people could be trusted to govern themselves.
Your country lived out its destiny. It was a nation, largely of immigrants—the ‘melting pot’. Diversity with unity was its gift to the planet. In a way, you might say that it symbolized the united states of Earth. Amazingly and paradoxically, as this vast, global phenomenon happened, people’s political aspirations began to get small and local again. With our awakening, no one needed unity to be implanted in a world bureaucracy.
The long lifetime of your great nation came to its natural, gentle end, and all the world was set upon its noble path into simplicity.
“I’m in awe. There is a sense of reverence in what you’ve just described. I could not have hoped for a better, more fitting end to the lifetime of my nation—and all the old nations.”
An extremely important factor, from our future perspective, though often overlooked in your time, was the presence of the native Americans. Many of their tribes had evolved a true appreciation of the Earth. Yes, they also had egos. But these peoples’ closeness to the land, practiced over millennia, had imbued the environment—the very soil and minerals of America—with transcendent, even magical qualities.
In the end, the entire world inherited these ‘American’ qualities. What had seemed lost for centuries blossomed again. In reality, the magic was being held in reserve within the native essence. In the soil, right alongside the toxic chemicals of ignorance and greed, was a molecular configuration that promised regeneration. Once tapped it was much more powerful than the toxins. As the natural ethic re-emerged in a new species, the deep gift of the Native Americans was brought forward; it was the gift of honoring the Earth.
During the Great Storm, all humans systems of governance and economics were severely tested. All were found wanting in the end. This was only natural, since all systems were built upon the shaky foundation of ego. It was not the supremacy of any individual human ego dominating the planet, that brought the system to its knees. It was the unfettered little egos everywhere—manifesting the collective—that made it unworkable. They became ungovernable.
As the awakening happened, it gradually became apparent to all. However, not everyone was equipped to manage it well. Many people required a good measure of intense therapy—to bring them to themselves. Yes, they were awakened, but at the same time their minds and bodies were in shock. Everything needed healing and transforming. The formless awareness had become alert within us, but the form had not yet been grounded. That process would require most of the ensuing 500 years to stabilize. I am here to tell you that we have done it!
“I’m really glad to hear that you did. It’s beginning to be very important to me to know that there is something so wonderful out there, to be looked forward to—a vision and a hope for life, even if not for humanity.”
Let me offer a suggestion to change your wording and thinking. Try this: Say there is something so wonderful in there. Turn your aspirations within your own being. Find the wonder there, and you will always have it with you, everywhere you go—even Now.
Copyright 2010 Robert Lee Potter
Letters From 500 