Spirit of the times 2003

War is the symptom. The disease is inadequate awareness

If the threat or reality of war is a symptom, the disease is the missing elder and her/his awareness. Let's deal with the symptom-- avoid war at all costs, but concentrate on more awareness between us everywhere. Besides being either pro- or anti-war, use your awareness to sense the deep and subtle unsaid feelings hidden beneath the words. Model deep democracy, show the inner experience hidden by outer discussion. Notice that the governments, the "leaders" and people you speak of are actually roles and ghost roles. They are spirits of the (so-called) good and evil energies, non local dream figures residing everywhere. After running away from, or putting out fires, enter them. Sit more quietly in the fire. Speak for these figures as if they were not fully aware of the depths from which they are speaking. Speak of missing pride, issues of fear, the sense of safety located outside of time. Move slowly, keeping your feet anchored deeply in the earth of your awareness. Model the world you want. Gandhi said it all; "Model the change you want to see in the world." Help organizations and spiritual traditions without open forums or traditions of dialogue to speak and dream together. That's how to contribute to a world seeking community interactions more wonderful than peace.

For an interview with Arny and Amy on related ideas, see the Wisdom Radio interview with Michael and Justine Toms from "Spirit of the Times" Dec 30, 2002, 1-2Hr $19.95 call, Tel 304 323 8213, Production Assistant, bjriffe@wisdommedia.com

Summer 03

Japanese newspaper reviews of Arny's "Sitting in the Fire".

Thanks to Yukio Fujmi and Akira Aoki for translating the review and to Jiro for converting to .html

More Japanese translations are available on this website.

On the verge of war : the weapons of mass destruction

March 19, 6 pm Pacific Coast Time, 2003

This short piece was written a half-hour before we heard of the outbreak of war in Iraq. Below, we refer to the potentially annihilating action of the highly reported and sought after "weapons of mass destruction". Such destruction is not only a very possible real outer fact, but also a metaphor for disrupting our normal consciousness, as can occur for example, in near death conditions. The brevity of the following is due to the crisis moment. We try to state concisely how our most human race might gain as well as lose from the events facing us in war

Roles:

Everyone has her or his own understanding and way of dealing with war. When we, Amy and Arny, think about war we ponder its many roles. One such role constantly discussed in the media is "Weapons of mass destruction". Since this role is spoken about as a danger but never represented as a momentary experience, "weapons" become ghost-like. We call them a "ghost role" in contrast to more obvious roles such as nations or their leaders. Ghost roles float "out there", but never represented since everyone denies their existence in his or her own territory. Ghost roles are aspects of all of us, in every leader and country. In brief, the "weapons" are our destructive powers. Such "ghosts" terrify the global community. Because of these ghosts, we are all on the verge of getting annihilated, or are in danger of annihilating someone or something else.

Extremes :

During painful and extreme periods, we all fall back onto the little we know for certain about this world. We -- Amy and Arny-- know that individuals and worlds explode and go into extreme states of behavior when tension and longstanding differences have been marginalized for too long. The resulting extreme states of consciousness obliterate our everyday consciousness. The global sense of the world prior to war is annihilated by the power of "weapons of mass destruction".

'Death" and Facilitation :

One possible outcome of extreme, sad and terrifying processes is psychological death. Our everyday consciousness is annihilated and no longer exists as our old self, as one PART of a larger process. "I" disappear --- as a PART of the whole. When extreme states annihilate us, we are not only in danger of dying. A fortunate psychological change can temporarily free us from one-sidedness. Near death the agony and ecstasy of being an individual sometimes turns into worldly detachment. If we get detached from world conflict, we can use awareness we couldn't use before. As observers --and not only participants-we can notice "now this, now and that. Now awareness of the violence so long put aside--- now awareness of the peacefulness so long yearned for by all. Now me, now you, now all of us. Now the past, then the future. Now east, south, now west, and north". In this way, each process is noticed and interacted with, perhaps valued.

A Key to War :

Since we believe that WAR IS ANY CONFLICT WITHOUT A FACILITATOR. a key to war lies in the impending psychological death; i.e. detachment and facilitation. Thus, to stop war, use awareness to co-facilitate. Until now, world terror created war and bloodshed only rarely ending "one-sidedness". We believe that understanding such war processes and roles, comprehending the possible meanings of "weapons of mass destruction" will create new awareness. In this way, we can temporarily step out of conflict to facilitate it.

Co-facilitate :

Therefore, each of us should notice what she is doing right now; namely avoiding war, fighting, meditating, standing for peace, for war, for awareness or for whatever. Then in addition to what you are doing, use awareness to co-facilitate events. Let your own side arise and fall, let the facilitator appear. Any concomitant activism you are interested in, will work better. We know awareness reduces war. Our activism is to inspire everyone to not only take part in war, but to work together and notice the threat of war before it breaks out. Explore madness and turn it into understanding.

War's meaning :

The eyes you look through determine war's meaning. But in the dreamworld, war is like death. It makes you see through the eyes of the dreammaker that everything is needed. The worst evil may be our insistence that everything is only real, and not inside or between us.

German version

Japanese version

During war: while hoping for peace

March 29th, 2003

A Next Step is for pro and anti war groups to gather in one room. If you listen closely, you might hear the different coalitions saying:

1. COALITION OF "THE WILLING": We know what's right, do what we say, or else!

2. COALITION OF THE "INVADED": Get off our land and people, and do what we say or else!

3. COALITION OF "THE PEACEFUL": (To government authorities) Stop fighting or else we'll overthrow you with our numbers!

4. COALITION OF "GHOSTS". The first two of you killed us, and the third ignores us. No one talks to ghosts. But we alone know that the four of us will always be. Without us, you get stuck being only yourselves. That's what war is. We know we are all one another at different times.