Poppy Sent an Article

Issue 02

By the time I finished reading the article I’d clicked over to from email, my energy was depleted. I felt burdened, heavy, and dispirited. As a conscious politics practitioner, that’s all I would ever need to move on. Listen to inspiration.

But I stayed with it because the article had been sent by “Poppy” who has been in my life since I was a toddler. I grew up with his daughter, her kids call me uncle, and Poppy and I have developed a relationship of our own within and without the rest of his family. Suffice it to say that his sending me the article with a suggestion that we discuss it during our next regularly-scheduled video chat meant it was important to him to share so it was important to me to listen. Be compassionate.

…it was important to him to share so it was important to me to listen. Be compassionate.

We are both Jewish and the article makes the case that today’s American Jews are actually complicit in anti-Semitism. Oy mama. Many years ago, I became far less interested in my personal practice of Judaism and far more interested in my current spiritual practice. Separately, because they are very different things, I also began to significantly change my attitude toward and support of Israel, something that American Jews were in solidarity about when I was growing up but which no longer seems to be the case. All of which is to say that Poppy and I are likely not on the same page on many issues pertaining to Judaism and/or Israel so I fastened my seatbelt.

In the end our not-too-long, not-too-deep conversation about the article he sent ended with no steam spewing from either of our heads and both of us still loving each other. I wanted to understand what he wanted me to understand and I feel sure that I do. In return, he understood that my responses were anchored in the perspective of someone who is actively cultivating the new consciousness in service of creating a world that works for everyone, emphasis on the everyone. I know he understands and appreciates that about me. Ultimately, we ended the conversation by acknowledging what every practitioner of conscious politics must: that each of us believes what we believe based on the information we have. For my money, anyway, that acknowledgment leaves open the possibility for more information to come and, thus, for beliefs to change.

We hung up and I was still feeling some pretty heavy feelings from the weightiness of so much old consciousness I felt oozing from the article (not from anything at all about anti-Semitism, Israel, or American Jewry). And since one of the things we do as practitioners of conscious politics is to get really good at discerning between old and new consciousness when we see and experience it, here are a few examples — not an an exhaustive list — of the old consciousness:

Us vs. Them Mentality

It’s extremely common — or, more to the point, it has been extremely common — for groups and communities to internalize an us vs. them mentality. Us vs. them almost always means that there are victims. If there are victims, there is an abdication of responsibility. Where there is an abdication of responsibility there is disempowerment. Where there is disempowerment, there is a dearth of creativity. It’s not that our us vs. them stance is unjustified, it usually is. It’s just that it’s monumentally unproductive.

Defensiveness and Fear

Byron Katie describes defense as “the first act of war.” When we are in defense mode we are likely motivated by fear. Again, there’s nothing wrong with being afraid and there’s nothing wrong with defending ourselves when we are attacked. But when, because of our fear, we take a defensive posture from the start, we put ourselves on a war footing from the start. And if we are always defending we are always at war. Of course, peace cannot ever come nor can a world that works for everyone ever be created from a state of war.

Right-Wrong Thinking

Right-wrong thinking is a variation on the theme of us vs. them. It’s right in there with black or white and good or bad — hallmarks of the old consciousness because it all actually boils down to some rather harsh judging. Harsh judging like right-wrong thinking does nothing to engender openness or compassion or anything needed to create a world that works for everyone — and it never will.

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The guidance here, for all intents and purposes, is first to recognize when you’re dealing with a relic of the old consciousness. If you are, there are two basic responses:

1. Introduce a new consciousness approach e.g., Instead of debating whether or not this act or that person is anti-Semitic, could we talk about the world we’d rather live in?

2. Exit the conversation.

If you have other responses, I’d love to hear them. Actually, I’d love to hear anything you’d care to say about any of this.

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