On a recent visit to the weekly Albuquerque Mensa Lunch, the discussion triggered a side conversation about the Working Minds philosophy, and I was going on about how the Oligarchy has no inherent Power, so they need to manipulate the sheep-ly masses into giving away
their Power, which when surrendered is False Power and so is never enough, so the Culture-Structure is this perpetual machine to steal Power.
But my fellow discourser stopped me cold by asking what I meant by ‘Power’. I tried an explanation, which did not go over at all, so I told him that I would ‘get back to him on that’.
I pondered some, and this essay is that answer.
* * * * * * * *
CLARITY
Power is natural. Every Individual has Power, though unbe¬knownst, which is generally given away to all manner of cultural sinkholes. The methodology for thwarting the Oligarchy is to
retain our natural Individual Power, simply be
being an Individual.
The central Source of Power is Clarity.
When an Individual stands alone without consideration of others, when the Individual takes action (including speaking) because that action is the Right (Responsible) Action to take, then that Action produces a residue of Power.
Any Action intended to cause X, or to produce X, or to be seen as X or Y, or action taken in the hope or intention or desire to be liked or admired or to win (or to lose), that Action, by its being about Something Else, produces no Power.
It is the contamination by the Something Else that messes things up. Even if the intended result does happen to follow the Action, it is the intention
for a particular result that sucks the Power out of the Action.
Ayn Rand stood for “A is A”. This was a radical stand, because most of modern life is based on “A is not A” or on “A is something else”. Buy the latest fad fashion accessory or the newest toy
so that you can be cool; over-spend
so that the failed economy keeps limping along; get an over-priced college degree
so that you have a better chance in the job market – which in fact then makes you over-qualified for disappearing low-pay jobs.
The False Mind – that ever-present chatter of the Little Voice In Your Head – is designed to interfere with Clarity. When the boss orders some unethical or illegal or self-sacrificing activity – lying to the customers or working overtime with no extra pay or covering for a slacker co-worker – the Individual retains his/her Power by refusing to participate. The chatter of the False Mind will spew a barrage of reasonable-sounding (False) Reasons that cloud the issue/s: you’ll lose your job, he/she will be mad, or (ohmigod!) the Holy Bottom Line may be short a few dollars from not cheating.
There are indeed Actions that are Wrong, which occur when empowering Higher Values are ignored or thwarted. The Clarity of Right Action gets displaced by reasons, excuses, threats, blame, cover-ups, conspiracies, lies, cowardice, stories, precedent – all the standard elements of bureaucracy and ineptitude.
Each Individual has at any given time X amount of Power (derived from Clarity in the existential moment) and the exist¬ential Choices made therefrom either (a) retain Power, or (b) surrender Power. The surrender of Power robs that Individual of whatever existential Power is at stake, and then also hands over False Power to the other side (let’s call’em The Overlord). In either case, Power or False Power soon disappears, as is the nature of Power.
But the surrender of Power leaves the Individual with none, while the retention of Power (1) keeps the Power where the Indi¬vidual is, and (2) prevents the False Overlord from winning, from any accumulation, even of transient False Power.
The Oligarchy (the mean-mean Overlords), the Culture-Struc¬ture, and the False Mind all seem to have Power (though False Power) ONLY because the sheep-ly masses continue to surrender their natural Individual Power to them.
Standing outside the Culture-Structure, one is able to see and to act with Objective Clarity, from which Actions become powerful, and Powerful Actions become a habit, and that accrual of Power becomes a wall of protection against the omnipresent Forces of Endarkenment.
So then, how do you do that?
The three Higher Values that provide access to Clarity are Presence, Responsibility, and Integrity.
* * * * * * * *
PRESENCE
Presence derives from shutting down all that interferes with Now. When a person is deeply involved in work or activity – engrossed in writing a paragraph or a tune, engrossed in drawing or in a sport or a meal or a book or a conversation or a craft, or playing with the kids – then there is
nothing happening except that engrossing activity. In fact, that is what is different about kids: kids have not left the world of Clarity for the adult world of looking over your shoulder for agreement, of listening to the False Mind for (bad) advice, of seeking the best tactical move. Kids jump right in, into Life full-out, until they are taught not to. And taught they will be: to be False, to be strategic, because that is all that the Culture-Structure teaches.
(Imagine being engrossed in Your Own Life!)
The Zen-state (see Issue #30) of Clarity occurs when the Individual removes – gives up, skips, ignores, refuses – that which is Not Now.
I am writing this while Present to hammering next door, to neighbors stopping at the mailbox across the street, and to the remnants of a snowstorm passing overhead outside my window. That I include what is Here Now and exclude what is Not Here – wishes fears, concerns, the Oil War, a dentist appointment on Monday – leaves me Present. This causative Presence is a skill, and anyone can learn it; the only hard part is that your False Mind is designed to prevent you from the practice.
* * * * * * * *
RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility derives from a Stand for the Self. The Self has no need of excuses or reasons, that is the business of your False Mind. The bureaucrat is
never Responsible; your False Mind is
never Responsible; the Oligarchy is
never Responsible.
Only the Self (the Working Mind) can Stand For Something. A Stand is possible
only when one invokes oneself
AS the Self. This is done by stepping away from the False Mind (the internal agent of the Oligarchy) and away from the Culture-Structure (the external agent of the Oligarchy). A semi-productive methodology to attain Self-hood might be Withdrawal, but that is too often knee-jerk reaction. Not bad for a first-stage practice, but the common fault with Withdrawal is taking (or not taking) actions that later require great effort to restore agreement within the Culture-Structure. Refusing employment to ‘get my head together’ is usually followed by unpaid bills and panicked return to the world of commerce.
The gradual assertion of Responsibility – for oneself and for others – is a much more productive plan. One of the Premises of the Working Minds Philosophy of Empowerment is that voting takes many forms. Revising the political realm by actual voting and by organized political activity are both an assertion of Responsibility. And every dollar that you spend is a critical vote for whatever product or service you buy. Being Responsible for paying your bills on time (a) has you BE responsible, (b) has your credit report describe you as Responsible, and (c) retains the unnecessary interest and fees that eventually get squandered by the Oligarchy. Buying groceries at a locally-owned market has you being Responsible for your town’s economy; buying gasoline that contains 10% ethanol has you being Responsible for the environment; buying goods made in America (or your local country) has you being Responsible for your nation’s labor force, as well as being Responsible for the elimination of sweatshop labor in China.
* * * * * * * *
INTEGRITY
Integrity derives from empowering Values. Do not confuse Integrity with the ‘morality’ that pollutes the teachings of the Culture-Structure. Morality has to do with obedience to surface rules, to not getting caught, to not going to hell. The hooferaw about Family Values fosters domination and victimhood, while kids and teens are lied to and worse. Morality always has to do with outside approval, and usually at the cost of Integrity.
Inside Integrity, a parent will actually parent. He/she will teach by example, accept mistakes as opportunities for education, and always be Present and Responsible.
Integrity is present when one is operating from an empower¬ing (Higher) Value. Standing for Excellence cannot be ‘getting by’ or ‘not getting caught’. Keeping Your Word is not making excuses before or after. Being Faithful or Loyal is not a part-time matter. Raising Children does not include teaching them that they are victims.
In Integrity, the laborer does a day’s work for a day’s pay, and the employer pays the laborer for that work. In Integ¬rity, the public servant serves the public, the journalist provides news (and not opinion or propaganda), the peace officer makes the world safer, the scientist reports, the artist creates, the medic heals, and the teacher educates.
* * * * * * * *
The world is the way that it is because Mankind is not acting Responsibly, Mankind is out of Integrity, and Mankind is not Present to Objective Reality. Maybe you are an exception, but even if that is so, you are out of Integrity if you have not taken Responsibi¬lity and confronted (or enrolled or cajoled) the people around you about
their taking Responsibility. Most likely, all around you wallow in the belief that there are no consequences for avoiding Being Present to their part in the general Power-lessness of Mankind.
The solution to Power-lessness is to cause the retention of Power for one’s Self and for others by taking Responsibility, by re-establishing Integrity, and by generating Presence – to all the wonders and problems happening around you.
The Clarity that this is so will in itself produce Power.
WMail essay #30: Radio Silent
WMail essay #37: Responsibility
[copyright 2007 by Gary Edward Nordell, all rights reserved]
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