Gnostic Nation

One month has passed since a trip to Turkey. The delay in writing is embarrassing; I could make the excuse of settling in after the trip; which is both valid and a cop out. I returned on a manic high; it was as if I had my self esteem boosted with a cosmic B-12 shot.

Temporarily lifted out of a crumbling culture and be reminded that this has happened so many times before. Upon return so many things fell into place. Resumed on one project and started researching another. Work at a job that was stagnating picked up; at a pace that was hard to keep up with. Caving into ego and stress; the high crashed and I can now take a look at the trip in a more balanced perspective.

I was fascinated by the strength and innocence of the Kurds. They would reveal their heritage to tourists; possibly seeking sympathy and patronage. By the end of the trip I made some very positive brief meetings to learn their culture goes back to times when the Persian empire ruled Turkey and possibly Mesopotamia (5,000 – 4,000 BC). Yet, these divine people continue with a highly prolific breeding pattern; of 6 – 12 children in a family. The pattern of tribal conflict with more agrarian and semi industrial culture development is duplicated everywhere. It shames me that the United States assisted in genocide against the Kurds in the early 90s, under Bill Clinton.

Turkey is a land of many secrets. There is still an oral tradition that exists in the Sufi circles. Descendants from the early Christians have their own stories to tell, within their families. Reminding me that all is needed is to pay attention and then ask the right person at the right time. I recall visiting an old Christian Church and saying to our guide: “Turkey is a land of many secrets”. Which received a knowing reply of “Yes”. An obscure book; “I Came from Behind Kaf Mountain” came to me; shortly upon returning home; written by a tribal Prince from Akhbazian (the Caucasus region). Murat Yagan describes how that part of the world is held in the highest regard. Murat’s personal testimony describes finding his teacher in the Bektashi Sufi order and a living Christ in his heart. Reaching down through a tunnel directly through his heart. Then disillusioned with the his homeland he migrated to Canada. The heart felt path and need to distance myself from my parent culture is something I know well.

Then I was left with the lingering question; ‘what is next’? The book gave me some comfort as I returned to the mundane day to day existence of being a wage slave in this impoverished land of ours.

What turned out to be next is digesting some of the energy from some of the sacred sites I visited and coming to terms with the shattered self esteem of being a 21st century American. I would tell the Turks that this feels like a good time for Turkey but not a good time for the US of A. Then upon returning news of Turkey being drawn in as a resource and aide to Iran’s quest for nuclear energy and possibly a place to dump its waste. The south eastern region, or Kurdistan, would be my guess. The Turks heroic efforts to lend aid to their Palestinian brothers, sisters and children were shot down. In America we have done the same with our nuclear waste in the Southwest, an area of the country with many native people. Beating up SNCC workers in the 60s who came to help in the civil rights movement in the south. I can also safely say that in the circuit of ruins, and visitors from all over the world; I visited through none of these disturbances would have been felt. The exception being, Istanbul; where demonstrations may have occurred and we would see the BBC news in our hotel room.

I must remember all people in this world are essentially the same throughout this fair planet, with similar motives and patterns of behavior. Just different ways of expressing their need for dignity and empowerment. Some fight for the bigger bowl of ice cream like children; or in the so called adult world fuel to get from one place to the next faster, or to build bigger weapons and explosives, to wage battle over ideologies and energy resources.

The only hope I have is a perspective that civilizations come and go. Spengler’s “Decline of the West” was a great aid. Humanity at its core is still present within that life giving force is and the heartache of a struggling race to find new ways of living without destroying the maternal planet upon which we live and breathe. Taking in a region where we have walked for so long helps to light the lamp within and hopefully share it with those around me. It is only by remaining open to what life has to offer; may those eternal secrets be revealed.

In the wake of the Austin suicide attack on the IRS, it saddens me that as a nation, we are becoming what we are fighting against. Since the McVeigh bombings we have seen our own terrorist network in a land that is continuously dividing against itself, like paramecium.. This will always happen, for when war is created, the cause of the war is always started from within. This is purely evident in the case of this most recent attack, where it starts as an attack against the man’s own family, then the government. If I am oppressed then the only way to get free from that oppression is to take responsibility for it. There is no responsibility in killing people, then yourself. It is the most heinous act, for it simultaneously commits an atrocity, then dodges the consequences on this earthly plane, leaving people behind to pick up the mess.

Quantum politics realizes that we are always creating our own enemies, from a deep angst, or repressive need for authority. Imagine a world that was motivated by generosity, a pure and simple generosity that is not motivated by guilt, but of love. Not a land that has to make reparations to its own people, but lives in a politically preventive way. So no corrections will have to be made for our errors. Once all people’s needs are met, then the collective species will be hard wired to respond out of love, and not react out of fear. The dialectic dance will end in stillness; when a full reconciliation of the polarities is no longer required to keep people in line.
This will lead to the realization of the anarchist ideologue, in a world where no external laws are needed; responsibility is not an imposing word, but simply living with one’s own inner compass. For me this is the vision of both the Bodhisattva, and the Gnostic. The work of the Bodhisattva is done, for all beings are liberated. The Gnostic will not have to live outside of society, in secret writing in anonymity.

Oppression creates hell for both the oppressor and the repressed. It has been said that pure spirituality is backing away from hell. Hell is simply this; a material or social, hierarchy that one has put before God. God does not need a pedestal upon which to be worshipped. The Buddhist surrender to the power within the soul is just as valid as the pure Christian surrender. Purity has nothing before God, what better place to have nothing before God than one’s own soul. Since God is simply an omnipresent light, radiating knowledge, living within an eternal void (or ether), found within all transient things and organisms. The external hierarchy is a mere avoidance of the light within. God will always prevail when the temporal structure dissolves, or becomes obsolete.

How does this fit in with where our culture exists? America is going through a phase where it will have to re-invent itself. If we do not find solutions to the socio economic barriers that are before us then we will collapse and divide into smaller nation states as a viable workable alternative, which is more manageable; like Europe. Considering that Germany once again is a leader in new jobs and the renewable energy resources in Europe and the World. This was in part America’s own doing, while we had to focus on the production of weapons to sell to the world, to maintain a status quo. Taking control over Germany’s military they have been able to focus first on nano-technology and now on renewable energy. In brief, by winning World War II we became the dominating force that we once fought to stop.

If China emerges to lead the world as a producing state, the ancient and wise culture may also pay the price that comes with being a world leader. The advantage to living not as a leader but as a contemplative society, that takes care of its own people is this: to finally realize that the quality of life is more important than the size of our own empire.