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I was given a very particular belief system when I was a child. It included all the instructions necessary to successfully fulfill the role of being a model servant of Capitalism, to become a perfect cog in society’s machine. My parents and other authority figures, faithfully meeting their expected roles, ensured that I adhered to the structures of that belief system as my ego-personality took shape.
That belief system—or BS for short—was the primary template used for my mental programming. Its description of reality calibrated my young mind, preparing me for a life of bankable productivity, accumulation, and mindless consumption.
I was being taught the BS of the continuing saga of European America…the winners, better than all the rest, and deserving of a greater share of the global cornucopia. (Even though the U.S. counts for only 5% of the world’s population, we consume 25% of its resources. I pointed this out in a previous article. It bears repeating).
But, in order to get my piece of that large chunk of pie, I had to embody the BS first. I had to learn and apply the lessons on becoming a fruitful citizen, how to best serve the star-spangled beast, whose backbone is fueled by the fear of not having.
The Capitalist BS really caught fire for me in the public school system, where my indoctrination into the hall of mirrors that is our nation’s for-profit worldview continued. I learned about competition and the importance of beating out the other guy, no matter the cost.
The soundtrack to one of my earliest grade school lessons about the Capitalist BS was a scratchy Burl Ives song, playing on an old Newcomb record player, “Mr. Froggie Went A-Courtin'”. It’s a song with a fast beat and was the perfect accompaniment to a rousing game of musical chairs, played by a bunch of sparkly-eyed six-year-olds.
I remember the keen anxiety as I slowly circled the chairs, following my classmates, waiting for the sudden break in the music so I could race for a seat.
I was anxious because I knew, deep down, I didn’t have the will to beat out the competition. I wasn’t hungry enough for the win. I wasn’t easily able to throw a blocking elbow or an aggressive push in order to triumph. And, sure enough, I was out of the game by the third play, only beating a couple girls in the first two rounds who really didn’t care about winning and just wanted to get back to their Cootie Catcher.
This was the beginning of a pattern of sorts. I would try, over the years following that failed game of musical chairs, to compete with my peers in different ways. But I could never access the energy of “Winner”. And it seemed my only other choice was “Loser”. I am not exaggerating when I say it has taken years of some serious self-reflective inquiry to transcend the resulting feelings of shame, failure, and powerlessness.
And, as any serious engagement of deep inquiry will do, it led me to the discovery of something wonderful; a more user-friendly, spiritually enlivened belief system that provided more options than just the two-dimensional labels of winner and loser.
That inquiry led me to teachers of the East, who understand the depths and power of the meditative mind. And it led me to teachers of the West, who understand the importance of aligning and harmonizing with the natural currents of life, and the motion of our Mother Earth. These teachers understand who we truly are underneath the BS of winners and losers.
I was beginning to learn a different description of reality that was about awakening from the dream of serving the beast. I began to appreciate life as a glorious invitation to serve the energy of our more authentic selves, or, more simply, of serving love over fear.
I now understand that we are born to serve love, which is really who we are below the surface crap of the modern world, below the fear of not having. This type of service is worthy of our attention!
Mystics, wisdom teachers, poets, and outlaws from many different traditions spanning time and space have painted, sang, written, danced, and otherwise gestured towards these evolved descriptions of life, of service to love and awakening. And so many of us are embodying their teachings today. Whether it be going to a yoga or meditation class, learning ecstatic dance, Earth-based ritual, or martial arts or whatever we do. Our numbers are on the rise! And this is good news.
I am truly grateful to live in these exciting times, where transcending the BS of winners and losers is becoming a movement of sorts, an undeclared revolution of the spirit that is coming into its own. Now, for many of us, the game is becoming one of glorious emergence. We serve the love that is truly us and all of life! We are opening up to an infinite description of empowerment, instead of marching in mindless and fearful circles around someone else’s chairs. And this is very exciting indeed!
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Photo credit: Getty Images