Spirit and Lifestyles
Much anticipation has been generated over what changes in lifestyle, if any, will accompany the entry into the year 2000. Is there any foundation for this concern?
A look at Pythagorean numerology provides some information in this regard. As we turn the millenium, we will be numerologically changing from a thousand years which begin with the number "1" to a thousand years which begin with the number "2". This indicates a shift of attention from a millenium focused upon unity and the self (1) to that of one which focuses upon sharing and relating (2). On a more personal level, this points to a transition in experience from "I" and "mine" to "We" and "ours", from "my" family to "our" family, from "my" community to "our" community, from "my" company to "our" company.
We are right now at the cusp, some individuals, families, and groups at work places are already demonstrating such changes.
This column will be devoted to topics related to lifestyle changes in the light of this shift.
For this issue, we will begin with one of Khiron's articles which words the philosophy of holism reflected in our lifestyle.
Ava
Holistic Sociology
If the principles of Holistic Wellness are important in healthcare, they become critical when applied to our way of organizing ourselves into social structures ... for, while holistic health imbalances can destroy one person's physical wellbeing, an imbalance in human society at large can do the same for thousands (or millions) of people at once.
We all know of social "injustice" and most of us try to prevent and correct it if we can. From prejudices which can rob an entire racial, cultural or economic group of their self-respect and functionality within society, to "marketing strategies" designed to manipulate citizens into antisocial behaviors such as snobbery and greed, we are surrounded by social forces that can injure entire populations.
The great Holistic Philosopher Lao Tzu wrote in his famous treatise the Tao Te Ching many chapters dealing with sociology which we have yet to fully integrate into so-called "modern" societies. For instance, in one chapter, he wrote, 'human hunger is the result of overtaxation.' A truly holistic government would realize that only the over-ambitious earn more than is needed for their own simple comforts in life ... and (therefore) only they should be taxed at all!, for the more 'natural' and less 'greedy' whom we now call "the poor" cannot pay any taxes without removing food from their tables.
It may be thousands of years yet (though I hope we can speed-up the process by outspoken Holistic activism) before government as a social structure gets the point, and adopts holistic principles, voluntarily. Yet even before that time we can influence government by repeating such wisdoms as those of Master Lao, often and publicly
Ending social injustice on a regional or national level requires as does all other holistic "healing", a constant awareness of the basic LAW or PRINCIPLE upon which holism operates. Since we will need to refer back to it several times in this little discussion, let me repeat it here.
The Principle of Holism:
The condition of being "unified" into a functioning structure is a trait of any whole thing, which no "part" of it can rightly claim by itself alone. (and that includes Government, which sometimes thinks it can speak for the Whole even though it does not have the right!) The "whole" thus being greater than the sum of its parts; any "part" within it can know the totality around it only by functioning in unity with all other parts around it ... for it is Unity alone which defines the "whole."
Therefore:
Any apparent "dis-unity" within any whole thing is but a partial and in-complete view of the whole ... unless the whole can be seen to be losing functionality; In which case, functionality can be restored (if it can be restored) only by renewed unity between every "part" involved.
Applying this Principle to society at large, we see that everything that has the effect of creating an appearance of 'dis-unity' in society is literally a "social ill." That includes such ideas as "Us Versus Them" in political party-rhetoric, nationalistic bias in matters of international policy, and such antagonisms as racial, gender-preference and lifestyle. "Hate crimes" (including most of the wars of human history) grow out of such social imbalances. We certainly have our work ahead of us, if we hope to bring equality and genuine Functionality to such fields as Law, social policy and Government.
Holisitc Family
But, as the old saying has it, social justice or it's absence begins "at home!" It is in the actual home and family that human sociology has its roots and its most powerful potential for both good and harm. It takes no effort to see the Family as a "functioning structure" or Whole; composed of "parts" called individuals, yet clearly "greater than the sum of it's parts," every human house-hold or family-unit is as much a Whole as a human body is; it has a "life" and "health" just as clearly as each person within it has. And, that the Family is subject to holistic imbalances that can make or break the health and happiness of people for many generations into the future, all sociologists know all too well from experience.
But, though we can see the Family or Household as a living Whole, and see it's functionality or dis-functional aspects, it is not quite so easy to categorize the "parts" of the family or their "functional roles" within the Whole.
For instance, many people would tell us that a Family is composed of fixed "parts" called Mommy, Daddy and various Kids, each of which are expected to fit a specific "role" or function within the household. Wouldn't that be wonderful if it were that simple! But, clearly, it is NOT.
What is a "Daddy?" Former generations would have answered "the bread-winner," though today that is no longer true, for in most families, both parents earn the income for the Whole. Others have said that a Daddy is "the one who makes the decisions for the Family, or the authority figure... though it is clear that this too is a thing of the past. Most "functional" families reach group decisions by discussion. And yet others have said that a Daddy is The Strong One who fixes things and does the most physical of work for the home ... even though we all know that that too is an obsolete cliche.
A similar difficulty shrouds the "role" of Mommy in most families; and defining the "role" or functions of the children is a time-consuming part of every house's daily life... for children may have little "responsibility" in the family but they do largely determine whether the family functions smoothly or with constant and stressful tension.
Holistic Sociologists apply the principle of functionality to households,
and state simply that there is only one "type" of "role" in a family or
household; that being a person who gives and receives nurture. Such
an overview makes for a love-motivated and equality-based homelife, in
which the artificial roles of former generations are replaced by temporary
and skill-oriented "tasks" rather than fixed and inflexible Authority
Figures and obedient "Subjects."
In evaluating domestic and relationship stresses or dysfunctions, Holistic
Counselors use the general Principle mentioned earlier, to remind
families and members of a relationship that the WHOLE (in this case,
"our Family" or "our Partnership") is greater than the sum of its
parts ... the unity felt between the members is that binding-force which creates
that 'security-blanket' feeling which gives us domestic happiness; and no single
"part" of that Whole can rightly claim it as their own (for no part can really "direct"
the whole, only UNITY can do that.)
In evaluating the wellbeing or functionality of our households and families, the principles
of Holistic Sociology give us all a tool by which to measure and make adjustments in our relating.
When communications break-down and we need professional help in restoring that "security-blanket"
which the happy home is for our species, the holistically-trained counselor or therapist acts as an
"arbitrator" or referee rather than an "authority" on family-relating. Holists know that of the few
"laws" that apply to human relating, equal nurture for all "parts" of the whole, to retain unity is
about all we have to go on. All else is but a temporary "working agreement" about who
does what and when, to keep the structure functioning.
Perhaps, if we can somehow restore truly happy functionality to our homes and family-life throughout the community we live in, we can then have the peace-of-mind and free time it will take in order to turn our attention to the larger "family" of mankind at large ... and do for the World what equal nurture for all has done for our own homes.
Read about Family Identity
Khiron is the Ascended Master of Spirit-21
