Journal of a Psychological Citizen

We see the one in the many,
The many in the one,
And the one itself.

Allow me to explain the uses of this quote. I will use thought as the example. However, any concept can be used in place of the one.

We see the thought in the many,
The many who use the thought,
And the thought itself.

Imagine you live in a world of concepts. In this world, evil is just one concept among many. Evil’s only power is in the imaginations, interpretations, propagations; and, unfortunately, the actions of people. As with any concept, however, the closer one gets to it—the more one focuses on it—the larger it becomes. One begins to see the concepts he or she has related to it. As a person enters the concept, it can seem to encompass his or her entire perspective. Everything he or she views while enmeshed in a concept can be as if viewed through tinted glass. I do not want the concept of evil to overshadow the theme of this journal. Love and Reason are central to the theme.

I am human. You are human.
This is our bond.

I will not be bound by unreasonable concepts.
I will be Free!
The thought will never drain from me in anything but death.
So long as I live and breath, I will think.

Here on the Internet, if nowhere else, a person can sing his or her song for the whole World to hear.

Life is the greatest Gift I can imagine—in any form.

The Evolution of Thought

Religion, psychology, philosophy, business, natural science, and so forth are all ways of thinking—concepts. The Holy Bible and other religious texts, for example, began with a sense. It was not a sense isolated to one life form. It is a sense that all of (1AI)Life feels.
As time and evolution allowed, that sense became a thought. And the life form that came to be called human began to express thoughts of the Creator with senses, gestures and sounds, symbols, pictures, word of mouth, writing, music, and so forth. The expressions were passed on from generation to generation...
People came to sense, see, hear, read, and comprehend the expressions that evolved from thoughts of the Creator. They came to understand what had been done and, therefore, knew what they must do—walk the path. As each person walks the path, it becomes more developed. They add their own insights and discoveries as they walk along.
Imagine the first human being to realize he or she had the power of reason. What an amazing concept that must have been—a concept for which the implications have not yet been fully realized. With the power of human reason, a person can use philosophical, psychological, scientific, and religious reasoning's to draw realistic perceptions of the times in which he or she actually lives. Through time and the evolution of thought, people have furthered many of the paths we walk today.
With all things we are interested in, we seek to make them come alive. We like to feel the things we do. We breathe life into the things we do. The fact that thought evolves at a considerably faster rate than physical forms do makes it possible to trace the evolution of thought through the span of ones lifetime—within ones self—beyond a reasonable doubt.

Creation and Evolution: Hand in Hand

There is no answer offering scientific evidence that a higher power even exists. However, it is hard for me to ignore the circumstantial evidence of a higher power guiding the forces of evolution on some as yet undiscovered, and perhaps undiscoverable, level. I ‘sense’ the force that created and guides Existence. I call the force the Creator. The Creator knows every step every life form has taken from the very beginning—and beyond. The proof of the force that guides Existence is all around us. In fact, it is in our very genes...
We have too much in common with other life forms on this planet not to be related to them. Deviation of species, for example, is not an occurrence isolated to human beings of different geographical locations. Live birth and breast-feeding are not traits unique to humans alone. All life forms intake energy and expel waste. Though I can understand humans better than any other life form I have encountered, we are not the only life forms that can communicate.
I write this in an attempt to express the sense of the higher power and that all is related through the higher power. Anything a person can write about the Creator is, at best, incomplete. And, at worst, manipulative...
The sense of the Creator and my respect for all Life as a result of that sense has lead me to question the path of knowledge that deals with the divine being—religion. I question Christianity because it is the religion I am most familiar with. If I were familiar with any other religion, I would be questioning it, as well.
It need be reflected upon that we should be thankful for all we know and have to the labors and songs of Life. Most importantly, we should be thankful to the Creator for Life. Life is the Gift. Everything else is a part of it…

The truth is not always obvious. As the history of science can surely point out to those who study it, many truths must be discovered by means we do not currently possess. I can tell you there are microscopic life forms in the water you drink, but without a microscope, I can't prove it. Don't you think that people ‘sensed’ there was something in the water before there was an available means to prove it?
It is my belief the Creator permeates every aspect of Existence (every cell of every being), so when I look upon any living form or inanimate object, it is not hard for me to imagine the Creator looking back at me.

Questioning Christianity

A child’s mind is like a blank page with trust and love written between the lines. Humans are (2AI)natural born believers. However, it takes quite the spin of sophistry to keep a person bound to unreasonable concepts. As a youth, I made tentative allowance that the ‘preachers’ were telling the truth, yet I had doubts. The preachers would come to say I was formed of dust. The would come to tell me I was a sinner and must be baptized in Jesus’ blood to redeem something that was never lost. They belittled the Gift the Creator gives with their words. They spoke to shame and drive me to sin!
Now, I see why the preachers wanted to hammer the gospel into me at an early age. In a form of subversive nascent sublimation, they were implanting fear, shame, guilt, self-doubt, and so on into my emerging conscience so that it would mesh with all else I came to learn and imagine. They wanted me to be dependent upon the church for ‘salvation’ from those psychologically implanted concepts.
(As I considered this insight, a spider walked onto that page of my journal and spun a bit of web. In effect, they were spinning a web of deception in an attempt to bind me to that manipulative religion.)
As a result of such manipulation, I developed my own views on the Creator by seeking insights from other teachings of the higher power, praying, and looking within myself and the world around me. I soon came to realize all teachings speak of the same higher power. They are teachings written by people not unlike anyone else. Anything a person can write about the higher power is, at best, incomplete. And, at worst, manipulative...
Psychological manipulation predates writing itself. Yes, the ‘preachers’ are aware of what they do. Be that as it may, I hold little blame in my brothers and sisters for what they do as many hold a quasi-belief in what they preach. It is part of the psychological web spun in the Holy Bible (among other texts). They are persuaded to preach in the name of a manipulative version of the higher power. However, if I can do anything about it, I will not have my brothers and sisters continue to suffer under the doctrines of psychological manipulation.

It was Socrates, with his quest to know the truth and questioning of self-proclaimed wise men, that gave focus to my chaotic state of mind and started me on the path of truth in earnest. Though I did not fully understand why he presented himself to the courts and drank hemlock in Plato’s portrayal of his confession and execution when he could have easily left the city as his friends had urged him to do, until I read (3AI)The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom.

Original Sin

In the tale of Adam and Eve, by a serpent’s twisted tongue was all of humanity cursed to live in pain. Why did God place the being that was to become a serpent in the Garden and not warn Eve it would tempt her with the fruit of knowledge? Eve, being totally innocent and unaware of the devious ways of what we call evil, had no reason to disbelieve what the serpent told her. Evil, and the knowledge thereof, was present in the World before Adam and Eve were created.
The Bible’s God created the forces that caused Adam and Eve to sin. Following this concept through, I reasoned the Savior was sent to save humanity from God’s sin, not its own. If there is an original sin, it is God’s, not humanity’s. On the other hand, if the things we consider evil are simply acts within the laws of nature, then evil’s only power is in the imaginations, interpretations, propagations, and, unfortunately, the actions of people.

If you should falter, take truth by the hand.
Let truth be your guide.

What follows is scary stuff, so let us pray.

The Serenity Prayer
Creator grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

As I toured an exhibit at the Library, today, I saw bleeding men, newborn babies, and lamenting women. All of them very strong emotional appeals. With the addition of Jesus Christ, the Holy Bible has one of the strongest emotional appeals I have yet encountered. And it is used as such: Leaflets, posters, statues, word of mouth, and so on. All depicting a man profusely bleeding for the World...

“Jesus died on the Cross for you!”

“Look how I bleed for thee…”

Jesus died for my sins? What an amazing thing.
Now, what are my sins?
What is a sin?
Who am I?

I imagined a parent using the doctrines of psychological manipulation to subdue a child.

Though I have yet to read the Bible completely, I reject it entirely as an accurate portrayal of the Creator and the Creator’s relationship with Existence. In the Bible, humanity is judged as a whole. People who had not yet been born were already damned...
In the tale of Noah, the Bible’s God destroyed all that lived on the World by flood. He killed newborn babies, pregnant mothers—people who had never sinned.

Throughout the Bible, man’s vanity speaks for God. When God ‘speaks’ in the Bible, there is a corollary of humanity putting itself in God’s place, trying to bring order to what was never out of (4AI)order.
The Holy Bible is composed of 66 books that were compiled and modified over millennia. Many of the concepts presented in the Bible are variations on themes presented in earlier beliefs such as Buddhism, Taoism, Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, and Ancient Greek philosophy. Ambiguous versions of the wisdom of ages and the divine being are used to bind people to the religions that spring from the Bible. (5AI)The Holy Bible is an eclectic work.

I attended church services, today, at the Salvation Army.

As I flipped through the pages while the preacher was telling us the theme of that days sermon, which I only vaguely recall, I was pondering that the Bible must have some kind of story line. I know now that the story line I was looking for is a history of the Jewish people.
While following along in the chapters the preacher read from, I realized he was interpreting them to fit his speech. His message was one of reclaiming the good in Life. The preacher used the words written in the Bible as a moral, psychological grounds to stand on—a platform from which to speak.

If Jesus is the 'Son of Man' or 'Son of God', why did he not write the Holy Bible?
The Bible is the means by which people are to understand God, supposedly. Why was it not written by His only begotten Son?

If Jesus died for our sins, why must we die for the sins of others?
If God will destroy a human being, then why not the devil?

Questions aside, I have been moved and inspired by the portrayals of Jesus Christ as the loving Son of God who was sent from Heaven above to teach, be crucified, and raised from the dead so that we might have hope of salvation and eternal life by believing on him. Now, through reason, I see that Jesus Christ represents alleviation from despair and a manipulative version of the divine being.

Faith and Philosophy (Creator and Truth)

In my view, Jesus and Socrates epitomize two of our highest callings—Faith and Philosophy. Socrates in his earnest desire to know the truth and questioning of self-proclaimed wise men; and Jesus in his love, humility, and forgiveness, have had a profound effect on my way of thinking. These two martyrs are not the only ones to have sacrificed their lives for the common good and what they believed; yet, to me, they are inexorably linked in our quest for Freedom.
While reading a section of text in The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom under the heading “Tocqueville on Democratic Intellectual Life” about how Callicles ridicules Socrates for being unable to defend himself in Plato’s Gorgias, I recalled that Jesus too turned the other cheek and was tried and executed for what he believed. Neither Jesus nor Socrates wrote his own story. They both had disciples follow them around and record what they did and said. So firm were their beliefs that neither struck back when struck...
It crossed my mind that Socrates came before Jesus in history, so it is possible that Jesus was a quasi-Socrates. It is conceivable that a group of historically and philosophically inclined Jewish people adapted Greek philosophy to fit into their cultural dogma. The Bible is a historical, philosophical, psychologically faith based text with God and Jesus as the central characters of which prophetic psychologists are disciples—Jesus being the psychologically prophetic disciple 'Son of God'. One of the main themes of the Bible is sublimating the fear of evil, death, and damnation into the hope of ‘salvation’ and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Not only does Jesus promise eternal life, but he also makes it clear that no one can come to the Father except through him.
Christian biblical psychology conformed to the powers, conventions, and superstitions of the era—kings, slavery, natural disasters, and so on—while at the same time undermining the tyrannies of that era. In doing so, however, biblical psychologists invented a manipulative version of the divine being that formed a strand in the web of psychological manipulation. There is wisdom in the Holy Bible, yet it can be accounted for as wisdom drawn from the experience of living and observing the human condition.

The only thing that has changed since then is how we live and—what we know. All forms of knowledge are utilized to the ends of manipulation...
Just as Christian biblical psychology attempts to bind us to its manipulative versions of reality and the divine being, so too does Capitalist psychology attempt to bind us to its manipulative versions of reality and the human being. Whereas Christian psychology subdues instinctual drives(sexuality, aggression, selfishness, and so on) to its own manipulative ends, Capitalist psychology inflates the drives to its manipulative ends.
Capitalist psychology, which—for arguments sake—had a somewhat moral tutor in Christian psychology, has outgrown its tutor and shed its morals. Its savior is not a loving Jesus, but a cold-hearted dollar. Capitalist psychology utilizes the basest attributes of humanity because that is all its limited focus can handle. The bottom line is its main concern, not the evolution of humanity...

Capitalist Psychology

In The Closing of the American Mind under the heading “The Disciplines,” Allan Bloom states that the solid ground psychology stands on and its newer ideas are left open to questioning. I agree with that statement and just happen to have a few thoughts on the subject. Psychology, in America, was invented in a subversive manner to be used as a practical means in dispelling neuroses resulting from repressed sexuality, guilt, fear, and so on implanted by a manipulative religion—Christianity. And as a means to treat inflated sexuality, anxiety, doubt, depression, and so on, instilled by a Capitalist motivated society—America. The therapies actually used by psychologists, psychoanalysts and so on are insightful concepts based on the experience of living and observing the human condition. These concepts were already in use, in various forms, before modern psychology began to gather and incorporate them into its doctrines. In short, some insightful people invented manipulable ways, shrouded in subterfuge, to dispel and treat the neuroses and psychoses inherent in a psychologically manipulative society.

American media, education, business, psychology, and religion are, in large, tuned to psychological manipulation in the name of Capitalism. There is, in the practice of Capitalism, little or no regard for those it effects. Parents are in competition with a psychologically manipulative society for their kids’ attentions. Capitalist motivated society does not have the kids’ best interests at heart—to say the least.
It is my considered opinion that Capitalist Psychology and the Drug Industry walk hand in hand all the way to the bank with little or no concern for the suffering masses they’ve left in their wake. Today, psychology is creating the neuroses by which it maintains its fortunes backed by the Drug Industry. Its newer ideas—some of them, at least—are formulated in the name of Capitalism to mine gold from society. It spreads fabricated neuroses and the Drug Industry advertises the drugs to treat them.
Furthermore, people are pushed and pulled by religion and society—each having its own psychologically manipulative versions of reality—while trying to master their instinctual drives and come to terms with Life as it stands in our era. Some of our brothers and sisters going through the greatest struggles are labeled neurotic or psychotic, and forced to take drugs or be institutionalized before they can harness the power of their drives. This is a violation of Public health and trust that must be brought to an end—as soon as possible!!

In Search of Psychological Freedom

I am trying, though I know not how successfully, to expose and denounce psychological manipulation in a mind opening, motivational theme. Truth and love are central to the theme. Let us work together to develop this theme.
History can say what it will about Wars, but they have all been fought over manipulation. Manipulation is the problem we humans have with one another. The manipulations of our emotions, ideals, and sexuality are as much a part of society as mathematics.

Sisters and brothers, we are being psychologically manipulated by some of the most influential sources on the planet. This manipulation is interfering with three major areas in our well-being, our development, and our Freedom. The areas are Public health and trust, the evolution of thought, and the pursuit of happiness. I envision that many of the problems we face in society, today, will be self-correcting when the truth is known—openly—and we get to the serious business of ensuring Freedom. Brothers and sisters, we have allowed our vision to be clouded by lies for too long. Let us return to the truth. We are (6AI)Good People. We are natural born believers.
Capitalism has turned its awesome resources and corruptive influence against one of the last rich, open frontiers on the planet—American society. Modern media, business, psychology, religion, economics, and so forth have turned against the people in the name of Capitalism. All the underhanded tactics are, of course, backed up with highly questionable statistics and a hearty dose of psychologically fabricated reasoning. I am sure many broadcasts, articles, etc. to this effect will come to mind as we enter the subject...

KILLING IS NOT AN OPTION

Express yourself

When one of us makes it, we all make it.

  • If you wonder why so many good movements have come up short, you must point an accusing finger at the Capitalist leaning Media. In the book (7AI)Toxic Sludge Is Good For You!, authors John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, with the aid of many others, expertly explain how good movements have been brought to a halt and even seemingly turned in favor of the things they were against by the Public Relations Industry.

    Do you want gruesome details?

    I have heard a few reasons for this type of broadcasting.
    One such reason, “That’s what the Public wants.”
    It is said they air the gruesome details because the Public wants them.
    Well, I don’t. Do you?

    I don’t put the ‘news’ together and then tell the Public that’s what they want to see. I think the people should be given fair representation through news and news-related mass media. Criminals are the minority in society. Why are they given so much air-time?

    This is the reason that comes to mind—fear is a catalyst to psychological manipulation. That—and not spin—is the reasoning behind today’s broadcasting...

    We are all hurt when we see or hear of another being injured, but it is not a crime to feel compassion.
    The only criminals are the ones who cause the pain.

    Let us spare ourselves one shocking broadcast after another and exercise the power of Democracy in our civilized society. Here are a couple of examples of this power in action. (8AI)The Lion and Lamb Project: Curbing Adult-Rated Violence for Kids. Daphne White, founder of Lion and Lamb, states,
    “Lion and Lamb is a national grassroots initiative of parents, grandparents, teachers, counselors and others who care about children and want to work together to stop the marketing of violence to children…
    Television station licenses are a public trust. Licenses can be revoked if enough pressure is applied.”

    A form of psychological warfare is being used against us through Media—including the Press, today. The concepts of evil, abuse, violence, neglect, and so on are used to keep us in a state of mortification. Shocking incidents of this nature are regularly broadcast to keep the Public eye turned in against itself and off the underhanded tactics of Capitalism.
    Capitalism mines gold from societies. To do that it must cater to governments—until it can corrupt them, anyway...
    Everytime a government official gets snared in Capitalism’s manipulative web, the Capitalist leaning Media points the finger and yells, “Corruption!”
    Those who ‘think’ they are in power want the people to blame their governments while placing little or no blame on the true culprit—business as usual. It is obvious—both through underhanded tactics and dangerous products, including food and drugs—that Capitalism is in violation of Public health and trust!

    Sisters and brothers, lives are at stake here. We have allowed our vision to be clouded by lies for too long. Let us return to the truth and get to the serious business of ensuring Freedom.
    It takes a full day to live a life. We don’t need to be psychologically manipulated in the course of living it...

    “What you are watching,” I say, pointing to the Media “is professional manipulation.”

    The Press in only part of a TV network or radio station just as articles from the Associated Press are only part of a newspaper. When it appears I am denouncing the Press, don’t take it the wrong way. In many recent articles and broadcasts, journalists and reporters have touched upon psychological manipulation through Media, and they are not the only ones...

    The people of Palestine are as much my brothers and sisters as the people of any other nation. It is apparent that there are a violent few among them, but I’m sure they are the minority just as criminals are the minority in America…
    I noticed that the Palestinians are somewhat ‘Americanized’ in their attire from pictures I saw during the recent conflicts. Perhaps, their Media is as manipulative as ours.
    The pictures of young Palestinians rioting fits well into the latest psychological propaganda of placing blame squarely in the lap of human nature and using the young as primary examples. Media gets paid to keep the Public’s eye turned in upon itself and off the underhanded tactics of Capitalism.
    As with many news flashes I have encountered, there is really nothing you or I can do about it except ‘put it away.’ Media disseminates such messages to construct and maintain psychologically manipulative versions of reality. One of its purposes is to subtly shift blame from the true culprit—business as usual—to other sources (human nature, government, etc.). Having the concepts of evil, violence, and so forth fresh in my mind, sometimes causes them to mesh with other concepts as they come to the fore.
    Now, I see why many disturbing broadcasts are aired off-handedly just before, during, and/or after political and corporate exposures—subtly insinuating a paranoia of government and diverting attention from corporate corruption. They attempt to insinuate a state of despair when it comes to protecting ones self and family from the manipulators of society. It is not the people who are unwilling to make a positive change. It is Capitalism. Is it not a common occurence for some horrible calamity to suddenly consume the headlines when its underhanded tactics should be consuming the headlines and be the major Public concern? Not only is Capitalism unwilling to make a positive change, but it also utilizes a form of psychological warfare to maintain the status quo—business as usual.
    “Psychological warfare aims at destroying an enemy’s will to resist. It includes the use of propaganda(printed, broadcast, or in the form of films)…” Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.

    The presidential candidates touched upon such matters of concern in the Election 2000 debates. I read about it in an article entitled “Stressed out parents prompt promises on presidential campaign trail” written by Sandra Sobieraj for the Associated Press.
    “The presidential candidates promised to make government a tool for helping parents protect their children—from ‘cultural pollution’ in Gore’s words in Grand Rapids, or, as Bush put it in Royal Oak, from ‘popular culture that is sometimes an enemy of their children’s innocence.’”
    The article appeared in the Friday, October 6, 2000 edition of The Miami Herald. If memory serves, many medical studies have documented the fact that stress contributes to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. From what we have learned so far, Capitalism and its public voice—the Capitalist leaning media—do much in the way of contributing to some of the nation’s most serious health problems.

    Journal continued