Monthly Archives: May 2021

The human race is now engaged in a war of ideas. A cursory examination of this conflict emphasizes debates around COVID-19: lockdowns and the nullification of individual freedoms in the name of public health, or the opening of economies so people can get on with their lives. But the issue is much deeper than that, and literally involves how human societies in the future will be organized. The debate between centralization and decentralization is worldwide, and affects almost every human being on the planet.

In the West, the ideas of the nation state, sovereignty, and territorial integrity began in the 17th century with the signing of  the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended 80 years of war in Europe, and also involved a religious truce of sorts between the three main religions of that time: Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism (based on the doctrines of Martin Luther, which were essentially objections to the perceived corruption in the Catholic Church), and Calvinism. The Peace of Westphalia was the beginning of the modern era of nation states with distinct and protected cultural, religious, and/or political identities. The concept of territorial integrity and national sovereignty were born out of these negotiations almost 400 years ago. These ideas allowed for the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, just after World War II.

The 20th century saw the establishment of communist and fascist states, and a serious  challenge to the Westphalian system across the globe. Of course there have always been totalitarian states throughout human history, but as the population of earth rose from 2 billion in 1927 to 7 billion in 2011, centralization, authoritarianism, and centrally planned economies began to conflict with notions of individual rights, and societies such as constitutional republics that protect individual freedoms.

Those in favor of centralization argue that planned economies are vastly more efficient at moving goods and services, and are better able to utilize the talents of individuals in society for the common good. Those in favor of decentralization decry the squelching of human rights and individual freedoms, and argue that centralized societies inevitably become totalitarian, inhibit creativity, and are ruled by a privileged elite who use inflexible ideology to make people follow “the party line.” Those in favor of centralization counter that the inevitable evolution of free societies lead also to the establishment of wealthy elites who establish a modern-day privileged class and lord it over the people.

In the United States there is a lot of confusion about the political system we have. If you asked most citizens about this, they would say that the US is a democracy. On a very basic level, this is true. But the US is actually a constitutional republic. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights spell out explicitly what the government can and cannot do. The Bill of Rights guarantees individual rights for each citizen, and religious rights. The power of the central government is limited by the Constitution, and all powers not specifically granted to the central government are reserved to the states.

Here is what the 10th Amendment to the Constitution says:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

FindLaw says:

Passed by Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791, the Tenth Amendment is the last in the group of Constitutional Amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Unlike several of the other early amendments, it is quite brief – only one sentence. But that one sentence grants state governments all powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. However, as broad a grant as this seems, interpretation by the Supreme Court has placed some limits on state power.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is meant by "reserved powers?"

“Reserved powers” refers to powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment gives these powers to the states.

What is an example of a reserved power?

Reserved powers include running elections, creating marriage laws, and regulating schools.

Why are reserved powers important?

Reserving powers for state governments helps maintain a balance of power between the states and the federal government. They also allow states the freedom to try out different ideas and programs, which is why states are sometimes called laboratories of democracy.”

Furthermore, in  Fry v. United States, 421 U.S. 542, 547 n.7 (1975), the 10th Amendment expressly declares the constitutional policy that Congress may not exercise power in a fashion that impairs the States’ integrity or their ability to function effectively in a federal system."

"The Tenth Amendment: Reserving Power for the States," https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment10.html

Notice that the states are the laboratories of democracy, not the federal government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written precisely to limit the power of centralization by the British crown, or any dictator or group of totalitarians, such as modern-day fascists and communists.

The states run elections and have always run elections, not the federal government in DC. It’s why some states are now looking into the corruption surrounding the 2020 election. The power to examine elections and ballots can be done, legally, by the duly elected legislature of each state.

There is good reason to limit the power of the central government.

In a democracy, the majority can trample on the rights of minorities. The Electoral College, for example, was designed to protect the rights of less populated states from the rule of big states. Those who favor abolition of the Electoral College, or packing the Supreme Court, have, most likely, not studied the U.S. Constitution and the checks and balances it creates to keep a stable political system. The recent riots in dozens of American cities, with billions of dollars in property damage, is a taste of what can happen when mob rule takes over. Totalitarian societies are always centralized, and are always based in intolerance for other points of view.

Here in the US there is now a debate between a populist movement that favors a smaller government and a larger private sector, and those who favor the communist, centralized model of a huge central government that plans the lives of all citizens. Under the guise of “COVID Relief Bills,” the central government in Washington DC and the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, are literally printing trillions of dollars. Some businesses report that they cannot find employees because people are being “paid” more to stay home than going to work. Where this will lead is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain: money is not wealth. As long as the amount of currency and credit in circulation balances the goods and services produced by the economy, the currency is stable, inflation is low, and the economy has the opportunity to run well. Merely printing money without a concomitant increase in the production of goods and services must lead inevitably to inflation and the debasing of the currency, which adversely affects the poor, the class least able to withstand the onslaught of inflation. Inflating the currency has been tried (and it has failed) throughout history, from the Roman Empire to the U.S. colonies, who attempted to print scrip to fund the Revolutionary War against the British crown. No one would take this currency, which were just pieces of paper backed by nothing valuable.

A centralized economy would be able to print massive amounts of money, whereas a decentralized  economy with a smaller central government and a large private sector would never be able to get away with it.

In short, centralized governments can never plan for the billions of decisions made every day by citizens. Centralized planning inevitably results in prohibition on thought, speech, and action to suit the demands of those in power. This is why centralized, totalitarian societies have always failed.

Centralization of politics in the United States has led to the placing of barriers and barbed wire around the Capitol, as a privileged political ruling class tries to protect itself from the people it is supposed to govern. Here in the US, HR 1 and SB 1, under the guise of “election reform,” will take control of decentralized elections from the state legislatures and give it to a corrupt central government, allowing for the party in power to maintain its power indefinitely. These election laws will, of course (for it is the modus operandi of centralization) – be backed by the coercive power of the State, where authority (and military power to enforce diktats) is concentrated.

In conclusion, human societies thrive when they are supported by the rule of law, and by the guarantee of liberty and freedom of thought and expression, which leads to creativity and powerful economic opportunities.  Although some centralization is necessary for good planning and rational public policy, too much centralization will lead to a sterile, apathetic society ruled by a privileged few.

(Inspired by Marshall Vian Summers)

If your affection for God is restrained by your condemnation of the world, your affection towards other people will be restrained by your condemnation of their behavior. This is why you must consider your relationship with God before you consider any other relationship.”

Marshall Vian Summers

There are words of wisdom that affect everyone in the world today. The world is in trouble because so many of us have lost our divine connection. Indeed, the scientific materialism that is being pushed on the world encourages us every day to ignore our deeper connection. It says, “You are a meat body. You are your race and your gender. That is all you are.”

This “philosophy” treats human beings like apps, and generates separation, intolerance, and hatred.

The primary relationship of any person is their relationship to the Creator, for the Creator, with your agreement, put you in the world to accomplish your own particular mission. That mission may be very small, or great.

The scope of your mission in the world is irrelevant.

Many people think they are failures because they have not done something great. Consider the idea that God may not want you to do great things.  Your job may be simply to live quietly and let others see your unique imprint in the world (in order to do that you have to express yourself). In this way others might question their own role in the world, and how to accomplish it. In this way you influence others to look within and find a personal relationship with God.

Without this relationship a person will be confused, angry, intolerant, and/or dissatisfied.

 Only a very, very few people can do great things. That is because greatness is a very small subset in comparison with everything else. If everyone were “great,” then greatness is common.

Greatness isn’t defined by what you accomplish in life. That is an agenda. God doesn’t have an agenda, other than to transform the physical world into something resembling our Ancient Home, the place where all souls come from and will return.

Therefore, no matter what you do, look for the divine connection within yourself. This connection establishes a feeling of personal power and contentment, no matter how much you have or don’t have.

God Is Not Esoteric

God isn’t esoteric. Your relationship with God isn’t esoteric. It’s something vital and necessary for success in the world, for without it you constantly look outside to others for guidance, instead of finding the real satisfaction that comes from your soul mission.

Yet God is not an object or a physical body, and that’s a good thing. Objects and bodies are judged; even the most beautiful object or body is never perfect. Therefore it is not possible to have a perfect relationship with anything in the world. However, it is possible to have a perfect relationship with God, for our judgments of God, our limiting ideas about God, can’t stick. God is a Presence. Even though God may not be visible as a physical object, that Presence is all around you and in you all the time.

Therefore, it is much easier to have a relationship with the Creator than with anything in the world. Once even a tiny sliver of this relationship is established, life’s difficulties can resolve.

 A relationship with the Creator gives us purpose, for we then know our soul mission. Those who deny the Creator (and thus themselves, for the body is the physical representation of the soul) must create substitutes in order to have purpose in life. This is how we get agendas and strife, and conflict, for the essence of the Creator is harmony and cooperation.

Without the connection to the Presence, you substitute ideas about life. These ideas, of course, are not shared by everyone else. Therefore there is conflict, for there is the impulse to make others conform to your ideas. This results in creating a sort of prison around others, for you cannot be happy unless they conform to your ideas about how the world should be. This causes   personal anger, for others seem stupid in comparison to your personal box of beliefs. They just don’t “get it.” If carried far enough, this may result in rioting in the streets and discord on social media!

Acting without at least a minimal connection to the Creator creates a prison around others, and around yourself.

Everyone Has a Different Life Purpose

How can you know your soul mission (or anything about yourself) without a connection to the Creator? The life mission may be very, very different for each person.

There are many large-souled persons on this planet with great wisdom, and who act in accordance with God. Some of these people may seem brusque or even confrontational, but in a world of low consciousness, sometimes this is needed. I try not to confuse antagonism necessarily with bad behavior. When one confronts evil, for example, one may need to exercise physical force.  Those who can do this successfully are almost always even-tempered and are acting from a very strong connection to God. These people are blessed indeed, and their strong purpose is easily seen. Their centered-ness is obvious, they exude great power. These are people who have found a strong soul connection to the Creator. These are the spiritual warriors.

One of the characters in my new book, a former Special Forces member and mercenary, is arguing with a young woman after he killed Lucas Cernovitz, a man who was running a child trafficking network.

“Killing blackens your soul,” the woman insists.

Ralph shakes his head. “A warrior knows that life is temporary, and is unafraid to die. Me and Cernovitz understood that; we played a game and he lost. We are all warriors, it’s just that almost no one understands this.”

The Ralph character is saying that the physical experience is just a game. We all go back Home when we die. Even mass murderers. “What happens on earth stays on earth.” Everyone goes back to the Creator because the Game is rigged so that all endings are happy endings. All souls return to God. All of them, without exception. When the chess piece gets killed in the game it is removed from the board. When a new game starts it is placed back on the board for a fresh start.

In chess, is the opposing king evil? Are the most powerful pieces on the other side of the board more evil in proportion to their power to act? Or, perhaps, are they there to facilitate the game being played?

Conflict is just a misunderstanding: We need opponents to grow in experience and wisdom. Your opponent isn’t your enemy, he or she is simply another player in the Game of Life who may, temporarily, have a different agenda than you do (I tell myself this all the time because it isn’t easy for me to do this), and who is there to teach you something. Conflict arises when we assign the other pieces on the board an evil aspect. There is enough true evil in the world without making more!

It doesn’t work out well in the physical universe when angry people try to solve the world’s problems. These people simply create confusion. Pointless killing and chaos is the result when people who have no connection to God try to solve problems.

We Are All Spiritual Warriors

The true spiritual warrior may be required to confront evil, but does so with a purpose and keeps his or her head. They always create a result that is accepted by almost everyone, even if violence is necessary. In other words, the situation is calmed when they are done. There are very few of these people in the world because this is an almost impossible task. They are the great ones, the spiritual warriors. They are instantly recognizable by their connection to God. Inside, they are peaceful.

Not all of us can be Ghandi’s. Even Christ physically threw the money changers out of the temple. “This house is a house of prayer, you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Yeah, Christ said, get the fuck out. Success depends on how centered and peaceful you are inside.  I imagine that when Christ threw out the money-grubbers, he did so in a centered manner, not in an out-of-control way.

Sananda was not a chanting weakling. He was a healer, but also a man prepared to confront anything in the physical universe. (I’m not personally capable of doing that, but I don’t criticize others who do, as long as I see that connection to God. In order to see that connection, you have to be connected yourself.)

Today’s metaphysics focuses exclusively on passive peace and love. There’s definitely a place for that, but there’s also a place for the spiritual warrior.

The point is that everyone has a different soul mission. This can only be understood by people who themselves have a connection to God. And by connection to God I don’t mean, “There is only one way to redemption/enlightenment and that is (place dogma here).”

The World Is a Place to Work

There is a difference between the soul’s home in the One consciousness and the physical world. The Home of the soul is a place of being. The world is a place of doing and action. Yet  one of the purposes of a physical incarnation is to bring the Presence of God into the world. This can only be done through a state of Being. Only a person who has this connection can do that. Fortunately, it’s easy to recognize the connection to God. God is pure affinity and a sense of belonging and inclusiveness that feels RIGHT. When you feel like that you are contacting the Presence of God, which is embedded directly into your DNA.

So – it seems counter-intuitive, but the most important relationship for an individual is the relationship to God, for every individual on earth – even people we don’t like – is a piece of God. The Presence of God is the common denominator of all human beings.

You Are Here on Purpose

You are in the world exactly where you are supposed to be. Your birth was not an accident: God didn’t randomly shove you into your body.  You are not a victim of your birth.

A materialist will never understand this, of course, because a materialist is subtly oriented toward victimization. His or her birth is random, a shaking of the cosmic dice; it is a thing to be carped at and criticized if one is born the wrong gender, or in poverty, or in a place where injustice prevails.

Back Home, before you came here, you chose your parents, you chose your place of birth, you came in with a soul mission to help the world.

The world is not a place that is set up to satisfy your every desire and idea about how things should work. The world is a place that allows 8 billion people to have free will. The world needs your help, but it isn’t waiting for you to change it. It’s waiting for you to be the change you desire for the world. 

And finally, consider the idea that what you have to share isn’t for everyone. If your creative project is going nowhere, perhaps you have not yet found the correct audience for it. It is never a good idea to present ideas to a group that is hostile to them, for you will merely engage in conflict, stir up emotions, and not convince anyone. And in the process, your personal creativity will be squelched. When you have found the correct audience – those people God has sent you here to teach – what you have to offer will be examined without screaming and yelling! Oh, there may be plenty of disagreement, but this should be welcomed, for those who need your ideas may be off on the wrong path and looking for your guidance.

When you have found the right audience you will not be met with hostility, but with curiosity and the expectation that what you have to offer will fill a need for them.