> Any thoughts? Any person who can affix a name like "liberal" or "conservative" to his or her beliefs -- be they political, social, or spiritual -- is not worth paying any attention to whatsoever.
On another level, you must not have spent much time in California if you think it's a liberal bastion. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "seekliberation" <seekliberation@...> wrote: > > After reading an article about California banning Yoga in schools, it made me > think about liberalism in America and where it really stands on the subject > of spirituality and development of consciousness. I always thought that of > all states and all locations in America, the first one to welcome any form of > Yoga, Meditation, and any other form of progressive teaching into its > education or government programs, California would definitely be the first. > The last element of our society that would promote such teachings would > clearly be the ignorant, conservative, gun-toting military. Especially the > Marine Corps, which attracts an exceedingly high percentage of conservatives. > However, much to my surprise, in the last decade the entire US military has > begun to make Yoga mandatory in its exercise program to include the Navy > Seals, Marine Spec Ops units, the entire Army and many other units. > Moreover, the Marine Corps just recently made meditation (not TM, but > mindfulness meditation) a required portion of any Marine trying out for the > Marine Corp's Special Operations Command. So essentially, it's the exact > opposite of what anyone following spirituality in modern America would > expect. The people liberals tend to hate the most (anyone from a disciplined > or structured element of society) seem to be embracing eastern teachings more > rapidly than groups that are predominantly liberal. In fact, my experience > with people in the military is that they tend to be more open minded towards > those types of teachings than a lot of liberal minded people I know. > > This brings me to a conclusion about liberals. I think they fall into > different categories. You have some of the new-age spiritual types, like the > ones who I remember from my days in Fairfield. Yes, they are all open-minded > towards many controversial subjects such as gay marriage, and their views on > economics leans towards socialism. But their inquisitive nature regarding > spirituality indicates to me that they actually are an evolving culture in > many ways. But then you have the other type of liberal. The purely atheist > type like Bill Maher or Janeane Garafalo. They are likely to have the same > social and economic views as the new-age spiritual type of liberal, but they > are vehemently against spirituality and religion. This results in a > resistance to any form of spirituality, and I can assure you that TM won't be > welcome by such people, regardless of what scientific evidence you spew at > them. In fact, I believe it is the scientific evidence that is guiding the > military to embrace such teachings because it is logical and it works. > Regarding liberals, I am beginning to believe that most liberals in the media > and public spectrum fall in this category of people who are pre-dispositioned > against spiritual and religious teachings. > > I think liberalism is leading us more and more towards atheism rather than > faith in anything beyond what the 5 senses can percieve. I watch Bill Maher > and other liberal shows often enough to know that they are representatives of > a growing attitude throughout the country. And if you think about it, > gravitating away from spirituality and religion is a must. I think it is > sub-consciousness. We simply can't have a set of socio-economic moral > guidelines anywhere in our society if we are going to behave in a > socio-economically immoral manner. Regardless of how wrong or negative > anyone's policies are, nobody wants to be wrong. Not even Hitler wanted to > be wrong. If you read the translations of many of his speeches, they weren't > maniacal, they were inspiring to a society that needed inspiration during > hard times. He had logic that supported his decisions and actions. But to > support the decisions and actions that Americans are currently disposed > towards, and to feel right about it, the first step is to remove any > teachings that provide moral guidelines that contradict the direction you > want to move in. Hence, we must remove spirituality and religion from our > society. Just watch Bill Maher or other popular liberal spokespersons and > their attitude towards religion. They don't just point out that there are a > lot of nutcases out there, they try to completely discredit every single > religion. Sort of like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You never > see them attacking someone like Alan Watts or Eckhart Tolle. They simply > expose only the weirdos, and ingores the geniuses. > > This is not in any way to say conservatives are right and liberals are wrong. > I know many conservatives who are very ignorant about many things. I also > know many people who believe deeply in Republican/Conservative politics but > then they turn around and live a liberal lifestyle that is devoid of any > personal responsibility. Hence, they are liberals in their actions and > conservative in their minds. And many liberals I know, both the atheist and > spiritual type are some of the most remarkable people I've ever met. But I > still contend that the atheist type of liberal demographic is growing faster > and is more publicly dominant in the media. Personally, this is not a > direction I think is going to lead us anywhere more positive in terms of > neither development of consciousness or materialism. It's weak on both ends > of the spectrum. > > Any thoughts? > > seekliberation >
