Ideologism – The unconscious belief that our beliefs will “save” us. I think there is a link between ideologism, and both self-repression and oppression of others. To initiate violence in any way to ourselves or others, we need to have a reason, a very good reason. People in general are not comfortable with hurting themselves or others; to get people to do unnatural, harmful acts, we need to convince them there is a very good reason, usually wrapped up in a moralism or a should. Without such moralistic behavior and dogma, you couldn’t get people to go off to war and kill strangers. Or harm members of our own families. So how do we get rid of repression, oppression and violence? By cultivating our own personal power and integrity. When we cultivate our integrity we are developing our capacity to make choices for ourselves with reference to others. We are paying attention to ourselves and others…paying attention to people, not ideas. This enables us to perceive ourselves and make distinctions and discernments. It also builds trust which is an antidote to fear. So empowered people of high integrity are far less likely to fall under the sway of any type of ideology. An ideology is really a system of belief that proposes that experiences and phenomena can be reduced simplistically and that system of beliefs can be substituted for discernment and choice. Ideologies promulgate solutions that are required for a moral response. Ideologies are based on shoulds, of how the world should be, of how we should act. It doesn’t matter much to me where the ideologies lie on the political spectrum. Any ideology, a system of belief that substitutes ideas for individual consciousness, is a barrier in the way of the development of an empowered, compassionate person. This is not to say there should be no rules or boundaries but that we not lose sight of the purpose of the rules and boundaries…to serve people, the planet and other beings, and not to maintain an ideology.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:34:00 +0000
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