Story 6 - Shared Roses.
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Story 6 - Shared Roses.

      I explained to Sylvia that ever since my experience during the killing spree in Cambodia, that I had barely escaped, the idea emerged that the good of humanity cannot be divided and isolated. "If there is to be good in the world, it has to be universal," I said. "Cambodia blew up in response to western looting. When a people are forced into misery, invariably some mad 'Savior' will come along with a promise for a better world at the barrel of the gun. But things get worse. You cannot create good through violence. But that is what we have nuclear bombs for. Nothing good will come from them. Everything that I see happening tells me that there is a principle operating in the universe that takes us the other way, that is expressed in the universal unity of good. Our country was built on that, but as soon as the religion of greed forced society into what became a mad privatization rage to divide the indivisible into private hands, the catastrophic consequences began. Just look at what happened. We had built up the richest economy in the world on that principle that was revived by Franklin Roosevelt. Now we are the biggest debtor in the world, and everything that we have is falling apart bit by bit. We have even embraced the privatization of power, imperial power, and are in the fast track of moving away from building a world on the platform of a community of principle. That's why we have nuclear weapons by the tens of thousands. But should we be surprised by this? No! We have embraced the privatization of good for countless centuries, with the privatization of sex, which forced the whole of humanity into isolation from one another."
      I suggested that this type of privatization that isolates the good of humanity from humanity, render human life cheap and increasingly expendable as we have already seen. "But how can we reverse this trend if we remain ourselves more deeply isolated from one another and from our universal humanity, at the very grassroots level of our humanity? How can we uplift the world while remain to be the champions of a commitment in the opposite direction? This paradox in the paradox that our own fight at this very moment is all about, Sylvia. That's what we are fighting over. That's what is dividing us. However, if we really dare to look at our division honestly, we will find that there is nothing there. Even what appears to divide us is miniscule in scope; and it's all artificial. In contrast to that, what is uniting us and the whole of humanity as human beings, is profound, tangible, and totally real and natural."
       I explained that humanity is generally seen as if it were a vast sea of countless isolated little souls and spirits thrown into a grand melting pot, all fighting one another. "That is what we are told throughout the ages," I said quietly, "but that is a lie. We have been living a lie. Everything that I see and even experience at times, is that humanity is one, that we are bound together by a single humanity that all human beings reflect; that we universally share. We have been taught for countless ages to deny this reality, to deny ourselves, our own humanity. As far as I can tell, all the good in the world unfolds from our humanity; which he share; which is wide, profound, and rich in countless ways; a universal good in every respect. Yet we deny this. We chop it up. We privatize it. We make the good of our humanity small, as small as we can possibly make it. We have even privatized ourselves. That, essentially, is what we are fighting over right now. We have become locked into the small universe of privatization, and I am saying we should step away from that and embrace the real nature of good which cannot exist in the small. We are fighting each other right now over the privatization of our sex, our love, even our humanity, which are by their very principle indivisible. I am saying we should stop that small-minded thinking. I am serious when I am saying that we have been living a lie, because the divine Principle of the universality of Good doesn't support the privatization rage that we've become drawn into, nor does it support any other form of the privatization of Good. What we've been doing amounts to nothing less than an attempt to privatize God. That is why the world is in such a mess, Sylvia."

      I was surprised to see Sylvia reaction to my long-winded speech. She didn't shake her head or start another big argument. She actually nodded a few times. She merely asked at the end if I realized that I just violated every religion in the universe. "There isn't a religion in the world that doesn't preach the sanctity of the human marriage bond that you just invalidated," she added.
      "I didn't invalidate the human marriage bond," I said. "I have proposed to make it more substantial. I have invalidated the incredible smallness of it. The religions have reduced the human bond to the smallest possible form. Yes, I invalidated that. One can't create a smaller union than a union of two. The religions have built a huge privatization scheme around this smallness, and that has divided the whole of humanity. I am saying, let's step away from this self-isolation. I am saying that all good is universal. We must acknowledge this reality in our life, because its divine Principle is a universal principle. We cannot privatize its manifestation. Any attempt to do this is a denial of the universality of the divine Principle itself. This Principle has to be a divine Principle, even the most profound divine Principle there is, because all good is rooted in our universal humanity. We need to acknowledge this universality and the corresponding unity of all that is good. I say that a denial of the universal unity of good is paramount to a denial of the Principle of God. So, I say, to hell with religion. Let's face reality. Let's interface with the reality that we can see manifested if we are daring enough to face it and to step away from the smallness in our thinking."
      Sylvia just shook her head, but she smiled as did so. It was beautiful to see this smile unfolding.
      "There isn't as single Christian religion in the universe that I am aware of," I said to Sylvia, "that acknowledges the divine Principle of the universal unity of good, notwithstanding that this is the very substance of the Christ. Christ Jesus called himself the son of God and the son of man, in the same breath at it were." I suggested that he couldn't have illustrated the divine Principle of the universal unity of Good in a more profound manner. "If the religions want to spit into face of this Principle by denying its very existence," I said to Sylvia, "that's their problem. My responsibility as a human being is to step away from this denial as quickly as possible, that has encumbered the whole of humanity for centuries and led us into wars and destruction. We need to do this before we destroy our world and ourselves with our time honored privatization of wealth and power. We have to get away from international speculation and looting, and from nuclear bombs. We have to built a new foundation for living that is founded on something real. We had attempted to do this in East Germany; to explore what this involves. A few alert scientists whom I met there had courageously thrown away all the small-minded concepts concerning the love that binds us together as human beings. They also dared to invite me to join their project of stepping away from our ages-old small-minded concepts of life and love. I am more than grateful that they invited me, because I could see that their exploration opened up a bright new hope for humanity that is absolutely profound."
      "Except what you are telling me changes everything fundamentally, down to the deepest level," said Sylvia.
      "That's precisely the point," I replied, "because we've been wrong about almost everything, especially at a very deep levels. That is why the world is in such a mess. We have been living by the script of a religion that involves a total denial of the principles of reality in many respects, that has become even a denial of the face of God."
      "You are making big accusations, Peter," Sylvia interrupted me.
      "No, I am not making any accusation," I replied. "I am making verifiable observations. The religions say that God exists at a great distance above us as divine Being that no one can see or has ever seen, but whom we have to bow to. I am saying to them, if you want to see God, look into the mirror. What do you see? You see a humanity with an incredible Mind that has a near infinite range. There's your evidence of God. God is Mind, and this divine Mind is our Mind. What else do you see? You see an incredible Spirit in humanity. We have become creators of our world. We wouldn't exist without it. I say that this divine Spirit is God, and that it is also our Spirit. Furthermore, I see a profound and beautiful Soul in our humanity. That divine Soul is God, which is our universal Soul."
      I noticed Sylvia smiling again. The tensions seemed to have faded away.
      "Sylvia so I can go on and on with this, all the way down the line. I say that universal divine Love is not some mysterious divine smile upon humanity. It divinity is rooted within us. Divine Love is our Love, universal Love. I think we are sadly mistaken if we look for a lower form of Love as we do, which we will never find. Likewise, I say that God is Life, and this divine Life, is our Life. God also is Truth. The religions say that humanity has no part in that God that is Truth. I say that this Truth is our Truth. It is the reality of our being that we can acknowledge. I say that there is a great Truth in the universe which cannot be divided and privatized, which comes to light in the unity of all good, reflected in the unity of our humanity, manifest as a single, indivisible, all-embracing, universal marriage."
      I paused and continued quietly, "I am inviting you to be enormously daring, Sylvia. I am inviting you to embrace with me this larger sphere of good that reflects the Principle of the universal unity of Good that the whole world is denying. I am proposing to you that this where all true good will ultimately be found, rather than in our private isolation from it."
      Sylvia raised her hand, as if to object.
      "I am not saying that this daring step away from our small world won't involve great challenges," I answered her, as if to oppose her objection. "I am saying to you, however, that humanity cannot afford to wait until it drifts gradually into this sphere through social evolution. The world has changed with the globalization of power and nuclear weaponry. We won't survive long enough on our present privatization platforms for social evolution to rescue us. We have to change gears and utilize our human resources to accomplish this change voluntaristically. The bottomed like is, humanity needs pioneers like us desperately, who will expose that higher platform on which we can all survive and prosper. The best thing, though, is, that this is a beautiful project to engage in, as it brings to light an incredibly rich world. That is why I am bringing this invitation as present to you, because there is a great deal of good in it which we have so far been denying ourselves."

      I knew I was asking a lot of her to accept that, but I had to be honest in order to help her. It didn't seem fair to ask just a little, and then a little more, and a little more after that. The case had to be stated fully and clearly. There was no going back. The back-door was closed.
      "Let me illustrate what this world is like that we need to get away from," I continued, since she didn't react to what I had said. "We live in a world that is devoted to lies. We live in a world in which no one has for a long time demanded any type of irrefutable proof of whatever it is that we have built our life on. Everything is taken on faith; faith in traditions, faith in ancient axioms, faith in ideologies and religious dogmas that no one can deliver any proof of. It has been like that for centuries, and it is now getting rapidly worse. There is no truthfulness in almost anything anymore that we have devoted out life to, as far as I can tell, because everything is falling apart and nuclear war looms at the horizon. We shouldn't really be surprised at this, should we? Because, when everything is taken on faith, humanity leaves itself open to be spoon-fed with a diet of lies which have been custom tailored for the purpose of looting and dominating society. And in order to make the lies stick, whatever of our humanity still remains in our life has been reduced to the absolute lowest possible denominator so that any notion of universal principles is driven far out of sight. That's what I say we should be stepping away from as quickly and as radically as possible, because it is destroying our world."
      I conveyed to her the shock that I had experienced recently in a book store at the airport, before leaving for Russia. An entire section in that store had been devoted to books for "Dummies" - devoted to a world of lost souls that sees itself devoid of the most basic element of our humanity. There, in these books, advertised for dummies, the most intricate elements of our world had been watered down to nothing more than baby talk with simplistic illustrations that even "Dummies" can understand, as the titles suggest. I counted 243 titles of books for "Dummies." I was told that there were more available. I was told that the hot titles were, "Car Buying for Dummies," "Parenting for Dummies," "Classical Music for Dummies," "Dating for Dummies," "Sex for Dummies,"  even "Gourmet Cooking for Dummies," and of course, "The Universe for Dummies." I told Sylvia that the only titles that I didn't find was "How to Love in Three Easy Steps," or "Open Heart Surgery Made Simple." I suggested that those titles may be next year's addition. I also suggested that this explosive appeal to ignorance has become a dehumanizing disease that needs to be healed.
      I had to laugh before I continued. "Did you realize, Sylvia, that the first book on how to love in three easy steps had actually already been published many ages ago. Everyone has memorized it: Get married. Have sex. Raise children. That's 'Living for Dummies,'" I said to her, "all wrapped up with detailed instructions on related emotions, relationships, boundaries, duties, penalties, condensed into three easy lessons covering a half a page each, prepared for people with small memories; period. Tragically, this is still being preached from every pulpit. My question is, do we really want to spend our entire life at this primitive level?"
      I suggested to her that we have already done this far too long already. "But the books for 'Dummies' are wrong," I said to her. "Love isn't found at this level. That is not its native divine domain. I would rather say that Love is found in what Carl Friedrich Gauss - Germany's top genius of the early 19th Century - calls the 'complex domain.' The complex domain is the domain of universal principles, the domain where we see with the mind the substance of the higher level principles of the universe that the eyes cannot behold, because their perceptual range is too limited. Our ability to live in the complex domain, is what defines us as human beings. That's what sets us apart from the world of animals and any other form of life. A goat has no concept of principles. A rat can't see the beauty of a rose. Love is something unique to humanity that unfolds in the complex domain. It's not an emotion. It's not animalistic instinct. It's not something that we can even get away from even if we try. If we are honest with ourselves, we will find it always knocking at our door in countless different ways, manifesting it's infinite, universal Principle. That's the universe that we should be exploring together, Sylvia, rather than the 'Universe for Dummies' that is already disintegrating anyway, that one day will cease to exist. So what about it? What do you say?"
      "That's a big step, Peter," Sylvia answered quietly.
      "No, Sylvia, that's a huge step into a hugely wide world filled with wonders and challenges that we may have never even dreamed of before, and proofs of Principle that no one had dared to imagine yet as possible. That's what it really means to be human, isn't it?. If we can't manage to become human in real terms," I said to her, "and manage to step beyond the confines of our little enclaves in which we keep hiding from reality - if we can't manage to cherish one another on an ever wider scale, and enrich one another in this same context, on an ever wider scale - then we will loose whatever little we have left of our civilization, which is already collapsing. That's what the real issue is, Sylvia. The issue is to uplift ourselves into the real world, to a higher level of thinking. The issue is to life in the complex domain where our humanity is truly anchored, where Good IS our substance and Love is our life. That's the issue. That's the only issue."
       I said this to her with tears forming in my eyes for the agony of having to be that deep reaching, and that blunt. "There is no other issue," I said to her, speaking ever more bluntly now. "Everything falls in behind that one issue and becomes a part of it. The fight that is involved here; the battles that must be fought, and they must be fought mostly within ourselves, must be won, regardless of how nice our tightly enclosed marriages are, or were, or appear to be. We have no other option but to step up from there to a higher level and a brighter and riche world that has never been reached in all of human history. It's been done philosophically, but we have failed to translate it into life. It's been tried politically, but we have never made it a foundation for living, for which the brightest Renaissance failed. To fail now, in achieving what must be achieved, involves potentially the greatest tragedy of all times. Those battles that need to be fought to get us to this higher level where these tragedies can no longer occur, must be won. They must be won, Sylvia, no matter what it will cost us in honest efforts. The cost must be born. If we are not willing to do this, we have already lost, and all the petty little nice things we do for each other in our isolated private enclaves become meaningless thereby."

      I paused. Something was still missing. One factor was still missing, a factor that elevates the whole range of concern to that higher level. Something that moves us imperatively. Something was spiritually lacking.
      "There is only one demand on us that is greater than this," I added. "This demand is the imperative of the Principle of universal Love, reflecting the universal unity of Good itself. It stands above all. It comes in the form of a privilege to build for ourselves that bright new world that we require to survive. It stands before us not as a force, but as an open door. Even if our world wasn't in danger, the development of this new world of universal Principle would still be the right path to pursue, because it offers everything we ever wanted and could want, and still more, being rich with surprises. Could anyone ask for more than the development of boundless, universal Love? Universal Love should be our prime motivator, Sylvia, by which all the lower issues become intrinsically addressed. Indeed, that's the only way in which they can be addressed. We can fight each other at the lower level where all the problems are defined, until the cows come home, where nothing ever gets resolved, where people get hurt and kill each other. That's no place to live, don't you agree?"

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