The fourth one continued holding his sign.
From this simple, transformational incident I extracted "the Law of 75." When faced with loving and respectful communication, three out of four of people will put aside the beliefs in their head for the love in their heart. Of course, this is an untested premise, more of an intuitive suspicion than an actual "law." But I'm sure those working with the tools of Non-violent Communication and other techniques for holding connection in the face of conflict have similar stories.
So perhaps the key to breakthrough and transformation is not to get sucked into fighting the other guy's liar, but instead gathering around a higher, more compelling truth. If you think this is pie-in-the-sky hopium smoke I am blowing, check out what's happening in Reno, Nevada, where Richard Flyer's Conscious Community Network is bringing together traditionally religious folks, along with the spiritual-but-not-religious, secular humanists and ethical atheists around "virtues and values" the vast majority of us share in common.
Maybe this is the time to emerge from the dueling dualities and bi-polar political dysfunction, and have the courage to face the unknown together, using our "positions" as jumping off points, not platforms. What if we brought together the Tea Parties, the Coffee Parties -- heck, the Pot Parties, if need be -- and brought the light of love, sanity, and coherence across the artificial political divide, and focused on the greater truths we share in common?
We already have the communications tools to do this. Now we need the will and the focus.
There are some who say we are facing an imminent apocalypse. Others say that evolution is calling us forth. I'm inclined to agree with both. Remember, the original definition of apocalypse is "lifting the veils." As with any recovery program, the first step is telling the truth -- lifting the veils both on the true powers we have as human beings, and the forces that have kept us from seeing and using that power. Before we can totally embrace our powers as co-creators, we must see clearly where we are and how we got here.
It won't be pretty. But by cultivating and growing the field of love that at least 75% of us are capable of, we will have what we need to metabolize those political toxins. As we strengthen the bonds of love and mutual-respect, we will generate both the field and the wisdom to find emergent solutions to entrenched problems. Together, we can become generators of our own light. And only together can we bring that light to the endarkened corridors of power.
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