We need to educate ourselves and each other regarding the dominator vs. partnership culture dilemma. This would apply to one-to-one relationships, groups, organizational and national dynamics.
Looking ahead, we must also educate ourselves and the public about authoritarianism and refuse to allow such people to assume positions of power, as well as creating mechanisms to remove them. (Of interest: the book - The No a**hole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn't).
A more mature society would recognize the danger these people pose, and simply not allow them to wield power and authority, especially in government. The alternative (or logical extension) - on a societal level - of authoritarianism is proto-fascism: power at the barrel of gun (or some other destructive force), as we witnessed with Donald Trump.
Authoritarianism is a rapidly growing trend on our planet. This is likely due to the fear evoked by the exponential rate of change, fear, greed, rage, and intuitive sense that societal collapse may be around the corner.
Eisler states:
"In the last few centuries, the partial shift from a dominator to a partnership society has partly freed humanity, allowing some movement toward a more just and equalitarian society.
"But at the same time there has been a strong countermovement both on the left and the right, to more deeply entrench the dominator society. Given the strong inertial pull of androcratic social and ideological organization, a totalitarian future is a real possibility."
Now is the time to join forces in order to make our planet workable - a place where external power is used equitably. This joining would bring together those who oppose authoritarian (external) use of power, and others who have focused their energies on intensifying their inner power (by harmonizing their individual power with that of the universe as a whole, i.e., "mystics" or "conscious beings."
Authentic Power
The old way of understanding power is the ability to manipulate and control our environment and those within it. "External power"- often based in fear. One person's gain is seen as another person's loss. All of our institutions - social, political, and economic reflect our understanding of power as external. Weapons, armor, police and the military, of course, are symbols for this kind of power. The millennia of brutality toward other humans and animals clearly show that our world cannot be healed by external power.
The new way of understanding power is the alignment of the personality with the energy of the soul (or "Higher Self"), leading to harmony, cooperation, sharing, and seeing ourselves as a part of a conscious Whole. This understanding can be called "authentic power," which has its roots in the deepest source of our being.
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