Time To Let Go
Geoffrey Rose, Ph.D.

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Fundamentalism's fundamentals
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I've been doing a lot of thinking since the election, trying to make sense out of things for myself. Knowing that nothing is distinct unto itself, I started looking for some psychological connective tissue for what I was witnessing here in the United States and around the world.

The concurrent rise of Christian fundamentalism here at home with Islamist fundamentalism abroad is not coincidental. At first it seemed alarming and cause for concern: as if the world is, in unison, taking a huge step backward. But then I thought about it a bit, and applied the same critical thinking to the world's current "emotional" climate that I employ when working with a client.

I'm certainly no expert on geo/socio/political affairs. But it seems to me that fundamentalists are caught in a dualistic view of the world: good and evil; right and wrong; us against you, etc. This perceived duality is sure to engender fear of "the other." We say, God is on our side, and they say, Allah is on their's. The only way we can both be right is if we're both wrong about the two-ness, the me and you-ness of things.

Here is where it all starts to make sense to me. The world has been undergoing a great shift toward enlightenment over the last several decades. This is, after all, the Age of Aquarius. More and more people are meditating, more and more people are doing yoga, and more and more people are realizing that this incredible place we call "reality" is a unified field whose parts are inextricably linked - a Oneness containing infinite diversity.

Well, this new world view is threatening the old status quo of dualistic thinking and its associated hatred, intolerance, prejudice and fear. Like an individual who is challenging his or her oldest, most entrenched beliefs, the world's ego - the old construct - is fighting for its life. Just like the individual who is scared to death of change, the great unknown - so the world is terrified as well. This terror breeds terrorism, and this terrorism breeds more fear. We seem to be caught in an endless downward spiral of fear and hatred, of terrorism and retaliation.

I believe the rise of fundamentalism is a temporary though unavoidable aspect in the world's evolutionary process. Like the individual's evolutionary process, fear must be faced, and nothing speaks the language of fear quite so loudly as fundamentalism. Sometimes we may imagine that our fear will consume us. But just like in our individual battles with our fear-based selves, if we can hold on to the things that are real: beauty and love, and know that our fears are based in misperceptions, such as the idea of duality – things that actually don’t exist, we can weather the battle and emerge enriched and more enlightened. Light always overshadows dark.

I believe that the micro and the macro view produces the same life perspective. Just as it's always darkest before the dawn in the life of the individual so it is with the world at large. Let's just hold on. This difficult time is sure to birth a new and better day.




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