Caution Is Needed When Asking Questions...

A student is on one side of a raging river.

 There are no bridges.

 He has no boat.

 He shouts out to the Zen master on the opposite bank. 

"How do I get to the other side?" 

The master shouts back, 

"You are on the other side."

The Parable of the Trapeze

by Danaan Parry 

excerpt from his book 

'Warriors of the Heart: A handbook for Conflict Resolution'

Turning the fear of transformation into the 

transformation of fear...

Sometimes I feel like my life is a series of trapeze swings.  I'm either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along, or for a few moments in my life, I'm hurtling across space in between trapeze bars. 

Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment.  It carries me along at a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I'm in control of my life.  I know most of the right questions and even some of the answers.

But, every once in a while as I'm merrily (or even not so merrily) swinging along, I look out ahead of me into the distance and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me.  It's empty and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it.  It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me.  In my heart-of hearts I know that for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present, well known bar and move to the new one.

Each time it happens to me I hope (no pray) that I won't have to let go of my old bar completely before I grab the new one. But in my knowing place, I know I must totally release my grasp on my old bar and, for some moment in time, I must hurtle across space before I grab onto the new bar.

Each time, I am filled with terror.  It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of the unknowing I have always made it.  I am each time afraid that I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between bars. I do it anyway. Perhaps that is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience.  No guarantees , no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow to keep hanging on to that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives.

So, for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void of "the past is gone, the future is not yet here".  It's called "transition" I have come to believe that this transition is the only place that real change occurs.  I mean real change, not the pseudo-change that only lasts until the next time my old buttons get punched. 

I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a "nothing", a no-place between places.  Sure the old trapeze bar was real, and that new one coming towards me, I hope that's real too.  But the void in between?  Is that just a scary, confusing, disorienting nowhere that must be gotten through as fast and as consciously as possible.

NO!  What a wasted opportunity that would be.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing and the bars are illusions we dream up to avoid the void where the real change, the real growth, occurs for us.  Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places.  They should be honoured, even savoured.  Yes, with all the pain and fear and feelings of being out of control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments in our lives.

"We cannot discover new oceans unless we have
the courage to lose sight of the shore"

Anonymous

So, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away but rather with giving ourselves permission to "hang out" in the transition between trapezes.  Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens.  It can be terrifying.  It can also be enlightening in the true sense of the world.  Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly.

If the Warrior of the Heart  can be described in one term, then that term is change-maker.  Since the only place that change can really happen is out there, in between trapezes, then this is the place where the Heart Warrior belongs.

"A Warrior has and needs no place to stand"

Buddhist Tradition

 A message from an Anon in jail for protesting the demise of our freedom...

http://pastebin.com/LEWSeud3



"For fifty days I disrupted and exposed corporations and government entities. I nearly crippled Wall Street while exposing the government agencies that work for the billionaires that control them"





The Fallen

If this letter makes it out to you I will be amazed. Who I am, and what you know about me, is irrelevant.  I am writing to you, the government as well as the media, and all people of the free world to inform you of my thoughts, and my intentions.  Even though I am doing ten years in a federal prison this letter is not about the situation from which I live. I want you to know I am still actively campaigning for you so that your voice may never be silenced. I am the one that fights for freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and freedom of information exchange. The government and large corporations that run on corruption try to control you. While people protest to make their voices heard I am a hacktivist. They call me a spy, and sentenced me under treason. A spy I am not. In the 1960’s people used peaceful protest to make there points heard. Today much business is conducted on the internet. I am the one they are scared of. I am the one the government fears.

I believe strongly in my choice to fight for the freedom of information exchange. I have made it my lifelong goal to be a part of this movement. My case made national as well as world news. I am not a terrorist as the government, and media have made me out to be. Rather I am part of a group of collective people who share in a common goal of protecting you against censorship, and freedom of expression. I have gained true humility, and I am fully ok with what has happened to me. I know my army is still fighting the idea which I’m expressing to you. I know that some of you will disagree which our cause, and that is ok. We will still continue to fight for you.

For myself to write to you is frowned upon by the personal group from which I’m a part of. When I started my journey I was told that any press release or interviews is strongly discouraged. I have thought long on the issue, and have made it my decision that, because I am doing ten years of my life for fighting corruption I want you all to hear my thoughts and ideas. People should be informed, and though in nine years when I get out I will go back to my ways, and continue to fight for you. I did not just blow Waway. I have many clones I’ve shown many young people the ways of which I have learned. My idea lives strong in hundreds if not thousands of people. You may be able to arrest me, but you cannot arrest my idea. It is a living idea that changes and grows stronger while the main goal will always stay the same. Only the objectives and targets will change. The media and government want you all to believe we are cyber terrorist, but terrorist we are not. We are people with good taste in movies, and food; delightful taste in clothes and social events. We are people just like you. Now isn’t that interesting to know? We are all people in this word, but I am just an idea.
   
You may be wondering what I did exactly, but exactly is not something I can disclose here. Instead I will tell you what I was arrested for. For fifty days I disrupted and exposed corporations and government entities. I nearly crippled Wall Street while exposing the government agencies that work for the billionaires that control them. Where I come from I learned not to be scared of the consequences for my actions. I was prepaid for the outcome. I live in cyber world where we do not judge people by looks, money; by gender, or races. Rather by actions and words. They called me the criminal while the corporations and government sell your information to each other, and gain riches while taxing the working class. They were scared at what I was able to do, and the funny thing is… I have shown many more the skills, and traits from which I behold.

When these government agencies are able to control all the information they are able to control you. When they hold the power to censorship that is when epic atrocities can happen, and act in corrupt ways. When this happens government can act free from scrutiny from which their power derived. Our group has taken a stand to fight for you. While many of you do not possess the power to stop the corruption over the internet we have places where your voice may be heard. We listen to what the citizens of the world are asking for, and target the corruption which is active in our world. We believe everyone is equal regardless of who they are. Remember this every time you send an email, post to a loved one; read messages on YouTube, or post on Twitter. We are actively making an effort to stand up for you, and the free use of information exchange.

As the events are unfolding they are changing the fundamental of history. We will fight any individual, organization, corporation, and/or government that hinder our movement. While some of our methods may seem unjustly we believe that the action taken is needed. We are fighting the very institutions which are supposed to protect us. Fueled by money and power the true nature of the government is at best weak. When an individual is over ran by money they lack knowledge or rational thinking. This is when people get self-centered. Individuals will think high of oneself then most, and will treat others with disrespect. The same happens in government…

Anyone holds the requirements to be a part of the larger group from which my tightly knitted smaller organization derived. Our movement has ranks of respectful representatives around the world with all political orientations. If you are in a public place right now take a look around. We can be anyone at any given time. Even you have all the requirements to stand with us to fight for accountability and for what’s right. Just remember, each of us has our own path, but each of us fights for the same goal. We are the ones that took down the government during the censorship revolution in Egypt. We are also responsible for hacking and taking down the government communication in Syria. Currently our group has pushed a movement in the United States with the target being the national banking system. The list goes on infinitely.

I should have been treated as a prisoner of war, but I was not. We are at war with the very people that are supposed to be here to protect us. With the help of my clones we have spawned a revolution. A new wave of protest has sprung from nothing except connected people working together to create a better world. The war has a new battlefield through the Internet, although it is not a war against a specific country, nation, state, or governing body, but rather the war for the natural born rights of all people. As revolutionary warriors did in the past we cloak in anonymity, and hack anyone or organization who gets in the way of freedom. After we take over the targets we proceed to release all the data, and share them with the world exposing corruption. One name might be singing in your head as you read this. Though we support WikiLeaks we are not them entirely

With the people’s new battleground also brings a new type protester. If something is not right in the world, people take to the streets in an attempt to remove it from the system. Now, there is a secondary option. Now we the people acting alone or with large groups can create real change through exposing corruption of government and big business. Under the veil of anonymous and interconnected with the world, people can post anything we feel might be unjustified.

It is because of us your government will stay in check. We are the new voice of reason in an age where the lines of what is right are blurring. As the police sit back and allow the government to steal from the people. The interference in government has forced people into holes that we can’t get out of unless something is done. There is no justifiable reason for the richest in the nation to not pay their fair share, and as long as governments repress their people, we will be there to show the inconsistencies to the world.

My true name and the way I look is irrelevant. I fight for what is right in our world. I am doing nine more years of my life here and I’m only 18 years old. In school my teachers all thought I was incompetent, but incompetent I am not. I am 18 and still was able to take down the government for 50 days. We exposed corporations, governments, and everything in between.  If I could remove my body and show you my soul that is what I would want to be remembered by. I drink water; I need food, sun light, and a little bit of love… For that I’m human, but more so I am a living idea. If you need to call me by name then call me Topiary.

– Anonymous

   

 Teju Cole 

 

Teju Cole is the author of Open City, which won this year's PEN/Hemingway Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. 

The White Savior Industrial Complex

By Teju Cole

Mar 21 2012, 7:15 AM ET

1- From Sachs to Kristof to Invisible Children to TED, the fastest growth industry in the US is the White Savior Industrial Complex.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

2- The white savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

3- The banality of evil transmutes into the banality of sentimentality. The world is nothing but a problem to be solved by enthusiasm.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

4- This world exists simply to satisfy the needs--including, importantly, the sentimental needs--of white people and Oprah.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

5- The White Savior Industrial Complex is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

6- Feverish worry over that awful African warlord. But close to 1.5 million Iraqis died from an American war of choice. Worry about that.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

7- I deeply respect American sentimentality, the way one respects a wounded hippo. You must keep an eye on it, for you know it is deadly.
-- Teju Cole (@tejucole) March 8, 2012

 For full story and context go here -

 http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/?single_page=true

Arundhati Roy

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance.

 To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. 

To seek joy in the saddest places. 

To pursue beauty to its lair. 

To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple.

 To respect strength, never power. 

Above all, to watch. 

To try and understand. 

To never look away.

 And never, never, to forget." 

Arundhati Roy