In the United States, people believe they are free. The older I get and the farther down the rabbit hole I go, the more I realize how much of a control mechanism that thought is. Sure, the vast majority of us don't get abused by authority figures (aka the police, the legal system, community leaders, etc.). Our society is not oppressive as far as how we dress or what we do. We have the freedom to start our own businesses and buy our own homes (although the latter could be argued). We can choose what we want to eat and whether or not we want to own a gun. What I'm talking about goes much deeper than that. It speaks to the ways we are conditioned/programmed in order to keep us "walking the straight and narrow".
Religion is perhaps one of the most obvious layers. Every religion has thoughts on how a person should live, "the rules" so to speak. Don't take other people's stuff. Don't kill other people. Don't steal your neighbor's spouse. Most of all, try to convert everyone else to the "truth". Then there are the little idiosyncratic things that vary by religion. Don't eat shellfish or animals with cloven hooves. Don't have more than one wife (or four). When you don't conform, there are always consequences. Usually you either go to eternal hell, or you come back to life in some problematic form with karmic debts to repay. Religion is a neat little package that allows the powers that be to maintain control without direct interference. They can just guide their little religious leaders to do their dirty work. The irony of this level of control is that people who live from the heart naturally follow those guidelines of not harming others. In a heart based environment, people don't need the rules. They ARE the rules!
Politics are yet another level of control. Here in the States they are used to define and divide people in very controlled ways. We align ourselves with this group or that group. Republicans are most Christian because they believe in the right to life and giving to the poor. But then again, Democrats are the most Christian because they believe things should be equal and the state should be about making sure that everyone is taken care of. Such ideas keep us distracted from what really happens behind the scenes as well as serve to make us ineffective to stop these actions because we are occupied fighting each other.
The military and the ideologies behind their role is yet another layer of control. At the very heart of this is the belief that the military fight for our freedom!!! Many of the people who serve or have served have done so because they believe that we need to keep our own freedom and help oppressed countries liberate themselves. We are told this is the function our military serves overseas. This is how we justify wars. The truth of the matter is, the countries that need to be liberated are typically ones that have resources that our bankers/corporations want to exploit. These countries are not firmly under the control of the powers that be, so action must be taken to force them back into the fold.
The last critical layer of control is the mainstream media, and this is a huge one. Even though most people are aware of the brainwashing that goes on because of things like subliminal messages, they still continue to pay attention to it without asking necessary questions. Here in the States, commercials tell us that we need this new car or that we need to ask our doctors to put us on this new drug so that we can lead better lives. The TV programs we watch and the movies we see give us more subtle clues about how we should behave. This includes thoughts to how we should act and dress. Even more subtle is the role of news organizations. They tell us ONLY what they powers that be want us to know, and often the stories are designed to either scare us into supporting certain political moves or distract us from the stories that truly effect us and should be front and center of our awareness.
It is time for us to break down the walls of false belief. It is time for us to peel back the layers of freedom. When we refuse to be programmed--when we refuse to be herded like sheep back into the corral--that is when we have the ability to BE who we are. This is where true freedom lies. When we live through our hearts, no other level of control is needed.
~CSE
Religion is perhaps one of the most obvious layers. Every religion has thoughts on how a person should live, "the rules" so to speak. Don't take other people's stuff. Don't kill other people. Don't steal your neighbor's spouse. Most of all, try to convert everyone else to the "truth". Then there are the little idiosyncratic things that vary by religion. Don't eat shellfish or animals with cloven hooves. Don't have more than one wife (or four). When you don't conform, there are always consequences. Usually you either go to eternal hell, or you come back to life in some problematic form with karmic debts to repay. Religion is a neat little package that allows the powers that be to maintain control without direct interference. They can just guide their little religious leaders to do their dirty work. The irony of this level of control is that people who live from the heart naturally follow those guidelines of not harming others. In a heart based environment, people don't need the rules. They ARE the rules!
Politics are yet another level of control. Here in the States they are used to define and divide people in very controlled ways. We align ourselves with this group or that group. Republicans are most Christian because they believe in the right to life and giving to the poor. But then again, Democrats are the most Christian because they believe things should be equal and the state should be about making sure that everyone is taken care of. Such ideas keep us distracted from what really happens behind the scenes as well as serve to make us ineffective to stop these actions because we are occupied fighting each other.
The military and the ideologies behind their role is yet another layer of control. At the very heart of this is the belief that the military fight for our freedom!!! Many of the people who serve or have served have done so because they believe that we need to keep our own freedom and help oppressed countries liberate themselves. We are told this is the function our military serves overseas. This is how we justify wars. The truth of the matter is, the countries that need to be liberated are typically ones that have resources that our bankers/corporations want to exploit. These countries are not firmly under the control of the powers that be, so action must be taken to force them back into the fold.
The last critical layer of control is the mainstream media, and this is a huge one. Even though most people are aware of the brainwashing that goes on because of things like subliminal messages, they still continue to pay attention to it without asking necessary questions. Here in the States, commercials tell us that we need this new car or that we need to ask our doctors to put us on this new drug so that we can lead better lives. The TV programs we watch and the movies we see give us more subtle clues about how we should behave. This includes thoughts to how we should act and dress. Even more subtle is the role of news organizations. They tell us ONLY what they powers that be want us to know, and often the stories are designed to either scare us into supporting certain political moves or distract us from the stories that truly effect us and should be front and center of our awareness.
It is time for us to break down the walls of false belief. It is time for us to peel back the layers of freedom. When we refuse to be programmed--when we refuse to be herded like sheep back into the corral--that is when we have the ability to BE who we are. This is where true freedom lies. When we live through our hearts, no other level of control is needed.
~CSE
