Dear Swami: Time to Declare Independence and Interdependence

80 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 back into power. Now once again we must declare both our independence and our interdependence . We declare our independence from the limiting belief system that when push comes to shove, whoever does the most pushing and shoving wins. We declare our independence from the dysfunctional, politically immature “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy we’ve adopted regarding our government—we promise not to ask them what they are doing, they promise not to tell us. We declare our independence from the corporate media, who have disabled the body politic with weapons of massdistraction . We declare our independence from reality TV and join the cast of a far bigger , and far more amazing show—reality ! Extreme Planetary Makeover ... a world win campaign where the whole world can win. We declare our independence from blame and vengeance. The laws of karma work well enough, or as Groucho Marx once said, “Time wounds all heels.” We would do better to withdraw our attention from wounding heels, and focus on healing wounds instead. We declare our independence from the obsolete positions of left and right, and we come front and center to face the music and dance together. We see there are no sides, only angles ... and when seen from the right angle, we are all on the same side. And finally, as truly independent, one-of-a-kind entities we declare our interdependence as well. We declare that each of us is an independent , interdependent cell in the body of humanity, here to regrow the Garden and have a heaven of a time doing it. As interdependent independent beings , we declare a transparent conspiracy to end the apparent trance that has given us the neocon nightmare we have today. In other words, a conspiracy to end cons’ piracy. To conspire means to “breathe together,” so anyone who breathes can join our conspiracy to create a world where everyone can breathe easier. At a time when most of those in power prefer to leave Orwell enough alone, we declare interdependence because the only way to overgrow Big Brother is through bigger brotherhood —and sisterhood. As independently interdependent citizens, we hereby declare an American Evolution that will officially begin with the coming election. When those two big shots are fired, it will truly be heard— and cheered—around the world. ■© Copyright 2008 by Steve Bhaerman. All rightsreserved.SwamiBeyondananda—andhis hilarious books and CDs can be found online at http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/ Or, call (800) SWAMI-BE for a free catalog. Dear Swami: What advice do you have for Senators McCain and Obama? Dwight Mann, Norfolk, Virginia Dear Dwight: Last time I looked, I couldn’t help but notice that both of those candidates have hordes of high-paid advisers. And what are their advisers advising them to do? They are helping them use the mainstream media—which is little more than a brainwashing machine stuck on spin— to persuade you that their candidate is not as bad as the other guy. So what do they need with my free advice? If I’m going to offer my advice freely and not be paid for it, I’m going to offer it to those who need the help the most—the people of America. So here is my advice for the people of America: Whomever you cast your ballot for this November, make sure you elect yourself first. The latest polls show that 95% of the electorate mistrusts the government. What great news! Finally, we have one issue where nearly all Americans regardless of political stripe, plaid or polka dot agree: We can trust our leaders to not be trustworthy. Which brings up an even bigger challenge. We now must learn to trust ourselves instead . Eleven score and twelve years ago, America’s revolutionary founders cut us loose from the Old World model where the rule of gold overruled the Golden Rule, where mining took precedence (“that’s mine, that’s mine, that’s mine...