The continuum is a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct. What is the relevance of this concept when applied to creating a sustainable human community? Where is our species on the continuum from a “living hell to heaven on earth” to “the kingdom is here and now?” Indeed, are we even evolving or progressing along a continuum which promises that our experience has improved, or will ever improve, over time?
These questions are not as difficult to answer as one might suppose. But we must find the courage to ask them and keep an open heart and an open mind when the insights begin to occur … in other words, respond to the Truth about what we learn, rather than react, dismiss, deflect, deny.
As we learned in the previous essay, reactions cause all manner of suffering. Humans in the Global Village are reacting all day long, to one thing after another. It’s no wonder we feel as if we are “living in hell.”
Returning to our question of “are we evolving or progressing along a continuum” and is that a sign of improvement or not? To help answer that question, let’s take the institution of politics in America, place it on a continuum and see if we can discover some revelations about human behavior:
Political Continuum: from liberal to conservative, left to right, Democrats to Republicans.
Simple Reality Context: we put the continuum in the context of Simple Reality wherein the Simple Reality worldview determines our identity and that identity drives our behavior.
Worldview: we define worldview as an individual’s or collective’s beliefs, attitudes and values.
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- For clarification we note that the words paradigm, story, narrative or context are often used as synonyms for worldview.
- We further flesh-out our basic assumptions positing that there are two fundamental worldviews, namely Oneness and dualism.
- Choosing a worldview of Oneness will result in a True-self identity and choosing a dualistic worldview will result in a false-self identity.
Identity: a True-self identity in Simple Reality means that individuals or collectives are expressing behaviors we call responses. Conversely, indirectly or unconsciously choosing a false-self identity leads to a life of reactions.
Behavior: response instead of reaction.
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- A True-self response generates compassion, joy, hope, understanding, and peace in our family and community.
- A false-self reaction prompts hate, anger, fear, blame, and eventually violence against our neighbor.
“That the election [2020] has become a referendum on the soul of a nation, suggests that in an increasingly secular country, voting has become a reflection of one’s individual morality–and that the outcome hinges in part on spiritual and philosophical questions that transcend politics: What exactly is the soul of the nation? What is the state of it? And what would it mean to save it?”[i]
There is so much more to learn about response and reaction. Refer to the supplemental reading on the next page for more.
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Supplemental Reading: Response and Reaction, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
#26 The Continuum
[i] Dias, Elizabeth. “Battle for Soul of Nation.” The New York Times. October 18, 2020, p. 14.
