Denial and Change

We human beings are powerful beyond our wildest imaginings and yet we seem powerless to change the direction of our unsustainable narrative. Failure to believe in our ability to transform our story, our identity and thereby our behavior leaves us paralyzed. This paralysis stems from our inability to comprehend the nature of Simple Reality. The unconscious human mind contained in the world-of-illusion context (P-B) will continue to lead us into a dark future.

In his book The Heat is On, Ross Gelbspan sheds light on the reaction people have when
confronted with formidable challenges such as global warming. …when people are confronted with an overwhelming threat and don’t see a solution, it makes them feel impotent. So they shrug it off or go into deliberate denial.

Similarly, Michael Shellenberger, co-author of The Death of Environmentalism, writes: The dominant narrative of global warming has been that we’re responsible and have to make changes or we’re all going to die. It’s tailor-made to ensure inaction.

Other human reactions caused by the anxiety of trying to acquire wealth and power in competition with others include stretching the truth (lying) or keeping facts hidden (protecting secrets). All such behaviors are part of the larger denial of an unsustainable P-B.  A memo that appears to coach buyers of oil and gas drilling leases to use deceptive tactics on unsuspecting landowners has provoked a state investigation and spirited debate in rural Ohio.    Laura Skidmore found a memo in her driveway after she had talked to a buyer which appeared to instruct “landmen” (Landmen are outside brokers hired by energy companies to negotiate mineral leases.)  Don’t mention groundwater contamination or lost property values, downplay natural-gas drilling (believed to be a greater environmental threat than oil drilling) and describe the hydraulic fracturing drilling process as “radioactive free,” even though the memo concedes that is not accurate. This example should warn humanity that fear trumps compassion in P-B; reaction will overcome response and the clouds hovering over the global village will continue to grow ominously darker.

So how do we cope with the elements of the perfect storm writ large, catastrophe on a global scale? How do we stand up to global warming, nuclear holocaust, pandemics, hurricanes, environmental destruction, and the many “swords of Damocles” poised to wreak havoc on our planet? Then we are further disempowered by denying the truth, lying about it and concealing it.  No unacknowledged problem can ever be solved.

First, we have to differentiate Reality from illusion and realize our ability to rewrite the story-line that drives the paralyzing fear that leaves us powerless. The statement many take to be hyperbole is literally true: “We create our own reality.” To embrace the profound truth of that statement is the beginning of the end of P-B. We are powerful enough to do what needs to be done and wise enough to know what to do. What are we waiting for?

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