Who are the people in question in our title? Virtually everyone. Why are our habits deadly? They are deadly because they are behaviors that are unsustainable.
Habit # 1
People on the planet earth are “sleepers.” That is to say, we are unaware of where we are living. We live in a story that doesn’t exist, as if we are living in a dream. We are almost never “present” in the sense that we are unaware of the nature of Reality. What we deem to be “reality” is a complex illusion, composed of many disconnected elements including nature, our bodies, other people, our ego, our emotions, our thoughts, our shadow, the collective unconscious, our personal unconscious, myths and stories to name a few.
In truth every aspect of the perceived world of form, both physical and mental, is interconnected and interrelated and is one inseparable whole. When profoundly understood, the world of form is ephemeral and impermanent with no substantial reality. All that changes (the world of form) is not real in that sense; only energy which is indestructible is real. Failing to realize the deeper reality of what it means to be human, sleepers are unable to create a culture and way of living that is sustainable. Unable to distinguish illusion from reality (form from energy), a sleeper lives a life characterized by Emerson as one of “quiet desperation” and by Buddha as replete with suffering.
Habit # 2
People on the planet earth behave as “zombies.” As zombies, we stagger about aimlessly driven by primitive physical and psychological needs that we are unaware of. In other words we behave as if unconscious.
Habit # 3
People on planet earth are avaricious. A need for food, clothing and shelter is elaborated into a behavior characterized by pointless accumulation. We develop an insatiable need to shop for, buy, store and mindlessly accumulate stuff. Deeply insecure, we unconsciously seek a feeling of safety in the possession of “things.”
Habit # 4
People on the planet earth are addicts. A need for affection, to be esteemed, and for pleasant physical and psychological sensations has caused us to develop both substance and process addictions. Indeed, the entire society has become an addictive system. Again, basic human survival needs become elaborated into self-destructive behaviors in an unconscious process that leaves little hope for long-term survival of the sleepers.
Habit # 5
People on the planet earth are obsessed with power. The need for power or control over our environment and other people causes us to seek positions that give us the illusion of having that power. Washington D.C. has become a location to where people seeking power gravitate because the energy of the illusion of power is so pronounced there. Again, fear is at the heart of the need for acquiring power to give the illusion of survival and control over the ultimate threat—death. The seeking of power also promotes the behaviors prominent in Habit # 6.
Habit # 6
People on the planet earth are aggressive and violent. The fundamental belief behind the predominance of violence among the earth’s people is that of lack and limitation. The perceived scarcity of material goods related to food, shelter and clothing, pleasurable sensations, affection and esteem, or power, all drive competitive behaviors. Also intensifying violent behaviors is the illusion of the existence of the “other.” Believing that other people are fundamentally different and thus strange and threatening, causes fear and distrust among individuals, tribes and nations, leading to conflict and violence.
Habit # 7
People on the planet earth are exhibiting child-like behaviors. As sleepers we do not want to wake up or to acknowledge our own self-destructive behaviors or to take responsibility for that behavior. We fabricate stories about how super-beings or gods and goddesses will save us from unpleasant experiences in the future. We also escape responsibility by blaming supernatural evil creatures for our own un-acceptable behaviors.
If we as sleepers fail to become self-reliant and complete our own developmental growth, we are opting for a truncated future in which our own natural wisdom and innate potential to awaken from the illusion that entraps us, leaves us with a disastrous present and a dismal future. We would be wise to choose healthier habits.
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Much more can be found in the book Simple Reality: The Key to Serenity and Survival.
