The  Height  of  Hypocrisy

Michael Meade

All the world is but a stage and at times the drama of life involves more than the constant battles for power between political parties. There are times when the basic human struggle for meaning takes center stage and demands that people see the value of life more clearly. The root meaning of the word theater suggests a “place for seeing,” as in seeing into and seeing through. The theater was originally a place for people to learn to see the deeper truths about life, both the agonies of the soul and the follies of society.

On the stage of life the inner character of each player eventually comes out, revealing those who are intended to play the lead and those who simply pretend to do so. In the case of Donald Trump playing the role of president, the first hundred days have proven to be enough time to reveal his true character. There is a need to be outspoken about these issues, for as others have said, there are things in this world that deserve no mercy and the top three may just be hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.

The issue is not that he is simply unprepared to lead, although that is already demonstrably true. It is not a matter of the time it takes for any new president to acclimate to the complexities of the office. The greater issue develops when a second rate actor pretends to be a first rate player and somehow lands a leading role on the world stage at a crucial time in human history.

Originally, taking the leading role was not a reference to popularity or top billing, but an indication of a genuine ability to suffer the heart of the human drama and help reveal the agonies and ecstasies of life on earth. Protagonist was the title for those who took center stage in acting out the tragic-comic human drama. Proto refers to “original and exemplary;” but protagonist also has “agony” at its roots, as the lead actors exemplified the battle between light and dark and the struggle between truth and falsity in the human heart.

In Greek theater the name for those who played minor roles was “hypocrites.” Hypo refers to “under or lesser,” as in hypothermia, meaning too little heat in the body or a hypochondriac who has few symptoms, but pretends to have the full disease. Pretending and being pretentious are keys to recognizing when hypocrisy has become the main dynamic in a person’s life. Thus, a dyed in the wool hypocrite cannot help but say one thing and do another or promise things that cannot be delivered. As the playwright Somerset Maugham put it: Hypocrisy cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practiced at spare moments; it is a whole-time job.

Donald Trump has been playing pretentious roles for most of his life and it was while playing the role of successful businessman on Celebrity Apprentice that he became a national celebrity. Where most people look to develop character, he simply seeks to advertise a trumped up and false sense of himself. Since most people feel constrained by the need to tell the truth, Trump’s indifference to it can give him a strange advantage in many situations.

Having been a faux author, a faux philanthropist and a faux populist, Donald Trump has also become the world leader of making faux pas and peddling outright false statements. The French word faux translates as “false, fake, counterfeit, fabricated or imitation,” all words commonly used to describe Trump’s statements, claims and now policies. A faux-pas is a comment that reveals to others that you are ignorant about a subject or have no idea what you are talking about.

Lacking any true center, Trump becomes more of a brand than a genuine person. Trump as huge winner, as successful businessman, as cagey politician, and now as commander in chief presents a remarkable case of an arch hypocrite winding up with a leading role in an actual drama which has life and death consequences and this may be the new height of hypocrisy.

Hypocritical has “crisis” in it as if to warn that those who pretend to be something they are not will become revealed to be deeply flawed characters in moments of crisis. Anyone with but a bit of common sense already fears what disasters might happen to all of us should Donald Trump actually have to face a genuine crisis of leadership. Disaster means “to follow the wrong star;” in this case it means following a reality TV star all the way to the White House where he assumes the power and position to create world-wide disasters even as he builds his personal brand. Pride may go before a fall; but hubris at this level could bring the whole house down.

The idea of a review after the first hundred days might provide a turning point in how people understand the topsy-turvy drama that has become the state of play at the Trump White House. Just as the failed Trump University has been declared a fraud by most after being a tragedy for some; there is a great danger that the entire country could find itself defrauded and entangled in greater and greater tragedies.

"The key moment in many dramas comes when a main actor makes a critical discovery that moves him or her from a condition of ignorance to a new state of knowledge. This radical change in the plot can take the form of a sudden realization of one’s own inner nature or else the revelation of someone else's true character. By now it should be clear that “the Donald” will not change, that there will never be a pivot to being truly presidential or even to being simply humble and genuinely human."

It’s not that people over seventy can’t change, for many can. Rather, the problem is that for Trump to change would mean that he would have to drop all the pretensions and admit to many failures, fraudulent schemes and a parade of false claims. He would have to eschew all the conspiracy theories and stop laying all the blame on others. Such a genuine moment of change is very unlikely to happen; there is no “other Trump.” As the writer William Hazlitt put it, “The only vice which cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy.”

At this stage, the change from ignorance to a new state of knowledge must happen to other players in this crucial drama of the republic. Those who need to acknowledge this great and growing state of hypocrisy of course includes the Republican leaders, many of whom seek to gain something political or personal by participating in the public charade; but also others of any political persuasion who allow themselves to be persuaded that this too shall pass.

In many ways, Trump is the symptom not the cure. When there is lack of genuine leadership and a loss of meaning at the heart of culture hypocrisy can become a collective illness. An old idea suggests that hypocrisy on the part of powerful people is more dangerous than other crimes; but self-deception on the part of common people is more dangerous than hypocrisy. There is some hope in the fact that recent polls show that a growing majority of people, including Independents and Republicans, feel that Trump is both untruthful and untrustworthy.

Continued self-deception can lead to tragedy on a wide scale; especially as the stakes on the world stage have become so great when it comes to climate change and cultural healing. The word stage comes from roots meaning “to stand” and there are times when it is important that we each stand up for something genuine, truthful and valuable. We are each intended to become a genuine protagonist in the drama of our own lives and learn to see more clearly what diminishes the human spirit and what helps to sustain the politics of inclusion and a culture of imagination and creativity.

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Watch  and  Pray

Anne Blaney   January 8, 2000

“What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” These words were spoken by the Master Jesus to Peter, His disciple, approximately 2,000 years ago, in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in that place, on that night, when it was necessary for Jesus to vibrationally meet the adversarial forces that were seeking to destroy him. A hedge of support and protection was required for this intense work. His disciples had fallen asleep; the instruction he had given them was not obeyed; there had been no capacity to hold the vigil with Him. His pointed question was aimed straight at the heart of mankind. Those who were the closest to him did not offer their support when it was requested, when it was most needed. Alone, he watched and prayed as his disciples lay sleeping.

The sadness of the Master's words to Peter is profound and can be still felt to this day. This incident echoes in man's deepest memory and has impressed upon some of us the necessity that we remain spiritually awake, even while many are asleep. This question to Peter, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” stands as an ageless symbol: for the vigil that never happened, and as a symbol for the vigil that continues to be necessary. It is also a symbol for the invitation that was made by the Master, to mankind, to be awake. That invitation was essentially refused. The story of Gethsemane serves as a reminder that the request is outstanding, the invitation still holds, and that the vigil is still required—a useful metaphor for what is still needed some 2,000 years later.

Down through all the ages something spiritually true has always been held by a few; the vigil has been continued in the world. In 1932 Uranda reintroduced an extraordinary articulation and living example of the Garden consciousness to a number of people he named Emissaries. Since that time the vigil has intensified and has been held. This has included many forms over the years, including services, classes, symposia, attunements, and the personal meditations of the hearts of the many individuals. The vigil has been in progress. The need for further vigilance is natural to us, spiritually embraced in the rhythms of our shared activities.

A steady vigil has been taking place unbroken for many years now. Those who participate are, in fact, being invited to offer their own substance to the Lord, through His Body—that is, through all of us. The Body has responsibility for the administration of the creative cycles for this planet, and this is one way this can be accomplished. Those who are awake to their divine identity make up the conscious aspect of the Lord's Body, and the conscious aspect has a job to do. It can collectively allow a focus of the will of the Lord to move through the consciousness of the collective gathered. In these recent times, we had the opportunity to experience the ease that is present when awakened consciousness uses the full substance at hand. The clear, high place of perspective and power is revealed to the conscious mind in heaven—specifically used to create the spiritual event at hand. The mind required here is the divine, yielded, focused mind. This is what is able to carry the heavenly impulse relating to the cycle, and convey wisdom into creation. The release or blessing that comes from this place is initially invisible; but, unimpeded, it will increasingly come into manifestation.

In this rarefied space there is the perception of heavenly power moving in rhythmic cycles which the mind can then steward. The movement in spirit that is seen is far vaster than the earthly celebrations happening. Heaven is a large and active place! In that clarity it is easy to see the beauty, but also to note the confusions that so often prevent the mind from seeing clearly—the concerns and distractions that have occupied that same space. It becomes evident how painful it is to be out of alignment, out of position. As the true strength of spirit is experienced deeply, the fragile connection between heaven and the earth becomes increasingly obvious. With a strong connection between heaven and earth within individuals, the whole body of mankind is allowed increased connection and increased control, emerging from the wisdom and clarity of heaven.

Such times when we consciously gather and focus the available substance are highly transformative for the individual and for our worlds. This is the time for communion with God, of whom we are all an aspect. Truly we are all connected in this one Body, with visible and invisible flesh, and there is a real circulation between us! In this way the cord between heaven and earth is thickened and strengthened, and a current of life may course through the Body. The opportunities for spiritual communion are vast. Let us not fall asleep when we're so needed. My own prayer is that I be wakeful in the course of my daily living; that I let the vigil be alive in my life; that I be aware that I live in His Body all the time; that I truly see that it is the quality of my living that allows for those times of intensified current, so necessary in the work of transformation.

We are among those who have been awakened and who have committed to staying awake, conscious of being aspects of His continuing Body on earth, and consciously playing the role of intercessor for those still asleep. Through our watchfulness we have seen much revealed to us: both the immense blessings of the Light we have received, as well as the deep darkness that is utterly uncomprehending of that Light. Through our prayer we have continued his vigil so that those who sense our presence, hear our words and choose to awaken are welcomed by us. The Master's call to watch and pray is heard today.

Unbound

David Barnes   January 8, 2016

I am reading a book about a journey into the labyrinth of the Tsangpo River gorge in eastern Tibet—three times the depth of the Grand Canyon—the story of a search  for a mythic and mystical earthly paradise called Beyul Pemako: the Secret Land Shaped Like a Lotus. It is a quest for Chimé Yangsang Né, the innermost secret place of immortality—a paradise realm known also as Shambala. Many have made a pilgrimage searching for a majestic waterfall, said to be a doorway to this innermost secret place. This search was the source for James Hilton’s book Lost Horizon and the mythic paradise Shangri-La. Here are some words spoken by the High Lama, in the epic 1937 Frank Capra movie Lost Horizon.

“It came to me in a vision, long, long ago. I saw all the nations strengthening, not in wisdom, but in the vulgar passions and the will to destroy. I saw the machine power multiplying, until a single weaponed man might match a whole army. I foresaw a time when man, exalting in the technique of murder, would rage so hotly over the world, that every book, every treasure, would be doomed to destruction. This vision was so vivid and so moving, that I determined to gather together all things of beauty and of culture that I could, and preserve them here, against the doom toward which the world is rushing. Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! What unintelligent leadership! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity, crashing headlong against each other, propelled by an orgy of greed and brutality. A time must come my friend, when this orgy will spend itself. When brutality and the lust for power must perish by its own sword. Against that time, is why I avoided death, and am here. And why you were brought here. For when that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life. And it is our hope that they may find it here. For here, we shall be with their books and their music, and a way of life based on one simple rule: Be Kind! When that day comes, it is our hope that the brotherly love of Shangri-La will spread throughout the world. Yes, my son. When the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled and the meek shall inherit the earth. My friend, it is not an arduous task that I bequeath, for our order knows only silken bonds. To be gentle and patient, to care for the riches of the mind, to preside in wisdom while the storm rages without. You, my son, will live through the storm. You will preserve the fragrance of our history and add to it a touch of your own mind. Beyond that, my vision weakens but I see at a great distance a new world stirring in the ruins, stirring clumsily but in hopefulness, seeking its lost and legendary treasures, and they will all be here, my son, hidden behind the mountains in the Valley of the Blue Moon preserved as by a miracle.”

Beautiful words from the High Lama. I am sure we feel moved by them, and feel a resonance with their application to our own spiritual quest to create a sanctuary space, both in form and in heavenly or vibrational reality; and like the High Lama we have had a vision of the formation of a nucleus body composed of many lamas, many angels playing many roles, who extend the radiance, the power, and the substance of spiritual security in the midst of a world gone mad. This is spiritual work that all of us have been engaged in for many years; some were born into it, and others were re-born out of an old life into this new life expression. It takes sustained, undeviating passion to express the differentiated qualities of my own Being accurately in daily living, in a world where passion is largely directed outward, and where interests are frequently so self-serving and of the lowest common denominator. We all share a cosmic commission, which is birthing the emergence of a focal nucleus and a new humanity. Like the High Lama, beyond this our vision perhaps weakens, but we can sense something from a distance—a new world stirring in the midst of a passing order.

The dedication in the book I am reading says, “For the Unbound”—and this reminds me of words from Matthew 18:18: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” There is a work of loosing to be done in the affairs and habits of daily living, so that the innermost secret place of immortality can be freed-up and revealed in fitting ways. People say things like, “I feel stuck; I feel blocked, restricted; I am in a bind.” When we feel unnaturally bound we must make changes to free things up. Each of us can think of many areas where one may feel bound—the High Lama did a good job of naming most of them.

It might be well to consider the avenues, or vehicles, through which our spirit is flowing, and wherever we are bound or loosed with regard to the use of that vehicle, so will be the factual vibrational message that extends beyond us in radiation. We might each consider how free we are to move easily in the current context of the creative process, because the freedom will be what extends the quality of welcome. Over many months, I have been examining into and asking myself certain of these questions. Looking back to the time since my own, your own, awakening was initiated, has spiritual passion diminished or increased over these fulfilling years? It should be greatly increased if we have continued to accumulate a substantial body of personal and collective life substance, life plasma. I am not talking so much about forms as the quality and intensity of the substance and the passion. In the midst of the wonder of what has occurred, I know it is necessary to let an expansion take place in me, and in the development of a nucleus body—which is actually larger than the sum of the parts assembled at any time, or with regard to any configuration given to this fine work.

A caution was issued many years ago: no settling down, into the illusory comforts of self-satisfaction. What is pressing to come forth right now? You know how it goes, “I’ve been at it for over 50 years you know; I don’t have to do this anymore; let someone else do it.” And changes do come; forms change; specific vehicles for service change—but no settling down!—just changing forms. All this has to do with passion, interest, purified desire. Is this not what our incarnation is all about? Is this not a time of fruition for each of us—for some the capstone of a life of spiritual passion in radiant service. It is in fact a time of new birth, new beginning. Relative to the binding and the loosing, I was reminded of Job 38:31. Binding the sweet influences of Pleiades: the passionate, controlled radiance of the seven spirits of my Being. Loosing the bands of Orion: the focused creative action of love made visible. Bring forth Mazzaroth in his season: life on the move in the rhythms of the cosmic creative process right now. There is so much theory, speculation, philosophy, religion, dogma—when right at hand living may reveal the weight, the gravity of embodied knowing.

This is what Jesus brought, and it didn’t fit any conventional paradigm. The term “I” abounded in His discourses. “I know whence I came." “I am the light of the world.” “I and my Father are one.” “Before Abraham was, I am.” All of it was seen as threatening to conventional religious authority—and it was! His authority was perceived as arrogance and blasphemy. Few have been able to receive the evidence of eternal identity. Plato and Aristotle came a few hundred years before him, postulating a realm of pure Ideas, First Principles, the Abstract, but they never had the audacity to identify with that realm, saying, “I am that.” Jesus did! And He challenged others to assume the same eternal identity, reminding them, “Ye are the light of the world.” “Ye are gods.” In the synagogue of His home city, Jesus delivered the first message of His public ministry. Here are a few words from Luke 4:18-21: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord... This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Shortly after He spoke these words He had to escape because there were people present who wanted to kill Him—and that was at the beginning of His ministry.

Authentic expression is powerfully disturbing of the status quo, but it is exquisite and wonderful, silken and fragrant, as the High Lama said, and not an arduous task at all to those whose hearts are open, who are hungry and want to eat nourishing food. The implications of authentic expression are apocalyptic. The weight of embodied personal knowing—that is something to think about! It is not an arduous task at all. This is what I was called into many years ago, and I suspect it is the same with you too. And so together we can say, this is the acceptable day, this is the acceptable year of the Lord—for my coming forth with increased passion for the spirit, for the Word. The door to the hidden waterfall is open and anyone who is well prepared may walk through.

Here are some words which speak to these things most beautifully, from the poem Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring 

Will be to arrive where we started 

And know the place for the first time. 

Through the unknown, remembered gate 

When the last of earth left to discover 

Is that which was the beginning; 

At the source of the longest river 

The voice of the hidden waterfall

And the children in the apple-tree

Not known, because not looked for 

But heard, half-heard, in the stillness

Between two waves of the sea.

Quick now, here, now, always— 

A condition of complete simplicity

(Costing not less than everything)

And all shall be well and

All manner of thing shall be well

When the tongues of flames are in-folded 

Into the crowned knot of fire

And the fire and the rose are one.