Energy equals Ecstasy squared
Me=XTC2
Einstein was a bit of a geezer. After all, he did manage to get two opposing forces to agree with him.
Until recently, these two forces were clearly defined as Religion and Science. Life was either a random grouping of molecules, or it was God’s divine plan for humanity. Pick a side.
Both forces had their prophets. Scientists foretold technological advances. Holy men channeled God’s wishes for the world. Black or white.
Einstein was a scientist who believed in God. He was going for colour. His prophecies skipped both Church and Laboratory and ended up in the hallowed halls of Business.
“You can’t solve a problem on the same level you created it”.
Management consultants love this one! But what does it mean?
Problems are multi layered and complex. For instance we hate the fat cat Bankers and think the distribution of wealth should be fairer. We all have an inner Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham is SUCH an unpleasant character. But the corporation tax from banks and big evil corporations pays for our free National Health Service. And this system can in turn be abused by people who accept no responsibility for their own welfare. Hmmm.
Things were so much easier in the old days when the commoners were lovely agricultural people portrayed by Constable. Men were noble and hard working. Women suckled their children and made soup. The ruling classes were cold hearted, cowardly and cruel. How much easier it was to pick a side then!
Now we’re not so sure. The commoners sometimes look like an urban nightmare with tattoos, attitude and feral children. They demand job creation and a ‘living’ wage. But life has moved on. Jobs can’t be created, they emerge from a need. ‘Living’ is subjective, now that cappuccinos, pre-cooked meals and i-Phones are considered necessities.
What would Robin Hood and Maid Marion do now? (If, according to Einstein, they’re on the wrong level.)
They could visit a Management Consultant, who would no doubt do a lot of research to establish the facts. Percentages of poor versus rich 90%-10% 99%-1%. Whatevs… There’s a gap! Tax the rich more than 50% and there’s a good chance they’ll emigrate – or lie about their income. Duh!
The fact is data doesn’t tell us what we really want to know – i.e. The state of the Nation’s heart.
Who are the deserving poor and who are the lazy thieving ones? Who are the benevolent rich and who are the bone idle avaricious ones. That would be some useful information and that’s not going to come out of any consultancy any time soon. Time to get to the next level – but we need a very different energy to take us there.
If we could take an X-Ray of our current energy system, it would reveal that most of our energy is coming from below the waist – our lower chakras. This type of energy is best suited to prehistoric times when individual survival was paramount – kill or be killed. Be the best. Immortality via excessive procreation. It’s rapacious, competitive alpha male energy.
But now individual survival is an oxymoron. We’re all connected. Floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are no respecters of an individual’s environmental credentials. The collapse of Lehman Brothers affected the finances of the entire world. The SARS virus went global in two days. Yet we’re still trying to survive by use of the “C” word. Command. Control. Competition.
How do we change our destructive behaviour?
The TV series Mad Men epitomised the golden age of persuasion techniques. We know legislation and exorbitant prices won’t stop kids smoking, when the ‘promise’ of cigarettes is both a ticket to adulthood and an act of rebellion. They’ll steal the money and/or bribe an older sibling to buy them on their behalf. Barriers and restrictions merely serve to make them more creative. This is as true for children as it is for the crony capitalists.
We don’t like being told what to do. It triggers our ‘below the waist’ energy system.
The Occupy London movement has split the religious community at St Paul’s. They wring their hands and say ‘What would Jesus do?’ Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say ‘What would Don Draper do?’
He’d probably make stepping up to the next level cool. Instead of condemning greed, he’d make it absurd. Rather than being judgemental about luxury brands, he’d make them an object of derision, before pouring a glass of bourbon.
It’s time for the creatives to rebrand the values of the heart. For too long these values have been hi-jacked by big corporations and turned into monochrome representations of love – Sentimentality and Sexuality. Black and white. They stir the heart but they are fuelled by ‘below the waist’ energy. The Outcome – Specialness. Soppiness. Jealousy. Need. The Upshot – Hallmark cards. Valentine’s Day. Soap Operas. Daily acts of vengeance. Random acts of blandness.
Imagine the power of a heart fuelled by heart energy.
There’s a brand to conjure with! Every pantone in the box! Less individuality more unity. Less whining more action. Less aggression more creativity. Less policy more passion.
The higher level of heart centred consciousness would champion fierce maternal love over sentimentality (that sorts out the feral kids). It would contain humour and compassion(that trumps the arrogance of the rich and the bad attitude of the not rich). It would demonstrate beauty and grace – let’s at least try to make altruism less dull and more aesthetically pleasing!
Time to step up and play the game at a higher level.
It is possible to make integrity cool, to make the global village hip, to make ideas sexy again.
After all, God is a good idea. And as Einstein said, “I only want to know God’s thoughts, all the rest is just details.”