(This post was also published on The Huffington Post)
Introduction / Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four
Mathematician and visionary Arthur M. Young introduced his book The Geometry of Meaning with the enigmatic words “All meaning is an angle.”
Does meaning emerge from the tension of varying angles of perception? And if this is true, what angle of inquiry might be worthwhile to pursue?
In this new series of posts (in four parts over the next 12 days), I explore an angle of inquiry that is working its way into collective consciousness — the confrontation with shadow and its meaning for a new narrative based on inclusion, wholeness, spirit, and sustainable systems.
The shadow is personified by the emergence of Donald Trump, whose narcissism, sociopathic disposition, and lack of discipline have unnerved even traditional Republican Party loyalists. Many in the progressive community are breathing a sigh of relief that such a disorganized, vacillating, and bigoted figure could not possibly win the election. Yet, it is sobering to remember that, even as pundits ponder that he actually wants to lose the election, his polling hovers at 40% of the electorate, and he remains in striking distance of his Democratic opponent. The angle of justification that “he’s not perfect but we need him to shake things up” remains a viable political perspective for many.
In what might seem a separate universe, the growing movement for “a world that works for all” is also active, a grassroots phenomenon that is revealing itself in innumerable projects that seek economic and social justice. In a few days, I will be co-hosting a conference in Germany called “Leading as Sacred Practice.” It is but one example of efforts aimed at linking self-awareness and social awareness as two interconnected phenomena.
I hope to provoke in this new series of posts a further understanding of shadow as having a collective element. Although the shadow, as described by Jung, has been understood mostly in personal psychological terms, its greater meaning lies in the collective social field. And to understand what is stirred up in the collective, we must go beyond the individual to the tribal and spiritual elements of human behavior. To do so risks some personal discomfort, as our current understanding is challenged, but the reward is an expanded angle of comprehension and a deeper regard for the intermingling of the social and the sacred. To be satisfied with demonizing Trump risks aborting a critical opportunity for learning about the collective situation we face.
Finally, I want to offer a reframe for the meaning of descent. It can refer to a movement downward, even a sudden violent attack. It can also refer to origins, such as the background of a person’s family or nationality. All these meanings show up in my writing, but it is the angle of descent that concerns me. If the descent is too extreme, meaning unconscious, it can indeed result in a violent end. However, if the descent allows us to penetrate into the depths of our situation, and we return with greater consciousness, then we will be able to see our situation with new eyes and contribute to our world with new understanding. This is the journey we are all on, managing the boundary between conscious and unconscious awareness. Let it be a joyful one, opening the soul’s eyes, embracing multiple perspectives, and joining the company of those we most value and respect.
Brilliant. Thank you Alan. Donald Trump may be a lot of things. Among them, that interests me, is the symbol that gives entrance to understanding what is strong and present in the collective psyche. I look forward to your writings.
The symbol that Donald Trump represents is a loud beckoning call to ignorance and intellectual simplicity, that is both sad and obnoxious. A call to hate and with a seductive acceptance of our lesser selves.
I hate that I hate, but I do. I hate and so it is that the autonomous stupidity of my anatomical/physiological self challenges my higher mind. I try to be a better man, yet I constantly worry that this act, that of iterative self-review, will sum and contribute enough to produce a better collective soul for us all.
Trending in cybersecurity is the idea that we need to capture our collective learning and understanding in a way that we can use to enhance our overall security – how can we learn from our past, share that knowledge and “fact-check” that we indeed applied what we expereinced in a way that reduced suffering?
Ownership of our own actions is the key.
Hi Tenneson, Great to hear from you. I appreciate your deep and continued interest in the collective psyche.
Hello Alan,
I sincerely appreciate this post. It certainly gives me a new perspective regarding all the shenanigans that we have been witnessing in this political race. I appreciate this new viewpoint and it gives me something to ponder.
Hi Greg, Great to hear from you and appreciate your being open to new viewpoints.
Alan, this simple thought about angle and its related word, pitch, resonates with what I have learned about self-management of our emotions, our deep motivations of behavior that often remain unexamined. I am impatient to read more of your thinking. I believe right action derives from listening to our heart connection to others and listening to our intuitive connection to Higher Power. This means stopping the constant rush toward solutions to problems defined by cultural belief systems, the rush that leads to analysis-paralysis. Sacred leadership would be the opposite of demagoguery, would be extremely local and personal, based on experience not rationality, and as you are hinting, group consciousness. Right on.
David,
I appreciate what you say and wonder whether, as a species, if our predisposition towards black/white thinking, and the educational development required to master it, is a fundamental issue we may never overcome. I see this rush to judge things as black or white often and it concerns me since our world truly seems to be an infinite range of shades of color metaphorically speaking.
Hi David,
It’s wonderful to have you in this conversation. I think you are picking up constructively on David Hazen’s comments regarding suspending our black and white thinking to get to soemething richer and more nuanced. Indeed simply suspending our certainty, even if just for a short time, allows new thinking to arise.
Hi David, Thank you for writing and your wisdom. My experience in Germany with Leading as Sacred Practice is just what you point to – suspension of our rush for solutions and a great respect for the local and personal, with a desire to see a group consciousness arise that is human in its vulnerability but greater for its welcoming of mystery.
Alan
I am like so many continually distressed by this state of affairs in our public life.Our whole future is at stake and I find myself wondering how anyone can make a difference. I very much look forward to your transformative wisdom on this deeply important area of discourse.
Hi Dennis, Great to hear from you and your continued curiosity to understand what is moving in the collective. And thank you for your great work across countries and cultures.
Alan,
Thanks for providing me with a new perspective on how to deal with an ego maniac who continually makes stupid and incorrect statements on pretty much all political topics. I look forward to your future posts.
Hi Lisa, Thanks for writing and expressing the frustration, anger, and incredulity that many feel. It is why I am writing, to explore what to many seems incomprehensible on one side of the equation, only to be met by the same frustration, anger, and incredulity on the other side of the equation. I just came back from Germany where I participated in a joyful social gathering with people speaking German, English, Kurdish, Persian, a dialect of Farsi, and god knows what else. We used hand gestures and humor and when we could not make any sense of what was being said, we just moved on to another topic. One German woman who speaks excellent English forgot I was American and went on for some time in German. And it was all wonderful with a feeling of great connection. And here in the United States, we appear to be talking English to each other, but neither understanding or connecting. When we make an effort to read between the lines and listen from the heart, wonderful things can happen.
Thanks Alan. Once again you invite me to take a look at something I believe I understand only to find I have a way to go. I love how you encourage new thinking, even new explanations for what we observe, in ourselves and in the collective. I’ll be reading your upcoming posts with curiosity and enthusiasm:)
Thanks Sharon, I always appreciate your openness to further inquiry and the desire to live according to how your highest principles.