Entry 12: Labels
Awakening to the Fource
Labels concerning our race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, and political views abound. Valuing our differences is indeed worthwhile. But, when our valuing of our individuality supersedes our valuing of our commonality, we have lost our way.
Our current political climate and approach to life has become characterized by division. Perpetual emphasis on how we are different from each other is not going to end well. It’s about time we all start being more honest about that.
Starting the new year, I find it particularly noteworthy to contemplate the state of the world, and I think many of us can agree that it’s not exactly looking bright. Division, discord, war — a lack of openness, connectedness, and common ground. This poses the question: why? How did we get here?
In this entry, the sanctity of unifying categories and ideals is a central theme. Valuing both our differences and similarities is integral to human flourishing. Until we learn how to listen to each other with genuine openness and humility, our individuality will continue to push us apart and our global community will continue to suffer.
Being in the Fource
In this section, I will share information I obtained through a rodding session (for more info, check out The Rodding Method before you continue reading here). I hope you find this information informative and inspiring, but that is honestly not why I share it. I share it in order to contribute to the ever-growing pool of information about the universe.
Be.
Today, many beings have become fixated on labels.
This fixation will only reap division.
Each being has distinct characteristics.
Each being also has clear similarities.
Together, these characteristics enrich the evolutionary process of the universe.
Throughout time, however, many beings have viewed their differences as threats to their distinct ways of life.
Collective flourishing, however, depends on beings becoming knowledgeable about both their differences and similarities in living and being.
A counter movement is coming.
With this comes a revolution against the relentless labeling and categorization that has defined the postmodern age.
A new understanding of categorization is emerging, one that will enrich and unify beings rather than divide them.
Bleak is the future where labels as currently conceived have the final word around human beings.
Labels are currently altering understanding in a negative direction.
Unifying categories are becoming manifest.
With unity comes flourishing.
Be open to more information.
Messengers are all around you.
Go in peace.
Following the Fource
In this rodding session, concerning questions emerge around the prevalence of labels in the postmodern world. Labels and categories are undoubtedly useful for delineating different aspects of our world and universe at large. However, categorization around human beings specifically seems to be getting a bit out of hand. It appears as though the labels that once helped bring order and unity to our experience are now creating more disorder than order. Centering our lives around categories that unify rather than divide us manifests as the central theme of this rodding session.
In every person there is an essential piece of information, a piece of information about the universe that only they can share. The task lies in each of us uncovering what is ours to provide. Long before the postmodern era, certain communities recognized this, but many did not.
Throughout human history, we see countless examples of ‘conquer or be conquered’ — it is ‘us or them.’ Conquer is a strategy rooted in fear. It is a mentality that views difference as a threat rather than as an opportunity for deeper understanding. Conquerors force those who are different to assimilate to their way of life, all the while missing out on the wisdom embedded within the differences manifest in that other culture. Assimilation without an openness or exploration of difference is a self-righteous and perpetually limited approach to reality.
That said, relentless categorization and emphasis on difference is not a winning strategy either. Our current political climate elucidates this. When we fixate on our differences more than our similarities, discord follows. With difference comes the opportunity for division. When we become overly concerned with our individuality, our larger community suffers. Individuality at the cost of community is also a self-righteous and perpetually limited approach to reality.
But between difference and similarity there is common ground. It is in the labels and categories that both honor differences and enrich and unify experience. Communication, collaboration, and new discoveries further the evolution of the universe. Not forced assimilation, not relentless categorization, but communication and collaboration.
Change is coming. Many are pushing back against the division that has become a key attribute of the postmodern age. Many of us are tired of discord and hungry for common ground. Diving deeper into community is where it begins. To change the status quo, we have to open ourselves to difficult and uncomfortable conversations — no canceling (forced assimilation), no labeling (hyper-fixation on individuality). By becoming better listeners and communicators, we can enter a new age.
