Fear Power
By Ed Howes

Wealth and power are but two peas in a pod. When one creates either, one becomes acutely aware others would prefer to take it from one, than create their own. This creates fear and fear creates danger and foolish behavior.

The more material wealth and power one accumulates, the more necessary it becomes to spend both to maintain possession. This is the spiritual penalty of poorly chosen desire. When I desire that which many others desire, I create a challenge to the criminal mind to relieve me of my own. The seeds of destruction are contained in my very desire. This makes me fearful and the fear makes me dangerous. A fearful man is ego dominated, faithless and all alone in the world, as he sees it. Put such men in a group, call them leaders and we have only compounded the fear, foolishness and danger.

Fear is poorly understood by those under its power and control. It is interesting that one fearful person quickly learns how to infect others and most of us were infected by adults in our childhood. In every case fear is both servant and master. It is both poison and disease.

The U.S. is at war today because George Bush was afraid he would appear weak if he did not respond to violence with violence. A Christian knows better but as Wayne Dyer tells us, ego means Edge God Out. On 11 September, 2001, God was edged out of the spirit of George Bush and ego took control, as ego readily does. Ego, which is fearful by nature, has been running the White House since then. The Christian and spiritual response to the Trade Center attack is immediate and unconditional forgiveness. The question we must ask and answer is: what have we done to bring this circumstance upon us? Because we sense the answer is a laundry list of errors, criminal behaviors, wrong desires, choices and miscalculations; ego tells us to respond before we ask. Shoot first � ask questions later. George Bush was robbed of his Christian or divine spirit and we got an unelected president called ego.

White House and Defense egos then fed each other fear and anger, one derived from the other. Ego decided Al Qaeda was but one threat to wealth and power and it would have to eliminate all perceived threats, real or imagined. The lesson for observers is: to empower ego is the most self destructive thing we can do. Yet we do it every day and at every election. Only ego driven people run for office. Spirit led people avoid ego driven environments and have no voice there. We might want to believe an ego driven person is spiritual, but a spiritual person is never, never ego driven. We need to discern the difference.

Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nat Hanh has plainly said American leadership must develop understanding, which leads to compassion, which leads to communion. This is his desire and should be ours as well. Since we insist on ego driven leadership and ambition, it then becomes a social obligation to convert them from ego driven to spirit led souls � something an ego led society is loathe to do. Ego never surrenders control without a fight. Visualize those devil vs. angel cartoons.

Wayne

Trimble is beaten in Upper Bann
As the UUP leader David Trimble suffers a humiliating defeat by the DUP there are suggestions that he may resign within 48 hours.
SDLP's Durkan wins seat in Foyle
The SDLP leader Mark Durkan wins the Foyle seat despite a strong challenge from Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin.
Sinn Fein win Newry and Armagh
Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy wins the Newry and Armagh seat previously held by SDLP veteran Seamus Mallon.
Willie McCrea takes South Antrim
The Ulster Unionists lose another seat as David Burnside is unseated in South Antrim by the DUP.
East Antrim landslide for the DUP
The East Antrim seat is won by the DUP's Sammy Wilson as Ulster Unionists continue to suffer losses.
SDLP victorious in South Belfast
The South Belfast seat is taken by Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP with the DUP in second place.
UUP's Hermon holds North Down
The UUP's Lady Sylvia Hermon holds North Down despite predictions that the DUP could take it from her.
Ministerial changes are unveiled
Northern Ireland's departments have been redistributed among the new direct rule ministers.
IRA 'has started internal debate'
The IRA has started an internal debate on whether it should pursue its goals exclusively through politics, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams says.
Police praise for peaceful poll
The collection of ballot boxes in part of Londonderry passes off peacefully for the first time in 30 years.
NI council election is completed
The DUP and Sinn Fein make the most gains in NI's local government elections as counting is completed.
Murder 'lost' seat for Sinn Fein
There are claims that Robert McCartney's murder was behind Sinn Fein's failure to retain a council seat.
NI secretary arrives in Belfast
The new secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, meets the DUP as he arrives in Belfast.
New NIO ministers appointed
Prime Minister Tony Blair has made three new appointments to the Northern Ireland Office in his cabinet re-shuffle.
Benn's call for SF to take seats
Veteran politico Tony Benn says Sinn Fein should rethink taking their Westminster seats in order to restart dialogue.
UUP figures support DUP man
Two senior UUP members apprently lend support to the DUP's general election candidate in South Belfast.
Bookies offer odds on hot seats
Two Northern Ireland bookmakers publish odds on local politicians in the general election.
DUP stay tight-lipped over Berry
The DUP refuse to comment on a newspaper report about their candidate Paul Berry meeting a gay man in a hotel.
Dr Deeny apologises to unionists
The independent candidate in West Tyrone, Kieran Deeny promises unionists he will never join a political party.
DUP issues agreement warning
DUP leader Ian Paisley says the general election has signalled the burial of the Good Friday Agreement.

Dyer also makes a powerful point about viewpoint. If you believe the world is a cold, cruel, hostile and dangerous place, you will live your life and function in strict accordance with that view. If you believe the world is a rich, warm, comforting, adventuresome place, you will live and function in accordance with that view. The power here is in understanding we make this choice on a daily basis before we get out of bed and we can change it any time we choose. We must understand the choices we make, consciously or otherwise. We must understand that today�s choice need not be the same as yesterday�s. A choice is not necessarily a commitment.

This power is not to be feared. It is the power of liberation. It is the power of choice and the power of spirit that releases us from the prisons of our own making (with great assistance from others). In America, the fearful, ego driven inmates are running the asylum. Those pretending to be sane also pretend the inmates are not running the asylum. Ego cannot exist without pretense born of fear. This is so easily observed among leadership, we know it intuitively.

The intuition of a spirit led person is 100% reliable. The intuition of ego only multiplies perceived threats, fears and dangers. Ego driven people can be the most religious among us, so religion is no test of spirituality, as we can clearly see. The power of fear is the power of destruction, whether it leads one to depression, anger and suicide, or rage, murder and war. In every case, spirit is suppressed by ego and the self has made an unconscious choice.

It is this unconsciousness of the ego � spirit struggle for self control which creates entire civilizations of sleep walkers. Unconscious people with open eyes repeating unconsciously chosen behaviors for a lifetime. One can choose their own awakening. It can come from a chime in the wind, a good book, a flash of inspiration, a threat, a crisis or a hammer blow. If we have chosen to remain unconscious, the awakening will more often come by threat, crisis or hammer blow. Many will not be awakened in this lifetime and may require another.

Sleepwalkers will do nothing to put the conscious, spirit led people in authority over the money loving ego machine. The responsibility for the good of global society naturally falls to those who have become conscious. When fearful, unconscious choices rule the world or parts of it, there is no end to suffering. When we change ourselves, we change the world. If the change is unnoticed today, it might be noticed tomorrow. There is no limit to the changes a conscious, spirit led person can make. Such is the nature of heroism.

In truth, we need not fear the power of the fearful, which can easily be neutralized and overcome, if that is what we choose. The failure to choose the good, is to choose evil, not only for ourselves, but those we touch in mind, body and spirit. Such a choice is unloving and uncaring. There is no problem or suffering beyond the reach of consciousness and the conscious have begun discussing strategy to awaken the sleepwalkers in positions of power and authority. We are calling such people cultural creatives. Look to them for practical applications of consciousness raising.