Materialism: the downward spiral
Stepping back to reflect on the prevailing conditions across most of the earth will convince most thinking people that materialism has darkened the eyes of many. It’s becoming ever clearer that each generation is more materialistic than that of their parents; and that it’s having a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health. Our children and grandchildren are being engulfed by a tide of commercialism and consumerism which threatens to overwhelm the world in a catastrophe of our own making. However, the crises in the economies around the world, the brutal conflicts, and the destructive environmental impact of modern rates of consumption and wastefulness are leading more people to challenge the way we live our lives.
But having said that, to reject all concern for material life and possessions as no more than the product of selfishness and greed; or to denounce it out of hand as the great evil of our time, is also to delude ourselves. To allow the pendulum to swing too far toward the other extreme would be equally catastrophic. The intolerance of the zealot leads his followers into a desert of fanaticism, which is just as bereft of health and happiness as the modern, ultra-materialistic societies they wish to escape.
In seeking solutions it’s also hard to put much faith in the ‘technology-will-solve-everything’ mentality, nor in the over-materialistic policies of the same old political movements that helped build the road to where we find ourselves. Indeed, the politics and economics of change have become labyrinthine and miasmic in themselves. Fear, superstition, vested interest, apathy and a whole host of other negative conditions continue to confound and delay those who would seek out a new way—a way that might take them a step closer to a more balanced, sane, less brutal and less brutalising existence.
And yet, to those who dare to look within, brave enough to seek the truth of their own consciences, and humble enough to learn from the best of the ancient traditions, the way forward is relatively clear and simple. That’s not to say that it’s easy. On the contrary, the solution to our predicament involves perhaps the most difficult undertaking asked of us: to improve ourselves.
Convincing explanations for our situation can be discovered among beliefs and traditions more ancient than our history of ideas is able to discover. Over many thousands of years thinkers have recognised a higher and a lower aspect of human nature. In the main, the lower is characterised as being at home in the world, it seeks the objects of the senses, and is instinctively drawn towards material riches and possessions. Its love is a physical, sexual love, and its relationship with others is often based on self-interest or selfishness. On the other hand, within these traditions the higher is attuned to the realms of heavenly light; it seeks escape from the prison of the material senses; it urges the seeker onwards towards truth, beauty and spiritual power; its Love is a divine selfless Love; and its relationships with others are based on harmony, trust and cooperation.
‘Two souls, alas! are lodg’d within my breast
Which struggle there for undivided reign:
One to the world, with obstinate desire,
And closely-cleaving organs, still adheres;
Above the mist the other doth aspire
With sacred vehemence, to purer spheres.’ (Goethe)
It’s patently clear which of the two aspects has been driving most of our collective and individual behaviour for so long now. Sooner or later however, more and more individuals will begin to take stock of how they think and how they live their lives. This is already happening.
Others, alas, will not. For sadly, they will choose to cling determinedly to that which they are told, or prefer to believe—that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena. They will continue to behave as if physical comfort, material well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. And they will lack the courage to challenge the unfettered and coarse expressions of the worst aspect of human nature, allowing it the license to follow its every selfish desire—whether or not it needs to trample over the sick, the dying, the aged and the vulnerably young in order to do so.
Each of us has the free will to choose in which ‘direction’ he or she wishes to travel. Each of us can decide to take on the challenge of inner change or not. To prepare oneself for a more sincere and noble life while rejecting, as far as we are able, the excessive materialism that threatens life itself for so many millions, is fast becoming the choice which will define the spirit of the coming cycle. It is our responsibility. No-one can do it on our behalf. It is difficult. However, if enough individuals have a real change of mind then new thoughts will lead to new words and new actions; in time, new institutions will rise up to give expression to a new will. But it all starts with individuals exercising their free will by choosing to try to change themselves.
If we wish to progress as individuals and as communities we will need to try to establish a more appropriate balance and relationship between the two inner selves. When this has been achieved the best part of ourselves will know how to guide, reassure and protect the lower; it will not be unduly led by it; it will bring a measure of calm purpose to life. Whenever we can, we will strive to be of unobtrusive service in whatever earthly circumstances we find ourselves. And when, rather than if, we fail to do so, then we should persist, brush ourselves down and as often as is necessary try to re-establish the positive, healthy ideals we intuitively know we should try to embody.
Good thoughts, motivations and actions will strengthen our capacity to make manifest the higher aspects of our nature. To take time out of the busyness of the workaday world to still the mind or to mentally hold in our minds for a little while anything we consider truly beautiful or uplifting will bring its reward. We will begin to align ourselves with the positive elements of Nature. We will begin to discard the baneful influences of both apathy and fanaticism to join an upward flow of healthy, balanced enthusiasm. We will come under the powerful healing influences of Love, Beauty, Tolerance, and Goodwill.
This shift in the balance between the higher and lower aspects will not however, reduce the importance of our material duties and responsibilities to ourselves, our families and our communities. The new way is not forged by impractical dreamers or hippy style dropouts; neither will it be created by intolerant extremists. But as more individuals take on the challenge to bring about a positive change within themselves, our communities will gradually begin to work together to reward the motivations and behaviours we know will build a better, more tolerant and just world for our children and grandchildren. Conversely, we will begin to withdraw our support for the false authorities that appeal to the worst aspects of our nature, recognising the selfishness of vested interest as one of the paths that has led us to where we are. And ultimately, we will have enabled our communities to do so by changing ourselves within. Like it or not, we can’t sit ineptly by the wayside complaining that “someone should do something about it”; for no-one can do it for us, and like it or not, there are no quick and easy fixes.
But if or when it happens, the inner change will impact most of all at the individual level. For each individual man or woman who chooses to improve themselves by sincerely and persistently trying to embody their ideals, readies themselves for the next episode of the great adventure. They prepare themselves for the next phase in their inner development, no longer imprisoned by the illusions of an exclusively material life. Their sincerity and balanced, unselfish motivations will place such individuals in the next and most wonderful classroom of life. They will be on the Ancient Way.
Materialism: the downward spiral
Stepping back to reflect on the prevailing conditions across most of the earth will convince most thinking people that materialism has darkened the eyes of many. It’s becoming ever clearer that each generation is more materialistic than that of their parents; and that it’s having a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health. Our children and grandchildren are being engulfed by a tide of commercialism and consumerism which threatens to overwhelm the world in a catastrophe of our own making. However, the crises in the economies around the world, the brutal conflicts, and the destructive environmental impact of modern rates of consumption and wastefulness are leading more people to challenge the way we live our lives.
But having said that, to reject all concern for material life and possessions as no more than the product of selfishness and greed; or to denounce it out of hand as the great evil of our time, is also to delude ourselves. To allow the pendulum to swing too far toward the other extreme would be equally catastrophic. The intolerance of the zealot leads his followers into a desert of fanaticism, which is just as bereft of health and happiness as the modern, ultra-materialistic societies they wish to escape.
In seeking solutions it’s also hard to put much faith in the ‘technology-will-solve-everything’ mentality, nor in the over-materialistic policies of the same old political movements that helped build the road to where we find ourselves. Indeed, the politics and economics of change have become labyrinthine and miasmic in themselves. Fear, superstition, vested interest, apathy and a whole host of other negative conditions continue to confound and delay those who would seek out a new way—a way that might take them a step closer to a more balanced, sane, less brutal and less brutalising existence.
And yet, to those who dare to look within, brave enough to seek the truth of their own consciences, and humble enough to learn from the best of the ancient traditions, the way forward is relatively clear and simple. That’s not to say that it’s easy. On the contrary, the solution to our predicament involves perhaps the most difficult undertaking asked of us: to improve ourselves.
Convincing explanations for our situation can be discovered among beliefs and traditions more ancient than our history of ideas is able to discover. Over many thousands of years thinkers have recognised a higher and a lower aspect of human nature. In the main, the lower is characterised as being at home in the world, it seeks the objects of the senses, and is instinctively drawn towards material riches and possessions. Its love is a physical, sexual love, and its relationship with others is often based on self-interest or selfishness. On the other hand, within these traditions the higher is attuned to the realms of heavenly light; it seeks escape from the prison of the material senses; it urges the seeker onwards towards truth, beauty and spiritual power; its Love is a divine selfless Love; and its relationships with others are based on harmony, trust and cooperation.
‘Two souls, alas! are lodg’d within my breast
Which struggle there for undivided reign:
One to the world, with obstinate desire,
And closely-cleaving organs, still adheres;
Above the mist the other doth aspire
With sacred vehemence, to purer spheres.’ (Goethe)
It’s patently clear which of the two aspects has been driving most of our collective and individual behaviour for so long now. Sooner or later however, more and more individuals will begin to take stock of how they think and how they live their lives. This is already happening.
Others, alas, will not. For sadly, they will choose to cling determinedly to that which they are told, or prefer to believe—that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena. They will continue to behave as if physical comfort, material well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. And they will lack the courage to challenge the unfettered and coarse expressions of the worst aspect of human nature, allowing it the license to follow its every selfish desire—whether or not it needs to trample over the sick, the dying, the aged and the vulnerably young in order to do so.
Each of us has the free will to choose in which ‘direction’ he or she wishes to travel. Each of us can decide to take on the challenge of inner change or not. To prepare oneself for a more sincere and noble life while rejecting, as far as we are able, the excessive materialism that threatens life itself for so many millions, is fast becoming the choice which will define the spirit of the coming cycle. It is our responsibility. No-one can do it on our behalf. It is difficult. However, if enough individuals have a real change of mind then new thoughts will lead to new words and new actions; in time, new institutions will rise up to give expression to a new will. But it all starts with individuals exercising their free will by choosing to try to change themselves.
If we wish to progress as individuals and as communities we will need to try to establish a more appropriate balance and relationship between the two inner selves. When this has been achieved the best part of ourselves will know how to guide, reassure and protect the lower; it will not be unduly led by it; it will bring a measure of calm purpose to life. Whenever we can, we will strive to be of unobtrusive service in whatever earthly circumstances we find ourselves. And when, rather than if, we fail to do so, then we should persist, brush ourselves down and as often as is necessary try to re-establish the positive, healthy ideals we intuitively know we should try to embody.
Good thoughts, motivations and actions will strengthen our capacity to make manifest the higher aspects of our nature. To take time out of the busyness of the workaday world to still the mind or to mentally hold in our minds for a little while anything we consider truly beautiful or uplifting will bring its reward. We will begin to align ourselves with the positive elements of Nature. We will begin to discard the baneful influences of both apathy and fanaticism to join an upward flow of healthy, balanced enthusiasm. We will come under the powerful healing influences of Love, Beauty, Tolerance, and Goodwill.
This shift in the balance between the higher and lower aspects will not however, reduce the importance of our material duties and responsibilities to ourselves, our families and our communities. The new way is not forged by impractical dreamers or hippy style dropouts; neither will it be created by intolerant extremists. But as more individuals take on the challenge to bring about a positive change within themselves, our communities will gradually begin to work together to reward the motivations and behaviours we know will build a better, more tolerant and just world for our children and grandchildren. Conversely, we will begin to withdraw our support for the false authorities that appeal to the worst aspects of our nature, recognising the selfishness of vested interest as one of the paths that has led us to where we are. And ultimately, we will have enabled our communities to do so by changing ourselves within. Like it or not, we can’t sit ineptly by the wayside complaining that “someone should do something about it”; for no-one can do it for us, and like it or not, there are no quick and easy fixes.
But if or when it happens, the inner change will impact most of all at the individual level. For each individual man or woman who chooses to improve themselves by sincerely and persistently trying to embody their ideals, readies themselves for the next episode of the great adventure. They prepare themselves for the next phase in their inner development, no longer imprisoned by the illusions of an exclusively material life. Their sincerity and balanced, unselfish motivations will place such individuals in the next and most wonderful classroom of life. They will be on the Ancient Way.