One Size Does Not Fit All
Truth is as ambiguous a word as love and God. I try to break it down into two distinct categories: There is "Truth" with a capital "T," and there is "what is true." Truths with a capital "T" are universal, objective truths. "What is true" changes from individual to individual. If a person steps off of a cliff, he or she will fall. Truth. If the cliff is 20 feet off of the ground, it is true that some people might be okay, some people might sustain injuries, or, falling the wrong way, someone could die. But Truth is that if the cliff is 500 feet high, a human being would not survive the fall.
We all have things in our life that are true. Where we make the mistake is thinking that what is true for us is Truth. A good litmus test for whether or not your belief is Truth with a capital "T" is to ask yourself if what you believe applies to all human beings, everywhere. People across gender, socio-economics, ethnicities, geography, age, and temperaments/personalities.
This led me to thinking about religions and spiritual belief structures that dominate our culture. When it comes to these things, Truth and what is true become slippery slopes. They are slippery because people selling their brand of what is true give themselves an out by attributing things that work in their lives to their belief structures. They interchange what is true and Truth as if they are the same things.
Here's an example. Let's take a successful, healthy Catholic from Boston, a successful, healthy Mormon from Provo, and a successful, healthy Baptist from Orlando. Say that each of them are asked what their keys to success and health are. They all answer "My (Catholic, Mormon, Baptist) faith." If you are an unsuccessful, unhealthy person, you might find yourself in a conundrum: do you join Catholicism, Mormonism, or a Baptist faith? But according to each religious person, it's their particular faith that has brought them their fortune.
Is what they say true for them, or Truth? Obviously, it's true for them. But we don't know the hundreds of factors that went into their past to create their specific state of fortune, do we? One of them might have come from poverty, and against incredible odds, pulled himself out, vowed to never go hungry again, worked hard, his character and mettle created by hardship. One of them might have come from a privileged background and was set up from the get-go to succeed. They might have good genes with no disease in their family. Certainly with financial success comes the ability to receive medical care and eat more healthy. But we don't know. All we have to go on is where they are right now and what they tell us about their lives. If they attribute their success to God (how many of us have watched awards shows where the Golden fill in an award recipient thanks God for his or her success?) then shouldn't everyone who believes as they do have an equal amount of health and success?
Ah, not quite. God plays favorites, it seems. If you believe and you are unsuccessful and unhealthy, your misfortune can be recast and reframed in a couple of ways: God is testing you/giving you trials to make you a better person; or your faith isn't strong enough. Your devotion isn't as complete as the fortunate souls who are doing well. No one stops to consider the multitude of factors that goes into a success story, or a story of misfortune.
But this phenomenon isn't just true for the believers. It's also a phenomenon among the acolytes of the New Age philosophy that has taken hold since the early nineties. I jokingly refer to it as "Love, Light and Fluffy Bunnies." Here are some popular catch phrases from this school of thought:
Everything happens for a reason.
Everything is unfolding as it should.
The Law of Attraction.
Everything is connected.
The power of Intention.
You create your own reality.
It is what it is.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Just breathe!
Follow your bliss.
Namaste (basically "I am god, you are god," or "I see the divine in you, you see it in me," etc.)
Those are some of my favorites. These axioms also come with belief in past lives, chakras, auras, "energy," (as in we are all energetic beings and we can learn to control and manipulate energy,) bi-location or astral projection, psychic healing, enlightenment/consciousness and soul mates.
These folks think they they are so different than traditional, Judeo-Christian religions. They are more spiritually "advanced" because they've removed the strictures of religion (premarital sex is okay and in fact, encouraged; drugs are okay and sometimes encouraged to "open one's mind and expand one's consciousness") and God/the Universe is Love and Acceptance without shame. If you happen to be one of these believers and are beset with misfortune, it's because you're too negative, or the Universe is teaching you lessons to make you more conscious, or my favorite, you're atoning for past life misdoings.
It's no wonder people who flee oppressive traditional Christian creeds take to the New Age stuff like fishes to water. No more guilt! No more shame! We can fornicate! Hurrah! And they still get to keep their superiority complex that felt so good as Christians, because now they're superior to those cave dwellers who still believe in traditional creeds. How nice.
I decided to try a little exercise with some of their mottos and see how they stood up to Christianity. Here's what I got.
Everything happens for a reason=God has a plan.
Everything is unfolding as it should=God works in mysterious ways.
The Law of Attraction=The power of prayer. If you have enough faith, you'll be blessed.
Everything is connected=We are all God's children/God created everything.
The Power of Intention (if you put out "negativity, you'll get negatives back; if you are positive, you'll get positives back.)="As a man thinketh, so is he."
You create your own reality (you can choose to be happy or not)=Count your blessings (thus avoiding feeling down because you are so darn grateful.)
It is what it is=Have faith.
Wherever you go, there you are (a line co opted from the movie Buckaroo Banzai)=No Christian equivalent, since in Christianity you are always striving to "be ye therefore perfect," whereas New Agers are all about celebrating where they are in the moment. Imperfections and all.
Just breathe=Endure to the end.
Follow your bliss=Accept Jesus and be saved. (The idea behind both is to be happy and pursue happiness.)
Namaste=We are on a mission from God (in both cases, an individual exalts himself as "special.")
The one glaring difference I find in the schools is that Christianity teaches followers to love one another and serve your fellow man. I can't think about Catholicism without thinking about all of the rescue missions across the world. Many other Christian organizations donate and provide relief in the wake of disaster. The new age school of thought is all about loving yourself and serving you. Their justification is that only when you love yourself can you truly love others. Unfortunately, most of the followers never get past loving themselves and hyper-focusing on that self-love and acceptance. Sort of like hitting the "Like" on someone's FB post when they say they need help moving. "See? I'm a good friend; I 'liked' your post!" It's as if that book from the 70's has run amok: "I'm Okay, You're Okay!"
So what is the purpose of these schools of thought? It's the same purpose advertisers all over the world have--they want to sell you something. What are they selling? The ultimate state of being: Happiness. The reasons we do everything in our lives is to seek out good feelings, and avoid bad ones. Welcome to Humanity 101.
So let's add another guy to our fictional line-up: A new age guy living in Los Angeles. Successful, healthy, and when asked, he rattles off his philosophy about "being in the Now" and cleansing his aura with a holy man in an Ashram in India. Four guys, all living well, and not-a ONE will tell you they are lucky. They will tell you, either using God or their own powers of intention, that they are special. I actually know a guy who looks very young for his mid-fifties. When I remarked on it, he didn't tell me it was good genes and the fact that he had money (and probably a little "work" done.) He told me that every morning, he alters his cellular structure with "intention," and that's why he looks so freakishly young. I remember wanting to ask him why he alters himself to look 40 instead of 25.
Now.
Let's take a trip to Haiti. Let's sit down and speak to a 12-year old girl, a restavek. Do you know what a restavek is? A restavek is a child who has been given away by a usually very poor family to a wealthier family as a domestic servant/slave. Another term for these children, most of them female, is la pou sa, which means "here for that." Don't know what "that" is? I do. "That" is systematic rape at the hands of her captors.
Ready for our chat?
"I am here to sell you happiness, little girl. Here's how you can be happy." Now read down the list. You choose. Choose the Christian list or the New Age list. Or have some fun--mix it up! Go on. Look into her haunted eyes and tell her that she creates her own fucking reality. Ask her if she wants to take some ecstasy and meditate in an altered state with you to "expand her consciousness." Don't we all want to free our minds? Tell her to love herself. Tell her God has a plan. Explain to her that her negative thoughts got her there. Go on. TELL HER.
Here is the Truth, with a capital "T." You are LUCKY you are not this girl, and so am I. You are lucky that you have food, clothing, shelter and health. Don't tell me it's your intention or God has blessed you. Because I've got news for you. She deserves to be blessed way more than you do. Where is God for her? Where does positive thinking get her? How about telling her 'it is what it is?' And just for the sake of another reality check: try sending her good energy or praying for her. That and a bullet to her brain will get her out of her circumstances. And that, folks, is the Truth.
I can't do anything for her. I can't fly into Port-au-Prince and save them all. But you know what I can do? I can make people aware that she exists. Through my art I can show you things. I can admit I don't have a clue how to make it all better. I can admit I just don't know. I can contemplate the plight of so many and allow myself to grieve for them, mourn, and be enraged. I can donate, support causes, be aware and not let them go unacknowledged.
And I'm not worried about my "negative thoughts." I'm a human being and I FEEL. I feel for the tired, the poor, the meek, the abused. They are out there. They are struggling. That is the Truth. I don't need to be sold your brand of happiness. I won't turn my face away from suffering, so therefore, I suffer. There is a very human sense of contentment I feel when I tune in to others' suffering. And I do it daily when I create. I don't need to be "saved." And when I suffer personally because of my measly, first-world struggles with ennui and existential crises, I like to know I'm not alone. Imagine how she would feel if she knew people around the world were willing to actually DO something to help her. Not thinking about helping her by praying or "sending her love and light." DO SOMETHING.
I am not the epicenter of the world; I am neither God, nor his Chosen One who has been "blessed," and that's my biggest beef with all of these philosophies: they promote a sense of self-importance, self-centeredness and an idea of privilege that I find repugnant. You are not blessed, you do not create your (smooth, first-world) reality. You are NOT special. You are damned lucky. And so am I. If you want to attribute that to 'what is true for YOU?' Fine. But remember the difference between what is true and Truth. It just might save you a 500-foot drop off of a cliff.
