Are we becoming schizo?

I sometimes wonder what the differences are between the majority of people and schizophrenia...

We tend to think of schizophrenia only in it's more delusional aspects, but according to the American Heritage Dictionary, it can be defined as:

A situation or condition that results from the coexistence of disparate or antagonistic qualities, identities, or activities: the national schizophrenia that results from carrying out an unpopular war.

Schizophrenia is "characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, hallucinations, and psychotic behavior." Sounds a lot like what I see going on around us in the mundane world.

As a culture, we tend to be withdrawing from reality into prepackaged televised entertainments or into our own little worlds of Internet fantasy or escape. We have turned off our logical thinking ability to the point where we can be told something we know to be an outright lie and get to the point where we believe it.

I would ask if it is not delusional to think we can continue poisoning the environment we depend upon and not expect there would be repercussions?

Is it not delusional to create fictional entities that are bestowed all the rights and privileges of the citizenry with none of the responsibilities. If that is not bad enough, the courts have compounded the insanity, in my opinion, by declaring the sole responsibility of corporate management to be short-term profit. This means if a decision has the benefit of improving the numbers for this quarter but will destroy the company in a year, they are required to take the immediate benefit.

We now have a new administration coming into power shortly in Washington and what will happen if they do a complete 180 on what they were elected to do? If the last eight years are any indication, not only will we allow it to happen, we will re-elect them in 4 years to continue.

There are so many more examples that would likely get any individual locked up in a padded cell, but the state can convince us is not only in our best interest but absolutely logical and proper.

So it becomes a question of how we begin to escape the insanity that we see around us.

Some would say that a revolution of sorts is needed, but before we start fighting, ask what it is that needs to be changed, what it needs to be changed into and how to get it there. People will kill each other over partially formed ideas so before you start a war, unlike the Bush administration, have an exit strategy or at least a completely formed set of goals that you are trying to attain (Sorry, I just had to go there).

Before you start worrying about the larger picture, take the Buddha's advice and find the place for yourself. If you try to force others into a particular perspective or action that you do not live, you do nothing but show yourself a hypocrite.

If you wish to escape the insanity of repeating the past or what seems may be global schizophrenia, find the source for yourself, call it whatever you might, God, the Is, Mother Nature, Isis, Zeus or whatever. Find your relationship to what is beyond the physical and love that first then the rest will fall into it's correct perspective.

One thing you will find is that you become the second verse of the Gospel of St. Thomas;

Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

Seek the truth of who and what you are, when you find that you will become disturbed because you will see the folly that the majority are living in but eventually you awaken to the fact that the universe is what we have created as our educational platform.

From our limited perspectives it seems outright terrible at times, it is perfect, a perfect deity could create nothing less. It is perfect for its time and place.

Jesus used to say that he knew "his flock," what he meant was that he was able to identify those who were able to understand his message and technique of delivery. Those who were not ready or not of his "flock" were not to be subdued into submission, but allowed to continue their educational curriculum.

Grow, offer what you learn to those who want to learn but if you have to force anyone to the truth, either you are not as learned as you may think or they will only learn to resent you for it, hence the "pearls before swine" reference.