“The Protester” was Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2011, covering the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall St and protests throughout Europe, the latest in Russia. The common threads were frustration with inequality, corruption and injustice and disenchantment with the political and power controlling establishment. The author of the article, Kurt Andersen, noted, “Ever since modern republican democracy was invented(AJ: going back to the American and French revolutions), astonishing protests and uprisings have spiked and spread every half-century or so….It happens almost like clockwork, yet each time people are freshly shocked and bamboozled.”
People want more equality, opportunity and justice and from time to time take to the streets and even topple governments.  There is an immediate feeling of euphoria and accomplishment, yet power and wealth eventually gravitates to the few; precious opportunities for constructive change are lost.  The last 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union has been a prime example of such hijacking of hope and waste of opportunity. America, the Good Guys, had won the Cold War; there were no major enemies or rivals. America could have led the way to a more compassionate and sustainable planet by leading international efforts to revamp the economic system, tackle the poverty gap and global warming/climate change.  Instead the Republicans sought to make the USA even more militarily powerful and assertive (see www.newamericancentury.org) and of course economically through the celebration and exportation of the unregulated Free Market – greed is good for everyone - which has brought us to where we are now. The 1% got super wealthy but the 99% suffered; the global economy is destabilized and America’s strategy back-fired, since China is poised to take over the economic  top spot.
We need a new set of Ethics to guide us – voters, consumers and leaders alike - through ups and downs and pendulum swings  of opinions and fads. Here are a few suggestions:

• We have to switch our collective motivation away from ever-increasing consumption.  The planet is already over-crowded at 7 billion and India and China are still developing (and consuming) rapidly. Food, water and energy are limited. The concept of Enough needs to become sexy.  Studies have shown that once a country’s average annual income hits $25,000, happiness/ satisfaction peak and decline.
• Leaders, whether individuals or countries, have to lead by example, not though the threat or exercise of naked power. 
• We the People should demand as such from our leaders and in order to do this we have to learn to pay attention and to be steadfast in our objectives, not just swing with the ever-changing news cycles and political parties.
• Our economic and political systems need to be adjusted to take care of long-term, collective problems and to minimize the effects of large (especially corporate) donations and lobbying. At present, we are encouraged to seek short term satisfaction. Corporations are not required to pay the long term damage they cause to ordinary people and the environment.
• In order to achieve the above (and more), we have to learn to truly change ourselves..to deepen/ heighten our consciousness so we can see our interconnectedness as a fact, rather than a remote ideal…which is perhaps the deepest message of the world’s great religious and spiritual traditions. I and other members of the Forge Guild have created a template for beginning to integrate new level spirituality with social and political action. Check out www.globalspiritualcitizenship.org and sign if you agree!

Prior to Occupy, the last time there was a widespread call for real, systemic change in North America (and the developed West) was during the 60s and 70s, driven by Youth – students, the underprivileged and hippies. Then as now, there were calls for equality and for the corporations to be reined in. Even the two-time Republican President, Eisenhower warned of the “military industrial complex” infiltrating government at all levels.

We all know, or should know, what happened next. The 80s came along and new mantras were born: “It’s OK to spend (even if you have to borrow) and be greedy because it helps the economy”, together with “The rising tide lifts all boats”. In hindsight, we now know that the source of this new unregulated Free Market ideology (now entrenched as gospel by the Right) was the economist Milton Friedman, promoted by Reagan and Thatcher. This was when wealth began rapidly concentrating in the 1%. The “tide” under these new economic policies was actually raising the boats of the wealthy and powerful much, much higher than the rest. That catchy metaphor was plainly false …but astoundingly still has great traction, even among those being crushed by it!

The Boomer generation should take some responsibility for this about-turn. Many hippies and student revolutionaries became the New Capitalists, Conspicuous Consumers, millionaires and in some cases, billionaires. I was at one of the centres of the 60s Student Revolution – the London School of Economics and Political Science – and witnessed these events and transitions first hand. Not all Boomers went that way. Without being holier-than-thou or blaming others, I personally choose a different path, much to the consternation of my family and eventually, at the expense of my marriage. In 1984, I gave up being a Chartered Accountant and became a teacher of Insight Meditation, Taijiquan, Qigong and the Internal Martial Arts. I paid monetary and other personal prices for this decision, but I fundamentally have no regret. I love and value what I do; I have my mind-body health; I have enough….moment to moment. I am.

This pendulum swing in attitude is not unique. Indeed it is what history is about. Martin Luther compared history to a drunk riding a horse. He (or she) falls off on one side and then gets back on the saddle, leaning to the opposite side. Some argue this is the “natural” way and humanity has survived and prospered. However, maybe for the first time in history, our technological genius may have created certain global “tipping points”: nuclear weapons, wielded not only by rogue countries but by small “terrorist” groups; global population that is exploding at an unprecedented rate together with unprecedented consumer expectations, even as vital resources like energy, food and water are nearing their limits; the effects of global warming, still being denied by the Right, but manifesting nevertheless in floods, droughts, disappearing ice shelves and extreme weather etc. Even the much touted “global economy” is double-edged – the rich countries can buy cheap consumer products, but jobs are exported and the whole global economy has become more volatile, susceptible to being pulled down by “weak links” in the chain.
How can Real change be achieved? A few suggestions:
• We need to level the political playing field. Cut allowable campaign expenses and limit access to interest/ pressure/ lobby groups. Corporations have way more influence than individuals in shaping society even though their goal is more profit for their shareholders, not human quality of life.
• We need a voice that articulates a policy which is based on consistent, human values and which goes beyond the traditional Left/ Right divide. At the moment, the “Left” has been pulled very much to the “Right”. The “Green” party has been consistent, but it has not resonated with the majority.
• That voice must emanate and be informed from a more profound source than at present…not merely “news cycles”, trends, or polls etc. It must be compassionate and flexible enough to recognize the need for superficial social and political changes.
• The missing factor in all this political debate is Individual transformation. ..which is essentially a spiritual question . People have from time to time advocated idealistic, sharing, compassionate political policies…but these have not materialized because of a gap between our talk and our walk. We cannot have a more compassionate and wiser society without more compassionate and wiser people. There is no external short cut, technological or otherwise.

It’s a sad reflection of our conventional values that “communication” more often than not means “marketing/ selling”, “spinning”, “focus groups”, “talking points” etc. Communication in terms of “spinning” (which entails “cherry picking” certain facts while deliberately leaving out others) is deliberate manipulation of the unadorned Truth, and as such is a distortion, which invites further distortion by the Other/ Opponent/ Enemy. All of this leads to growing negative cycle of cynicism, suspicion, and loss of meaning/ truth….not only in our public but also private lives. For your consideration, I enclose hereunder the Communication Guidelines I have just updated for use at the Tai Chi and Meditation Centre (http://www.torontotaichimeditationcentre.com).

Communication Guidelines
Andy James, November 2011
The Concise Oxford dictionary defines “communicate” as “transmit or pass on by speaking or writing”, “succeed in conveying information, evoking understanding”, “share a feeling or understanding; relate socially”. To deeply communicate is to “commune”, which means “speak confidentially or intimately”, “feel in close touch”.

The way of communicating and relating within the Tai Chi and Meditation Centre (especially in our on-going meditation, Personal Mastery and Instructors groups) is a form of “communing”, since our foundational practice is Insight Meditation (Vipassana), which is the unconditional inquiry into everything that arises in our consciousness, including those mechanisms that create the “I” or ego. While thus seeking Truth in its deepest sense, it is counterproductive to lie, mislead, manipulate, keep secrets or engage in various ego-defensive behaviours. Speak from the Heart and Listen from the Heart. In the long run, I find it makes life much simpler, and no less effective than trying frantically to “spin” and control each interaction.

In any conversation, whether heated or not, it is best for one person to speak at a time and to use phrases like, “I think..” or “I feel…”, rather than “You are or you do….” Etc. Not everything we believe is right, even if we are given to skillful introspection, which is relatively rare. Remember that everyone strongly believes they know “reality” because of their life experience…yet opinions commonly diverge and conflict. Moreover, different cultures and religions give rise to different foundational beliefs and attitudes. It is easy for those in presently dominant cultures to think of others as lesser. Speaking from the heart is not only speaking honestly, but with compassion.

You can deeply listen without necessarily agreeing. If you are preparing a rebuttal in your head while the other person is speaking, you are probably not really listening. If you interrupt the speaker, you are definitely not listening. When my daughters were young and getting into spats and quarrels, I suggested a way of listening which I called the “Four Ls: Listen, Let go, Learn, Love”. Listening and letting go help us from falling into kneejerk reaction. This hopefully creates the space for learning and opening the Heart. Relationship and communication is like a conduit or pipe – the pipe must be open at both ends for flow. The best we can do is to keep our end open and encourage the Other to do the same. We cannot do it for anyone else.

For me, a sign that my ego is at work is whenever I feel compulsion, resistance and rigidity. Right or natural action flows like yin and yang seeking harmony.

The criticism of the Occupy Wall St movement for not proposing specific solutions is predictable, but like the movement itself, touches on fundamental issues, in this case…Is it better to try to deal with specific problems in a limited, temporary way, or try to get to the root of the problem. Overwhelmingly, on both the individual and collective levels, we choose the former. This is not a coincidence.

Over the last 400 years with the rise of modern science, we have been encouraged to analyse and fragment life into ever smaller pieces. However, we have forgotten, if we ever knew in the first place, how to integrate / truly see all the pieces as a coherent whole …which in a way is what Spirituality is all about. Thus we juggle issues like ever more balls in the air and of course, many fall to the ground. Parts of a budget, whether national or family, represent competing, often conflicting and contradictory, demands for limited resources. We desperately struggle to keep up , but rarely ask ourselves, Who we truly are and What we really want. It should be obvious (and studies prove it) that Consumption in itself doesn’t really make us happy and can’t be sustained, since resources (including water, food and energy) are limited and since the number of consumers, each with insatiable demands, is exploding.

It seems to me that Occupy Wall St is about a growing number of people feeling exploited and discarded by the System and rather than looking for specific options within the system – policies, parties, members of Congress etc – are questioning the System itself. This questioning and inquiry into our collective hopes and visions is long overdue, because without it, our efforts are like putting the proverbial cart before the horse.

Although Occupy Wall St presently focuses mostly on economics, it must go deeper to underlying human Values (not in the Religious Right sense), if we are to make better qualitative decisions. As I have written in this space many times before, we have been conditioned to respond to Quantity rather than Quality. To begin to recognize the latter, there must be qualitative changes within ourselves, specifically within our consciousness.

How can we transform our consciousness? Meditation would seem to be the most direct route. However, be aware that not all forms of so-called “meditation” lead to the same place and that the process of transformation, while appearing simple, is not easy….otherwise we would all be enlightened by now! The deepest form of meditation is inquiry into the Self, which if skilled and persistent enough, leads to the transformation of the Self, since its true nature is not what we conventionally take it to be.

I am encouraged by the resilience and the widespread (semi-global) resonance of the Occupy Wall St movement. Like the Arab Spring, which was quickly written off by the “hard-headed realists”, it seems to have struck a deep chord with ordinary people. With the Arab Spring, it was Democracy and although the immediate Occupy slogan is “We are the 99%” (referring to the obscene power gap between the ultra- rich and poor), on a deeper level it is also about Democracy, which is about having a real say in how society is directed and governed. In the developed countries, people can vote, but exercise very little power through it, since our governments have over the last few decades given so much power to Wall St. and the corporations. Government and Big Business are now intertwined. Witness the corporate arrogance of Cheney/ Haliburton in the USA and Rupert Murdoch in the UK.
People give diverse reasons for supporting the movement:
• Feeling powerless and alarmed by the wealth and power by the 1% and the lack of caring in society
• Sensing capitalism is collapsing and wanting to re-evaluate value systems and goals
• Recognizing lots of inter-related issues like the environment, health, education and the increasing militarisation.
I view this diversity of motive as a positive not a negative, since it is a sign that people are beginning to look deeper and recognize that all issues within society are intertwined and that we have to set priorities and stick with them…as I have suggested in several of my blogs.
What now?
• Persevere. Demonstrate and keep up the civil disobedience, targeting the worst corporate offenders. It worked in the Arab Spring in the Developed Countries in the 60s and 70s.
• Pressure the political parties Left of centre as the Tea Party has pressured the Right.
• Create and demand a deeper public discourse on priorities, values and direction, not more dumbing down, shouting matches and gotcha sound bites. I’ve been calling for this discussion (to also include the notion of Spiriyuality, not just Religion) for years. My guess is that a lot of people would back/ sacrifice for sustainability and greater equality and caring, if they had the confidence that it could be achieved. The present unregulated Free Market does not work as well as its advocates suggest and indeed, there is ample evidence that it has an extremely corrosive and divisive effect on society. Let’s think and act outside the (corporate) Box.