The Equal Human
War, Peace, and the Pyramid of Identity
When you identify people as anything less than the Soul, you are living in an error of perspective.
When moving towards war, our differences are emphasized. When moving towards peace, our commonalities are forefront.
If you shift your perspective from our differences to what makes us the same, you start to bridge the divide. War doesn’t bridge the divide, it accentuates it to its extreme point. In order for there to be lasting peace, we have to see each other as equal in our humanness.
If you look at identity as a pyramid, the proper structuring would be to have the cap stone as the Soul. The spiritual identity becomes the highest viewpoint, because in that we have our oneness. The bottom level would be our bodies. They have the greatest apparent separation and difference. The identification with the aspects of our body, such as race, sex, height, etc, is the lower viewpoint. In the middle are all of our other identifications such as personality, religion, culture, creed, opinions, political viewpoints, fame, wealth, circumstances, accomplishments, failures, and all the myriad of differences in our experience as humans.
When you don’t have the greatest point of commonality of humanity as the cap stone at the top of the pyramid of identity, then you will elevate lesser characteristics to the top of the pyramid and make a lesser hierarchy of value.
The more people decapitate the pyramid, and remove the most important aspect of our identity which is the spiritual aspect, the more division will be sewn amongst people.
A lot of things in this world are built on a hierarchy of value. Some societies value merit, while others put greater value on blood lines and family lineage, religious and political ideologies, or caste and class systems.
The very concept of freedom, of having the ideal of a so-called free society, must be based on equality. Not equality of bank accounts or equality in the value of what each person offers to society, not equality in bodies, or income, or even opportunity, but equality in the fundamental aspect of what makes us human. It is the one thing that we all share: the spark of life, of the divine. It is from that initial impulse of our creation, the energy of our existence, that our creative urge expresses from.
Without the commonality of our identity first and foremost as humans, as a Soul, then a hierarchy of prejudice can always be justified. When other aspects of our human experience, such as religion or race or political ideology or sex, are elevated as more important than our most essential shared commonalities, it will be used to justify systemic bias, and even atrocities at the extreme end of the curve.
When you choose to awaken to the divinity of each individual, that there is a perfect energy unit that is the basis of who each person truly is which we call the Soul, it shifts the foundation upon which all relationships are built and the lens through which all ideologies are evaluated. When you truly see the Soul, and recognize your oneness with God, other’s oneness with God, and your oneness with others, it radically changes your view of everything. You naturally move into a higher loving, acceptance, and compassion.
When people start valuing others and their contributions, we move away from the precipice of war. When people start devaluing the lives of others, and even further, start demonizing groups of people based on an underlying belief that they are different, then we move closer and often into war.
Reestablishing the proper pyramid of identity, with the essential aspect of what connects us as the capstone, is the basis for a more holistic approach to how we address the scourge of separation and war.
There will always be people who will express in violence, but there are ways to lay the foundations for greater prosperity and peace. To do that you must understand the nature of humans.
In understanding yourself, you understand others. In understanding your human failings and your divinity, you can know the nature of people. As you find compassion for yourself, and love yourself, so will you love others. And when you recognize the God in yourself, you will see the God in others. From that awareness comes all good things.
Climbing the Mountain to Soul Awareness
Let’s say, as Nat suggests, that life is like a pyramid where soul or soul awareness is the capstone. Or, I might think of it like a mountain with soul at the top. Yikes, as I climb the mountain to soul awareness, there are so many false paths and fake-outs.
I find myself attracted to a path with lots of self-righteous judgement of others. It can make me feel energized. As I look (or feel) ahead, I initially perceive that it is taking me “forward.” But, my view is distorted. I’m actually looking down a narrow valley at a distant peak which is much lower than the top of the mountain I’m ascending. A thick fog hangs on the side and obscures the part of the mountain leading to the true top.
I use this self-righteous judgment towards things in the world that I believe are bad, corrupt, broken, etc. Seems like I’m attracted to the dramatic energy that polarization can generate. Why? Is it because I’m not in touch with my own native power, my divine energy? Hmmm. I bet that could be. Do I want to feel powerful by putting down others? What is the source of this fog? Well, if I can disperse it, or find my way through it, I don’t have to analyze it. But, maybe it is helpful to consider my part in creating the fog.
John-Roger suggests some ideas which are difficult to grasp and then challenging to actualize. "Out of God comes all things." Ooops, that includes all the people and situations I have been judging. Oh well, maybe in my favor, it also includes that fog. J-R also tells me that I am a divine creator and I have a hand in creating everything in my life. Did I create the fog? Did I create the distant peak that I thought and hoped was the goal? OK, I probably did. The paradox here is that even my negative creations can be helpful if I can use them as teaching devices.
What am I learning? OK, there seems to be plenty of fog out there. Is it part of a planetary or universal creation? Probably. Is it part of my creation? And what about the “false peak.” Sure—on both accounts: my creations. I put them there to temporarily confuse and distract myself, knowing that I would eventually find a better, truer way. What a hilarious game I set up for myself!
In my compassion I’m able to laugh at myself. I pull out the #1 tool in my belt: acceptance. As I accept myself, it is a natural next step to forgive myself. Then it occurs to me to forgive and bless what I had been judging. Recall how I said that, in my self-created lessons, I eventually find a truer way. Eventually has a hopeful quality. OK. Yet . . . how “eventually” do I want this awakening to be? As J-R reminds me, I’m in my “laters” now.
OK, let’s keep climbing the mountain. On the way we’ll support each other. We’ll probably crack some jokes and have some fun. We’ll become stronger and wiser.
Using the pyramid with soul as the capstone creates a clear understanding ✨️. What you explained, seems to me, to be the framework for living a spiritual life on a personal level as well as for creating a more aware/conscious world. I look forward to your new book!