The difference between I, We, and Us – or is there?

My decade in the “wilderness” was self-enforced for a reason. And, just as the hermit, I was never really left alone. But I did have substantial time to simply reflect.

I found that time to be very rewarding. The more I dropped away connections to this outer world, the more intimately connected to it I became. Because I quit seeing it for what it was and started seeing it, and living it as it just is.

Pronouns (and nouns) have limited use. Mostly, they are placeholders. And this is a difficult concept for most, since this is exactly what we’ve been working at all this time – to remain separate, to find differences.

And the people we hold as true statesman and leaders are those who resolve differences. Those who we hold as outcasts and villains were those who sought to raise or hold one group above the others. (Gandhi vs. Hitler)

Those politicians we’ve elected on the hope for this who then disappoint may or may not be working toward greater resolution. But politicians live in the realm of politics, whose highest accomplishment is in compromise, which is where no participants are truly satisfied with the results.

Government is no answer. And can, for the most part, be ignored.

The individual is the point to work with. And of course, that gives you a moving target, since the “individual” is a hard thing to pin down.  Hale Dwoskin’s latest movie, “Letting Go” really goes into this point that we are all connected Self.

Of course, that is no less than what the ancient philosophies have held since before our recorded times.

So I’ve been independently going outside the mainstream in order to look at these flows for what they are. And see that they are all really going in the same direction, for the most part. If you follow popular, bestseller self-help authors, you will see that they both cross-influence each other and also have the same underlying theme. And that if you compare these with the most ancient recorded texts, you’ll find them simply echoes of what went on before.

Certain people like Thomas Troward have been the bridge between those texts and our modern times. Similarly Lester Levenson and to a degree, Greg Braden.

The essence of this solitude has been to simply build understanding of who and what I am – and then go beyond that into how this fits into the rest of this universe.

The results are, to me, astonishing. And have taken me through some incredible adventures – meeting all of Joseph Campbell’s archetypes along the way. All were successes. All lessons learned.

These don’t mean I don’t still cast stones without being pure myself, first. Old habits die hard. But communication (and satirical parody) is another learning experience.

Every message you give is simply a message you receive. I’ll often refer to the Golden Rule, but this concept is Universal in every philosophy. As you give, you will receive. So what you put out, you get back. And in order to get, you have to give away first.

A corollary is that the less you have to have, the more you are able to give away. And Wayne Dyer has laid out an interesting test along this line: give away something you really value and prize. Instead of giving your “old” clothes to charity, give the ones you love the most – the newest and most expensive. Helluva learning moment.

Teachers are learners and learners teach. The word “mystic” has two meanings, “initiate” and also “adept”. What goes around comes around.

But enough about me. How about you?