Seat of the Soul

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Price Of Corn And The Soul

As the flood crest moves south along the Mississippi River, breeching levees along the way (36 in two weeks), millions of acres of US farmland are under water. As many as 5 million acres of corn and soybeans in the Midwest have been inundated. In Iowa alone 83 of 99 counties have been declared disaster areas. According to the Des Moines Register the first half of 2008 was the wettest in Iowa since the 19^th century when record keeping began.

Even before the rains that flooded these fields, US stockpiles of corn were projected to reach a 13 year low next year. Now that the Midwest is just beginning to dry out and crops that will be planted late this year will produce low yields, this bleak projection is not even a best case scenario. This is an extremely dangerous situation for millions of people around the world because the United States provides (provided) 54 percent of all world corn exports! In addition, shortages of soybeans, wheat, and rice were already making food more and more expensive. Shortly after the 36^th levee broke, corn prices hit a record at the Chicago Board of Trade, more than doubling the previous 40 year average.

Most of us who surf the internet can afford to buy food but food agencies around the world cannot and the most impoverished and hungry people in the world depend upon them to survive. Many are not surviving.

What does this have to do with the soul? What does the rising price of food (and oil) have to do with the soul? Does the soul calculate value based upon supply and demand? Does it look for opportunities to buy low and sell high? What does it look for? What does it value? If you could see through the eyes of your soul, metaphorically speaking, what would you make of hungry people in Haiti and Pakistan rioting over unaffordable food while a few individuals profit and millions more watch in sympathy, turn away in pain, or numb them to this brutal reality?

The soul intends harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life, all of which are ignored in this tragedy. Hunger produces rage, sharing is scarce, and life is a cheap commodity (although corn and oil are increasing in value). It is easy to see speculators as villains, hungry and starving people as victims, and ourselves as concerned or shocked by-standers, but this perception is inaccurate and unhelpful.

We are never bystanders. What is in the whole is in us, and what is in us is in the whole. The desire to profit from circumstances, any circumstances that prevent food from reaching hungry children and their hungry parents exists in each of us. You can see it in you when you shop sales, bargain with a car dealer, and invest your resources. There are no villains and victims. There are only fellow souls in the Earth school learning the relationship between cause (choice) and effect (consequences of choice) and to distinguish between acts of love and acts of fear. The need to profit at the expense of others is an act of fear that produces destructive consequences. The place to challenge it is in yourself because that is the only place that you can replace fear with love, and the choice of destructive consequences with the choice of constructive consequences.

The soul is not concerned with the price of corn. It is concerned with love.

Are you?

Comments:

It's great to see you in the blogsphere Gary!!! I suggest that you leave your blog as open as possible and do not delete any comments even if they are irrelevant to the various threads- unless they are very irrelevant.

I'd like you to know that your books and M. Scott Peck's books have changed my life.

Love is the act of extending oneself for the purpose of nurtering one's own or anothers spiritual growth. My biggest passion is political activism. I am no longer a member of a political party but I believe in creating the most heavenly possible physcial circumstances on earth so that nobody lives in fear. I'd be interested in hearing your views on politics.

You have a love for community/state television. I do to although in Ireland we are only getting our first Community Television station DCTV (Dublin Community TV) next week. Unless one is abreast with political developments though most initiatives are marginal initiatives.

Politics is the art of the possible...
posted by

Darren J.: July 10, 2008 at 3:39 AM Delete:

The difference in human action between being motivated by fear or motivated by love comes in how you feel about yourself. But sometimes, the edge between the two is so razor-sharp I have trouble telling which one is in control. Does anyone else experience this?
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 3:41 AM Delete:

my comment is : is it a coincidence that it is the foods like corn, soy and wheat that are destroyed. these are the foods that are genetically manipulated by humans for more profit but also they create havoc on the human physical form/body. just an observation.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 4:01 AM Delete:

It sounds as though I will see change in the world when I begin to change myself. Acting out of love instead of fear as much as possible when I notice it. However, how do I know that when I am purchasing stock for my daughters education that this is creating a loving experience and not a fearful one? In other words, how do I know the difference? Also, it sounds as though you are saying that I am responsible for mother natures ravage on the earth by my choices. It feels true, but sounds impossible.
posted by

redsoxfan: July 10, 2008 at 5:02 AM Delete:

So, what does my soul want me to do? I try to see problems like this through the eyes of my inner being, but world hunger seems just too big. Where do I start?
posted by

Marianne: July 10, 2008 at 5:53 AM Delete:

I am grateful to you, Gary, for this powerful message. We are all One and to understand the way to affect positive change is within ourselves is very empowering.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 6:08 AM Delete:

Along with the inner, mental and spiritual work, or perhaps because of it, I feel it's necessary to attend to the actions I take as well as the thoughts I think. I try to complement my choice to learn to love and forgive with behavior that supports what I believe to be the ideal world. For example, I try only to purchase organic foods, instead of buying foods that are sowed and harvested via toxic methods that damage the earth, and therefore all of us. However, the more "aware" I become, the more actions I learn I could be making and then I become so busy that somehow the innerwork gets put on the back burner. It's the gentle reminders, such as your blog post, that helps put me back on track. Thank you.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 6:33 AM Delete:

I agree that as individuals our choices are the most important thing to focus on. The desire to blame someone distracts us from considering how our choices in every moment are what we are responsible for.

I do wonder whether you see the current crises (global warming, peak oil, food shortages, overpopulation, etc...) as a crisis of the (collective) soul.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 7:47 AM Delete:

I am blissful that you have created this blog and that we will get to hear your words and thoughts in yet another form. Your books have been inspirational to me and I look forward to continuing to learn and study!
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 10:50 AM Delete:

It seems to me that this is an opportunity for US to learn. Is corn what we really need to focus on. Perhaps we need corn so much because we have not made ammends with Cuba....?????Is there some love to be found in that situation. This country depends on corn to be genetically modified to be used as a sweetener whereas other countries are focused on a more natural source...cane sugar. Perhaps I needs to be awakened to what is best fo me and my fellow humans in the earth school.....hmm
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 11:47 AM Delete:

I was so glad to read the message from Gary's website and see this blog. 'Seat of the Soul' changed my perception and gave me clarity I'd never had before. One of the most important books I have ever read.

After reading Gary's article, I am more concerned with love, because I refuse to be controlled by fear. Just watching the news can make even the most calm and faithful person anxious and scared. I find it a bit overwhelming at times. At this point, all I can contribute are prayers and hope. I do wonder though, as some people say, everything happens for a reason....what are the lessons to be learned here?

As one comment stated here, the writer wondered is all this reflected from the collective soul? It could very well be, if more people come from a place of fear and not love. I choose love and hope.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 11:48 AM Delete:

Gary i have read your books and went to a couples retreat last summer in Seattle.I have been trying to learn threw love and am trying my best to become a better person.I know in my soul this is what i want to do and what is best for me..But so many things have happen to me and my family(lost jobs,flood,having to sale are farm)and i am trying to use your tools to grow from this.But could you please ask the universe to give me a brake....lol...No really i know i am being blessed by these things happening and they are for my own good to learn and grow in love..Befor i was fighting a war inside and thats what the universe was giving me back.I know i have to go threw these things just like i have to tend my garden to get a good crop.Thank you for your help threw your writtings and now this great blog.Me and my wife would love to come to yout retreat at Mt Hood(we live in Vernonia Or)and are praying the funds will come in some how to make this happen..Thanks again for all your help..Steve
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 12:55 PM Delete:

I am grateful for this blog and your comments. I do think one of the most important things for us to do, is to send this message out to anyone who will listen. As humans evolve to more authentic power more will see things in a new way and it will become easier and easier to change the world. This to me is handling the problem very directly, not to say that taking money out of your pocket and buying some food for those in need is a lesser approach.
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 12:58 PM Delete:

Gary - I've been a follower of you since I read The Seat of the Soul in 1991. I'm grateful for all that you do. And I love the idea of a social blog presented from a spiritual perspective. Your statement, "What is in the whole is in us, and what is in us is in the whole" really struck a cord...it makes me remember how expansive I am as a soul and that we are all connected. Also,your point on being able to replace fear with love within us is so relevant to my own spiritual growth, as well as the realization of peace and harmony in the world. Imagine if everyone learned how to accomplish this? Thanks for the great blog article!
posted by

Anonymous: July 10, 2008 at 6:24 PM Delete:

Absolutely. Thank you. For this, your blog and post. I am so grateful that you are out here in the blogosphere. :o)
posted by

Isle Dance: July 10, 2008 at 7:23 PM Delete:

Hi Gary,

Enjoyed your blog... as usual, very thought provoking.

Mikaela MacDonald
posted by

Mikaela: July 10, 2008 at 9:19 PM Delete:

What would happen to the U.S. if we sent corn to the hungry as usual? We are the most abundantly fed nation on earth. We would have to feed our cows more grass, our children natural sweeteners instead of corn syrup, eat less processed foods. This could be the return of the family farm and the local garden vegie stand.
posted by

Hippie chick: July 11, 2008 at 1:39 AM Delete:

Thanks Gary. This Soul View reminded me to continue to look for places and/or reactions in me that create experiences of scarcity. This week I noticed when I felt more important than another in a grocery line, more important than another during an interaction with a spiritual partner, and less important than a gifted musician; just to mention a few. Being aware of these experiences reminded me that viewing myself and/or others as less than equal has been the catalyst for many of my painful experiences. Thanks for the reminder that what I project is the experience I receive in return and my experiences add to the collective experiences of those around me. That awareness has allowed me to make more responsible choices and see more clearly where I have created abundance in my life.
posted by

phylreedgardner: July 12, 2008 at 8:46 AM Delete:

My beloved sister died six years ago leaving me to care for her nine year old daughter. Before she departed she gave me Gary's book, "Seat of the Soul." I have read it, read it, and read it. Love and authenticity are now my priorities in life. I continue to eradicate the many defenses that I use to not feel (and to not hurt). I've stopped running away and hope to someday give the gifts that I came here to bring. Thanks, Gary
posted by

Cole: July 13, 2008 at 5:05 AM Delete:

"What does this have to do with the soul? What does the rising price of food (and oil) have to do with the soul? Does the soul calculate value based upon supply and demand? Does it look for opportunities to buy low and sell high? What does it look for? What does it value?"

~

Every circumstance that we are faced with presents us with a choice. Do we choose to see the situation as one in which we have no power....or do we choose to act in a way that responds with the values of the soul?

The soul seeks harmony and co-operation. It seeks balance and equanimity. The soul is the very core of our being. When we reach through our struggles and pain to the power of our soul, we perceive things differently. Our focus changes from one of "me" and "I" to one of "we" and "us".

We become part of something much greater than our "little" selves.

The further we reach towards our soul...the larger this sense of expansion becomes, until we realise that there is no division whatsoever between us and the world.

What we value as individuals undergoes a transformation so that our values begin to reflect the needs of the entire collective.

When we reach for our soul...and act accordingly, our choices become appropriate and in alignment with the values of the soul.

For example, we learn to make do with less...so that others can have more.

Where there is imbalance, we seek to restore harmony.

We look for opportunities to contribute to the benefit and balance of the whole...rather than just the individual.

The floods and the subsequent rising price of food (and oil) is a signal to us that things are out of kilter.

By feeling our pain, and by using it to develop empathy and compassion with the pain of others around the world...we can use this experience to look beyond ourselves, and connect with the suffering of the whole.

In this way, this suffering will not have been in vain.

The remedy to this crisis is not to calculate value based upon supply and demand, or to look for opportunities to buy low and sell high.

The remedy is to reach beyond the immediate needs of the self...and consider the needs of the whole.

For where imbalance exists in the whole...discord, pain and suffering will continue to exist in the self.

By reaching for our soul, and acting in accordance with its values....we not only transform ourselves....we transform the world.
posted by

...being here, doing this...: July 18, 2008 at 9:00 PM Delete:

"The symbols that surround us – our systems of governance, commerce, education, health care, science, and military, among others – reflect the pursuit of external power and are disintegrating. This disintegration of social (and interpersonal) structures is the product of a profoundly positive process, not a pathology. This is important to understand."

I'd love if this was true but if we don't have systems of governance how can we cope?

Your idea sounds like socialism- but with God.

We need new symbols alright but I don't know what is the alternative and how that alternative can cope with the disintegration/end of the systems of governance that we know.
posted by

Darren J.: July 19, 2008 at 10:16 AM Delete:

thank you Gary for sharing your insights.
I am one of the millions who watch in sympathy, turn away in pain, or numb out to my emotional reactions in the face of this brutal reality sometimes. And I'm much more.
I have had many experiences of seeing speculators as villains, hungry and starving people as victims, and myself as a concerned and/or shocked by-stander.
This perception is inaccurate (thank Goodness...because it means I'm not powerless) but maybe its' helpful because it brought me here...to my willingness to see it differently, and to act on my new and ever changing (deepening) understanding.
Though I may "act as if" I am, I am never truly a bystander. Is there even such a thing really? Isn't bystanding an action also? Like "perfect in it's imperfection" "bystanding is a choice to not act... which is an action".
Thank you for reminding me that "What is in the whole is in us, and what is in us is in the whole."
Forgive my ignorance but while I(the highest in me) don't want to profit from circumstances that prevent food from reaching hungry children and their hungry parents..how do I make the connection to "shop sales, bargain with a car dealer, and invest your resources". Do these things always produce distructive consequences?
I know that the only place to challenge my fears is within me and I desire to create constructive, not destructive consequences, with my choices. AND I don't always know which choices to make that will create those constructive consequences.
much love,
Julie DeMaeyer
posted by

Anonymous: August 7, 2008 at 7:30 AM Delete:

Brilliant, and thank you! What a fabulous reminder of our potential, and offering of assistance in taking responsibility for our dreams and creations. The truth, so well spoken, brings relief to the undercurrent of tension I've been feeling in watching the presidential drama unfold and be fed by separatism and fear. Thank you for lighting the path today and inspiring me to raise to those heights. We can do this. Love and blessings to all.
posted by

Anonymous: August 7, 2008 at 10:31 AM Delete:

hello Mr. Gary Zukav.. I'm the one of your reader from Indonesia. I'm not good in speak English, i read your book in Indonesian Languange, it's wonderful.. I've been divorce and lost my baby in 2007, now i must to fight myself against drugs and alcohol.. bad.. but, i try to survive and try to stop.. your books help me so much.. thank you, thank you..
posted by

Anonymous: August 7, 2008 at 12:13 PM Delete:

One of your readers , Marianne, posted the comment that she didn't know where to start, where her soul wanted her to go.

I felt the same way, tortured about where to start where to go, as there are so many things that need to be done, changed, loved.

Start small. One step, and follow through, it will get bigger all on its own until you see clearly what the soul wants you to do.

The soul will carry your heart.

World Hunger too big. Go to your local charity kitchen. Give a loaf of bread, small. Already the world is better for your love.

My soul, I discovered, wants to help those without voice, children and animals.

I would like to add that your book "The Seat of the Soul" was my greatest source of comfort after the death of my mother and it is still moving me in a direction that is positive. Thank you.

Ursula
posted by

Ursula Kofahl Lampron, artiste professional: August 7, 2008 at 8:19 PM Delete:

I STUDIED PSYCHODYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY (RELATIONAL PSYCHOANANLYSIS)LAST YEAR AND ENJOYED IT AND OTHER THERAPIES VERY MUCH. i AM FURTHER DEVELOPING MYSELF EMOTIONALLY THIS YEAR TO ENABLE ACCEPTANCE INTO THE POSTGRADUATE/ MASTERS COURSE NEXT YEAR. i HAVE ALOT OF EXPERIENCE IN EMOTIONAL GROWTH WORK IN LARGE GROUPS AS A PARTICIPANT AND WOULD LIKE TO APPROACH HELPING OTHERS THROUGH THIS VEIN COUPLED WITH MY 5 YEARS ONE TO ONE THERAPY BENEFITS. i THINK YOUR 'SOUL PARTNERSHIP'POTENTIALLY OFFERS THE CONTINUITY OF CHILDHOOD BONDING AND FURTHER 'FUNCTIONAL' RELATING. THE UNCONSCIOUS CAN BE AN 'EMOTIONALLY BLINDING'INFLUENCE ON US HUMANS. lIVING OUT OF OUR VALUES AND WANTING TO ADVANCE OURSELVES SPIRITUALLY MAY HAVE THE SHADOW OF ALOT OF CHRISTIANITY PERSPECTIVES TO HEALING; DON'T WANT TO FEEL THEIR DEEPER LEVEL OF PAIN AND WANT TO GET TO THE 'LOVING'. FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR OWN SELF HATE. ALICE MILLER WOULD SAY THIS IS ENGENDERED FROM MANY GENERATIONS OF PARENTS PRACTICING 'SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD' OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT. GARY,THANKYOU FOR YOUR INSIGHTS YVETTE WATSON NEW ZEALAND
posted by

Anonymous: August 11, 2008 at 9:03 PM Delete:

I read somewhere that the each one of us is given a desire to contribute to the world in one way or another, i.e., some care deeply about ethnic strife, some about world hunger or are committed to the environment, others care about the local homeless or higher education. The point is not that one is better than the other, only that we follow our heart's desire and give of ourselves as we are able. Attempting to give to everything can lead to feelings of guilt and helplessness.

So instead, strive to love the world, exercise personal responsibility and give where your heart and the creative soul within lead you.
posted by

Dorcas: August 12, 2008 at 9:47 AM Delete:

Gary, I am so grateful to see how active you are in participating in more conferences, writing your soul newsletters and maintaining this blog. I have all your books, and I have 3 on CD so I can listen to them as well as studying them visually. As an indivual diagnosed as bipolar, I am really grateful for your and Linda's book HEART OF THE SOUL. Your books have given me the tools I need to change MY life. Please continue to remain available, and THANKS. Blessings to you and Linda.
posted by

Anonymous: August 21, 2008 at 8:21 AM Delete:

shifting values
last night i dreamt of my personal transformation freeing myself from babylonia -strangely it was in the form of a waiter nightmare where all of the feasting clients were gorging on wine and food as fast as i could bring it to their table and the calm and simple couple in the back waited patiently for my attention -only through shifting my attention-looking beyond feeding the needs of 'regular consumption patterns/habits can i begin to create compassion and manifest in my day to day, a new paradigm'. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.
posted by

dubdivine: September 1, 2008 at 10:20 AM Delete:

It all goes back to the realization that there are really only two emotions: Love & Fear. Which do you choose? I choose Love.
Love & Blessings,
sgd
posted by