Ghost to Put Others on the Path to Enlightenment
By madis senner
To understand the impact that ghosting can have, consider the story of the Buddha, the Indian prince, Siddhartha. Before his birth, Siddhartha’s father consulted with sages who told him that the child’s future could go two ways: he could be the redeemer of the world if he decided to renounce the throne, or the unifier of India if he remained in the palace life. Wanting the second option for his son, the King made every effort to protect his son from unpleasantness. Death, illness and poverty were kept hidden from him. Siddhartha grew up in seclusion and luxury. It was not until he was married with a child and about to turn 30 that things changed: it was then that he saw that which had been hidden. In a short period of time, Buddha saw a rotting corpse, an aging and wrinkled old person, a diseased man and a peaceful monk. These images awakened the Buddha and made him aghast with concern over human suffering. He was a man awakened to the reality of the world after a long, waking sleep. In fact, when people later asked him if he was a god, he simply told them "I am awake."
The story tells that he donned a monk's yellow robe and left in the middle of the night without telling a soul. He began his quest by studying with various ascetics. His goal was to end the cycle of human rebirth and suffering. It was only after several dead-ends that Buddha came upon his epiphany (enlightenment) -- and the rest is history.
In many ways, Americans are living lives of seclusion like the Buddha before he awoke. The poverty and misery affecting much of the world is kept out of the news or downplayed. Many of us live in suburbs or communities where everything is kept clean and neat. We are putting in more hours than wage earners in any other industrialized country, we are too tired, too busy and too vulnerable to reach beyond our lives. We live out our daily routines, often without reflecting on the affects our nation’s policies may have on others.
At the same time, we are barraged by spin-doctors. In media, in politics, in everything there is the spin. Advertisers, the image-makers, constantly are trying to massage us and manipulate us in ways that will yield the highest profits for their clients. And now there are new technologies and capabilities that give us more of the same.
Many Americans are stuck in their own secluded reality! They are asleep! Help them break out. Show them a different reality, that everything is not as it appears to be. Carry your message silently, respectfully, contemplatively. Ghost! Tell them what is wrong at neighborhood level, the community level and on up. Or ghost in one of our "good works." The authorities can sweep all the vagrants and homeless away, but they can't stop you from ghosting--at least not yet!!!!!
Giant Cookies and other such devices record, process and synthesize all our actions on the computer. This information is filtered back to us to make sure that we get what we like, see what we like, to make sure our perspective is not disturbed. Log online to the Internet and go to your favorite Big commercial site. What happens? You are personally greeted and immediately barraged with tantalizing choices of things just like you bought before. If you like pink polka dots, well they'll show you everything pink polka dot. A kaleidoscope of dots. It's all very seductive! So tailor-made! They really care about the customer.
But what about a different reality, like blue stripes? You'll never know about it because you will never see it. Next time you go online think about the tailor made re-filtered information you’re receiving. It does seem nice, so convenient. But, ultimately, it is limiting you, controlling you.
Giuliani Swept away the homeless. Before there was Time magazine's man of the year there were cheers and jeers for the mayor who cleaned up New York. The 'quality of life' campaign took the destitute, the homeless, the decrepit off the streets. What happened to them? Did they stop to exist? Did we eradicate poverty and hardship?--Is it no longer a reality? Out of sight, out of mind. Hollywood also obliged; in the 1980's we had Snake Blisken and escape from New York and by the 1990's we had a host of sit-coms on television featuring people, particularly young people, living in great digs that only a generation earlier the Odd Couple had to resort to reading obituaries to find. Now we have a new mayor, Bloomberg, who has vowed to keep up the campaign with particular emphasis on panhandling. Where would a poor Buddha and his begging bowl go today?
Protesters are violent hooligans--or at least that's the picture the media paints. So many Americans are longing in their hearts for a better way. They are fed up with commercialism, image making and mind manipulation--they think Washington is unresponsive and out of touch. They want to find a voice, but are unable to identify with the images of protestors the media currently promotes. When they turn on the television or read the news they see violent, hooded anti-globalization anarchists throwing things at police and through windows. It frightens them! Never mind that this image ignores the majority of the protestors who are peaceful. Violence sells and anti-globalization is seen as a threat to the corporate world now dominating our society. Non-violent protest, once representative of the moral conscience of our nation and the respected vehicle for the loyal opposition, now is being treated as "the enemy," seeking to fragment the nation rather than to move it in the direction of justice and peace.
Ghost--It is loving protest. Show America and the world a different reality!
Ghost---To awaken all those slumbering souls waiting to get on the path to Enlightenment!
Ghost--There probably will be no immediate gratification, no rewards! You may never know the soul you touched… but rest assured, your message will reach those who have eyes to see and hearts willing to be opened.
Ghost! Now and Often!
Back to--Direct Action-The Meek are Getting ready
Back to---Ghosting A Powerful Way to Protest