Where is the Disconnect?

We seem to be living in a collective state of denial, especially here in the US. As Noam Chomsky put it, “The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.”⁵⁴

We talk about the environment as a separate entity when we are a completely dependent and integral element of the whole of our perceived surroundings. Essentially there are no “surroundings.” Our sense of “I” as a separate self severed from the unity of life has led us down a path of disconnection and fragmentation. Many spiritual paths have teachings and practices designed to help us dispel our confused notion of separateness. The illusion of separateness leads to violence and exploitation of both people and resources.

The teachings of many indigenous cultures emphasize the interdependent relationship of all living things and encourage daily practices of thankfulness and kinship.

Today, many of us are taught to identify with a dominant culture that is so divorced from nature that we continue to ignorantly foul our nest. As I have mentioned before, I think the fact that so many people have settled in cities, do not have their own plot of land, and no longer grow their own food has amplified the disconnection from the natural world.

As well as the simple physical disconnection, a focus on reason and the individual (rather than heart and the community) has stimulated arrogance, domination, and divisiveness.

In his book The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Human Frontiers of Consciousness, Stanislav Grof said, “The disconnect came when we made rationality our God.”⁵⁵ He describes that the overvaluing of rational thought and material reality has created an imbalance that undervalues our intuitive and feeling capacity, basically “head over heart,” where the thinking mind and the feeling heart are no longer integrated. Thus, our reality has been reduced to what we can see, where only matter is real, dismissing the vast realm of the invisible . . . essentially a philosophy of “materialism.” It reminds me of a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein, “Not everything that counts can be counted. Not everything that can be counted counts.”

Along the same line, I recently watched a YouTube video of Ilarian Merculieff, a Unangan Aleut indigenous activist who is passionate about the fate of the planet.⁵⁶ He believes that leadership by women is essential to the transformation of civilization in order to conserve Earth’s capacity to sustain life. He talks about the 4,000–6,000 year period of masculine imbalance that we have been in, and the necessity of getting out of the mind and back into the heart . . . the need to honor feminine energies. “The mind keeps us focused on the problems, and where we choose to focus becomes our primary reality. . . . The mind needs to follow the heart.”

I also recently read Columbus and other Cannibals—The Wétiko Disease of Exploitation, Imperialism, and Terrorism by Jack D. Forbes.⁵⁷ He elucidates the concept of “Wétiko,” a Native American term found by different names in different tribes, describing it as a contagious disease of the mind and spirit that spreads much like a virus . . . a disease of aggression against other living things, a disease of consuming other creatures’ lives and possessions. I was deeply struck by the idea of arrogance, greed, and violence being a contagious disease that has infected humanity since so much of our civilization seems to be infected with just those characteristics, and it does seem to be spreading much as a virus across the globe.

The indigenous peoples in this part of the world were brutalized, enslaved, and ravaged by diseases brought by the Europeans. The first black slaves from Africa began to be imported to the North American British colonies in 1619, slave labor eventually becoming the foundation of the flourishing economy of the United States. Tobacco plantations were replaced by cotton plantations, and, in 1794, with the invention of the cotton gin and the use of slavery, the economy began to boom. Slavery was a source of wealth in this country, especially in the South, and so it continued in spite of the moral issues regarding treating people as property. We exalt the founders of our country, many of whom were slave owners. Most of the white men who were instrumental in the origins of this country held racist, sexist, and elitist beliefs that were common in their time.

Attitudes of male and white superiority, entitlement, and the hierarchy of class distinction are inherent in the foundation of our society even though there remains a story of equality. The “American Dream” is another one of our stories . . . all one needs to be successful, happy, and wealthy is to work hard and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And there is the story of democracy, while dark money buys the influence of politicians, voter suppression is rampant, corruption ubiquitous, biased media create false narratives, and persons in power baldly lie in the face of facts. Back in the time of George W. Bush’s presidency, a senior official (widely thought to be Karl Rove, although he denies it) made a boldly unashamed statement in an interview by Ron Suskind. Here is a quote from the New York Times Magazine. The aide said that guys like me (Suskind) were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” “That’s not the way the world really works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality —judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors now . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”⁵⁸ That level of arrogance and manipulation certainly doesn’t fit in a story of democracy. It is no wonder that our stories do not actually match our reality when those in power are willfully attempting to write the collective story. In our skewed society, a cognitive dissonance is generated between our beliefs and our feelings and we end up perpetuating a collective denial of essential truths. Our ability to discern between truth and story is impaired. Many of us believe what makes us feel better, whatever rationalization serves our personal needs, and we end up with a society unaware of its own denial and hypocrisy. This is truly a sickness of the soul, where personal material gain is elevated to the status of a god, and radical inequities are considered acceptable.

I find the idea of Wétiko very helpful in identifying and articulating the sickness that is overtaking so much of the human race. Before being exposed to this idea, I had come to think of humanity as a deeply flawed species doomed to extinction (which may be true), but viewed as infected with a sickness of the mind and soul, it has allowed me to cultivate a more positive outlook, and a deeper appreciation for the benevolent and humane aspects of our species. It actually has given me more faith in the possibility of change. When viewed as a contagious and infectious disease moving through the consciousness of humanity, you can see that some are more infected than others, but it is ubiquitous. We are all infected to greater or lesser degrees. You could say that truly greedy, selfish, and corrupt politicians and corporate CEOs, violent authoritarian leaders, and brutal criminals are big Wétikos . . . those carrying a high degree of infection. The truth is that we are all infected to some degree, and the “Wétiko virus” is all pervasive, much as the COVID-19 virus is currently infecting almost every country in the world.

We have adopted shortsightness and an inability to accurately take into account and foresee the consequences of our actions. We have been blinded to the effects of our lifestyles on the planet that supports us. We have strayed so far in consciousness that short-term profit and selfish motivations are seen by many as signs of success in our society. We have lost the wisdom of the Iroquois Confederacy in the Great Law of the Haudenosaunee,⁵⁹ the oldest functioning democracy in the world, and the model for the US constitution . . .

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”