How best to respond to criticisms of not being seen as politically active?

[Orchid]

Hello all.

With actualisation work I have got to a point where I feel totally disconnected from politics which seems increasingly polarised and sensational because of social media and the globalised world we live in. I've not aligned with any ideology for years as I can now see that it really is chimpery ripe for trouble! I am conscious in my every day life and that is how I am making change -- I am not wasteful, I am careful where I buy from, I treat others how I wish to be treated and I am spontaneous with my compassion; however, as I am sure many of you too experience, others in our social circles do not like this. There are a lot of green category people in both my friendship groups and family -- into their marches,  retweeting things and sharing articles. I read this and it really resonated with me:
 

Quote

'Green may experience Yellow as cold individualists. According to Green, they are loners who are not enough part of the group, act too much on their own accord, and keep emotionally at a distance.'

and

Green may experience Turquoise as putting things into perspective too much, as impersonal and very broadly orientated. This is why Turquoise is, in a way, too elusive for Green.

 

They see my hesitation to condone violence in certain situations or my lack of getting riled up and vocal about issues as a problem. They don't like it when I point out nuances or suggest it's not as easy as good vs evil or that the fact that with reacting with violence and no reflection will just keep this circle going and going. It's like I owe people an explanation for not saying anything on political topics nor getting involved (and by involved that means in the most unconstructive and egotistical way). Things are what they are, just feeling awful for others peoples struggles does not help them. I will help the world by being as conscious as I can in my own life. I am introverted and I express myself well over text and through a lot of thought (basically the opposite of the communication culture we have going today). It's tricky because I truly FEEL why I am not interested in getting involved, but I can't put words to it in the moment or in a way that they would understand. Without the right reflective work, I think the sort of things I have said in my above paragraph would be misunderstood and not help anyone. Using that sort of language has only resulted in being called selfish and aloof.  What go to things can I say that will get my point and true feelings across on the matter if I am accused of not 'using my privilege' to better x, y, z or that people like me not getting involved is the problem? To be clear, I don’t care if people dislike me for this or not. I just get a feeling that things could be more constructive and I can better defend my approach to life and open it up as a possibility to others. I just wish to be clear, consistent and true to myself in these instances. Thoughts?

Much love to you and us.

p.s As a side observation, I am a fiction writer and it's rather worrying that artists are increasingly expected to comment on all political matters of the day and tow a certain ideology in their work (and are 'called out' if they do not). One of the beauties of art and fiction is how it transcends the 'real world’; the artist or author is merely the shadow that starts the dream. It's rather disturbing that across the board in traditional publishing the author themselves is now at the fore in full focus, a sort of curated cult of the personality, not the work they have written. More than ever I would encourage creative types to keep a manageable day job otherwise you will be writing to the script of the collective ego of the day, not to truth.

[Parththakkar12]

2 hours ago, Orchid said:

With actualisation work I have got to a point where I feel totally disconnected from politics which seems increasingly polarised and sensational because of social media and the globalised world we live in.

Good for you. Most people in the world would envy you as they're struggling to figure out what to do with their time in lockdown.

2 hours ago, Orchid said:

They see my hesitation to condone violence in certain situations or my lack of getting riled up and vocal about issues as a problem. They don't like it when I point out nuances or suggest it's not as easy as good vs evil or that the fact that with reacting with violence and no reflection will just keep this circle going and going. It's like I owe people an explanation for not saying anything on political topics nor getting involved (and by involved that means in the most unconstructive and egotistical way). Things are what they are, just feeling awful for others peoples struggles does not help them.

They don't really want to solve the problems at hand. They actually want to be activists and protesters, which involves upholding and pushing your progressive ideology, assuming that you're right and everyone else is full of shit. They're newbies in the business of creating change and solving systemic, social issues. I mean they've just woken up to the reality that social injustices exist. They've just been disillusioned with the government, which they've been brainwashed to believe should be fairly upholding the law.

2 hours ago, Orchid said:

It's tricky because I truly FEEL why I am not interested in getting involved, but I can't put words to it in the moment or in a way that they would understand.

This is an issue of both sides not understanding each other's mental contexts. This is more important for you to do, as you're more conscious than them. It's the responsibility of the side that's more conscious to initiate building the bridge between themselves and the unconscious folks.

2 hours ago, Orchid said:

Using that sort of language has only resulted in being called selfish and aloof.  What go to things can I say that will get my point and true feelings across on the matter if I am accused of not 'using my privilege' to better x, y, z or that people like me not getting involved is the problem?

They're under the illusion that we should be equal, or that equality is a good thing. It's like earlier they believed that we are equal and that we're in a fair, free market at Orange. Then you get to Green and you realize that you had certain advantages or 'privileges' over them which is why you succeeded and they failed. Which means, it was never a fair competition to begin with. You guilt yourself into thinking that your privileges are unfair and that is a bad thing. When you develop higher, however, you start to see that unfairness is part of the game and that there is an over-arching sense of fairness to the working of Universal Intelligence.

HTH

[Orchid]

20 hours ago, Parththakkar12 said:

This is more important for you to do, as you're more conscious than them. It's the responsibility of the side that's more conscious to initiate building the bridge between themselves and the unconscious folks.

@Parththakkar12Thank you for your kind words. Yes, you see I understand that there is a responsibility of sorts, which is what I'm struggling with. I'm not sure how best to conduct that responsibility in such cases. I'm not sure if just stating how I feel from a higher consciousness standpoint is helpful to people who have not done much reflective work. I'm wondering if there is an action or something I can say in these situations which would be more constructive and be more of a bridge. Of course there is just the possibility that I just continue with how I've been dealing with this issue and just embrace the fact there will almost always be contention from their side. I think I just want to know what alternative approaches others have taken and that may suit better before I continue in that vein.

@Leo Gura Do you have any thoughts on this topic, Leo? Thank you.

[Parththakkar12]

24 minutes ago, Orchid said:

@Parththakkar12Thank you for your kind words. Yes, you see I understand that there is a responsibility of sorts, which is what I'm struggling with. I'm not sure how best to conduct that responsibility in such cases. I'm not sure if just stating how I feel from a higher consciousness standpoint is helpful to people who have not done much reflective work. I'm wondering if there is an action or something I can say in these situations which would be more constructive and be more of a bridge. Of course there is just the possibility that I just continue with how I've been dealing with this issue and just embrace the fact there will almost always be contention from their side. I think I just want to know what alternative approaches others have taken and that may suit better before I continue in that vein.

Good question. It is an entire field of study. It's called being a spiritual teacher. This is what spiritual teachers master. Observe spiritual teachers who are very good at communication, who have good vocabulary. Some very good examples are Leo and Teal Swan. Because they are able to dis-identify with their own ideology (which you can do at Yellow and above), they can interact with someone who is identified with that specific ideology. They are very good at communicating with people identified with different ideological positions. They can do this by getting really deep into their perspective and interacting with that ideological perspective. I myself am very passionate about learning this.

Human beings don't know how to really communicate with each other. It will take some really serious commitment on your side to really master this. This is the focus of my life currently. It will be incredibly valuable in all aspects of my life. I'm planning to write a book that has an effect of directly interacting with the reader. I'll be able to do this because I'm learning this!

A few good questions to ask yourself when they act ignorant:

'What are they missing?' 'Is this person open-minded or closed-minded to what I'm saying?' 'If they're closed-minded, why are they closed-minded? What are they defending? What are they prioritizing above the truth? What exactly are they identified with?'

Be sure to do this only once you've recognized that the person you're interacting with is a part of yourself, that you aren't separate from them. Otherwise, you will fall into the trap of 'trying to fix them' and some sort of moral, intellectual superiority. None of this is true, you are not superior to anyone if you're more conscious than them. It just means that you see stuff that they don't see. Albeit this can make your perspective more valuable than theirs, even if you aren't morally/intellectually superior to them.

Of course, @Leo Gura's inputs would be valuable to me too.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Parththakkar12

[ivory]

@Orchid I don't think you need a lofty response. I'd keep it short and sweet. Let others know you're not going to get sucked into an argument and that you're not going to let them shame you. While I do believe that people "should" have some political views or some knowledge of what's going on I also realize that everyone has a different set of values. What I mean is that you decide what's important to you and no-one else can tell you what you should or should not be doing. I used to have no interest in politics so I can empathize with what you are saying. I have two favorite lines I use when people give me lip. "I'm not going to argue with you," and "I don't need your judgement." End of story.

[Orchid]

@ivory Yes, I'm starting to think that just continuing my stance of explaining how I do things and leaving it at that is the best I can do. It often doesn't get a positive repsonse with the people I'm talking about, but I'm not too sure what else is to be done. If they are bent on having me think a certain way anyway, I'm don't think what I say is going to change their minds. Thanks!