Once upon a time, I believed in the tooth fairy.

But why did I believe in the tooth fairy?

Because when I was very young and impressionable, before I even thought of questioning my parents they convinced me that if I put a tooth under my pillow, during the night the tooth fairy would come and replace the tooth with money. Who would not believe such magic!

Eventually I grew up, became older – if not wiser – and began questioning these fairy stories, With age they fell away.

So why is it that some stories fall away and others stick, seemingly forever?

“I believe” what do I believe, and why?

Civilisations are built upon beliefs, nothing more, maybe beliefs supported by fearful outcomes if you don’t subscribe to the incoming beliefs, (violence or damnation!) but beliefs (aka ‘stories’) nonetheless.

If we look at history – if that is to be believed!! – then we can see civilisations fall when they lose their humanity. Fear based stories can only last so long, especially when a system, any system is no longer free to express itself. That system can be mechanical, physical or electrical.

Inevitably charge builds and continues to do so until the system can no longer hold the charge and has to express it. We can see this happening all around the world, thanks to social media.

If you, like many younger people today, spend your lives staring into your phone and believe any of that which you see you might be responsible, just a little, for perpetuating the story.

We will often take sides in a story based upon our sense of right and wrong. Where did that sense come from. Surely there are many sides to any point of view, as witnessed by, again, social media. Why do so many people hold differing, if not outright opposing points of view.

Who put that program into the collective?

We can see that the more traditional fairy stories are just handed down by parents because it was something they were told and they continue to give energy to, but what about the more fundamental stories.

Stories about right and wrong, good and bad, better or worse.Sometimes these stories are so obscure as to have become buried deep into a part of the civilisation into which we were born, So fundamental that no one questions them.

Yet ultimately everything is a story. Just because millions of people believe in a story doesn’t make it real. No matter how many people believe in the tooth fairy it is not real.

Yet popular belief gives the impression of reality, especially when it has millions of subscribers.

Some cultures had interesting stories about all sorts of beings / things, these were replaced by different stories. The transitional periods can be quite violent as some stories are subjugated and replaced.

What is it about this world, humanity(?) that continues down the path that leads into chaos and conflict, away from any sense of humanity it may once have possessed?

Why so divided?

So polarised?

Did you consciously choose your points of view?

Or are you a victim to conditioned points of view? Continuing to propagate your ‘points of view’ at the expense of a more compassionate reality?

I reflect here on the Buddha’s words, speaking of the middle way. This is not just a trite phrase but a reality where there are no opposites. In, I assume, the Buddha’s words, ”Not this – Not that”.

As a simple example, you cannot have war without peace, happiness without sadness, patience without impatience, the Yin and the Yang, always opposites in balance (we hope!)

Extend this to the Buddhist concept of identification with body consciousness and Carl Jung’s ‘Shadow’ (or sub-conscious), you cannot have one without the other.

All the time you exist in this polarised state conflict is inevitable. Fo the conflict that arises externally is simply a reflection of the conflict that exists internally, it can be no other way.

Until you make friends with yourself (shadow aspects included) you cannot make friends with the world.

If any degree of conflict exists internally then it will manifest externally, so, until you have brought all aspects of the self into the light of awareness you remain a part of the global problem of conflict.

Make peace with the self, collapse conflict internally and externally.

Remember – Not this – Not that.