on June 23, 2015in Unity & Communitytags: adi da, community, cooperation, not two is peace, prior unity
I am deeply moved by the book, Prior Unity.
It’s a small book, about a hundred pages, but it’s one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is a world changing book! I recommend that every human being read it.
You can read my full review and buy it off Amazon here.
You can also learn more about it and read excerpts from it at www.priorunity.org.
Cooperative Community
One of the things that was so inspiring for me, is the creation of a “sacred culture”, or cooperative community. I’ve always been hungry for stronger community where people can be intimately connected with each other, where we can be vulnerable with each other, helping each other grow spiritually, supporting each other emotionally.
Here, I have outlined the main points that Adi Da makes in the book, concerning community. This is not an outline of the whole book, it is only Section III. The Human Scale Politics of Cooperative Community.
Please don’t think that reading my outline is anything like reading the book itself! This book is very, very powerful, please read it for yourself. This outline should only be used as a tool to see the different parts of what he is saying, on one page, and as a quick reference guide.
Enjoy!
Section III. The Human Scale Politics of Cooperative Community
Retrieve the inspired culture.
Fundamental disposition: Exceed the limitations of mortality, egoity, and gross existence altogether, re-oriented away from meditating on the downward spiral into darkness and the myths of “end-time” and profoundly toward the disposition that would transcend all limitations.
Profound “vibratory” participation in Reality.
Fundamental urge is the urge to participate, not shut down or treated only as consumers. Tap that energy, all over the world.
Provide a pattern by which people can participate.
Instead of addressing everybody in terms of their problems/self-interest/consumer mentality/egoity, address them as people who are patterns of energy wanting to participate.
Create cooperative union, community, cooperative acculteration.
It is the self-fulfilling urge of humankind.
At the intimate level of ordinary human life, not at the level of abstract, parent-like politics.
We must take responsibility again.
Cooperative, human-scale community.
Ideals of cooperation, interrelatedness, interdependence, non-competitiveness, true harmlessness, and positive (ego-transcending/other serving/ not just “self”-negating) “self”-sacrifice.
The key to this is Love.
Love is also right living.
It is not ego-based, independent, separative, competitive, and non-cooperative.
Love is right living, is the active and cooperative aspiration toward egoless (or non-seperative) participation in Reality Itself, and in relational humanity, and in even all the all there is.
The “Food” of Life
Intensity, energy, love, light, and Consciousness, all in the form of “self”-sacrifice, or, mutuality.
No longer exploitable
Everyone knows what every one else has the tendency to become (when irresponsible) and the possibility to become (when responsible).
We all serve one another based on that understanding.
We also know each other’s functional character and capabilities.
Amuse, enjoy, serve, employ at every appropriate level.
Assume and demand right responsibility for functional life, in a truly human community, ego-transcending, cooperative, mutualy tolerant.
Result: no longer exploitable by the news or shrewder people.
The Fundamental Domain at the Center of Life: The restoration of the sacred domain is the means for creating human balance in the world again.
Infinite Life: the urge must be allowed, cultivated, even educated.
Sacred domain is about ecstasy. Secular /social domain is about control of ecstasy and using the human faculties for other non-ecstatic and ego-based business.
Ecstasy is a human necessity.
Taboos of the secular social domain are against:
Sex (or bodily pleasure altogether)
Laughter (or genuine humor, or mental freedom)
Real-God-Realization (or Ecstatic Identification with the Divine Reality).
Therefore, society says they must be “controlled,” and the social personality feels threatened by them.
Certain forms of self control and self discipline are necessary (my example: sexual activity being done in a love relationship of commitment and responsibility.)
The Sacred Domain must be the core of life.
Turn “ecstatic;” “go native.”
It is the secular or public dimension that should be economized and kept in its proper place, and not allowed to take over the entirety of your life.
Sacred domain is where the truly human and humanizing culture of ecstasy is truly practiced, assisted by cooperative association between people.
All the arts and all forms of creativity.
Right religious and Spiritual life
meditation, prayer, worship, etc.
Food taking
emotional sexual intimacy
friendship
human intimacy altogether
Love,
Dr. Moses.
