the death of an american dream

In titling the piece, I speak not of lost economic opportunity but the loss of a common language. In many facets of life, communication can often be inefficient or even confusing. We will use words or phrases that have specific meanings to them, but which can be potentially misunderstood by others. Sometimes this leads to minor confusion. However, when complex or emotional subjects are being expressed, it can lead to significant breakdowns in communication or relationships. With communication being a primary organizing principle in our lives, this can be a real problem. 

Leadership, practiced without integrity, has provided confusing and/or deceiving  communication to the point where there is little hope for clarity and in many instances, a sense of belonging. Sadly, and to a large degree, this has been intentional. An intention to divide, to demonize, to remove the collective “we” from our language and replace it with us versus them. Simply said, there can be no shared dream without shared hope. Hope as an emotion and as well, a way of thinking involves imagining and working towards a better future. How do we create hope in a shared dream when the predominant call and response of national leadership is “I want what is mine and everything should be mine”, and the response of the citizenry is “I want some of that.” 

For those of us who value our humanity, this loss of a common language of understanding has been profound. The loss has come on gradually, over decades, but arrived harshly November 5th, 2024. This perspective is not based on a left vs right paradigm. In fact, and somewhat ironically as a progressive, I welcome and value conservatism in the world today. It’s the discernment offered when we ask ourselves whether any form of change is a betterment of life. I simply can’t find such discernment in the existing leadership structure. It is instead a recognition that half the country is willing to disregard their humanity in exchange for what the oligarchs are willing to trickle down economically, socially and politically. And when we apply how oligarchs control the role of technology in our communications, I offer this quote from Noam Chomsky: “As far as technology itself and education is concerned, technology is basically neutral. It’s like a hammer. The hammer doesn’t care whether you use it to build a house or whether on torture, using it to crush somebody’s skull, the hammer can do either.” Increasingly, skulls are being crushed. 

In Language of the Soul: A Path of Simplicity, beginning in Chapter 1, I outline the tragic nature of the Ascension Culture. A culture based on a desperate need to reach the top. No matter how we get there. A way of approaching our lives that places no emphasis on the integral nature of the path. Ambition expressed without genius nor a genuine sense of calling. Genius in this sense being the innate gifts each of us has within ourselves and a call to action being our expression of our innate genius. Instead, we see capitalism run amok, veiling itself as an authentically shared dream when in truth, it is cutthroat, unprincipled and merciless.

In April 2024, I shared via my blog and newsletter, an essay titled ‘What Happens When Our Hearts Feel Worn Out?”. In it I discuss the consequences of the heart’s unmet need to be connected with inner wisdom. The consequence being a form of exhaustion for both mind and body. When perpetuated and compounded by the loss of a common language, individually and collectively, the heart’s spirit becomes vexed by this conundrum. The collective heart spirit of our nation has been waylaid by a desperate need to grasp for what we feel is owed to us and feeling wholly disconnected from a willingness to grieve such a loss. It is currently inconceivable for Americans to grieve our loss so that we may find hope of a rekindled common language and its accompanying shared dream. It's as if we have been severed from how we might relearn what remains of our collective wisdom. Decades ago, I turned to the ancient wisdom of Daoism. Not a religion but a way of living that largely exists outside a dogma. My heart spirit was in desperate need of support. I found it in Five-Element Acupuncture, a Daoist healing practice that has now found its way in practice all around the world. Over time, I found within Daoism its growth component. I learned how Healing & Growth are innately linked and incomplete without the other. I found in an ancient tradition a path to claiming for ourselves truths that exist eternally within us all. 

So how might we find our way back to a common language? As I considered this question, the answer arrived unorganized by thought. I simply asked what is missing in our collective lives. Intuitively what showed up was compassion, simplicity and humility - The Three Treasures of Daoism.  Three ways of learning wisdom that are often understood as essential virtues to embody a balanced approach to learning and living. They are as well the foundation of rebuilding a common language forged through wisdom rather than the existent fear and desperation perpetuating today’s state of the nation. 

Compassion offers us an opportunity for deep understanding and care for all living beings. A practice that encourages kindness and non-violence in our interactions with others and the natural world. An integral component for the creation of a common language and its accompanying dream.

Simplicity, also seen as frugality or moderation, offers us balance and an effective path to avoiding extremes, aligning in harmony with one's needs rather than dwelling in extravagance and waste.  A path of ease can be accessed within simplicity. 

Humility offers us an opportunity to foster a sense of interconnectedness with everything. To recognize the truth of all wisdom teachings - we are all connected and with a practice of good hearted intention, equitably so. 

While many will question, in reading this essay, the pertinence of the interconnection I have made between the loss of our shared language and dream, and the practice of these virtues, we must begin somewhere and wherever you may stand in this moment, it begins now. I offer that these essential virtues can be effectively practiced in our lives and serve as the strongest of foundations for a nation worth living in. Treasures that, as life practices, address every issue that vexes our nation today and simultaneously opens us up to a human dream capable of healthily fulfilling the material needs as well as the spirit of every human being on the planet.  

And so I challenge you to find even a single issue facing our nation that can’t be effectively understood and addressed through the Three Treasures. I welcome a conversation.  

As with all journeys, it begins with practice. In the case of the Three Treasures, I offer it begins with the Four Forms of Rest. A practice that orients us and as well prepares us in our practice of The Three Treasures. To learn more, reach out to me. It is my calling to meet all willing to take such a journey. Be the change you seek in our world.