In the wild winds of winter

As Indians we sat in our tepees

Warm from the fire

But not able to escape the powerful sound and energy of the wind

We knew when to not argue with nature

For it was more powerful than man

Nature destroys those who try to dominate it

Perhaps not immediately and it may be your own children who pay

But nature will inevitably set out to correct and balance

The damage done to it by man.

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual

There are few societies left on earth where the entire population is poor and where this is the case that society is usually untouched by human greed and the sale of minerals from their land. Such a society is rich in harmony, tradition, culture and equality, at the same time operating with a minimum of laws for they do not steal from each other.

The societies recognised as Indigent today are often countries that are mineral asset rich, with the wealth staying with those in political power and either not reaching the poor, or reaching them in such a manner that it has no meaningful effect upon their poverty.

This only happens due to endemic corruption amongst the political class, a corruption seen as their right and enabled due to the imbalance of power between the classes.

What occurs is that a country poor in money and property survives and thrives on their culture with each person looking out for and sharing with their neighbour. This equality is part of their tradition. Such countries are rich in their values and poor financially.

The cultural corruption starts when indulgences and a taste of opulence are provided to those who are in charge of a village, tribe or government. The feeling of power and entitlement quickly causes the decision makers to forget equality, rather create a two-class system with the greatest part of the riches remaining with those in charge.

Whilst this is widely known and accepted, what is not fully understood is the effect the destruction of the value of equality has on that society.

Equality says more than each person is equal, it says that they have equal worth. This means that the low level clerk in an organisation has an equal worth to the CEO for the overall running of the organisation, or that the youngest member of a family is of equal worth to the conduct of the family as the oldest or a parent. (In the case of an organisation if you doubt this, ask the CEO to do their own support work)

When a society is financially indigent, survival of all is critical to the survival of the tribe, thus, it is in their individual and collective interest to share what they have with each other. This brings a togetherness, a bond, a shared commitment to a purpose, cementing a rich culture, bonded over thousands of years. This is broken in a moment when individuals are given great financial riches which they keep for themselves.

For centuries this is the way society has worked, hence, slowly breaking down traditional cultures.

This has taken place through replacing cultural values (including equality) with financial values based on inequality.

The conflict here is the western world’s way of saying that values and status are related to financial worth, not an inherent set of values within an individual which were learned through their culture.

Organisations are aware of the need for culture and try to create it through a mission statement and a statement of the organisation’s values. However, it is known and accepted that they have little to no practical application. Moreover, any evolved person would have to drop their values to fit in with the stated values of an organization.

Organisational values are a post-fact way to justify the primary drive for profit. How many people are promoted or given a pay rise in a workplace just because of the application of their values. Organisational culture gets forgotten in the relentless push for financial gain.

By and large the public has given up on governments as an institution to set and maintain values, with governments making this easy by promoting themselves as financial guardians only.

Because people base their behaviour on those of their leaders, and the leaders are proving themselves as unworthy of being copied, there is an ensuing dearth of change from a model where the richest wins and stealing from each other is more the norm than the exception.

As a consequence the world is becoming more and more culturally and values indigent with no solution in sight.

This is further exemplified in society through the reduction in the role of grandparents, combined with grandparents opting out through things such as continuous travel.

The lack of values has allowed a selfish society, which in turn has led to an indigent society.

With no values ascribed to living, people are living scattered lives; with little to no connection to each other and little to no care for the other.

Until there is a recognition that we are connected to all people and rely on each other, not only for our own survival and growth, but also for the growth of the earth; earth will continue to spiral into an implosion.

In the meantime, the rich care not so long as their riches grow and governments care not as long as they are being re-elected.

With no models to lead people, the change has to come from the people and a set of values to live by. In history this was seen as the ten commandments, which today are seen as largely passe and if touted as the saviour of the earth, scorn would most likely follow.

A set of spiritual values based on contemporary vernacular and meaningful application that would slowly change the way of living on earth is required as a start point.

They exist and are at the kernel of a renaissance of living on earth, a spiritual renaissance unrelated to any one religion, but connected to all through its purity.

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Editor’s note: In this essay, Ian Rogers explores why modern society has become increasingly discordant, drawing on history to examine the relationship between spirituality, culture, leadership and harmony.

In the Indigenous tribes of both long and not so long ago, there was a common purpose, both for individuals and for the tribe.

The common purpose for the tribe caused people to work harmoniously together, for they knew that the survival of the tribe could not be achieved individually.

The individual purpose meant that tribe members had to understand the history and culture of their tribe and the role of individuals within it, that had allowed the tribe to be where it was at that time.

The role of tribal individuals in history was something to aspire to and recreate. When that individual was a family member, they wanted to better it and when it was a hero tribe member they dreamed of being as capable.

The deeds of their ancestors were passed down by word of mouth, usually accurately, through the generations. Some individuals told of their own deeds, but only when witnessed were they taken to be of note. The truly great leaders never spoke of their own deeds, leaving it for others to do it for them, if they so chose.

This allowed the current generation to understand what their people had endured and the efforts their ancestors went to in order to preserve their culture. It gave them pride in their heritage, and a sense of worthwhile belonging.

An examination of their tribe’s history showed how their pride came from doing good things which were for the betterment of the tribe. Acts of wanton destruction or killing were not admired.

The next thing an examination of their history showed is that every leader who was lauded for their actions was conjointly recognised for their spiritual belief and close connection to their great spirit.

Indeed, the greater their connection to the great spirit and their ability to accurately receive information from the great spirit, the more they were followed and lauded.

In this way and using contemporary vernacular, the great leaders acted in harmony with the needs of the state (tribe), the spiritual and the people. This harmonious approach allowed people to be at peace with their life and to concentrate on trying to be the best person they are for the good of all.

Disharmony did not occur because the needs of the tribe (State) didn’t override their spiritual or personal needs. Interestingly, this was only able to happen because the leaders and consequently the people put their spiritual needs first and by trying to better the deeds of their ancestors their culture and tribe prospered.

At the same time through modern history, Caucasians struggled with the interests of the spiritual overriding both the interests of the state and the individual. In this scenario the churches lost their way, the state suffered and the majority of people also suffered, with fear of religious punishment being the prime motivator for existing. Harmony was lost and in the name of their God, both power and riches rested with the churches.

Whilst white society called Indigenous savages, their way of existence far surpassed white society especially when viewed through the prisms of culture and overall wellbeing.

Broader society had an opportunity to study and learn from the Indigenous way of life but instead, opted not to, indeed trying to impose their way of living upon the Indigenous.

Whilst this happened throughout the world, especially in the nineteenth century, the most glaring example was in America and their treatment the Indigenous Indians.

In wanting to take the Indian land for its gold and for settlement for agriculture, white man found an unexpected level of ongoing resistance from the Indians of all tribes. After their first attempt to buy them off only won support from one tribe, the American Government tried to kill them off with military force.

Eventual victory was assured through military supremacy, but the Government was incensed at the level of Indian resistance. This resistance grew under the leadership of an Indian called Crazy Horse, renowned for his connection to the great spirit. He joined all the tribes together, planned and led all tribes in a battle against the American army called the battle of the Little Big Horn.

The battle resulted in total victory to the Indians, wiping out the army force led by General Custer. The outcome overall was outrage by the Government who then devised a plan to wipe out the Indian race as it was.

They slaughtered all the buffalo which were a life source of the Indian and forced the starving Indians into reservations where being fed relied on compliance.

They also introduced alcohol and White man’s religion, forcing the Indian to give up their own cultural and spiritual beliefs, thus decimating the race. Any recalcitrant Indians were murdered.

Historically the Government was faced with finding a way to live in harmony with the Indigenous and learning from them or destroying their way of life and their culture and spiritual beliefs. They chose the latter and made no attempt create an ongoing harmonious relationship with the Indians.

Thus, we had a discordant white man, eradicating a culture and people who lived in harmony, so as to force them to be a part of a failing culture with harmony being unimportant to them, only power and control.

In this way America lost an opportunity to reshape its society, the results of which are axiomatic today.

This has been repeated in many other parts of the world.

The humble Indigenous had found a way to align their spiritual, tribal and personal needs through the application of values, values ascribed for them by their great spirit.

In arrogantly dismissing this, not only has white society not prospered, but it has gone backwards.

The lack of harmony extends intercountry with countries at war internally and externally.

Whilst ever so-called country leaders set out to oppress their people, to put the needs of the state first and to set vast divides in the distribution of wealth, discordance will survive and thrive.

Indigenous people knew of truth and not lies and could not understand how to deal with the lies of the white man. White man knows of lies and cannot fathom how to deal with truth. This endemic approach to leadership means that fewer and fewer people are aligned with the purpose of their tribe (country)

As they tried to buy the Indigenous with trinkets, they try to buy their own people with trifling amounts. This does not bring harmony of purpose.

In a world full of interracial tension, intra and intercountry tension, the start point has to be harmony.

Harmony starts with humility and grows through values and thrives when the very reason you came to earth is put first, your spiritual needs. Putting them first is not to the exclusion of the needs of the tribe and individuals, it is a way of harmoniously including them so that one feeds the other.

The option is the discordant society of today will grow and like American in the 1800’s parts of society will try to eradicate other parts.

Hope without any basis

For the hope

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Equals

Stagnation 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Is small, hard to find and is a squeeze to enter

Once in, a world you can only imagine awaits

A world of beauty, amazement and fulfillment 

Sadly, there is plenty of room in it

For few enter

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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And in the morning 

Live in hope

Unless you are a person dedicated to harming others

Then for you each day is only a good day

When you have inflicted harm to others

And whilst this is how you live 

Hope for your own life

Will never visit you 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Doesn’t overcome character

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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To divide and destroy 

It is the function of the content

To be content and ignore 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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It will, in time

Cause your behaviour to be unbalanced, erratic and self serving 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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The more your issue is with yourself

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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When a new force arrives

Established forces set out to make people fearful of it

With the purpose of creating fear being to stay with what is

Because it is this way in politics 

It is this way with all things

Thus, innovation is thwarted

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Then only deal with your teddy bear

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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To be loved is an act of receiving 

To give and receive is being in love

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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The farmer tends his fields

The glass maker makes glass

But unless it is what they are meant to be doing

The nightmare continues 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Followed by a period of regret and low self worth

Then back to high ego

And the pattern never changes despite them being aware of it

Be wary for they are a force of destruction waiting for a target

Not caring about the damage they cause

Just caring about having been exposed for their behaviour 

Lapsing into low self worth and regret 

To obtain sufficient sympathy 

To repeat their abhorrent behaviour 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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But you needed ratification from others

Before accepting what you felt, therefore believed

Arrogance is not seeking help when you need it

A lack of self worth is seeking help

When you do not need it

From my guide Crazy Horse thryIan Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Which in hindsight you realise you could have coped with

And overcome the difficulties it posed.

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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Every achievement from study on a topic of significance to you

Deserves special recognition and celebration 

But if the significant study and subsequent achievement is not put to use 

It was a waste of time

The more significant knowledge is to you

The more it needs to be used

Knowledge plus commitment equals success

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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That you want to escape the life you have

Serenity cannot exist in someone with wunderlust 

They must look for what they need in life

And only when they find it

Can serenity appear within then

Not from the ups and downs of their new life

But from the knowledge that they are doing what they need to

Thus, those stuck doing what doesn’t serve them

Can never find serenity 

From my guide Crazy Horse through Ian Rogers Director Sphinx Spiritual 

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