Discussion 5: The Names of the Light of Democracy
Displaying the depths of our singularities
Democratic Agapé and Tolerance
Democracy does not thrive when its diverse groups merely tolerate one another, for such fragile relationships can be easily manipulated. Turning away from such distant attitudes, from offensively trying to convert others to ignoring their existence, wouldn’t it be uplifting to experience a deep democratic agapé (love) for each other? It would not require an external enemy, like the Nazis, which molded Americans last century into a democratic love for years to follow.
We are past the point of any external threat uniting Democrats and Republicans, for global politics now work within and across nations in a far more destructive way. Political parties governing aligned nations have brought their national policies of favoring each other to the point of—we win or we all go down.
Underlying political and national groups though are belief systems, religious and nonreligious. But they comply with the politics of tolerance also when they do not practice the principle of conscience (suneidesis).1 Thus, as we see so often, they too are easily manipulated against each other. The only thing that can move this mountain is love for Name through each other according to the principle, a deep love for God or Life.
Most followers of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and atheism only tolerate each other. They could have a deep love for one another though through the democracy of their world suneidesis.2 It would underly a deep democratic love for one another within their national suneideseis, regardless of their nation’s form of governance in the world. Thoughtless dismissal of this indicates a willingness to tolerate blindness and its hatred. Again, only love for Name through each other can move this mountain—when we have the knowledge to understand our names of agapé light.
The 200 Nation-Names of Agapé Light
We are each a unique light of conscientious awareness, and together, we are a unique light of national co-conscientious awareness. Nation-names are this shared identity, approximately 200 across the world, each manifesting a unique present and historical consciousness.
Blindness to this does not change the nature of Name manifesting us this way. It does not change the nature of our singularity, nation-names a key level of it in our world suneidesis, along with personal, political and world-names of agapé light. If it all seems too connected, remember that we all breathe the same air on this minuscule dot in the universe. How could we not be connected this way?
Every nation-name of agapé light has national memories that coexist peacefully with its national suneidesis. They rise up in but not of the now of the timeless world suneidesis, bringing national pride without creating a past in it. But every nation-name also has national memories that do create a past in it due to present national blindness and actions void of its agapé nature.
The House of Knowledge
These blind actions are what make the politics of tolerance a formidable mountain, threatening all peace in the fulfillment of the times of the nations. Although faith alone moves mountains for many, only a house built upon the foundation of faith, hope for many, will withstand the hatred of this storm. See it, the house of Word’s knowledge, with paradigm-windows facing each direction inwardly and outwardly.
Changes in the US are making it more difficult to see ourselves through these windows as a true democracy in the world or in the world suneidesis. However, despite blindness to the principle in many of us, our nation-name, the United States, specifically American, is no less a name of the democracy light in the world suneidesis. The same is true for the nation-names Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean and all others. Blindness to the principle cannot change the essence of our agapé names of light in the singularity of Name.
What can and is changing is our collective ability to make all other nation-names more important than our own—to give Name the singularity of our agapé light through them. But during this national transformation, we are also getting a rare look into the necessary enemy of national blindness, where we have collectively gone against our nature as agapé nation-names. If we expose it individually and practice the principle, we can free our personal names to see through our national blindness, but removing such blindness in our nation-name is beyond our individual reach.
This is what makes the fulfillment of times so crucial, allowing even forcing us to learn how to exercise our political, national and world wills with the principle, in order to survive and prosper. But no one should be naive. We will need mature agapé stronger than life and death.
The Visual Pattern of Agapé Names of Light
We start with the nation-names Israeli and Palestinian to grasp the meaning structure of agapé throughout all two hundred nation-names. In our world suneidesis, the paradigm always utilizes at least two positions working in double folds of light. The agapé light of the nation-name Israeli permeationally sees the singularity of all two hundred nation-names in the agapé light of the nation-name Palestinian, as the agapé light of Palestinian permeationally sees their singularity in the agapé light of Israeli, simultaneously.
Within the singularity of this agapé light in Palestinian, the agapé light of Israeli permeationally sees the agapé light of Iranian and the singularity again in this agapé name. Likewise, within the singularity of this agapé light in Israeli, the agapé light of Palestinian permeationally sees the agapé light of American and the singularity again in this agapé name, simultaneously.
The same pattern starts between any two or more agapé nation-names in the Now of Word’s world suneidesis and permeationally expands into the singularity of all two hundred inwardly and outwardly. This is the key depth of the visual pattern of agapé names as seen through the paradigm-windows of our house. All four types of names are used in a more detailed example in Spirituality and Democracy 3.
Use this meaning structure of the agapé names of light to make all nation-names in every interaction more important than your own without being against it. Avoid complicating the visual pattern of agapé by remembering that, as agapé names of light, we permeate each other in the same position. Here, we form basic singularities out of our light to see with and be seen as we give all of ourselves to Name through Word, the Word of God or the Meaning of Life. As agapé names, our dialogues of light manifest Word and Meaning in these visual patterns to understand Name in each of us.
Later, we will discuss using symbolic forms to envision the shape of the visual patterns. But even without symbols, this is all foreign to the shape of our physical bodies and the dimensions of nations on earth. How we have pictured them thus far helps us see through our national blindness—to remove its past in our national suneidesis.
With the paradigm-windows of our house facing each direction, inwardly and outwardly, the removal of discolored panes reveals the brilliantly transparent singularity of our agapé light. Its clear sapphire reflections intertwine with Name in the world suneidesis—loving the life we have from God Himself or Herself or from Life Itself.
10 World-Names
Global politics presently work the politics of tolerance within and across the agapé light of our nation-names—by way of the agapé light of our political names. It enslaves our personal and world-names to a soulish existence3 when we do not use the principle.
Beyond national identities in the world suneidesis, everyone partakes of the identity of their world-name in the democracy light, knowingly or not. We can put them into ten broad categories as the world-names of agapé light. Five of them are from world religions: Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. The other five are held together by atheistic beliefs of various degrees, with world-names of agapé light like Atheist and Agnostic.
We start with the world-names Jew and Muslim, for they are the predominant world-names that work in the nation-names Israeli and Palestinian. Note that world-names work across nation-name boundaries, for example, Muslims living in every country. This makes world-names the greater part of the visual agapé pattern in the world suneidesis, but often they are seen as the lesser part due to global political blindness.
The agapé light of Jew Israeli permeationally sees the light of Islam in Muslim Palestinian and the singularity of all ten world-names in this agapé world-name, as the agapé light of Muslim Palestinian permeationally sees the light of Judaism in Jew Israeli and their singularity in this agapé world-name, simultaneously.
Within the singularity of world-names in Muslim Palestinian, the agapé light of Jew Israeli permeationally sees the light of Islam in Muslim Iranian and the singularity again in this agapé world-name. Likewise, within the singularity of world-names in Jew Israeli, the agapé light of Muslim Palestinian permeationally sees the light of Christianity in Christian American and the singularity again in this agapé world-name, simultaneously.
Dialogues of Light in the Visual Pattern of Agapé
As agapé names, our dialogues of light manifest Word and Meaning that enlighten all visual patterns of agapé, expanding our clear sapphire reflections in Name in the exchanges between us. The same pattern between any two or more world nation-names permeationally expands into the one singularity between all ten and two hundred agapé names of light. This greater permeational depth in the visual pattern of agapé is no more complex than any position of a single personal name of agapé light in Name.
Consider an American political context where Christian Democrat, Christian Republican and Atheist Independent are persuaded to use the agapé light of their personal names to practice the principle together. They would be able to use the singularity between their personal agapé names to see through the global politics of tolerance in their other three names. With resolve, they could make each other more important without being against themselves in any of their agapé names. The same ideological and moral differences would still exist between them, but standing on this bridge with a new vision of their shared national suneidesis, they would not allow memories from past blindness to form anger, fear or hatred in or between them.
We always wonder why we do not learn more from the past. Simply declaring “never again” is not enough. Despite our best efforts to educate the younger generation about past catastrophic mistakes, our national suneidesis has a past that blinds and disables our present understanding. This makes it impossible to re-live the errors of past generations in our present national suneidesis and learn from them. We have no choice but to live them on the soil of the earth, but that cannot teach us what we need to learn. With the principle though, working in all our agapé names in the light of democracy, all lessons can be re-lived in our world suneidesis and learned.
Can we save our democracy? (Index)
Suneidesis is pronounced soon-eye-day-sis. After reading the link explaining it, you will see how central it is to this teaching. Using this foreign word regularly in discussions helps us get accustomed to experiencing something new and positive in our awareness. When the word conscience is used, it will refer to the aspect of suneidesis that involves right and wrong, but this aspect cannot be separated from our co-conscientious awareness of all things.
If I understand that my awareness of something as simple as a cup includes co-conscientiousness, I do not allow myself to get blinded by the cup alone but know it as part of all creation at the hands of the Creator or the universe, depending on one’s beliefs. I can easily picture people like Jesus doing that all the time and believe that suneidesis reveals that we all have the same potential.
The repetition of suneidesis is meant to challenge you to consider this dimension in your awareness. Apologies, but it will only be a necessary annoyance until it becomes natural.
“Soulish body” is a literal translation from the original Bible in Greek. It refers to the temporary corruption we know between the physical and spiritual. Transformation in the house of Word’s knowledge removes all corruption from our spiritual perception, revealing our agapé names of light in Name. But while we still have soulish experiences, the words and actions of those without them often appear non-emotional, without feelings, since we misinterpret the absence of soulish emotions and cannot experience spiritual feelings with much understanding. The only way to distinguish what is occurring is to follow the principle ourselves and look for it in others.