Brian’s Weblog

In the aftermath of the occupation of Bob Randall´s homeland, the English cut away the connections to Kanyini, including the connection to Spirituality. The customs of the Aboriginals were forbidden and between 1910 and 1970 approximately 50,000 Half-cast Aboriginal children were put into camps and taught Christianity in an attempt to make them white. As Bob Randall speaks about his experience in an institution as a child, the parallels between Jesus and the Aboriginals emerge, as does the paradox between Jesus and the English occupiers, “Is Jesus saying you can do what you are doing? Love one another – that’s what we did. Have compassion – I had that too. But you imprisoned me, and I am in your institution and being taught from you about your spirituality, which is in conflict with way you are living and what you were doing. We call that madness.”

Actually when you delve into the teachings of Jesus and Aboriginal Spirituality a little deeper, the similarities between the two become more pronounced. Jesus taught that there was “more” to the world than what we see, and especially in the Gnostic Gospels, he teaches how to enter the “moreness” of Life. He called it “The Kingdom”. The Aboriginals knew that there was much more, and were able to connect to and live within it. They call it “The Dreaming”. Sound similar? Jesus taught of a world beyond duality – where Man and God are One. In other words, the Kingdom is where everything is One, or “One Spirit”. Hmmmm, that’s how the Aboriginals see the world. Jesus taught that we didn’t really have possessions. The Aboriginals had no concept of property ownership. Same story. Jesus did not support war. The Aboriginals did not war. Same story. Both Jesus and the Aboriginals struggled against authoritative forces, namely the Romans and the Pharisees for Jesus, and the English for the Aboriginals, which ultimately murdered them. Same story.

One comment that struck me during my Walkabout in Australia was how the white Australians would complain that the Aboriginals didn’t integrate well into their society. Maybe we should be integrating into their way of seeing the world? If Jesus was a teacher, and had so many similarities with the Aboriginals, maybe the Aboriginals are our teachers too. Instead, are we repeating the story of Jesus? Have we killed our teachers?

Instead of killing them, maybe we should learn from them.

So, how does all this link to the Economic Downturn and the economy? Perhaps Jesus and the Aboriginals have something to teach us there as well.

Recently I passed a shop window in Amsterdam, with a bag in the window reading, “Business is about serving other people”. To serve is to give Love. Both Jesus and the Aboriginals knew that there was more, and that you could connect to this Oneness. And when you do, you understand you have a purpose in this Universe. When you know you have a purpose, you begin to explore how you can serve others through that purpose, and ultimately you do what you were meant to do – to give Love.

During my Whirling Dervish Tour in the California desert last April, I visited Salvation Mountain, the creation of Leonard Knight with volunteers and made from adobe, straw, and thousands of gallons of paint. As you approach Salvation Mountain you see clearly “God is Love”, and from the looks of it, Leonard Knight has put a lot of Love into Salvation Mountain. He loves what he does, and he loves to show others. Salvation Mountain is his way of giving Love. Shortly thereafter, I was able to see Tina Turner in concert. At 70, she can outperform any 30 year old. Obviously she has found the Elixir of Life – to do what she Loves, and to give that Love to others with her performance.

In his “Everything is Spiritual Tour”, Rob Bell reminds us that in ancient Hebrew there was no word for “spiritual” because to label one area of your Life as spiritual is to label another area not spiritual. Instead, Everything is Spiritual, including what you do for a living. Perhaps our economic woes have less to do with the financial crisis, and more to do with how few of us are actually doing what we Love. After all, currency means “to flow” – the exchange of money is only symbolic as an exchange for energy. Could the problem be that we are too concerned with “security” than doing what we were meant to do? And in doing so we restrict that energy – that currency?

Are we more concerned with what we get than what we give? Then of course the flow is restricted. Think of the Ying-Yang symbol with one side much bigger than the other. That demonstrates how out of balance we are.

A study by Dr. Amy Wrzeniewski of NYU Stern on worker satisfaction categorizes workers into people having a job, career or calling, with the highest satisfaction found with those having a calling. It claims people who have a job do so for monetary reasons, and those who have a career are motivated by prestige.

If we focus on having a job for money, which is actually a masked fear of survival, and then we turn to Jesus´ Sermon on the Mount, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Or “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). This is echoed in Thomas 36, “Jesus said, “Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food--what you're going to eat, or about your clothing--] what you are going to wear. [You’re much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin.” Is he saying do not worry; your survival is looked after?

Actually, as Bob Randall speaks of Aboriginal Belief, he says, “The earth is our mother. We are born from her. She looks after us with meat, bush tucker and water.”

They are saying the same thing.

Now focus on the ego, the underlying cause of people working for recognition. With his humility, wisdom, love, and total devotion, Jesus also taught us the importance of losing the ego. Again, we look to Matthew 6 as Jesus speaks about recognition. “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4).

Recognition drives the Ego, and vice-versa. As you lose the ego, you gain humility, and this humility connects you. As I learned during my time in the Outback, the Aboriginals are a humble people. Perhaps this is in part because, as Bob Randall describes in Kanyini, “Everything here is my family. It’s all bush as far as you can see, but to me, it is my home, my ngura. The trees are our family, all the animals that live with us are family.” That is a pretty humble way of seeing the world, if you ask me.

They are saying the same thing.

So does all this mean that working for money and working for recognition are illusions? Something to ponder about.

However, if we do something in line with our purpose, our calling, aren’t we actually giving Love, just like Tina Turner and Leonard Knight? And won’t that Love come back to us, oftentimes financially, as well in other ways – less stress, more happiness and a connection to that Oneness? Are we using our talents to serve others in the way we were meant to – aligned to the way we are?

Jesus knew his purpose and taught people to follow their calling, and his disciples followed his lead. In an Aboriginal clan, they had a doctor, shaman, hunters and gatherers – everyone worked according to their natural talents. By example, both Jesus and the Aboriginals encourage us to follow our interests and talents, and to serve others through our calling.

They are saying the same thing.

As the message on Salvation Mountain proclaims, “God is Love”. If you do what you Love, your calling, of course you are connecting to God, and becoming One with all that is. Love is connecting – through who you are, and what you do. Rather than serving debt, ego and lifestyle, perhaps we should focus on serving others through doing what we Love, our calling, whether that’s being a priest or a porn star. Only then do we are serve our purpose in the Universe.

The parallels between Jesus and the Aboriginals are amazing. Both understood what it means to live in “The Kingdom”. Both struggled against authorities. Both were murdered.

Rather than kill our teachers, should we listen to their wisdom and integrate better into their world. Would we then discover that there is more to than this world than we ever thought possible – a new vision of Life itself? And then would we have the courage to break our shackles, and our “slavery” to the illusions of fear and ego, to discover our purpose and give Love?

Is it time for us to discover Everything is Spiritual, including what we do for a living?

Is it time for us to discover Kanyini?

Keep Dreaming,
Brian