Fans of the book "The Tipping Point"...

[Fire Walk With Me]

What are your thoughts regarding the state of America?

And of what we can do, I mean go out and DO, to tilt the scales toward a higher quality of life?

[Why Syzygy]

1. I sped read it ..

just to get the jist. Are there any details I missed which might answer your question?
As best I remember, until the point tips, we don't know what it takes. Is that your understanding?

My opinion otherwise, is that we can't win fighting against. We will win when have provide a better product which more people than not want to possess. It's like ju jitsu. You take your opponent's energy force and by a slight shift of your own energy, they combine to throw the opponent over. All the accumulated energy is then freed to go in the direction you want it to. Two opposing forces, being equal, produce standstill. There are youtube vids on this I think.

If we can conceive of a higher quality of life, and begin to move in that direction, any force brought against us will only speed our own intention of directing the force. At that time, the formerly opposing force's energies will be joined with the motion we already had going.

So, whatever we do, it must be moving in a forward motion to advance our agenda. Any energies spent trying to stop the opponent is more than wasted. We lose ground.

I don't know if any of this makes sense. But I would like to see this discussed because I have wondered about it myself many times. I'd like to see what the great minds of DU have to say.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. We cannot conceive of a higher quality of life. That is my point.

Edit: If we could conceive of a higher quality of life, we'd be living it, and would be doing what we had to do in order to maintain it.

How to address this with people who WANT to fight and struggle and dominate?

[Why Syzygy]

3. Summary

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell follows trends from their inception to their end and tries to discover why some ideas "tip" and others do not. First, Gladwell gives the three rules for the tipping point: contagiousness; the fact that little causes can have big effects; and change happens in one moment.

In the opening chapter of the book, Gladwell uses the syphilis epidemic of Baltimore, along with other outbreaks of disease, to illustrate his three rules.

He restates the three rules more simply as the law of few, the stickiness factor and the power of context.
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-tipping-point/plotsummary.html

I really want to figure this out too.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. Have you ever watched a flock or birds or a school of fish, as they seemingly instantly turn?

I think that at some Jungian subconscious level, we have awareness of each other, and that we do tend to reinforce each others' consensus reality. We can flare into a mob, for instance, or reach out to the injured in a disaster. I think that we agree that once a thing reaches a particular level of disrepair, that it's "okay" to damage it further, per the example in the book regarding broken windows in buildings potentially leading to the conclusion and action that this makes it okay to follow the trend (either direction). Most folks do not willingly damage that which is in good order. Others might give up the hope for something better, if confronted by enough disrepair. Trends.

I'm thinking out loud, searching. Please comment and especially, correct me if I'm wrong about something.

Right now I think that we're subconsciously agreeing to cover our asses in the hopes that Bush will go away, and that it will be alright after he's gone. That we know on a deeper level just how selfish and destructive he and his friends are, and that they'd love to harm us if we confronted them.

This of course is what they count on. Awareness of such things allows for manipulation. Of course, in a love-based society, the perception of weakness leads to the offer of assistance, not destruction.

I'm wondering about moving things into the positive side elsewhere, such as going out and giving sandwiches to the homeless, picking up garbage off the street, taking care of things that are not ours, but which are part of the overall place in which we live. I've gone out with a broom and dustpan and garbage bags at night and actually cleaned up cigarette buts and trash along one of the worst stretches of the area near Venice, CA, where I used to live. You can actually feel a difference once it's been cleaned up some.

I think that people are looking for signs that someone, anyone, cares about the general environment. Seeing it might lead to further vigilantism for positive results.

I believe that if we are happy enough in our own lives, that we can automatically obsolete Bush and his friends (who obviously want to cause us to be as unhappy as possible). We need to reverse their trend through our own actions.

[Why Syzygy]

5. I have.

And I agree with everything you wrote. It gave me some new insights. I, too, am just thinking out loud. I don't have any conclusions.

I definitely believe in the collective subconscious, and consensus reality. At times I have been gifted with a tap into it. It's happened more than once, that when my mind is set on something, it moves into trend status.

I don't tell this very often. Back in the 80s there was an explosion of a country decorating style which included a lot of ducks and birds, and eventually other farm animals. A couple of years before that, I wanted to do a cross stitch for my ex-dh that featured ducks. There was very little to choose from. I finally found a large piece with flying ducks. I found some beer steins with fowl. I started collecting birds and ducks, even though they were scarce. Eventually, pieces were flowing in. EVERYONE gave me some bird or duck when we exchanged gifts. I had cracker holders, cookie jars, planters, and tons of just decorating pieces. I had a huge collection which I eventually sold at a garage sale. I really felt that I was on the leading edge of that trend. There may have been others. It certainly reached tipping point in the decorating world.

There was another motif a few years later that I predicted would eventually be a trend. The first time was completely unaware. But this time, I made a conscious effort. It did appear in stores and magazines, but not to the duck degree. It's fun to think about this.

I have seen other things manifest in my life with very little effort. It makes me stop and think about what I'm doing.

Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh are examples for peace. They tell us that Peace begins with me. That came home for me yesterday. I've been in a dispute with a former employer. She has caused me harm and continues to do so. We have had heated arguments. For me, it has taught me that I can stand up for myself. And it made a great example of being peace. My lizard brain really wanted to punish her. But if peace is to come for the world, I MUST be part of that in my own little heart. I have to forgive. That doesn't mean I'm not going to take precautions to make sure she doesn't cause any more damage. After we have yelled, I told her, I don't know where we went wrong, but I wish it hadn't happened. She said she was sorry too that things turned out this way. I think it can be healed. No. I know it can. But I can't do it. The Spirit of Peace can do it.

The Spirit of Peace. Yes, I also believe that constructs become "real" in the sense that they carry an enormous amount of collective energy.

I believe that our ills are caused by one thing. People do not know the Truth. They do not know that we are all connected. That what happens to you, happens to me. The power brokers do not want a world united. They may crave world dominion, but they do not want us to truly be One People. They wouldn't be needed! Science may be an ally in bringing this truth to universal consciousness.

Maybe that's what we can focus on and pass along every chance we get. Remind each other.
I'm more than your sister or brother. I'm you.

Your post brings up another issue also. The archetypes and how they play out in solid reality. Are you familiar with the Fool's Journey? What if that is applied universally? Where would the human race be on the Journey? I will have to do some reading to come up with an opinion on that.

Thoughts?

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. "They wouldn't be needed!"

You touch upon something that is highly important.

Bush and friends must not feel needed.

At the heart of the will to destruction, must lie a lack of belonging, and a rejection of the things that make them feel "less than".

Edit: Change of subject!

Have you read Gogol, the Russian author? In "The Overcoat" or "The Greatcoat" depending upon translation, a shy, bookish man is endlessly taunted by his co-workers. One day he cries, "Why do you harm me? I am your brother!" And one of them actually gets it. Check out his work, it's high on the "humane" scale.

I do not know the Fool's Journey. I'll search it out, thanks.

And interesting about your decorating experience. I haven't had anything to that degree, but have been ahead of the curve on a few occasions (such as being a U2 fan at the college radio station when everyone around us rejected it, and half a year later, suddenly all loved it when mainstream radio began playing them, etc.)

Great post. It is very interesting to consider how to break the national trend that has been forced upon us, namely fear and a sense of victim hood. We can take control back through simple actions such as I've mentioned.

[Why Syzygy]

10. No. I don't know that author.

I'll look it up.

The Fool's Journey is also known as the Hero's Journey. Since you mention archetypes, you would be familiar with that concept?

What word or phrase does your Emoto pic represent? That's a way to expand consciousness, too. When people see it, even though the meaning is not known, they have a response. It even has a subtle physiological effect.

[Fire Walk With Me]

11. I'm aware of Jung's work on archetypes, but I'm no expert on the subject.

I believe it to have genuine merit. If you've read "He" regarding male psychology, it deals specifically with the Fisher King archetype of the injured, unweaned male searching for adulthood, and how it is an ignored right of passage in our society.

The Emoto crystal is a blessing, I don't recall which specific one. I remember him remarking upon the "halo" in the book where it was first depicted.

Well, we're off-topic from the Tipping Point, but it's a good journey.

[Delphinus]

7. Ooh, I'm going to have to read this.

Something Peake said in an earlier post - (paraphrasing from memory) "We have to be able to CONCEIVE it". That might be key, right there.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. I don't remember posting that, but thank you.

The longer we allow these people to bring destruction, the harder it will be to correct it.

[Angela Shelley]

6. Thanks Peake, for starting this thread!

:-)

[mother earth]

12. Peake, what about an Article V Convention? I read another

DU post here about Joel Hirschorn's Delusional Democracy, and how we can have a revolution without overthrowing the gov't. I wish I could give the credit to the rightful owner, but maybe they'll show up here and elaborate.

It just seems to me to be a great way of beginning to start that "Tipping Point", I hope you will let me know your thoughts on this, along with whomever else cares to weigh in. There are youtube clips on what an Article V Convention is/means.