Swami Beyondananda

Swami Asks:
“Do We Go for ABunDance or Stay Stuck in ScareCity?”

By Swami Beyondananda


A great Yogi -- I think it was Yogi Berra -- once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Well, here we are at the junction of love and fear, and if we stay on the all-too-familiar path of ScareCity -- we’re totally forked. Yes, in a shrinking world that could definitely use a good shrink, we can do the same old same old and get the same old results, or ... we can try something different for a change. Instead of ScareCity, we can go for ABunDance. That is when we get up off of our assets, move our buns, and dance together in rhythm and flow. Can it work? Well, consider what hasn’t worked.

Goin’ to ScareCity Where It’s Two to One: Two Fears for Every Joy

ScareCity is the way it’s always been. The fear that there isn’t enough to go around has caused us to separate into “people like us” and “people who don’t like us.” No wonder we have nations at odds trying to get even, a dogma-eat-dogma world where misinterpreters have translated great spiritual teachings as “We’re going to heaven, and everyone else can go to hell.” But living at each other’s expense can be expensive. Huge defense budgets, not to mention all the waste and corruption hiding behind defense, are bankrupting the world, financially and morally.

Time to Get Out of ScareCity and Declare ABunDance for All!

Here’s a wild idea: What if we applied our abundant imagination to find ways we can be fruitful and multiply -- instead of staying stuck in fruitless division? What if we came to our senses and declared the current system illegally insane, and committed ourselves to making the world a sane asylum? Sounds crazy? Well, what could be crazier than spending so much of our precious livelihood on weapons of deadlihood? Is it any wonder the ‘hood is so deadly?

Seriously. What if we used our religions wisely and taught those old dogmas some new tricks? What if we decided that we’re not here to earn God’s love, we’re here to spend it? Hey, even Republicans could relate to “supply-side spirituality,” right? What if we changed the game from survival to thrival? What if we went for heaven on earth -- just for the hell of it?