Quiet Horizon (ePub)

Societys trust in its institutions - governments, churches, and corporations in particular - has never been lower. At the same time, terrorism is rising faster than the ability of state police forces, intelligence agencies, and militaries to combat it. What do these two phenomena have in common? Ideological thinking.

The fabric of societies world-wide is being torn apart by the dogmatic, sabotaging impact of entrenched and extremist beliefs protected by psychologically damaged power brokers. The flawed and prescriptive organizations these power brokers create have a singular intention: to replace the possibility of an innovative, collaborative and free society with a compliant, fearful citizenry unwittingly sacrificing their sovereignty to false, utopian promises.

This book was written to help people understand how this process works. Only then can action be taken to move society in a more constructive direction. Its author, Greg Jemsek, worked at world headquarters of an international socio-spiritual organization during the 1970s gold rush of new religious movements into the U.S. His involvement led him, in short order, to being recruited to train with a select group of others in the terrorist tactics necessary to bring about a new world order. Those trainings served as the impetus to escape the organization, believing that doing so would put the cultic thinking embedded in its machinery into his past. To his surprise - and distress - he discovered an alarming reality over the next 35 years: ideological thinking is as integral to the success of mainstream organizations as it is to extremist groups. Success in todays world is based on 4 trends which, left unchecked, will undermine a societys capacity to build a constructive world: 1). The normalization of narcissism, 2) The erosion of authentic relationships through surrogacy, 3) The continued commitment to outmoded meta-narratives based on puritanical self-loathing and frontier era delusions about limitless growth, and 4) The continuous confusion between transcendence and transformation: a confusion prompting people to substitute emotional excitation for the hard work necessary to advance self-knowledge.

The alternative to ideological living is not easy, but is essential if we are to face the complexity characterizing our times. As Quiet Horizon points out, this requires all of us to find ways to expand personal awareness, act in ethically braver ways, forge genuine relationships, and move beyond our fears individually and collectively. Doing so non-dogmatically allows all of us to contribute to the creation of an honorable, compassionate and just society.
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