On the plane flying to Puerto Vallarta, I was seated next to a couple of young (30ish) women, who could most definitely be described as "Valley girls".  I knew God had a sense of humor when I realized I was captured in my seat for four hours and simply could not remove myself from the constant "dishing" by these women of every person photographed in the current TV or movie magazines. 

The book I was reading distracted me for brief moments, but then I would be jarred back to their conversation by some completely innane comment:  "look at her nose - why does she even get photographed?", "Oh my God, you would think she would stay indoors with a behind that big.", etc. etc.

Then, out of the blue, I heard, "Why would I want health care that everyone else has?  I deserve better than that.  What would be the point of my having to put up with what everyone else puts up with!"  A part of me was stunned...and, then, I remembered the phrase:  consciousness creates reality.  This was their reality; this is what they truly believed - or at least it was what they supported one another in believing.

How does a culture that promotes - through the consistent superficiality of sitcoms on television, and text messaging to the person sitting next to you - separation, begin to shift to one that embraces true equality of mind and spirit?
For it doesn't really matter that we enact a Universal Healthcare plan, if all it does is assure the continuation of business as usual, packaged under a more acceptable name.

Consciousness is what needs to shift, and there appears to be a deep-rooted movement in America to keep or promote the same old ideas of "I need to be better than you or have more than you, because I am worthy and you are not." In my humble opinion, this attitude will be the ultimate cause of the destruction of this country. The US cannot continue to be a model of justice and freedom for the world, when it is unwilling to acknowledge, care for - or even have compassion for - all of its own citizens.

To quote Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living." It appears that we, as a country, are unwilling to be honest with ourselves. We appear to be unwilling to take responsibility for the inequality we promote here and around the globe. We continue to destroy while attempting to convince ourselves we are a country of peace. We talk out of both sides of our mouth and pretend that no one notices - especially ourselves!

So, having said all of that, I must bring my thoughts back to my own life and question my own thoughts, words and behavior. Where am I talking out of both sides of my mouth? Under what circumstances do I believe that I am worthy and you are not? What actions do I continue to take that promote separation? This is when living a conscious spiritual life can get sticky.

Am I willing to question my inner belief patterns and shift them? Today, I am. AND, I find myself back to the Valley Girls and my sense of superiority as I judged their chatter!
Oh my.....