Understanding Me 291any stirring leads immediately to a death threat from some bloodsucking
tyrant? A
Along with the Mafia are the jealous neighbors. For decades, the
Russian citizens were taught that their way of communism was superior to
the capitalism of the West. Now, communism has been shown to be a dead
end—the old me is faced with death. However, feelings of guilt and failure
can be avoided as long as the new me of capitalism remains a distant
theory, practiced only by others. But, if my neighbor follows the principles
of private ownership and gains some wealth, then it becomes obvious that
a new me is possible, and that I can change. This turns remorse into guilt,
and the easiest way to deal with this emotional pain is to remove its source
by destroying the wealth of my neighbor.B
Suppose that one approached the problem fractally. What is the
underlying cause behind all of the individual symptoms? The fundamental
difficulty in Russia today is not bad business technique, poor planning,
crumbling buildings, or even a lack of value. These are symptoms. Instead,
the root problem is mass hypnosis—a nationwide case of Perceiver
strategy bludgeoned into insensitivity by centuries of Mongol, Tsarist, and
Communist terror and abuse. The solution, I suggest, lies in facing this
basic need and in every area asking whether Perceiver thought is being
helped or hindered by the response to that situation. It does not matter
whether the Russian citizen is painting, building apartments, selling wares,
or driving his car. Nothing will change unless Perceiver strategy wakes
from its slumber, and the only way to wake it up is to keep prodding it
relentlessly.
But how can Perceiver thought be „pushed‟ into waking up? Exhorter
leaders such as Peter the Great, Khrushchev and Gorbachev have tried
prodding their comrades, with only moderate success. I suggest that the
solution lies in „learning to fly.‟ First, the conditions are present. The
Russian who lives amidst the insanity of home-grown Mafia and so-called
government cannot change his physical circumstances, but he can use
Perceiver logic to build a vision of a better world based upon the general
understanding of mental cause and effect. The conditions in post-
communist Russia are ideal for a whole segment of society to cross the
gulf from the me of the child to the adult me based in Perceiver confidence.
The average Russian may not be able to get ahead with the me of his
physical body, but it is precisely this oppression which allows the me of
A As I suggested before, under institutionalized emotional 'truth,'
eventually everyone suffers, not just the few „dissidents‟ who value
Perceiver thought.
B Jealousy steals my neighbor‟s wealth in order to possess it. Envy destroys
it so that no one benefits.