This reflection led to a change in the Seeker Story in the identity section of releasing conditioning. It was a long and convoluted process that led to this change that I am recording as a reflection.
It began with this clip from Scott Galloway – I did not watch it all so I hope there are no conflicts, and the issues raised through Scott’s statistics have to be addressed in this world of conditioning. But what does it mean spiritually? If changes in the conditioned world are affecting our spiritual evaluation, does that not mean there is a spiritual error? A timeless error?
And the spiritual issue concerned is that of the trigger word “patriarchy”. How can we spiritually talk of patriarchy when according to Scott – the stats are accepted - men are being disadvantaged? Let us begin with this issue in the world of conditioning. What Scott presents us with is legitimate information in the comparative world of men and women. Spiritually such men’s issues need always to be accounted for, spiritually it is not sufficient to say that there is a rebalancing where women are beginning to get theirs. That is not a spiritual evaluation, that is an evaluation in the world of conditioning.
Spiritually we have compassion for all, freedom from suffering for all. So spiritually we need to find the source of the harm. And that source can be seen when we use tathata to see what is – patriarchy as imperialist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy; this seeing applies not just to these men’s issues but to all questions of wokeness. What we SEE is an economic system in which the 1% are increasing their accumulation through automation, decreasing the available jobs, and changing the way they are assigning jobs – more jobs for women and minorities. This seeds the division that is so prevalent in our society today - symbolised by the strife around wokeness.
Our society is currently increasingly being dominated by this 1%-accumulation and issues around wage-slavery. The consequences of changes in the wage-slavery for white men have led to the men’s issues described by Scott Galloway. There is a changing dynamic in the way that women and men are being exploited by patriarchy, but patriarchy itself has not changed. More women are in work probably (no evidence) because they are cheaper. Men, who - as Scott says - have traditionally evaluated their worth in terms of economic success, are now less and less these successes. In some cases in the West, women and minorities are replacing them but mostly the 1% have developed their exploitation methodology through increased automation; 1% accumulation has increased whilst there are fewer jobs especially in the manufacturing area that had previously given white men their power-base. This changing dynamic has been exploited by right-wing populism such as Trump, but these demagogues only play on the divisions but do not offer substantive change because they do not attempt to alter the economic model of 1%-accumulation.
From a spiritual point of view in seeing what is, there is no change in tathata. The conditioned world is changing as demonstrated by Scott Galloway but the exploitation of patriarchy as a process has not changed. The issues of patriarchy that are raised in the Seeker Story in order to help the seeker disidentify have not changed. To see patriarchy in terms of men vs women as Scott’s statistics demonstrate does not mean that the fundamental dynamic of patriarchy which is exploitation has changed.
However the consequences of the egoic identities of men are changing as the patriarchy is not giving them as much social value, but those egos themselves are not changing. The man’s ego is turning to suicide and other forms of escapism because of their lack of economic empowerment, but the ego is not changing. One aspect of this failed ego is the increasing likelihood of the abuse of women, so women through increasing fear of this abuse are changing their attitude to relationship - by withdrawing from such abusive relationships. This is increasing the negative consequences for those egoic males and further increasing the likelihood of abuse – a vicious cycle. This is still the dynamic of exploitation within patriarchy.
Rather than Scott’s emotional response that is part of continued patriarchy, the solution remains the same – the path – disidentification with ego. The conditioning that leads to those egos has changed within patriarchy but patriarchy itself has not changed. Men expect to be privileged within imperialist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, they develop egos accordingly, and the egoic consequences of their identity are now more extreme. Women are reacting to these changes by withdrawing from abuse but the abusive relationship between women and men of patriarchy has not changed. It is still patriarchy.
Within the tathata of patriarchy the spiritual offer compassion. It is hard to see how the white men of manufacturing can regain their conditioned self-worth when their jobs are being given to automation, women and minorities. However compassion says we must address this question, not by returning to a manufacturing basis because the capitalism of patriarchy will not allow this. Perhaps compassion can find other solutions whilst recognising the rights of women and minorities to have work. When we see with love-wisdom our equanimity can address the issue with compassion. How these men are helped is the detailed embodiment within the conditioned world; the spiritual want to help.
Spiritually we see what is, and we offer compassion. Whilst the dynamics within the conditioned world are changing tathata has not. This led to the following addition to the Seeker Story, please note that for the seeker patriarchy is mostly not discussed except as disidentification, patriarchy as a term is a leadership question.
 Ongoing Evaluation of Disidentification
In this process of developing the Seeker Story, the seeker is trying to release conditioning through disidentification. As we follow our path there is less and less identifying with egos that develop from conditioning. The more we recognise the prevailing tathata, the less we identify with conditioned egos and the more the process of disidentification leads to integration.
However the conditioning concerning identity is very powerful, and the seeker in following the path needs to be wise and discerning. Using the equanimity of love-wisdom the seeker continues to release conditioning through disidentification. The seeker lives in the conditioned world yet seeks to move beyond, but this state of equanimity is not separate from the conditioned world. Conditioning will always try to draw the seeker back into the quagmire of conditioned diversions, and if the seeker does not develop equanimity then attachment to identity questions will continue to develop conditioned egos.
For the MAWP zandtaomed addresses many identity questions because those questions are part of conditioning, and that conditioning is part of tathata that love-wisdom helps us see with our equanimity. This balance of equanimity allows us to see the tathata, the kilesa conditioning, the patriarchy in a way that does not draw us into developing new conditioned egos or draw us into attaching to old conditioned egos. Abiding in equanimity is part of the path for a seeker to avoid conditioning that can arise through attachment to ideals when considering patriarchy, causes when considering emotional attachment, and many such conditioned egos. In terms of embodiment the seeker is active in daily life but equanimity ensures that this activity does not develop conditioned egos. Enquiry is essential to develop this equanimity, and ongoing evaluation of disidentification is required.
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