diana iannarone

The more I examine the world today, the more poignant and timely I find this excerpt from my book. May we all Wake up, Stand up, Live Free. I hope this resonates with you on some level.

Excerpt Me & My Shadow:

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with information. We are receiving information via people, printed word, television, radio, and the internet. We hear all of this information and we must choose what to believe, and what to ignore. This is not an easy decision to make. The easy thing to do would be to completely take every bit of information at face value. “They” said it, so it must be true. This passive absorption of information is what I would argue much of the world chooses to embrace. In doing so, we remain asleep. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to move away from this way of thinking.

With every piece of information presented to you, examine the source. Question who it is that can benefit from your acceptance of this information. Might there be an agenda?

I am not encouraging the promotion of radical conspiracy theories. That kind of life can be exhausting. I merely encourage a critical eye. Just as you have been deceived by an individual, you must consider the possibility that you are being deceived on a grander scale as well. In so many of our families the truth is swept away. Can you honestly say that your family didn’t “sweep’ things they viewed as shameful under the rug? Someone getting pregnant as a teenager, molestation that happened between family members, someone contracting HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), marital affairs, homosexuality or having an addiction…I am not saying all these things or any of these things are shameful, I am saying that people often hide what they fear will be viewed as shameful. No one wants to experience humiliation. That shame, the feeling that others view our circumstance as disgraceful, can turn inward. This existence with humiliation at its core can become a deep self-loathing, a hatred that can then transfer to others. A desire to retaliate can be ignited, or it can seem too heavy to carry and lead to depression and suicide.

This is why so many of us fear disclosing our personal truth; we don’t want to be ashamed. If our own families would hide truths so that their “image” remains intact, shouldn’t we consider that authority or those “in charge” might do the same? Often realities are hidden so no one will know. On a small scale of family, and a large scale of the world, we must consider that such hidden truths exist. So few of us question what we hear, what we are told by people in authority. We must begin to question. We must begin to doubt.

When people have a position of authority we tend to attribute credibility to what they say, but what they say may not always be true. What is the real truth about wars, oil, the stock market, extraterrestrial life, mass acts of violence, weapons, welfare programs, immigration, cures for diseases and elections? Do you really think you know? What if everything you think you know is nothing more than an illusion that we were made to believe intentionally by these “credible” people, so that they can benefit in ways you never imagined at the harm of people in unthinkable ways? I cannot say what the truth is, only that we all should consider the possibility that it is not always what is being spoon fed to us.

It is difficult enough to begin to accept that we may be being deceived on a personal level and perhaps even more difficult to consider it may go deeper. We may be dealing with people who could comprise the foundation of corporations, political forums, countries and even the World…but in the end, they are just people, and you need to awaken to those with the intent to harm at the core. We need to awaken to those who operate largely from their shadow.

When you Stand Up against what “credible” people say, what happens? Just turn on the news. Often, you are positioned as if you are crazy. Being crazy is the leverage that is used against you, in the hopes of shaming you into silence. The goal is to completely destroy your credibility, regardless of how credible you might be.

Earlier I mentioned a book that touts the health benefits of drinking water. I found the guidance in this book to be utterly life changing. Of course we have all heard that drinking water is beneficial, but how often is it posited that many health issues could be eliminated or avoided if we simply remained hydrated? Research led me to discover that some people have attempted to discredit the findings of the doctor who wrote this book. Is it possible that the attempts to discredit him were a result of his assertion that many of our most pervasive health issues, are caused, or exacerbated by, dehydration? Remember, there is no powerful water lobby in Washington.

If this belief that water is the medicine to keep our body healthy was broadly accepted, what would happen to the pharmaceutical and medical industry, and the massive profits that are obtained through the synthetic cures that they develop? Isn’t it possible that there are people who could benefit from discrediting this idea, or better stated, at least not promoting it? Perhaps these thoughts about possible hidden agendas are right, perhaps they are not. That is for each of us to decide.

Of course we know medications and our medical community save lives. This is not about discrediting these necessary and valued individuals and the services they provide. I am grateful they are available. However, could we stunt our need for these resources if we simply took better care of our bodies, beginning with simply our water intake? Prevention and self-care through diet, hydration, exercise and positive self-talk may go a long way to limiting our dependence on curative measures. Certainly there are many out there looking to lead society in this direction. I applaud their efforts.

War is another difficult area to examine in our quest for objective truth, free from proposed or hidden agendas. Our true heroes, our soldiers, are motivated by their desire to serve. Most are devoted to the improvement of our lives as individuals, and as a country as a whole. They devotedly fight for our freedoms, deeply and dedicatedly believing they are fighting for those who cannot stand up, or defending against those who wish to harm us. Their efforts are for a virtuous endeavor. They are willing to pay with their lives to serve others. Overall these men and women fight for our Constitutional freedoms. All military personnel, including the President of the United States, take this oath, make this stand, to support and defend our Constitution. There is a slight, but perhaps monumental variance, in the oath of those who are enlisted and the oath of the officers. Enlisted men and women must swear to obey the President of the United States and orders of officers appointed over them, whereas officers swear to disobey any order that violates The Constitution. Is there ever a time an enlisted individual may feel in conflict with directives and what they believe is for the highest, greatest good? Might there be a time when their orders violate what they believe is constitutional? Are they free to confront this concern?

Are we all confronted with these conflicts from time to time? What is for the highest, greatest good as we see it, versus how we are being told to see it? It would seem then, the necessary courage to Stand Up varies by predicament. To stand up to a teacher, boss, parent, officer, or spouse certainly can have negative consequences, yet just how negative a consequence is dictated by the power that the individual or group of individuals has over our life.

In so many ways we are bound to listen to authority. It is demanded of us sometimes putting us in precarious scenarios. Nearly all of us are taught we MUST do as authority directs. Further, aren’t we taught to not question authority? Perhaps that is where a great deal of our trouble begins. How often are we asked to violate our own principles to satisfy the demands of someone outside of ourselves, whether by a true or perceived leader, or simply someone who has been dubbed authority in our mind? Depending upon the environment, making a stand can be life and death. The circumstances drive just how much courage we need to Stand Up. In making a stand, are we willing to risk the consequences which could be as severe as death? Our mind certainly has a great deal to contend with, in knowing what is real, and what is not, and the resulting appropriate action.

In all realms of our lives, there are those who have good intentions and those who do not. Many studies have proven that we are such good followers that we often comply with any directive by authority, even if it leads us as far as to harm another. We do so, even if we think it is wrong. Even if we believe we would never harm another, under the directive of those that we deem authority, it may be true that anything is possible, until we Wake Up. Has a leader ever required you to do something you disagree with? Look no further than the work environment. How often are we told to institute a consequence on someone based on mere leader direction, or instead to turn a blind eye to behaviors we deem as “wrong?” In any circumstance, should we really choose to violate who we are and what we believe in because of a direct or perceived order? Should we have to choose between being our definition of a good person and being a good employee, soldier, student, citizen, spouse, son, daughter, parent, parishioner, and so on? Can we decide that being a good person shall always prevail, regardless of the depth of the consequences? Do we have the courage to Stand Up to authority both on a small scale in our personal world, and in the world at large?

If we choose to never stand up to authority, never demand the truth, never get in alignment with our values, what might the consequences be?

The challenge always is to distinguish between truth and deception. Is it possible, that at times there are interests other than those explicitly spelled out to us? Could there be agendas underneath what we are being told? I think now is the time we, as a people, are readying ourselves to awaken. We are beginning to make a stand against deceit, deception, and directives with ill intent. My goal is not to make a political stance, my goal is to encourage us to entertain various ideas rather than accepting whatever we are told, sometimes blindly. We should be safe to believe authority, but are we? We must each decide for ourselves.

How extensive is deceit, and how can we begin to know what perhaps we do not know? As your self-awareness increases, so does your awareness of the world around you. So the more self-aware you become, the less likely you will be fooled. The more you begin to be open to knowing, the more you will realize there is so much you may not know. Once awake, you are willing to doubt what you see or hear. When you are willing to doubt, you can stand back far enough to see if it is altruism, honor, caring, or love, that is at the root of the cause, or money, hate, power over, or control of. My hope is we, as human beings, will move toward worthy, truly humble causes of compassion. My hope is that we will honor what we know inside, not what we are being encouraged to believe by those in authority. We will not just be obedient servants, but instead follow our hearts, follow our values, instead of just compliantly acting on what we may have previously accepted as truth. The best way to live in your own integrity is to examine these “facts” and come to your own conclusions. Broaden your knowing. Then, you decide.