“The things you own, wind up owning you.” That’s probably my favorite movie-proverb among many others. I like that line especially because it has a way of dissolving the delusions that we carry around with us everywhere we go—our lenses by which we see the world—one such delusion being that because we can imagine ourselves as individuals, we are therefore, closed systems, neither receiving nor propagating influence beyond the field of conscious exertion. We don’t know what we don’t see, and therefore what we don’t see controls us. In other words, we’re all hypnotized—sleepwalkers of every variety, locked in the collective trance of the social hierarchy. We are almost entirely concerned with whatever satisfies our sense of conscious fascination, with the result that we almost completely neglect the unconscious; but just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Not only are we so subtly influenced by our physical environment and interactions, but we also unconsciously communicate bits and pieces of our experiences to others. It can take the form of body language, vocal inflection, sudden conversational shifts, or even a subtle change in breathing—in a strange way, humans are very similar to ants in a colony. We have a natural instinct for fitting in and working harmoniously, but somehow, society periodically deviates from such visions of progress, only to enter into alternating cycles of self-destruction. Rather than working to establish a sustainable, reciprocal atmosphere of stability between the individual and society, we oscillate between extremes: Sometimes we build up society in spite of the individual, and sometimes we uphold the individual in spite of society. In either case, the dissonance between society and the individual can become quite pathological within a very short period of time.

There is something wrong with humanity. We need the trances of society to function in harmony with one another, but somehow, human nature has a way of manifesting unnatural results. Every ecosystem has a dominance hierarchy of some kind, and competition within those hierarchies can be ugly, but at least they’re sustainable. In the case of humanity, we seem to be the only species on earth that quite literally has the capacity to bring about its own extinction. It’s a condition that is likely rooted deep within the fine quantum structure of the flesh. It permeates the whole of the body, filters through the psyche, and propagates out into the world abroad. Together we have the capacity to construct the sweetest of paradises, only to cast them down into the abyss of our collective narcissistic passions.

Most of us know that we are better off loving each other as ourselves, yet the flesh is only concerned with self-preservation. How is it that such a legitimate expression of self-love as self-preservation, could become a stumbling block, so severe, even to the most disciplined members of the human race? Our flesh is short-sighted. It is only concerned with homeostasis and reproduction. When left on auto-pilot, the fleshly individual will seek out comforts, vices, and pleasures unto the total dissipation of mind. This state of trancelike slumber is deceptively unsustainable, and it has once again taken possession of our society.

Society is a bit of a double-edged sword. When society is coherent, it can cut cleanly, a path for itself into the future. However, as society loses coherence, the stable order of unity begins to dissolve, and polarities begin to emerge. Thus, a polarized society begins to form echo-chambers, wherein off-centered thinking is gradually “purified” into a network of polarized ideologies. These ideologies then begin to take form within the societal mind, like a hurricane of propaganda giving birth to smaller cyclones—tornadoes which rip apart families, communities, and entire institutions. These polarized cyclones, which emerge from our collective thought-forms, are identities; carefully prepared masks for the masses to wear as they seek out their own manifest destiny…an initiate’s baptism into the futility of darkness.

The collective psycho-social, atmosphere that is our present age is known simply as the Aion. It’s a world-wide prison for the mind. When you find yourself on auto-pilot, thinking polarized thoughts, putting on the masks that society has synthesized for you—when you find yourself doing things that you don’t find at all loving, or even meaningful—then you will know that you have become a prisoner of the Aion, and a slave to the powers of the air.

Wake up quickly! Do not be lulled any longer into the song and dance of the Aion. We have the capacity to recognize the disparity between the self-preservation of the flesh, and the call to operate within the spirit of love for our neighbors as ourselves. We have the ability to acknowledge, investigate, and learn from our failures when we fall short of divine love, and most importantly, we can learn to free ourselves from the Aion, renewing our minds with the knowledge of Christ.

In Adam, we know spiritual death through our misconceptions surrounding good and evil. We assume the identity of “good” and seek out scapegoats to carry off our evil, and in the process, we trample love down, under foot. These ideas become our property, and as a result, we share in that identity. Indeed, the ideas you own, wind up owning you, and the others you ensnare with your ideas become entangled with you. With time, it may become increasingly clear that to some extent, you truly are your brothers’ keeper, and your brother is your keeper too. Whoever wishes to rule must serve as the low is made high. In Adam, we are slaves to the present Aion; slaves unto death. In Christ, we can serve each other in faith, hope, and love. God is Spirit, and those who worship God worship in Spirit and truth. Choose carefully today, over which ideas you claim ownership, for those same ideas will one day possess you.