Homelessness Seen Through 15 Different Sets of Eyes

Activist Post

It seems like the theme of the year is “this homeless problem.” The coordinated efforts to sweep the homeless away are of major concern for a couple reasons. First, the real problem was created by the same ilk that are proposing the solution – in both cases it involves dehumanization, banishment, punishment and apathy. Next, when people allow the vulnerable to be taken away, do they really think it would stop there? 

The Internet became outraged with the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch’s comments about only wanting cool and skinny people wearing his clothes, and the idea that they’d rather burn their clothes than give to the unfortunate. The popular Internet counter-reaction actually unintentionally further relegated the homeless. You can see varying responses to our articles about EBT users and the homeless programmer who was arrested and his two possessions taken. Different authors on our site have different attitudes. A commenter said, “….who cares! I’m suppose to care about some homeless guy in NY who was put in jail? What’s his background? Why would I waste a single moment on this?”

I previously referred to the Kinesiology and consciousness work of the late Dr. David Hawkins in Power vs Force. The map of consciousness shows different levels that people resonate. When the numbers go up, they are exponential. According to Kinesiology tests, 85% of the world’s population operates below the 200 mark – below Power and in the realm of Force. A person may only move up 5 points in a lifetime, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Breaching the 200 mark is very empowering – the world and all the things going on in your world look different there.

Have you ever had an epiphany or realization that suddenly took you beyond a situation? Suddenly, you weren’t at war with the situation – it just didn’t bother you anymore? At different times in your life have you viewed the same person, place or thing differently? You may have been raised an elevator level up.

Where do you think elitist controllers operate and what does that mean? Given the following “sets of eyes,” where do you think most most people fall?

Here is Hawkins’ example using a homeless guy. No criminal element or anything else; he’s just standing there. Here’s a chance to see that guy from 15 different outlooks. You may have had several outlooks in a lifetime.

In a fashionable neighborhood in a big city stands an old man in tattered clothes, alone, leaning against the corner of an elegant brownstone. Look at him from the perspective of various levels of consciousness and note the differences in how he appears. 

From the bottom of the scale at a level of 20, the level of Shame, the bum is dirty, disgusting, disgraceful. From level 30 (Guilt) he would be blamed for his condition. He deserves what he gets; he’s probably a lazy welfare cheat. At 50 (Hopelessness) his plight would appear desperate, damning evidence that society can’t do anything about homelessness. At 75 (Grief) the old man looks tragic, friendless and forlorn. 

At a consciousness level of 100 (Fear) we might see him as threatening, a social menace. Perhaps we should call the police before he commits some crime. At 125 (Desire) he might represent a frustrating problem-why doesn’t somebody do something? At 150 (Anger) the old man might look like he could be violent, or, on the other hand, one could be furious that such conditions exist. At 175 (Pride) he could be seen as an embarrassment or as lacking the self respect to better himself. At 200 (Courage) we might be motivated to wonder if there is a local homeless shelter; all he needs is a job and a place to live. 

At 250 (Neutrality) the bum looks okay, maybe even interesting. “Live and let live,” we might say; after all, he’s not hurting anyone. At 310 (Willingness) we might decide to go down and see what we can do to cheer up that fellow on the corner, or volunteer some time at the local mission. At 350 (Acceptance) the man on the corner appears intriguing. He probably has an interesting story to tell; he’s where he is for reasons we may never understand. At 400 (Reason) he is a symptom of the current economic and social malaise, or perhaps a good subject for in-depth psychological study. 

At the higher levels, the old man begins to look not only interesting, but friendly, then lovable. Perhaps we would then be able to see that he was, in fact, one who had transcended social limits and gone free, a joyful old guy with the wisdom of age in his face and the serenity that comes from indifference to material things. At 500 (Peace) he is revealed as one’s own self in a temporary expression. 

When approached, the bum’s response to these different levels of consciousness would vary with them. With some he would feel secure, with others, frightened or dejected. Some would make him angry, others delighted. Some he would therefore avoid, others greet with pleasure. (Thus is it said that we meet what we mirror.) 

(Comment[Hawkins]: It has been my observation that most will see others from what their culture has programmed into their memory rather it be parents, relatives, etc. It is not until they either experience the same condition or find it not true or true in other people especially when visiting foreign countries or different living areas within our own country. [emphasis added]

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So much for the manner in which our level of consciousness decides what we see, the world we encounter as passive observers. It is equally true that having placed that construct upon the reality before us, we will react to it in a fashion predicated by the level from which we perceive. External events may define conditions, but they do not determine the consciousness level of human response. We can take the more literal scene of our current penal system as an illustration.