Answer to a question regarding increasing government intrusiveness and how to safeguard one's integrity and privacy.

   Micciah: Please, any other questions?

   Marilyn: I have a question about, that’s been asked earlier, you can reframe it perhaps… If governments, now, have the power and the desire to increasingly gather all information about individuals and organizations, then where does an individual have any way of maintaining privacy and freedom and power under… because of the increasing power of the government, and the intrusiveness and their technological ability to do that. So, how does the individual’s standing(?) guarding one’s freedom, one’s privacy and one’s integrity… One’s very self. And also, in the sense, too, that the government’s interests are not always to protect the people.

   Micciah: Well, we are going to give you a paradoxical response, which may be irritating, but… First of all pay enough attention to it, but not too much attention to it. Energy flows where your attention goes. This is tricky. The more you think about, dwell on these difficulties, the more frightening they become. So, you acknowledge them. Know your strength is in Spirit. Ask for protection, literally. Ask that Spirit protect you in every way that is needed. Work for peace.
   And the deepest works begins with your own meditations. You cannot legislate peace. It comes from your own hearts and the peace you have in your heart. Are you willing do the Tonglen prayer and extend yourself all the way out to the governments who do not have your best interests at heart. To extend all the way out to ISIS. To extend (we don’t mean the goddess.) To extend all the way out to the computer hackers. IF there is only one of you, there is a particle of you, of them in you. This is not intended to start you off digging at yourselves about, “Oh, how can I be like these people?” But you deal with the particles within you. You acknowledge the difficulties, because doing that [sticking her fingers in her ears] is not useful. And you’re careful not to dwell in it. Dwell in kindness. Make a commitment to support the causes you care about.
   We are thinking about privacy. Everything is known everywhere, but that isn’t what you mean. There isn’t much privacy of the kind you are talking about. So your protection must come from other sources. To invade people’s privacy in the way that can be done now, and is done now, is a hostile act. So, you don’t deal with hostility by being hostile in return. By acknowledging, extending love to all the beings including the ones who are invading your privacy, not dwelling on it. And it’s paradoxical, at the same time being conscious of it.
   Here we are, as they say, the Hindus, Hindu teaching, at the end of the age of Kali Yuga—Yuga is the age, the goddess with the necklace of skulls who also brings transformation—as we said at the very beginning, we are going to end with this. Changes were coming in time. Changes were coming. Now you’re in it. And that means all of what we have talked about. Approaching it with compassion beginning with compassion for yourself and the difficulties of living in this world. Groups of like mind are very important. This group, your Buddhist group, the groups you trust and love because the feeling of isolation amidst all this communication, seeming communication, is so strong. Prayer, rituals, celebration, kindness, appreciation. So, acknowledging this is what’s so. Knowing that, can I choose to turn my attention to appreciating that I can wiggle my toes? That I have food? That there are people I love who love me? That the earth is magnificent? It’s a dance, [whispers] it’s a dance.
   So, with our appreciation to you, and you know there are always beings here. You learn from our sharing. We learn from your experience of the physical world. We encourage you to continue the dance, and bid you a very good evening.