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SEPT/OCT 2006
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Can you feel the tide turning in the world today? Can you sense more and more people waking up—almost as if they’d been in some kind of programmed trance like in a “Matrix” film? Everywhere you look--from politics to business to the media and the internet-- there are new voices speaking up, new information coming to light in government circles, and new conversations emerging: “What can we do to stop global warming?” “What’s really behind 9/11?” “What’s really going on in corporate board rooms?” “Why is the gap between rich and poor widening?” and “Why can’t we talk to each other without shouting and seeing enemies everywhere?” In this issue we report on Sustainable Business: Good News on the Environmental Front and celebrate the recent announcement of California’s pioneering law to cap greenhouse gas emissions—the first in the nation. We can each help create a more positive future for our planet if we make use of the practical spiritual tools that are so widespread today—meditation, visioning, conflict resolution, wholistic healing, simplifying our lifestyle and energy use, etc. In this issue we offer Techniques for Developing Your Willand The Joy of Willing Your Higher Purpose. We each need a strong will aligned with a higher evolutionary purpose if we’re serious about creating a positive future. We’re again including A Spiritual Voters’ Guide for those who want to bring their spiritual values into politics in this election season in the U.S. and elsewhere. Please feel free to adapt it and share it widely. Remember, in a democracy it’s a spiritual responsibility to vote, so let’s vote for those who seek to serve the greatest good of the greatest number—to help create a better world for us all. Please check out our new website at www.visionarylead.org. It has the same in-depth content With best wishes, Corinne McLaughlin, Gordon Davidson and Ginger Young NOTE: Your feedback is very important to us! Please send us your comments.
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” –Kahlil Gibran The Joy of Willing Your Higher Purpose
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Examine any
situation or state of consciousness you might be in and ask yourself, what
is the purpose of this? What am I intended to learn here? What am I to
contribute? |
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Align your
personal will with God’s will and with your highest purpose. |
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Visualize
yourself with a strong and skillful will; see yourself acting with courage,
determination, and discipline in specific activities. |
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Create challenges and overcome them:
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When you promise
something, do it--when you are not keeping your promises, you are letting
your physical, emotional or mental bodies control you. |
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Persevere: when
you start something finish it--this increases and cultivates your willpower. |
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Take a stand on your values--practice standing up for what you believe, challenging (lovingly) those with whom you disagree, speaking up and being heard about both large and small things. |
“A ruler who governs his state by virtue is like the north polar star, which remains in place while all the other stars revolve around it.” –Confucius
A
Spiritual Voter's Guide
By Corinne McLaughlin
Click on "Read More" at the end to
see the Guide and questions to ask yourself.
If you care about your life, if you care about the life of other human beings, if you care about all life on this planet—answer the call of your soul to vote in the U.S. Congressional elections this Fall. Our lives literally depend on how we vote. (If you’re a resident of another democratic country, see if the questions below are helpful in your situation.)
In a democracy, it is a spiritual responsibility to vote. Over 90% of the American people say they are guided by spiritual values or faith, but less than 50% of the American people vote in any Presidential election and much less in other elections. If we are committed to living by spiritual values, we must bring them into the voting booth, and educate ourselves about the candidates and the issues.
As you know, political leaders and the media pay very close attention not only to who wins, but also to how close is the margin of victory. This is how they evaluate how much popular support there is for policies such as the war with Iraq, restricting our rights in order to pursue terrorists, regulating unethical corporate behavior, and continuing to protect the environment.
I’m one of those who’s been working on environmental issues forever--from political activism in the late ‘60s, to co-founding a small “eco-village” in the 70’s (Sirius Community in MA) with practical demonstrations of solar and wind energy and organic agriculture, to policy work for President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development in the ‘90s. More than 12 years ago, the Council was working with CEOs of major companies and directors of key environmental groups to create innovative approaches to stopping global warming and creating sustainable communities.
So I’m especially happy to see the environmental movement get a real boost from the popularity of Al Gore’s dramatic film, An Inconvenient Truth. The film has greatly raised the visibility of the global warming issue, as more and more people jump on the bandwagon and “green” practices become the latest cool style featured on the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines.
Sustainable business practices that help protect the environment and reduce global warming are growing rapidly, as companies find it helps the bottom line. A 1995 Vanderbilt University analysis found that in 8 out of 10 cases, low-polluting companies financially outperformed their dirtier competitors. In recent years, over 300 multi-national corporations joined the UN Global Compact, pledging to support environmental protection, human rights, and higher labor standards.
Many large multi-national corporations are now making major changes, following the lead of small innovative companies which have laid the foundations for years. More than 560 pioneering San Francisco Bay Area firms are certified as “green businesses” by the Alameda, California county government and the Sustainable Business Alliance. Here are a few examples of large and small companies:
Exploring Spiritual Politics - DVD
Inspirational, best-selling authors, and renowned teachers of the Ageless Wisdom, Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, explain the metaphysical side of the founding of America, the hidden causes of world events, collective karma, and the souls of nations. Lecture with historical and inspirational footage. Produced by Penny Price. "Sets out ways for creating a happier, more peaceful world." -H. H. The Dalai Lama. “Compelling and inspirational.”- The Hartley Film Foundation
DVD-R @ $24.95 plus $4.00
shipping, available from Penny Price Video,
www.pennypricemedia.com
UPC: 689076136624 ©2006
DVD-R 59 min.
I was SO excited to receive your w-mail about Dialectics because I saw the monks practicing this at Sera monastery [in Tibet] and the explanation we got was very sketchy to say the least! One was that they were practicing their commandments. I love that you can explain my experience without even knowing it! --Jean Cherie, San Francisco, CA
This is a wonderful edition of the newsletter, with all of the articles being
unique and substantial.
Thanks for the work you do to keep these ideas
flowing.
--Pat
Palmer, San Rafael, CA
Good newsletter. I especially liked this one: "goodwill...is an
atmospheric conditioner, setting a positive vibrational field for accomplishing
constructive goals." The meditation on Nature was good also. It ties in
with some of the things I have been reading on "seeing deeply," by the
Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. -Rick Prater, Mariposa, CA
Many thanks for Soul Light which gives me hope, support, and the bigger
picture! - Carolann Wood, W. Chesterfield, MA
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