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NOV/ DEC 2006
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Develop practical skills to express your higher purpose |
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Clarify and energize your own compelling vision |
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Develop an effective strategy and overcome blockages to making your contribution |
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Dear Friends,
May the blessings of Spirit fill your heart and bless your family and friends this sacred holiday season! May we each remember to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. We often tend to focus on our problems and forget to appreciate all the good things life has brought us.
Let us see this season as a special opportunity to practice drawing out the best in each other--seeing the presence of Spirit, the inner Divinity within each person. Let us see this as a time to heal and harmonize family relationships. As it’s so wisely said: If there is peace within a person, there is peace in the family; if there is peace in the family, there is peace in the community; if there is peace in the community, there is peace in the nation; if there is peace in the nation, there is peace in the world.
If you have a difference in spiritual or political values with some of your family members, practice standing in their shoes and learning something new about the world. Since differences in spiritual beliefs are causing so much conflict around the world, see if you can be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
Build bridges of love with those of different spiritual paths, presenting your own values only when there is genuine interest. See each interaction as an opportunity to use more bridging language so you can really be heard. Search for higher common ground in order to support your shared interests. And above all, keep listening to your heart and practicing the presence of love.
In this issue we feature a Meditation for the New Year to help you let go of the past year and consciously begin a new cycle. We also offer an inspirational article called You Already Have Everything You Need by our friend, Diana Lang, from her new book; an article on Hot New Political Trends, including some comments on the recent elections; and some fabulous Recommended New Books We’re Reading.
Have a joyous holiday!
With love and best wishes,
Corinne McLaughlin, Gordon Davidson and Ginger Young.
NOTE: Your feedback is very important to us! Please send us your comments.
“A new type of mystic is coming to be recognized; he [or she] differs from the mystics of the past by his [or her] practical interest in current world affairs and not in religious and church matters only; he is distinguished by his lack of interest in his own personal development, by his ability to see God immanent in all faiths and not just in his own particular brand of religious belief, and also by his capacity to live his life in the light of the divine Presence. … The modern mystic differs from those in the past in that he is able clearly to indicate to others the techniques of the Path; he combines both head and heart, intelligence and feeling, plus an intuitive perception, hitherto lacking.” --Alice Bailey
I’m always on the lookout for positive new trends in politics, as God knows we need them. I’ve found several that seem especially significant and could have major impact in the years ahead—spirituality in politics, the new internet “webocracy”, the civil society superpower, conflict transformation techniques, and multi-stakeholder policy dialogues.
The growing spiritual activism of the progressive Left in the U.S. is countering a decade of intense activism by the fundamentalist Right. For the first time, many Democrats openly discussed their faith and spiritual life and won extra votes in the 2006 elections because of it. According to an exit poll by Zogby International, poverty and economic justice topped the list of the “most urgent moral problem in American culture”—rather than issues favored by conservatives, such as abortion or same sex marriage.
The focus on spirituality will be changing the face of politics in the next few years, as people openly apply their spiritual values in the political arena, and have to confront their differences with each other. Much of my work over the years with our Center for Visionary Leadership in Washington D.C. has been to help expand the public dialogue around spirituality, so I’m especially gratified about this trend.
Popular books such as God’s Politics, The Left Hand of God, and Spiritual Politics (which I co-authored) have been looking at politics through new spiritual lenses. The Tikkun Network of Spiritual Progressives and their major conferences on Spiritual Activism last year in Berkeley and in Washington D.C., as well as national conferences organized by Sojourners and Call to Renewal, drew thousands of people and much media attention. Speakers highlighted poverty, the environment and social justice as spiritual issues, rather than issues such as abortion and stem cell research.
Other significant trends noted in the 2006 elections are an increasing economic populism and concern about political corruption, and a declining support for war, which all led to a Democratic landslide. Cleaning up corruption in Washington and safeguarding the voting process is essential for restoring citizens’ confidence in the democratic process.
New Technologies Impacting Politics
Another arena that is giving me great hope is the powerful, new internet “Webocracy,” which is enabling more direct democracy and changing the political landscape dramatically in just a few very short years. Community sites that draw millions of fans suddenly have major influence and this will transform politics in the years ahead.
Internet activism, such as MoveOn.org and similar sites of all political stripes have hugely impacted political races and issues. “Web2.0” media sites such as Digg.com and political blogs such as DailyKos.com are doing end runs around the mainstream media and becoming so popular that mainstream politicians court them and line up for interviews.
“I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.”-- Thomas Jefferson
(Note: This can be done as a sitting meditation, as a writing exercise, as a group ritual at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and/or as a dance/movement exercise)
Begin by taking a few deep breaths, breathing in the peace of the New Year about to unfold, breathing in the promise of the future….Then exhale, and as you do, let go of your past, and any tensions, worries and fears from the Old Year… Repeat this a few times.
Now reflect on any personal problems, negative qualities or behavior patterns from the last year that you want to release. Step back and observe these problems as a detached witness. Then affirm your intention to leave them behind and wipe your slate clean.
Now align with your soul, your highest self, your inner Divinity. Reflect on the most significant spiritual insights you’ve had in the last year…. What were your most important spiritual lessons? Take a moment and write these down if you like.
What do you want to create for yourself in the New Year? What positive personal qualities do you want to develop? What goals do you want to achieve, personally and professionally? Reflect on how you can deepen your service to others and to the world in this next year.
Now affirm your commitment to achieving these goals. Visualize the next step you are willing to take this week towards achieving one of these goals. Visualize light and strength pouring into you from your higher self, and give thanks for this help….When you are ready, slowly open your eyes, and return to your normal state of consciousness.
You Already Have Everything You Need
by
Diana
Lang
You need nothing
outside yourself to take your next spiritual step. You already have
everything you need.
Your next step is the one that's right in front of you, the one you can
take right now. If you let your inner knowing guide you, you can't go
wrong. Your next step almost always feels simple, natural, even
ordinary. We sometimes expect great changes to happen in our lives
instantly, in some dramatic fashion, with a bang, but that rarely
happens. More often it is simply putting one foot in front of the other
until inevitably some momentous event occurs; it looks like a miracle from
the outside, but your personal experience of it most likely feels quite
normal and natural. We're always looking for some breathtaking,
heart-stopping spiritual event to know we've arrived, when in fact it is
most often as ordinary as exhaling.
All it takes is an understanding of a few basic truths: we are far greater
beings than we think we are. We have a vast and eternal spirit as well as
these physical bodies. Where we are at this moment, how we are, who we
are, is perfect as it is. There is no secret recipe; there is no magic
formula. It is all as it should be, a perfect and gentle unfolding of
your soul. If it feels difficult, it is only because you have become out
of touch with your true self; you are out of flow.
Recommended New Books We're Reading:
Integral Spirituality by Ken Wilbur – A seminal text for 21st century spiritual studies, integrating all traditions and practices, as well as stages of development and states of consciousness, into a brilliant synthesis that creates a startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world.
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community by David Korten - Drawing on evolutionary theory, developmental psychology and spiritual teachings, this is an historical overview of empire and how to build a truly democratic, sustainable, life-centered alternative to it.
The Flip: Turn Your World Around by Jared Rosen and David Rippe – How to make the flip from an upside-down, stressed-out, fearful world to one that is healthy and right-side up, with visionary wisdom from Hazel Henderson, Paul Ray, Peter Senge, Gary Zukav, Candice Pert, Byron Katie, John Gray, etc.
Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place edited by Melvin McLeod – Articles on peace, freedom globalization, compassion by The Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joseph Goldstein, Pema Chodron, ChogyamTrungpa, etc.
The Better World Shopping Guide by Ellis Jones - Handy pocket guide for socially and environmentally responsible consumer rating products, based on over 15 years of research (vote with your pocketbook!)
Opening to Meditation by Diana Lang – An introduction to meditation and its benefits, with simple instruction that makes it easy for everyone, and a CD of guided meditations (not aligned with any particular religion or tradition).
Nicholas and Helena Roerich: The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers by Ruth Drayer – Russian-born Helena Roerich is the author of the Agni Yoga books; her husband Nicholas painted the Himalayas and the great masters and saints of all religions and created the Roerich peace pact, signed by Franklin Roosevelt and 26 other nations to protect the art treasures of the world.
Holiday Gifts by Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon
Davidson
For more information on content, go to
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| Spiritual Politics: Changing the World from the Inside Out (book)- $10 |
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Creative Meditation CD – Instruction and 2 guided meditations CD- $29.95 |
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Money as a Spiritual Asset – 2 CD set with workbook - $24.95 (ON SALE!) |
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