"How To Recognize Spiritually Based Politics"

 

 



"How can we recognize a spiritually based politics? Here are some key qualities:

· Courage in standing up to special interests

· Honesty and integrity—“walking the talk”

· Lack of ego-inflation and manipulation of others
· Fairness and justice

· Non-violence and peaceful means

· Compassion for the disadvantaged

· Serving the good of the whole, rather than personal interests

· Respect and civility for opponents

· Collaboration and partnership

· Whole systems thinking—understanding how everything is
interconnected

· Reliance on intuition and inner guidance

· Faith in a Higher Power—God, Spirit, the Universe, etc.

Spirituality in politics is most apparent where citizens altruistically engage in politics to help others, rather than just protect their own self-interests (e.g. lowering their taxes, providing healthcare they need, etc.) Although promoting self-interest may be necessary and certainly is not wrong, it is not motivated by unselfish concern for others. However, even when the public motive is to help others, one needs to also honestly assess whether the private motive might be increasing one’s own power or fame, as this would reduce its spiritual value. And ultimately the measurement of spirituality is integrity—whether someone embodies the spiritual principles they promote.

There are many ways in which spiritual values impact American politics today. (Of course, depending on your personal political leanings, it may be harder to see the spiritual motivation in the politics of your opponents.) Providing for the poor, the homeless, and the handicapped, as well as reducing violence and drug abuse have always been key arenas for spiritual activism. Liberals generally promote government-funded social programs as solutions, while conservatives promote private solutions, including faith-based organizations.

Another arena is fighting injustice and inequality by speaking truth to power. Liberals and reformers have generally taken more of this approach. Issues include human rights, racism, women’s rights, etc. Many spiritually oriented people have been increasingly concerned about the protection of wildlife and stewardship of the natural world. Environmental protection, endangered species protection, and energy conservation are key issues. The invocation of service and sacrifice for a higher ideal to activate political will is another major arena for spirituality.

One of the most contentious areas recently for spirituality and politics has been what one side calls “declining morals and family values” in schools and popular culture. Fundamentalist Christians have been the most vocal about this, but others have also expressed concern. The issues here are school prayer, censoring sexuality in movies and TV, banning abortion, etc."

Visionary Leadership"  By Spiritual United Nations on Facebook
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Earth Prayer

"O Endless Creator, Force of Life, Seat of the Unconscious,
Dharma, Atman, Ra, Qalb, Dear Center of our Love,
Christlight, Yaweh, Allah, Mawu,
Mother of the Universe…

Let us, when swimming with the stream,
become the stream…
Let us, when moving with the music,
become the music…
Let us, when rocking the wounded,
become the suffering…

Let us live deep enough
till there is only one direction…
and slow enough till there is only
the beginning of time…
and loud enough in our hearts
till there is no need to speak…

Let us live for the grace beneath all we want,
let us see it in everything and everyone,
till we admit to the mystery
that when I look deep enough into you,
I find me, and when you dare to hear my fear
in the recess of your heart, you recognize it
as your secret which you thought
no one else knew…

O let us embrace
that unexpected moment of unity
as the atom of God…
Let us have the courage
to hold each other when we break
and worship what unfolds…

O nameless spirit that is not done with us,
let us love without a net
beyond the fear of death
until the speck of peace
we guard so well
becomes the world…"

(Mark Nepo) By Spiritual United Nations on Facebook

 

On Spirituality & Polictics



    "Perhaps the only people who view the world realistically are the cynics and the saints.  Everybody else may be living in some kind of denial about what is really going on and how things really are.  And the only difference between the cynics and the saints is the presence, power and possibility of hope.  And that, indeed, is a spiritual and religious issue.  More than just a moral issue, hope is a spiritual and even religious choice.  Hope is not  a feeling; it is a decision.  And the decision for hope is based on what you believe at the deepest levels - what your most basic convictions are about the world and what the future holds  - all based on your faith.  You choose hope, not as a naïve wish, but as a choice, with your eyes wide open to the reality of the world - just like the cynics who have not made the decision for hope."

"We must insist on the deep connections between spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious minorities and keep us all safe from state-controlled religion.  We can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support the rightful separation of church and state without segregating moral and spiritual values from our political life."

   "Neither religious nor secular fundamentalism can save us, but a new spiritual revival that ignites deep social conscience could transform our society.  Movements do change history, and the strongest ones are those with a spiritual foundation.  Most important of all is the spiritual power of hope, which may be the only thing that can finally overcome our too characteristic cynicism.  Hope versus cynicism is the key moral and political choice of our time."
   Above excerpts from book by Jim Wallis, "God's Politics - A New Vision for Faith & Politics in America" Available at Amazon.com



WISDOM FROM OUR PASTS

 

 

 

 

WISDOM FROM OUR PAST

 

Remember the mind can rarely fully understand the vastness of both your present and your future. This is why looking back into your past can be so useful.

When you look back at your past and you see it with new or bigger eyes – for example, a difficult situation in which you had felt to be the victim of a villain in your life – when looked back upon with greater awareness and more evolution, you... simply understand what was occurring. You understand that on an energy level, there were other forces at work beyond the simplistic human story.
~ Lee Harris
More at Gaia Speaks ♬♡♫:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gaia-speaks/

 

I realized the above as I put together my memoirs of my spiritual journey from the past 75 years.  I hope, while you are on my site you will check out these memoirs, parts 1- 9  - From Here to... Here, Full Circle Memoirs.  Look at the menu in the right column.  John Potts