by Julie Redstone
Each nation comes into being with a soul-identity and purpose that is meant to be of benefit to the Earth. At this time of the presidential election, prayers are needed that America's deepest identity and purpose be upheld.
The destiny of a country is shaped by its Divine mission, appointed at the time of its inception, the time when its 'soul' comes into being. This mission which defines its energetic contribution to the world and in some ways its national character, is also defined by the hearts, minds, and conscience of a people as it evolves through time, building upon the innate characteristics that are part of the national heritage, and taking these to new levels of unfoldment of their Divine potential.
Nations, no matter how large or small, have an inherent contribution to make to the world. They contribute both resources and spiritual energy to the family of nations, and in this way function like a vital organ within the body of the Earth and the family of man. To veer from the higher potential of development for a nation so that it seeks or resides in its lowest potential, not only has an effect on the people of that nation, but also on the collective consciousness of which it is a part.
Thus, nations, as well as people, must hold themselves accountable to align with their highest motives for the benefit of all, and to remain aligned with these motives though challenges may face them and fear may come into play.
America, today, faces this challenge, this fork in the road. In the decision-making process currently taking place this electoral year, she faces the choice between realizing her highest potential or taking a lower road. What that choice will mean for the present is unclear, but it will determine a variety of outcomes that will emerge from the current situation. However, America is also being guided and guarded by forces that are greater than campaign motivations and impulses and greater than their espoused policies and principles. She is being guided by forces within the Realms of Light that are ever watchful in helping her to continue to move forward to meet and fulfill her Divine mission to the Earth.
America's future does not rest entirely on this election. Rather, it rests in the hearts of a people that can be influenced, for a time, by ideas that take it away from the very ideals that are part of its core identity, but which will ultimately bring it back to stand firmly on the foundation of these ideals.
Because of the importance of the choices being made, and of our desire to reduce the suffering that will ensue as a result of these choices, we must pray, today, for the people of this land, for the candidates of both parties, and for the leaders of all nations, to support the ideals that America stands for and to remain faithful to these ideals at the present time. All that is light-filled and holy within the higher Realms of Light stands with America at this juncture, enabling her to make the choice that will lead her in the direction of serving the greatest good. Amen.
If you have not done so already, please consider reciting the Invocations, in whole or in part, at the beginning of ‘One World Meditations,’ or regularly throughout the week. These prayers and invocations are powerful, and join each individual and group prayer with those beings of light praying within the Realms of Light for the future of America. In addition, a poem/prayer that can be said alone at any time is "I Am America."
by Julie Redstone from the Sacred World Newsletter
The world as we know it is changing and we must change with it. The call is going forth to allow change to bring us to a new place in our collective history. _________________
The world as we know it is changing and we must change with it. The call is going forth to allow change to bring us to a new place in our collective history.
_________________
Beloved Ones,
The apprehension that the economy will get a lot worse grows daily among people in all walks of life, with signs of distress showing in the visible instability of the stock market, lowered consumer spending, higher unemployment, and the as yet unsolved credit crisis which has created massive restrictions in the lending industry. Anxiety about the future is widespread, with a sense of there being no clear way to avoid the coming trouble.
Within this atmosphere, fear and anxiety are rampant, and it becomes even more important to find a basis for trust that does not depend upon external circumstance, but rather on a sense of hope and conviction that the present turbulence will lead to a positive outcome.
Such hope and trust becomes more difficult to achieve when one’s personal fortunes are jeopardized either by loss of work, loss of one’s retirement fund, savings, or investments, or the inability to obtain a loan for a purpose deemed vital. All of these bring the present crisis home in a personal way. Even more personal would be the loss of the value of the dollar which would be able, then, to purchase less in the way of critical commodities, and would create widespread financial restrictions both within the banking system and within our personal lives. In the blink of an eye, we would no longer be a nation of prosperity, but would have to face poverty amidst vastly changed economic conditions.
How to remain hopeful during a time of fear is an essential part of what a spiritual life is about. It places the onus of responsibility on each soul for defining their own reality in terms that are internal, rather than external, and gives each one the choice of how to view that reality. Moving with collective consciousness is easy, especially when the emotional and intellectual currents are strong, and fear-producing announcements and predictions are everywhere. Moving with one’s own internal guidance concerning what we should believe, feel, and do, is more difficult, for one must shut out the external noise in order to find and hear a different voice that dwells within.
This is the spiritual imperative in a time of turbulence and uncertainty. It is to strengthen one’s inner connection with Divine guidance, truth, and support, so that the external voices are not the arbiter of how we hold reality. When we listen to the voice of the Divine within, we are given a way through any situation. Like a boat that must sail through difficult waters, spiritual anchoring takes us step-by-step through time and space and creates a unique and individual pathway for each soul to enable them to move through crisis most effectively.
The imperative is to listen to our inner voice, not the voices of others, and to believe that this voice is not only present, but active within our life as a force for good and a force for stability. No matter what the external circumstances that must be faced, the inner Presence of Divine love and truth can lead each soul and the nation’s soul through all measures of adversity.
It is more important than ever before to have a means of spiritual anchoring on a regular basis. It is more important than ever before to place ourselves in environments that are supportive to a trusting and positive outlook, in order to remain free of the voices of fear that grow louder.
Fear is the domain of darkness. It can lead to decisions that are not of the light that are based on partial truth and on the assumption that we, as individuals, as a nation, or as a planet, are alone with our own dilemmas. This is not the case. More guidance than ever before is available now to individuals and to those who guide nations. More guidance than ever before can help us uphold an inner sense of stability in the midst of change. The requirement is not to ignore the serious nature of what is happening around us and to us, but to know that this is not the only reality than we are involved in.
The world as we know it is changing and we must change with it. The call is going forth to allow change to bring us to a new place in our collective history. It is asking that we have the trust and courage to find a new basis for our collective life.
Beloved Ones, believe in this, know this, feel this - that the present crisis will lead to the advent of a new consciousness, and that trust is possible in the guidance that is the Divine birthright of your very own soul. Out of this outlook, possibilities will grow for steering through all difficulty that lies ahead.
by Julie Redstone from the Light Omega Newsletter
The system that we are basing our economic strength on is not working. It is floating in time, waiting for a misstep from which it cannot recover. Therefore, it is not the bail-out that is going to save this economy. It is only a change in values.
The current bail-out of the American credit system and of mortgage lenders within the proliferation of banks, lending institutions, and mortgage companies in this country has not addressed the primary problem contributing to the existing crisis, namely, the system itself which is outmoded and filled with personal aggrandizement and mismanagement at all levels.
The availability of opportunity for mismanagement of funds and also of using these funds for personal gain has been widespread within corporate America, and the system itself promotes this as it promotes the maintenance of a pyramidal economic structure that contains a very few at the top, and many at the bottom struggling to get by.
We need, in America, to experience a renewal of our basic values – a renewal of our desire for equality, freedom, justice, and a way of life that embraces all, making it possible for all to live and prosper, not just the wealthy few. These words are given lip service, today, by both political figures and CEOs, but the generosity of spirit and caring for future generations that lay at the heart of the Founders of this great nation, has, over time, diminished into a kind of self-seeking and self-promotion based on a sense of entitlement to vast incomes, opportunities, and other business perks for the few, while the rest go unnoticed. This is not just the philosophy of the wealthiest in this country, but of those who seek to become wealthy and to follow in their footsteps.
We once cared more about the land, about the natural beauty of this country, about what we would leave to future generations. We once felt ennobled by a noble task – the task of creating a new Republic and of making that Republic into something to be proud of. This nobility of purpose is still at the foundation of America’s spirit, but has become covered over and at times obliterated by the kind of self-seeking and self-aggrandizement that has caused consumers at all levels to overspend, overreach, overinvest, and to ignore or underestimate the consequences of doing so. And it is not just consumers who have held such an attitude. It is the government itself which has placed this nation in debt to the amount of trillions of dollars, with millions of dollars in interest being added to that each day.
America is the largest debtor nation in the world. Foreign governments, especially China, support the national economy and enable it to function. We are trillions of dollars in debt and the debt only grows, it does not diminish. If those who hold our debt were to call it in, this country would not be able to continue functioning, for we have no other collateral to fall back on. We have become an economic system built on sand rather than on substance, and the money that we use as venue is not backed up by true financial resources that would guarantee its stability. We, as an economic system, are riding on credit, not just the mortgage industry, not just the consumers, not just the corporate executives.
Today, we witness a credit system that has stopped working because its underlying premise does not work, namely, that we can go on borrowing and borrowing for whatever we wish to purchase, and we will not have to pay the price for this indulgence. Because we have lived with this illusion for so long, we now begin to find ourselves no longer having a solid foundation on which to stand. This is what leads to the current call for a ‘bail-out’.
We need to renew our vows to ourselves and to those who come after us, to the world that watches what we do, and to those who listen to the speeches that are made and wait to hear something true, and honest, and real.
This system that we are basing our economic strength on is not working. It is floating in time, waiting for a misstep from which it cannot recover. Therefore, it is not the bail-out that is going to save this economy. It is only a change in values which will allow America to once more exist on the solid footing of its own ideals.
* * *
by Julie Redstone From the Light Omega newsletter
In this presidential election year of 2008, the stakes regarding victory or defeat for each candidate are high; the competition for votes is fierce; and the strategies are abundant on both sides with which to win over the undecided. We, the public, see things happening as part of political life and of campaigning that we do not approve of, that we feel we can do without. But can we? Is negative campaigning something that is being foisted on an unwilling public, or does it correspond to the state of mind and consciousness that we are in?
Democracy is not simple. It is complex. And it is not easy. It is hard. It demands from us all that we have to give, and asks us, at the very least, to become responsible citizens who maintain an involvement with both the principles and policies that govern us.
Democracy asks us to not abandon our individual or collective awareness and voice - not for ourselves, and not on behalf of those whose voices have become diminished or who no longer feel they have a voice. It asks us to use this voice and this awareness not to shout, but to speak for the truth as we see it, to reflect upon this truth, and to offer it up as we speak, and vote, and as we take a stand for what we believe in. In this way, we create and ensure a government that represents the best interests of the governed.
All this is the ideal that democracy strives for. And yet it is not what we see in practice. Not by a long shot. Instead of widespread citizen involvement of a judicious and thoughtful kind, we often see anger, fear, projection, and sometimes fanaticism. Instead of voting with conscientiousness, employing our capacity to reflect, compare, and analyze, we often vote with our emotions or the emotions that are being activated within us in the course of a campaign.
We cannot be manipulated by emotions, whether presented by candidates, campaign ads, news media, or television personalities if we do not allow ourselves to be. We cannot be reduced to less than what we are capable of unless we allow ourselves to be. And yet, this is often what we do. We take the easier way rather than the harder. We let an external shaping of opinion such as that of negative campaigning define our emotions and create our state of feeling. We begin to identify with the innuendo, accusation, and fear-currents that surround us, so that we lose sight of what is true in favor of what sounds true while not begin so. We come to believe that the feelings that we have are natural and inevitable, even when they come from portrayals and strategies that mix half-truths with truth. In many cases, we have difficulty maintaining the 'high ground' of forming our own opinions, when the 'low ground' of negative campaigning, advertising, and criticism is so prevalent.
No, democracy is not easy. It is much easier to feel and to operate out of instinct and unconscious emotion, than to think and evaluate with a consciousness of choice.
We, as a national consciousness, are offered negative advertising and campaigning because it feeds the lowest common denominator among us that forms the basis of our perceptions - that of unconscious reflex which seeks to avoid fear and danger and to seek safety and security. Such campaigning paints the world in terms of fearful outcomes that have to do with the 'other', and encourages us to choose between fear and not-fear when we determine who to vote for. We are reduced to a very basic, even primitive level of feeling - that of the desire for survival both physically and economically - and this fundamental level, because of its importance to our overall sense of wellbeing, drowns out other considerations that may paint the world in softer shades of gray.
To remedy this situation, we must become responsible citizens - responsible for the content of our own consciousness. And we must learn how to recognize information and perspective that comes to us riding on currents of fear, and information that comes to us in more objective terms. Our voice and our awareness are precious gifts that we hold with which to construct a life that supports us. We cannot afford to sacrifice these to the methods and modes of the time we are in, not if we wish to create a new kind of government that is truly accountable to each and every citizen.
The world is capable of changing if we are ready for change, and campaigns are ready to become something different in tone if we are ready for that as well. To achieve this end, we must wake up and learn to listen, to reflect, to become more confident in our ability to see what we see, and to know what we know. When each of us is able to make the choice for consciousness, becoming firmer in our own center of truth and judgment, then we shall finally be ready for a democracy that truly represents what America is meant to be, and we shall be able to share this gift with the rest of the world as well.
Julie Redstone is a teacher, writer, and founder of Light Omega, a center for spiritual teaching and healing in Western Massachusetts. The purpose of Light Omega is to create an understanding of the sacred transition into light that the Earth is presently going through and the changes this will bring to individual and collective consciousness. For additional information concerning the spiritual basis of American democracy, see http://www.lightamericaspirit.org.
By Julie Redstone
Prayers for America are greatly needed at this time as the presidential election draws closer and as campaign rhetoric on both sides becomes more heated. Where anger and derision hold sway, there, forces of darkness can gain an easy foothold to defeat the purposes of light and of upliftment of a nation and a people.
America needs our prayers. She needs each person who cares, to pray for the light to be revealed within the heart of each of the presidential candidates and also within the American public. For the tenor of the public debate currently taking place could not be what it is if the American people were determined to have it be different. As long as we are enthralled by a ‘good fight’, fighting is what we will see. And as long as we judge strength by the force and success of combativeness, whether outright or through innuendo, we will reduce our leaders to the lowest common denominator.
There are many forces of negativity that are at work during the current campaign season – forces that would divide parties, divide the country, create fear within us so that one section of the populace feels threatened by another. As we witness these forces of division at work and the fear that is generated in their presence, we must be careful to neither succumb to the anger of criticism and accusation, nor the fear that is based on mistrust and on seeing only dreaded outcomes. Rather, we must remain in a place of love and trust that light will ultimately hold sway over darkness, and that America’s future is therefore secure, no matter what the outcome of this election. It is this love and trust that can act as an antidote to fear, and it needs to remain with us during a stormy ride that promises to become even stormier.
In addition to remaining anchored within trust, we need also to tune our hearts and our ears to listen for the sound of truth – for the feeling of truth. For much that is said by one or another in this campaign season partakes of only partial truth, and some of what is said may be entirely false. At a time when advertising, soundbites, patriotic fervor, and accusations of one to the other are meant to sway our emotions and alter our thinking, we must be courageous enough and confident enough in our heart’s discernment to always be listening and looking for the deeper layers of truth and rejecting the shallower.
There are many things to be concerned about during this election year, and many scenarios that flit through the mind’s eye that we would rather avoid. There is also the presence of greater hope for us, for a future that can be transformative and liberating. As we pray, we must pray for our own hearts and conscience as well as for that of the American people, so that we remain united in love and truth, and so that the emotional currents of the moment that divide and separate are seen for what they are, no more and no less.
May the light of God that shines through all planes and dimensions shine into every heart at this time, bringing a great illumination to the people of this country as they prepare to exercise their sacred right to vote and to elect a new President of the United States. Amen.
If you have not done so already, please consider saying aloud the Invocations, in whole or in part, at the beginning of ‘One World Meditations’ or regularly throughout the week. These prayers and invocations are powerful, and join each individual and group prayer with those beings of light praying within the Realms of Light for the future of America.
To learn more about the spiritual purpose of nations and the role of each in the spiritual economy of the Earth, see Prayers for America - The Family of Nations within the Sacred World Newsletter. This article conveys the role of the Realms of Light in this current electoral season.
From Light Omega newsletter
The current of idealism within American history and spiritual life which cherishes freedom and desires to protect it at all costs is very strong. Freedom from oppression and the subjugation to laws made a continent away was the very warp and fiber of the Declaration of Independence upon which our country was founded. Freedom has always been highly prized in America, paid for in blood, tears, and the sacrifices of many.
Yet, much has also been done ‘in the name of’ freedom – wars have been fought, laws have been broken, the rights of individuals have been violated, land has been appropriated, and governments abroad have been overthrown – all to protect our freedom and maintain our national security. Today, we run the risk, once again, of acting on behalf of protecting our freedom in ways that do not further the deeper values that America holds, and, indeed, ways that trespass against certain of these values. We run the risk of limiting freedom ‘in the name of’ freedom.
How does this work?
It happens when those who love America can no longer see her wrongdoing as well as her virtue - when they can no longer see her failures as well as her successes.
It happens when those who wish to preserve America’s freedom are willing to sacrifice the freedom of other peoples in order to maintain our own.
It happens when those who espouse freedom, limit its meaning to those who agree with them, and denounce, ridicule, or criticize those who disagree with them.
It happens when those who wish to preserve freedom through the exercise of power, discredit those who believe that there are other ways of preserving and protecting freedom – ways of cooperation and conciliation.
It happens when political slogans are used which seduce or manipulate people into thinking something that they would not ordinarily think if the facts were known.
It happens when the ‘right to choose’ which is the inherent right of each individual is limited by misinformation, disinformation, or other form of deception or slanting of truth so that a free choice is not really possible.
It happens when those who are foreign to our soil are seen as social, political, or economic threats, simply by virtue of being foreign, instead of potential allies or friends.
It happens when America as an ideal and as an entity becomes exalted beyond the bounds that humility would proscribe, so that pride and grandiosity replace the desire for truth, and the willingness to place America first becomes a call to power instead of a call to healing.
It happens when freedom and the desire for freedom separates from unity and the desire for unity with others. This partnership is an eternal partnership that must be maintained in order for ‘freedom’ to remain free.
For more than two centuries now, America has stood in the world, despite its limitations, as the ‘land of the free’. Yet, true freedom can never be gained or maintained unless the freedoms of all are enhanced, both at home and abroad. This cannot happen through an orientation toward power, but only through an orientation toward a peace which embraces all.
The current of idealism within America that seeks to protect and uphold freedom is strong and must remain strong, for it is a core part of America’s identity. Yet, the distortion of that current so that it becomes a call to glory and dominance rather than a call to unity and joining with others must be watched for with vigilance. For ‘freedom’ and ‘unity’ must remain in balance so that each can be preserved with integrity. ‘Freedom’ without ‘unity’, can descend into either anarchy or into the domination of the many by the one. ‘Unity’ without ‘freedom’ can descend into an obliteration of differences between individuals, and a rejection of the right to dissent. The true freedom upon which America is based must seek to perpetuate this balance and to learn to live by it in order that her true destiny and greatness can come into being. For America’s greatness lies not only in her history but in her future, and not in her self-assertion of greatness, but in her willingness to embody the moral virtues on which she is founded for the benefit of the world.
By Julie Redstone of LightAmericaSpirit.org
Unity cannot claim to be true to its origins and meaning if it allows even one other to be held as less worthy than the rest.
___________________
Today, in America, the call to unity has become louder and more vocal, emblazoned upon the banner of current presidential politics, and awakening within the heart a feeling of hope and of striving. Unity moves with the new vibration of spiritual light that is arriving. But what is unity?
There are many people hungry today for a vision of the world in which people do not hurt each other, in which anger and indifference no longer take the toll in human life and in human pain that they presently do, and in which conflicts between people, groups, parties, cultures, and nations can be resolved peacefully, without recourse to violence, force, or denial of the right to respect that each human being must be accorded.
This vision of unity is awakening in the hearts of people everywhere. It is a hunger for cooperation instead of enmity; for brotherhood instead of separation; for compassion instead of indifference; and for the perception of a world in which the human family includes all persons, no matter what their political, social, or sexual orientation, and no matter how reprehensible we feel their behavior to be.
For this vision to become real, the heart must find a way of remaining in a state of love, and of extending compassion even to those with whom we disagree vehemently – even to those who are our adversaries, recognizing in their opposition, the underlying causes of desperation, outrage, and helplessness, rather than evil. As our hearts become more expansive, we do not need to expand our acceptance of wrongdoing, for justice must still hold all people accountable for their actions, no matter how they feel. And individuals, while forgiven for their feelings, cannot be excused for their behavior where it impinges on others.
Despite such behavior, the heart and soul of all beings must be recognized. It must be recognized and it must be honored, no matter how culpable the outer behavior of another, no matter how painful to the heart. Unity can only be inclusive for all or it is not unity, but only a new and more subtle form of prejudice which cannot find respect or accord equality to all.
Within America, ‘unity’ cannot tolerate disdain toward those who disagree with us while we maintain a position of superiority and relegate others to an inferior position.
Unity cannot claim to love all, while denouncing those who are skeptical or disillusioned, or who seek a different goal.
Unity cannot sanction prejudice of any kind, and must be firmly rooted in an honest appraisal of the means, both subtle and obvious, by which people are treated unequally.
Unity cannot speak with a voice of sarcasm, derision, innuendo, ridicule, meanness, backbiting, or disrespect toward others, even while others may pursue such a course.
In a word, unity cannot claim to be true to its origins and meaning if it allows even one other to be held as less worthy than the rest.
For this to be realized as part of a political system, national ethic, or personal creed, it is necessary to stop justifying our anger and to stop acting out of fear. These are not simple things to do, however. They are deep and profound adjustments of the psyche that require us to place love in the supreme moral position within our hearts, allowing no other motive, feeling, or response to compete with it.
For this to take place, we must feel strongly the pricelessness of each human life and each human heart, and must seek to honor and uphold each.
Furthermore, we must seek to go beyond the words we use which may articulate the ideals we cherish, to a more honest appraisal of the tone of voice we use and the feelings we display. This self-scrutiny must take place both in public and in private, within individuals and within nations, to determine whether we are just speaking of unity or practicing it as well.
This movement toward unity may not happen all at once. It may not happen without difficulty as the counterforces which create special interests and selfish motives continue to seek their day in the sun. But it will happen, it must happen, because the time for unity’s expression is now, and we are witnessing, even amongst the division and discord that still cover our interactions with others, the birth of a new way of being in the world and of a new life for the heart. This new life is infusing the deeper layers of consciousness of many people in many places, and will one day make itself visible as the dominant ethic that governs a free society and the dominant motive that governs each human heart.
For today, we participate in this transition by examining the motives of our own heart, and by allowing ourselves to notice where we have set another apart from the rest – apart from our compassion and forgiveness. When we reclaim our own hearts and allow them to beat to the new vibration of unity with greater purity, we simultaneously elevate our own consciousness, and contribute to the advent of greater peace in the world around us.
From Light Omega Newsletter August 30, 2008
When it happens that a nation finds itself on a perilous course of
action, then it behooves that nation and its people to take stock of
the options that are available to prevent unwanted outcomes from
occurring, and to set the course of the nation on a different path
altogether.
Such is the time we are in today, a time in which the nation's
honor and integrity are in jeopardy, and in which the full measure
of Divine input must occur in order that the light that is at the
heart of America regain its hold over the hearts, minds, and
practices of America's government and people.
The dialogue and discourse regarding divisions in America have
overshadowed, by far, the great unity of heart and of purpose that
are meant to be present and are still present in the center of
America's consciousness. Yet, these have become deeply buried
beneath mounds of dissent, disapproval, and fragmentation,
brought about by those who desire to create fear and disunity in
this land, rather than hope.
It is for this reason that all who seek to foster the new energy of
love and cooperation, of gentleness and compromise, must pray
for America, her consciousness, and her people, so that this
nation is brought back from the precipice upon which it now
stands, and the founding principles of heart and character that are
so necessary to her survival, and indeed, to her ability to thrive,
are reinstated.
These principles are not in jeopardy, for their life is eternal and
they are embedded deeply within America's heart and identity.
But their expression within America's life , behavior, and outer
manifestation has become clouded, so that a nation's virtue can
no longer be seen.
Those who care for this country must therefore come together in
their hearts, one in intention and one in purpose, and pray that
the nobility and honor of a great nation be restored in full
measure, and that the unity of purpose that rests so firmly within
America's heart and essence, is brought fully into the light of day
where it may be seen and felt by all.
May this nation, under God, be blessed in its Divine purpose and
in the expression of that purpose for the benefit of all mankind.
Blessings and Amen.
Reprinted from PrayersAmerica.org
To change the world, we must become what we want it to be.
There are places in the world that are considered by many to be not only political but moral troublespots, ones in which the heart wishes to alter conditions for the people who are suffering or repressed, but where the problems seem too large, or solutions too complex, for individuals to know how they may help.
Such is the situation with China, which for many individuals and nations presents a moral dilemma in terms of how to manage relationships. Currently, as the Beijing Olympics approach this summer, there are many who would rather see the games moved to another location or boycotted as a statement of disapproval of recent Chinese reprisals toward Tibetan protesters, and of disapproval toward the Chinese appropriation of Tibetan land in general.
These would be a few for whom the subject of China is a deeply troubling one, one that has stirred heated debate for decades. After years of discussion within national, international, and private circles, there is still no convergence among individuals or nations about what to do. The United States, as well as other democratic governments, appears to try to walk two thin lines - that of offering some measure of objection against ongoing Chinese domestic policies which include recorded and unrecorded human rights violations, the imprisonment of political prisoners, and the restriction of individual freedoms for many, while at the same time desiring to increase trade benefits and make use of the vast consumer market that China possesses. In fact, economic incentives for U.S. corporations who do business with China have increased dramatically in recent years, as more and more of American production has been outsourced.
For sensitive souls, the problem of China is one of many that are central to the heart and to the sense of helplessness that many carry about the world situation. Indeed, there is often a source of bewilderment about how to change this and other situations from their present status.
A spiritual methodology that seeks to change consciousness as a way of affecting Chinese leadership and policy may be considered by many too visionary, too slow, or too abstract to contemplate, and the way toward such a shift too mysterious and unknown. For this reason, among ordinary people, more modest means are often chosen:
1) the boycotting of goods made in China through personal practices in making purchases,
2) the support of human rights organizations and programs that seek to influence governments, legislators, and legislation that has an effect on trade policy with China
3) the monitoring of news sources that watch over worldwide human rights violations and other subjects that mainstream media largely ignore.
For the most part, we are not hopeful about changing consciousness as a way of directly affecting political change, and so we choose the smaller steps – steps which are valuable in themselves, yet which often address only the symptoms of a problem rather than the causes. In order to address the causes, we must deal with consciousness, for here is where the point of power lies in creating lasting change.
A change in consciousness involves the alteration of motivational patterns that give rise to unwanted beliefs, feelings, or behaviors. In the case of governments, such a change would affect the fundamental ways of thinking of those in power so that restriction of individual freedom would no longer be held as an option, but rather replaced by the desire for maximum self-determination for all.
Whether kings, elected officials, military leaders, or dictators, from a spiritual perspective, those who oppress others would find themselves experiencing an awakening of the heart and spirit, and new perspectives would come into play. This is consciousness change as it directly affects human affairs.
It is toward this end that some who are spiritually inclined, meditate on behalf of the world. They do this silently, invisibly, in order to bring more light into the collective network of human consciousness. It is also why, today, with the advent of greater spiritual light on the Earth, the opportunity exists to more profoundly affect world conditions. This can happen because of the presence of light and its capacity to awaken new values and perceptions. Through the power of increased light, and through collective inner work, those who join together today can affect the quality of human awareness in ways that were not possible before.
Such a consciousness shift is the single most effective means of changing the world. Indeed, it is in the air today, moving governments, peoples, and potential leaders to new levels of inspiration and hope.
Changing consciousness moves humanity forward toward new perspectives.
It creates new desires and new wishes.
It allows a new breath to move through old views and perceptions and opens the way of relating to life so that more identification with others can take place.
It heals the wish to exploit others, and replaces this with respect for life and for the rule of law.
Changing the consciousness of the world is an inner effort that begins with oneselfs.
Where there is judgment, we must seek to replace it with tolerance and respect.
Where there is anger, we must seek forgiveness.
Where there is prejudice, we must seek a recognition of the common humanity of man.
Where there is separation, we must seek joining and the embrace of love for all.
As we seek all of these things, we bring into our hearts and minds an energy and thought pattern that becomes part of collective awareness - part of the network of light and life that connects us all.
Human consciousness is crying out, today, at the travesties that take place at the hands of one human being toward another. It is crying out at the murder of innocents, the forced exile of large populations due to ethnic 'cleansing', the killing of children whose only crime was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
We must ask ourselves how steady our belief is that consciousness can change. And having answered this, we must follow with another question which is whether we are willing to become what we wish others to be.
If we are willing, if we see non-participation in human suffering as no longer an option, then we must seek a way to take the next step forward within ourselves. We must become planetary citizens.
Today, the call has gone out for all who care for the Earth and her inhabitants to do just this – to become citizens of the Earth. Shall we heed this call and step forward into the task of active participation in consciousness change?
This is a choice that each must make in their own heart, based on the maximum truth and honesty that is possible to gather together. If we say "no" to planetary life, we reinforce the status quo. If we say "yes," we become agents of consciousness change in the greatest adventure of our day – the adventure of planetary transformation, now taking place.
May all beings recognize their importance to this great, planetary venture. May all beings be blessed.
By Julie Redstone from OneWorldMeditations.org
The June, 12, 2008 Supreme Court ruling gave Guantanamo detainees the right to a hearing within a federal court of law. It also raised the issue of forgiveness, justice, and mercy and how to view these.
The Supreme Court on June 12, 2008 invalidated a 2006 law which stripped Guantanamo Bay inmates of the right to file 'habeas corpus' petitions in U.S. courts. The court's majority opinion (5-4) in a rebuke to the Bush administration and Congress, held that inmates at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay are protected by the Constitution and may seek release in federal court.
Our view of the treatment of Guantanamo detainees and the attitude we hold toward those who wish to do us harm, rests on an inner balance that each of us carries concerning justice and mercy. This balance, which also applies to those who have committed crimes and may be incarcerated elsewhere, is of Divine origin, and contains two currents of Divine will – that which meets out justice along the lines of reciprocity, namely, "what ye sow ye shall reap;" and that which distributes mercy along the lines of "forgive them, Father, they know not what they do."
The balance between the desire for justice and the desire for mercy determines, in large measure, what we will think of the Supreme Court ruling and of similar rulings that pertain to the incarcerated or to those awaiting justice within our criminal justice system.
Both justice and mercy must exist within a society of law, yet one that cares about human rights. This is not only true because such a balance is the way of preserving order and harmony within such a society, but also because the social matrix in which we live - the criminal and the non-criminal alike - is meant to reflect a Divine prototype which brings to bear upon our view of human action, a higher consciousness of what human beings are, and are meant to be.
Justice is necessary within any stable society to insure the rights of all and to prevent those who would trespass against these rights from doing so. It is a necessary deterrent, establishing a barrier which says about certain behaviors: this cannot be allowed. Justice makes necessary whatever arrangements are deemed appropriate to contain behavior that is harmful to others, and to prevent such behavior from occurring in the future.
Mercy, on the other hand, is rooted in the understanding that even criminals are souls, and as such have certain inalienable rights bequeathed to them because of their essential humanity, not because of their actions. These rights derive from the common essence that we share with others, and cannot be suspended on the basis of behavior because 'behavior' and 'essence' are two different things. Mercy contains within itself the 'principle of forgiveness',
Whereas justice is based on reciprocity, mercy is based on the need to separate the person from the action, and to accord to that person dignity, selfhood, and the right to be held as innocent until proven guilty. Mercy derives from the capacity to see all human beings as souls, guided by lower instincts in cases where there is a violation of the rights of others, but, nevertheless, still more than any individual behavior.
The Supreme Court ruling of June, 2008, shifts the balance of judgment regarding Guantanamo detainees from one that is more heavily weighted in the direction of strict justice, toward one that retains a greater balance with the current of mercy. This allows for the maintenance of individual legal rights for detainees, irrespective of their past actions. It also reaffirms the principle of American civil versus military jurisdiction, namely, that despite the fact that such detainees are not U.S. citizens, they exist within the authority and convention of the U.S. legal system and are therefore subject to the laws and regulations derived from the Constitution. Such laws apply to the handling of all criminal cases.
The Supreme Court decision is a hard one to grasp for some who may find it difficult to show mercy to those who have caused death and disruption to countless lives, and who, in the present, may go so far as to declare that they wish to continue doing so. Such declarations, especially, create the 'problem of forgiveness' for a great many people.
Forgiveness, to be real, must rest on the principle "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." But when individuals declare that they know what they are doing and would keep doing it if they had a chance, it is difficult to say that they "know not what they do." The 'problem of forgiveness' therefore resides in this question: Under what conditions shall those who have committed crimes be forgiven and shall mercy be shown?
The answer to this question must rest, first, on an understanding that forgiveness applies to the person, not to the action they commit. An unrepentant convicted felon may be dangerous in an ongoing way and therefore need to remain in custody with future potential actions curtailed. However, treatment of the person, as opposed to the action, is a different matter.
By Julie Redstone from the June 23, 2008 Light Omega Newsletter
We are at a crossroads in America, and the choices are wide before us. We can go in the direction of listening to those who speak the loudest with an effort to convince us of their point of view, or we can try to go deeper within ourselves so that we learn what truth feels like - what our own truth feels like...
This article follows the previous one on American presidential campaigns in which it was stated that a new ethic is needed in America in order to transform the prevailing perception that "might makes right," and force and aggression are needed to demonstrate strength and guarantee security.
Today, this ethic undergoes increasing scrutiny as America becomes more disillusioned with the tenor of the existing political scene, and as it sees the posturing of those in public life as a competitive struggle to stay elected or electable, or, as a method of demonstrating their own superiority in other ways.
Into this arena, one who walks in gentleness and in a desire to not engage in conflict is perceived as a sheep among wolves, or as a lamb that doesn't know that the wolf is a wolf at all. Gentleness and conciliatory behavior, behavior oriented toward cooperation rather than competition, are often taken to be signs of weakness, not strength, and the Gandhian dictum of creating peace by 'becoming peaceful oneself', is seen to be valid in principle but not in practice.
America has such a proud history and a proud spiritual foundation upon which she stands. And yet this foundation is tarnished in so many ways by practices that run counter to the principles which her core ethic espouses. In many respects, and since her embattled beginnings, America does not treat all of her citizens equally. And she does not pursue the ways of peace when war is presumed to be 'inevitable' or when fear is strong enough to let these ways go in favor of something else.
Within public life, those who are gentle but firm, who do not raise their voice to shout, but who speak deeply and truthfully from a clear place within, are precious jewels among rough stones. Declaiming and pronouncing are part of how one operates when given a pulpit to do so in the political sphere. It is only when the audience that listens has developed a truth-sensitivity that is deeper than words and stronger than habit, that shouting will be replaced by sincerity of feeling, and pronouncements will be replaced by true adherence to a deeper set of spiritual principles.
We are at a crossroads in America, and the choices are wide before us. We can go in the direction of listening to those who speak the loudest with an effort to convince us of their point of view, or we can try to go deeper within ourselves so that we learn what truth feels like – what our own truth feels like. In the process we will learn how 'standing for truth' may be perceived in others and how it may offer a strength that exceeds all forms of outer aggressiveness. Then, and only then, will we accept those who come in the name of peace and conciliation, not out of weakness, but out of spiritual and moral strength. We will seek and we will find these individuals, since their message will correspond to what we most deeply recognize and desire within ourselves.
Till then, it appears that America will continue to value conflict, adversarial engagement, denouncing of others, and promotion of oneself at the expense of others, instead of valuing peace and cooperation. Hopefully, the time will not be too long before the people of America grow tired of this and want something different in those who aspire to speak for the people.
When all are ready to let go of conflict as a show of strength and to see inner integrity and firmness as a show of strength, we will have moved far as a nation toward the goal of achieving the peace in the world that each heart so deeply desires.
By Julie Redstone from the Light Omega Newsletter
America is one nation under God, as it has been, is, and shall always be. What this means is more than a phrase on the Pledge of Allegiance. It is a testimony to the underlying unity of purpose that joined the human and the Divine in the year of seventeen hundred and seventy six, merging the human purpose that involved creating a new and independent nation, with the Divine purpose of creating a house and home for the highest light to inhabit. This light was to be a beacon not only for all nations, but for the interplanetary harmonic of which the Earth would one day be a part.
The light of America is not her political purpose, and yet it is infused in the founding principles which created her. Nor is it her moral purpose, even though it has given rise to the eternal ideals of liberty, equality, and the right to pursue one's own happiness. Nor is it her wealth and prosperity emanating from a land that is rich in resources and filled with the natural and physical wealth of the earth's provision. No, the spiritual purpose of America was to house a vibration that would resound throughout the planetary atmosphere, calling each being that sought freedom and a new way of life to a higher striving which would enable this desire to become a reality. In this way, the purpose of the founding of America furthered the purpose of the spiritual development of humanity, for it seeded into human consciousness the awakening of ideals that would henceforth act as a beacon and a lodestar within human consciousness.
These ideals are not merely human expressions. They are expressions of the freedom and liberty bestowed upon his children by the Divine Creator. They are also expressions of the desire for abundance and blessing that the One who lives within all desires to manifest upon the earth. Never in human history has the desire to bless the Earth and the children of Creation with the consciousness of the Divine and with the promise of a life of abundance, been so connected with a nation and a people. America's birth was the promise of a deeper connection between the One who is All and within whom All lives, and the physical realm.
This noble ideal and instillation of Divine intention into the flow of history did not just happen at one particular time and on one particular day, however, even though July 4th in America is celebrated as the Day of Independence. Rather, the process was a lengthy one by which God's intention to manifest his Presence more fully on the earth became part of an inner seeking by those who would later act as founders of the new nation. It became part of the awakening consciousness of the desire for liberty and of the new awareness of self that grew into greater fullness at that time.
The Divine Creator, who has shepherded the history of all beings upon this planet, has, throughout time, been watchful over the course of that history. And though many misfortunes have taken place and much harm has occurred at the hands of one human toward another and in actions taken toward the earth itself, nevertheless, the One who is only and eternally Love has watched that the progress of human consciousness would always more forward, no matter what setbacks it experienced, and waited for the time when more in the way of the expression of greater light could become a reality.
The destiny of America and the divine purpose of God under whom America lives, cannot be separated. For America's purpose is a Divine and holy purpose, and however much she may stray from alignment with this direction, and however much she may become vulnerable to forces whose intentions are not compatible with her Divine mission, in the end, she will be what God has intended, which is the full expression of Divine light upon the earth that others may see and turn to, recognizing this light as the path home and the fulfillment of their own reason for being.
By Julie Redstone from LightAmericaSpirit.org
There are times and places where one's voice needs to be heard above the clamor of others who may think differently or wish to go in a different direction. The need to raise one's 'voice' is not a call to shout or to shout down others, but to preserve one's integrity of belief and feeling so that one can become a 'majority of one'.
Such a majority does not depend on numbers or on the approval of others in order to gain legitimacy. It does not seek to sway others to its own point of view in order to gain momentum for holding its own. Rather, such a voice is based on the firm foundation of spiritual integrity, and feels a moral calling to declare the beliefs by which it lives – beliefs which no other can undermine or alter through outer pressure, but which can only be altered through a change in inner perspective.
To become a 'majority of one' is to replace reliance on numbers of those holding a point of view, by the single depth of commitment of one.
It is to replace the gathering of outer force with the gathering of inner force.
It is to sanction and uphold the values of the inner being with a steadfastness that comes from alignment with inner truth and with the light that upholds this truth.
Many times in our social and political life, we turn to outer numbers in order to legitimize and give credence to a point of view that would otherwise not be listened to. Many times, we do not hear those who speak firmly but in a small and gentle voice. The need for the 'outer' majority will always be, for it is the way of establishing the creative foundation for a democratic and pluralistic society. Yet, the need for the 'majority of one', the single voice that upholds truth, must become the sure foundation for such an outer majority. Indeed, the 'majority of numbers' must become one in which every individual represents its own point of view faithfully, and with full adherence to the deepest beliefs it is capable of locating within the self.
There are many kinds of pressure that are applied, today, to get people to join the 'majority of numbers' - to get them to move in a given direction. There is the pressure of appearance, where one who looks differently or sounds differently is made to seem foolish or 'out of step' with the times. There is the pressure of dogma – where one who thinks differently is made to feel like a heretic, treading on long-established or sacred values. There is the pressure of force – where one who remains faithful to their own 'voice' begins to feel endangered by doing so through the loss of relationships, work, financial support, or other context which forms the external structure of a life. There is also the pressure of moral conflict – in which those who hold different views from oneself feel equally strongly about the moral integrity and depth with which they hold them.
This last is the most difficult kind of pressure for a 'majority of one' to contend with. For moral truths come in many sizes and dispositions, and it requires great clarity and great love to see that others who hold different perspectives may also hold a portion of the truth, yet be different from oneself.
In the end, a 'majority of one' is not an isolated individual, but one who is committed to the future of humanity and who seeks to improve that future in whatever ways are possible. This occurs through the commitment to a way of thinking and feeling that influences the consciousness of others by its very strength and depth, and by the force of its truth.
The vision of the future that many carry for America today is not one of hope, but one of sorrow and one of despair because the ideals upon which a proud nation once stood are being undermined by practices which depart from the high ideals of democratic functioning. Nevertheless, the hope for America lies in these ideals – in the clinging to the virtues which were embedded in her founding which still shine with their own light as a beacon to other peoples and other nations.
America's hope cannot be found in those practices which corrupt her willingness to compromise with others because it would diminish her power. Nor can it be found in the wish to ensure her control of energy resources at the expense of those same resources being made available to all. Nor does it lie in the many ways in which the sense of entitlement has taken hold of a consuming public with a voraciousness for new things and new technology that is both the envy of much of the world, and also the sadness of much of the world, for this indigenous greed leads to a distribution of wealth that is not beneficial to the planet, but only to those who have the means to satisfy their appetites.
In contrast to this picture lies the awakening of America's consciousness of moral uprightness - the desire to be a source of peace not a source of war; the enmity toward those in power who pursue power for their own purposes, not for the purpose of national integrity or wellbeing as is so often claimed. The awakening of America's consciousness is an important step in the rebuilding of the moral center of her foundation which has become weakened by policies and practices which depart from her true center. This weakening has also created a departure from the sense of generosity and selflessness which historically has been her relationship with others who came to her shores to seek a better life.
The longing for renewal that beats so strongly and increasingly in the hearts of many, is a longing for a restoration of the single note of pure idealism that once so informed America's outlook on life and her purpose in the world. It is the wish for a restoration of the sense of positive movement forward that has been present in other epochs in history and that, in the view of many, is not present at this time. We, who are waiting for this renewal of the soul of a nation, may have longer to wait before the desired outcome can appear and the heart feel a sense of ease from having removed itself from the precipice upon which it now stands. We may need to wait through times of turbulence before the darkening that has taken place to America's collective conscience can be dissolved in the presence of greater light. As we wait for this inner and outer transformation, let us hope that those who are granted positions of leadership that allow them to represent the will of the people, will once again turn toward the consensus of the governed in order to develop a policy and a point of view toward others that will be the source of pride and of national unity. As we wait for this transition into a new state of being, let us also pray for the soul of a nation to be strengthened, so that one in vision and one in purpose, those who are part of a once-noble nation can join together in common bond and extend America's hand as an offering of peace and prosperity to the rest of the world.
By Julie Redstone, reprinted from LightAmericaSpirit.org
To change the world, we must become what we want it to be..
America's love for a display of might and power, of triumph over the adversary, and of a 'winning strategy', is not only evident in her foreign policy and conduct of war, but also in her presidential campaigns. Here, aggression, while disapproved of by many at one level, is also admired by others, and seems almost to be a necessity of political life – one that applies to political rivals at home as well as to adversaries abroad. Within presidential campaigns and American political life in general, aggression appears to be a not-so-hidden American value, as one seeks to remain 'on-top' by removing someone else to 'the bottom'.
No matter how much the American public decries the use of negative advertising within campaigns, the public receives what many within this body deem necessary as a sign of leadership, namely, the display of power, confidence, and strength, even when expressed through messages that diminish or undermine the stature and credibility of another. Though there is more and more dissatisfaction with this trend, disapproval is not yet sufficient to make it disappear. This is in contrast to what is also possible, namely, the presenting of one's own point of view, straight-up, without involving a defamation of the character or intentions of another.
America is afraid to let go of the philosophy of 'might makes right' in the home court as well as on the battlefield. We are afraid of the accusation of weakness associated with gentleness, civility, compassion, and forgiveness. Indeed, despite the protestation of Christian values by many, where are those who would want a political leader who would be forgiving toward all? This is something that one might strive for in private, but in public an entirely different ethic prevails.
Despite this current that runs through American political life at present, there is, even now, another way to conduct a political campaign and, indeed, to conduct political life in general. This other way is through inspiration and moral leadership, through the display of integrity and truthfulness, through being firm in one's own central values, not through being able to deflate the character or stature of another.
Inspiration and integrity are profound representatives of a stream of American life that has deep roots – the deepest, since they go back, historically, to America's founding. These virtues do not require presenting one's own 'superior' position by making another seem inferior. They require standing only on the truth of one's beliefs, experience, plans, hopes, and capacities as a leader, thinker, and citizen who seeks to serve the greater good.
Nevertheless, despite America's desire for goodness and virtue in her leadership, it appears that she does not always accept these with open arms. There is still the need to sacrifice inspiration to toughness, to sacrifice plain-speaking to intellectual agility which can expose the weaknesses of another, and to sacrifice gentleness in order to create a feeling of security based on power.
America appears to desire inspiration and moral integrity, but not at the expense of a good fight. In the age of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the age of those who are tired of war and who seek peace, in the age of those who seek a new way for government to represent its citizens, this fear of modesty and integrity, of an unwillingness to engage in combat as if one's life were at stake, must be examined more closely. For if we truly, as a nation, want peace, we must become peaceful among ourselves. And if we truly want moral leadership, we must become more moral.
By Julie Redstone, reprinted from the Light Omega Newsletter
This is true in the present as it was in the past, even if, in certain instances, outright brutality and murder is not in question. Indeed, the history of religious practice is filled, both in the recent and distant past, with collective memories of persecution, injustice, divisiveness, and of much that has been unholy, all perpetrated in the name of spiritual beliefs and in the name of the Supreme Being who, in certain instances, was claimed to have authorized such behavior.
Being 'one nation, under God', can mean something quite different, however.
It can refer not to doctrine, but to feeling.
It can refer not to denomination, but to the universal Essence of all of humanity that is part of a Divine Oneness.
It can separate itself from the ridicule, contempt, fear and guilt that have been projected onto an anthropomorphic deity who sits on a large throne and judges mankind from on high, to something altogether different.
The word 'under', can be newly understood so that it no longer refers to servitude, judgment, or fear, but to unity within Creation and to a oneness with the Divine Creator of Creation.
The word 'under' does not necessarily mean beneath another in value. It can mean beneath another whose holy authority is freely recognized, and who reigns supreme within each human heart as the deepest part of each Self.
Here is the key distinction. To be 'under God' not in servitude, but in love.
To give authority not unwillingly, but freely in relation to that which is higher within oneself and within all of Creation.
To feel, and know, and understand, that the One Creator of all lives within one's own deepest being as oneself. Not as the outer self. Not as the personality self. But as the deepest core Essence.
In another sense, too, being one nation 'under God' can come to change its meaning. It can come to refer to Unity, rather than to the divisiveness that history has imposed on this phrase. If all are united under One, and that One lives within each, then all must acknowledge their common Divine heritage and their common sacred bond with each other.
If all are part of the One, then all are brothers and there is no 'other' from whom one is separate.
This is the new meaning to be given to the phrase 'under God'. It does not have to do with religious distinctions or the names by which the Supreme Being is called, or the attributes that one associates with Divine Being. Rather, it has to do with the One Spirit that pervades all, Creator of life and Author of what Is.
Finally, for America to be 'one nation, under God' does not infringe upon government's independent function in the ways that we are currently fearful of it doing. For in the time of Unity and of the perception of oneness that lies ahead, there will be no separate function anywhere. Not of government, or society, or family, or political life, or social structure, or scientific life. Rather than needing to be fearful of the imposition of the values of one Church or group on the independent functioning of the State, it will be known and felt that all of life is sacred, and a common spiritual sensibility will be shared by all without trying to impose the views of one on any other.
In such a circumstance, there will be no separation to be had anywhere between one branch of life and another. For this sacred life will be seen as but the outer form of a spiritual reality that shines through it and that infuses every aspect of physical reality.
This perception, when it arrives, will not be based on thought, but on feeling. It will not come through the mind, but through the heart and the body. If all of life is sacred, then for government to be sacred in its perceptions of itself, of its own conduct, and of its way of holding itself accountable, would merely be part of the rest of what constitutes the social fabric and the underlying spiritual principles to which all adhere.
Many have fear, based on historical experience, that religion or spirituality will divide rather than unite. That it will create exclusion rather than an end to separation. Though this has been true in the past, we are coming to a time in which the old dogmas must give way before the new breath of understanding of a deeper oneness than what has traditionally been espoused. And as these old dogmas give way, in their place shall come a new understanding of the unity of man within the unity of life.
America's future is to be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Indeed, it is not just America's future, but the future of humanity as a Whole. May it be so. Blessings and Amen.
Julie Redstone is a writer, teacher and founder of Light Omega, a spiritual center for healing and transformation in Western Massachusetts. Her work in illuminating the spiritual principles that lie at the heart of America can be found both at www.lightamericaspirit.org and at www.prayersamerica.org, the latter being a place where one can contribute significantly along spiritual lines to the light present in this year's electoral process.
There are other qualities of character and personal expression that are brought forward by the infusion of greater light - qualities such as gentleness, kindness, a willingness to listen, a lack of ego, a desire to share, a desire to comfort those in need. These qualities, like notes on a musical scale, can be played in many different ways and with many different tonalities, corresponding to the inner nature of the one who carries them. Nevertheless, they share a common foundation which lies in the essential properties of spiritual light.
Within the electoral process, as light becomes more prominent and darkness recedes, the above effects of greater light begin to make themselves known more clearly. People begin increasingly to desire truth among those who claim to be its representatives; they desire integrity within those who claim to speak for a particular issue or point of view. Such integrity is based on the faithfulness of one who takes a position on an issue to the underlying values that that position represents. Integrity requires that one feel things and care about things deeply, not merely as a surface phenomenon. It also applies to the character of one who has an inner standard of moral rightness, a standard that must be followed for the sake of rightness itself, because conscience requires it.
The increasing inflow of light into the electoral process therefore affects both candidates and the general public. People begin to want more truth. They begin to want more kindness and integrity. They begin to want a public servant who truly represents the interests of the Whole. As this 'wanting' develops, a quality of listening is also enhanced, and what is listened for in candidates is what the heart tells the listener is real, more than what the mind says. Sometimes, this has been referred to as a 'gut reaction'. But often such a 'gut reaction' is simply a way of saying that there is no rational reason to feel something - it is one's heart that tells one that something is so.
Inspiration is also an effect of greater light. When people feel inspired, it is often because the light in a situation causes them to feel uplifted, more capable of making a difference, stronger in conscience, and stronger in a desire to serve. Outwardly, the source of inspiration may be attributed to a person and to a particular time in history, and it is true that these are factors, but inspiration and the capacity to feel inspired is also a function of light operating within consciousness which creates a yearning for an ideal - an ideal that, within the one so inspired, feels approachable. It feels as if it can be attained. And so inspiration carries one into action and into a state of feeling hopeful and optimistic about the possibility of realizing one's ideal.
This election year, including the campaign thus far, has shown itself to be filled with various shades of light and darkness, and is likely to continue to be so up until the election in November and beyond. Those who are developing an awareness of spiritual reality will be led more and more during this year to begin to feel things that exceed what the rational mind can know, and to sense things that lead in the direction of belief and perception, without a mental process being involved. With this development already underway, it is useful, no matter what one's religious or spiritual beliefs, to ask for inner guidance regarding the path of greatest clarity, truth, and love, for along this path is the light that leads to the future, and the hope for the most positive outcome of this year's electoral process.
Reprinted from www.worldblessings.com
Force, weapons, threat, and manipulation all involve aggression - the utilization of the assertive, masculine side of the human psyche - not just the psyche of men, but the psyche of all souls in their embodied expression. The impulse to act, to assert, to move forward, to take charge, is part of this masculine aspect, an aspect which only becomes problematic when it is not sufficiently balanced by the feminine side - by the desire to unify, blend, harmonize, and seek cooperation.
Assertiveness and aggression are what marks governmental policy in certain eras, and also to a significant degree, defines the ways in which the public evaluates candidates for public office. Though little spoken of, the reliance of trust in public figures, despite America's desire for peace, is often trust in their capacity to make war, their capacity to be aggressive, their capacity to exercise their will, which, according to some interpretations, would be equal to the capacity to protect the nation from harm.
Along with this stance go certain body characteristics that in today's consciousness convey to the public the same impression of power and strength - square or broad shoulders, a firm jaw, a neck that is broad, but not too broad, proportional rather than elongated. These convey an overall impression of sturdiness.. Slim or narrow shoulders, an elongated neck, a small head, a soft, pointed chin rather than a square jaw - these are the characteristics associated with gentleness, with the capacity to be wrong, with softness, which in some interpretations is equivalent to weakness.
America desires peace, but is unwilling to seek that quality of peace and gentleness in her leaders. She fears aggression from without, and therefore seeks leadership that can embody a counter-aggression force in the face of potential threat. Beneath this preference is the belief that only might can sustain us, and that it is necessary to remain in the position of global dominance in order to insure safety.
If one were to take away commitment to this premise, however, if one were to no longer accept it as valid, where would that leave us?
It might leave us understanding to a greater degree both the value of cooperation and the value of gentleness - a quality that does not lack firmness and whose strength is inner, rather than outer.. It might lead us to understand how to value our uniqueness and the spiritual truths which lie at the foundation of this nation' and are part of her heart. It might steer us away from associating America's identity with power, while leading us toward compassion in relation to the world community..
Beneath the external overlay of power and aggression, America's heart remains wedded to the principles that are part of her founding. If one were to take away the need for dominance, there would still remain the capacity for leadership, but such leadership would be a moral leadership, based on the fundamental and universal premises, applicable to all peoples, of man's right to live freely upon the earth. There would also be the possibility for those to hold public office who represented not the capacity for dominance and assertion, but the capacity for negotiation and cooperation.
Such is the time that we are moving toward, for it is essential that all nations come together with a sense of the uniqueness of each and the equality of all, not just as a concept, but as a living, breathing economic, political, and social reality. Within this human family, America would no longer play the role of 'superpower' or overlord, but would finally have the opportunity to express her true potential as a catalyst for change and as a champion for the improvement of the human condition. Her allegiance to the principles of light and truth would be held as a powerful illustration of what is possible when the welfare of all, and justice for all, are the cornerstones of a nation's identity.
Julie Redstone is a teacher, writer, and founder of Light Omega, a center for spiritual teaching and healing in Western Massachusetts. The purpose of Light Omega is to create an understanding of the sacred transition into light that the Earth is presently going through. On a national level, these changes relate to the spiritual foundations of America once again assuming their rightful place in America's heart and consciousness. To assist with this process, see http://www.prayersamerica.org.
By Julie Redstone of www.lightamericaspirit.org
With the increased use of television to create a forum for public debate and discourse, the capacity to assess matters with one's heart is both made easier and more difficult. For the television format is often not one that lends itself to the revelation of depth of character. Often, television formats allow for brief sound-bites in which well-polished phrases are all that can fit in to the allotted time, and these must be quick to grasp, easy to remember, but not necessarily revealing at a deeper level.
As actors on a television stage, there are those who come before us who speak well, yet who operate more on the surface of themselves with less true feeling but a greater ability to create a convincing presentation within a short period of time. There are others who use fewer words, who actually mean more. While it is true that public speaking is a matter of political skill that all who seek public office must acquire, it is also a matter of character and of the heart.
The American public is always listening for what the heart says. It is not only listening to words. And so candidates who seek to cover errors in past judgment, or shortcomings in present capacities, with facile political phrases, may become transparent before a public that is listening with its heart.
Sometimes, however, voices are deceptive, and the heart can make a mistake about what it is hearing. Sometimes, the display of knowledge or verbal skill can appeal to the mind with such force that it can override the listening of the heart. It can override the capacity of the heart to judge the inner integrity of a speaker.
When this happens, it is a sad state of affairs both for the public and for the future functioning of government. For a government that cannot stand on the basis of its own integrity and character, a government that uses fancy words to placate the minds of people but does not act out of its own heart, cannot truly represent a people that seeks to better its own conditions in life.
We must be careful, therefore, in America, to not be seduced by words. To not be seduced by the intellect that appears to speak with facility and knowledge, but lacks the heart to support the words when it comes to actual practice. This carefulness does not mean ruling out the use of the mind to evaluate positions or views that matter. But it does mean not being seduced by words or by the sweep of words which may cover other lacks.
America's heart is her most valuable possession. It is the center of her spiritual existence. In the midst of heated debate over campaign issues, it is important to be able to listen with our hearts in order to know, and feel, and judge according to a deeper measure of truth.
When we do this and to the extent that we do this, we will elect public servants who truly serve in the name of all, and we will put in place a government that cares for the interests of all. In this way, the heart of America will become its leadership, and the heart of its people, the content and measure of its government and policy.
