Spiritual Practice and Community = Politics

 E Plurubus Unum - Detail of the “Apotheosis of Washington” fresco on the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol

We have a spiritual practice to make it easier to navigate the regular 3D world of media and socialization, and then to allow that spiritual perspective and light to flow back into the 3D world. The fuller your own cup is – of serenity, healing, ease, expansive and inclusive perspective and connection with the All that Is, the Universe – the more your inner wealth overflows into the world. Healing ourselves is what heals society, growing to the next levels of consciousness and fullness, thrival living instead of tribal, is how we create that better world we all desire.

Rumi says, “You aren’t a drop in the ocean. You are the ocean in a drop.” 

The more you clear your one drop, the more you are by extension adding that clarity to others and clearing (healing) the ocean. The one flows to the other and back again.

The micro – you, personally, privately – and the macro – the societies of mankind, the plants and animals and the planet itself – are all one, almost incomprehensible, living organism, like the Aspen grove Pando. Out of many, one. And each of the many is vitally important to the whole.

E pluribus unum is the traditional motto of America. It means, “out of many, one.” It is a much more apt motto for America than the one adopted in 1956 because it is the truth of the American experiment, the great experiment of democracy; the most spiritually aligned system of government ever tried in the popular history of the world. Government is simply the organizing structure of a people, the guidelines and values agreed upon by the majority of the group, and how to carry them out, like infrastructure and the other goals and supports for the society.

The great experiment here in the US is founded upon, “We The People,” the first 3 words of the constitution. (And by We The People, I mean the all the “little people,” of the world: all nations.)

The whole paragraph lays it all out.

“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to our- selves and our Posterity, do ordain and estab- lish this Constitution for
the United States of America. “

No where in this is the priority of corporations or the economy above or instead of The People. It is all about We The People, insure domestic tranquility, provide the common defense, promote the GENERAL WELFARE, and the blessings of liberty – freedom – to ourselves and our posterity, our future generations – that’s the foundation of our form of government.

As Star Trek put it – the prime directive is the good of the many.

It’s been said in every known religion – be kind to one another. Treat each other with respect and kindness, as you’d want to be treated. We are all family. It’s not rocket science, nor is the magilla of greed and self-serving insecure parasites of what has become the dominant voice of one of the political parties.

“By and for The People”

So the question these days is – who is the government for: corporations and their owners, or people? Corporations and their billionaire owners are not, “We the People.”

Who is more vital, valuable and real to us personally and as a society – the individual, or the machine? The individual or the corporation? The individual or the economy? The individual or the technology? The individual or domination of the people?

These are some of the spiritual questions at play in the world of man right now. How you vote, what you choose, who you support with your time, activity, resources and beliefs actually matters – to us all. 

The way I grew up, the family I grew up in – there’s nothing more spiritual than politics, which is all about human relationships.  

Once again these days, politics and politicians have a bad, seedy reputation. Many have earned it, too.

Back in the 1960s, in a wave of social revolution-evolution, Hippies called out the racist norms of institutions like local police forces, housing, and other economic practices.

It was only because, for the first time, everybody everywhere could see for themselves the kinds of ruthless, inhumane, brutal treatment so many endured at the hands of the hateful, white supremacy law enforcement officers and judges all across the south.

While the southern brutality was on the nightly news, people could not stand for such practices to be allowed to go on. People all over the country decried the backwards barbarity of what they were seeing being carried out in Selma and all across the south.

And while it was the southern cities and states on TV, Dr King returned from the north saying it was even worse, so there were no cities and states that can hold themselves as better and less racist.

Local governments, from the municipal to the statewide, were bastions of how necessary the barbarity of their laws and practices were.

It took the Federal government to come in, take over, and actually uphold the laws of the land, not the states, for the benefit of all.

As a young white girl in family of socially and politically active, highly educated liberals in Houston, Texas, all of my family, led by out ex-Marine Drill Sargent father, knew not to trust the local law enforcement. We knew we would get better treatment because we were white, but we also know that protection is a thin veneer with entitled racists. My father taught us to do things to change the way things were, but don’t go poking the bear directly. Do something to bring about institutional change and social evolution, and not be surprised at the time it takes, but also never quit. And to use whatever privilege or advantages we had in any situation to the benefit of all.  

Civil rights, human rights, voting rights, not of these were to be taken lightly or for granted.

A great thing about growing up white and liberal in the South is – you’re never surprised by the nasty, underhanded, hypocritical injustice the white establishment will pull to shamelessly rip off people of color, or of different nationality or religion than themselves.

I worked in my first political campaign, stuffing and sealing envelopes, when I was 6 years old. I was told that my contribution mattered; that it was my duty as a citizen and not just a right, but an honor. I would be able to vote when I came of age, and probably wouldn’t have that right taken away. 

My mother knew how precious and hard won that right was, since women didn’t have the right to vote when she was a child.

My parents instilled in us that contrary to what others might say, the actual most important office in the land is that of Voter.

That even with the slave-owners states attempt to keep the system rigged against our black citizens, it is the Voter that matters most in a democracy.

No matter what, it was our duty and privilege to volunteer in campaigns or polling places, to be informed and active in the common good, using whatever position or privilege we had to help others, more oppressed than us. That what we did as individuals mattered to the whole of the community and nation.

You can’t have a democracy without voters. They were very clear about that.

Our father was in the Pacific in WWII on Okinawa. He had no illusions about war, what it did to people, the economy and society.

He would talk about congress, republicans, wanting to take us back to a war economy, and patiently explained the difference between a war economy and a peace-time economy. How an economy whose GNP grows and profits from arms dealing, manufacturing and selling of war-time machinery is not only not a peacetime economy, it chokes off the manufacturing and production of goods and products that have nothing to do with war or aggression, and everything to do with supporting the regular, middle class families - schools, housing, food for those left behind living beneath the poverty line, infrastructure and more of what’s required to uphold and grow a thriving citizenry.

He taught us about the ridiculous notion of the undeserving poor.

He taught us that was a ludicrous notion of the wealthy class that insists on blaming the poor for their lot in a system that is rigged against the poor, while the powers that be keep it going, and keep profiting from it, so they keep denying the reality of the rigged game. We call it institutionalized racism now, and it’s been around since Woodrow Wilson devotedly injected and laced racism into the whole of the federal government, in all departments and institutions. Woodrow Wilson, who saw one of the first movies ever made, called Birth of a Nation, and the beginnings of the Ku Klux Klan, and said it was as good as a documentary of American History, and was proud of it all.

My parents were spiritual and very Irish Roman Catholic. They believed that faith without action is nothing at all. It’s a fantasy, a pretense. They never looked down on anyone they helped as they were humble and clear eyed enough to know that while their lot was better than many, it was only, “there but for the grace of God go I.” They did not take their privilege, heritage, or hard work for granted.

They knew that if others around are sinking, it’s only a matter of time till we all sink, and that if we don’t, “Do all you can with what you have from where you are,” as Teddy Roosevelt said, then you are not pulling your weight.

Society is a collaborative thing. Everyone must bring to the table what they can. Everyone needs everyone else’s contributions. 

There never was a split between spirituality or religion and every other aspect of life and living.

To sleep well at night, you have to – get to - participate fully during the day.

You have to – you get to - do what you see there is for you to do.

You have to – get to – do what no one else can do.

If you are in public service, then do your best every day, and you can rest at night.

If you’re a teacher, ignite those young minds, encourage them to dream and do, and you can sleep well at night.

If you are a check-out clerk at a store, be kind so you feel you’ve done your best, but take no abuse from anyone. Hold your head up high and do your work honorably and put your feet up at night for a good rest.

There was honor in all work, as long as you did it honorably. As long as you did it honorably, there was no crap jobs.

The point of having a spiritual practice is to make you as safe place for you to be; to heal old wounds, to honor your true Self, that bright spark, and to help the grieving parts.  By doing that, you’re better able to contribute more dignity, grace, and justice to the world, and the world always needs more of that.

And faith, or a practice, is never “one and done,” or temporary, or only on a day of the week.

Like being an active citizen, having and active spiritual life is an honor, and a joy.

Like the old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movies, around the depression, and they were always saying, “Hey kids! Let’s put on a show!” to make money for the schools or some community thing. 

When you are wounded and in survival, it is inappropriate to do more outside your inner circle of healing, taking care of your wellbeing.

And once that is established, then the next step, naturally and practically effortlessly, you radiate out that wellbeing and look for others to “put on a show,” with – to raise the spirits of others, increase community involvement, to participate as a full member of society, as that is the fun of being here. Seeing what great things we can create, on our own and together. As my parents would say, to fully use and share the gifts you were born with.

We didn’t come here as a punishment, and this is not a “school,” where we can pass or fail, where you have to learn lessons all the time.

Bringing spiritual practice and perspective to politics is only natural.

 The separation of church and state is designed to protect the nation from the fascist religious nationalism that is the face of hate, oppression, and disenfranchisement.

 The constitution promises those cruelties cannot be allowed to infect this democracy, as this democracy was born from liberating ourselves from that feudal system, once and for all.

 But expressing your caring, your creative contributions and talents to life and society is exactly what we came into this lifetime to do.

I was raised to know that politics and government is deeply personal.

That laws upheld or ignored, affects human beings.

And in my early years, I saw for myself that no matter how young or old, you can do something that makes a difference.

With my parents and siblings, we did our part, doesn’t matter if it was a small part, we did our part to help good people get elected; to see the civil rights act and the voting act passed. And being in the south, we know that was just the first steps. Once the federal laws were in place, there would be years of wrangling as racists and oppressors pulled all the shenanigans, they could so the laws of the land would not be enforced or upheld.

I feel so blessed and grateful to have grown up in times where we did affect change and had to keep working at it to get the changes implemented more – to be raised clear of the foolish notion of one-and-done, or win this election and it’s all over.

No. Win this election and it’s all just beginning.

 Today and every day, we get to contribute to our own spiritual healing and thrival, and by extension, we get to spill all that lovingkindness, joy and healing into the world around us.