Elaboration of Principles Supporting a New Democracy

Tenets for a New Democracy

Elaboration of Principles Supporting a New Democracy 7-12

7) The intuition of higher purpose

Here, the self recognizes that at all times, the purpose of an individual life exists in harmony with a larger purpose - the purpose of all of life. Within social and political discourse, this means that a group can sit together and align themselves with this higher purpose by going more deeply into their hearts and intuiting what the higher purpose of the group may be at any given moment in time and how each individual may play a part in it.

Emotional factors limiting the perception of one's own higher purpose:

Limited experience of the 'deeper self' due to constant immersion in one's surface self.

A willingness to want things to be easy in life rather than to have to work toward developing meaning and purpose. This shallowness is part of spiritual immaturity and becomes eradicated over time.

Emotional immaturity and a sense of entitlement, leading to wanting things to be given that have not been worked for and that, in a moral sense, are undeserved. Entitlement, in contrast to shallowness, involves a self-centeredness that exaggerates the importance of the self in relation to others and gives less consideration to the needs of others in any circumstance in which sharing needs to occur.

Spiritual instability - a willingness to judge life in terms of whatever the manifestation of the moment is. If one is happy or if something good has happened, then life is perceived as good. If one is unhappy, or something bad has happened, then life is perceived as bad

Unhealed aspects of mistrust in God related to confusion about the cause of human suffering. The presence of disbelief that certain aspects of life which have been extremely painful could actually still be part of a higher purpose.

Emotional factors limiting the perception of group purpose:

Disbelief in the integrity of others and a tendency toward suspiciousness concerning their true motives.
Intolerance of differences causing rejection of inner alignment with others who are perceived as too different
Need to reject identification with a group based on a sense of superiority
Need to ridicule or to remain in judgment of others
Awareness of the unhealed portions of others, emotionally or energetically, but not their soul nature. This causes a misidentification of who they are
Difficulty perceiving the soul-nature of others
Fear of being seen due to unhealed portions of the psyche that carry feelings of unworthiness. This leads to a fear of being part of a group or group alignment.

Resolution within the consciousness of Divine mercy:

The understanding emerges that every event in life, whether joyous or painful, is woven into the fabric of the purpose that the soul has chosen. This purpose is also part of God's plan and part of the soul's contribution to its own healing and learning.

The complexity of each lifestream and its ability to incorporate all events into an ongoing forward motion due to the Divine pattern which oversees all, allows even the most painful events, and the most challenging, to be incorporated within the forward movement of healing and learning. This is God's mercy in action. There is no condition or event that cannot be woven into the stream of growth for the soul - not death, not illness, not even the experience of torture. Though the event may be traumatic to the human life and may require much time to recover from, the experience itself will create a learning which, as the soul matures, will contribute to that soul's capacity to love, to grow spiritually, to help others, to perceive truth, and to know the sacredness of life. The trauma to the human self is not diminished, but the purpose which all of life serves is never undermined by the trauma.

Ultimately, the knowledge of the soul's capacity to learn from every experience, including the most unfortunate, will be known to each soul, and thus each experience will be considered precious since each is woven into the fabric of the whole. Though the painful moments of life will still need to be held with compassion, the understanding of purposefulness will create a context for viewing everything.

Within a group as well as within an individual, there is a higher pattern that corresponds to the group 'soul' or higher purpose of the group. The scope of such a purpose may be much vaster for certain groups than for others, but in every case, each group of people that comes together is fulfilling an essentially spiritual purpose that contributes to growth and healing, and each has the possibility of manifesting a purpose that is of service to the earth.

The capacity to align with the group 'soul' or with the higher purpose of the group is not limited by the individual limitations of its members, just as the capacity to align with an individual's higher purpose does not require complete healing of that individual in order to do so. What is most needed is a quality of the heart which gives itself in service to the higher purpose of the group, no matter what that purpose might be. This quality of heart has to do with devotion, and it can be found in those who have gone quite far along a spiritual path and also in those whose hearts have maintained an essential purity and goodness, who want deeply to do what is right. What is important in relation to group alignment with higher purpose is the belief that such a purpose exists and that it is not limited by the external manifestation or goal of a group, which may appear to be very practical and mundane. The external referent of any group is the part that it plays in the body of the world, but it is not the soul of the group. The group's soul has more to do with what God intends for the group than what the members intend for themselves, and there is no group that is too small or insignificant to not participate in this larger plan. It is a matter of custom to think of certain matters as less spiritual and therefore of lesser importance in the grand scheme of things, and other matters as more spiritual and of greater significance. But the purpose of any group and of all groups is to serve God and the plan for humanity and the earth in its transition into light, and ultimately, to serve the purposes of light. There is no group of any kind, any where, that cannot, if it chooses to, attune to this calling and discover how best to serve.

The need for each member of a group to have an inner willingness to achieve this common aim is clear. There has to be a willingness to join with others and with God in order to define what the group purpose may be. But beyond this willingness and purity of intention, members may each be very different, come from very different backgrounds, and think of God in different ways. It is important to understand this. There is not a need to serve one religion or one doctrine or one point of view in order to achieve alignment as a group in relation to a common higher purpose. As long as the intention to serve God, by whatever name God is called, is present, the group's soul can manifest effectively through each member of the group in their own way.

8) The understanding of cause and effect

Perceiving life to be one makes available the understanding that what we send out into the universe is part of a never-ending circle of energy that either benefits or detracts from the whole, and that it cannot benefit ourselves if it does not benefit others. What we send out into the universe returns to us because we are part of a circle of life. All behavior is conditioned by this understanding.

The awareness of the Law of Cause and Effect gives to each individual a sacred responsibility for the choices that are made in thought, word, and deed. There is no aspect of our interaction with life that does not either promote the wellbeing of all or detract from the wellbeing of all. There is none for which we do not bear responsibility or have a choice. This consciousness, when incorporated within the human heart and not received merely as a judgment from 'above', gives to each day a thoughtfulness and meaning that it would not have otherwise. It eliminates the possibility of indifference to one's words or actions, however trivial, for each has a rippling effect into the universe, and each ultimately returns in some fashion, though when and how is invisible.

Factors that limit the perception of the operation of the Law of Cause and Effect include:

Distortions produced by false spiritual beliefs that condition the self to feel that certain actions or certain individuals are exempt from moral responsibility toward others. This is never true.
A misunderstanding concerning the consequences of behavior, with fear of punishment replacing the more benevolent perception of love being part of the harmonic which needs to guide all action.

Out of the first perception comes a sense of anxiety concerning the consequences of being limited or unable to do something. Out of the second, comes one's best effort to act in loving ways toward all, with the understanding that the motivation of love, when it is present, is considered part of the action, even if the action itself may be misguided or limited.

The awareness of a restriction imposed on the self causing rebellion, including a desire to go one's own way, irrespective of the consequences

Rebellion against the Law of Cause and Effect, or its invalidation, is essentially a rebellion against the authority of God over life. It is operative when the motivational pattern that guides action is infused by darkness rather than by light. When, however, there is an attitude of humility and prayerfulness and a desire to be guided by light, and when love is not diminished by the effort to fulfill that guidance, then rebellion will have no place in which to grow.

Resolution within the capacity to perceive wholeness:

The capacity to perceive life as a sacred whole in which every action, word, and thought makes a contribution, and to perceive the planet upon which we live in the same way, exacts a sacred response from the human heart which can no longer be indifferent to the consequences of its own behavior.

The capacity to perceive wholeness means that issues regarding the caretaking of the planet, concern for the wellbeing of others who are suffering, and regard for the future of the earth itself, cannot be left to others to address. It is part of becoming a planetary citizen that the perception of sacred responsibility dawns upon the consciousness in a way that compels responsiveness, rather than denial or indifference. This viewpoint contains the feeling that 'everything I do makes a difference all of the time. Everything I do is meaningful, even if no one else sees or knows about it.' Such an awareness is created both by the understanding of the wholeness of the earth and of life, and also by the awareness of how energy operates within the Law of Cause and Effect.

9) The capacity for trust

The capacity for trust is based on the understanding that we live within a sacred reality and that God, by whatever name God is called, is at the center. There is no aspect of life that is not part of this sacred reality and so there is no part of life that cannot be trusted. Without the fear of death operating in the background, decisions can be made based on trust, and many possible paths of exploration can be tried without fear being a necessary component. The capacity for trust allows each one to develop the quality of flexibility rather than rigidity, of creativity in relation to the future rather than needing to repeat the past, and of a willingness to try new solutions to problems that face the whole, rather than needing to remain attached to any particular position or outcome.

Trust can only occur where God's presence is held to be the center of one's inner reality and where that presence is experienced as benevolent and loving in its many forms of creative expression. There can be no trust where the self does not acknowledge a fundamental order to the universe but rather holds to the view that things occur randomly, and there can be no trust where the fabric of life is not perceived to be fundamentally benevolent at its core. Trust can only occur when the self comes to realize that life is held together by an intentionality that is God and is within God, and that Divine perfection operates in ways that are invisible to the physical eyes but that are visible to the heart and soul. The basic premise that allows the full flowering of trust is the realization that God is love, and that out of this love comes the desire and intention to bring all of Creation forward into the full experience of sacred reality and the consciousness of the Divine.

Emotional factors limiting the experience of trust:

The unwillingness to surrender control in life based on fear of letting go
The unwillingness to tolerate uncertainty and to live in a state of unknowing
Difficulty allowing others to be as real as oneself, creating a narrowed vision of life in which trust cannot enter
The desire to hold oneself at the center of life rather than holding God at the center

Resolution within the experience of beauty:

To see life through the eyes of the soul is to experience its beauty and wonder, and to appreciate the love and holiness that created all that is. For some, this perception is heightened in aspects of nature; for others, it is heightened in the context of relationship where the soul of another can be perceived in all its beauty, mystery, and wonder. The perception of beauty that touches the soul creates an experience of gratitude and an opening of the heart that lets the self know that something has been given that could not have been attained by oneself. This something is perceived as pure gift, and the blessing of being given to in whatever way the self perceives this, causes an immediacy of perception of the goodness of God. There may be areas within life in which the self does not feel given to, but if the experience of beauty that is given is strong enough and deep enough, it will gradually infuse every area of life and the self will come to understand that God-as-Goodness and as the giver of that which is most valued and precious, is present within every area of life, whether one feels it to be so or not.

10) The awareness of diversity

Here, the understanding remains that while we are each part of a greater whole, each one has something particular and unique to contribute to that whole. The celebration of diversity and a kind of curiosity to know the origins and qualities that make each different, can take place when diversity still maintains a common goal of serving the interests of all rather than the interests of the self. Individuals can remain distinctly different from each other in their forms of expression and still remain faithful to the interests of all. The conflict that formerly existed between the self and others because of diversity is no longer present because there is no longer a separation between the self and others.

When diversity exists within the context of unity, then each individual soul finds their place within the whole, because within the whole there is room for each soul and for each point of view, no matter how different from every other. The critical aspect of joining with others does not depend on the absence of a difference in perspectives, but on the presence of the desire to find a common ground in God. What has hampered people from coming together in this way in the past was not the absence of the will to join with others of diverse backgrounds, but the absence of sacredness that recognized the soul-nature of every other, no matter how distinctly different their background. The recognition of soul-nature provides the glue that can bind individuals of different cultures, religions, ethnic backgrounds, languages, and countries, for it recognizes the essential core which exists within each human - a core that does not get displaced no matter what the external representation of a person may be.

Diversity within unity is the motto on the Great Seal of the United States of America, and it is there for a good reason. 'E pluribus Unum' - Out of many, One, refers to the destiny of America, not merely to unite people from many backgrounds who came to her shores in search of a better life, but also to unite people within a spiritual setting under the auspices of one God, though that God may be spoken of and understood in many different ways.

'E pluribus Unum' is the meaning of diversity within unity, and unity within diversity. It refers to the development of sacred wholeness within the human family, a wholeness which results in the ability of all of humanity to perceive itself as One. 'E pluribus Unum' is the most potent symbol of American character and culture and it is the most poignant reminder of what America is meant to be.

Emotional factors limiting the awareness of diversity within unity:

The absence of transparency of individuals or groups so that the facade that is presented hides or conceals underlying motives which, if revealed truly, could cause a blending with others in a group

The willingness to remain distant and detached from the group's goals so that a self-centered bias remains in the interactions of a sub-group with others

Fear of appearing 'less than' others. This gives rise to comparisons with others that are infused with judgment, rather than with a willingness to share. There is often a need to make everyone equal in a way that is not required by the idea of diversity. The exaggerated need to equalize comes from an underlying fear that one's own point of view will not get a fair hearing if someone else is seen as having more of something in some way.

An arbitrariness in the way in which certain differences are perceived.

Here, stereotyping of certain 'others' that does not get unmasked as such, operates beneath the surface as a reason to reject these others, to feel superior to them, or to remain distant from them. Where stereotyping comes into play, true intimacy with others cannot take place, nor can one readily see the soul-nature within the human individual

Resolution within the capacity to perceive all as souls:

When the soul-nature of each individual in a group or collective is experienced as real, then the common ground for joining within that group is established, and no amount of outer differentness will be able to disrupt the manifestation of the higher purpose of the group. To arrive at this point, one must first arrive at perceiving one's own soul-nature, and so the path that takes the self toward a deepening of spiritual perception and experience is the same path that will allow the self to see others as souls. The awakening that needs to be sought is not simply the awareness of light, energy, and spiritual healing, but rather the unity that underlies all of Creation. Pursuit of this unity of 'All within all' will ultimately lead to the perception of oneness with all that lives, and 'E pluribus Unum' will become an inner reality for the many, rather than for the few.

11) Planning for the future

Concern for the wellbeing of all allows each group or government to plan for the welfare of all in a way that maximizes the use of existing resources without the desire to give to the present all that exists and disregard what is to come. The self is one not only with other lives in the present, but with all the lives of future generations. For this reason, concerns about the environment and care for the preservation of planetary resources is paramount in taking care of the life of the planet and in taking care of the life of future generations. There is no longer a disregard for the impact of the behavior of oneself on the resources of a planet that is shared by all. The planetary environment is safeguarded as the body is safeguarded. It is the essential material form that allows life to continue and is perceived as sacred.

With respect to planning for the future, the absence of separation from all future generations is the basis for the conservation of resources at all levels of planetary functioning. There is no longer a need to pretend that resources are infinite in order to justify the economic aggrandizement of a few - a pattern that was very prevalent in the past. In the past, separation into the extremely wealthy and the very poor gave rise to a willingness to ignore the very real needs of the entire planet in order to maintain the stability of an unequal distribution of wealth. With the awareness of unity with others, however, comes the understanding that resources must be shared, not only in the present but with the future as well. Clarity regarding the specific needs of the moment is invested in those who are most capable of planning for the distribution of resources in particular areas of energy, water, atmosphere, etc., and such planning is joined in a cooperative way with those who are in charge of industrial production of goods that may affect the supply or purity of the existing resources. There is no longer conflict about pollution or contamination of resources, since all are committed to the abandonment of ways of operating that detract from the health of the planet and from the wellbeing of the future.

Emotions that limit the willingness to plan for the future:

Satisfaction with the status quo and a desire to perpetuate the absence of change

A willingness to usurp what does not belong to oneself

The capacity for indifference to the needs of others, brought about by separation from the heart and a misunderstanding of what 'mastery' in life really means. Such a desire for 'mastery' cannot take place in the absence of unity with others

The willingness to take without a sense of gratitude. This is caused by lack of realization of the sacredness of what is given. Its healing can only be achieved by a deepening sense of God's reality.

The absence of humility. Healing, too, in this area, can only take place with a sufficiently deep experience of God's reality.

Resolution within the capacity for humility:

To see oneself as part of a greater Whole creates a new perception of one's role in life and the behavior needed to support life rather than detract from it. To perceive the self as 'smaller' in relation to something greater is the essence of humility. Such 'smallness' does not mean that the self is inadequate, insufficient, incomplete or not Divine in origin. It means that the self is part of the fabric of Creation, not the whole of Creation, and that the idea that the entire universe revolves around oneself in the sense of maintaining a separate and private world, is replaced by the more potent idea that the universe is interactive, and that each lifestream makes a contribution to something that is vast, beautiful, and holy. This occurs by being oneself in the fullest way while at the same time being part of the vastness.

The problem, so prevalent in the past, caused by holding a view that one's personal sphere was the entire world, was that the striving for mastery over this personal world and for success within it, because it was separated from the Whole, gave rise to a feeling of identity that was unbalanced.

When 'mastery', that is, the desire to attain one's self-chosen and self-created goals, is not joined with unity and humility, then the inner core of the human being cannot find full expression, no matter what success may be achieved on the outside. 'Mastery' - the desire to attain one's self-chosen goals, and 'humility' - devoted service toward the needs of the greater Whole, are in an essential and sacred partnership which the consciousness of unity brings into awareness. This relationship must be preserved in its integrity in order that the full flowering of soul-expression becomes possible and in order that caretaking of the earth that goes beyond the special interests of particular groups becomes a reality.

12) The feeling of compassion

Universal love gives rise to the feeling of compassion for all that lives, for Unity is not a dry perception, but rather contains the heart at the center of every point of view. Compassion generates the desire to relieve suffering not only for oneself, but for all who suffer or are in pain. It is the necessary outcome of perceiving our life and wellbeing to be inextricably tied to the wellbeing of all. Compassion is the expression of the ability to "love our neighbors as ourselves." It is the natural expression of the heart, unencumbered by the need to protect and defend its own territory or to separate itself from the interests of all. Compassion is the emotion which binds people together in families, in groups, in nations, and in the world. It is the human expression of God's love that allows for the feeling of embracing life with tenderness. Compassion is the emotional aspect of unity that allows the heart its fullest expression.

When love overflows from the human heart, then the world is perceived in all its beauty, glory, and wonder. Then, there is no possibility for seeing the world as anything other than sacred, for its shining quality is evident both to the soul and to the physical eyes which are seeing what is beloved. This transition to seeing the world through the eyes of love, allows for the expanded perception of an aura of sanctity around all that is, with a feeling of preciousness for every drop of life that exists. The experience of sanctity, reciprocally, gives rise to a greater experience of love, for what is perceived as pure and holy touches the heart in a way that allows it to connect with its own purity and goodness. It restores the capacity to love by removing from the heart, that which has distorted its ability to interact with life as a priceless and sacred gift, worthy of the greatest tenderness.

The 'aura of sanctity' which surrounds life means that there is no aspect of life, no person, no place, no situation, and no form of expression that can be held apart from God, either in meaning or in purpose. There is no such thing as a 'casual expression' that one can be indifferent to, for all is holy. As a result of the perception of sanctity, one wounds oneself by uttering a harsh word or thinking a harsh thought, for the idea of wounding the beloved is deeply hurtful to the self, due to the fact that the beloved is perceived as beautiful and holy and one would choose to avoid it at all costs. The aura of sanctity that surrounds each individual soul surrounds the earth as well, and love for each creature, large and small, for each blade of grass, for each tree, root, flower, and worm, is the expression of compassion directed toward Nature and the physical realm of the earth's life. But compassion also extends to the non-physical realms of life, to the many beings who exist in other spheres of expression whose lives, too, are not separate from our own. Those who are not incarnate hold equal reality to the heart of compassion, and there is love and tenderness that flows both ways, from above to below and from below to above. Compassion is the form of love that expresses both tenderness and the desire to relieve the suffering of all, as well as the wish to create ease, abundance, and peace for all. It is the benevolent desire of God to give all that is good to His beloved children. When it flows out of the human heart toward God and toward other beings of the higher realms, it flows as a form of love and blessing as well. It flows as the desire to bless God and those who serve Him because of the depth of gratitude one feels for the blessings that have been received.

Emotions limiting the capacity to experience or express compassion:

Separation from the heart which remains hardened due to fear of vulnerability

An unwillingness to be generous with one's heart, due to the fear of not being given to in return

Lack of awakening of the heart to its own potential. This is not fear based, but rather based on limited experience with life so that the self does not know the full dimensions of what is possible. Such limitation can occur from longstanding immersion on the surface of oneself.

Need to defend one's emotional territory, to be in control of what emotions are expressed due to fear of the power that can be used against oneself if too much is expressed.

A drying up of the capacity to love due to past trauma and disillusionment. This can be healed by a fuller experience of God's love which heals the brokenness within the heart and permits a gradual return to the capacity for love.

Resolution within the experience of sanctity.

To see the world as beautiful and holy creates a capacity of the heart to reach out to the world, even where reaching out was not possible before. To see souls as holy and of Divine origin, living their lives as the fullest expression of the flame within that they are capable of expressing, gives poignancy to all relationship at all levels of expression. The experience of sanctity or holiness infuses all with love. It removes the veils from the physical eyes so that no longer can anything be seen or felt with a heart of indifference. What is sanctified is of highest value, and so all that diminishes the other in life, all that diminishes the natural world, all that diminishes the expression of God's loving intention toward the world, can no longer be part of one's own feeling and behavior. The experience of compassion, based on the perception of a sanctified world, allows the human heart to be joined with the heart of the Divine so that there is only love above and below, within and without, and so that all is perceived as an expression of that love.

13) The message of non-violence

All violence is wrong, practiced upon the sacred body. But violence in the name of the One is more wrong since it adds thought to action that denies the very principle of existence itself which is love.

Violece in the name of the One is a tragedy and a betrayal, a tragedy for the human heart that has lost its way, and a betrayal of that which fuels and sustains the heart which is Divine love.

All who seek peace as an end who use violent means to acquire it shall not find peace but a lull in the fighting that after a time gives way to more violence.

The heart that seeks peace must forgo the use of force to acquire it, for only the power of the gentle can secure a gentle outcome that lasts.

To become the 'enforcer' of the world through the use of force, even in the name of righteousness, is to join with the very force that one is seeking to eradicate.

Only love can defeat violence, for it has no part in it. Wherever one looks, love does not seek to overpower but to give and to bless. It holds the principle of respect for life.

That which denies respect for life shall lose its own self-respect. For though one may succeed in an effort through the superiority of might, such success is short-lived and one soon joins the defeated.

Let your heart seek peace and love, for then it will be aligned with the Universe itself that seeks the same end.

The antidote to violence is respect for life. Respect does not force. It shows the way and leads by example.

Resolution within the experience of Oneness

All tendencies toward violence shall depart from the human heart and be eradicated from global society through the increasing experience of Oneness. For the experience of the universal Self as one with one's own self creates the indelible awareness that to harm another is to harm oneself, and that only the good that one can bring to others will bring good to oneself. This unity of perception when fully manifested within the human heart will make impossible any intentinal thought, word, or action that creates harm for another, and will progressively become not a learned attitude but one that is as natural and inevitable as breathing.

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