Our Choice: Evolution or Devolution?

Much thanks to my friend Diana, who just sent me this powerful piece. Also, the Deepak Chopra article referenced below is one I posted earlier today in my post on messages from women friends regarding Sarah Palin. Many blessings to all ~ Molly

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Deepak Chopra sent out a message about Sarah Palin which many people have responded to. The following message is in response to Deepak’s message.

Evolution Or Devolution?

By Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaeman

As Deepak so articulately suggests, this election is far more than a contest between two political parties, but a referendum on two diametrically-opposed world views. One world view essentially believes that the nature of human nature is "evil" so consequently we humans must be controlled, if necessary via manipulation, force and the threat of death. In this world view, we are "sinners", hopeless and helpless without divine intervention. And if we're very, very lucky, the Divine presence will return ... to destroy the world.

The other world view suggests that we may be "sinners" only in the sense that to "sin" in archery means "to miss the mark." In this alternative world view, we aren't hopeless sinners, but hopeful "learners." Life moves forward -- progresses -- with our accumulated awareness, provided we learn. Here too we may call upon divine intervention, but that intervention is to purify our own heart and intentions.

In short, this election is about evolution vs. devolution. Do we evolve to achieve our human potential (our full potential to be human)? Or, do we devolve into machine-controlled slaves who mistake reality TV for reality?

This election is bigger than Democrat vs. Republican, even though the two world views are wearing these labels this time around. It's not so much whether a candidate believes in the theory of evolution, but whether they believe in the "practice" of evolution. And that practice may be akin to the "community organizing" the Republicans so snidely dismissed. (Someone sent me a slogan that would make a great bumper sticker, "Jesus Was a Community Organizer.")

Why community organizing? According to cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, the nature of practical evolution is ... community, cooperation and shared awareness. Ever since the first single cell organisms got tired of the single life and combined forces with other single cells some 700 million years ago, every evolutionary step has involved groups of cells combining to increase efficiency, awareness, and survivability. You and I, for example, are communities of 50 trillion cells that cooperate for the purpose of bringing "us" to the world every day.

The thriving cellular society beneath our skins boast universal health care, full employment, and truly no cell left behind. Our organs -- which can be seen as huge "businesses" employing millions and sometimes trillions of cells -- do not "compete" against other organs, but work with them to create health and vitality for the whole body.

As Bruce and I explain in our new CD set Spontaneous Evolution, we as a species are on the threshold of a new evolution. Only this evolution doesn't involve growing another limb, or even a bigger brain. Rather it involves learning what our cells learned millions of years ago -- the universal successful operating principle for life is "we're all in it together."

Just as our cells have learned to thrive through the common purpose of "thrival" for the entire organism, the next phase in human evolution involves recognizing ourselves each and all as cells in the body of humanity. In the universal "fractal" reiterating pattern of nature, we find the cell, the individual, the community, and even the planet all have the same requirements: fresh air, clean water, healthy and abundant food.

While that may seem like a high-minded ideal, in fact it is the down-to-earth "real deal" that will determine whether we humans realize our true human potential, or whether our species gets an "F" in third dimension. How we can change these beliefs from dysfunctional to functional? This understanding is particularly important if we are to see this election -- or any other one -- in proper perspective.

So ... back to the election. What are we voting for? Or against? In essence, our choice boils down to two distinct ways of seeing the world and experiencing reality. "We're all in this together" vs. "Every man for himself." One world view represents the core views of Jesus, and every other spiritual teacher in history (and now confirmed by science). The other is a distortion based on millennia of rule by "the lowest common dominator."

When Sarah Palin -- or anyone else -- "appeals to the base," they have the weight of history and unconscious programming on their side. So pervasive is this belief in original sin and the venal nature of human nature, that even those who call themselves progressive often subconsciously don't really believe change is possible.

So the important thing now is for us to keep our eye on the prize, the thrival of humanity by working together rather than fighting one another. Interestingly, this is the "prize" the founders of America fought for, and is expressed in our motto E Pluribus Unum, out of many one. Jefferson, Madison and company did not in any way intend a topdown imposition of this common purpose, but rather a bottom-up realization of it. That is exactly what is manifesting now, and as Deepak points out, why the opposition is so strong and powerful.

In any shadow work, we must first confront our own individual issues -- our fears and other shadow manifestations that keep these "dominator" patterns in place. Remember, we cannot successfully confront in another what we are unwilling to face in ourselves. So let's lose no energy to despair or hand-wringing about how awful it is. It is exactly as it must be. We cannot muster the internal and external resolve to make this next evolutionary leap without the resistance that strengthens us.

May the best paradigm win.

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For this article and more, please go here

http://www.gilacommunity.net/viewtopic.php?t=2264&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

or here

http://www.wakeuplaughing.com

An Alaskan on Sarah Palin

Thank you to my friend Kathy for sharing the below message. It is amazing how many I have received and read over the past few days. Next I will have to write my own...

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Subj: An Alaskan on Sarah Palin

This is from a Bryn Mawr college grad to her fellow alums:

Dear Classmates –
As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaskavoter, I know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that he picked her.

The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bayand races snow mobiles. She is a lifetime member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska, particularly wolves and bears. She has spent millions of Alaskastate dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska's failing school system. We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad, but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to informative web sites.

She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has 'green' policies. The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home town of Wasilla), strip mining, and almost anything else that will unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy its environment.

Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska, she was mayor of Wasilla, a small red neck town outside Anchorage. The average maximum education level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade. Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put Palin in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about. These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the serious issues facing the US. Furthermore, they don't care. So long as they can go out and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears and drive their snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the wilderness, they're happy. I wish I were exaggerating.

Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal. She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin isn't 'squeaky clean' and causes me to think there may be more issues that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care.

When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs, knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment, health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.

In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in the US, Sarah Palin i s uniquely UNqualified to be vice president. John McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate as Sarah Palin. The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. When McCain introduced her today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.

To those of you who, like me, supported Hillary and were upset that she did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin. To those of you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of Palin sway you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified McCain is to be president.

To those of you who are conservative, I guess you have no choice for president. But please try to see how the poor choice of Palin tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment. While the political posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is obvious, the more serious issue is the fact that the VP is, literally, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and unequivocally unqualified to be vice president, let alone president.

I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high. I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.

Here's some basic background from MoveOn.org: (http://pol.moveon.org/emails/palin_announcement.html)
* She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage.1
* Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
* She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
* She's solidly in line with John McCain's 'Big Oil first' energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species she was worried it would interfere with mo re oil drilling in Alaska.6

Here's a sample of Alaskan's responses:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. Rose M., Fairbanks

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. Karen L., Anchorage

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position. Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. Marina L., Juneau

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm al l for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting 'A Woman' in that position. Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

Please share this to everyone you know!

Women Take Action: A Collective Response to Sarah Palin

Inspired Greetings!

It is my hope that women will read, sign on, and share this message widely. A powerful thing is happening! YES!

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Update to the below message:
Women Against Sarah Palin Speak Out: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/women-against-s.html "Shortly after Palin's selection, Kilston and her co-worker Quinn Latimer, citing what they saw as 'mounting disbelief, fury and dread' among their female friends over the selection of Sarah Palin, sent out an email to forty of their friends soliciting reaction the Alaska Governor's nomination for their blog. The women also asked the recipients to forward the email to everyone they knew so that others could do the same. Within a week they received up to 80,000 responses from women from Alaska to Florida, and now estimate they are receiving response emails at a rate of three per second."

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Thank you to my friends, Ann Bennett and Bunny Lowman, for this message:


In case you haven’t seen this yet – and wish to add your voice to the over 70,000 that have been received since September 3. The blog address is http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Subject: Fw: Hey Ladies! Make some noise.
Subject: Fw: women against palin

Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she attempted to ban books and fired the librarian who refused), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of experience.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience; the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!** If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.

Menfolk: Please send this to the awesome women in your lives. Thanks.----

A few of the many messages received from women friends regarding Sarah Palin

One thing that is so heartening is the huge and immediate response to Sarah Palin. I am aware that Obama's campaign received ten million dollars within the first 24 hours after Ms. Palin spoke at the RNC. While the corporate owned American media paints a picture of a strong woman who speaks to the concerns of women, a picture which many obviously do believe in, it is also clear that growing numbers of us can see through this illusion. Below are more messages I have recently received which clearly speak to the great concerns of so many. I give thanks to the many voices which are coming forward to speak to why it is that Ms. Palin is such a frightening prospect for any position of leadership in our country. My prayer is that veils will continue to be lifted to empower increasing numbers of Americans with clarity, vision, and actions which represent integrity and compassion and which are grounded in our highest values and caring for all...

Deepak Chopra: Obama and the Palin Effect:
http://www.chopra.com/node/1064
Chopra writes: "Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that... Palin’s pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper. She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and turning negativity into a cause for pride. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of 'the other.' For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don’t want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind."

Susan J. Douglas: Pit Bull Feminism: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3898/feminism_without_feminism/
Douglas writes: "Pit Bull Feminism is about looking stylish and pretty so you can get away with attacking the accomplishments of those who have actually fought for women’s issues, like authoring the Violence against Women Act, as Joe Biden did. It is about using your status as a 'hockey mom' (and now they’re better than other mothers?) to immunize you and your party against charges that you are, in fact, deeply anti-family when it comes to public policies."

Gloria Steinem: Wrong Woman, Wrong Message: http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/2008/09/gloria-steinem-wrong-woman-wrong.html
Steinem writes: "Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves 'abstinence-only' programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger."

Arianna Huffington:
Sarah Palin: A Trojan Moose Concealing Four More Years of George Bush: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/sarah-palin-a-trojan-moos_b_124867.html.
Arianna writes: "Her critics like to say that Palin hasn't accomplished anything. I disagree: in the space of ten days she's succeeded in distracting the entire country from the horrific Bush record -- and McCain's complicity in it."

Some thoughts on recent campaign developments

Some observations and thoughts shared with me by my cousin Steve, which he posted today from his home in California:
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14 September 2008
evil

The cleric separately asked Obama and McCain: "Does evil exist?"

I thought what a stupid question! Then I thought if I were a candidate how would I respond.
I would have liked to have said:

"I think that most people have impulses both to do good things and to do bad things (evil). As a clergyman, you use moral teachings to help people distinguish between their good and their bad impulses. And teachings about lifestyles which increase the good impulses and reduce the bad. And teachings about faith for help in acting upon good impulses and in resisting acting upon the bad."

"I think similar principles apply in the political world: encourage good and discourage bad -- and seek to establish an environment which makes good easier and bad more unthinkable."


Palin's acceptance speech

I listened to Sarah Palin's speech in acceptance of the Vice Presidential nomination.

She is a very good speaker -- lots of energy, some clever turns of phrase. But something made me uncomfortable. Something wasn't right. It was with the boos in the crowd upon descriptions of the opposition that it became clear.

The tone and dynamic was exactly the same as a scene in the film Europa Europa ("Hitlerjunge Salomon" in Europe).

In that film, a Jewish boy (hiding his Jewish identity) inadvertently becomes a hero and is sent to an elite Hitler Youth school. A teacher in one class describes "the Jew" -- with the same tones as Palin in her speech, and gets the same boos in response.

When Palin asserted her beliefs, and her intolerance of other positions, she sounded just like the Fascists of two generations earlier. And the crowd responded similarly.

This is frightening.

appeal to what

Then it hit me. The major distinction between the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign.

McCain -- and Palin -- appeal to people's lower impulses: selfishness, greed, use of force to get one's way. Talk about tax in a way that encourages people to act in their own self-interest, talk about military power in a way that encourages people to vent their impulses to revenge.

While Obama appeals to people's better impulses: generosity, understanding, cooperation, sharing. And hope.

This is what the real choice in this election is.

In Honor of 9/11 and All Who Have Suffered Unspeakable Loss: Come September

Come September

A speech given by Arundhati Roy

And also in coversation with Howard Zinn

Lensic Performing Arts Center

Santa Fe, New Mexico

September 18, 2002

I first heard Come September by Arundhati Roy barely one year after 9/11. Howard Zinn was also part of this remarkable event. I was on my way to do a home visit when I happened to turn on the radio to NPR*. And there was this voice and these words that mesmerized me and touched my heart in an indescribable way. I felt compelled to pull over and listen to the rest of this amazing speech. And I was changed. Deeply changed.(*Tragically, and to our peril, voices such as Arundhati Roy and Howard Zinn will no longer be found on National Public Radio; the one exception is Alternative Radio, broadcast on some Tuesdays on NPR from 8-9pm.)

Another equally powerful speech, Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (Buy One, Get One Free), was presented by Arundhati Roy in New York City at The Riverside Church on May 13, 2003 shortly after the start of the Iraq War. It is fitting that Arundhati Roy gave this speech at the Riverside Church in New York City. This is the same church that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his Beyond Vietnam speech, which occurred on April 4, 1967 - exactly and precisely one year to the date before his death. Many believe it was King's most powerful speech. And yet, tragically, millions of Americans have never heard Beyond Vietnam. Or Arundhati Roy's Come September or Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy(Buy One, Get One Free). Most Americans do not even know who Arundhati Roy is, this despite her being what may be considered a global Martin Luther King, Jr. But I know who Arundhati Roy is. I know she is an author whose novel The God of Small Things has sold over six million copies worldwide and that it is printed in 40 languages. More importantly, however, I know this beautiful petite woman from India has amazing courage, amazing heart, amazing knowledge and wisdom. And I know that she is a fierce and passionate warrior on behalf of humanity. Arundhati Roy is a hero to me. And to many all over the world.

What informed and touched my heart ever so surprisingly and deeply in hearing Come September was how Arundhati Roy also gave powerful and passionate voice in honor of all who have suffered catastrophic tragedy on other 9/11's in other nations and across time. She was also masterful in the way in which she was able to communicate, in the midst of such brutal facts, a gentleness and compassion as she welcomed America to the rest of the world. Because so much of this is shocking to so many of us in this country. I simply had no idea. As an American, I had not been informed or encouraged to learn, to truly know, of the suffering of so many in my own country much less that of others in other nations. But courageous voices such as that of Arundhati Roy and Howard Zinn and many others have been changing all that for me for several years now. I am humbled by how little I have known. And I am humbled by both the suffering and the sacredness of us all.

Not many are able to have the exceptional capacity to see, know, feel, and speak so powerfully to that from which we all suffer. Not many can go there again and again with eyes and heart wide open, and with such astounding bravery, as this petite woman from India. Most of us, to one degree or another, will end up turning away, closing our hearts, and seeking refuge in denial, distortions, and distractions. Yet, to expose so much is to also lay open the possibility of genuine and profound change. For there can be no solutions for problems denied. And in modeling such exquisite courage, caring, and compassion, Arundhati Roy has cleared a path for all of us who can gather enough courage to follow.

- Please go here for the transcript of Come September: http://www.nmazca.com/verba/roy.htm or http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/11617.

- Please go here for the video: http://djiin.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/arundhati-roy-come-septmeber-speech2002-and-the-day-of-the-jackelsmay-2003/ or http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=945405493000735497

- For a transcript of Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (Buy One, Get One Free), please go here: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0518-01.htm

- For the video of this speech, please go here: http://www.weroy.org/video_instant_mix_imperial_democracy.shtml

- To view or purchase Arundhati Roy's book War Talk, which includes Come September among other essays, please go here: http://www.amazon.com/War-Talk-Arundhati-Roy/dp/0896087247. I have all of Arundhati Roy's books and, at least in my experience, any of her writings are deeply informative and life changing.

If you haven't already, it is my hope that you will watch or read Come September or other works of Arundhati Roy -- and then pass it on. Thank you.

Heartfelt Wishes for Peace & Blessings To All,

Molly

The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead... To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget. ~ Arundhati Roy

Prayer for Barack, Prayer for America

Dear God,

I pray for optimum health, wisdom, mental clarity and political prosperity for Barack Obama, his family and his administration and for their protection, as he seeks to become our President!

I also pray for optimum health, wisdom, mental clarity and political prosperity for the American people as we seek to take action to elect the next President of the United States. May our thoughts, prayers, and actions reflect our highest selves and the highest interests of all.

Amen.

Let's keep this going!

http://doctorreneeparks.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/prayer-for-president-barack-obama/

https://www.eons.com/groups/topic/1052502-Prayer-for-Barack

http://groups.google.com/group/prescottchurch/browse_thread/thread/abdf1cc932eb2899

Make Strong In Our Hearts What Unites Us

Prayer For Unity

You, the one
From whom on different paths
All of us have come.

To whom on different paths
All of us are going.

Make strong in our hearts what unites us.

Build bridges across all that divides us;
United make us rejoice in our diversity.

At one in our witness to your peace,
A rainbow of your glory.

Amen.

~ Br. David Steindl-Rast

Renewing America's Promise

A Progressive Platform

Many actions of the Democratic Party have been deeply concerning to me, and especially since I first began to truly pay attention following 9/11. It has been both deeply humbling and deeply concerning to learn that there is no political party which has been free of actions, or inaction, which have been deeply harmful to our nation and the planet. For that reason, I have grown progressively stronger over time in my commitment to placing principles before personalities. And this certainly means putting values and integrity before any particular political party, politician, or candidate. All too many Democratic politicians have also been swept up in the wave of greed, fear, ego, collusion through silence, and the misuse of power. And, in my opinion, all too many citizens, certainly myself included, have also played our roles in leading us all to this perilous place humanity finds itself at today. I recognize this dark side or shadow, which on a continuum I believe exists in us all. Hence, my on-going sense of humility and commitment to discernment in looking within myself and anything else.

When I recently discovered the below link on the Democratic Party Platform and read through the table of contents and skimmed much of the this long piece, I became heartened by how truly progressive this platform is. It is deeply inclusive, comprehensive, and rooted in the powerful values of caring for one another and the planet. The platform strongly acknowledges the powerful issues and challenges which affect us all.

It was very encouraging for me how this platform embraces so much and moves deeply away from focusing on those issues which have so polarized our nation, and especially over the past eight years. I believe that the issues listed here are ones which we can largely unite around, no matter our politics or religion, our race or ethnicity, our gender or age, or any of those qualities which define our diversity. Because they get into the heart of what nearly all of us want, not just as Americans, but as human beings. I believe that it is important to truly affirm that all people want to breathe clean air, that all children deserve a good education, that all people have a right to basic health care, that our very sustenance is dependent upon caring for the planet upon which we live, that our Constitution needs to be honored and protected, that Habeas Corpus is core to our American and human values, that slavery - whether in America or elsewhere - is unacceptable, that we have a media which is committed to keeping us informed, and on and on. I reviewed the issues listed in this link and saw again and again those issues behind which nearly all Americans can unite. Because we all have needs for jobs and education, for health care and housing, for truthful information and learning to live sustainably, for caring for ourselves and one another. We are all connected.

Please go here for a more in-depth look at these issues which, in my experience, truly affect us all: http://www.demconvention.com/assets/downloads/2008-Democratic-Platform-by-Cmte-08-13-08.pdf

Please consider passing this on. Thanks!

Peace,

Molly

These times call for a revolution in kindness and an epidemic in fearlessness.

Choosing Peace

All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance

It is apparent on a daily basis that there is this great struggle occurring at this time in our human evolution between uniting or remaining a polarized people. On the one hand is this appeal to our fears, our judgments, our smaller selves in which we can find the illusion of safety in an "us" versus a "them", a me against a lesser Other. This appeal shows up in a barrage of distractions, addictions, soundbite attacks, gossip and rumor, outright lies, and a focus on the smallness of anything that turns our attention away from those issues which, in truth, nearly all of us care about - and especially if we are given the opportunity to clearly see the costs of not caring. Our American corporate owned media is soaked in this smallness of distractions and misinformation, this betrayal of our nation and its people, this commitment to its own bottom line. Profits before people is its motto, greed is its value - which is denied, but in truth, worshipped. And feeding the insatiable demands of that bottom line reminds me of any late stage addict in which one is literally killing oneself rather than seeking the incredible courage and support it takes to get clean and sober. It is my belief that our entire country needs to face our collective need for "recovery" - the need to wake up from experiencing the world as we have thought it is and instead choose to see with new eyes things as they truly are. A reminder I have up in my kitchen states Don't Believe Everything You Think. Amen.

One of the early things I learned in 12 Step recovery meetings over twenty years ago was the soul-deep importance of putting principles before personalities. And when it is important to assess anyone, let it be done first after looking in one's own mirror, and then only for the purpose of assessing character to discern qualities such as trustworthiness, truth, integrity, compassion, wisdom, and heart.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. stated that "the American people are the most entertained and least informed people on Earth." Behind this passionate, painful, and deeply concerned statement was a profound frustration which I share of how difficult it is to be informed in what is believed by many Americans to be the best country in the world. Yet how deeply lacking we are in simple knowledge of the most basic and most important issues which affect us all. And now, with so much at stake, there is a felt sense of increased commitment by the existing power structure to keep us deeply UNinformed. And what better way to do that than to continue to prey upon our vulnerability to being polarized rather than united?

With enough information, and with the courage to open our hearts and seek to strengthen the best in ourselves and others, I believe that we can all agree with the great leaders throughout the history of our beautiful nation that democracy is absolutely dependent upon an informed citizenry. Let us rise up against that which dumbs us down with distractions and, in doing so, threatens the core foundation of our nation and the very freedoms upon which America most esteems itself as representing. Let us SAY NO to all that polarizes us! It is my belief that as long as we remain a divided nation, we are a conquered people - conquered by moneyed interests who care not at all about values or America or our planet. And we will continue to vote and act against our own best interests - and those of our children and grandchildren - while being completely blinded by what we are doing.

Some day future generations will look back upon those of us who live in these times to see what it is that we did. Or did not do. How well are our thoughts, beliefs, actions, values of today going to serve our children and their children and their children's children and on, as native peoples say, into the seventh generation? Let us SAY YES to a commitment to unite behind that which we can all care about! May we seek to re-examine how aligned our actions are with our values. What are the true issues that affect us all? May we have the courage to refuse all that distracts us from the substance behind of our higher selves and the true values which we as human beings share in common. May we align ourselves with our wisdom rather than our wounds. And may we continuously rediscover and deepen in compassion. For isn't compassion the antidote to our judging minds and all the distractions that leads us away from truly caring for ourselves and one another?

I believe that these times are asking of us great courage and great humility and great heart. And I say this with deep humility and gratitude. And with deep passion and great caring for my children and for all children. Perhaps it is time to remember the simple but profound offering of John Lennon's words: All we are saying is to give peace a chance...

Love & blessings,

Molly

"Peace is not just the absence of violence

but the manifestation of human compassion."

~The Dalai Lama