Spiritual Politics

Can Obama save us or are we doomed to disaster?

Neither of these questions will get us anywhere, yet most of the news commentaries attempt to answer one of these or a related question, such as “What is Obama going to do to save us?” and “Can he, will he, do enough?”

All these questions come from a fearful perspective: There is a huge problem out there that is too big to face ourselves, so we need to find the right person to do the job, or protect ourselves from the looming disaster.

We seem to forget that Obama was elected President because a majority of the voting population voted for him. He did not “save” the election, nor did he “crumble” under the pressure of the enormous work of the campaign. He could not have won without over 50% of the voting population voting for him.

The solution was part of the beginning

Barack and Michelle laid out the solution to this issue at the same time he declared his candidacy.

They were willing to enter the race for the Presidency on a set of ideas, and if we, the public, liked these ideas and supported them, the Obama’s would devote themselves to leading the way, being spokespersons for these ideas. And if enough of us shared and supported these ideas, then the election would be won and we would have an opportunity to bring these ideas to life. The clarity of this message was the core integrity of the campaign. Now it is time to live the ideas.

He also said that the election was not for or about him, but about us, the direction of our nation and our role in the global community. He is not doing this so that we can all retire on a government pension, but so that we can together turn the nation and our individual lives toward a governing system that will address the needs of the times we are in and a prosperous future for all.

Barack cannot save the country

Barack can’t save the country, but he can demonstrate qualities of leadership that inspire good solutions and allow those solutions to be implemented.

This is what he did throughout his campaign. And it was enough to win the election.

The fact that Barack was elected based on the demonstration of leadership qualities, not on how well he demeaned his opponent, further reveals that more than half of the voting population sees and appreciates these qualities.

If we can see these qualities, we can live them. And this is how the country will solve our problems and get on a track to sustainable prosperity. We voted because we liked the ideas that were being communicated, now we “vote” by letting the essence of those ideas guide our individual lives and choices.

The qualities of good leadership are not limited to Barack, they are available to all. He is modeling them for us. He will help institute a system that allows these qualities to be expressed. He is already doing that by choosing thoughtful, intelligent, non-ideological individuals onto his team.

What are these qualities?

Any of us can turn our attention to identifying the core issue of a situation rather than looking for whom to blame. Any of us can listen for a good idea from a variety of intelligent and loving sources, rather than reacting hastily to an apparent urgency. Any of us can recognize the right solution for each issue, one-by-one, instead of trying to get what we want, protect ourselves, or to promote an idea that is politically motivated.

But we, individual private citizens, do not face decisions that will affect the whole country
While that is true, it is also true that every decision, every choice has a ripple effect beyond what is seen. All Barack and Michelle need to do is to continue to make thoughtful choices based on the issues. And all we need to do is the same. As large and small issues, at all levels of life, get addressed with love, intelligence, clarity and a sincere motivation to discover good solutions, our nation will be prosperous again.

What are these ideas that we can all live by?

- Focus on issues, not personalities
- Listen open-mindedly to an array of sources for thoughtful, intelligent ideas that will work
- Discern the idea that is a good solution the issue – not what we want, not what’s politically or socially correct

What makes this Spiritual Politics?
Spiritual means “of spirit,” in other words, non-material and non-physical. It refers to the realm of existence that we can be aware of, yet is not discerned through the five senses. This realm is most easily recognized through our capacity to be aware of the qualities of consciousness that govern individual activities. It is sometimes referred to as an individuals “presence.” Presence is the quality of being that is expressed through words and actions. So, “spiritual politics” refers to the qualities of being that support an open, responsive governing body. This is not something that can be enforced, legislated, contracted or negotiated. It is something we can see and respond to. It is something we can pay attention to as part of a governed body. It is something we can individually seek to purify within our own consciousness.