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WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Earth’s Dark Night of the Soul

There has undoubtedly been a shift in the world. I never used to follow politics or even the news. Now I am checking headlines periodically throughout the day. The subject of politics and current events has also filtered into practically every conversation I have. Even the flavor of my Facebook page has changed. Gone are the videos of cute animals and pictures of people’s meals, replaced by critical current events and calls to sign petitions and join protests.

Yes, we have talked about beginning an ascension or evolution period since before 2012. But I don’t think any of us imagined that it would happen like this. We didn’t imagine the world would turn so ugly. We didn’t think it would seem humanity was taking a huge step backward. We have entered into the Dark Night of the Collective Soul.

Last November, when the results of the election became known, I was stunned but not really surprised. I had a deep foreboding in the pit of my stomach weeks before the election. Despite all the protests, all the prophecies, and all the polls, the far right, with a platform based on corporate greed, repression of social rights, and an intent to deconstruct the environment and every US institution, won the majority of congressional seats and the Presidency.

So, what is really going on? Are we really regressing to the Dark Ages? Or is it possible that a Death and a Birth are occurring simultaneously on our planet? Are all the theories of a dying patriarchy and the rise of the feminine to usher in the Age of Aquarius or the Golden Age true or are they a false hope held by desperate wishers?

Andrew Harvey

Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism, believes we are in a simultaneous death and birth process.

“This Death is the birth canal of a new Divine Humanity; that the Birth is already happening; and that Sacred Activism is the force of Divine Love and Wisdom in action, the Birthing Force of the new human.”
-Andrew Harvey

He has identified seven characteristics of the Death: environmental devastation; population explosion; growth of fundamentalism and religious terrorism; nuclear proliferation; corporate mindset, greed, and control of the media; and technology combined with the hectic pace of modern life. His seven characteristics of the Birth are: our current crises and our response to it; use of creative technologies; new forms of democratizing media; a mystical renaissance; evolving philosophy of nonviolence; the return of the Divine Feminine; and the Divine blessing the Birth of the Divine Human.

Just as a serious accident or illness becomes a wakeup call for us to get to work on our personal soul, what is happening in current events is a wakeup call for the collective soul. The efforts of the far right to deconstruct our institutions and constitutional rights will shine a light on just how corrupt government agencies and their office holders have become. It will create a chance for us to clean our house.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
The Shadow is Calling Us

There are various commentaries that have helped me come to a deeper understanding of what is happening now and why.

Steve Dinan

Steve Dinan, in his book Sacred America, Sacred World, says that the cultural roots of the governing class in the United States is mostly from white European culture.

Dinan describes the Hopi belief that there are four races and they are represented by the four elements: the yellow tribes steward air, the black tribes steward water, the red (Indigenous) tribes steward earth, and the white tribes steward fire. Based on this, he says that the United States national psyche has an excess of fire that leads to war, competition, violence, and arrogance. Some indigenous cultures, including the Hopi and the South American indigenous people, have prophesied that when the people of the world unite, the world will come into balance. Many believe that now is that time.

Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra said that Trump’s rise to power represents the United States’ shadow. Indeed, there is much horror in this shadow, including wars and colonialism; enslavement of black people; genocide of the Native Americans; Jim Crow laws that perpetuate racism; Jane Crow laws that perpetuate sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. We all must acknowledge our shadow. A part of the healing work involves asking for forgiveness for any atrocities that we or our ancestors have committed. To facilitate this, we can create our own ceremony or follow the process of Ho’oponopono. Colin Tipping, in his book Radical Forgiveness: A Revolutionary Five-Stage Process to Heal Relationships – Let Go of Anger and Blame – Find Peace in Any Situation, also has some great forgiveness processes.

Read Deepak Chopra’s full article on the shadow here: www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/americas-shadow-the-real-_b_10319848.html

Sandra Ingerman

Sandra Ingerman, a well-known shamanic teacher, also says that current events are due to the shadow arising for healing. Her suggestion is to feed the world with love. She says we ride a different energetic wave than the dense collective when we focus on our work. This work will help create the “new world”.

“Evolution is occurring. All initiations involve dismemberment, disintegration, illumination, remembering, reconstruction, and re-emergence.”
-Sandra Ingerman

Read more by Sandra Ingerman here: www.facebook.com/sandra.ingerman.7

Jose Stevens

According to the Michael channel, there are 5 ages of souls that incarnate on Earth. They are: Infant Souls, Baby Souls, Young Souls, Mature Souls, and Old Souls. In addition, each age has 7 distinct levels. Jose Stevens, author of the Power Path website, says that the world is in the process of moving from a young soul level to a mature soul level. He has identified Trump and all of his cabinet members, which he calls the “wrecking crew”, as being baby and young souls with only two being early level mature souls. There is no one there to represent the older souls which may be a large portion of the population.

Stevens explains how the ancient Mayan mystics predicted that change goes through the following phases:

  1. Extreme polarization, struggle, confusion, chaos, protesting and mini revolts.
  2. Final revolt by the masses, the old order crashes.
  3. Renaissance, renewal, transformation, freshness, and freedom.

Now in our country, the old school refuses to die away without a fight and people have become polarized as a result. Stevens predicts that this polarization phase will continue about another 20 years and that the renaissance period will not begin until 36 years from now.

He also discusses the 250 year period that it takes Pluto to orbit the sun. He says that hardly any nation states last more than this 250 year period. It has been 240 years since the United States was born in 1776. The United States’ Pluto orbit will be completed 2024.

Jose Stevens has written five articles about the election and Trump administration on the Power Path. You can read them here: https://thepowerpath.com/category/articles-by-jose-stevens/

Read more about the soul ages here: www.michaelteachings.com/soul_age_index.html

Read more about the soul levels here: www.michaelteachings.com/soul_age_levels.htm

Joan Parisi Wilcox

Similar to the concept of soul ages and levels, the spiritual people of the high Andes recognize eight steps on the stairway of human consciousness, numbered from 0 to 7.

Just as a kindergartner cannot comprehend college level material until they have experienced, grown, and matured, souls must ascend the stairs of consciousness and progress through the soul ages.

Joan says the most common stair for the people of the world is the 3rd. This level of consciousness is characterized by single-mindedness, identifying with one tradition/group/belief at the exclusion of all others even needing to “show” others the way.

Joan places Trump on the 2nd stair. This level of consciousness is characterized by group mindedness, black and white thinking, us-versus-them mentality, and latching on to one truth at the expense of all others.

Many if not most older souls are on the 4th stair most of the time. This level of consciousness is characterized by autonomy, choosing and standing up for one’s personal beliefs, and respecting others’ personal beliefs. A sacred activist works at the 4th level.

“Our activism should display [our level of consciousness]. There is no place for attack rhetoric, insults, outbursts fueled by frustration, or violence in word, thought or deed at the 4th level. Resistance can be non-violent, communication powerful but respectful, emotion tempered by virtue and compassion, and action for change motivated by community-building rather than enemy-bashing… [We should be] bridge building rather than bridge-burning.”
–Joan Parisi Wilcox

Read Joan Parisi Wilcox’s full article “Birds of Consiousness” here: https://qentiwasi.com/2016/05/

The Great Council of Grandmothers

Sharon McErlane, author of the Great Council of the Grandmothers series of books, channels wisdom from the Great Council of Grandmothers. Nadia den Aantrekker says that the Grandmothers have told her that we have entered into an age of destruction called the “Kali Yuga”. Kali Yuga, the “Age of the Demon” or the “Age of Vice”, is the last of four Yuga stages in the Hindu scriptures. This is the age furthest away from God/Creator/Source/Great Spirit and is necessary to destroy “evil” before the Golden Age arrives. The Grandmothers say that the Earth has suffered too long from an excess of yang and insufficient yin. They tell us to stand strong and suggest that we hold Sacred Space by being in service to others.

Read the full article about the Great Council of Grandmothers here: http://netoflight.org/2016/11/14/2016-november-14th-after-the-u-s-election-2016/

David Korten

David Korten, in his book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, says that we are at a fork in the road. We have the opportunity to transition from the past 5,000-year “Era of Empire” to the “Era of Earth Community”. This period is called the “Great Turning”. The Era of Empire that includes domination, competition, and colonialization has reached the limits of sustainability for both the Earth and its inhabitants. Modern technologies provide resource support for grassroots organizations to organize and facilitate the Great Turning.

Joanna Macy

Joanna Macy, in her book Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work that Reconnects, defines the Great Turning as the shift from the industrial civilization to life-sustaining civilization. She says that our current economic system, based on growth, consumerism, and hoarding of wealth, is no longer sustainable for Earth and its inhabitants. The Great Turning is gaining momentum as people awaken to alternatives to massive consumerism and rape of the Earth’s resources. Her personal guidelines for the Great Turning include: Being in gratitude, not fearing the dark times we are in; daring to vision; getting involved; and acting our age, “all 15 billion years of it”.

William Strauss and Neil Howe

William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their book The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy – What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny, identify a pattern in Anglo-American history over the last 500 years and 25 generations.

A saeculum is 80 years or the approximate length of a generation. Within it are four 20-year turnings. When complete, the cycle repeats itself. Our current 80 year cycle includes the following periods:

  • 1st Turn – The High characterized by mostly peace and prosperity: 1945 to 1963 (post-WWII)
  • 2nd Turn – The Awakening characterized by social upheaval and changes: 1960s and 70s
  • 3rd Turn – The Unraveling characterized by unrestricted commerce and economic boom: 1980s and 90s (the Reagan years)
  • 4th Turn – The Crisis characterized by economic collapse and fear that can result in war: Began in 2008

Therefore, we have about 10 more years until The High returns.

Read about The Fourth Turning by Debilyn Molineaux at: www.bridgealliance.us/the_process_of_change_part_i

Carl Johan Calleman

Carl Johan Calleman, in his book The Nine Waves of Creation: Quantum Physics, Holographic Evolution, and the Destiny of Humanity, describes how Mayan creation waves work. They are based on the Mayan Long Count calendar. New civilizations are created at the peaks (called days) of the sine waves and civilizations collapse in the valleys (called nights) of the sine waves.

We have just entered into the 7th night (a valley) of the 6th Wave of Creation. When a night begins, the light on the Western Hemisphere, is lost and civilizations in the Western hemisphere lose power. During night in the Western Hemisphere it is day in the Eastern Hemisphere, therefore, power may be shifting to Russia or China.

Calleman believes that Western civilization’s increase in nationalism, zenophobia, sexism, and isolationism is due to the influence of the 7th night. The 7th night will last approximately 400 years and could include political chaos, economic downturn, dictatorship, and/or a failed war.

However, on the bright side, Calleman says there is a distinctive difference between the current 7th night and the preceding ones. New waves, the 7th, 8th and 9th, have just activated. Every higher wave has a frequency that is 20 times higher than the lower one.

The 7th Wave is in a night that ends in 2031 and will be characterized by a rise in global collaboration and an end of nationalism. By then, children born when the 9th Wave was activated in 2011 will be 20 years old. They, and those born after 2011, will use their unity-oriented consciousness to influence the world.

The 8th and 9th Waves are oscillating quickly between days and nights. The 8th Wave supports the feminine and resonates with the right brain so it is important to expand women’s rights at this time. Right now it is in day, hence the success of the Women’s March, but on September 27 it will go into night, which could be a very difficult time.

Our ultimate destiny is to rise to the highest 9th Wave. People resonating with the 9th Wave will be manifesting unity consciousness during its peaks.

Read Carl Johan Calleman’s full article here: http://calleman.com/2017/03/01/entering-a-dark-age-and-what-to-do-about-it/

Here is a summary of the important dates that have been prophesied in the above commentaries:

  • The Great Turning is happening now.
  • The current day of the 8th Creation Wave will end Sep 27, 2017.
  • The current presidential term ends in 2020.
  • The next presidential term after that ends in 2024.
  • The United States’ Pluto return will complete in 2024.
  • The United States will be 250 years old in 2026.
  • The Fourth Turning of Crises will complete in 2028.
  • The current night of the 7th Creation Wave will end in 2031.
  • The United States polarization will end in 2037.
  • The 36 year struggle to the new Renaissance will end in 2053.
  • The 7th Night of the 6th Creation Wave will end in 2417.

Yes, it seems that these theories support our feeling that we are in dark times. But they also provide hope for the future and a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
Sacred Activism is the Answer

Wikipedia defines activism as “efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, and/or environmental/ecological reform or stasis with the desire to make improvements in society.” A major form of activism is protest, which is action that expresses a specific viewpoint about a particular social, political, economic, or environmental/ecological circumstance. Protests can take many different forms that will be discussed in the next section.

“Excluding diversity divides us.
Embracing our diversity unifies us.
Worlds with walls perpetuates war and hate.
Opening doors creates peace and love.”
–Drake Bear Stephen

A grassroots movement is “bottom up” activism or action that begins at the local level and rises to a regional, national, or global level. Astroturfing is an action that appears to be grassroots but is actually sponsored by a corporation or think tank. The more corrupt the government becomes, the more important it is to create real progressive change through grassroots organizations. The internet and social media has given us the tools to communicate and organize like never before. Like-minded people are coming together in communities to stand up and have their voices heard. Paul Hawken, in his book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World, believes there are over one and maybe and many as two million organizations working towards ecological sustainability and social justice.

Sacred activism adds a layer of spirituality to worldly activism. In other words, activism is a preoccupation with our earthly ego and the physical world because we are currently walking a journey on Earth. However, a part of our soul, call it the Higher Self, is living in the spiritual world. A “wholistc” soul will integrate the earthly soul and spiritual soul into daily life activities. This integration broadens perspectives and opens the heart. Using wisdom from the spiritual soul during activist activities brings love and light onto the earthly plane.

Activism = Promotes Political + Social + Economic + Environmental Evolution

Sacred Activism = Promotes Political + Social + Economic + Environmental + Spiritual Evolution

And sometimes revolution (through peaceful protest) needs to promote evolution!

Paul Hawkins describes sacred activism as having three interrelated branches: social justice issues, environmental activism, and the fight of indigenous peoples against colonialization.

Social justice is the fair and equal treatment for every individual in a society, which includes wealth distribution, opportunities, and social privileges. The United States Declaration of Independence valued social justice in a democratic society as shown by the following words:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [humans] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Subsequently the Constitution and its amendments confirm and expand on these human rights. Basic human rights include personal and political freedoms for all.

The Triangle of Disempowerment consists of the three roles: victim, rescuer, and bully. And clearly, we can identify who is playing what role in the news these days. But it is unhealthy to be in any of these roles. The goal of self-actualization is to step permanently off of this triangle. I created a Triangle of Sacred Activism, which has three new roles that a sacred activist can be in: activist, enabler, and soul light. These roles can overlap or be played simultaneously by the sacred activist as they work for progressive evolution and consciousness raising.

triangle-sacred-activist-sml

WAYS TO AWAKEN OUR INNER ACTIVIST

There are two key points I feel certain of:

  • Everything is happening just as it is supposed to.
  • Our souls chose to be here for what is happening at this time.

The only real question is, what role do we play in what is happening?

The first thing for us to do is to fully experience all the emotions concerning current events especially if they include anger, fear, frustration, disappointment, despair, hopelessness, sadness, grief, judgment, and even hate. We are human and we are here on Earth to feel the complete continuum of emotions. Besides it is never healthy to repress feelings as they will go into shadow and surface with a vengeance later on.

The next thing we can do is then raise our perceptions to a higher level, the spiritual level or the soul level where the Higher Self resides. As we tap into the Collective Conscious, we can see a much bigger picture of what is really happening. We can also call on the higher emotions like love, acceptance, compassion, joy, serenity, understanding, forgiveness, and optimism.

Finally, we should outline a plan of action from a position of neutrality. We must determine what role we want to play in the course of events happening now. I know from my experience after the election that two things immediately made me feel better:

  • Doing activities that I felt I had control over. Part of our grief over current events is the overwhelming feeling of disempowerment, that we have lost control. Getting involved in activities that you can control helps re-establish empowerment.
  • Join communities of like-minded people. There is comradery and mutual compassion in groups that will help lighten the feeling of being lost, loss, and aloneness.

There are many ways to be an activist and many activities that activists can be involved in. Currently, there is a grassroots movement to “Resist”. Although I understand the intent behind the word, I do not like the negative aspect of the mantra. I have been in search of a replacement that is a more possible mantra. My friend, Kirk Prine, did create a beautiful mantra, called “Rise Up Lovingly”. You can see this slogan on merchandise at https://shop.spreadshirt.com/FleshandSpirit/

Here is a list of nonviolent forms of direct action that an activist can employ:

Artistic and symbolic displays Fund raising Raasta roko (blocking auto traffic with their bodies)
Bannering Get out to vote activities Radical cheerleading
Blockades Hosting house meetings Rallies
Blogging and social networking Humor & satire Recusancy
Boycotts & buycotts Hunger strikes Rent strikes
Build community Information distribution Samizdat (distributing censored materials)
Bully pulpits Lawsuits Setting up social centers
Candle lighting Letter writing Sick-ins
Ceremonies Lobbying Silent protests
Chanting Lockdowns Sit-ins
Civil disobedience Lock-ons Slow downs
Conscientious objection Lockouts Soapboxing
Consumer courts Marches or parades Speechmaking
Culture jamming Motorcades Street theater
Dancing Nonviolent resistance Strikes
Demonstrations Occupations Talking with pedestrians or walking door-to-door
Destruction of symbolic objects Peace camps Tax resistance
Die-ins Petitions Teach-ins
Dramaturgical demonstrations Phone-calling Vigils
Emailing Picket lines Walkouts
Flag desecration Press conferences Whistle blowing
Food & housing cooperatives Protest graffiti
Formation of tent cities Putting up posters

Here is my list of actions that a sacred activist can employ:

INWARD WORK

  • Heal your shadow
  • Maintain a daily spiritual practice that includes gratitude
  • Ask for forgiveness – Conduct forgiveness and reconciliation ceremonies
  • Educate yourself – Learn about social issues, environmental concerns, and current events
  • Empower your inner feminine
  • Live Green – Connect to Mother Earth and practice sustainability
  • Practice population control
  • Vote with your money – Boycott and buycott
  • Vote with your vote – About 48% of eligible voters did not vote in the last election

OUTWARD WORK

  • Volunteer – Be in service to others
  • Find community – Unite
  • Donate money to social justice and environmental protection organizations
  • Support microlending – www.kiva.org
  • Protest – Make calls, sign petitions, write letters and emails, march in rallies
  • Shine your love and light into the world
  • Create safe, sacred, and inclusive space for others
  • Combat poverty
  • Acknowledge that we are all related – Work towards global unity and a planet without borders
  • Support and empower others on their journey
  • Teach, write, and speak – Build bridges
  • Use your creativity – Create a painting, song, dance, poem, article, or film
  • Advocate for social justice, equal rights, and environmental/ecological sustainability
  • Care for animals and protect endangered species

Here are some additional resources:

sacred-activist-sml

RECOMMENDED READING – NONFICTION

Anne Baring – Soul Power: An Agenda for a Conscious Humanity

Kimberley A. Bobo, Steve Max, Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, Midwest Academy – Organizing for Social Change

Adam Bucko & Matthew Fox – Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

Michelle Bollinger & Dao w. Tran – 101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History

Adrian Brooks – The Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQ Activism

Carl Johan Calleman – The 9 Waves of Creation: Quantum Physics, Holographic Evolution, and the Destiny of Humanity

Stephen Dinan – Sacred American Sacred World: Fulfilling Our Mission in Service to All

Andrew Harvey – The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

Paul Hawken – Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World

Steven B. Herrmann – Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward

Dennis Johnson & Valerie Merians, ed – What We Do Now: Standing Up for Your Values in Turmp’s America

L.A. Kauffman – Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism

Christopher Kush – The One-Hour Activist: The 15 Most Powerful Actions You Can Take to Fight for the Issues and Candidates You Care About

Michael Lerner – The Left Hand of God: Healing America’s Political and Spiritual Crisis

April K. Mills – Everyone is a Change Agent: A Guide to the Change Agent Essentials

David Nicol – Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation

Chris Saade – Second Wave Spirituality: Passion for Peace, Passion for Justice

Randy Shaw – The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century

Gene Stone – The Trump Survival Guide

Stephan A. Schwartz – The 8 Laws of Change: How to be an Agent of Personal and Social Transformation

Sita Venkateswar – The Politics of Indigeneity: Dialogues and Reflections on Indigenous Activism

RECOMMENDED READING – FICTION

Margaret Atwood – Handmaid’s Tale

Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451

George Orwell – 1984

Aldous Huxley – Brave New World

QUOTES

It is time to get on with many tasks that await us today. At stake is the sustainability of our species and the planet as we know it. Issues such as resisting the spread of empire, advocacy of the use of condoms in a time of AIDS, birth control advocacy in a time of population explosion, equitable distribution of the world’s goods, the use of clean and renewable energy, the importance of community life, the elimination of poverty, the creation of good work, the defense of minorities including gays and lesbians-all these call to us. –Matthew Fox

I mean that humanity has come to the moment when it will have to choose between trying to play God, with the catastrophic results we see all around us, and trying to become what all the true mystical traditions know we can become-one with God through grace in life. This is a dangerous and yet wonderful and hopeful moment because if enough of us can choose the latter, the birth of a wholly new kind of human being, and so of a new world, is possible. –Father Bede Griffiths

What fills me with hope is that millions of human beings are now, in the fire of our current crises, waking up to the need for inner and outer transformation, making possible the quantum evolutionary leap I have been describing. The time for the Birth of Sacred Activism on a global scale has arrived. Everything is now at stake and everything is possible. –Andrew Harvey

The Divine is longing for human beings to turn up in this active spirituality, and when you do-it’s been my living experience-you will be guided directly by dreams, by synchronicities, by books that fall off shelves, by people that you meet because there is a mysterious power in the universe that is longing for this next evolutionary leap in humanity which can only be done through Sacred Activism, through really putting love into action. And when a person-however tremblingly and however afraid-takes the first step, the universe rushes to meet that person and to shower that person with everything that they could possibly need. There will be tests, there will be ordeals, but in those tests and ordeals you will receive direct guidance from the Beloved, because the Beloved has willed the birth of another kind of humanity and once you already know that and align yourself with the powers of the birth, those powers will sustain you and invigorate you and point you in the direction in which your life was meant to go. –Andrew Harvey

Global spirituality works to sustain a sacred community on earth by bringing the voice of the spirit to matters of common economic, political, ethical, and religious concerns. As engaged practice, global spirituality is an orientation toward life that is concerned about the sacredness of, and reverence for, all human and nonhuman life; deeply committed to how social, political, religious, and economic institutions can be in service of the divinity of the world; and founded on the locus of the spirit, where there is absent a sense of “I” and “mine.” –Beverly Lanzetta

There is an alternative to unrestrained corporate globalization: it is the globalization of Spirit. It then becomes possible to ask the relevant spiritual question: how do we shape globalization in a way that maximizes ecological sustainability, enhances our global responsibility to reduce suffering and promote health and ethical well-being, and increases our capacity to see our unity with all other human beings and our part in the Unity of All Being. –Rabbi Michael Abraham Lerner

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. –Margaret Mead

Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul. –Thomas Paine

A tour of any bookstore today reveals that the “spirituality industry” is alive and well. Seldom do [those books] address the intersection of spirituality and injustice and oppression. A privatized spirituality is a cocoon spirituality, incapable of assisting persons to be involved in the challenges of political and social life. Indeed, it may well be not only a distorted spirituality but a heretical one, if it fails to locate itself in the midst of the suffering of the world. The energy of the mystic experience radiates out to others, not only encouraging them to embark more intensely on their own journey, but also to learn that one’s relationship with God has social implications. –Susan Rakoczy

Blessings and gratitude to all those who are passionately serving humanitarian causes, advocating for justice, and being activists for love’s dream. You are the real and abiding heroes of our world. You are the ones we admire. We respect your spirit. We honor the compassion and wisdom of your hearts. You embody the model of a spirituality in action-an engaged spirituality that will usher in the possibility of a thriving and sustainable world. –Chris Saade

A chick isn’t born without cracking its eggshell; a snake doesn’t grow without shedding its skin, and a butterfly doesn’t exist unless a caterpillar first unmakes itself. Change isn’t easy. And during change, there can be a messy transition as the old morphs into the new. –Joan Parisi Wilcox

Copyright © 2017 Drake Bear Stephen. Except where acknowledged.
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