Principles of Spiritual Activism

[Guest guest]

From Satyana's spiritual activism project.

 

1.

 

Transformation of motivation from anger/fear/despair to

compassion/love/purpose. This is a vital challenge for today's

social change movement. This is not to deny the noble emotion of

appropriate anger or outrage in the face of social injustice.

Rather, this entails a crucial shift from fighting against evil to

working for love, and the long-term results are very different, even

if the outer activities appear virtually identical. Action follows

Being, as the Sufi saying goes. Thus " a positive future cannot

emerge from the mind of anger and despair " (Dalai Lama).

 

 

2.

 

Non-attachment to outcome. This is difficult to put into practice,

yet to the extent that we are attached to the results of our work,

we rise and fall with our successes and failures-a sure path to

burnout. Hold a clear intention, and let go of the outcome-

recognizing that a larger wisdom is always operating. As Gandhi

said, " the victory is in the doing, " not the results. Also, remain

flexible in the face of changing circumstances: " Planning is

invaluable, but plans are useless. " (Churchill)

 

 

3.

 

Integrity is your protection. If your work has integrity, this will

tend to protect you from negative energy and circumstances. You can

often sidestep negative energy from others by becoming " transparent "

to it, allowing it to pass through you with no adverse effect upon

you. This is a consciousness practice that might be called " psychic

aikido. "

 

 

4.

 

Integrity in means and ends. Integrity in means cultivates integrity

in the fruit of one's work. A noble goal cannot be achieved

utilizing ignoble means.

 

 

5.

 

Don't demonize your adversaries. It makes them more defensive and

less receptive to your views. People respond to arrogance with their

own arrogance, creating rigid polarization. Be a perpetual learner,

and constantly challenge your own views.

 

 

6.

 

You are unique. Find and fulfill your true calling. " It is better to

tread your own path, however humbly, than that of another, however

successfully. " (Bhagavad Gita)

 

 

7.

 

Love thy enemy. Or at least, have compassion for them. This is a

vital challenge for our times. This does not mean indulging

falsehood or corruption. It means moving from " us/them " thinking

to " we " consciousness, from separation to cooperation, recognizing

that we human beings are ultimately far more alike than we are

different. This is challenging in situations with people whose views

are radically opposed to yours. Be hard on the issues, soft on the

people.

 

 

8.

 

Your work is for the world, not for you. In doing service work, you

are working for others. The full harvest of your work may not take

place in your lifetime, yet your efforts now are making possible a

better life for future generations. Let your fulfillment come in

gratitude for being called to do this work, and from doing it with

as much compassion, authenticity, fortitude, and forgiveness as you

can muster.

 

 

9.

 

In serving others, we serve our true selves. " It is in giving that

we receive. " We are sustained by those we serve, just as we are

blessed when we forgive others. As Gandhi says, the practice of

satyagraha ( " clinging to truth " ) confers a " matchless and universal

power " upon those who practice it. Service work is enlightened self-

interest, because it cultivates an expanded sense of self that

includes all others.

 

 

10.

 

Do not insulate yourself from the pain of the world. Shielding

yourself from heartbreak prevents transformation. Let your heart

break open, and learn to move in the world with a broken heart. As

Gibran says, " Your pain is the medicine by which the physician

within heals thyself. " When we open ourselves to the pain of the

world, we become the medicine that heals the world. This is what

Gandhi understood so deeply in his principles of ahimsa and

satyagraha. A broken heart becomes an open heart, and genuine

transformation begins.

 

 

11.

 

What you attend to, you become. Your essence is pliable, and

ultimately you become that which you most deeply focus your

attention upon. You reap what you sow, so choose your actions

carefully. If you constantly engage in battles, you become embattled

yourself. If you constantly give love, you become love itself.

 

 

12.

 

Rely on faith, and let go of having to figure it all out. There are

larger 'divine' forces at work that we can trust completely without

knowing their precise workings or agendas. Faith means trusting the

unknown, and offering yourself as a vehicle for the intrinsic

benevolence of the cosmos. " The first step to wisdom is silence. The

second is listening. " If you genuinely ask inwardly and listen for

guidance, and then follow it carefully-you are working in accord

with these larger forces, and you become the instrument for their

music.

 

 

13.

 

Love creates the form. Not the other way around. The heart crosses

the abyss that the mind creates, and operates at depths unknown to

the mind. Don't get trapped by " pessimism concerning human nature

that is not balanced by an optimism concerning divine nature, or you

will overlook the cure of grace. " (Martin Luther King) Let your

heart's love infuse your work and you cannot fail, though your

dreams may manifest in ways different from what you imagine.

[Guest guest]

@@ 5. Don't demonize your adversaries. It makes them more defensive

and less receptive to your views. @@

 

I ran across this yesterday looking up Lisa's dream. It is from the

I Ching:

 

" In a resolute struggle of the good against evil, there are,

however, definite rules that must not be disregarded, if it is to

succeed.

First, resolution must be based on a union of strength and

friendliness.

Second, a compromise with evil is not possible; evil must under all

circumstances be openly discredited. Nor must our own passions and

shortcomings be glossed over.

Third, the struggle must not be carried on directly by force. If

evil is branded, it thinks of weapons, and if we do it the favor of

fighting against it blow for blow, we lose in the end because thus

we ourselves get entangled in hatred and passion.

Therefore it is important to begin at home, to be on guard in our

own persons against the faults we have branded. In this way,

finding no opponent, the sharp edges of the weapons of evil become

dulled. For the same reasons we should not combat our own faults

directly. As long as we wrestle with them, they continue

victorious.

Finally, the best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in

the good. "

 

Good to everyone – richard O

[Guest guest]

This was great Chrism, thankyou. It was put very well,

easy to understand and formulated well, stick to that

and you can't go wrong...... As " what is right and

what is wrong in an ocean of joy? "

(To quote a great dance track I know).

Love Elektra x x x

 

 

--- chrism <> wrote:

 

> From Satyana's spiritual activism project.

>

> 1.

>

> Transformation of motivation from anger/fear/despair

> to

> compassion/love/purpose. This is a vital challenge

> for today's

> social change movement. This is not to deny the

> noble emotion of

> appropriate anger or outrage in the face of social

> injustice.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Chrism thank you for this....... Margo