Social Responsibility is Spiritual!

My posts are getting longer than I intended, and this blog is getting more political than I imagined. So, to be clear I certainly am not a professional with any particular training in this area; however this election season my intuitive readings have veered in this direction, so I have willingly obliged. Plus the fact that I started this blog in the last month of the election, people's curiosity and my insights have leaned in this direction. This is NOT a political opinion blog, it is an 'Intuitive Insight' blog, I simply convey the messages I receive to you the reader, and I may add some commentary when needed for context.

The media is talking about how important this election is, and it is. This particular election is a pivotal turning point for the country. I have never been overly political, but this year my insights and curiosity has led me to be more hands on. [You can read my other posts on Election 08, to see how this evolved.]

The short version is back last December with no prior knowledge or interest I had a vision of Barack Obama beating Hillary Clinton, and then later winning the general election. I followed up on my vision in every way I could. At that time there were still several players in the game on both sides, and I got guidance on all of them [previously published in my email newsletter.] One by one many of them dropped out of the race exactly the way 'I saw it.' This spurred my interest even more, the intuitions I was having were more accurate than anything the experts were saying on TV and the Internet. Anyone can research this themselves by going to political websites and psychic prediction websites. The majority of them had the race between Clinton and Giuliani, some between Edwards and Romney, all of whom were 'out of the picture' very early on with the exception of Clinton.

My visions, predictions, and insights on Obama continued to be confirmed both in my mind and in the media. I became a supporter of his for many, many, reasons. [Many professionals won't reveal their private views, particularly if they earn money from their site.] I do private readings, but I like to keep this blog, open, honest, informal, and a touch personal so [I may combine thoughts and comments along with the insights I get; but there is a distinction between the two.] So,in summary the main components of my personal views have to do with my spiritual beliefs and ideas about what we need as a society. [EX.] for the most part my political views come from my spiritual views, which come from the guidance, insights, and visions I receive. My intuition exists beyond my rational thoughts, but because I've been doing this for over 20 yrs. my intuitions have become more integrated with my thoughts. I hope that makes sense.

At the risk of being opinionated here I have found myself being surprised at how people choose a candidate for there own personal circumstances. I probably sound really naive here, and I suspect that some think I am doing that very same thing; but I am not.

I am having difficulty grasping the concept of people's definition of Patriotism for example. People who place a level of importance on flag pins and mindless flag waving, while being very reluctant to consider change that would be good for America collectively. [I realize this is subjective, and as individuals we all view things differently.] But to me some themes are a given if you are a caring, mindful, person.

How presumptuous I must be, while most the folks I know, and now a good portion of our country are in agreement that Obama is the more likely candidate to move us in a new direction. Yet many completely disagree for various reasons, but I can't help notice that one big reason sticks out above all others---MONEY!

This is now the theme of the GOP Party, and their presidential candidate. I find myself having to keep my judgements in check on this issue, I now have a clearer understanding of Conservative Values, but I am in uneasy with most of them. It keeps coming back to the same concept that people want to own what they have earned, accomplished, and therefore deserve; and others should do the same. Am I crazy as a spiritual thinker that this sounds selfish? Some people I have spoke with have made very valid points supporting there conservative views, but I can't help but wonder aren't we here for something bigger than our own personal gain? Capitalist are into personal gain, I am not saying this is bad...I am saying there is more than materialism and this idea is found in ALL spiritual teachings!

Now, I recently read a quote somewhere that only a 'Liberal is too broadminded to even make an argument on there own behalf.' [I so relate to this,] and I do tend to see every one's reasons and points of view, however; isn't the concept of 'self forgetting' a major tenant for most spiritual and religious thought? Many say Jesus was a Liberal, yet the far Right Wing acts like they have the market on Christ's teachings.

Perhaps there is not one single absolute truth, but from the spiritual perspective the idea of giving, compassion, and kindness are central. While we shouldn't mix religion and politics there needs to be some moral compass for individuals and society as a whole. Another example that comes to mind is many voted for George Bush due to his belief in Jesus Christ, now many have gone to the other extreme and feel he is not spiritual at all. I think Al Gore probably has it right, in his book 'Assault on Reason' Gore comments that Bush's faith is genuine, and that contrary to the opinion of many he also says that Bush is smart enough. Gore goes on to say that Bush's problem has more to do with his far right ideology, and inability to change his views even in the face of reason---thus the title of Gore's book. [BTW--this book has some very good points, but they are repetitive, and Al Gore tends to bore me after a while, so I never finished reading the entire book.]

OK so back to where I want to go on this post...taking everything into consideration including my views, opposing views, intuitions I get, I have a strong desire to have this all make sense beyond my gut feelings, or personal views. With all the accusations from the GOP about Obama being a 'Socialist' and how terrible this would be for our country, I decieded to look into this. I have affluent friends, middle class and poor friends on the Left who are more than happy to pay more for the betterment of the whole. They come from various backgrounds and means, but all have similar spiritual views regardless of varying socio-economic status. I find this curious to say the least.

So today I spent time researching the concepts of Socialism, Marxism, and even Communism, and they aren't accurately Obama's views at all, nor do I fully agree with them. BUT---I intuitively keep getting that the USA needs some social changes to improve our society, and yet why do so many still reject this notion that some sort of change is needed now??? I have no clue how a government or country should be run, but I do know we need to collectively move forward as a society of people with social/spiritual concepts and the theme of mutual sharing and cooperation are needed, and self interest and selfishness are blocks to progress. I am not merely referring to 'Spreading the Wealth" evidently the worst words a Capitalist society can hear. There is something deeper needed here.

Finally in my research to find something that supports what I am getting through inner guidance I came across a Buddhist article about 'Dharma Socialism' [Dharma is Sanskrit meaning 'One's Duty.'] I am no expert in Buddhism, but throughout my life I seem to find answers every time I am led back to the teachings of Jesus or Buddha. I am not saying this article is the only way to go, but the teachings come closer to what I feel more than anything I've read in a while. This article isn't specifically about economic Socialism, infact it' not. I keep hearing that we need to simplify, be more moderate, generous even if we have less, we need to share, trade, and exchange in ways that support one another, everyone has something to contribute---yes that may mean money, but it's deeper and more holistic than that; it involves sharing talents, gifts, time, abilities. This concept was used in Communal living [which I'm not suggesting here.] Those that I have spoke to who experienced this way of life speak highly about the merits of it.

Most of us prefer to be way more self sufficient than that, but I think the current economic crisis will make it necessary for us to at least consider things we may not have tried before.

The link for the entire Buddhist article is http://www.suanmokh.org/ds/posible1.htm {Sorry,I don't know why the links don't light up on this blog?}

Below is one portion from the article that confirms some spititual themes that I've thought about:

****NOTE***THE WORDS BELOW ARE NOT MINE, THEY ARE FROM THE ARTICLE*** [author refers to self as 'I']

'STRUCTURES OF SELFISHNESS': {sample excerpt from article article}

I believe that the profound and detailed Buddhist teachings on self (atta), defilement (kilesa), attachment (upadana), and the other causes of dukkha are a tool that humanity must use to get out of its mess. A simple perspective from which to examine the causes and origins of social dukkha is selfishness. When we analyze our personal dukkha using the principle of dependent co-origination (paticca-samuppada), we see that all of it is linked with our own self-centeredness or selfishness. Similarly, when we examine social problems we find that they are rooted in social selfishness, what I call "structures of selfishness." Here, selfishness means a concern above all with one's self, one's family, or one's group (company, class, religion, race, nationality, sports club) such that one disregards the needs and well-being of others, or even goes so far as to consciously harm others when selfishness is out of control. In the Buddhist analysis, such selfishness comes from tanha (craving) and upadana (attachment to that craving) that there is some "me" or "self" who craves; this gives rise to the identifications and egoistic states of mind around which our selfishness forms. This "causal nexus" happens not only personally, it also happens collectively as certain forms of craving become endemic in our society. Certain forms of attachment are built into our social structures. We have certain collective identities to skin color, language, religion, history, ideology, and so on. We form collective egos and we are collectively selfish, what is sometimes called "national interest" (or "class interest" or whatever "interest"). These give rise to "structures of selfishness," some of which I would like to explore here.

A rough equivalent of the word "selfishness" is the Pali kilesa (defilement, that which tarnishes or pollutes the mind). Therefore, we can take the primary defilements that we investigate and uproot in Buddhist practice and use them to investigate certain social structures. This gives us a simple yet powerful analytical tool, one grounded in morality and spirituality.

****************NOTE***************

The above is just a portion, the article should be read in it's entirety. [BTW some of the words are in Sanskrit.]

Thanks, ~Marie~