PRINCIPLES SUPPORTING A NEW DEMOCRACY
1) The capacity for blending
Here, the interest of one does not get lost in the interest of a group.
For each member of the group holds the common goal of having the
interests of each one become blended into an outcome or goal that
serves all.
2) The absence of competition
Here, there is a striving to do and to give one's best, not
so that we can be better than another, but so that we can more fully
express our inner nature and our creativity.
3) The intuition of harmony
As with Principle 1), the interest of one does not stand out
as
being above the interests of all. Harmony develops out of the wish of
each person to find the common ground that unites, rather than the
separate will that divides. It also comes out of the belief that
harmony is possible, given the fact that all are one, for without this
belief there would be nothing to strive for.
4) The sharing of resources
Because of the experience of unity with others, the idea of
holding
onto what is 'mine' no longer makes sense. There is a self-identity,
but it is part of a greater whole and this whole is also part of one's
self-identity. For this reason, having more than others does not
contribute to a sense of well-being in the way that it did in the past,
for the 'others' are oneself as well. This experience gives rise to a
new economic life with a new foundation - one which ends division among
the wealthy who 'have' and the poor who 'have not'.
5) The acceptance of reality
Here, denial and manipulation are replaced by a willingness
to see
'what is' because there is trust in 'what is'. The fear of death, for
example, no longer infuses political conflict and life in general,
because life and death are seen to be part of a sacred process of
continual renewal, and extreme measures do not have to be taken to
avoid death or the consciousness of death. This shift affects many of
the personal elements of life that give rise to political debate -
issues concerning health and ageing in particular. Industries that are
based on the collective fear of ageing no longer have a place, for
their consciousness becomes part of an obsolete need to prevent or deny
the ageing process. This no longer has merit or validity.
6) The elimination of violence
Based on an understanding that 'my' life is not separate from
'yours', the basis for war and killing is undermined. There can be no
killing if 'you are not separate from me' and if 'I am you’.
The
basis for all violence is undermined as a result of the perception of
unity.
7) The intuition of higher purpose
Here, the self recognizes that at all times, the purpose of
an
individual life exists in harmony with a larger purpose - the purpose
of all of life. Within social and political discourse, this means that
a group can sit together and align themselves with this higher purpose
by going more deeply into their hearts and intuiting what the higher
purpose of the group may be at any given moment in time and how each
individual may play a part in it.
8) The understanding of cause and effect
Perceiving life to be one makes available the understanding
that
what we send out into the universe is part of a never-ending circle of
energy that either benefits or detracts from the whole, and that it
cannot benefit ourselves if it does not benefit others. What we send
out into the universe returns to us because we are part of a circle of
life. All behavior is conditioned by this understanding.
9) The capacity for trust
The capacity for trust is based on the understanding that we
live
within a sacred reality and that God, by whatever name God is called,
is at the center. There is no aspect of life that is not part of this
sacred reality and so there is no part of life that cannot be trusted.
Without the fear of death operating in the background, decisions can be
made based on trust, and many possible paths of exploration can be
tried without fear being a necessary component. The capacity for trust
allows each one to develop the quality of flexibility rather than
rigidity, of creativity in relation to the future rather than needing
to repeat the past, and of a willingness to try new solutions to
problems that face the whole, rather than needing to remain attached to
any particular position or outcome.
10) The awareness of diversity
Here, the understanding remains that while we are each part
of a
greater whole, each one has something particular and unique to
contribute to that whole. The celebration of diversity and a kind of
curiosity to know the origins and qualities that make each different,
can take place when diversity still maintains a common goal of serving
the interests of all rather than the interests of the self. Individuals
can remain distinctly different from each other in their forms of
expression and still remain faithful to the interests of all. The
conflict that formerly existed between the self and others because of
diversity is no longer present because there is no longer a separation
between the self and others.
11) Planning for the future
Concern for the wellbeing of all allows each group or
government to
plan for the welfare of all in a way that maximizes the use of existing
resources without the desire to give to the present all that exists and
disregard what is to come. The self is one not only with other lives in
the present, but with all the lives of future generations. For this
reason, concerns about the environment and care for the preservation of
planetary resources is paramount in taking care of the life of the
planet and in taking care of the life of future generations. There is
no longer a disregard for the impact of the behavior of oneself on the
resources of a planet that is shared by all. The planetary environment
is safeguarded as the body is safeguarded. It is the essential material
form that allows life to continue and is perceived as sacred.
12) The feeling of compassion
Universal love gives rise to the feeling of compassion for
all that
lives. Unity is not a dry perception, but rather contains the heart at
the center of every point of view. Compassion generates the desire to
relieve suffering not only for oneself, but for all who suffer or are
in pain. It is the necessary outcome of perceiving our life and
wellbeing to be inextricably tied to the wellbeing of all. Compassion
is the expression of the ability to "love our neighbors as ourselves."
It is the natural expression of the heart, unencumbered by the need to
protect and defend its own territory or to separate itself from the
interests of all. Compassion is the emotion which binds people together
in families, in groups, in nations, and in the world - the human
expression of God's love that allows for the feeling of embracing life
with tenderness. Compassion is the emotional aspect of unity that
allows the heart its fullest expression.