For many years the quest for freedom from old ingrained patterns, beliefs and limitations that kept me from a straight and unconditionally loving relationship with God, and life, was my focus. The original tag line for my site, “Freedom. Inspiration. Compassion.,” was born out of that quest. What a joy to be free from self-created prisons! The inspiration to live a life of freedom is a powerful force that helps break the chains of oppression. And without compassion, the journey to freedom can be hard and lonely.
The vision that inspired the theme of my site, recounted in my piece called "On Being a Spiritual Nomad" remains the core of Nomad 4 All. Yet during the last few years the focus of my journey has shifted. A large part of that shift is related to the direction taken by the United States of America. The amount of documented lies the Bush administration has sold the American people has been the major catalyst for this change. The twisting of truth to achieve narrow political goals that benefit a small elite makes a mockery of any rhetoric suggesting that this government is in any way aligned with deep Christian beliefs.
Christ was a being who spent a great deal of time with the downtrodden and despised in society. He passionately did not want to leave anyone behind. He also knew the difficulty that a rich man who worshipped his wealth would have getting into Heaven.
The United States of America was founded on great spiritual truths that transcend any religion: all people are created equal, everyone has a right to pursue his dreams, to live a life of happiness and security, and to worship the Creator as he sees fit, or not to worship at all. This country has not fulfilled the vision of the Founding Fathers, yet it has remained a beacon of hope and freedom for the world. The founding principles inspired millions of people to believe that their lives could be radically changed for the good.
It is time to rekindle the flame of truth. The lies must stop. As a start, we need to be truthful with ourselves. Are we striving to live our most cherished values? If not, why? We need to speak truth to our leaders. If they can’t lead us in truth, it is time for us to lead them!
Truth that is not tempered by love can be a hard and unforgiving sword. Many great spiritual traditions say the world was created out of love. A love that big demands our participation in co-creating a world that recognizes the value of each part of Creation. This world was not created for a chosen few to exploit the rest of humanity and the natural world. What kind of loving God would have created that scenario?!??
Living in truth, knowing what love is, and seeing the state of our world, naturally leads to a desire to take action. Many great spiritual beings were activists: Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Amma. Their love of God and His people was so great that they could not just sit in their own blissful communion with the One. They had to take action to fulfill their spiritual vision for mankind.
The goal of spiritual life is to bring Heaven down to earth. There is no place else to go. We are home. Life is currently calling us to take drastic action to preserve our planet and our very existence as human beings. To do it will take recognition of the deep truth of who we are, what we have created, and what we need to create at this point in time to change direction. It will take a love big enough to include everyone. And it will take radical action to realize the vision of an internal and external world of harmony, beauty and peace. May 2008 be the year that we start to taste the fruits of Heaven on earth!
