![]() Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. represents the "New Man" of the American Promise. Not only was he a great leader: community organizer, pastor, nonviolent activist, orator, and writer: but he was also a visionary of both our human and American possibilities. Challenging us to unite our religion with our politics through a dynamic activation of the Universal Principle of Love, Rev. King became an exemplar of hope and change: victims no longer, every person has within her the power to become extraordinary through service for justice. "Be changed through the renewal of your minds" -- advice from St. Paul -- could summarize Rev. King's advice to each one of us. Like the Buddha's, "As you think, so you become", this will to change our habits of thought is the real (and only) beginning of personal transformation and social change. Too many of us succumb to a "victim spirituality" in every sense of the phrase: from "I have nothing going for me" to "Jesus died for me"... victimhood through and through! Instead, there is another way through the renewal of our minds: affirm: "I am strong and capable" and "Together we make every good thing possible"... and on into a new spirituality of identifying with the bliss of an interior communion with the Unlimited Love Who is Source and Liberator... For Rev. King, civil rights activism infused his mind with the renewal of an activated Love: from confronting the social manifestations of racism, to understanding the systemic connections between injustice and violence, King progressed in his ability to reveal the "New Man" of the American promise: from a Constitution that considered the black man as less than a full man -- and women unworthy of even a word or a second thought -- to the end of slavery and women finally being considered worthy of the right to vote... on into our on-going struggle for equal rights for everyone -- illuminated now with the focused light of a "Personalist" politics and spirituality... Rev. King's last great struggle was to unite the civil rights movement with the peace movement in a "March on Washington" that would expand both into a new movement for economic justice: it was at this precise moment in time that he was assassinated: the "uppity Negro" had finally gone too far... Ah, but the catch was neither the FBI nor the racist, neither the right-wing and John Birch Society nor the rich capitalist, could snuff out Rev. King's ability to survive: he still refuses to self-identify as a victim! Anyone who thinks that King stands as a sculpture in the National Mall must never have read his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" or any of his other writings or sermons. Rev. King is the Liberated Person of the American Promise: liberated in his ability to forgive and to press forward in his demands for full equality, social justice for everyone, and peace in our human relations: this he called "Beloved Community". While the best the right-wing here in America and elsewhere around the world can offer us is the freedom to suffer together in poverty, inequality, oppression, exploitation, and violence... we are awakening into the power of the renewal of our minds: we are free the moment that we recognize our freedom. We are equal the moment we demand our rights and refuse to back down again into silence and acceptance. We are powerful in the activation of our wills to compassion and service: lifting every other up into community and communion: the Middle East, Detroit, and the South Texas border: we are all one: screwed by the Dominator Paradigm, we must recognize our complicity with their means and ends: and truly rEvolutionize! We are all -- each and every one of us -- worth the very best: we are each and all worthy of infinite and unlimited Love. We need to recreate our minds into becoming vehicles of grace through the practice of kindness. We need to unite to transform all power and privilege to everyone's service and liberation. We need to create -- here and now, wherever we are living -- small centers of an activated light for building the "beloved community"... Ha! They thought that by killing Rev. King they would intimidate his messengers and eliminate his message: "they" might be a police officer, "they" might be a right-winger, or "they" might be a billionaire: none of them can say or become what we can say, and who we are: we are, each one of us: King! "Libertarians", hell! We choose instead: we are all "Kings"! And we shall still overcome!
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There are at least a few points essential to the topic of "Constitutional" and "Tea Party": plainly put, that which amounts to a "religious" fundamentalism at the very core of the Tea Party is small-minded and simply mean. There is nothing grand or heroic in the Tea Party vision. It boils down to the conviction that the Federal Government, and President Obama in particular, is a direct threat to the personal freedom of every American... Hence, the political perception of the 2nd Amendment as paramount to the liberty promised by the Constitution. But the spirituality of the gun offers no vision of a future other than endless violence, retribution, and justifications for more of the same. Follow the right-wing logic -- whether American, Israeli, Iranian, Russian, ISIS, etc., etc. -- and what might one expect if "their way" is brought to a conclusion that finally satisfies them?
When everyone has a gun -- or an army -- is it more or less likely that we will be able to live in peace and freedom from fear? If we are going to be honest (the essential starting point for a civilized conversation), we need to know just exactly what a politician, preacher, or pundit really stands for: what is her / his grand vision: if their proposals are followed to their logical conclusion. Does the vision offered tend us all towards the prospect of unity in diversity and peace with justice? Or are the "values" of unity in diversity and peace with justice brushed off as mere "liberal folly"? Is tolerance of the different and acceptance of the "other" recognized as core values of civilized society -- or are they again, marginalized as liberal or "foreign" concepts? How are we to get from "here" to the "there" of the politician's, preacher's, or pundit's proposals brings up the importance of considering means and ends. Can unjust means lead to a just end? Can violence put an end to violence? Can oppression or injustice make it more or less likely that peace and contentment will prevail? Can a gun in every pocket make us all safer? Can the unlimited pursuit of profit -- regardless of consequences -- make it more or less likely that there will be work with dignity for everyone? Can the addictive consumption of illegal drugs (to the tune of billions of dollars a year) guarantee anyone even a year of harmony and satisfaction? The essential -- yet unpronounced -- proposition of the Tea Party, and of the many world manifestations of the Right-Wing mentality (and religious fundamentalism), is that the ends do in fact justify the means. For the Tea Party in particular and the American Right-Wing in general, their "end" is the continued exploitation of the Planet for the satisfaction of our unlimited desires and the domination of the world by the United States (just listen to former Vice President Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Rick Perry, or Rev. Pat Robertson as examples)... Is there really anything of soul-satisfying greatness in their words or visions? If freedom from fear is a legitimate human desire, then it is also legitimate to ponder how we might actually achieve that blessed condition and great end. If fear is the mind killer, what is cowardice? What is cowardice but the perfect excuse for anything and everything? We can look the other way, or join a citizen's militia. We can watch FOX News and blame feminists, immigrants, blacks, and Democrats for every problem... and we can open our beer and watch the Game of the Week with a clear conscience... Still, there is a very special place for fear in the pantheon of stark naked realities that dictate to us the terms under which we live... A human being who lives -- day in and day out -- in fear will one day wake up without knowing that his / her humanity has been disabled -- put on hold, perhaps for life's duration...
Fear creates: reactions and justifications without end... "Enough" as a word and deep philosophical concept loses all validity: there can never be enough greed, violence, sexism, racism, nationalism, hate, oppression, injustice, or exploitation in a world in which fear dominates: each and all require fear to seed its power... When "enough" has disappeared (our current condition), then every single "event" proves each of the requirements of fear... every act of violence justifies an ever-increasing act of counter-violence... and the deadly spiral spins out of control... On the other hand, wisdom still abides... deep in our consciousness the seeds of wisdom lie dormant... waiting... waiting... oftentimes, a spectacular moment propels the activation of wisdom which will then manifest itself as a supreme act of compassion and mercy: earthquakes and every natural calamity inspires the sudden manifestation of heroic endeavors: when we forget about ourselves we can do incredibly gracious, brave, and seemingly "stupid" things to save the life of a "perfect stranger"... Here's the thing: this "forgetting about ourselves", in truth, re-creates us, giving us a chance to become who we really were all along... Wisdom is communicating to all of us right now through all of the events of the world: this is our "spectacular moment". Don't wait for the earthquake because you just might get it! Don't wait for a howling wind to probe the depths of your mind and heart! Don't wait for the panic of a possible last breath to wake up to your splendor! You were made for your life -- for this moment in time! All that wisdom requires is an active use of the word and concept of "enough"! You could summarize it all with a rough "enough of this shit!" if you wish... or you could say... "Enough of unlimited greed and unrestrained profit! Enough of weapons and violence without end! Enough of justifications for retribution and terror! Enough of sexism, racism, and nationalism! Enough of economic exploitation! Enough of political oppression! Enough of disregard for this precious blue Planet! Enough of the folly of consumerist culture! Enough of hunger, poverty, and homelessness! Enough of the misuse and abuse of power! Enough already! Fear is the mind killer -- we may not be entirely free from fear yet, but we are choosing to rise and stand and walk towards the future that both we and our children deserve! Violence is ugly: we want peace and beauty: we want take-it-to-your-limit education: we want guaranteed jobs with dignity for all: we want full and equal rights for everyone: we want a culture of goodness, kindness, and compassion: we want power and profit to serve everyone's full development and liberation into all of their divinely human possibilities! We want to write a brand new story of what it means to be human on this Planet: and we are the one's who will be doing the writing!" Fear may very well be the mind killer: but it is nothing in comparison to the liberation inherent within our resurrected hearts! Every moment and every act of love has within it the seeds of wisdom; and infinite power that is in no way dependent upon the suffering of another being: holy moly! We can be free: not the libertarian freedom of self-congratulation: but the freedom of the lovertarian-in-action! We can imagine paradise and practice beauty! We can place our liberated minds at the service of compassion for every other... we can, as the Master suggested, love our enemies and watch them transform with us into friends and fellow wayfarers... rising, standing, and walking towards our beautiful possibilities... rEvolution without end... Streams of water flowing in the desert... the deepest longings of our hearts is for an entrance into communion, into a genuine community: into a community of loving, gentle, relationship... a community of mystery and mysticism... a community of beauty, art, music, movement, and unfoldment... a community of work and service... a community of tolerance, forgiveness, and affirmation... a community of enthusiasm and vitality...
We consider ourselves to be truly blessed if we find such a community with a lover and family... Do we dare such blessing with a dream of more? If such a blessing is possible for two: why not three, four, or ten or twelve, or even more? Just such a dare is the very vivification of God, the Holy One, our Beloved Friend! A finer attunement to the Movements of Sophia, the Subtle Spirit, illuminates a will to sacred imagination: "Why not?" Do any of us think that global transformation will arrive at no cost? While the Subtle Spirit does not operate within the perimeters of predatory capitalism, change will only come with a charge! What are some of the charges? (Oh God, there are more than one?) Every boundary must disappear... (we might as well not scurry around any of this!)... By "disappearing boundaries" it is not necessarily implying national boundaries (although that will also be required), but instead the interior limitations that we place upon the capacity of our hearts to love: understand this, we are made from the "What if?" before the Big Bang: seeds from the Original Starlight exist within us this very moment: we are a stunning nineteen billion years old! Our consciousness is "One" with the Divine Consciousness that imagined unlimited possibilities! The boundaries of the Universe must become the boundaries of our hearts: we can in fact begin to practice the same Love-Without-Limits that is the whole She-bang of the Universe (Did you think any of this would be easy?)... Following the steady disappearance of our boundaries is the development of a will to the good, kind, and beautiful: in short, compassion... "Boundlessly compassionate, boundlessly merciful" is the very nature of the One Divine Consciousness still creating ceaselessly: perhaps the best image of the Holy One is that of Mother-Giving-Birth: breathing us and everything into existence through Love... the Universe is creatively unfolding: this precious blue Planet is our Home in a vast array of Stars and Worlds-Without End... Compassion: the will to liberate in justice, kindness, and solidarity every Other is the Great Religion, Philosophy, and Practice of Awakening... Compassion is love-in-action, the forgiveness of enemies, the building of bridges of trust, opportunity, equality, and kindness, and the unleashing of our will to fully participate in building the Earth for the benefit of all... The Subtle Spirit is anything but subtle here: through Yeshua, the Poet of Nazareth, She challenged us to "Love one another as I have loved you" and "Whatsoever you do to the very least of your brethren, you do the very same to me" and "I was hungry and you fed me"... Now, suddenly as if caught completely unaware, we are presented with a vision nearly complete: streams in the desert of life are the acts of kindness that extend my boundaries to include others... and still others... and still others: until there is no one left out or left behind! This is the revelation of transformation and the very core of religion and the living voice of Sophia, the Subtle Spirit: Who, before there was Thought, Movement, and Creation hovered above the Birthing Imagination of the One... and here we are... Ready. Set. Go! When beginning to work on a book I'm writing, the phrase "The Burden of the Psalms" came to mind -- and it became an important part of the whole... which brings to mind the words and songs of the great Canadian poet and singer, Leonard Cohen: from songs such as "Suzanne", "Bird On a Wire", "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", to one of the greatest songs ever composed, "Hallelujah"... always a blend of possibilities: sadness, despair, and bits of comfort... mixed with just enough humor to keep one confronting the difference between sanctity and insanity...
Isn't this so much of what life is about? Robin Williams brought us to the tears of laughter and humbled us at the same time with his raw, beautiful, humanity: apparently this comic genius committed suicide... The Middle East is exploding -- with no clear path forward to peace and justice -- and the dreams of brothers descend into nightmares... Russia looks to perhaps invade the Ukraine... people starving and a devastated Planet crying: can you hear the gut-wrenching groans? To be alive right now is to have been born under "the burden of the psalms"... what is that? For years now I have wondered... Perhaps it is not about a book of poetry in the Bible: but it is about transforming pain into praise, and sadness into song... if this precious blue Planet were to die this very night and take every life -- every form of life -- with it: the void and emptiness would still praise and sing: What is our song? "I need you, I need you, I need you"... Need anything else be said? Jew must say to Muslim and Muslim to Jew: "I need you"... Christian must say to Muslim and Muslim to Christian: "I need you"... Every faith and no faith, conservative, liberal, progressive, and radical... man and woman, adult and child, human and non-human, living and dead and future born: "I need you, I need you, I need you"... This living, this needing to be felt, honored, cherished, and above all, said: is the burden of the psalms... And the only way to make light the burdens that we carry is to share the weight... |
AuthorRobert Daniel Smith was privileged to serve the homeless and marginalized for 30 years in California. He is living now almost within shouting distance of the Twin Cities. He is a poet, artist, writer, and long-time Companion of the Way still dreaming... Archives
May 2022
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