I have been listening to the Awakening The Impulse To Evolve conversations at: EvolutionarySpirituality.com. I am greatly encouraged that there are many of us exploring this evolutionary edge. Humanity is evolving. Can we grow to be the critical mass that is needed to breakthrough? Will we do it in time? Am I doing my part? What is my part?
At the same time I hear other messages. That: this is the last generation. Souls will no longer need human vehicles. Physicality is evil. Suffering is good. The more people there are to suffer the better. Basically; Trash the place we are on our way out. Or: We will leave in rapture and everyone else will be left to suffer a horrible end. Or: We are a malignant species killing our host planet therefore we deserve to die. Human species physical extinction? Spiritual evolutionary success or failure?
What a way to go! We are all connected. To the degree anyone suffers I suffer. The extinction of the human species could be really good for the planet but I doubt that doing it this way could be very helpful to our spiritual evolution. Evolution demonstrates increasing complexity and cooperation. The wisdom traditions point to inclusivity, community, kindness, forgiveness and love. Extinguishing our species through cruelty, neglect, abuse, and other manifestations of our inhumanity would seem to be a major setback to our spiritual evolution.
As I delve deeper into my spiritual evolution I am finding that somewhere in my early years I must have sworn to hate my father forever. Now as I care for this 93 year old, as I hear of the horrors of war, the unfairness of life, and as we both regress to our two year old selves, I find my two year old hates him. Like all my years of dysfunction come out of that oath. Intellectually I can rationalize that this vet had been traumatized, had a short fuse, and deserves to be forgiven for his violent rages. Emotionally, when he gets upset, I still can feel the explosion coming and want to run and hide. I still have the rage inside that kept me going when all I wanted was to die. When I agreed to care for him I knew I had healing work to do. I didn’t know it would be this hard. It feels like my spiritual life hangs in the balance.
I recently wrote that we are called to bless everyone and every situation. I would like to have no resentments, no regrets and no unfinished business (Michael Dowd). I would like to see the Universe as friendly (Einstein). I would like to be awake to the beauty of existence and drawn into intimacy and trust (Brian Swimme). To some degree I do feel I manage to be in a place of always learning (Duane Elgin). I hope I move the evolutionary action forward (Andrew Cohen). I hope I change the universe by the change I am (Cohen). I want to rise above my personal particulars to universal capacities, awakening to context (Jean Houston). All these wants and hopes feel like the long forgotten memory of the future (Houston). We know we can have a world that works for everyone. Everyone includes me, stepping into each new day, free of fear, free of rage, free of hate, full of gratitude, blessed and blessing everyone and everything. Ah! Forgiveness work!

September first I quit driving truck and moved to the ranch, where I grew up, in South Dakota to care for my aging father.
After a month preparing for winter; gardening, restoring greenhouse glass, repairing the car, a bit of canning and freezing, and planting a bed of greens in the greenhouse, “sustainability” has a new feel. The big items of “getting tucked in for the winter” have been taken care of. And there is still a “to do” list for any Indian summer days that come along. I suspect my daily inspection of the tender little greens that I am trying to nurture for my winter nutrition has a lot to do with the shifting perception of “sustainability”. Over my years away from the farm, 34, and garden, 6, I have slowly forgotten the emotional impact of seeing my future salad being consumed by insects. Still, I made an outdoor hot bed on the south side of the greenhouse to give me a jump start in the spring. A farmer just keeps planting. Yes, it may be in vain, the bugs may win, but, if he doesn’t plant, there will definitely not be a crop. Obama is getting the Nobel Peace Prize for planting.
Another aspect of “sustainability” is shifting as well. As I listen to my father I notice my inherited tendencies and have the opportunity to reflect on my own attitudes and behaviors. How easy it is to blame others or the system for what is, rather than taking responsibility for what I may or may not be making of the circumstances in which I find myself. How easy it is to tear down rather than build up. Yes, we need to create an opening for the new. However, we create this opening by stopping, reflecting, contemplating, meditating, praying; rather than by tearing down. As I worked on the car I would get stymied, stumped, or couldn’t get something apart or together. About the time I was ready to try to force it, or take a sledge hammer to it, I would stop and do something else for a while, or just take a break, and when I came back to that task it would be easy. Of course, at times it took multiple tries.

So, as I tackle (nice cozy indoor tasks for cold nasty winter days) long neglected website maintenance, bookkeeping, and file clearing I am mindful that each task move me toward the construction of an experimental inert fill structure in a sustainable community. I need to be careful to not get the cart before the horse or to bite off more than I can chew. In other words, to set SMART goals: S- specific, M- measurable, A- achievable, R- realistic, T- timely. In the process regular blog entries will help keep me on track.

Wage slaves that is. The administrations dismissal of single payer universal healthcare moves me to take a couple actions.
1) Cross out “DONOR” on my drivers license. Without healthcare that provides for the working class the only people able to take advantage of any organs or tissues that may survive my death will be the rich who will then use those same tissues to further oppress the poor.
2) Refuse to purchase health insurance even when I begin making enough money to do so. The administrations action demonstrates the inordinate power of the health insurance industry. An industry that currently siphons off finances that should be providing healthcare. An industry that actively interferes with individuals getting the care they need. Insurance does not equal healthcare. How many people do you know who are hanging onto (chained to) a job they hate so as to keep their health insurance (which may or may not pay for needed care)? To stay politically viable Obama must cater to the capitalists. But we don’t need to. We can help free the slaves by following our consciences.

I received the following message today. 1) The original date on it is Feb 7, why so slow to get out? 2) The petition site does not contain this wording. 3) I would like to see a direct reference to our need to care for each other. I signed the petition anyway.

The Evolutionary Leaders Counsel is a group of spiritual and thought
leaders called together by Deepak Chopra. They have been meeting in
person and by phone to address the needs of the planet and how best to
facilitate change of consciousness on the planet. Below is their
response to a request by the Obama administration. Their petition
addresses many of the concerns in the NSP Spiritual Covenant with
America. It is thrilling to see our current administration reaching
out to spiritual leaders and showing an interest in consciousness.

By the Evolutionary Leaders
The human family is in the midst of the most significant
transformation of consciousness since its emergence in Africa over one
hundred thousand years ago. Consciousness has been evolving for
billions of years from the first cell to us. We are becoming aware
that through our own consciousness the universe can know itself. This
awareness reveals incredible new potential for our individual and
collective humanity.
Simultaneously, we are the first species on this Earth aware that we
can destroy ourselves by our own action. This may be the greatest
wake-up call to the evolution of consciousness since the origin of
Homo sapiens.
We now realize that we are affecting our own evolution by everything
we do. This knowledge awakens in us the aspiration to become more
conscious through subjective practices including meditation,
reflection, prayer, intuition, creativity, and conscious choice making
that accelerate our evolution in the direction of unity consciousness
and inspire us to deeply align our collective vision.
THE CHALLENGE
At this juncture in human history, urgent global crises challenge us
to learn to live sustainably, in harmony and gratitude with one
another and with the living universe. The changes required of humanity
are broad, deep, and far reaching. Only by acting swiftly and
creatively can we birth a planetary culture that will bring well-being
to every form of life in the Earth community.
The good news is that a compelling new story of our potential as a
whole human species is emerging-a story of collaboration, citizen
action, dialogue and new understandings propelled by unprecedented
levels of democratic freedom, multicultural exchange, and access to
communication technologies. It is nothing less than the story of our
collective evolution.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION
We recognize that the inner and outer aspects of life evolve together.
A dramatic awakening in consciousness will involve an equally dramatic
shift in outward aspects of our lives. In particular, we see the
following as vital opportunities for our conscious evolution, both
personally and collectively:
Cultivating a Paradigm of Aliveness: We regard the universe as deeply
alive and conscious by nature. In a living universe, our sense of
subtle connection and participation with life around us is the basis
for a compassionate and cooperative approach to living.
Educating for an Evolving Consciousness: Awakening consciousness is
the foundation for all the change we seek to see in the world. We can
work to elevate our capacity for conscious reflection and creative
action in our personal lives as well as our collective lives as
communities. We must support research and educational strategies that
optimize human capacities and explore the nature of consciousness.
Restoring Ecological Balance: The balance of planetary ecosystems is
fundamental to our survival. We must reverse the pollution of our
global commons-the water, air and soil that nourish all life. We must
encourage the proliferation of clean, renewable energy sources and
expend all necessary resources toward mitigating the effects of
climate change.
Encouraging Conscious Media: We must find innovative ways to use the
new electronic media as the mirror of our positive evolutionary story,
investing in their capacity to reach across differences of generation,
culture, religion, wealth, and gender to build a working consensus
about our collective future.
Engaging in Social and Political Transformation: More sustainable ways
of living will require the support of a more conscious democracy and
vibrant civil society from which more enlightened leaders will emerge.
All individuals should be encouraged to use their gifts to create
participatory, responsible and compassionate models of governance.
Working for Integrity in Commerce: Conscious businesses that are aware
of the scope, depth, and long-range impacts of their actions are key
to achieving sustainability. Business must become an ethical steward
of the Earth’s ecology and consciously establish an economic basis for
a future of equitably shared abundance.
Promoting Health and Healing: The science of mind-body-spirit health
has demonstrated the profound connection between the health of a whole
person and the health of the system in which he or she lives. Whole
systems healing, respecting both traditional knowledge and modern
sciences, must be supported in physical, social, and spiritual domains.
Building Global Community: The new story is about all of us who share
this planet. Together, we can create a culture of peace that
eliminates the need for armed conflict, respecting and appreciating
the glorious diversity of our human family.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VITAL
Our group has done its best to articulate possibilities for the
evolution of consciousness at this crucial moment in time. Please
reflect on this document, feel what resonates in your being and calls
forth a response on your part. We invite you to discuss it with
others, continuing this global conversation by adding to it the wisdom
that is uniquely your own.
Together, let us co-create a new narrative of conscious evolution that
is a call to individual and collective action, birthing the most
significant transformation of consciousness in history. Join in the
Call to Conscious Evolution by signing the pledge now.
FOUNDING SIGNATORIES
Chopra Center , Carlsbad , California , July 26, 2008
Michael Beckwith, Joan Borysenko, Gregg Braden, Rinaldo Brutoco,
Thomas Callanan, Deepak Chopra, Mallika Chopra, Dale Colton, Gordon
Dveirin, Duane Elgin , Leslie Elkus, Barbara Fields, Debbie Ford, Ashok
Gangadean, Kathleen Gardarian, Tom Gegax, Charles Gibbs, Kathy Hearn,
Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Bruce Lipton, Judy Martin, Rod
McGrew, Steve McIntosh, Lynne McTaggart, Deborah Moldow, James O’Dea,
Carter Phipps, Wendy Craig-Purcell, Carolyn Rangel, Rustum Roy, Peter
Russell, Gerard Senehi, Emily Squires, Brian Swimme, Diane Williams,
Marianne Williamson, Tom Zender.
See what others are saying, sign petition and write your comments:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/248704259

The survival of people or the planet are not the issue. It is the survival of our humanity. Will we enter the brave new world terrorizing each other into submission? Or scrapping over the last breathable bit of air or drinkable bit of water? Or will we step into the future, humanely, taking care of “the least of these”?

In the consumer economy value is determined by economies. Should not value stem from our spiritual principles? In the consumer economy things have value. If someone cannot pay for food or medicine they die. If we realign our values (see Earth Charter or Millennium Development Goals) to value people and see the necessities of life as a birthright we open an entirely new set of questions. If everyone as a right to food, is that a cup of “Feed My Starving Children” mix, or a balanced diet? And who is to provide this free food?