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.