I’ve also gotten to spend some time researching and thinking about life purpose. I found a few good books along the way, as well as a couple of good websites that I will introduce you to.

I was inspired by another TED Video. This time, the video is by a Pakistani man speaking at TED India. With him, he had brought pictures and greetings from ordinary Pakistani citizens. He read about each of their lives, their life aspirations for their children, and brought a greeting of peace from each of them. He was successful at separating the politics of the nations from the daily dreams and aspirations of everyday people. It occurs to me that these dreams and aspirations are universal, regardless of the nation, religion, or ethnic background we happen to be born into.

We all want to make a difference. We want adequate food, health, and shelter. We want to be known. We want to prepare a better life for those who are to follow us.  We want to be able to follow our dreams. We want our rights to be respected. We want a government that allows us to achieve these goals. I believe that these dreams and aspirations are universal, regardless of the country, religion, or ethnicity you happen to have been born into.

For this holiday season, I wish for each of you to have the opportunity to experience your life dreams.  I believe it is our common birthright, regardless of our country or religion of origin. I wish this for every citizen of the United States, Canada, Britain, Iran, Japan, China, Taiwan, and the citizens of every other world country. I wish this for every Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, and the participants of every other religion.  My prayer is that we learn to embrace our commonality of desire, not our differences.

Blessings for a bright, safe, and healthy Holiday Season.

Something to think about…..

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I thought about this recently when people reacted negatively to President Obama bowing in greeting to Emperor Akihito from Japan.  I believe that the negative reaction President Obama received was from Americans who understood what the action meant in their culture, based on their upbringing.  In the Japanese culture, however, the bow (or lack thereof) may mean something far different. I am reluctant to pass any judgement on that bow, since I understand that I am not well versed in Japanese customs or culture, nor am I well versed in diplomatic protocols.  I do, however, understand that the bow may have been a component of achieving a mutually satisfying exchange of ideas, informal agreements, etc.

From my perspective, a bow may simply have been a respectful greeting, honoring the humanity of the person being greeted in a manner most appealing to the person being greeted.  From my perspective, it did not signify American subservience to Japan, nor did it signify any weakness of America.  I don’t believe the bow in any way weakened our position to negotiate or discuss our relative positions.  In fact, I think President Obama may have strengthened our negotiating hand by greeting the Emperor in a manner meaningful to his traditions.

This is similar to how I hope to greet you, should I ever have that opportunity.  I hope that I have the knowledge and grace to greet you in a manner that is pleasing to you.  With that greeting, I intend to honor your humanity.  After the greeting, we can go to work to discuss anything that is of importance – including those areas where we may strongly disagree.

In a recent TED presentation, Devdutt Pattanaik presented a far clearer picture of how this works than I can do here. His 19 minute presentation discussed the difference between the Western and Eastern culture, religions, traditions, and resulting mindsets. In a world hungry for conflict resolution, I think it is a video worth watching.  Just click on the link that follows.

TED Video

Something to think about…..

While I was half watching, the thought came.  These are the people who are leading our country?  People who engage in personal attack, disrespectful behavior, and congressmen who insult others to their face?  Politicians who work to instill fear of the future into the hearts and minds of it’s citizens, as they search for a political advantage?  Speaking for myself, this behavior is far more discouraging than the individual policies they may represent.

Our problems are too big, and too complex to be playing a game of political football.  From my perspective, we need our representatives to muster all of the Love and Spiritual Power they can find, along with their best understandings of compassion, respect, and kindness, and then put them to use to solve our problems.  The congressmen I see represented in the media  spend a lot of time fighting the ideas / bills / laws they don’t want, and not as clearly emphasizing what they want to build.

We simply cannot build what we want by fighting what we don’t want.  It doesn’t work that way.  You want Health Care that works for everyone?  Put a plan in front of us that will allow us to make the best possible choices from a wide list of selections, and help us to understand why your plan is better – don’t try to sell your plan by attacking someone else’s plan.  All that tells me is that your plan is not that good.  The time you spend attacking and insulting another’s plan is time you have wasted.  Better to spend time developing and educating the public about your own plan.

Equally unacceptable is the News Media’s role in this.  We need a news media who will report to us what is happening – objectively.  It is not acceptable for the news media to simply give time to the extreme elements of society – people who rudely disrupt proceedings and pundits with narrow views in an increasingly complex world.

This is what I mean by “Spiritual Leadership”.  We need politicians and news media to be guided by the common spiritual principles of kinship, compassion, fair play, and Love.  We need leaders who are worthy of the public trust, and who work to develop a greater society.

I understand the concept of the Separation of Church and State.  The founders of the United States did not want the government led by one faith’s set of religious principles.  They wanted people of all faiths to have an equal say in how their country is governed.  They did not intend that our leaders would have to disregard all spiritual principles before they entered the halls of Government.  Although I don’t want the Government led from a perspective of strict Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist doctrine, I also don’t want my government leaders to discard the core spiritual traditions of Compassion, Love, Justice, and Fair Play. I want the Media to do the same.  I want them to embrace core spiritual values, which are shared by all major world religions.

Of course, it’s not enough that we demand this of our leaders, if we don’t also demand it of ourselves.  Our politicians are, in the end, a reflection of the people who elect them. One of the lessons I’ve learned in my life is that I usually cannot change other’s beliefs by force, but I can often change them by example and by positive leadership. Does our daily behavior exhibit the values that we want our children and our politicians to display?  Will you join me in my attempt to set a better example for those in our world?

Something to think about…..

We live in the house we all build – www.earthshare.org

I think the Church has lost it’s way. I believe that the purpose of any church is to teach us to Love, to guide us to higher thinking, to help us develop a greater knowledge of our place in the world, to guide us to spirit, to teach us how to be closer to God, how to live in harmony with our purpose, and to live harmoniously with each other. To me, it’s clear that the church alienates its people when it creates and enforces rules by which people must think and live. For example, the church has lost many of it’s followers over the church rules about divorce, abortion, eating meat on Fridays, where you may and may not get married, who may participate in Sunday services, and even the demand that any children of marriages performed in their churches be raised Catholic, etc.

I believe there’s a higher purpose in life. I believe we’re here on this planet for a reason. I believe that there’s more to life than just the human institutions we’ve erected and the daily chores we attend to. I believe that all people are spiritual, and that we have a higher purpose. At some level, most of us seem to believe some portion of that, but from there we diverge.

My personal belief is that we are here to learn to love. Actively love. Love, in the sense of having an altruistic care about the growth and well being of ourselves and others. Love that allows us to care for one another, and create a better world in which to live. Love, that allows us to honor all of creation and build upon it.

I believe that the purpose for which great masters such as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, etc., were put upon this Earth was to help us awaken; to help us see that we are so much more than just this body and mind. I believe they wanted us to see beyond earthly appearances and live a life of Love, compassion, and gratitude. I believe that this is (or should be) the purpose of our churches. To help us to see beyond appearances, to assist us in seeing our connection with God / Spirit / Divine Source, or by whatever name you know it. To help us understand our connection to each other so we can live with compassion. To assist us in living a life of Love, of constructive action, and spiritually healthy ways of overcoming adversity.

Too many times, I believe, our religious institutions lose the ability to convey that message when they institute rules that their members must adhere to, or lose the right to participate. Once those types of rules are enacted, the church splinters into groups who support that stance and groups that oppose that stance. In that circumstance, people find themselves having to choose between one group of thought or another, and some form of conflict ensues. Some will leave the church because of the conflict.  It becomes much more difficult to then teach the basic core values of Love, compassion, honesty, etc. in that environment.

What I prefer is a church that teaches, guides, and encourages me to live the spiritual principles of Love, Compassion, Respect, Spirituality, and Gratitude. I want a church that helps me to see beyond everyday circumstance into our real purpose for being here. I want a church that helps me to understand my innate spirituality.  When I/we are well grounded in the principles and practice of Love, Compassion, Respect, Spirituality and Gratitude, I/we will be much better equipped to tackle the human issues of divorce, abortion, who is permitted to participate in church services, etc.

Something to think about….