The Politics of Wholeness

We are living in times of extreme polarization and growing tension on the planet. There is a deepening divide in the world of politics, an emerging animosity between different cultures and religious beliefs that sporadically erupts as war and acts of aggression between nations, and we are witnessing a proliferation of extreme weather incidents that appear to mirror the present troubled psychological climate.

Seen from this perspective, polarization and tension can easily be perceived as negative and retrogressive influences and yet, according to the Ageless Wisdom teaching, all new forms of life are manifested exclusively through a creative interplay between the two poles representing the dual-aspects of the One life. We are told that the One is a sacred union of Yin and Yang—the Feminine and Masculine Principles—and the way that Life reveals and manifests Itself is by using the dynamic tension generated by this indwelling duality to give birth to something new.

The consummation of the Divine Marriage between the two poles produces the offspring of new possibilities and the bright light of heightened awareness. A simple way to understand this creative principle is to appreciate that the electric light illuminating our homes is the result of tension inside a differential field of positive and negative poles. The generating of electric light correlates to the illumination of consciousness which is born out of the tensed and intimate polar relationship of Spirit and Matter inside us. Spirit is said to be Matter vibrating at its highest frequency and Matter to be Spirit vibrating at its lowest frequency.

This is all well and good if we know ourselves to be 'incarnated agents' of the One, utilizing the dual nature to conceive and deliver more of who we are as a gift in service for the good of the whole. However, if we live inside a consciousness of separation, where the dual nature of the unified field is not acknowledged, then we simply view others as separate and opposing parts. In this way, we live ‘poles apart’ from each other and inevitably reinforce a sense of the ‘other’ as the enemy.

The wisdom teaching that we draw upon at Meditation Mount, from our spiritual lineage, describes the creative process as follows: The two poles in relationship with each other produce Polarization that builds to a point of Tension; as the tension increases, it reaches a point of Crisis which is resolved by Release. This Release either sweeps us up to a higher level of embodied living and a vital moment of new birth, or it collapses the field when the opportunity afforded by the crisis cannot be properly utilized in a beneficent manner because of our polarized thinking and behaving. We are learning to act like a skilled archer aiming and shooting an arrow at the intended target. The tension created by the polarity of the single bowstring, attached to either end of the bow, increases as it is pulled back until a critical moment of release sets in motion the needed forward flight of the ‘arrow of focused intent’ towards its destined goal.

The dynamic of duality becomes problematic when a shared vision of wholeness is not alive in our hearts and minds—and this sadly seems to be the case inside the world of politics. I see politics as ‘how we choose to live together and govern ourselves’ and how the Soul of a Nation strives to seek ‘a more perfect union’ —an expanded state of wholeness and collective wellbeing. When politics is divided into two parties with no common vision of this perfected union, then victory is seen as one pole or party beating out the other. This divisiveness results in the parties lined up as warring factions.

I offer this analogy from Mother Nature. As a bird watcher, I know that birds have two wings in order to fly. A one-winged bird cannot make it very far and is doomed to spiral downward and crash to the ground. The symbol of the Soul of the United States of America is the Eagle, so let us imagine this majestic bird soaring and flying towards its destined future. If the entire population understands that the successful flight of the eagle depends on its two wings working together to keep it aloft and moving forward, then both poles can function harmoniously as co-creative partners. However, if we are not able to see the Eagle as a symbol of national unity, then there is a real danger that instead of identifying with the whole bird, we are tempted to identify with one wing as our representation of wholeness. Without a unified vision, the left and right wings fail to recognize they are needed co-workers in a larger collective enterprise and end up damaging and denigrating each other.

Like any bird in Nature, the American Eagle with wings constantly at war with each other is doomed to eventually crash and burn. A dysfunctional system—be that avian, communal, or national—will not survive and thrive if an overall coherence and an agreed-upon cooperation between and among the parts which comprise the whole organism does not exist. Unfortunately, the harsh politics of separation are bankrupting the commonwealth of our human family on so many levels right now.

We are in dire need of a Politics of Wholeness where the dynamic relationship between the differences is cultivated as a healthy way by which we generate novel and diverse expressions of a shared vision and destiny. E pluribus unum—‘out of the many, one’—is the spiritual motto of the United States of America and the compelling call of the Soul of a Nation that is earnestly requesting a positive response from us as its citizens if we are to succeed in creating a more perfect ‘state of the union’.

The deep call to union and greater cooperation is not limited to politics. Here at Meditation Mount we are engaged with and guided by three spiritual Principles in our quest to help shape and construct a society where civility reigns and where the different parts are respected, honored, and seen equally as belonging to a greater field of beingness that we call the Planetary Life. These three Principles of Essential Divinity, Goodwill and Unanimity constitute our chosen path to wholeness and form the bedrock of all our ‘inner’ and outer work in the world.

The Principle of Essential Divinity declares that inside each person burns the same fiery Presence as our core identity and that life is a continuous journey of revealing this sublime Presence. Therefore, each one of us is a unique and sacred fractal of the One Life to be seen and celebrated. In this inclusive reality, there is no ‘other’—simply the manifold and diverse expressions of the One Life that each represents.

The Principle of Goodwill affirms that Love is the lifeblood flowing and circulating throughout the entire Universe and constitutes the divine substance which nourishes and sustains all Creation. Goodwill is how you and I demonstrate the presence of an Abiding Love through the daily practice of mindfulness and heartfulness in all our relationships and dealings. With this deep knowing registered in our blood and bones, it is impossible to cause harm to another.

The Principle of Unanimity asserts that we are each integral and inter-locking aspects of one coherent web of life, glued together and held in place by the power of Unconditional Love. Unanimity, as a lived reality, gives rise to hope and stimulates a striving towards wholeness: at both an individual and national level.

“In a real sense all life is inter-related. All persons are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality.”

– Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The inauguration of a Politics of Wholeness starts with us individually as we discover and accept our unique gift and place in the greater scheme of things and actively support each other in delivering on the shared promise and destiny alive and expectant in the heart of humanity. The Greek philosophers named this potent promise as the sacred trinity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty.

A society built squarely upon a solid foundation of spiritual Principles is more likely to succeed in achieving the sought-after state of a ‘higher union’ with Life than a society in disarray and at war with itself. We call upon Rumi to offer some final words of enlightenment and encouragement as we tread our chosen path from darkness into Light: “Love is the bridge between you and everything”.

Michael Lindfield

Board President

Meditation Mount