Good morning! Welcome to the DKos Sangha weekly open thread.
This is an open thread for members of the DKos Sangha and others who are interested in discussions concerning how we integrate our progressive political activism into our spiritual practice. If you have observations about the political discourse of the week, or about practice, or about anything else related to walking a spiritual path through the political world, if you wish to share, or if you seek support, or if you simply want to say hello, please do; this space is for you.
If you would like to write a diary for the DKos Sangha, please let me know.
If you care nothing for spiritual practice and only wish to denigrate and disparage, please do so elsewhere, and respect that this is a community diary for the DKos Sangha.
Here at Daily Kos we often tend to think in terms of community. One of the communities that I've been working with is an "intentional" community, a group of people that is seeking to find land on which to live together. Recently, we decided to work on crafting a vision statement. While there is much that we agree on when we envision community, we have found that the exercise of coming together to write a statement that reflects our common vision of what we wish to accomplish is something that can be helpful as we move forward.
So it was decided that we would each write our own personal vision statement; we would then try to come up with one statement distilled from these individual visions. At this point in the process, we've each written our personal statement.
I don't know what my vision of the future is, or that I even have a "vision" of the future. I decided that what I could do is to look at the flow of events and write about where I am now within the context of that flow. So I started writing, trying to be truthful with myself, asking "is this true", sitting with the words and feeling into the body to find resonance or dissonance.
I wrote about four pages, most of which set the context for the closing paragraph, the "vision statement". I found that statement interesting, though I don't know how much value it will have in our group's effort to craft a common vision statement. But it does seem to represent to some degree where I am at the moment, not just in terms of this one group, but more broadly. Here is the closing paragraph ...
My personal vision statement then reflects the open hearted acceptance of where I am now, and it seeks to become ever more in harmony with the unfolding of events, the flow of the universe, the way of the tao. This vision statement reflects the responsibility of knowing the truth of who I am, and of continuing to meet and touch with compassion the conditioning that arises, letting that conditioning dissipate in the fire of an open and compassionate heart. Mindful of conditioning's tendency to grasp onto the ideas and concepts that can be used in the service of making our world a better place, this mission statement reflects the importance of not holding too tightly to what I think I might know. Given my perception of where I am now and where the flow of events seems to be moving, this vision statement reflects a focus on spiritual practice and the sharing of this practice with others. This vision statement reflects the importance of solitude and community, and of finding balance and harmony. This vision statement reflects the importance of finding inner peace and peace among the family of humanity.
Perhaps more succinctly, this vision statement might be ...
… to simply be present with what is
It doesn't read like a vision of finding land, living off-grid, using permaculture methods to grow food and live sustainably. But the "truth" is that I don't know the future; the "truth" is that attachment to ideas, even wonderful, meaningful, ideas, does not resonate with the core of my being.
I bring this up here because it may be useful to see that closing statement within the context of our work here at Daily Kos, our work as progressives for social, economic, and environmental justice.
Whatever endeavors we may be working on, our starting point is always now. We work on various projects with different communities of people. We have goals and responsibilities and commitments. We seek outcomes, general and specific. But it is, I think, important to be wary of egoic conditioning's tendency to grasp onto outcomes. You can feel it when that happens, it is visceral.
This does not mean that we shouldn't make plans or work towards goals or work together to accomplish things of importance to our communities. But it suggests that we need not hold too tightly to what we think we know; for when we hold too tightly, it is harder to find the most harmonious way forward, the way in which we might most effectively move within the unfolding of events.
Dharma teaches that where there is attachment and aversion, there is suffering. When we are able to just be present with what is, then we are able to move more in harmony wth the tao.
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You are welcome to join us each week in our Monday night group meditation here at DKos Sangha. This online group meditation is hosted by Ooooh, and the diary is posted at 7:00 Eastern. So that we are able to be together for as many here at Daily Kos as wish to participate, the meditation period runs from 7:30 - 10:00. This group sitting is open to beginners and advanced, and is not restricted to any particular traditions or practices. It is not expected that you sit for the entire period; sit for as long as you like, when you like. The idea is that we are here together; supporting each other, holding space for each other.
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Enjoy your day!