A conscious approach to politics insists that we be able to see beyond what is and cultivate what is wanted if, in fact, what is, is other than what’s wanted. (Say that three times fast.) It’s hardly a new idea in these pages, but it feels like the right time to take a breath, a deep breath, and unpack exactly how to see beyond what is and cultivate what is wanted — in case you’re looking to up your conscious politics game (and I know you are).
To be clear, nothing that follows here is intended to persuade you to see what I see or want what I want — far from it. Rather, it’s to demonstrate, using my opinions only as fodder, the basic mechanics of this truly uncomplicated, possibly unfamiliar, process. And with that, we’re off. I think what is, is a political shit show for myriad reasons, which I’ll whittle way, way down, for now, to a few items:
a massive erosion of trust in government
an unevenly informed electorate
the shattering of political norms
a fraying of civil, political discourse
the erosion of one political party into a cult of personality
diminishment of American leadership on the world stage
Yeah, that’s probably enough to go on for now.
Oh! You too? Wanna go for drinks and rail against it all? Co-marinate in some righteous incredulity? Anger? Outrage? Old-consciousness me is so down, one hundred, what fun. But new-consciousness me knows that drinks with you, for that, is really just a tempting trap that only perpetuates all of what we are railing against in the first place because law of attraction’s gonna do what law of attraction’s gonna do. Thus, new-consciousness me is encouraged, instead, to use what I abhor as a springboard to articulate, step one, what I would prefer.
law of attraction’s gonna do what law of attraction’s gonna do
Intentions matter and shiny, clear intentions are how we articulate precisely what we want to be, do, and/or have. When setting intentions we are answering this question: In an ideal world where nobody can say no and money’s no object, what do you want? We state intentions using present tense, positive language. So, instead of thinking and talking about how trust has been eroded, I springboard into what’s preferred, an intention like we Americans trust our government. Instead of perseverating about how shocking it is that we don’t seem, anymore, to even be believing the same facts, I springboard into my desire with something like, Americans are extremely well-informed and take their citizenship seriously. Instead of bemoaning the diminishment of American standing on the world stage, I effortlessly slide into an intention that America is respected as a benevolent global superpower.
Oh! You too? In that case, let’s go for drinks now and talk on purpose and in gory detail about the freedom we derive from trusting our government. Let’s talk tons and tons about how stimulating it is to talk politics with our fellow Americans as members of an educated, well-informed, democratic citizenry regardless of our points of view. Let’s celebrate how cool it is to travel the world and be honored and respected as Americans for our leadership and benevolence because, guess what? This is precisely how, step two, to cultivate what we want to experience: by thinking and talking in these terms all the time. That’s it. Well, that plus the huge role feelings play which we’ll explore in greater depth as time goes on.
As we walk this path I guarantee it will not be long before we discover beliefs like “it’s impossible” making themselves known. One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake — at the same time. Conscious politics practitioners who find themselves in this dynamic are undeterred because beliefs that don’t align with what we want can also be easily changed (drop in to any weekly Spiritual Workout or any monthly Spiritual Workout for Politics & Current Events to learn how). We will also most assuredly get bogged down, stuck, wondering exactly how an idea like we Americans trust our government could ever materialize in America. And we may despair over the time it will take. Yet conscious politics practitioners know that questions about how and when are the domain of our co-creator, The Universe, Source. We have a partner. We don’t do it all alone. That’s new consciousness. Our job is to be crystal clear about what we want and stay aligned with it.
When we are talking in as much detail as we can about what things would be like when we are educated and well-informed, we are actively creating that. When we talk incessantly with one another about the elevated discourse that is generated by two fully functioning parties that agree on their roles and basic facts, we are actively creating that. When we conjure feelings that we want to feel like satisfied, proud, safe, and secure, we are actively creating more and more of that, too.
It matters what we think. It matters what we say. It matters how we feel. Even when it comes to politics in America in 2020. Especially then.
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NOTE: Image from andbeyond.com