Some Hallmarks of the New Consciousness

Issue 19

Have you heard? A new American administration is preparing to take office. And because the incoming one is so very different from the outgoing one, the increased focus on policies and proposals that typically accompany new terms seems even more pronounced than usual. And then there’s us, bless our hearts, doing our level best to cultivate an entirely new consciousness in the midst and swirl of it all. No pressure but “some say” it’s a lot. So let’s talk about something that will make it a little bit easier as we sift and sort through it all. There are some hallmarks, if you will, of the new consciousness that will be handy to embrace on our quest. Here are but three of them and — oh — a rule for the day: keep it general.

Interconnection / Interdependence

One of the very best things about the scope and scale of so many of the issues we face as Americans (e.g., racism; homelessness) and as humans (e.g., climate) is that no single person, no single community, no single city, state, or country can solve them unilaterally.

That’s good news for the new consciousness where interconnection and interdependence are the name of the game. As a conscious politics practitioner, then, run for your life from statements like “I alone can fix it.” Run toward projects that feature coalitions and collaboration. Run toward policies and proposals that encourage diversity. Run toward regional projects where, in America, for example, groups of states band together to solve problems. Run toward projects where organizations and communities and cities connect across borders.

Change

The conscious politics practitioner is a person who endeavors to get more and more comfortable with the concept of change in their everyday life. Many others of us humans have come to believe that change is something to fear and resist. In my practice most people say things like, I’m good with change but only the good kind.

The good kind of change in politics and government, if you ask me, is change that emerges from policies, regulations, and laws that seem to have run their course. They clearly no longer work and often create obvious, unwelcome, “unintended consequences” such that change actually beckons. When the American and global economies hit a wall circa 2008, for example, it seemed clear that some policies, laws, and regulations in the financial industry were no longer working. A rash of change was bandied about in Congress and some seemingly significant reform legislation was enacted. In short order, however, many of those reforms were then scaled back and weakened (see: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). It sure looked like organic, necessary “change that wanted to happen” was snuffed out by still-powerful forces of resistance, rooted in fear of change, but that’s just me.

Balance

Does it ever seem that policies, regulations, proposals, and/or legislation are intended to balance something that has gone awry? To right a wrong, as it were? Like perhaps environmental policies, regulations, and laws intended to clean up pollution. Or Reconstruction era laws and constitutional amendments to compensate for slavery. Or modern “anti-racist” policies and proposals still intending to achieve equity. Equity and fairness are about balance. It’s built into the DNA of America to be fair and just. The scales of justice represent balance. If the intention of a particular approach is a restoration of balance, it cannot go wrong from a conscious politics perspective.

Did You Catch It?

For anyone playing along at home these three ideas — interconnection or interdependence, change, and balance — are embedded inside one of our conscious politics concepts: we belong to the planet, not the planet to us. It’s the notion that we humans are part of Earth, made of the same stuff, and its nature is our nature, too.

• The planet relies on interconnection/interdependence to survive thus, we do too. A bio-diverse ecosystem, for one example, is greater than the sum of its parts; it increases stability and makes it resistant to attack. When we cultivate diversity, we cultivate alignment with Nature.

• Nature also relies on being in a constant state of change. When a vibrant green leaf turns bright yellow before fading to brown, falling to the ground, then becoming nutrient for the soil, nothing resists that natural change. When winter gives way to spring, same thing. When we allow change, we cultivate alignment with Nature.

• Nature also survives by continually rebalancing itself; in biology, it’s called homeostasis, a self-regulating process. When we cultivate balance, we cultivate alignment with Nature.

And when we cultivate alignment with Nature, we are “in the flow.” We all aspire to some version of being in the flow because it’s how we’re wired. Simply, it feels good. We have learned many practices to do this in our personal lives. Now, let’s expand our skills to crafting and evaluating political policies and proposals that actually align us with the nature of Nature. That’s some high order new consciousness right there. Baby.

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NOTE: Save the date: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 — New Year’s Eve EVE. (5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern) It’s Spiritual Workout’s 5th Annual “Resolutions Shmezolutions” Intention-Setting Party Extravaganza where you turn your new year’s resolutions into shiny, clear intentions, Spiritual Workout-style. Details next week.