'Spectrum equality' implies a shift in awareness from labels that are based on polarity - 'this' as opposed to 'that', 'black' as opposed to 'white,' animals as opposed to humans - to a view of these same aspects or characteristics as existing along a spectrum or continuum of incremental change.  'Spectrum equality' represents a consciousness shift for humanity as a whole that has been brought about and is being brought about both by events and by the evolution of consciousness, so that we are more ready to view things as they are, individually, to accord them individual status rather than group status, and thus to honor the  being-ness of each person or thing in itself.

Such a consciousness shift is based, in part, on the revelation of new facts about any given set of polarities. New revelations about human or animal behavior, or even of the behavior of planets, allow us to change our views of the nature of reality.  For example, what was once thought of as the ninth planet of our solar system, Pluto, in 2006 became reclassified as a 'dwarf planet' as new information caused a refinement of our thinking concerning what constituted a planet.  From a solar system of nine planets we then became a solar system of eight.  In a similar way, reality can change into a more refined view of 'what is' as we learn more, and as we are willing to accept and incorporate this new learning into our world view. Our willingness to revise our view of the solar system or of other aspects of physical or social reality allows us to accept a new perspective concerning the nature of 'what is.'

This has been true to a significant degree with respect to gender identification.  In the latter part of the twentieth century we were still thinking in terms of 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual' as the primary designations for sexual orientation. Today we not only have 'trans-gender' as a name representing a group of individuals with particular characteristics, but are also beginning to accept those individuals who do not fit into any category but move back and forth between categories based on their own psychic structure and individual needs.  The advent of 'spectrum equality' has enabled us to absorb this new status concerning gender and sexual orientation.  Almost invisibly, we have become more willing to see individuals as they are without identifying them with a label.

Such a shift is also occurring in our relationship with the animal kingdom.  Though many still feel permission to kill animals for sport or profit, there are many more, today, who understand that animals have feelings and awareness, and indeed, have a more highly developed consciousness than we had ever thought possible.  'Spectrum equality' as it applies to animals, means that animals can no longer be classified as a 'kingdom without consciousness,' a distance apart from human consciousness. Rather, animals, and each animal individually, is seen in a state of evolving consciousness, some more closely adopting lines of development similar to human consciousness, some less so.  Increased knowledge of animal behavior, social interactions, and communication have led us to understand that animal consciousness is far more complex than we had thought.  Our acceptance of this goes hand-in-hand with new information, that is, we are willing to hold animals as more 'real,' more like ourselves, and it is this essentially spiritual unfoldment which accompanies the emerging facts that creates the willingness to honor each being 'as it is,' whether human or non-human. 

'Spectrum equality' is the result of seeing all of life not in terms of classes but in terms of individual being, not as higher or lower, but as part of a sacred tapestry within which individual consciousness varies to an infinite degree. In its emergence at this time within the mainstream of collective awareness, it stands opposed to all that would classify individuals according to group stereotypes,, all that would polarize groups, and all that would detract from the liberty of each being to be themselves.

With respect to racial identity, we in America have a distance to go as compared with many other parts of the world.  We still think in terms of 'black' and 'white,' and tend to project cultural values and characteristics onto different racial groups.  In other parts of the world where the roots of slavery have not played such an important role in the development of a country, persons of different races and ethnic backgrounds mix more easily.  Even those brought over from Africa in the distant past for economic gain eventually, in later generations, tend to blend into the indigenous culture more easily, giving rise to individuals of mixed races as a common cultural heritage, whether black, brown, tan, or white. Within America, there is a great need to bring 'spectrum equality' to the perception of race, to make it not only part of our view of history but part of our current thinking as well.  We would do this in much the same way that we have made a new view of gender orientation part of our current thinking.  Though we have made great progress in de-polarizing certain areas of our collective life, with respect to race, this has not yet happened.  This is because the roots of racial separation and of prejudice are so deeply embedded within our history.

'Spectrum equality' is a way of viewing each individual human or non-human being in their being-ness, rather than as a category. Its presence is the antidote to polarization, a current that is gaining adherents in our country today.   What it does and what it can do is create the deeper foundation for a sacred life.  What it does and what it can do is to transform our entire society into a society which honors each being, both human and non-human, for their uniqueness, in an embrace that includes all.  The vision of 'spectrum equality' is a vision of the future in which all are included as equal creations of the Divine.

Article Section -  A New Consciousness