As the heart opens to become more aware of the suffering of others, it asks to know what can be done to alleviate the pain of the world?  It sees the world as so large and the suffering so great, and wonders what it is that one single individual can do? 

This is the authentic cry of the heart that wishes to do more and feels helpless.  It wishes that God would do more, and feels helpless. It wishes that significant change in human consciousness would arrive so that suffering would decrease, and in the presence of that waiting feels helpless.

The heart that bears the suffering of the world to any degree is already doing something that is of value to the world.  And the heart that commits itself to bearing the suffering of the world and uplifting this suffering into the oneness and  power of Divine light and love is doing even more to contribute to the healing of all.

Commitment does not mean feeling the pain and despair of others at the same level of intensity with which it is felt by those who go hungry, or who are afraid for their lives, or who have no means of protecting their children, or who feel trapped in poverty, or who languish in prisons, or who suffer from drug abuse, or who are victims of ongoing civil strife.  It does not mean meeting despair with despair, hopelessness with hopelessness.  This would only submerge two instead of one in that level of feeling at a time when the purpose is upliftment; when the purpose is comfort.

Commitment means acting as a bridge between that intense suffering and the place within us that connects with the creative Divine action that can both hold it and heal it. Within this place we know and acknowledge the pain of others, and seek to redeem it by bringing it to the Divine Oneness that can uplift and heal all.  Thus, it is that those dedicated spiritual beings who, in times gone by and in the present as well, were and are the desert Fathers within the Christian tradition; or who were and are the yogic masters within the Hindu tradition; or who were and are the renunciates within the Buddhist tradition, all of whom live lives of spiritual activism by virtue of their commitment to uplifting and transforming the suffering of the world through acting as an inner bridge.

Spiritual activism is an activism of the heart that wishes to participate in the healing of the world, and makes a commitment to that intention.  This is no small thing.  It is the means by which a spiritual practice is undertaken of any kind that resonates with the heart and soul, not for the benefit of self but for the benefit of the world.

Long ago the phrase 'spiritual materialism' was coined to represent the transfer of the ego and its functions to the realm of spirituality in which goals were defined and achievements hoped for that were for the self and the fulfillment of one's own spiritual desires.  Spiritual activism moves us in a different direction, the direction of selfless love, the direction of giving without a clear outcome, the direction of commitment to the heart's purposes without the mind's being able to know exactly how success or lack of it may be defined.  It is trusting in the interconnectedness of all of life to manifest the healing of suffering along the network of oneness that is everpresent and that joins us vibrationally with the rest of the world.

Not everyone may feel ready to do this, for some are more oriented toward 'doing' in a more visible way, with more visible outcomes to the 'doing.'  This is natural and also in some instances necessary, for each of us has a long history as souls performing various deeds that affect others, and outward action that feels like it is motivated by an inner need for expression is often initiated as a result of our soul's wish to complete something or heal something from our own past.  In some instances such outer action can also be initiated because it is more in keeping with our current soul's purpose in the present lifetime.

What is important, however, is to end the distinction between 'outer' and 'inner' in relation to participating in the healing of the world.  One can be 'active' in both domains. We have grown accustomed to giving power to what we can see because we have relied on our physical senses to let us know what is happening, what is being accomplished.  As we grow, spiritually, we come to rely more on our spiritual senses to know what is happening and what is being accomplished.  We come to trust more in the invisible that has become more real than the visible.  Both are parts of the One

Patience is needed for either kind of activism, patience and trust that the world of consciousness and energy carries our prayers not only to the Source that is the Creator, that to many has seemed far away from the Earth and her cries, but also to the same Source that lives within the Earth and is a part of her, as it is a part of each living being.  This inner Source also hears all cries, responds to all suffering, knows the tears of pain that each being carries, know the pain of the planetary body as well, and seeks in all ways to respond to prayers for healing with avenues of approach that lead to that healing.

We, who seek to become spiritual activists must believe in the unity of souls and the oneness of life.  We must give power to our unity with all in order to redefine what we can do to assist all, for our power to do so is much greater than we may have imagined.  Our power as individuals to assist all is not based on our being a separated individual entity, but on our being an individual point of consciousness within a totality that is seamless.  As a result, what we give of our hearts, what we think, feel, or do, ripples out from us along an invisible network to influence the consciousness of all.

This way of viewing spiritual activism makes of each of us a great source of healing, and we need to re-conceive of ourselves in this way.  We are more powerful than what we have believed ourselves to be because we are connected in the most intimate way with all.  And when our love and prayers for healing and our awareness of being part of All link up to address the suffering of the world or of any part of it, our wishes manifest as currents of energy that move toward the object of our love and join with all other currents that hold the same intentions.

May each of us come to know the capacity for healing that is present within us because we are One.  May each of us come to cherish that connection, for it is a gift of Love from the One who is All, and the power of it can heal the world.

Article Section -  A New Consciousness