July/August 2006 Editor's Viewpoint
From the Publisher: The times they are a-changin’…

Miriam Knight

A number of years ago I got a letter from a reader questioning the use of “conscious” in the New Connexion tag line. “What...as opposed to unconscious?” she asked. Yes exactly – conscious rather than unconscious. Conscious of the whole world we live in, not just our sheltered corner of it. Conscious that every choice we make and every action we do or don’t take fashions the fabric of our lives and our world. Conscious of our connection to every living thing, past, present and future. Consciousness is a good first step, but now we have to come together and act on what we have all been feeling – what has been surging into the global consciousness.

Two 4-day spiritual activism conferences have just been held on the East and West Coasts, attracting thousands of attendees. Both conferences aimed to provide an alternative to the right wing ideology and hollow religious platitudes mouthed by the government to court the Religious Right. Hiding behind the smokescreen of upholding America’s core values, it has done exactly the opposite by eroding civil liberties and protecting the wealth of the corporations and the rich at the expense of the environment, public health, education and social welfare. It has mortgaged the very future of this country and this planet to the interests of a powerful oligarchy.

In Washington, DC the Spiritual Progressives Conference (www.spiritualprogressives.org) launched the Network of Spiritual Progressives, a grassroots movement aimed at creating a new Spiritual Covenant with America, and reclaiming for the political left and center the moral authority of the real spiritual values on which America was founded. Rabbi Michael Lerner kicked off a series of passionate talks from an impressive group of spiritual, religious, and spiritual but not religious activists from the likes of Sister Joan Chittister to Cindy Sheehan. The whole group took these calls for a spiritual renaissance to Congress, meeting in small groups with their state representatives, and massed across from the White House for a Pray-In for Peace.

In Seattle, Wisdom University launched the first of a series of Sacred Activism Conferences scheduled to roll out to another eight cities this coming year. (www.wisdomuniversity.org/sacred-activism-index.html) The purpose of these conferences is to “take a stand for progressive values and to galvanize a deeper connection between our spiritual practice and social action. It is to find a new direction for America. Nothing less than the future of our nation and the fate of the earth are at stake. At the core of all our convenings will be discussions concerning the new political compass that is emerging in America and how each of us can contribute to shifting the direction of our country toward values that are aligned with a new sense of civic responsibility, that protect the earth, and that would bring our country into a new relationship with the community of nations.”

Whether you link up with one of these initiatives or another good cause, or perhaps create your own, we cannot afford to remain passive and “unconscious.” But don’t worry, we’re not alone – we are the MAJORITY!! Have a look at the executive summary of sociologist Paul Ray’s article on the New Political Compass (see article). Better yet, go to his website, www.culturalcreatives.org, and read the whole thing. The times they are a-changin’, but it’s up to us to get active and flex our collective political muscles if we want to make sure the changes are in the direction of real spiritual values and a world that works for all.

--Miriam Knight