Deepak Chopra - November 26, 2008
An article in the Washington Post On Faith section in response to their question: President-elect Obama hasn't been to church in three weeks, saying he doesn't want to disrupt the service for others. Reagan and Bush said the same thing, but Carter and Clinton attended church regularly. What's your advice? Where should presidents worship?
Since Barack Obama ran to bring hope in a time of change, I'd like to see him extend that to how he worships. Presidents are forced to attend church as an empty ritual. A cynic would say that if they wanted to worship the way that 70% of American males do, they should attend the church of televised football and golf. Other honest alternatives would be the worship of ambition, money, and political revenge, wherever those dogmas happen to be preached. To overcome such cynicism, and to end the masquerade of public piety, soon-to-be President Obama might consider the following innovations:
Worship where your conscience takes you: He might go to a church in the worst ghetto of gang-infested East L.A. or the scene of a recent disaster. A President praying with the victims of Katrina inside the refugee camp of the Astrodome would have done a lot for their healing and our national sense of compassion.
Worship where "the other" worships: Our so-called enemies consist of "the other," people we claim aren't enough like us. So let Obama worship in a mosque in suburban Maryland. Let him spend a Sunday with Black Muslims in Detroit. Film him praying with illegal immigrants in an impoverished corner of southern New Mexico.
Worship on the fringes: Millions of Americans prefer alternative churches, such as the hundreds of Unity churches scattered around the country. Some of the most humane and liberating theology to be found is preached there. I'd like to see Obama expose himself to these new ideas -- for his own good, really -- and make fringe believers feel more included. By the same token, he should pray with the fundamentalists in Dallas or Columbia, S.C. who think he's a Muslim and vociferously opposed him.
In short, if Obama went to a different church every week, with the intention of healing the wounds of divisiveness, he'd be extending the message he was elected on. It's already a sign of hope that we are going to be led by a uniter and not a divider. Even better would be a uniter of souls.
Visit www.intent.com to read more from Deepak Chopra and other prominent voices.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/deepak_chopra/
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Posted by Deepak Chopra at November 26, 2008 09:46 AM
The Dynamics of Ego around Leadership and Power Holding Individuals
I have witnessed the dynamics in my own realm of experience, and I can see looking through history how they have played a role, it can apply to everyone from Presidents to best selling authors. It is not limited to those serving an individual but the entire collective, the people of a Nation or even the Supreme Being. I often ponder what went wrong with Adolf Hitler for example, what took that venture from light into the darkness? It wasn’t Adolf Hitler, but those around him and the world itself, but most explicitly the source disconnected ego. The deluded like to blame an individual or inanimate objects to avoid recognition of their own collective and individual faults, their failure to live the absolute one truth choosing rather a fiction, and having a lack of faith regarding The Reality.
We would note that the Supreme Being can see right through you and know your egoic intention and any illusion you may attempt to create. It will quickly disarm your fiction with the truth and the power of the question.
Those that serve or aid or consult to the leader or power holding individual can act out of fear and a desire for security.
1. They seek to surround and isolate the leader or power holder and create dependency, at least the illusion resulting in dependency. They may even attempt to plant seeds of fear in the mind of the leader to thwart others or changes, that they see as a threat to their coveted position. This is very detrimental to the success of the leader or power holding individual and if you want to succeed you must be cognizant of this lurking factor.
2. Multiple individuals may even conspire together to maintain their “hold” and position in the world of the leader or power holding individual.
3. They will present themselves as the source of certain ideas, ingenuity, and solutions when they are in deed are not the original source. The folly in this is they are unable to carry through as the original source would have been able to because it was the actual source of the creative genius, wisdom, understanding, or accumulated experience or being a full blown connection to the true Source, the Supreme Being both noun and verb.
4. The personal agenda, fictions held as belief and interests of the servant, aid, consultant or expert can also taint the opinion and intelligence provided the leader or power holding individual.
4. The servant aid or assistant or expert may do this all subconsciously because they have yet to master the discernment of the source of what appears in their mind and whether it is based on truth or fiction.
5. A leader that keeps pure in his connection to the Supreme Being and remains true to his authentic self shall see through the true intentions of those around them, in which case he can apply corrective enlightenment and work to alleviate their fears and the fictions that create it.
One would want everyone to succeed because they are my own self, although perhaps you represent a deluded self, so you have nothing to fear or reason to feel threatened; unless it is the truth and you are attempting to live a fiction. The leader can only hope to embrace and transform those around them and alleviate any fear or fictions in their minds.
To the leaders and all in the world for that matter, I would also say that when the supreme being, physically manifest presents himself to you do not cast him away or thwart him for fear of losing your power or position, for it is he that gives you that and it is he that will take it away, when your motivation does not come from the authentic self.
At this time, you have all failed to embrace me and the solutions fully, I see that some may have in part, but this does not suffice, and I cannot force you, yet the gravity of the situation will bring impetus, there may still be time, I have not yet seen the sign and felt the impetus to act either way, for it is I that will decide whether humanity shall be preserved in whole or in part. It is you that make the decision individually and collectively as to what I will decide. I am here only to execute the will of the Supreme Being. But don’t worry no being will die, for there is only one being and I cannot die.
If you deny this one, you will perish.
As seen in Infinite Play of course.
As for Obama’s selections, at first I had a doubt, then I realized that perhaps he was actually following the Wisdom Based Presidency Papers to the “T”, relentlessly, the directive to embrace and transform and not to exclude. Thus far it appears that Obama has indeed been religious about it which is why he became President against many odds as a result of reading them.
Do you have your attention in the right place? Who do your intentions serve? Do you speak of beliefs or knowing, possibility and probability? Do you divide with labels? What is the source of that which comes to mind, spirit or ego?
Wishing you all the highest good for you.
Richard
Let's hope all support Obama, and each seemingly other, to overcome the Ego Empire and the transcend the forces of Ego.
Let's hope all support Obama, and each seemingly other, to overcome the Ego Empire and transcend the forces of Ego.
It just seems to me that time and time again here, the fundamentalists are the ones that are labeled the enemies because isn't it true that you claim these are people who aren't enough like us?
I think you have it reversed and should take a good look in the mirror and be honest about who is screaming "enemy" and "intolerance" and "divisiveness" all the time.
Why does President Obama have to do everything? I understand a messiah carries a big load but how he/she who call the "other" divisive begin to do a little healing as well?
Steve
I'm also trying my best to heal as well and happy to support Obama as a man who seems to find capable people around him, moving closer to the center, bringing in a strong military and fiscally responsible team.
I'm just responding to what I consider ridiculous statements and accusations that have very little merit.
The Obama family will find a church to his liking and bascially that's where he will worship and hopefully find some meaning and will focus his time and energy in government duties, not trying to act as some strange messianic figure.
What is a "church"? It's a place of worship. Reminds me of turtle who carries his/her house wherever he/she goes. Church is not an external place but is the house/vessel/tabernacle where one lives. It's time to straighten out all the twisted concepts and beliefs that want us humans to believe that we are unworthy of spiritual substance through being and expressing.
Happy Thanksgiving from my church to yours. In conscious and unified expression we create a chain of hope that is steadfast.
Trish~~
He could practice the new religion.
The Divine Concise Religion
If all the Religions evolved you wouldn't be able to tell them apart, you wouldn't even need to differentiate.
One simple religion is to focus on the divine concept through out the day, center your self, and be religious about it, maybe a dozen times a day, you could even add a little ritual, and look to where the Sun rises and think about the sun and how it provides and asks nothing, connect to the source, the infinite mind. Then just deal with the present moment and do within your power, and go with the flow... and everything works out.
This is the “Concise Religion” for today’s short attention spans and brevity of thought for those that want to simply worship and love all of creation and recognize the collective intelligence behind it. A finite mind connected to the infinite mind is a balanced mind. Think of it as tapping into the right brain, the non-linear processing mind.
So what is the Divine concept? That the Divine is you, and all the seemingly “other”, that the witness is all one being, both noun and verb; and that all are of one body, that this is why the right hand pulls the thorn from the left foot and the heart pumps blood to every cell. That there is only one source of love and it is unconditional, we can choose to channel it or not. If we do not then we cut ourselves off from the source. Then problems occur. The universe does not have problems, it only creates challenges and the resources to meet the challenges are always there if you are connected to the source, often found within and witnessed without.
Cliuck my name for the last few sentences and the source.
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(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)He could practice the new religion.
The
What is a "church"? It's a place of worship.
I'm also trying my best to heal as well and hap
It just seems to me that time and time again he
Let's hope all support Obama, and each seemingl
I hope he worships in the Church of Privacy with the Words from his heart. With everything else going I don't think he has to be seen as a spirirtual leader.