by Robert Rabbin, John Friend, Stephen Mitchell,
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Dan Millman, Riane Eisler,
Tom Hayden, Sharon Steffensen, et al.
There are times in life when we must act. And when those moments
come, we must act with our truest heart, our clearest mind, and
our noblest intentions.
November 2 is such a time. On that day, we will take in hand
one of the tools for social transformation. We will exercise our
right to vote, and our responsibility to voice our values and
conscience. We will choose a new president and vice president.
We, the signers of this letter, after full consideration,
careful study, and deep reflection, endorse and recommend John
Kerry and John Edwards for these offices. We urge all of you to
vote for them. This is a matter of great importance and urgency.
The Kerry/Edwards ticket is not perfect, and we have many
serious disagreements with them, especially in the area of
militarism and defense spending. But Howard Dean rightfully
cautions us to not let perfection become the enemy of the good.
In this election, we have two clear choices. By any standard or
measure-policy, ideology, humanity, truthfulness-Kerry is better
by far than George W. Bush, and Edwards is better by far than
Dick Cheney. We believe their cabinet selections and their many
other appointments, including to the Supreme Court, will be
better by far than those of George W. Bush. We urge you to
register and vote for John Kerry and John Edwards.
There are many reasons to not vote: cynicism, apathy, distrust
of candidates, or the conviction that spirit transcends politics
and we dare not risk our spiritual brightness by descending into
the murky depths of political darkness and intrigue. But these
are not legitimate reasons. It is an inappropriate spiritual
response to our times to be socially aloof and politically
uninvolved. The Dalai Lama encourages us, "Sometimes we look
down on politics, criticizing it as dirty. However, if you
look at it properly, politics in itself is not wrong. With good
motivation-sincerity and honesty-politics becomes an instrument
in the service of society."
The self-evident fact of inter-dependence will not allow us to
stand on the sidelines of life, to ignore what is happening in
our own backyards. We live in society, and society lives in us.
This awareness requires responsibility. This awareness requires
participation. This awareness requires expression.
We all know from our studies, practice, and experience that the
inner and the outer are more than mirror images of each other:
they are each other. There is no separation, no difference, no
distance between them. This is why the philosopher
J. Krishnamurti said, "The crisis is not out there in the
world; it is in our own consciousness." A flower is not
separate from its fragrance.
We have been refining our inner consciousness. We have been
purifying our inner consciousness. We have been liberating our
inner consciousness from the stranglehold of limiting and
hurtful beliefs and images and concepts. For years, we have
taken this "hero's journey" to inner truth, freedom, and wisdom
in order to become whole and free. But we have not taken this
journey for ourselves alone; we have also taken this journey
for others and for our world.
It is not just for ourselves that we love wisdom and practice
compassion, not just for ourselves that we pursue truth instead
of falsehood, not just for ourselves that we ask those fearsome
questions that lead to knowledge of the soul. No, it is not just
for ourselves that we do this. We do it equally for others. Our
very quest for wholeness of being is at its core a service to
others. The Kabbalah reminds us, "First we receive the light,
then we impart the light. Thus we repair the world." And now it
is time to begin healing this world, our world, in the same way
we have sought to heal ourselves from the diseases of hatred,
violence, and greed; in the same way we have sought to heal our
own hearts of anger born of fear, and fear born of separation.
Voting for John Kerry and John Edwards is a positive step
towards this social healing. To be sure, it is just one step
in a long journey, but one we should all take on November 2.
Signed (as private citizens, not as representatives of any
organization):
* Robert Rabbin, writer, speaker, creator of
TruthForPresident.org
* Stephen Mitchell, writer
* Rabbi Michael Lerner, author, editor of Tikkun Magazine
* John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga
* Sharon Steffensen, yoga teacher, editor of YOGAChicago
* Dan Millman, author, teacher
* Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice & The Blade and
The Power of Partnership
* Tom Hayden, author, activist, former California legislator
* Amy Kahn, yoga teacher
* David Lurey, yoga teacher
* Saniel Bonder, author, founder of Waking Down in Mutuality work
* Judith Whitson, publisher, writer, lecturer, teacher
* William W. Whitson, writer, speaker, retired Army officer
* Jonathan Granoff, Esq. (Ahamed Muhaiyaddeen), author,
screenwriter, speaker, activist
* Larry Robinson, Vice-mayor, Sebastopol, CA
* Tami Coyne, author, spiritual teacher
* Pamela Miles, founder of Institute for the Advancement
of Complementary Therapies
* Gilles Marin, author, founder of Chi Nei Tsang Institute
* Raphael Cushnir, author, spiritual teacher
* Stephen Dinan, author of Radical Spirit, progressive activist
* Sandra Sedgbeer, publisher of PlanetLightworker & Children
of the New Earth
* Connie Shaw, publisher of Sentient Publications
* Laurie Schryver, psychic, teacher, progressive activist
* Robert Skutch, author
* Lee Skutch, psychologist
* Kanu Kogod, Ph.D, anthropologist, author, founder of
Bridges in Organizations
* Debbie Milam, author, Reiki master, president of Unlimited
Inspiration
* Rev. Laura R. Davis, co-founder of Wisdom & Wellness Expo,
Reiki master
* Rev. C.J. Davis, spiritual teacher, Reiki master,
* Elizabeth Ann Bloom, president of Here There & Beyond, Inc.
* Mary Alice O'Connor, interfaith minister
* Gina Rabbin, psychic, life and business coach
* Chetan Parkyn, author, spiritual teacher
* Carolina Eastwood, author, spiritual counselor
* Sister Mary Jude Jun, OSU is an Ursuline Sister
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