Hi All,
Intent, being the essence pattern imbedded at the time of creation, has been unfolding within all of life in the ongoing unfolding creation since the beginning. The essence pattern of intent is our potential, is the imbedded potential of each – each has a unique essence pattern of intent – and the essence of all – there is an enfolded, yet to be unfolded potential within all of life on this earth.
Earth was created for life to have a place to enter into the working of the universe. We – humankind – were intentionally created as members of the community of life. As such, all of humankind, as well as each human person has work and roles within the whole of life. All are called… called to fully wholly actively willfully participate in the intended ongoing unfolding of life – the whole of life, not merely human life – on this earth at this time.
If we reflect on our present way of operating on this earth, we see our thinking and behaviors are self-centered, or at best human-centered. Our faith is salvation-centered… hence focused on aspirations relating to the hereafter, and through time, has somehow led to our excusing our failings (we/they are only human)… hence in a strange sort of way, taking us “off the hook” relative to responsibility and accountability for our ways of thinking and behaving in regards to life – including human life – on this earth.
Along with our being intentional members in the whole community of life comes the full responsibility and through-time accountability for structures and structuring which we place on this earth, responsibility for structures we create harmonizing with the intended ongoing unfolding of life of the whole. Our minds can flow through a myriad of structures we humans create and have created that interfere with life of the whole, with life itself. The crisis to all of life is becoming ever more intuitively seeable. Life of the whole is one whole… all of life on this earth. We humankind are each called to take up work and roles as living members of life of the whole. This involves choice – conscious choice… a capacity which seemingly is only given to the human person… a capacity through which we can be and become intentional. Today, we are not making full use of this capacity. We are creating by our structures and structuring, including ideologies, a world of divisiveness and segmentation, we are not moving towards a world of wholeness, a world of wholeness being one in harmony with intent: we have not yet become fully and truly human; that is, we have not yet made the choice to “cross the boundary’ – to answer YES to Thy Will being done on this earth at this time, Thy Will being that we take up work and roles, that we harmonize with the intended unfolding of all of life on this earth.
All of which brings us back to the truth, where we start our thinking from determines the path we take, what we move towards, what we move away from. This shift to harmonizing with the life processes of earth requires moving towards some things, moving away from others. “Moving towards/moving away from” helps us to see the transitions called for… transitions in the three key areas of our American lives: our faith, our communities, and our businesses… transition principles to guide us… transitions on the path of our moving towards wholeness, away from that which divides… essential to bringing the world of our making into congruence with the world of intent.
The following three focal points of our transition process (from Revitalizing our Country by Terry Anderson… contact me for a copy) pull us together, so to speak… begins bringing together into one whole, our faith, our life, and our work… our faith in one common Source, our life in community, and our business. Recall Christ’s many references to purpose, to why he came, to the work for which he was sent, to being about his Father’s business; he never lost sight of focus. Valuable going forward guidance. The three essential systemically related focal points of now…
A HERE AND NOW LIVING FAITH: A way to live out our faith in the context and reality of today… in reconciling ways that acknowledge our oneness and enable our moving towards wholeness… in ways that are alive in hope – here and now hope.
Transition: Moving away from “because we are human”; moving towards becoming fully and truly human.
INTENTIONAL WORKING COMMUNITY: Ways to come together as community to create processes for growing, educating, developing, and realizing the potential of all the children… community ways that bring the light of hope to all.
Transition: Moving away from pursuing personal advantage/leverage for my child; moving towards realizing the potential of all children.
BUSINESS REGENERATION: A life of the whole, systemic approach… an intentional way of doing business… working in ways that bring spirit, meaning and purpose to our endeavors… ways that bring the uplifting buoyancy of hope to ourselves, and to future generations.
Transition: Moving away from extracting through financial manipulation; moving towards value generation sourced in virtue, value generation and realization through product development and systemic offerings… building wholistic economics around that.
These three can be seen as the primary and dynamically related thrusts of a wholistic country strategy, a strategy contributing to revitalizing our country, thrusts with the essential work of providing guidance to us as we each take up our own unique work on the path of intent.
Without attachment, reflect on the frequently used excuse or explanation for our failings, “because we are human.” Hard to become fully and truly human if we are attached to the habits which we expect to return to again and again – “because we are only human” – in an endless cycling and recycling. “Moving away from because we are human; moving towards becoming fully and truly human,” places us on a path of work… here and now, on this earth, at this time… the work we pray to be accomplished every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Reflecting on this beautiful and essential prayer, we notice that we are not praying for being taken to heaven, we are praying for Thy kingdom to come and Thy Will (intent) to be done on this earth at this time. Our daily bread is a “seeing” – being given the wisdom – of my work/our work, hence, not doing it from our own wishes and desires. Christ’s reflection that his food is to do the will of the one who sent him tells us our “food” is “seeing” the will of the Father, seeing that for which we have been sent… seeing what we need to see, such that we can do, if we choose, if we choose our lives to be an ongoing process of YES to the will of the Father, YES to intent and intended ways of working of life processes of earth. And doing this, carrying this out, staying on the path of intent, will not be smooth… it will be clumsy, as well as not readily accepted by others. I for one can certainly testify to that. So, forgive us our trespasses as we take up the work and roles you are calling us to do. And we must remember to ever forgive the trespasses of others as they “see,” answer YES, and take up their work.
…and lead us not into temptation – the temptation to take ourselves as the source, the greatest possible temptation. Receiving the “seeing,” wisdom which is truly gift – gift of the Spirit – holds within it a hazard, a temptation, the temptation to claim that the wisdom is from us, is owned by us, is ours to use for our own desires and goals; the temptation to make ourselves the source. Hence, at the heart of the philosophy of living potential is the truth: One Source; all – everything else – instruments.
Much more yet to say…
Sandra
Sandra Maslow Smith, Philosopher of Potential
