The Heart of the Matter

(This article in a deep-dive conversation format, courtesy of Notebooklm follows)

I’m going to assume that you’ve heard enough about the upcoming election and would like a break from the barrage of rhetoric that has reached a point of saturation to even the most inquiring, dedicated citizen. I will spare your mind from that embattled “mine” field with this message that orients voting for and from the heart.

What does it mean to vote for and from the heart? First, let’s clarify that there is no actual ballot in this "election.”  The term ‘voting’ is borrowed from everyday language, where it refers to the process individuals use to express their choices or opinions on specific matters. I propose that we expand the context to a larger scale, considering the entirety of life instead of selectively choosing preferences from the vast array of ideas and options available. (Spoiler alert: Context is the key to this understanding and the outcome of any seeming choice.),

We like to think that we make choices freely, and it is completely understandable to want to believe this. The truth is, from the moment we entered this world, we have been shaping our minds with a collection of thoughts, perceptions, opinions, and beliefs. These influences deeply affect how we think and behave, reminding us that our experiences are intricately woven into our choices.  While this is completely understandable in the context of a human being growing up in a world of external influences it is not the entirety of who and what we are.

In scientific terms, energy precedes matter. In spiritual terms, being precedes and pervades form (body and mind). We were born into physical reality, but we came from (and are forever in) spiritual reality.  If spiritual reality is not at the core of self-awareness, we remain tethered to the limitations of our past programming and are unable to access the freedom and well-being that is available at the core of our being.

From Jesus, Buddha, and countless sages over the ages we’ve been admonished and encouraged to look into our depths to discover the divine essence at our core. Yet, many of us got so caught up in worldly achievements and outer success that we essentially orphaned the child of God within, leaving it unacknowledged, unattended, and underdeveloped. And some of us have realized the consequences as Jesus said so plainly, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)

Well, you may say, I’m on the path. I pray, I meditate, I seek God’s guidance, I know I am a spiritual being! No problem here! Perhaps, but as one who has increasingly recognized where I remain influenced by outer circumstances and conditions I have recommitted to radical honesty in assessing what really guides my mind and heart. 

For example, I was recently questioning whether I should continue to speak at a Unity church twice a month. The surface mind and feeling came out like this: “I’m not getting that much from it.”  Meaning: There are only a handful of people showing up and it isn’t feeding the hunger I have for an audience to validate the value of my talks.  Right there, is an illuminating tell. My motivation and therefore the source of my wellbeing was clearly rooted in what’s in it “for me.”  When I feel into that question, I can feel my heart contract and constrict. It’s a neediness, a “less-than” sense, a lack-based point of view.  Those feelings are prima facie evidence that my motivation is rooted in a separate self, not the Self that God created.  If I give in to these impulses, I will only perpetuate the illusion of an isolated self who needs validation to feel whole, which of course is a denial and denigration of my inherent divinity (wholeness).   

The reversal of that question led me to an important truth on my journey: What’s in it from me? When I reflected on this inquiry, I realized that sharing a message of truth is deeply satisfying. It liberates my mind and heart from the illusions and confusions that arise when I overlook the depths of my being. To consider a spiritual message that I might share with others requires me to embark on that journey myself first, which means I am truly blessed by the process, benefited in both directions.

This is what I mean by voting for and from the heart. It’s about questioning all our motivations, not critically, but honestly with compassion, to see whether our thoughts and behaviors are based upon a need for approval, or validation, or an expression of our inherent wholeness. I can assure you from where I sit with this question at this stage in my life, that the latter is imminently more satisfying and in line with my deepest reason for being.  It is no less than the truth that sets me free.

Namaste,

Rev. Larry

A Deep-dive conversation format of this article