Expand Consciousness: Encourage Compassion, Service and Joy
Excerpt from an article by Rev. Gail Cantor in The Edge
Consciousness gives rise to interest beyond the small self-interest and concern. That is why expanding our consciousness is called for. Without consciousness, and especially without an ever-expanding consciousness, the day-to-day particulars and circumstances become the focus of our attention, fill up our days, and use up our energy.
With an ever-expanding awareness, we are more likely to be engaged in an exploration of unified, transcendent and inspirational principles that refresh and replenish our wellspring of energy, open up our creativity and call us to connect, contribute and serve the greatest good.
The first thing that we can do to expand our consciousness is let go of the judgment that others are not interested. In the world of activity and survival, people will be distracted, self-consumed, busy, weary and often afraid. When we let go of judgment of that state of being, we can consciously bring compassion to human beings who live here on Earth in the realm of duality — dealing daily with the demands of great diversity and the constraints of being embodied and, therefore, limited. We can become spiritual beings who bring wisdom and shed light where there is challenge and suffering.
Read the full article here.
Fierce Compassion
I want to share a few short clips from a full-length film called Fierce Light, from the same director as Occupy Love (highly recommend). For the activists in the circle (and perhaps there are more of us now), the people in these clips offer such gorgeous expressions of compassion in the face of great adversity. I was inspired, and hope you are too… may we all bring a compassionate heart wherever we find ourselves…. it belongs everywhere!
Compassion And The True Meaning Of Empathy
“Educate and protect the lives of children; sit with the dying; don’t over-consume, be meat-free; give refuge to refugees; volunteer in prisons; protect our earth; look to women for leadership; address issues in our lives, in our culture, in our society related to racism; build community and a just economic order; end war, and become a peacemaker. Make compassion viral.”