Today I’m sharing a few of my random musings about what took place last week at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Outside of personal and family-related events, there are three searing moments that took place during my life that are embedded in my consciousness. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when each moment took place.
The first two were the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King. The third was September 11th when foreign terrorists crashed commercial airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York City. I can now add a fourth day to my list of days imprinted on my consciousness - January 6th, 2021 - the day insurrectionists took over the Capitol. That day, in a storm of chaos in which five people died, anarchists terrorized their government's duly elected representatives as the officials performed a time-honored ceremony to transfer power peacefully.
Although the image of the attack on American democracy was shocking, what happened was not surprising. Set was the energy field for what happened on January 6th, 2021 - a day that will be a significant moment in the timeline of contemporary American history.
What was displayed for all the world to see that day felt surreal. It also caused me to reflect on history classes I took in high school and college, and my Constitutional Law class when I attended law school. My reflections reminded me that, despite its flaws (and there are many), the United States Constitution is a pretty remarkable document.
Many of the writers and founders of the United States were Freemasons and students of spiritual law. To be clear, those who penned the Constitution did not create a perfect Union. Moreover, the authors were far from being perfect people themselves. Many of them were slaveholders. However, what they did say, in essence, was “Here's the blueprint for an ideal nation, do your part to make it happen.”
I assume they meant to strive to that perfection through civil discourse and within the Constitution's norms. So, it was astonishing to see an insurrection at the United States Capitol. The last takeover was in 1814, and that was by a foreign power during the War of 1812. As I noted, the takeover was predictable. Before the subverting event, there was plenty of incendiary rhetoric, not just immediately preceding the insurrection, but months, if not years, leading up to that moment.
The energy field was ripe for such a seditious act to take place. It merely needed a few incendiary words to foment an internal attack on democracy. Words have power. When people in power utter destructive and divisive comments, they can undermine this fragile democratic experiment. Thus, everyone (particularly those in power and influence) must continuously grow in spiritual consciousness.
While the insurrection was taking place, I received an email message from one of my Unity colleagues. The notice requested I join a meeting that was in progress. My initial reaction was I had forgotten a Zoom call. It turned out several Unity ministers decided to pray for our country in light of what was going on at the Capitol. We started with a HeartMath exercise to help us get centered. And from that space, we each prayed and affirmed the high watch for the country.
Centering helped me see this phenomenon from a higher point of view. It allowed me to go beyond automatically - and understandably - condemning and judging the people who participated in the insurrection. And I asked, "How can I see this from a spiritual perspective?" On the one hand, I realize in our material, three-dimensional world we must hold people accountable for their actions. After all, those who participated in those dastardly acts were not merely participating in petty pranks; they were committing seditious acts. That's no small thing.
Yet, when we look at the situation from a spiritual point of view, we have the choice to express compassion for those involved in the insurrection. Many of the actors were misled, lied to, hoodwinked, and taken advantage of for personal and political purposes by people with power and influence. Moreover, the misled were running their lives at the current level of consciousness they had at the moment. They didn't know what they didn't know. As the late poet and author Maya Angelou reminded us, "If they knew better, they'd do better." Indeed, they had forgotten who and what they are. For that reason, while they will be held accountable, we should also hold compassion for them.
When we witness such events as what happened in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, 2021, it is an opportunity to turn within and ask Spirit, "What is mine to do here?" The answer usually has something to do with sending more love energy into the world. Love is usually the antidote for any problem. Is it challenging? No doubt about it. But no one said spiritual growth is easy.
Peace and Blessings,
James