March 2 | What to Do, part two THERE IS a viewpoint that at this point in history we all need to 'let go and let God'. It would seem that a lot of the more spiritually oriented people are witnessing this time of global crisis and either hoping or certain that God is going to step in and do something -- or that despite our perceptions, the Divine plan is the perfect one. Yet I dread to think that such an idea would ever exempt people from participating in life, or taking an excuse to stand back and do nothing -- be it in the face of injustice, or in the presence of an inner calling to take action in the world. Also, like many people, I would love to believe that the Divine plan true, however, I will simply not accept the notion that God is making a huge civil war in Iraq as part of His 'plan'. I think if I offered to debate this with God, He would start laughing at me. Of course God is not making war, people are. Today I'd like to share some of my personal religious philosophy with you. Normally, I shy away from direct discussion of my religious beliefs because as an astrologer I want to speak to people of all religions. And I would rather just live my principles. But this bit of background may provide some useful perspective. I am what is called Quaker, yes, related to the guys on the oatmeal box. This is technically a form of Protestant religion, but it's minimalist. The official name of the faith is the Religious Society of Friends, based in Philadelphia -- in Pennsylvania, which is named for William Penn, the founder of the American Quakers (and also the name of my very ancient cat, who lives in New Jersey). Friends have very few religious beliefs. 'God' is defined as the 'Inner Light'. Meeting is held in silence, and individual members may speak during the meeting if moved to do so. There is no minister; each meeting has what's called a Ministry and Council Committee. Important decisions are left first to Ministry and Council, then to the whole meeting if necessary. Men and women actually participate equally. Now for a basic Quaker principle: We do not go to war. Simple. We are always present in time of war to assist those who do not want to go, whether on moral or religious grounds, or because they're scared, regardless of what faith they may or may not belong to. Quakers have a long history of standing up for social justice, and of getting involved. Most are actually very conservative people in their personal affect and choices, so you could not call them 'liberal', but rather, favoring fairness. Now, Quakers are sometimes called pacifists. And there is a history of what you might call passive resistance among the Quakers, but there are also others who are a bit more assertive; certainly, taking hundreds of boys before the Draft Board during Vietnam and getting them out of the draft, as many Quakers did in their communities, is not passive resistance. My huge, cryptic message is this. I just happen to come from a spiritual tradition for which social justice and religious principles are the same thing. I was not born into this, but chose it at the age of 14 after five years of experience at Quaker summer camps (Camp Onas in Ottsville, PA, and Camp Timberlake in Plymouth, VT). So for me, it's not such a big stretch to put my spiritual values into action. In Quaker faith, it's not a matter of whether to act, but rather, what is the most appropriate action. When the meeting acts as a group, there is never any discussion about 'whether we can be effective', but rather, 'okay, what's the right thing to do?' Often, the meeting just sits in silence for the right answer -- and there always is something handy that comes along. So, that is where I am coming from. There are many spiritual traditions that call for putting one's values into action, and that is, on many different levels. There are the basic levels of our home life and our work place, and the work we do every day -- and there is the (in fact not so different) level of 'the world' itself. It is all the world, and we are all part of it; the question is what level we allow ourselves to concerned about, and whether we will allow ourselves to take action on that level. There are two parts to making this real, I think: one of them is ceasing the mantra, 'I don't matter, I cannot be effective'. Another is allowing oneself to be moved to appropriate action. That does not mean taking on anything specific or proscribed, but rather, making a choice based on what one's guidance says, and then acting as part of the whole. There is also something about speaking up. I recognize that often, in the context of spiritual or religious teaching, people are taught to be quiet and keep their voices low. But honestly stating one's perceptions and values, and teaching oneself to have a voice, are important personal steps that anyone can begin with no special training or pre-taught ideas. So, too, is practicing listening what others have to say. Taken actively, both are fairly challenging aspects of putting spirituality to real live, use. The beauty of a world where there is so much injustice is that there's always a little someplace that we can, indeed, do justice. There is always someone who needs us to take one of their problems and make it our own for a while, and thus take it off their shoulders. And whatever level we decide to act on, or follow the guidance to act on, we will be making a positive contribution to the whole. These may be small contributions but they are very different than the feeling of being ineffective or meaningless. And it's a lot happier state of mind, because participating in the world is truly a satisfying experience, despite being pretty challenging some of the time. One of the things I appreciate most these days is that the 'anti-war movement' is calling itself the 'peace movement'. This is more than just a new name; it's a shift in orientation. That orientation can to a lot further. Much like happened during Vietnam, I am appreciating the way that many people are beginning to link the issues and take 'the war' as a reminder to work for social justice on whatever level they can. But there can always be more. The world always needs more people who take action because they love the place. Here is an article from Wikipedia that you might find interesting. It's long, but a few solid glances will tell you a lot. It kind of says the same thing over again, kind of like Gandhi himself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi Thanks, everyone, for your 'What To Do' emails. I'll have those pulled together for presentation this weekend as guest blogs.