phooph
04-28-2006, 10:57 PM
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Welcome to Swami's Beyondanews
Swami's May Schedule
May 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in this issue
-- Yes, Virginia... There IS a Sanity Clause! In a Crazy World Swami Can Help You "Go Sane"
-- Swami at the Spiritual Activism Conference in Washington, DC
-- Book Review: Can "The Left Hand of God" Set OUr Country Right?
-- Receive Notes From the Trail
Dear Friends,
We’ve finally upgraded our system, and now thanks to Constant Contact you can find out about Swami’s and Trudy’s schedule, receive only the communications you choose, opt out if and when you like, and easily send the newsletter to your friends.
Yes, Virginia... There IS a Sanity Clause! In a Crazy World Swami Can Help You "Go Sane"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you’re in Virginia, specifically Virginia Beach, you’ll have a chance to catch the Swami in May. (In fact, he’ll make it especially easy for you to catch him, because he will actually stop there and wait for you to come to his show.) On Friday evening, May 12th, the Swami will be in Virginia Beach at the A.R.E.’s President’s Friday Lecture Series. The event will be held at the A.R.E. headquarters at 216 67th St., in Virginia Beach. The program starts at 7:30 p.m. To register, please call 1-888-273-0020 or click on the link below.
https://tinyurl.com/ojrln
Swami at the Spiritual Activism Conference in Washington, DC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you consider yourself religious, “spiritual but not religious,” or simply a secular humanist (or for that matter, secular humorist) and are concerned about the undue influence and distorted views of the so-called “religious right,” we want to apprise you of this very important conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday May 17th through Saturday, May 20th -- the Spiritual Activist Conference, which will be held at the All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St., NW. The conference is the first East Coast appearance for the Network of Spiritual Progressives, co-chaired by Rabbi Michael Lerner, Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, and professor of African American studies and Religion at Princeton University Cornel West. Spiritual Activism Conference.
According to Rabbi Lerner, the Network of Spiritual Progressives has 3 goals:
1. To challenge the misuse of God and religion by the Religious Right to justify war and militarism, cuts in programs for the poor and powerless in order to justify cuts in taxes for the rich, assaults on human rights and civil liberties, and destruction of the separation of church and state.
2. To challenge the religio-phobia and hostility toward religious and spiritual people that appears in some sections of liberal and progressive culture, and to help the Left distinguish between reactionary forms of religion and the progressives forms that it took with Martin Luther King, Jr., William Sloan Coffin, Abraham Joshua Heschel and many others, and to build a new spiritual progressive politics not only for religious people, but also for nonbelievers and those who are “spiritual but NOT religious.”
3. To seek a New Bottom Line in the Western world so that institutions get judged efficient, rational or productive not only to the extent that they maximize money or power, but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring, kindness and generosity, ethically and ecologically sensitive behavior, and enhance our capacities to respond to other human beings as manifestations of the sacred and inherently valuable and to be respected, and enhance our capacities to respond to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the grandeur of all that is. This is the ground floor of building a new kind of paradigm for progressive politics, and it could have a major impact in making the liberal and progressive forces far more successful in healing and transforming American society.
In addition to Rabbi Lerner, presenters include -- to name just a few -- Cornel West, Sister Joan Chittister, Jim Wallis (progressive Evangelical editor of Sojourners and author, God’s Politics), Cindy Sheehan (mother of U.S. solider killed in Iraq war), Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (chair, Progressive Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives), John Dear S.J. (Catholic nonviolence activist), Rev. Lennox Yearwood (Progressive Democrats of America, Hip Hop Caucus), Robert Thurman (Buddhist teacher and author The Jewel Tree of Tibet), Katrina Vanden Heuvel (editor, The Nation), Christopher Hedges (former NY Times reporter and author: War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning), Peter Gabel (associate editor of Tikkun and professor of law, New College of California), Rabbi Arthur Waskow (Shalom Center), Harvey Cox, Charlene Spretnak, as well as entertainers Holly Near, Michael Franti and Swami Beyondananda. The Swami will be performing on Saturday evening, May 20th along with musician Michael Franti, and we hope to see many of you there!
Even if you can’t come to the conference, you can join as a dues paying member the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). Check them out online at www.spiritualprogressives.org or call (510) 644 1200 (between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time)
Spiritual Activism Conference
https://www.tikkun.org/community/spiritual_activism_conference/
Book Review: Can "The Left Hand of God" Set OUr Country Right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Rabbi Michael Lerner has just published a brilliant and compelling book, The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in reestablishing a true moral authority in America. Rabbi Lerner, who was a political activist before becoming a rabbi, offers a thoughtful and astute analysis of “how the Right got right and the Left got left,” and what we can do about it.
As founder of the Institute for Labor and Mental Health in the late 1970s, Rabbi Lerner (and his staff) interviewed thousands of middle class working folks in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Israel about the key issues in their lives. And one of these key issues, he discovered, was the “moral vacuum” left as our culture has become more impersonal and more commercialized. Seeking to address this spiritual crisis, many individuals gravitated toward churches and spiritual communities which promised a return to traditional values. The Reagan campaign in the 1980s, took advantage of this impulse, while the Democrats became increasingly marginalized as representing “secular” values and hyphenated minorities.
In the late 80s, then-Governor Bill Clinton seized on an earlier book by Michael Lerner, The Politics of Meaning, and made it a keynote of his Presidential bid, invoking “hope” and trying to recapture some of these traditional spiritual values for the Democrats. Rabbi Lerner maintains that a lot of Clinton’s early momentum was based on awakening these impulses. But alas, advisors such as James Carville seeking to keep Clinton “on message,” kept insisting “it’s the economy, stupid.”
But, as Lerner insists “it’s way, way more than the economy, stupid,” and the Republican primacy over the past dozen years indicates that people will vote against their apparent economic interests in favor of these less tangible “values.” While Democrats were caught up in formulating all kinds of progressive policies, the Republicans were speaking -- albeit in a distorted way -- to a spiritual hunger in an increasingly materialistic world. In other words, if you’re starving and the only sign you see is McDonalds, where are you going to end up eating?
The Democrats didn’t get it then, and for the most part, don’t get it now. Secularists are baffled and infuriated by people who flock to mega-churches that distort Jesus’s “blessed are the peacemakers” to “doo doo unto others before they can doo doo unto you” and fail to notice the contradiction. Meanwhile, Lerner maintains, their contempt bleeds over to all kinds of religion and spirituality. And, he says, the very people progressives should be attracting -- those who do have deep spiritual and moral values -- they are repelling.
Finally, Rabbi Lerner offers a program, which he calls a New Bottom Line where -- as the Swami would say -- “the Golden Rule overrules the rule of gold.” The obstacle to such an idealistic vision is what Lerner calls “cynical realism,” which is what we have left when all of the great ideas and ideals have been “deconstructed.” Again, his analysis of how and why modern religion in America has developed the way it has is excellent. He makes an strong case for hope, faith and optimism -- and why the Democrats must take on these values and mean it, or else go the way of the Whigs and Know-Nothings. You may not agree with all of his policy prescriptions, but I’m willing to bet you will resonate with his message and the need to reestablish “The Left Hand of God.”
And for you baseball fans, let me put it this way: I’ve always suspected the Creator was a southpaw, what with all those tricky curves that always seem to break away from us. But I’ll tell you what. When this Lefty brings it right down the middle, it doesn’t matter what kind of steroids they’ve been on, those sluggers from the right side don’t have a chance. Go buy this book, and find out why!
Receive Notes From the Trail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, if you want to receive Notes From the Trail, Steve Bhaerman's spiritual / political uncommontary, please opt in by clicking on Update Profile/Email Address at the bottom of this email.
May the FARCE be with you,
Steve Bhaerman
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: [email protected]
web: https://www.wakeuplaughing.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wake Up Laughing Productions | 400 West Third Street | Suite D-144 | Santa Rosa | CA | 95401
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Swami's Beyondanews
Swami's May Schedule
May 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in this issue
-- Yes, Virginia... There IS a Sanity Clause! In a Crazy World Swami Can Help You "Go Sane"
-- Swami at the Spiritual Activism Conference in Washington, DC
-- Book Review: Can "The Left Hand of God" Set OUr Country Right?
-- Receive Notes From the Trail
Dear Friends,
We’ve finally upgraded our system, and now thanks to Constant Contact you can find out about Swami’s and Trudy’s schedule, receive only the communications you choose, opt out if and when you like, and easily send the newsletter to your friends.
Yes, Virginia... There IS a Sanity Clause! In a Crazy World Swami Can Help You "Go Sane"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you’re in Virginia, specifically Virginia Beach, you’ll have a chance to catch the Swami in May. (In fact, he’ll make it especially easy for you to catch him, because he will actually stop there and wait for you to come to his show.) On Friday evening, May 12th, the Swami will be in Virginia Beach at the A.R.E.’s President’s Friday Lecture Series. The event will be held at the A.R.E. headquarters at 216 67th St., in Virginia Beach. The program starts at 7:30 p.m. To register, please call 1-888-273-0020 or click on the link below.
https://tinyurl.com/ojrln
Swami at the Spiritual Activism Conference in Washington, DC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you consider yourself religious, “spiritual but not religious,” or simply a secular humanist (or for that matter, secular humorist) and are concerned about the undue influence and distorted views of the so-called “religious right,” we want to apprise you of this very important conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday May 17th through Saturday, May 20th -- the Spiritual Activist Conference, which will be held at the All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St., NW. The conference is the first East Coast appearance for the Network of Spiritual Progressives, co-chaired by Rabbi Michael Lerner, Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, and professor of African American studies and Religion at Princeton University Cornel West. Spiritual Activism Conference.
According to Rabbi Lerner, the Network of Spiritual Progressives has 3 goals:
1. To challenge the misuse of God and religion by the Religious Right to justify war and militarism, cuts in programs for the poor and powerless in order to justify cuts in taxes for the rich, assaults on human rights and civil liberties, and destruction of the separation of church and state.
2. To challenge the religio-phobia and hostility toward religious and spiritual people that appears in some sections of liberal and progressive culture, and to help the Left distinguish between reactionary forms of religion and the progressives forms that it took with Martin Luther King, Jr., William Sloan Coffin, Abraham Joshua Heschel and many others, and to build a new spiritual progressive politics not only for religious people, but also for nonbelievers and those who are “spiritual but NOT religious.”
3. To seek a New Bottom Line in the Western world so that institutions get judged efficient, rational or productive not only to the extent that they maximize money or power, but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring, kindness and generosity, ethically and ecologically sensitive behavior, and enhance our capacities to respond to other human beings as manifestations of the sacred and inherently valuable and to be respected, and enhance our capacities to respond to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the grandeur of all that is. This is the ground floor of building a new kind of paradigm for progressive politics, and it could have a major impact in making the liberal and progressive forces far more successful in healing and transforming American society.
In addition to Rabbi Lerner, presenters include -- to name just a few -- Cornel West, Sister Joan Chittister, Jim Wallis (progressive Evangelical editor of Sojourners and author, God’s Politics), Cindy Sheehan (mother of U.S. solider killed in Iraq war), Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (chair, Progressive Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives), John Dear S.J. (Catholic nonviolence activist), Rev. Lennox Yearwood (Progressive Democrats of America, Hip Hop Caucus), Robert Thurman (Buddhist teacher and author The Jewel Tree of Tibet), Katrina Vanden Heuvel (editor, The Nation), Christopher Hedges (former NY Times reporter and author: War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning), Peter Gabel (associate editor of Tikkun and professor of law, New College of California), Rabbi Arthur Waskow (Shalom Center), Harvey Cox, Charlene Spretnak, as well as entertainers Holly Near, Michael Franti and Swami Beyondananda. The Swami will be performing on Saturday evening, May 20th along with musician Michael Franti, and we hope to see many of you there!
Even if you can’t come to the conference, you can join as a dues paying member the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). Check them out online at www.spiritualprogressives.org or call (510) 644 1200 (between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time)
Spiritual Activism Conference
https://www.tikkun.org/community/spiritual_activism_conference/
Book Review: Can "The Left Hand of God" Set OUr Country Right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Rabbi Michael Lerner has just published a brilliant and compelling book, The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in reestablishing a true moral authority in America. Rabbi Lerner, who was a political activist before becoming a rabbi, offers a thoughtful and astute analysis of “how the Right got right and the Left got left,” and what we can do about it.
As founder of the Institute for Labor and Mental Health in the late 1970s, Rabbi Lerner (and his staff) interviewed thousands of middle class working folks in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Israel about the key issues in their lives. And one of these key issues, he discovered, was the “moral vacuum” left as our culture has become more impersonal and more commercialized. Seeking to address this spiritual crisis, many individuals gravitated toward churches and spiritual communities which promised a return to traditional values. The Reagan campaign in the 1980s, took advantage of this impulse, while the Democrats became increasingly marginalized as representing “secular” values and hyphenated minorities.
In the late 80s, then-Governor Bill Clinton seized on an earlier book by Michael Lerner, The Politics of Meaning, and made it a keynote of his Presidential bid, invoking “hope” and trying to recapture some of these traditional spiritual values for the Democrats. Rabbi Lerner maintains that a lot of Clinton’s early momentum was based on awakening these impulses. But alas, advisors such as James Carville seeking to keep Clinton “on message,” kept insisting “it’s the economy, stupid.”
But, as Lerner insists “it’s way, way more than the economy, stupid,” and the Republican primacy over the past dozen years indicates that people will vote against their apparent economic interests in favor of these less tangible “values.” While Democrats were caught up in formulating all kinds of progressive policies, the Republicans were speaking -- albeit in a distorted way -- to a spiritual hunger in an increasingly materialistic world. In other words, if you’re starving and the only sign you see is McDonalds, where are you going to end up eating?
The Democrats didn’t get it then, and for the most part, don’t get it now. Secularists are baffled and infuriated by people who flock to mega-churches that distort Jesus’s “blessed are the peacemakers” to “doo doo unto others before they can doo doo unto you” and fail to notice the contradiction. Meanwhile, Lerner maintains, their contempt bleeds over to all kinds of religion and spirituality. And, he says, the very people progressives should be attracting -- those who do have deep spiritual and moral values -- they are repelling.
Finally, Rabbi Lerner offers a program, which he calls a New Bottom Line where -- as the Swami would say -- “the Golden Rule overrules the rule of gold.” The obstacle to such an idealistic vision is what Lerner calls “cynical realism,” which is what we have left when all of the great ideas and ideals have been “deconstructed.” Again, his analysis of how and why modern religion in America has developed the way it has is excellent. He makes an strong case for hope, faith and optimism -- and why the Democrats must take on these values and mean it, or else go the way of the Whigs and Know-Nothings. You may not agree with all of his policy prescriptions, but I’m willing to bet you will resonate with his message and the need to reestablish “The Left Hand of God.”
And for you baseball fans, let me put it this way: I’ve always suspected the Creator was a southpaw, what with all those tricky curves that always seem to break away from us. But I’ll tell you what. When this Lefty brings it right down the middle, it doesn’t matter what kind of steroids they’ve been on, those sluggers from the right side don’t have a chance. Go buy this book, and find out why!
Receive Notes From the Trail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, if you want to receive Notes From the Trail, Steve Bhaerman's spiritual / political uncommontary, please opt in by clicking on Update Profile/Email Address at the bottom of this email.
May the FARCE be with you,
Steve Bhaerman
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: [email protected]
web: https://www.wakeuplaughing.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wake Up Laughing Productions | 400 West Third Street | Suite D-144 | Santa Rosa | CA | 95401