Spiritual Socialism

I’d never heard that phrase – spiritual socialism. But that was what came to mind after I finished a meditation one recent morning. I’d been concerned about finances and focusing on abundance. So what was that term telling me?

Did it mean there’ll be pie in the sky when I die? That’s a line from an old socialist folk song from the 1930s called The Ballad of Joe Hill. The idea of the song was that religion is a tool of the rich, another way of oppressing workers.

But maybe  you don’t have to wait until you die to get the benefits of spiritual socialism.

But is there really any such thing? How does it work? Is it like a government program on the other side? How do I sign up?

Are some beings on the other side against it? Do they see it as another big heavenly program that will cost them in the long run? And why should we help those physical beings, anyhow? They’re not like us. I suppose if there’s spiritual socialism, there’s also probably a spiritual Tea Party carrying on their routine. But if heaven has many dimensions, I suspect those spirits are on one of the lower planes.

But let’s get back to the question, how do we sign up for this program if we need it? And really, what evidence is there that it even exists?

I look to the lives that Trish and I have led over the past three decades when we decided to quit our jobs as teacher and journalist for a freelance life.

Over the years, we’ve always been provided for. One way or another we’d always paid the mortgage, and lived a good life. We still do. But things have gotten tougher and we attributed it to changes in the publishing industry that were making it more difficult for people like us. Publishers were baffled by the emergence of the digital world in their industry and found the old ways weren’t making it any more and they better clean house.

Part of the housecleaning involved dumping writers they’d supported, especially ones with high ‘returns.’ Returns in the publishing industry doesn’t mean profits. It means the opposite…returned books from the bookstores. Fifty percent returns is not a good omen for writers who want to keep getting published by mainstream publishers. Of course, the failure of giant bookstores, like Borders, comes into play as well.

With all that happening, we began scrambling for new options in the digital world, e-books. But without advances the game changes. That led to my meditation on abundance.

And the answer…spiritual socialism. Here’s how I think it works. It’s more like social security than a giveaway program. You need to work for your benefits.

Here’s how:  1) Consider all that you have in your life. Be grateful. Be grateful every day, every hour. 2) Don’t focus on lack. Stay positive. 3) Don’t feel sorry for yourself. 4) Don’t get angry at others who have what you want. 5) Instead, imagine over and over that you already have your dream. 6) Create that new reality firmly in your mind in the present. Don’t think of it as coming, but as already here. 7) Wish others well. Send them light and happiness. 8) Expect help from higher sources, count on it. 9) Nurture your dream with appropriate actions that might appear as unexpected opportunities. 10) And, of course, watch for synchronicities showing you the way.

Okay, you might say these ideas are not new. They’re not. But there they are, the tenets of spiritualism socialism. Well being for all.

Coming next: Spiritual Capitalism