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A Larger View A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Inner Outer Partnership Volume V Edition 1 January/February 2000 The century that is about to begin will of course bring new opportunities but also new challenges. We begin our first newsletter of the year with three we believe will feature prominently: the issue of religion, the family of nations and the nature of reality. They are challenges with roots in the present, with repercussions for our future, but more importantly they are challenges of deep spiritual consequence The Issue of Religion      When the Pope visited India last November, the religious diversity of the nation notwithstanding, he declared Jesus Christ as the sole redeemer of humanity, implying that Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna or any other holy being wouldn't be able to redeem the souls of their believers. Maybe the Pope, who according to the Petrine doctrine that gives him his legitimacy is the heir of St. Peter and as the direct representative of Christ on earth knows more than most and is therefore right. But again maybe he is not. Maybe he is the exponent of what religions usually represent, a single point of view, one so intent on the dogma of their respective faith it excludes the reality or beliefs and in some cases the rights of others.      Saying this may point to the limitations of religions, and perhaps to their inability to meet the needs of current and future souls. The need for spirituality, however, is real, and keeps on widening. Whereas the workplace, for example, used to be where religion stopped, more and more it now accommodates a variety of religious expressions.      As people's inner reality is more deeply anchored, as it fosters a more inclusive point of view, as it increasingly attests to, impels or encourages a perspective larger than religious dogma, it is called upon to supersede the segmented view of the divine offered by the belief systems which have guided the last two millennia.      While how long it may take for religions to disappear can only be conjecture, we can surmise they are not likely to go without struggles, confrontations or clashes. What's happening in Kansas where the school board declared that evolution cannot be proved as science and can therefore not be taught in schools as part of that curriculum, may be a telling example. Underlying the measure, one wonders about the absence of a sense of coexistence, of a spirit of reconciliation, of an accommodation to the contributions and necessity of science suggesting that the battles ahead are bound to be long, probably acrimonious and certainly drawn around quite delineated points of view. The abortion debate of the last few years and the shootings it led to perhaps contribute to giving us a preview of what is to come. All of which mitigates against the needs of the new century, the need for greater inclusiveness. But if our inner reality is to guide us, if we are to be true to our own inner self, then we shall know that no matter how loud, discordant, or divisive the cries of religious orthodoxy, the heralded sounds of spirituality can be heard that much louder, through our understanding, our compassion, the quality of our actions, and most of all through our very own inclusiveness. The Family of Nations      The United States has finally paid its dues to the United Nations, a little more than half of what the U.N. said it owed anyway, but not before a long political battle ending in compromise and concessions. At a time when a new world vision is needed to supplant the bipolar dynamic of the cold war, the United States' stand on the United Nations has been steeped in partisan rhetoric and ideology. Politics and ideology are inevitable bedfellows but politics and philosophy are often at odds and what suffers is wisdom. In this case the wisdom to see that the United Nations is not a building or an organization but an idea, a concept of enormous significance for the present and even more for the future.      "The world since the fall of the Berlin Wall has been in search of a model to explain how to manage international relations and that model has been etched in front of us. Events such as the WTO meeting in Seattle, WA last December, while showing us how fragile the international web can be nevertheless demonstrated its powerful presence. As the world keeps on narrowing its boundaries whether through globalization or through the Internet, the idea of a family of nations learning to work together gains in relevance and even urgency if the century is to nurture the necessary cooperation. Strengthening the idea of nations uniting whether through the United Nations or any other such body is no longer a theory, an alternative or an ideal but increasingly an imperative arising out of existing and unstoppable forces. The interdependence between developing and developed nations, the success of national economies, human rights, the environment, humanitarian aid, fighting terrorism among other issues all cross borders and speak to a world where even the most loosely defined form of isolationism is anachronistic and potentially harmful. What matters if we are to fulfill our share toward the promise of the century is that our relations with other nations be truthful to the family of nations all working toward the same end: ameliorating the human condition. The Nature of Reality      In Dutch, the authorized biography of President Ronald Reagan, author Edmond Morris included a fictional character who narrates the story and as he does becomes part of it. The controversy this created was sharpened by the fact that the publishers did not inform the reader such a fictional character existed. If not for the press hoopla surrounding the publication of the book, many might have been duped into thinking the fictional character real. In the movie The Insider about a behind the scenes tale of a television producer who urges a tobacco company executive to tell the truth and how network officials were able to prevent the interview from failing, Michael Mann, its director, defended his addition of characters, his lumping of certain events and small changes in others as necessary to the dramatic movement. The essence of the story is not touched he argued pointing to the fact he did not make a documentary. While critics conceded the film's dramatic edge, they questioned taking liberty with the truth.      Several years ago when the movie Forrest Gump came out similar issues were asked, for there compliments of special effects, the main character is seen being congratulated by President Lyndon Johnson. As technical innovations and virtual technology encroach on our habitual definitions of reality, we are forced to ask, what is it? And when this debate extends to more traditional avenues such as biographies and movies purporting to be about true events, we know we can no longer escape asking certain questions.      If what is real is not to be subject to old rules, the key question may not be what is reality, for new rules will keep on extending the definitions or even norms, but how does one know what is real? For then regardless of definitions or norms or whatever current fad, being grounded in what is real will be our shibboleth pointing us in the direction of truth. And if String Theory, as it hopes, continues to erode our understanding of the time and space continuum and the three dimensions it supports, and opens a revolution in the nature of what makes up what we have called reality, the question looms to become indispensable to our ability to cope with and understand the world around us.      What gives the question such significance is that in our efforts to answer it we are bound to confront the difference between outer and inner realities. While outer reality can and will keep on changing, inner reality can guide us to what is lasting, the very thing we need to confront the world of the future, for truth when meaningful has to be more than ephemera, it has to stand firm and conquer its adversaries through the sheer weight of its existence. The Practitioner's Perspective - Quiet Times      A particularly frenzied holiday season is over and perhaps it is now appropriate to wonder about the spiritual purpose of quiet times. My life had been hectic for a number of weeks and then in mid-October everything settled into a quiet routine. Although it was easier in some ways, I missed the excitement and challenges of having to adjust to new situations and demands. In fact the calmness of the external aspects of my life were conducive to feeling somewhat restless and I admit it was difficult to then settle down to such a quiet activity as meditation. As I made a concerted effort to ponder why, it dawned on me that my personal self was the culprit. It thrived on excitement, an excitement which the soul clearly eschews, for it only clouds its priorities, agenda, purpose, or concerns. When life is busy or demanding, the pace can disrupt meditation practice and the fusses of too much activity become a source of unnecessary stimulation to the personal self. When life is quiet and routine, it is easier to attend to inner concerns, to reflect, to meditate on what's gone on and on what ought to be or needs doing. I've found that it is a time to strengthen the soul within me, for these quiet times are what can provide me with an inner center from which I can later act when times become difficult or just very busy. It is the quiet times and the quality of meditation at such times that build up the strength within to be aware of and act more directly under the influence of the higher self. So, when a busy period returns to normal, leaving us restless, it may be a good time to use meditation or any of its equivalents to focus on the "inner" now that the "outer" isn't demanding quite so much attention. A Word On The Millennium      The turn of the millennium marks the 2OOOth birthday of the Christian Era. Still it does not mean that beyond that the event holds spiritual significance - particularly when the word spiritual is used to include the unseen counterpart of the world. Human civilization antedates the Christian Era by several thousand years and the existence of the world itself is a large multiple of that.      Spiritually, it is cycles which have relevance and cycles are not punctuated by the discrete and precise numbers given to years, centuries or even millennia. Cycles usually correspond to facts and processes of astronomy, which in turn do not necessarily correspond to our own emphases or to what may be the human constructs inherent in our calendars. Though based on scientific principles pertaining to the observable world, calendars do not, nor are meant to, take in the inner dimensions so cardinal to spiritual reality and understanding.       So as the new year brings us to a new millennium, let us rejoice for the sake of rejoicing without unnecessary rationalizations as to spiritual meaning or importance. Seed Thought      My strength and power come from the secret place and much I know. Alice A. Bailey