My message today is really about two things. Spiritual Independence and Spiritual Interdependence, and there is a story behind how I came on each of these topics.

During a recent Worship Associate committee meeting, I signed up to be the Worship Associate and speaker for this service. It was easy for me at least, to see why. It was one of the few weekends this summer that I have free, I’ve always like the joyous mid-summer period where the days are long, the weather warm and an enhanced sense of freedom. Furthermore, July 4th has provided me with several memorable experiences, mostly related to a sense of freedom to light things on fire and make big booms. So, I figured it would not be a problem to come up with a service topic of interest. That feeling lasted about as long as a the oohhs and ahhhs that follow an exquisite fire work explosions when one of my Worship Associate committee members cheerfully reminded me, to make sure that the service includes a spiritual element. OK, Independence and Spiritual action or thought. I can do this.

However, as I gave the topic of spiritual connection to Independence Day, more thought, one of my next reactions was "holy dogma, what have I gotten myself into." Compared to most of our major holidays, July 4th at 231 years old, is a mere infant, and unlike holidays whose roots are based in the earth based celebrations of seasonal events which resonate with my spiritual being, Independence Day has no particular spiritual or ancient connection to the roots of my pagan worship instincts.

However, I was intrigued by the notion of exploring whether the actions of those who led the independence movement in the 1770s were in some way driven by spiritual or divine guidance. I began to wonder if I might find some spiritual connection to our Celebration of Independence Day .by studying the historical basis for our quest for independence..

Though the Fourth of July is iconic to Americans, some claim the date itself is somewhat arbitrary. New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775. The first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made on June 4, 1776. After hard debate, the Congress voted unanimously, but secretly, for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 2. This is known as the Lee Resolution.

John Adams, credited by Thomas Jefferson as the unofficial, tireless whip of the independence-minded, wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Rather prescient, wasn’t he? He got everything right except the date.

Although Adams was off by two days July 4, 1776 is the date on the Declaration itself. It was also the first day Philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the Continental Congress, as opposed to rumors in the street about secret votes. So, there we have it. July 4th, though somewhat arbitrary, was set as our day of declaring independence from Great Britian and over the years, July 4th has become a distinctly American celebration, complete with fireworks, music, baseball games, public events and family gatherings. But what about the spirituality associated with this important event in our history? Seems like I better first define what I mean by spirituality.

There are many forms of spirituality that exist in our society, past and present, and one could even say that everybody has their own spirituality, however buried or hidden from themselves and others. In a distilled fashion, I think of spirituality as being an awareness of a divine reality that calls an individual to a greater or higher realization. Spirituality is a personal response and commitment to reality in its deepest sense, no matter how obfuscated such universal truths may be.

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the declaration of independence, was a man of deep religious conviction - his conviction was that religion was a very personal matter, one which the government had no business or reason for involvement. As such, he rallied against any form of religious connection to our government and is rightly credited with the separation of church and state in our nation.

Although religion does not in my view equate to spirituality, the practice of religion can certainly provide a vehicle or conduit towards spiritual enlightenment. With our appropriate separation of church and state, we are blessed by a government that for the most part doesn’t require us to follow a particular religious or spiritual path, though pardon the digression but I do have to point out that the phrase on our currency "In God We Trust" sounds pretty darn religious to me. What God? Or perhaps I should ask Which God. What about our true mother, the Goddess, and which Goddesses and Gods are being referred to by this statement "In God we Trust"?

I can’t pretend to delve into the hearts and minds of the independence movement leaders, but I suspect that Jefferson, Tomas Paine, John Adams, John Hancock and others among them felt that they were truly on a divine mission to free the colonies from an oppressive and unjust ruler. However, I don’t think that their efforts were particularly spiritual or geared towards higher realization. At best, I would say that the leaders of our Independence movement were highly spirited, enlightened, and driven to create a new union of colonies unconstrained by an outmoded style of governance. Not necessarily spiritual, but defnintely spirited.

As I worked on this message of the morning, I became more and more intrigued by the concept of spiritual interdependence. I believe that there is a spiritual interdependence among the various religions in the same way as there is a metaphysical interconnectedness to all reality. If this is indeed true, then there must be some common constructs associated with a global or interdependent spirituality, which are part of any viable tradition. What might such elements look like I wondered? To answer this, I borrow generously from the work of Brother Wayne Teasdale , a Christian Monk, author, and lecturer who identified seven clearly discernable elements of a global or interdependent spirituality. (See his work, "Spirituality as a Primary Resource in Promoting Peace".) I will briefly touch on each of these 7 elements.

A CAPACITY TO LIVE MORALLY
The capacity to live morally or ethically is the indispensable foundation of the spiritual life in any tradition. One who is on the spiritual journey will in some deep way, be a morally committed individual.

DEEP NONVIOLENCE A deeply-rooted attitude of nonviolence is also an important aspect of spirituality. As one becomes more awake within, one also becomes gentle and sensitive without -- that is in relation to others. Deep nonviolence means a non-harming that is the fruit of wisdom and compassion; it is really a form of love, and it is also a way to spread peace.

SPIRITUAL SOLIDARITY Every person who follows the call of the inner life knows there is a deep bond of human and spiritual solidarity that unites us all. It emanates from the unity of reality itself, and because of this oneness, there is also a spiritual oneness, the basis of our interdependence. At the same time, we have a spiritual solidarity with the other species and with the Earth itself. It manifests in the possibility of harmony and communion with them both.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE Genuine spirituality has a spiritual practice, the heart of spirituality which brings about the process of inner change. Spiritual practice may take the form of mature prayer, meditation, a discipline of contemplation, spiritual reading, reflection, study, work or a simple resting in the Divine. It may also involve forms of ritual and a combination of these elements. Spiritual practice will likely initiate a transformation of consciousness, will,of character and of action. One’s consciousness grows by addition of greater knowledge and awareness -- especially of the material, the psychological and the spiritual dimensions of our intertwined existences.

SIMPLICITY Simplicity of life or lifestyle has for millennia in every tradition been a requirement and a sign of the genuine nature of one’s spiritual witness. "live simply so that others may simply live" Simplicity also has the direct bearing on the cultivation of detachment, and detachment facilitates growth in our spiritual lives. Living simply has taken on even more meaning today with our awareness of global environmental impacts. Is it just me, or do others feel that there has been a recent shift in our consciousness related to global warming and environmental issues -- once the domain of left leaning activists, it seems to me that global environmental issues are now becoming part of our mainstream dialogue, in a large part I think because Global Warming is being felt by so many. As Ghandi recognized, we don’t need much to live and be happy; he often remarked that the Earth has sufficient resources for humankind’s needs, but not for its greeds.

SELFLESS SERVICE The transformation of the person living an intense inner life leads spontaneously to the development of a sensitivity to the needs of others. In turn, this will likely lead to the possibility of service or compassionate action. One becomes capable of thinking and acting beyond self-interest, able to discern among the needs of others what is required, based upon justice and charity. This pattern of behavior is found in every valid expression of the spiritual life.

PROPHETIC ACTION The final element of universal or interdependent spirituality is the freedom to exercise prophetic action calling for change. This may mean taking a courageous stand for others in matters relating to justice, peacemaking, economic policy, refugees, hunger, poverty, the elderly, children, the unemployed, the homeless, AIDS and other diseases as well as the whole critical issue of the environment. Prophetic action requires spiritual leadership and the courage to take a cause as your own and accept the associated risks.

In this age of spiritual interdepedence, when we have finally discovered the profoundly rich bonds of sacred community that unite us all, our global spiritual tradition must possess the ability to speak out when the occasion requires it.

I recently received an email from a friend letting me know about some global spiritual events. One of them in particular caught my interest.

It’s called Fire the Grid and appears to be based on the workings of an individual who experienced a miracle in the form of a near death drowning experience for both himself and his son. Both this man and his son, drowned. The father was revived on the spot, but the 5 year old son was declared brain dead with a less than one percent chance of making any kind of a recovery. This miracle, ensued, inspired partly by messages the individual received from the spirit world (or light beings as he calls them), and an organized procession of people who came to the hospital and literally willed the life back into the brain dead boy. I didn’t investigate the veracity of this man’s story, and it could be a construction, but since I want to believe such things, I’m going to let it ride. The miracle led him to further explore miraculous action in the form of a global consciousness project that ties in closely to my own concerns and issues.

As a trained scientist, I have realized for some time that our planet cannot sustain the demands we place on her resources. We are nearing the critical breaking point of the natural system on which we depend on for sustenance and life itself. I see two possible likely outcomes; either a massive global die off our species and an associated change in the way we inhabit our planet, or perhaps some form of outside intervention, sparked by our collective consciousness and desire to obtain assistance in our development as a species and a desire to heal our planet. I’ve always believed in the possibility if not likelyhood that there exist advanced life forms outside our solar system.

The lack of direct evidence, for such life can easily be explained by the fact that we are, on a wide scale metaphysical and spiritual level, not ready yet to accept such outside intervention. Basically, any extraterrestrial life forms roving the Universe are probably staying far away from our planet, until we get our metaphysical act together. There is another factor at play here as well. During the period of time (particularly over the last 2000 years) as we have focused on the development of our free will, we have disconnected ourselves from the universal powers that govern all existence. The Fire The Grid effort is geared towards creating a global consciousness event with the intention of showing the forces and powers outside our currently constrained reality, that we are not only ready for, but desire their assistance in managing our survival and reconnecting us to the greater grid of existence. This Fire The Grid Event is scheduled to occur on Tuesday July 17th at 4:11 AM our time and involves everybody connected and enrolled to engage in a one hour meditation focused on the intention of raising our collective consciousness and bringing healing energy to our earth.

To me, the Fire The Grid effort, and a variety of other similar global consciousness events is a positive indication that we, as a collective species, are on the cusp of greater awareness and consciousness that is necessary for our spiritual development if not our survival. If there is to be any salvation in a religious sense, it’s not going to come from one particular religion or set of constructs, it will instead be through the attainment of a collective and global spiritual interdependence.

I would like to close now with some more wisdom from Brother Wayne Teasdale.

"Every one of us is a mystic. We may or may not realize it, we may not even like it. But whether we know it or not, whether we accept it or not, mystical experience is always there, inviting us on a journey of ultimate discovery. We have been given the gift of life in this perplexing world to become who we ultimately are: creatures of boundless love, caring compassion, and wisdom. Existence is a summons to the eternal journey of the sage - the sage we all are, if only we could see."