10/27/2024
Years ago, I wrote this Unity Voter's Guide. Since it's as true today as ever, I thought you might like something to reflect on before voting.
A GUIDE TO CONSCIOUS VOTING
A Unity perspective…by Rev. Alicia-Leslie
Why Vote?
In a Presidential election, campaigns heat up. Claims and accusations are made. Emotions often rage. You may feel like going into hiding until it is all over. But as a responsible citizen of the United States of America you cannot. Why? Because it is our right and responsibility to vote. It is our opportunity to participate in the operation of our government. Don’t just pray, move your feet. VOTE
Some people under the influence of apathy say that their vote does not matter. It does. While the Electoral College may cast the actual votes that declare the President, their decisions are based on the popular vote of their state. While in theory an elector can go against this commitment, this is very rare. Additionally, you will be voting to fill other important positions. The people you vote for can make a positive or negative change in your life and our country. They are the decision makers we have chosen.
Galatians 6:7, 10 “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. … So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Barbara Marx Hubbard: "Conscious evolution inspires in us a mysterious and humble awareness that we have been created by this awesome process of evolution and are now being transformed by it."
The Consequence of Not Voting
“We are free up to the point of choice, then the choice controls the chooser.” Mary Crowley
Our first choice is whether or not to vote. If you do not vote, you put your future in the hands of those who do vote. Would you let a blind person take you out for a drive? Would you let a circus clown perform brain surgery on you? Do we really believe, as Abraham Lincoln said, that we are a nation of, by and for the people? If we say that we believe it, we must do our part. We cannot abdicate our responsibility to vote.
Why is it that two thirds of eligible voters do not vote? For one thing, it is not easy. Oh, it can be easy if you go unconsciously, ignorantly, or passionately misinformed to cast your vote. Typically that would be putting personality before principle. Laziness causes many people not to vote, and apathy.
We in the United States of America enjoy countless benefits of freedom. But there is another side to the coin. It is responsibility. You are a part of a greater whole. You are an organ, or a cell in the body, or collective consciousness that we call American. Your vote helps determine what that looks like, whether it is healthy and whole or filled with dis-ease and broken.
The laws and programs that will impact our lives are made and changed by the people we empower to do so. Even if it does not turn out the way you wish it had, you did your part, and now can do your part to hold the feet of those who won the vote to the fire of accountability.
How to Make a Conscious Decision
Joshua 24:15 “Choose this day who you will serve…as for me and my house, I shall serve the Lord”
1. Pray first. Our mind is our connecting link with God – Spirit – Higher Consciousness. When we turn first to our higher power, we are more likely to make a conscious, rather than unconscious choice. Pray with positive prayer, not begging or coming from fear.
2. Educate yourself – Pay attention to news articles, outcomes of debates, and yes, even claims on the internet, PROVIDED you fact-check everything. Ask yourself: is this fact or opinion? The following sites are good sources, but the more important the issue is, the more thoroughly you should check it out. Sources: FactCheck.org, Politifact.com, FactChecker.com
3. Consider the source – Even news reporters have conscious or unconscious prejudices and opinions. Do not draw all of your information from a single source. Do not become over-involved to the point that your mind is saturated. The idea is to learn and sort, not to drown in a sea of information.
4. Which candidates reflect your own values? Is it personality that draws you or principle - His or her charm, or the intelligence and value in his message? Are you voting a party line because your parents did? Are you voting for a particular candidate because you don’t want to make another person angry?
5. Know the Candidate – Is s/he:
a. Qualified: Equipped, educated and experienced?
b. Independent National View with Interdependent World View – Seeking peace, harmony, prosperity, for all people everywhere, including but not just the US?
c. Grounded in Ethics, Character, Values and Conscience?
d. Making achievable promises and goals?
e. Courageous enough to go against influencers such as lobbyists?
f. Honest – What they did in the past, will indicate the future.
g. Understanding, Knowledgeable, or Wise?
h. Diplomatic?
6. Watch your habitual thoughts. The thoughts we hold in mind, manifest in and as our lives through the Law of Mind Action. Are you holding thoughts of fear or anger against the opposition, or positive thoughts about the candidate or party you prefer? This will influence your vote.
How To Know You Made The Right Choice
Jeremiah 33 … “I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts, and they will be my God, and I will be their people”
Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity: The test of Truth is that it satisfies the logic of the mind and the longing of the heart.
We all have built-in indicators that let us know when we are aligned with Truth and when we are not. We feel it in our gut when we are about to make a bad decision, whether we listen to the warning or not. In decision making: One choice gives you a sense of urgency or anxiety the other gives a feeling of peace. Go with the feeling of peace.
Pray before taking action. Expect God to do something, but do your part. Pray to make the right choice, adding “This or something better.”
If you feel fear of guilt as you prepare to choose, you are being manipulated.
The Bottom Line
By right of consciousness, the American people will elect a person that will draw lessons needed for their collective growth. The election is a cause sent forth. The result of the election brings effects of that cause. The lessons can be painful or positive. Everyone will be affected in one way or another.
If money determines what you do or do not do then money is your boss. If God determines what you do or do not do then God is your boss. Richard J Foster, Money, S*x and Power
