Over the past few years, the state of California has gone through a slew of changes and allowances for price increases. Virtually every utility has increased prices on me, at least 30%. Recently my car insurance went up 42%, and I had no accidents/claims. I was able to talk to an executive from the car insurance provider, and he stated, “Due to California bill ____, we are allowed to raise rates on our customers….” After some digging I found that 20% of my price increase was invalid and it was removed. Today, I discovered that California has passed another bill for 2024, allowing home insurance companies to raise prices 20%. Beyond my personal price increases, there is a general problem of homelessness. It’s rapidly increasing beyond anything I’ve seen before. I can’t even fathom the causes, as it seems to outpace joblessness. At every turn society seems to be imploding, on either a personal or objective level and it is in a challenge like this, that one can easily lose their spiritual grip and slip into despondency.

Despondency, and the withdrawal from spiritual truth, is what I wanted to talk about today. When a heart is hardened with the cares of one’s personal life, then the concerns for others become nullified. I know this to be true as my life experience has shown this result in the lives of others, as well as my own past.

When we start to slip, someone will come around the corner and say, “welcome to my political [or social reform] party, where we care about your personal needs such as yours…” They woo us with a story of concern for our affairs and attempt to seduce us into a state of caring about the personal struggle over the needs of others. My parents had this same temptation. When I was a child, I remember my parents glued to the news each night. Obsessed with the struggle for personal finances, they began to object to helping others. This hit a tone, when affirmative action and college admission was starting. As a child, my innocence asked, “But what about what Jesus said about giving to others?” My father, a Christian minister, would respond with a bit of frustration that I didn’t understand and “wait till you’re older and we can’t afford to send you to college.” They were able to send me to college, but that statement wasn’t lost on me. That feeling of utter despair, that God had forsaken them. They were on their own and had to figure out their problems by voting in a new regime to solve these complex issues.

What my father was experiencing was a life test. It’s what I’ve experienced repeatedly, and I am once again experiencing now. At some parts of my life, I withdrew into myself and shut the needs of others from my view – only to become an unhappy and frustrated individual. At other times, I gave to others, and found an endless depth to joy. Once you have children though, things appear to change. Responsibilities appear to be different. One is no longer only taking into account their personal needs, but the needs of survivability of their family. As it turns out, nothing is different. It’s still a choice of expansion or conserving energy.

The spiritual path, I believe, is one of expansion. This was made clear to me when in meditation I experienced the feeling of expansion, and how that was the Greater aspect, touching the hem of God’s proverbial raiment. That state of Union with others can be achieved ONLY through expansion of Self. It is the conservation of energy, where one pulls inwardly, withdrawing from UNION, in order to become much smaller in scope. Withdrawing, to me, is the state of the human condition. It is the state of individual survivability and by “individual,” I refer to whatever one self-identifies as – but usually this self-identification doesn’t grow much further than their own family or nationality.

A choice is once again before me. I felt it, this morning as I learned of yet another price hike allowed by the state of California. My human nature reacted with, “how are we going to be able to survive this increase?” Fear, worry, anxiety… all those negative foes appeared before my heart as false friends and I shared them with my spouse, who took them in, in her own way. A few moments later, I was receipting my morning prayers – a recent practice to inspire my daily outlook. As my mind and heart settled, my spirit opened. I saw this challenge for what it was, a battle for my expansion.

This is the failure of political zealots. They beat the drum of politics, the very need to vote a certain way or all is ruined, and yet tell you “God answers all their needs.” If they believed God answered all their needs, why are they so enraged when they lose a vote, an election or Supreme Court decision? They are vexed because they are not truly driven by righteousness, but by personal greed, or fear. If in doubt, turn on any Christian broadcasting network and watch for an hour. Nearly every talk, every round-table discussion, ever sermon, comes the political agenda. Which raises the question, “if you really believed in God, why are you so worried?”

Now it’s my turn. So I ask myself, “Brian, if you really believe in something greater than yourself, why are you worried?” What did I think this imperfect world would give me? Perfection? I am given one perfect thing, every moment – the same as you – and it is choice. Each moment, we have the perfection of choice, we are allowed to choose to expand our nature or contract it. We can care for others beyond our personal scope, or for those within our scope: ourselves, our family, our nation.

For some, the answer is in the scope itself. Expand the scope, and care the same, then everyone and everything is cared for. If that works for you, use it. The main thing to consider is when one feels the pull of contraction vs. push of expansion. This is very subtle. Our motivations are sourced from either one cause or the other. Either we are seeking to connect with other forms of existence (people, nature, God, Spirituality) in union, or we are seeking to withdraw.

Adherence to a religion is not the hallmark of success. One can follow a religious faith, and only care about themselves, or their biases. Plenty of political fear based ideology is preached from a pulpit. Always be aware of motivations – a message to myself, as much as anyone else. As Socrates said so eloquently, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Clarified self-examination reveals where we are along the path. Be sure that it is clarified, and not obscured by the ego, which may protest that one is spiritually expanded, while they are ego driven and selfish. Always align to the Greater and to help with this ideal we have our Higher Self, our true Guide.

To conclude I would like to recommend the daily spiritual practice. Utilize something in your personal belief system, be it meditation, spiritual reading, contemplation, prayer or practice. Whatever attunes you to a path of spiritual harmony. Set that intention when you wake each morning and refresh it every midday. This is paramount. If possible, conclude each evening with something to inspire the next morning. Such a practice will help keep the course, when life tests us with desires, fears and anxieties – of which there are an endless variety.