"I will hold beauty as a shield against despair."

Elsie Robinson, Beauty as a Shield

Many problems may stem from the fact that many of us feel disconnected and separate from God, ourselves, each other, and the natural world. We long for ways to reconnect.

Generally, spiritual seeking and activism have been separate. Those on a spiritual path have believed that the proper place for our attention is on self-healing, salvation, and personal spiritual growth. Traditional activists believe that political actions are the best approach. Presently, many of us are realizing that we need to combine these two areas of our lives. We must pray and act. It is time for us to become spiritual activists. We need to realize that our prayerful intention is one of the most powerful tools for change in the world. Our efforts in the world must arise from our whole being -- our mind, body, heart and soul. Spirituality today must reach beyond the concern for personal salvation and meaning, and address the crisis in the world.

We resonate with the words of Barbara Marx Hubbard: "It is time for all of us to evolve into the higher universal human we are capable of becoming. We need to demonstrate compassionate, loving action towards all life. It is time for us to co-create, with God, a better world and use our God-given creative genius to solve the problems at hand." We need to go out and change the world. These are the times. We are the people.