The destinies of nations have reached critical points in recent days, raising hopes and fears in human hearts. In South Africa, the African National Congress just formed a coalition government after failing to obtain a majority of the vote since it first came into power in 1994. On July 1, the Supreme Court of the United States granted Presidents wide-reaching immunity from criminal acts, a power that is nowhere in the Constitution of the United States or in law. And on the American Independence Day, July 4, the United Kingdom elected Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. He became the first Prime Minister from the Labor Party since 2007.

From a spiritual perspective, we offer our blessing and clarity to the people involved, especially those of goodwill who offer leadership.

These words are from Keir Starmer’s first speech as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, given on July 5, 2024:

Now, this wound…
This lack of trust…
Can only be healed by actions, not words…
I know that.
But we can make a start today…
With the simple acknowledgment…
That public service is a privilege.
And that your government should treat every single person in this country…
With respect.
If you voted for Labour yesterday…
We will carry the responsibility of your trust, as we rebuild our country.
But whether you voted Labour or not…
In fact – especially if you did not…
I say to you, directly…
My government will serve you.
Politics can be a force for good—we will show that.
And that is how we will govern.
Country first, party second.
Yet, if I’m honest…
Service is merely a pre-condition for hope.
And it is surely clear to everyone…
That our country needs a bigger reset…
A rediscovery of who we are.
Because no matter how fierce the storms of history…
One of the great strengths of this nation…
Has always been our ability to navigate a way through to calmer waters. 

Country first, party second. Kier Starmer’s words are relevant for political leaders around the globe. But do they go far enough? Isn’t it World first, country second, and party third? If the world collapses, countries collapse. And so, the well-being of world culture is the context in which all nations live.

There is a larger context still. Mother Earth first, world second, country third, and party fourth. A thriving human world can only be a reality upon a thriving planet. And a thriving planet implies that the natural order of that planet reigns supreme, especially through humankind.

Nations, and even parties, evoke great patriotism and loyalty. Perhaps you can feel those sentiments in Kier Starmer’s words. Human faith, hope, and devotion can flow to the nation. And why? Aren’t those feelings born out of the sense that our destiny is part of the destiny of a larger collective of people?

These words are from a written tract entitled The Idealized Nation. They are published by a global spiritual community.

It is impossible for a disciple to grow to spiritual health outside the context of community, just as a viable seed is not able to live outside fertile soil.  

It is easy to see how this belief could lead to an unhealthy orthodoxy inside a spiritual community. Nonetheless, it points to a truth that is relevant to anyone: We thrive as an individual in the context of the larger whole in which live. And so, we realize the full dimension of ourselves as members of our community, our nation, and the world. But does it work the other way around?

The truth is that the more deeply a person understands themselves, the more deeply they understand others. The more a person realizes their own potential, the more they contribute to the potential of the larger collective in which they find themselves.

Individuals who are not in service to the whole force themselves to live an egoic life. And the person who seeks to live only for the larger collective has lost themselves and the unique gift they have to bring to the world. True service to the whole leads to personal fulfillment if we let it. And true individual fulfillment can lead to profound service to the whole.

Valuing the nation, the community, the family—or any collective in which we participate—inspires loyalty and dedication to that collective. There are many stirring patriotic songs that evoke those feelings relative to a nation. But the best of those songs evoke something else as well—the awareness that we are called upon not only to be loyal to our nation as it is. We are here to call upon our nation to be the best that it can be and to become what it is destined to become. Any collective needs those who see it from a higher perspective and help inspire and guide it from there.

This is from the well-loved song from Irving Berlin, “God Bless America.”

God bless America, land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above. 

And this is from “America, the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates.

America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law! 

America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

Each of these two songs pictures the Divine inspiring and guiding the nation. They portray a higher form of government guiding human government. This is not picturing a theocracy in which religion is controlling politics. It is invoking a higher wisdom and a higher order. The people who composed the songs must have felt that reality coming through their own awareness. And anyone who sings these songs has the opportunity to feel that as well.

We, who write and who read this Pulse of Spirit, have that opportunity as well. We don’t have the fantasy that we, as an organization, are somehow going to control human government. That attempt is already being made by others. But here is what we can do. We can become aware of a higher reality of governance that is innate to us as humankind and which is intrinsic to the planet upon which we live. If we do become aware of that higher reality, it can reverberate through our consciousness. It can resonate through the elements of culture we create and share. If that happens for us, we take part in a Universal Priesthood for humanity.

Without that level of awareness, we have allegiance to families, parties, and nations without any harmonizing factor that brings any of those human collectives together. Then families, parties, and nations are inevitably seen as vying with one another. And loyalty to one’s own collective often causes conflict with someone else’s.

A Universal Priesthood is aware of this level of human government and brings blessing and guidance to it. But it is aware of another level of reality that is the Family of Families and the Nation of Nations. It is aware of the World of Worlds. When that awareness is present, the loyalty of the individual to the collective in which they find themselves has the opportunity of contributing to the whole, while not competing with other elements of it.

For the Universal Priesthood to be a reality, there clearly has to be a level of leadership that transcends the usual human leadership in the world. There has to be an awareness of what is pointed to by the word God in both the songs I quoted. It is probably obvious that without the reality of God, the God of religion doesn’t get us anywhere except to more factional human leadership attempting to impose itself on others. The Universal Priesthood brings an awareness of the reality of God that transcends any God of religion.

The awareness of the Family of Families, the Nation of Nations, and the World of Worlds brings with it an awareness of the God of Gods, the King of Kings, and the Queen of Queens. People who are open to that awareness have the opportunity to bring it to the world. This is the awareness that is carried by the Universal Priesthood.

If this awareness is awakening within you, I invite you to join all others who are having that experience. Join the Universal Priesthood. No membership cards will be issued. There is no form to fill out to join. Simply welcome the awareness that is coming to you. And welcome all others who are having a parallel experience.

Together, we transmit blessings and a positive conscious influence to this world.

God bless America.
God bless the United Kingdom.
God bless South Africa.
God bless all nations, all peoples, and all families.
God bless the Family of all Families and the Nation of all Nations.