The Spiritual Wisdom Of The UK Electorate

The view greeting the British public this weekend on our news screens is something entirely alien; politicians talking to each other. Instead of exaggerating and emphasizing, through loud speakers, the differences between each other, they are actually sitting down and treating one another with mutual respect. Unlike in continental Europe, where coalition governments are the norm because of their electoral system, the UK political system is almost entirely adversarial where one party usually holds all the power and the opposition has none.

As we speak the Conservative and Liberal Democratic party are negotiating a compromise program. This form of negotiation is, as the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, himself acknowledged the morning after the election a scenario “unknown to this generation of political leaders”.

The sight of our politicians apparently growing up over night to engage in mature adult conversation with each other is truly refreshing and one that much of the public are reacting to favourably.

The key to success in this new form of adult politics, however, is about deploying a basic spiritual wisdom - about honouring the tribal instinct within while at the same remaining anchored to the calm centre that sits at the centre of us all.

This is where negotiation can indeed become a route to gaining spiritual wisdom for anyone engaged in it – especially politicians. The fact is that there are two dimensions to all of our personalities; one part - whether we call it the ego, lower self or, as I prefer, the outer self – that wants advantage, material reward, success, popularity, drama, excitement and pleasure, and another part – our higher self as some refer to it, or inner self as I prefer - that is detached from the roller coaster of the outer realm and that is our core centre of peace, acceptance and stillness. We constantly bridge these two parts of our inner world – the part that wants change, and the part that is acceptance – and progress is only really possible when we are able to embrace both these contradictory elements of our inner world.

If the negotiator is able to simultaneously remain in touch with the side of his/her self that yearns for change and fast impatient action, as well as the deeper layer of the self that maintains an acceptance for all that is, genuine expansion can occur in both the outer and inner worlds. It is for this reason that all peaceful negotiated progress in the world of politics and beyond, is driven by spiritual wisdom.