Seeking the True Spirit of Initiative by William Bento

Discerning the true spirit of initiative requires an inquiry, which considers factors beyon the appearance of an action. The most significant feature of an initiative is not apprehended as a percept. Although the idea of initiative conjures up notions of an external activity, it can never be separated from the one who has initiated the action. There is always an internal field of concepts and motives standing behind every initiative. It is my contention that inquiry into this realm holds the possibility of grasping the true spirit of any specific initiative.

It would be naïve realism to conclude that all initiative springs from either a feeling to do or a compelling sense of willfulness. Such conclusions omit to consider the role of thinking and its conceptual power to engender new realities. And it is after all, the very character of great initiatives to create new realities. Another flaw in assuming the position of naïve realism is that it bypasses the individual’s own moral disposition. Only when these two areas are given serious consideration can the true spirit of initiative be found. Naïve realism simply does not distinguish the drive of egoism from the moral intuition of the “I”. The former is often a set of desires expressed as responses to outer stimuli, yet masked as initiative; whereas the latter is a free act based on a love for the significance of a deed.

Students of Rudolf Steiner’s Intuitive Thinking As A Spiritual Path (1894, 1995) will most likely be familiar with the above distinction. In chapter nine, “The Idea Of Freedom,” Steiner articulates the importance of understanding the motive powers of an individual and the goals of morality for humanity. Union of these two factors becomes, for Steiner, the basis of the free human being. One might even assert that those who strive to become a free human being are also bound to experience the true spirit of initiative.

Rather than attempting to judge the quality of an initiative, I would like to emphasize the aspect of the dynamic and universal processes underlining any initiative. A study of the phenomenology of initiative can help us overcome the linear dualistic mindset often applied to assessing the value of an initiative. Even though we can superficially determine initiatives as being successes or failures, good or bad that will not assist us in getting to a deeper understanding of the true spirit of initiative. We should keep in mind the value of an initiative is not to be based on its external productivity or effectiveness, but on the expressed development of becoming freer as an individual to contribute to the moral goals of humanity.

After surveying the social field in which one is embedded a certain need for an action may become apparent. This “becoming apparent” of a need is not necessarily a collective experience nor a consensus view. It becomes apparent to the individual or individuals who have a conscious awareness of his or her role in the social situation, and is cognizant of a meaningful relationship to the need for a specific action. These two elements, awareness and relationship, catalyze the will of the initiator. This stirring of the will is due to a deeper karmic resolve than usually what presents itself on the surface of the social situation. This first stage of the initiative takes place with a commitment to do something. Simply by opening one’s will to doing something is an invitation for Spirit to become active, regardless of how unformed the initiative may be at that moment. The initiate or initiator who strives to act out of the Spirit has to learn to shift his or her attention from the social situation and the perceived need for an action to a subtle realm of inaction.

This shift of attention is enhanced when it is done from a contemplative state of consciousness. The realm of inaction referred to is a realm of openness or letting come. In this inner space exists the possibility to be graced by the Spirit of the initiative. Otto Scharmer (www.presencing.org) calls this moment presencing. What arises in this moment is not due to any preconceived plans, but due to a moral intuition. It is both a response from Spirit to a perceived need for action and an intuition that confirms the moral goal involved in a social situation. The Spirit’s presence is the intangible experience of a quickening of warmth in the soul of the would-be initiator.

Once the moral intuition has been received by the will of thinking a feeling arises that lights up one’s perception of the social field in which the action is intended for. This experience is akin to the popular phrases “something clicked,” “a light bulb was switched on,” or “everything started to fall into place.” The feeling evoked from this experience is a light-filled inspiration, an inspiration that is fully permeated with a sense of rightness for the action. The result of this is confidence. Out of this inner conviction a momentum to doing the initiative is firmly established and the second phase of the emerging spirit of initiative is completed.

In the next phase the would-be initiator must elevate the inspired feelings to a thinking that builds living pictures of possibilities. These possibilities are the core factors of an imaginative cognition. Out of this imagination the vision of the initiative unfolds in all its details. It is the image that guides the action toward the fulfillment of the moral goal within the social situation, and as such, can rightly be called a “moral imagination.” It is not a static picture of what is the only way to do something. Acting out this singular image is often how initiatives tend to create their own resistance. This occurs because the moral compass of doing what is right has been lost in the amnesia of the true nature of the social situation. Initiatives are not individual rights to impose some action upon others. Initiatives are gifts of the Spirit focused by individuals as a service to the community. When this idea is forgotten, the moral substance of an imagination for an initiative is lost. The true spirit of initiative can always be identified by its expression to serve a moral goal in which all involved benefit.

To execute this ideal of initiative there needs to be attention given to the fourth phase of the process. It involves the art of moral technique. If one has truly contemplated the possibilities of every action and its probable consequences, then the field is clear to select an action that is consistent with the perceived needs of all involved, and not only those uppermost in the mind of the initiative taker. Moral technique is a quality of doing an action that is neither selfish nor dependent on the outcome. It is an act that is essentially selfless. The true spirit of initiative has a unique sense of grace and service in it.

In the final analysis, the outcome of a spirit-filled initiative is always one wherein every individual experiences the grace and service of something much greater than the actions of the initiators. Within the context of community life (particularly intentional spiritual communities), this can often be experienced as a breakthrough in karmic knots and a catalyst for glimpsing the threads of common destiny. Initiatives can, and ideally should, confirm that Spirit is indeed at work within community. Taking initiatives is one way the Spirit reveals itself among us.

1. The will of the initiator is inspired by a conscious awareness of an individual’s awareness in a social situation, and recognizes the need for a specific action.
2. The moral intuition has been received by the will of thinking, and lights up the individual’s perception of the social field in which the action is intended for.
3. The initiator must elevate the inspired feelings to a thinking that builds living pictures of possibilities, to shape a “moral imagination.”
4. The initiator must contemplate the possibilities of every action and its probable consequences, consistent with the perceived needs of all involved, and not only those uppermost in the mind of the initiative taker.
5. Every involved individual experiences the grace and service of something greater than the actions of the initiators.
6. The Spirit(ual) reveals itself through initiative.

William Bento has researched, written, taught, and furthered the emergent field of a new star wisdom, Astrosophy.  He studied for ten years with the founder of this approach, Willi Sucher, and has written numerous articles on the subject, including co-authoring the book, Signs in the Heavens: A Message for our Time. He has consulted with over a thousandvindividuals on their starry configurations in relationship to questions of karma and destiny.  In his Astrosophical consultations one receives star charts, taped sessions, and numerous indications for meditative practices and ways to re-frame the meaning of one's biographical events and current life situations.  These consultations are an inspiration to reclaim one's power to embrace and rejoice in one's path of inner development. William is now an Associate Dean at the Rudolf Steiner College.