Transforming the American Dream: The Power of Spiritual Citizenship

In a world filled with materialistic and superficial pursuits, it is easy to get caught up in the idea of the American Dream being solely about accumulating wealth and success. But what if we stepped back and redefined this dream from a spiritual perspective? What would that look like? In this episode, host Amy Hageman invites listeners to contemplate what the American Dream truly means and how we can redefine it as spiritual citizens. With thought-provoking questions and powerful insights, Amy invites us to step up as spiritual citizens and use our vibrational alignment to rewrite, reframe, and recontextualize the American Dream into a more holistic human dream. By improving our own visions and vibrations, we can create a better country and world for all. Join us as we reflect on the past, embrace gratitude, and look toward an empowered future in this inspiring episode. Don't miss it!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Alignment is Key: To create a world that includes all people and promotes health, peace, and education for all, it is essential to align our visions and vibrations with these goals as spiritual citizens. This means actively working towards creating an inclusive and accepting society that values the well-being of all individuals.

Embracing Our Role: As spiritual citizens, we have the power to rewrite the concept of the American dream by reframing it as a human experience that honors our spiritual and energetic beings.

The Power of Our Visions and Vibrations: Our personal visions and vibrations have the potential to not only shape our own lives but also the communities and world in which we live. By consciously aligning them with positive goals and values, we can create a ripple effect that brings about positive change on a larger scale.

Gratitude Mindset: Reflection and gratitude are beneficial for our personal growth and have a powerful impact on the collective energy of society. These are powerful tools for personal development and creating positive change in humanity. As spiritual citizens, practicing gratitude helps align our visions and vibrations toward a better world for all.

Creating a Better Future: We can take responsibility for healing the messiness in ourselves and the world and work towards a more connected and inclusive society. As we do so, may our actions and intentions be guided by the goal of promoting health, peace, and education for all. Through our collective efforts, we can truly make a difference in the world as spiritual citizens.

LINKS

Work With Me

TRANSCRIPT

The American dream and its spiritual significance.

Amy Hageman  00:00

Hello loves! Welcome back to the living out love podcasts. I'm Amy Hageman, and welcome. As we speak, it's quite cold in my house, we had a little smoke incident yesterday. So we've got fans running and windows open. And I'm glad to say that it is smelling and feeling better at home. But I'm sitting here all bundled up, I've got um, yeah, bundled up because it's chilly. So I'm excited for this episode: A, this is our next to last episode of this season. Next week, December 6th, that will be my last episode for Living Out Love in 2023. And we'll be back in 2024. I'm excited to begin to wrap this up. I'm also excited because we're going to talk about a sensitive topic today I'm going to be referencing my notes a lot. So for those of you that watch on YouTube, I'm sorry that my eye contact is gonna go back and forth. But I have always felt quite strongly that politics are very important to Living Out Love. And I'll explain that more in a little bit. But today, what I want to talk about is the American Dream. You know, it's November now, and the presidential election is a year away, and we just wrapped up local elections. And you know, 2024 is likely to be very politically interesting and heated. And there's a lot of spiritual people that say, politics aren't spiritual. But I think about the founding fathers, as we call them. I know Founding Fathers is irreverent to indigenous Americans. So I'm using the colloquial terms, not the spiritual roof. But the colloquial founding fathers, the pilgrims that came over that wrote the Declaration, they had a vision. And that vision was a vision for self actualization that you could be in America and have your needs met, that you could be who you wanted to be that you could worship who you wanted to worship that you could self actualize.

American Dream, self-actualization, and inclusivity.

Amy Hageman  02:24

That's a grand vision. And it's a spiritual vision. Even though it's not a religious vision, it doesn't subscribe to one god or one religion. The vision is quite grand, and audacious. What an audacious vision to think we're gonna leave the motherland, we're going to board a ship, or months and months and months at a time and dream that we can create something new. And, of course, you know, when they first came over, it was still under the rule of, of the kingdom and all of that, but the audacity to think that we're going to have a democracy where every voice matters, where every voice is irrelevant. And of course, they didn't get everything right. You know, indigenous American voices certainly did not matter. People of colors, voices did not matter. Immigrants, voices mattered somewhat. Like it's not it was not perfect. So I'm not saying yay, America is perfect. But I do want to spend time contemplating the spirit of the vision of the American dream. And for those of you that are listening, that are not in the US, please keep listening, because I think there is some spiritual growth, opportunity here for all of us. It's a contemplative practice that we're going to embark on together. And even if you're not American, you are probably impacted by those of us in America. And I think, minimum it will be interesting, but more likely than that, it will probably be helpful. So that's what we're talking about today. The American Dream. And what was it at its seed? When we wrote the Declaration of Independence, like what was the seed of the American dream? And do we as spiritual beings, as citizens of the globe, but specifically as citizens in the US, like, do we still resonate with the American dream? And what is ours to do as a spiritual citizenry?

Amy Hageman  04:50

What is ours to do? And, you know, I want to talk about I want to acknowledge how this vision of self actualization has played out, there's been a lot of many, many positive outcomes of this vision. We are, or more or less, depending on the year in the context, we, we sometimes have a democracy, we try to have a democracy, most of us try, we have many more choices, if you just look at like, what's in the grocery store, and the cars on the lot that you can buy, like we have many more choices compared to lots of other countries, many more choices of jobs and education and lots of things we have, in the US an astounding level of innovation. And we have amazing diversity here. I mean, living in Houston is such a gift, because it is so diverse. The foods, the cultures, I mean, it is amazing what happens in this country. And also, when self actualization plays out, only in the ego, human trauma realm and less so in the spiritual realm. It has also led to dehumanization, at worst, you know, the indigenous peoples genocide, slavery, onto Jim Crow, we get that, you know, prison labor, like there's lots of ways that we've led to dehumanization, many of us dehumanize the refugees that are in this country, whether immigrants, like whoever people that's that are here, legally, but it speaks a different language. Like, there's a lot of dehumanization, that is born of this self, quote, actualization. And this creates a vast separation in the way that we experience our lives, even though we are all citizens of one country. And it creates separation in our own thoughts and feelings towards one another. And I don't just mean that in the last five years, you know, I'm, I mean, historically, as a country, self actualization without the spiritual understanding of self has very negative repercussions. So, I've just been thinking a lot about, you know, this election that's coming up next year, and what is the American dream? And what does that mean spiritually?

And I, you know, I think it's interesting, you know, right now, the front runners, and the Democratic and Republican and the independent party are all old white men. And I mean, that just in terms of age, they're all older, but also in terms of like, they're not new. It's old news. We've experienced all three of these people before. And I'm really wondering, what is the new way to look at the American dream? If there was a new way? Like, what would that be? And I don't, I don't want to throw out the dream of set self actualization because that vision is what led to separation of church and state. It's what led to a lot of the systems that created the melting pot. And it was a strong enough vision that it brought people back together after the Civil War. Together, more or less. But again, the vision wasn't inclusive didn't honor the indigenous people of this land and honor people of color. And we've certainly strayed from our melting pot ideal version of immigration. And it seems to me now the most current the most overriding cultural response to immigration and refugees tends to be like fear and resistance of some sort.

Politics, spirituality, and self-actualization in the US. 

Amy Hageman  09:42

And just to be clear, I'm not I'm not suggesting that I have all the answers, or how to fix immigration and global economies and the great vast war machines that are out like I'm not saying that I know how to fix it. But I'm just looking energetically at what's happened. Name, and how it's related to the root vision of self actualization. And we call ourselves the United States. Which is fascinating because, like I live in Texas, and we had the freeze in Texas, is independent, we fly our flag at the same height as the American flag, the only state to do that, and we're so proud of our independence, we don't want to be on the national energy grid. So then when our energy rose,we had no access to anything else. Because we didn't have the infrastructure. Because we were so focused on self as an individual state. And so I've been wondering, what would a collective United States look like? And not after a 911, or hurricane Harvey, like not after something tragic happened, where we have to primally come together. And all of a sudden, all that egoic stuff doesn't matter? Because in our primal bodies, we understand that we're all humans, and we're all one. Like, what if we just all understood that all the time? What look like. And here's where I want to explain. Love is a little cool.

Politics are the systems at which we all live in the infrastructure of our streets, our internet, the the rules that govern what happens to whom and why and what we all allow is permissible and what we don't allow. And those systems have far reaching impact. That will affect more than the one person if you know, somebody that you know, is making minimum wage, it doesn't just affect that one person, it affects the people they would have bought from it affects their family, what have you. So you know, the systems at play. They matter. Just like when bridges collapse, and people can't, they're stranded, like that's, that is a government, that's a political situation. And so love has every right to be there. Spirituality has every right to be in politics. Now. That doesn't mean that I think I should get to tell other people how to live. But it does mean that I'm going to bring my spirituality into my political life, whatever that looks like, for me, whether it's just like I call my senator on occasion, if it's just, I vote on the year, I feel like it however, that looks like I'm advocating that we bring spirituality into our political thoughts, and feelings. And so now, I want to consider how should we write the the American dream of self actualization? For a time that dream was to own a home and be able to go on vacation, or to go to college, like the dream has changed over time for certain people. But at its root, it's the idea that you have the potential and the opportunity to become whoever it is that you are meant to be. That in America, you have the potential and the opportunity to create whatever it is that you are meant to create. And I do think that self actualization vision is magnificent. And I really resonate with that as a very loving vision. So I've kind of decided, all right, I don't want to rewrite that vision. But I want to have a deeper understanding of self. So that when we are visioning for ourselves, what does it look like to be a citizen in this country, that we don't zoom in on that one person? In our vision, we expand our lens to include all the people around that person.

Self-actualization and the American dream. 

Amy Hageman  14:20

I will remind you that energetically we are all one, we are all connected. This is the reason why if you walk into a room you can sort of sense if somebody's like having an argument or somebody's upset, like you can feel it because we're all connected. So the self and self actualization is collective. None of us actually self quote actualizes without the other. You know, most of us had a family member that believed in us that nurtured us they cared for us or teacher or a foster care person. And even if you genuinely didn't have some sort of relationship like that, you listen to a podcast, you read a book, you heard a song that moved you, there has been something in your life that has supported you at some point in time. Even if you were just your only moment of nurturing ever in your whole life was that you leaned against a tree one day and you felt that tree supporting you? Well, there were people involved in planning that tree or deciding to nurture the land around the tree. There have been people involved, this is a collective world that we have created as collective energy that we're all a part of.

None of us self actualize, without the other of us. So when I think about the American dream, and the self actualization process, I'm thinking we all just need to expand our lens a little bit. Literally, when we hear the word self, can we in our mind's eye, see, okay, I might be the center of that image. But outside of me, I see my family, my friends, my neighbors, the people that work at the stores around me, I see the people that are in political power for my city, my county, my state, whatever it is, like, there's people across the highway that speak a different language than me that maybe are first generation immigrants, maybe not, I have no idea. And yet, I am a part of them. And they are a part of me energetically, we are all connected. And of course, I'm I'm primarily focused on us here in the United States, but this is also globally, we're just connected globally. So I want us to consider if we consider that the American dream was self actualization, and that self really meant the self of divine energy that we all share with us look like.

Amy Hageman  17:11

And if we take it down to a really human level, like I think we could consider, you know, we've got nursing and Doctor shortages right now. So what if we found a way to make medical school more affordable? Or to have more accessible ways of paying off that debt? Like, maybe we'd have more access to care? What if we found a way to make the jobs of doctors and nurses more loving, less traumatizing? Maybe we'd all have more access to care. So I am not in a relationship with a nurse or a doctor, but I can see how my caring for them helps me as well. What if we found a way to have greater diversity in our leadership and our political leadership? Maybe we'd see legislation that represents the well being and more people. We found a way to feed and clothe the youth decades ago, we've had starving children in this country, or decades.

How might our economy be different from our our creative power, the GDP be different if children grew up having their basic needs met. So I don't think that the American Dream necessarily needs to be rewritten, but I think it needs to be re understood. That you you're you listen to this podcast in your name and your body, where ever you live, you cannot thrive. If the world around you is falling apart. If the literal and metaphorical bridge collapses, then you're not able to self actualization actualize So, how do we self vote actualize as a united divine energetic body that has many different facets that has many different goals? And what if our dream of self actualization was a dream of love? That when we envision in our minds what America could be what our global community to be, what we imagine is that every being on this planet gets to live out their love, which means they get to be whoever they are called to be. They get to live however, they are called to live and they get to create whatever they are called to create.

Spirituality, diversity, and the American Dream.

Amy Hageman  19:47

When you spend time thinking about who you're going to vote for when you spend time thinking about whatever's in the news that is causing you stress or grief or rage For disappointment or passion or excitement, whatever it is, I just invite you to expand your lens of who all is impacted. And of course, I want everybody to vote in their best interests. I want you to vote in your best interest, whatever is best for you and your family. But I want you to understand that what is in your best interest, your selfish, best interest is inherently what is best for everybody's best interest. And vice versa. What is best for everybody is what's best for you. And this is a time in which many of our egos are going to say no. And like, it's too messy. And listen, I use I have a strong diversity, equity inclusion background, I get it diversity is hard, it's hard. And there's no getting it right all the time. There just isn't, you're gonna mess it up. Because not every single person of any demographic wants to be treated the same way. We're all humans, we're all individuals. So I get that it's messy. But without that diversity, we don't have the innovation. We don't have the self actualization. And our minds want to tell us that there are limited resources, and then it's all about power and control. And I just want to tell you that that is the cultural conditioning that we have grown up with. That is not the capital T truth. There is no lack of divine energy. There is no lack of divine energy, it's omnipotent. It's unending, it's unconstrained. All we have to do is get in alignment with it. So when you're in an expansive place, and you think about the messiness of our diversity, well, you have more room for the messy conversations, or making mistakes and apologizing. There's no such thing as this like point of no return when you're in an expanded spiritual space.

So in the coming months, I want you to meditate and contemplate on the American dream. And really be with that question, what does self mean and self actualization? What does the self mean? And how can our vision better include all of the people in this country, the indigenous Americans that we want to sweep under the rug, the slavery that so many people are so tired of talking about? Well, we're just gonna have to keep talking about it till we actually heal it, kiddos. Until we heal it and we take responsibility, it's going to continue to be messy and unhealed. And just because something is not our fault, doesn't mean it's not our responsibility. And I know that's a pretty big, that's a tall drink of water right there. But it's the truth, you got to step into that spiritual energetic expansion to know we're capable of healing this doesn't mean it's going to be easy, certainly doesn't mean I'm gonna get a right. But we are connected to this expansive, unending energy of love of divine creation.

Amy Hageman  23:38

We can heal this. We can hold space that we are all connected and yet different at the same time. Of course we can, we can create a country that invest in health rather than the care that invest in finding ways to create peace rather than navigating war. We can spend time getting into alignment with those visions in time getting into alignment with the vision that everybody that wants to have education can have it. Great education, that they have easy access and affordable access to everybody that wants to have healthy food and find it and have it what in whatever way that is maybe they buy it. Maybe they don't I don't know. The how isn't that important? I don't have to know the how and you don't have to know that how. My point today is, we're all spiritual citizens. And one of the things we can do as spiritual citizens is focus on our vibrational alignment on our vision.

What we want are the collective self and you are allowed to just say suspend the disbelief. Put it on hold, you're allowed to not know the how you don't have to understand our How would it be possible that every person in this country makes a living wage has a safe home as clothes and food and opportunities. You don't have to know how it's possible to be in alignment with that vibration. You don't have to know what laws would have to change or you'd have to vote for anything like that. You can spend time in that image in that vibration. And in so doing, you are stepping up to the plate, as a citizen in this country, or wherever you live. So that's my ask of you.

As we're going to go into these holidays, and the holidays often invite reflection, I invite moments of gratitude moments of recognizing the light in yourself and in others. But I want you to reflect also politically step up to that macro point of view. And really consider what are you creating with your visions with your vibrational alignment. When you think about the city, the state, the country, the world in which you live. And I'm asking you to consider to improve your vision and your vibration, a rewrite to reframe to recontextualize the American Dream, the human dream of being a spiritual energetic being that came down to have a human experience. I'm inviting you to spend some time on that. 

Amy Hageman  27:01

I hope you all had a lovely holiday however it is that your family spends the time over the Thanksgiving break. And I'm really looking forward to our episode next week I will be sharing some things about what's been going on with me personally and what's the common 2024 And I think there will be a lot for you to learn from. And it's been a great year loves. I like to sign off during the you know ahead of the winter Equinox so I can really have winter off to be quiet and I'm really looking forward to coming back in 2024. So hang in there. If you've not subscribed to the podcast, please subscribe now so you don't miss when you 24 hours new season and come back next week. I am really looking forward to sharing with you all. All the good all the good details. All right, my love's they'll be they'll be spiritual citizens. See you next week!