Lifting Obama in Spirit
Posted on VidaAfroLatina.com on October 22, 2008

I like to think that women who are educated, privileged and worldly would rise above societal and cultural norms, teachings and prejudices in pursuit of the greater and higher good. Yet this election has busted my bubble about the realities of such a belief. Race and ethnicity continue to be among the most vexing problems in American life, although often expressed in coded language, such as, “He [Obama] doesn’t have enough experience.” Experience such as what? Ripping off America for the benefit of the status quo?

I listen to the election news on radio and television and find myself alone screaming in the kitchen or in my car. The spins and manipulations make me angry and crazy. As an Afro-Latina (dark-skinned Puerto Rican) I want the color Black to no longer represent “stay back.” I want, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., for a man or woman to be judged by the quality of their character and not the color of their skin.

And so I have decided that I will stop listening to any of it. It doesn’t matter who says what and when. I know that the superior candidate is Obama and I am clear about being a force for change and democracy.

I decided that one of the ways I can contribute to the election is to initiate and open my home to a meditation group for Obama. I invited a group of women who are kindred souls to my home.  After grace, around the table we sat, a circle of women of faith—a couple of Catholics, a Buddhist and a Jew and others of different hues and backgrounds—to share a meal and a quiet meditation and prayer.
 
Half way through the meal, we ask the universe for an Obama miracle, a November victory for Obama and Democrats. What is a miracle, I ask? A miracle is an occurrence that defies the laws of nature, or of things, as we know it. What is the vision, I ask? We agree to see Obama and Michelle by his side in the White House.

We agree to believe in this miracle and to hold the thought that this is a reality manifesting. We agree to practice this many times during the day regardless of what we hear to the contrary.
 
Obama, Obama, Obama. What a fine name for a President.

I urge others to create their own circles of prayer and meditation for Obama. Join us in this effort.

Paula Cofresi Silverstein is a psychotherapist, artist and educator based in Evanston, Ill. She can be reached at centropola@earthlink.net.