Quaker Business Practice And The Light Within

It has been a long time since I've posted about spiritual matters, and I think that's perhaps because I have not felt the need to. Perhaps it's because I feel my lifestyle is an extension of my spirituality, and that they aren't merely separate "hobbies". My political and social action I feel are strong representations of my spiritual (and indeed religious) belief in God's existence within the world without. Political and social action itself to me is a form of worship.

This weekend, I was at my Quaker camp participating in administrative and operational meetings. Our camp is in the midst of growing, changing, and overcoming some pretty substantial hurdles in seeking our visioning. The process often puts each other at opposite ends of the room, polarizes us, and generally makes our time at camp strained. My friend Galen stressed that this is in part because we have not followed Quaker process to the extent that we should have been, and I'm beginning to agree. Quaker process is somewhat different from what I would see to be common democratic/Robert's rules style process. The intention is not only to be democratic, and egalitarian, but to seek out the light within members of a given meeting for worship (with a concern for business). It is difficult to conceive of a relationship where business is the focus, and yet the basis for decision making is the Light within. In fact, I can imagine that such a process might be seen to be easily corrupted for individual interest, on account of the lack of "procedure" for appeals, misrepresentation, etc.

I think I have a great deal to learn from this process that would seem to bring it above a simple adaptation of democratic procedure, and re-contextualize it as a fundamentally different way of going about decision making. I hope that I can learn to centre my presence in a meeting, and learn how to conduct myself in the Light with business.