Hey Reader,

I recently saw a post on Instagram that said “I want my faith to inform my politics, not the other way around.”

Now – to be honest, the word “faith” doesn’t really connect with me. (In fact, I’m usually pretty cautious when I hear it used.) But there’s a sentiment here I think is really important in the midst of election season.

Part of inner work is developing an ethic that underlies and informs our politics – that serves as a foundation and a touchstone for us to evaluate politicians, policies, and what we see moving all around us.

For some, that ethic is explicitly rooted in religious teachings, a set of community beliefs, or the stories our families have handed us. For others, it develops over a long time as we interpret the themes and patterns of our life experiences and events.

At its basis, however, one’s ethic ultimately comes down to how we respond to the core questions of storywork:

1. What do I believe about myself? How do I experience connection/disconnection with myself? (This includes questions of self-worth, inherent dignity, and value.)
2. What do I believe about the world and the cosmos? How do I experience connection/disconnection with the world and the cosmos? (This includes other people, communities, nature, our history and lineage, and so on.)
3. What do I believe about myself in relation to the world and the cosmos? (This includes questions of communal responsibility, environmental sustainability, active solidarity, and relationship.)

When we don’t take time to navigate these questions for ourselves, we can end up:

• uncritically embodying an ethic that doesn’t really fit us (perhaps one given to us by our families or religious traditions), or
• never developing an ethic at all.

The first can lead us to making political choices that are mis-aligned with our life experiences, felt needs, and desires for the future.

The second can lead us to being easily susceptible to any politician or policy that speaks to our current condition or problem, without consideration for our long-term desires, core values, or broader understanding of the world.

When we do take time to navigate these questions for ourselves, we begin to develop an ethic that serves as both a foundation for our politics and a filter for it.

As we move into the final month before the election, I invite you to work with these questions and when you vote, to check in with yourself:

→ How does each policy and politician connect with my ethic?

And after you vote…

→ What actions do I need to take between elections to stay true to this ethic?

A final note:

After you work with these questions and do your election research, you might find things have become a bit more complicated.

There will rarely be a politician or policy that perfectly embodies everything you might want to see. A candidate might agree with you on some things and disagree on others. A policy might have a great solution in it, but not on a timeline you would prefer.

Grounding ourselves in our ethic is an invitation into nuance: into finding ways to support candidates without pretending they are perfect and working for policies without claiming them as end-points.

It is a practice in radical honesty as we vote and work toward the future while remaining grounded, not in anyone else’s ethic or belief system, but in our own.

❓ Questions

This week, instead of offering two questions, I hope you'll spend some time with the three questions above and put words to what your ethic is. Consider writing it down on a sheet of paper and keeping it with you as you complete your ballot.

🧰 Resources

• ​Check and make sure you’re registered to vote here​
• ​My recent reflection on the "charge" of this moment (IG)
• ​The 3 Fundamentals of Practical Inner Work (my foundational framework)

🕒 Less than a week to go...

We’re less than a week from registration closing on our final Inner Work Cohort of the year!

If you're experiencing election season anxiety, struggling to stay present in the midst of everything right now, or just want to try a new practice for 30 days, we still have space for you. Participation in the cohort includes:

• 8 live workshops where you can set aside time to do your inner work alongside others. (These are also recorded.)
• Sessions on Internal Family Systems (with James A. Pearson), navigating conflict (with Abi Robins), and developing practices that sustain us in times of crisis.
• Weekly practices, activities, and videos delivered to your inbox.
• An online cohort community that will support you throughout the month.

In order to ensure this cohort is accessible while also being sustainable, I'm once again offering it on a Pay What You Want basis, with $65 as the minimum.

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Hope all is well-enough with you,

Andrew IG: @andrewglang​

P.S. If you're on the fence about the Cohort, I invite you to check out the FAQs at the bottom of this page. It covers time commitment, how the community portion works, what happens if you can't make all the sessions, and a bunch more.