The Significance of Obama's Name
By Gordon Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin
(December 1, 2008)

NOTE:  The following is an excerpt from a much longer article entitled:
The Spiritual Dimensions of Obama's Leadership

For those who understand how to read the Book of Life, formulations of names are no coincidence. Obama’s name carries great potency and good within it. Barack is derived from the African Kiswahili word baraka, which means blessing. In Arab influenced languages, baraka also means “spiritual wisdom, or a blessing transmitted from God.” His last name begins with an “O”, a circle, that is the symbol of wholeness or completeness, and it also includes the two syllables “ba,” and “ma.” In multiple cultures “ba” signifies father, and “ma” mother. His middle name, Hussein, generally means in Arabic, “good, or good looking.” Thus we have a name that means a good and handsome man, carrying spiritual wisdom and blessings from God -- empowering wholeness and balance as father and mother, or masculine and feminine energies.

An immediate impact of his name is seen in the Arab/Muslim world, and its relationship with the West, which is arguably the most significant political/military issue of our times. The very fact that he has a Muslim middle name, and a first name of Arabic derivation, has already had a large impact on Muslims the world over, who thought the U.S. would never elect a black man with a Muslim name. The Iraqis have already said they would trust Obama to keep U.S. agreements with them more than Bush, and some Taliban leaders were quoted in a Pakistani newspaper saying they would be more willing to negotiate with an Obama - led administration. This is a result of more than his name, but it very much adds to the openness that the Muslim world now has to the U.S. and soon to be President Obama.

These are additional indications of a higher power at work, strengthening and supporting Obama’s appearance out of seeming nowhere in a few short years, as the right man, in the right place, at the right time, and even with the right name, all of which is extraordinary.

Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson are co-authors of Spiritual Politics (Foreword by the Dalai Lama), and Builders of the Dawn and co-founders of The Center for Visionary Leadership, based in California and North Carolina. Corinne coordinated a national task force for President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development and Gordon was formerly the Executive Director of the Social Investment Forum and of The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES). They are both Fellows of The World Business Academy and The Findhorn Foundation. (www.visionarylead.org)