Archives for posts with tag: change agent

Time to Be Kind!

January 21, 2011 //
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Okay, it’s time!  It’s time to let go of your need to be right.  It’s time to release your need to feel superior.  It’s time to stop being judgmental towards those who think differently from you.  It’s time to notice when someone upsets you so you can allow your negative emotion to evaporate away.  It’s time to be kind.

The Dalai Lama has it right – he says his religion is kindness – period.  That ubiquitous commercial asks us “what’s in your wallet?”  I’m asking you “what’s in your consciousness?”  Is it kindness?  If not, time to get some religion Dalai Lama style!

By the way – whether you realize it or not – you do have some kind of “religion”.  By that, I mean you hold a set of beliefs about the world and how it works.  You have a worldview that drives your decisions and actions whether you are a member of an “organized religion” or not and whether you believe in God or not.  That worldview is your “religion”.

Does your religion allow you to “be kind” to those who believe differently from you?  Folks, we are talking the “Golden Rule” here – do onto others as you would have them do onto you.  Treat others like you want to be treated.  Sounds good until someone pushes our buttons.

Okay – who pushes your buttons?  From my observations, depending upon your particular beliefs, here some known button pushers:

  • Anyone on Fox news
  • Anyone on MSNBC
  • Anyone who says Sarah Palin was responsible for the Arizona tragedy
  • Anyone who protests at funerals
  • Sarah Palin
  • President Obama
  • Anyone who has to describe healthcare reform as “Obamacare”
  • Fundamentalist Christians
  • Fundamentalist Muslims
  • Scientists who mock religion
  • Militant atheists
  • Fanatic NRA supporters
  • Those who want to take “our guns” away
  • Palestinians
  • Israelites
  • Anyone making too much money
  • People asking me for money on the street
  • “The powers to be”
  • Republicans
  • Democrats
  • Male chauvinists who objectify women
  • People with tattoos
  • Kids riding skateboards on the sidewalk
  • People who are “in our country” illegally
  • People who want to build a wall between the US and Mexico
  • People who cut you off in traffic
  • Loud people in restaurants
  • People talking on cell phones in elevators
  • People who brag
  • … I could keep going but you get the picture…

 

Did you find someone in this list that pushes your buttons?  I know I did.  How can you move to kindness in regards to these people?  How can you have your buttons pushed and still live by the Golden Rule?

First, let me be very clear, I am neither condoning nor asking you to condone any inappropriate behavior.  Nor am I asking you to be any kind of doormat that allows people to walk all over you.  You can be kind while maintaining healthy boundaries towards people who act differently or are unkind.

Here are some simple steps (which I admit are not necessarily easy) to move you into greater levels of kindness:

Be aware:  Notice who upsets you.  Recognize the situations and people who take you away from your inclination to be kind.

Pause before acting: Don’t jump to any normal negative reaction.  Consciously create a small gap in time between the upsetting situation and your reaction.  This small gap is like hitting the pause button giving you time to choose.

Consciously choose kindness: Ask yourself no matter what the situation, if I were the other person, how what I want to be treated?  What is the most loving, honoring response in this situation?  You can still give your opinion, you can still disagree – but your response even in such cases can be kind.  Wayne Dyer says that when he’s given a choice between being right and being kind, he finds the best choice is always to be kind.  I agree.

If each of us could practice these simple steps and be kind towards one another, then we could move away from this angry political rhetoric and violent behavior that has risen in our country in the recent past.  Some of you may be thinking “well, it sounds good, but I’m not going to be kind while the other person is being mean”.  If you’re waiting on the other person to go first, kindness might not happen.  They might be waiting on you!  But whether they are or not, it takes someone to be brave enough to go first.

Be brave!  Be kind!  The time is now!  The choice is yours…

Blessings.

Mark Gilbert

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Categories Bridge Building, Featured Article, Politics

Five Steps to Creating a Positive Future

May 5, 2010 //
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All of us want to see humanity move to a positive future.  Each of us play a role in creating that future.  Today we break down that role into five steps.

Step One: Create a Vision of the Future

It sounds almost obvious, but in order to move to a positive future you’ve got to have an idea what that future looks like.  This is the reason that many of my articles are focused on what a positive future might look like.  I recognize that many of us don’t spend much time, if any, visualizing the world’s future.  When I listen to people, I especially tune in whenever I hear anything they say about where the world is going.  More often than not, such talk is more about expressing concern regarding a negative future towards which they fear we are headed.  Although it’s useful to know where you don’t want to go, if that’s all you focus on, then that’s where you’re headed.  Use your concern on a potential negative future to help you gain clarity on its opposite — that being a more positive outcome.  Meditate, vision, journal, talk with others and visualize as necessary to gain clarity on what our highest future can look like.  This is good to do for your personal life, your professional life and our collective global life.  What would you like to see your life and our life look like in five years?  10 years?  Write it down.  Play with it.  Refine it.  Continuously gain clarity on that vision.

Step Two: Turn Away from Anything Not in Alignment with That Vision

Once you have your vision, then you know the direction towards which you wish to head.  Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone around you and the world at large are going to be headed in that direction too.  You’re going to bump into plenty of evidence that says we’re not moving towards our highest possibilities.  You’re going to have people attempt to engage you in negative talk and negative action.  Don’t buy in to any external forces that seek to have you expend your energy in the opposite direction from your vision.  Stay informed on world events but don’t inundate yourself with negative news.  Seek to find the positive where you can.  Kindly remove yourself from conversations that are headed into negativity and complaining.  Turning away from the negativity tossed at us each day is such a challenge for so many people.  This is one reason that many of my articles are directed at reframing world events. 

Step Three: Turn Towards the Vision

Begin to see that every thought, word and action you take is focusing energy out into the world in a particular direction.  Ensure that direction is towards your vision.  When you awake each day, spend a few moments “creating your day” in your mind.  As you visualize your day, see your actions working towards manifesting your vision and your personal life, professional life and our collective global life.  When you create your to-do list and plot actions on your calendar, ensure they include specific tasks directed toward your vision.  You are, of course, beginning to take action in that one area where you have control — yourself, your personal “sphere of influence”.

Step Four: Align Your Life Passion and Purpose with the Vision

Each person on the planet has a special unique talent is being called to express through them.  When we can align our thoughts and actions with our purpose, then we ignite something special within us.  Expressing our life passion is one of the reasons that we are here on earth.  It’s in the living fully of our purpose that work no longer becomes “work”, where we experience a divine flow where we transcend time, where life appears to line up for us and provide us what we need just when we need it with effortless ease.  It is in this space where we accomplish so much.  By finding where your life purpose aligns with your highest vision for all aspects of life, you surely become an evolutionary change agent moving us collectively towards our greatest potential.

Step Five: Expand Your Sphere of Influence — Develop Your Network

Finally, as you find yourself living your passion and moving in the direction of your dreams within your own life, you can’t help but attract others into your sphere of influence.  The spirit that is ignited within you is like a flame that attracts others naturally.  Allow your flame to burn brightly, allow yourself to show others what the life possible looks like.  You’re a teacher, you’re a model, you’re an example for everyone.  As you find others seeking you out, cultivate it.  Expand your friends.  Expand your network.  Expand your sphere of influence.  Allow your positive energy to cascade out around you and in encompass those near you.  Claim your greatness.

Conclusion

What would it look like if everyone followed these five steps?  Yes, there might be some variance from person to person regarding our vision for the greatest possible future, but I truly believe we would find that there is more on which we are in agreement than not.  And, with everyone turning their attention and energy in that direction and igniting their personal passion in the manifestation of such a future, not only would all of our individual lives be a pure joy to live, we would solve humanity’s challenges and create a legacy for our children and our children’s children to come such that there would truly be heaven on earth.

Mark

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Categories Bridge Building, Change Agent, Consciousness, Featured Article

How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

March 23, 2010 //
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Where you are looking to make a switch?

Life changes.  Sometimes we design it, sometimes it appears to just happen.  Almost everybody has some area of their life where they are looking to make a change.  Where is it in your life?

Steps to Change

No matter what conscious change you are seeking to bring into your experience, the steps are always the same.  First you create the vision… you begin with the end in mind… the picture in detail the new reality you desire to manifest.  Secondly, you set the intention to manifest that vision… through affirmations, affirmative prayer, vision boards, and other similar work you visualize and feel the desired result as if it were already in your life…letting go of any attachment to how it’s going to come out… yet feeling a sense of gratitude for it already being there.  Third, you act… you move your feet… you take steps to position yourself to allow your vision come about… you grease the wheels of the universe, so speak.  Finally, you receive… you accept the manifestation of your desires.

These steps apply no matter what the change.  You can be seeking change in your personal life… losing weight, getting a new car or job, seeking a new relationship, growing a garden, writing a book, getting new carpet, etc.  Or, you can be working to change the world… furthering peace and nonviolence, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare or food or clean water, working to reverse global warming, etc.  All change moves from vision to intention to action to manifestation.

Recently, I have written about ways to gain clarity on vision in your personal life as well as to see yourself as a change agent (“We are All Change Agents, But What are We Changing Towards?“)   I also offered a compelling vision for our collective global future (“Can You Feel the Global Heart?“).  One of my intentions for this website is to frequently return to this global vision and ask us all to consider what it means for us and what steps you and I can take to move us towards it.  Today I want to look at a resource that will help us in taking action.

Switch

I really encourage everyone to read a copy of the new book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, entitled “Switch”.  Its subtitle is the title of today’s article.  The Heath’s have written a very practical book on how to implement change.  The advice they offer can be used for any change — large or small, personal or global.

Their guidance begins with aligning our rider (the rational mind) with our elephant (the emotional mind) so that both are on board with the change and are moving in the same direction.  Recently, I described how this alignment contains some metaphysical truths that are important to apply when we are setting our intentions (“The Umpteenth Secret of “The Secret”: Align your Rider and Your Elephant“).  After gaining this alignment of rider and elephant, the Heath’s point out that we need to “shape the path”, which means seek ways in the outer world to make it easier for the change to occur.

We might consider that their steps to “direct the rider” and “motivate the elephant” are the inner steps to change while efforts to “shape the path” are the outer steps.  Each of these steps is then subdivided into some specific suggestions designed to meet its needs.  For example, one tactic they outline to assist in directing our rider is to find the bright spots in areas that are working well and to re-create them in other areas (to see how this tactic relates to the law of attraction: article title).  Or, one tactic designed to motivate the elephant is to shrink the change — to take some large and seemingly overwhelming task in front of us and break it down into smaller and more manageable next steps.

I’m going to be referencing in upcoming articles tactics from “Switch” and how they can be used in moving us to positive global change.  For now, I simply encourage you to get ahold of a copy of the book and read it.  If that seems like too big a step, here is the link to the Heath’s website with some information you can read right now  and here is a link you can click to get a one-page summary of the book….  SwitchFramework

Does that motivate your elephant?

Change is happening in your life.  Design it for your highest good.  Use these tools to assist you in making the change.

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Positive Evolution

We Are All Change Agents, But What Are We Changing Towards?

March 20, 2010 //
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Each of us brings change...where are you going?

Today, I want you to consider 2 things—-one, that you are a change agent….and, two, that being a change agent, you need to have a vision as to the direction towards which you are changing.  To paraphrase Stephen Covey, you can climb a ladder but if you don’t think about where the ladder is going, you may find yourself at the top of the wrong building. We are all climbing ladders whether we know it or not.  How do you know if you are climbing in the right direction?

“Change Agent ” Defined

So what exactly is a change agent?  People throw the term around like we all know what it means, without ever stopping to think just exactly what one is.  I frequently call myself a change agent, I’m encouraging you to see yourself as one…in fact, I’m here to tell you that you are one whether you know it or not…so maybe we ought to define it. 

I googled “change agent”, and here’s what I found…”somebody or something that brings about, or helps to bring about, change.”  That sounds like all of us, right?  Some of us may be more “into change” than others, but we all bring about change.  You change your clothes (hopefully with some frequency), you change the channels on the TV, you change what you are eating from time to time, you change houses or jobs or friends or significant others, you change out the light bulb when it burns out.  We can’t help but having change in our lives.  Someone once said, “the only constant is change.”

OK, we all have change in our lives, but the term “change agent” seems to imply more.  I also found on the internet a number of key concepts identified with the change agent such as…someone who seeks to make people better….or someone who works to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualization….or someone who seeks to make changes that stick….or someone who lives in the future, not the present….or someone who is fueled by passion, and inspires passion in others.

So do you see any common denominators here?  For me, the underlying theme is that a change agent is someone who focuses their attention and intentions in a particular direction to bring about a positive future….they see a direction that will serve themselves and others…they set their motivations consciously in that direction and get moving!

Now, we all do this, too, in our individual lives….we look around and think that if we make certain changes (new house, new car, new job, new partner, new career, new education, etc.) then we will bring about a positive future for ourselves.  So we are all obviously “change agents” in this sense.

Yet, we also influence others whether consciously or not.  If we are parents, teachers, supervisors and the like, then we can see how we try to motivate and change others in a certain direction.  But even beyond that, we model behaviors that others see, and to the degree that we have some clout with them, they may try to do as we do.  Think of how you may change your diet, clothes, or entertainment choices based on the actions or recommendations of your friends.  You have the same power with others whether you realize it or not.

We all have a sphere of influence….those with whom we have some degree of power to change their thinking and actions.  How are we using that power?  Are we using it for good or for harm?  Answering that question is very important.  Bringing into your conscious choices that which is for your personal highest good and the highest good for others is one of the most important things you can do.  You are serving the positive evolution of your life and the planet by choosing wisely.

But what is the highest good….both for your life and the life of the planet within your sphere of influence? 

Without Vision, the People Perish

This brings us to having the vision to put our ladder against the right wall before we start climbing…to have the right vision for our life or the right vision in our influence of others.  How can we gain that  vision?

Generally, it appears that we get our visions from one of two ways–we either get a vision ourselves….something touches us so deeply that we know it is the direction we need to head…or, we buy into a vision that is presented to us by someone else.  One appears to come from within (our own vision), one appears to come from outside us (we accept another’s vision as our own).  However, in my opinion, if we truly buy into someone else’s vision with all our heart, then we have ignited the same “something” in us that we ignite when we catch our own vision.  If we don’t, then we are simply “going along with” the other person’s vision out of convenience or lack of something better.

If we are truly inspired by a vision (whether its source appears to come from within us or from another person), that inspiration comes from some greater source beyond us. I call it Spirit or God.  And, Spirit is something that we can tap into consciously by setting an intention to do so in order to gain insight and vision…to consciously seek that inspiration that ignites us.

How can we do that?  I know that the Centers for Spiritual Living and other metaphysical teachings offer a “visioning” process designed to tap “Spirit’s highest vision”.  You move your head out of the way, tap into your heart, and open yourself to listen to Spirit with a specific question in mind….then capture whatever comes up.  Yesterday, I offered up the Global Heart Vision statement as a picture of a positive future towards which to work towards the Global Heart Vision.  This statement was developed using this process….listening to Spirit repeatedly by many people and bringing the ideas that came forth together.

There are other techniques as well.  I like using a guided meditation that brings me to a mountain top where I meet an inner guide (someone who represents “wisdom” for me) in order to dialogue on whatever issue I am faced.  You can also try putting a question on the top of your journal page and then automatic writing on the question for a period of time. 

All of these techniques have one thing in common…they seek to get your head, your ego, your conditioning out of the way so that you can tap into something that is greater than your rational mind.  The rational mind serves us in climbing the ladder, but it may not always get us on the right ladder to begin with.

So how can we be sure that the vision we determine via listening to our inner wisdom is for our highest good and not our ego?  I like how Ernest Holmes tells us that something is good—it expresses more life and harms no one.  So ask yourself that when you are setting a vision or direction for yourself—does it express more life?  Does it harm no one?  If you can answer yes to both, then you are headed up the right ladder.

Summary

You are a change agent….you are making changes in your life all the time….and you are influencing others all the time.  You have great power and great responsibility.  Are you using it wisely?  Are you climbing up the right ladder for yourself and for the world?  Listen to your heart, your intuition, Spirit as you seek vision….seek to express more life and harm no one in your actions….and then move consciously in the direction of that future.

Mark

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Categories Change Agent, Consciousness, Spirituality