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How Can We Agree on Our Future When We Can’t Even Agree on Our Past?

March 18, 2010 //
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What's past is prologue...

Recently, the Texas State Board of Education voted to implement changes to Texas school textbooks.  These controversial changes appear to implement a bias towards a conservative right leaning view of history.  These changes included a greater emphasis on the conservative resurgence of recent years, reducing the scope of coverage on Latino history and culture, limiting certain references to Thomas Jefferson in the founding of our country, and more.  Due to the number of books Texas buys, there are concerns that these decisions will cascade into the books available for other states.

These changes have set off a debate regarding what exactly is history, who gets to decide what our history actually is?  This debate is not new… I’ve heard it said before, that the winners (meaning whoever holds power) get to define history.  As power changes hands, the presented history generally gets rewritten.

One History?

It’s easy to believe that there is only “one history.”  After all, a review of the past with objective eyes should tend to see the same history.  The issue, of course, is the difficulty we all have in being completely objective.  No matter how objective we think we really are, we have cultural, and worldview biases, which creep in and cover the lens by which we see life.

Personally I don’t agree with the changes the Texas State Board of Education is making.  But I’m also not so naïve to believe that the existing textbooks were not created without another set of biases affecting them.  Whenever a book is written or class content is being assembled, some decisions are made.  Those decisions, always represent the worldview of the people who are deciding.

So on and on it goes, back and forth, rewriting and rewriting history, tweaking it towards what we’d like to emphasize.  Will we ever agree on one objective history?

One Future?

I frequently call for us to consider the highest possibilities for our future.  But what does that really mean?  I know what it means to me.  Yet it might mean something different to you.

If we can’t agree on our past, if our past is constantly being modified by the worldview of those in power, but how can we ever agree on what’s best for our future?  The human truth is that we may never get consensus on what our highest future should be.  There might be some general concepts on which most of us could agree, then we would have differences of opinion on how to best move forward towards implementing those concepts.

For example, we might all agree that a positive future is one where all people have access to clean drinking water.  But beyond that agreement, I suspect we might disagree on the best way to create that reality.

The variety of human beliefs and human worldviews appears to be a reality that will always be part of our world.  Truth be told, I’m not sure many of us would want to live in a world where we all thought alike.  If we all thought the same thing, it would be like a closed system with no influx of new life and energy.  Like the Dead Sea, the world would become very stagnant.  The variety of ideas ensures newness and growth.

Yet even if we never can agree totally on what the best idea for our collective future really is, I still believe holding conversations around that future and setting intentions towards it are an important task for humanity.

Tomorrow — I want to look at one vision statement for that highest possible future, the global heart vision statement for the Centers for Spiritual Living.  We will review it and ask ourselves to consider what it really means.  To the degree it gives us a blueprint for a positive future, we will come back to Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s book “Switch” to see what suggestions it offers us in moving towards that future.

To be continued…

Mark

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Categories Culture, Politics, Spirituality, Uniting U.S.

You Always Have a Choice

March 15, 2010 //
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What's your choice?

This fact seems so basic, but it’s so easy to forget.  Is there an area in your life were you feel you don’t have a choice?

Most metaphysical teachings such as the Science of Mind and Spirit, advise us that we have the freedom to choose our thoughts, words and actions.  They tell us if we change our thinking, we can change our lives.

Easy Choices to Harder Choices

Many people when they encounter these teachings for the first time can think of plenty of examples in their life where they feel they have no choice.  Sure they can see where they have a choice in what clothes they wear each day, what food they eat their meals, which TV program they watch, etc. But when it gets to the bigger issues, it’s frequently harder to see where we have a choice.

If I don’t like my job but I need the security of its income, where’s my choice?  If I find myself in a bad relationship but we have kids to raise, where’s my choice?  If I find myself taking care of an elderly parent which keeps me from doing other things, where’s my choice?  You can fill in your own situation here where you feel you have no choice.

Seeing Choice in Harder Situations

No matter which situation we take, no matter how “choice-less” it seems, we can find choices in it.  You don’t like your job but you feel you need the income?  Okay.  Then I suggest you take a look at your job and identify any areas that you like and focus on enjoying them.  Focus on growing them if possible.  Identify what really brings you pleasure in life, and then brainstorm possibilities of where you can bring these expressions into your job.  In other words, where in your work can you grow your passion?  Where can you bring more love?  How can you serve at a higher level?  How can you be a positive force for the world in your current job?  The key is to envision a positive future, see where your passions and interests move you towards that future, and then try to find any alignment between your passions and that positive future that can be served for your work.  To quote Wayne Dyer, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

And, although I’m not suggesting you at your job, frequently a new job is the best path.  I’ve heard stories from so many people who were fired from a job that they thought they had no choice in leaving.  They couldn’t release it on their own, so the universe opened the possibility for them.  Every person who’s ever told me such a story, after some time and the fear and the hurt has passed, tell me that being fired was a gift.  It freed them to see they had a choice.  It freed them to find a new career, where they could align their passions and purpose and bring meaning to their lives.

Again, every situation has choices.  Even Viktor Frankl who found himself in a Nazi concentration camp wrote about the freedom he had.  He found freedom within, in his thoughts.  No matter how bad the situation “out there” in the physical world is, no matter how much ” out there” seems to limit our freedom, we always have the freedom of how we look at life.

As people continue to practice these principles, they begin to see more and more where they have choices in their lives.  They began to open all areas of their lives to greater possibilities.  They experience choice in their thoughts and actions regarding their jobs, careers, income, relationships, opportunities for creative expression, health, and more.

Do You Still Have Areas Where You Believe You Have No Choice?

Yet no matter how skilled people become in taking ownership in how their life unfolds, no matter how good they get at manifesting a positive life through the power of their thoughts, many people hit some area where they feel they have no choice.  Sometimes these choice-less areas are hard to see.  So even if you believe you’ve mastered the power of positive thinking, I would encourage you to explore the boundaries of life where you feel you have no choice in bringing choice to them.

So where do you believe you have no choice?

Is it in some of the areas already mentioned… jobs, careers, relationships?

Is it in the highest expression of your unique creative abilities?  Is there some talent in you that you want to express the don’t see where you have the choice to do so?

Is it in some habit that you believe you cannot shake?

Is it making a difference on the planet?  Is it in healing the divisiveness of people?  Is it an ending war and injustice?  Is it in bringing equity to all in their standard of living?

Is there some aspect of your personal life or some aspect of the role you play in planetary life that just seems so overwhelming that it is beyond anything you can “do” about it through the power of choice?  Change that thought.  You can do it.

The highest possibilities for planet Earth and the future of humanity calls for everyone to see the power they hold in all their personal choices, great and small, and to choose wisely.

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Positive Evolution

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good

March 10, 2010 //
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The path calls us to move forward....

French writer Voltaire wrote this statement in the late 1700s. The quote lives on today in a number of variations. I believe it speaks to us in the 21st century, because we all see degrees of paralysis in our forward movement out of concern that the very next step will not immediately materialize our vision of perfection. We see this paralysis in our personal lives, and we see it in the world at large.

Are there areas in your life where you are not moving in the direction of your highest possibilities? I suspect most of us would say yes. Are there areas in the collective life of humanity on planet Earth where we are not moving in the direction of our highest possibilities? Again, I believe most of us would say yes to this question as well. What causes our paralysis, and how can we move forward?

What Causes Our Paralysis?

Collectively, we could probably come up with a long list for the reasons we sometimes fail to act. I simply want to offer three for us to consider today.

First, there are our own personal fears and doubts over our abilities and our worthiness. We judge ourselves in relation to some standard and feel that we up short. We peer out there in the external world and see things that we aspire to do or be and then ask ourselves “who do I think I am that I could do that?” We place other people and their performances on a pedestal. When we think that our next step will not immediately jump us onto the top of the pedestal, we hold ourselves back from even taking the next step. We fear that if we actually do move in the direction of our dreams by taking the very next step that others will judge us or we will judge ourselves because that next step did not leap us immediately to our vision of perfection. Hence, fear holds us in place.

Second, I believe we get seduced by too many choices in modern life. Scientific studies have shown that when people are given a limited number of choices, they are generally able to select one choice as “best” and move forward. These studies also show that when the number of choices rise above a certain point, we get decision paralysis. We are unable to decide out of the vast variety put before us which one is “best”. We get stuck in the analysis, and never actually make a choice. It is easy for us to see that here in the 21st century the amount of information, which flows to us is growing exponentially. Technology, the Internet, and our access to so much information is a true blessing to us, but it can, if we don’t watch out, overwhelm us.

Third, I believe that even when we can decide individually what the best next step is that would move us towards our view of perfection, we bump up against other people who believe the next best step is different because their view of perfection is different. As I have written about before, people grow through a series of worldviews, before settling into one which becomes predominant in their life. They see their worldview as the only way to look at life. The problem of course is that they talk with other people who have a different worldview and who think theirs is the only way to look at life. If these different worldviews lead to different views of what’s perfect, then the next course of action is more often than not going to differ. The ensuing argument over the course of action to take at the moment then stops us dead in our tracks from taking any action.

My Story: Medicare Part D

Voltaire’s statement was used frequently among those of us who were heavily involved in the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit. It was an exciting time to be involved in the leadership of Medicare. The time frames for implementation were short, the details to work out were many, and there were high expectations and high visibility on the outcome. Many moving parts had to come together and fit. Many people who had never worked together before had to come together and agree.

I can still remember sitting in on many meetings discussing how we were going to handle some specific aspect of the program. Sometimes it seemed there were as many ideas on what to do as there were people in the room. There were many meetings where it seemed the only agreement we made was when our next meeting would be.

Yet I still recall one person who would move us forward by proclaiming that perfection was the enemy of the good. She would challenge us to let go of our individual view of perfection and agree on a view of where to go that we all agreed was “good”. In moments, when it appeared that our product was not yet “perfect” enough to move forward, she would remind us of our looming deadlines and the need for us to move forward on the product in question. With agreement that it was “good enough” we would move on.

Ultimately, Medicare Part D was implemented successfully and has gone on to be an integral part of the program. Yes, there were bumps along the road which I well remember. People may disagree as to whether the program Congress crafted was correct or not, but most people will agree that its implementation was successful. A daunting challenge with tight time frames was mastered in part by a call not to get mired in paralysis by seeking perfection.

Moving the World Forward

The world is facing many challenges today. Climate change, wars and violence, political unrest, terrorism, economic crises, lack of access to healthcare, water shortages, overpopulation — just to name a few. This is not a time to be stuck in paralysis, yet it seems sometimes we are.

Again, the overwhelming issues facing us lead us into not deciding anything. The best course of action on dealing with global warming or healthcare concerns appears in many eyes to be in conflict to the best course of action in dealing with our economic issues. It seems like no matter which issue we try to move forward on our action can appear to be detrimental to another of our concerns. Hence, we often do nothing.

And as stated, the variety of worldviews, playing out on the planet paint a variety of paths to different pictures of perfection. The traditional worldview, frequently sees perfection solely in the strength of one’s individual country even if at the expense of other countries, or seeks expansion of their religion even if at the expense of other religions. Our way is the right way, end of story. The modern worldview, says perfection is a world where you can strive and achieve personal material success even if others suffer in the process. The success of Wall Street and corporations is paramount. If wars and political unrest, create corporate profits, then they are justified. Perfection is a continued growth in our outputs and products even at the cost of human lives and the planet. The postmodern worldview, seeks equality for all but gets stuck in how to achieve it. It’s hard to meet the needs of everyone when what everyone needs appears to be so different.

So how can we move forward? The first step is to become aware where we have become stuck as a people and why. Then, it begins in our consciousness, individually. It begins with our intention to move the world forward in our small corner of the planet, doing whatever we can in our sphere of influence. We release our fear that we’re not good enough or can’t make a difference. We recognize that even if we can’t leap to the top of the pedestal of world perfection with our next step, we can at least move in that direction. We release our attachments to our personal view of what future perfection looks like. We rise up above our own worldview and seek to understand the views and needs of others. We seek common ground and focus our attention and energy on where we are like rather than where we differ. We seek collective decisions that move us in a forward direction as a people even if the decision and action is not “perfect”. All of us seeking perfection collectively, as Voltaire cautioned us, is an enemy of our collective good.

Moving Your Life Forward

Are you moving forward? Are you moving into the highest possibilities of you can be? Generally when I ask people that, most tell me they are moving forward in some areas of their lives but are stuck in others. The question then becomes — how can I move forward in the area of my life in which I’m stuck?

Once again, the first step is to become aware of where we are bogged down and why. Again, it begins in our own consciousness. It begins with our intention to move forward and to follow that intention with action.

So I ask you to consider where this paralysis is showing up in your life. Is there something you are called to do or be but don’t see how you can make the leap directly to perfection on your next step? Are you afraid that if you take the next step in the direction of your dreams that others will judge you or you will judge yourself as less than the perfect ideal?

How many of us say I just need one more experience before I am ready to move forward? There is always one more book to read, one more class to take, one more experience I need under my belt before I am ready to step forward into my calling. I’m here to tell you that now is the time to move forward. You know as well as I do that that next book or class will be followed by another book or class and then another and then another. The overwhelming amount of information flowing to us, informs us but freezes us. It’s time to say “enough”, thaw out, and move on.

Your life is calling you to move forward. Your moving forward, serves yourself and serves the planet. Your moving forward moves all of us forward. Let go of the illusion of the necessity that your next step leap you into your picture of perfection. That illusion is the enemy of you claiming your good. You are already good enough. You are already perfect.

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Positive Evolution

How to Multiply Your Consciousness

March 2, 2010 //
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We are all change agents!

Most people want to make the world a better place. I suspect that you do. Would it not be wonderful to live in a world where there is peace and prosperity for all… everyone has the opportunity to succeed… where everyone honors everyone else and their beliefs… a world that works for everyone?

So how do we get that world? As I know, you know, it begins with each and everyone of us. It begins with our own thoughts, our words, our deeds. It begins in our own consciousness as we shift how we look at the world. We let go of focusing our awareness on where the world is less than what we want turning from those conditions, and focusing on the positive. We give our mental energy to that which we desire to expand. As each and every one of us shifts our consciousness to the highest possibilities of what our lives, our country, and our planet can be, we grow the world in that direction.

So how do we get more people to shift their consciousness in that direction? So how do you multiply your consciousness? I recognize that question can be taken a couple ways.

Expand your Consciousness

On the one hand, you might see multiplying your consciousness as meaning expanding your consciousness to higher levels of awareness. How do you expand your consciousness? Of course, it begins with the intent to do so. But beyond that, it involves a regular spiritual practice being woven into your life. It means spending time each day, communing with the Divine, with God. It means expanding your awareness through this process of recognizing and sensing at the deepest level of your being that you are one with everyone and everything. As that awareness expands, your love expands outward from you in all directions encompassing all that is. With this love comes compassion and a desire to serve.

Expand your Service

It is in this concept of service that we see a path to the second way of multiplying your consciousness. We look out on life and recognize that the consciousness that is within us is also in every other person. We carry our sense of uniqueness and individuality that senses that the consciousness within us is “ours”. This same sense points at other people and sees their internal awareness as “theirs”. As we grow in our awareness of Oneness, we begin to hold an interesting dichotomy. We continue to recognize our individuality, yet also become aware that each and every personal consciousness is part of one Mind. Our personal consciousness was already “multiplied” all the time, we just didn’t know it.

This awareness coupled with a desire to serve frequently opens us to the questions of “how can I make a difference?” and “how can I grow the consciousness of the planet in a positive direction?” In other words, how can I from the level of my new awareness assist others in releasing thoughts and beliefs that no longer serve them or the world, to recognize our interconnectedness and to turn their focus to our highest possibilities?

Be the Change

We must always remember that we cannot “control” or “change” other people. The only person we have control over is ourselves. So in our call to service, we begin with ourselves and our own thinking and our own actions. We begin in our own “sphere of influence.” As we change ourselves we serve as a model for others. Our actions open others to creating their own change. In this way, we actually do in a certain sense “multiply consciousness”.

What I invite you to see is that how you show up in life creates this ripple effect in others. You actually do have the ability to multiply consciousness. You do it all the time, often without your awareness. The question now becomes “in what direction do you want it to grow?”

We are all change agents, whether we like it or not. We all have a responsibility for our collective growth, whether we consciously accept it or not. It’s time for all of us to become conscious change agents for a world that works for everyone.

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Science and Spirit

What the Heck is “Integral Theory” and Why Should I Care?

February 15, 2010 //
2

Bringing Things Together

Starting today, we’re taking a three-day look at Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory.  Today, I want to explain why the integral model appeals to me and how it can be helpful to all of us.  Tomorrow we will look at the basics of integral (which will be a bit “intellectually oriented”–sorry) and then on the third day will bring it back to the heart and see how love fits into the model.  I hope you find all of this beneficial.

Every once in a while, I bump into a concept or idea which makes me see things in a different light.  Integral theory is one of those ideas.  I’ve noticed that one common denominator that is generally present whenever I have an a-ha moment is that the information being absorbed builds upon things with which I’m already familiar.  There is this mixing and matching of different facts and ideas that brings me to see them in a new light.  It’s sort of like those clear acetate pictures that used to be in the old World Book Encyclopedias where you would overlay page over page and see how things like organs in the body were connected.  Each acetate picture contained its own bit of the whole, but when you put them together you understood better how things interacted.

This fascination with connections between seemingly unrelated aspects of life has been a pattern of mine as far back as I can recall.  Recently, I came across in my files an old college psychology paper from 1973.  The interesting thing about this paper was that I had taken Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (a theory that has always made a lot of sense to me) and combined it with my understanding of split brain theory as presented by Robert Ornstein in his book “the Psychology of Consciousness.”  Now, I don’t claim that the paper had any great revelations in it, but I do find it of note that one of the few papers I’ve held onto for all these years was an attempt to integrate two different concepts and see what truths were revealed.

A few years later, I started working for the government and took a class in creative problem-solving.  Although it’s now been over 30 years since this class, I still remember two key concepts presented by the instructor.  His first point was advice on how to be successful in life.  He counseled us to “find a human need and fill it” (still beneficial guidance!).  His second suggestion I retained was on how to be creative.  He offered that we take two things that seem to be unrelated, to combine them, and then look for the insights that came from the combination.

Later in life while I was on my spiritual quest, I discovered the writings of Ernest Holmes and his teaching called the Science of Mind and Spirit.  It resonated great truth for me.  Interestingly, Holmes’ philosophy was derived by his combining truths from science, religion and philosophy.  Therefore, it probably comes as no great surprise that integral theory caught my interest as it too combines wisdom from all branches of human knowledge to see what insights it will bring.

As a way of background, the term “integral” was first widely introduced in the early part of the 20th century by the visionary yogi Sri Aurobindo.  His integral yoga sought spiritual liberation by bringing about a divine transformation through practices that included all aspects of ones being including the physical body, intellect, emotions, and more.  Central to Aurobindo’s teachings was that man continued to evolve spiritually and that his evolution occurred in relation to the evolution of society.

Although other teachers and writers have contributed to the concept of an integral philosophy, it is Ken Wilber and his prolific writings starting in the 1980s and continuing up through the present that have become synonymous with the term.  Wilber’s idea was that all of the wisdom traditions had a core of truth running through them and the key was to find a means of putting these truths together in a useful way.  As Wilber started “mapping” the essential ideas from various sources, he hit upon the key idea that has organically grown in his writings into something called the  “AQAL model” (short for “all quadrants, levels, lines, states and types”) .  We will look at this model tomorrow.

But beyond a personal fascination with learning something new by combining things that appear to be separate, why else are we covering integral theory?  My stated goal with these writings and this website is to shift our awareness away from any limitations we might sense, either in our personal lives or on the planet, and towards our highest possible future.  In order to transcend our current problems, we must find new ways of thinking.  We must use all human wisdom. We must not keep our wisdom contained in neat boxes like college subjects and encyclopedia articles.  We must find truth by moving knowledge outside human imposed boxes.

Like those old world book acetates, we must explore not only each area of human knowledge individually to see what it offers us, but we must also overlay the acetates of that knowledge and gain new perspectives from their intersection.  I believe the integral model leads us to the highest solutions for the problems of our day as it calls us to consider all views of an issue.   If we search for solutions that neither considers all possibilities nor taps all existing human wisdom, then we will find neither the best approach nor our highest potential for humanity.  Our times call for  the new thinking which integral offers.

Finally, integral calls  us to consider how we are growing and evolving in all aspects of life.  The question then becomes—what kind of future evolution do we want? 

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Science and Spirit

Happy February–My Intention…..

February 1, 2010 //
1

Happy February!

Today, February 1, 2010, we are starting into the second month of this expanded “Conscious Bridge” web site.  I thought it might be time to reiterate my intention for this site and these articles.  A bit of this is available in bits and pieces in other articles and on the “why read this website” page.

My purpose really is to synthesize certain learnings I’ve had and present them in a manner I hope will help others with questions they may have on life.  I also have a personal intention to help myself as well.  Great clarity comes from writing down what you believe.

To understand my intention, you really need to understand some beliefs that I hold. One of those beliefs is that the earth and all of humanity continue to evolve. And, although the physical world still continues to evolve, it is really in the evolution of our consciousness that I believe our path continues to primarily develop. I believe that there is a direction to that evolution of consciousness. I believe that humanity is at a key threshold in our change. Previously in the evolution of humanity, we crossed one threshold when we became self-aware…that is we began to “know that we know”. Our new threshold deals with our realization that we control our destiny in the evolution of our consciousness. We are coming to understand that we are conscious co-creators in life. We are learning that our thoughts have power and that by consciously directing our thoughts, we can create our lives. More and more people are becoming aware of that power.

Another belief that I hold is that everything is connected. We may live our lives in the illusion that we are separate from everyone and everything, but ultimately part of personal evolution is to become aware that all is One. And, with the realization that everything is connected and that my thoughts have creative power, then I become aware that I want to move my thoughts and actions to be in alignment with the greatest good for everyone and everything.

So the question then becomes, what kind of lives do we want to create? What kind of world do we want to live in? The purpose of this web site is really to hold that question up in our consciousness. I want us to think about the life possible…the world possible. Each of us live our individual lives and deal with all the “stuff” that goes on in them….but if we become aware of this new threshold of being conscious co-creators and that we are all one, then we cannot help but look forward up our path and contemplate the highest possibilities and say, “how do I want my life to unfold and the planet to unfold that creates a world that works for all of us?” Although we may differ on the details, I believe there are general characteristics of a positive future that most of us can agree upon.

So, in addition to asking these questions, my intention with this web site is to shift my personal consciousness (and hopefully those who read it) in the direction of that positive future.

So some days I may be synthesizing science and spirituality to offer what I believe is true. On other days I may be looking at current events and what they offer us for our evolution. Underlying all of this is an intention to move our consciousness and our energy towards a world that works for everyone.

So….Let me see if I can say this more simply…our thoughts have power and we can choose our thoughts which lead to our words and deeds. This power or energy can be used for trivial matters or destructive purposes ….or they can be used consciously for collective good. Our conscious choice is the key. We are at a major energetic shift on the planet….I know that many of you can sense that. We have been stuck in separation and a focus on our differences. One of the shifts is to move from a sense that we are separate from one another and all of the world towards a realzation that we are connected to everything and everyone. The purpose ultimately in this web site is to shift consciousness and with that to shift energy towards our collective positive future.

What greater purpose, can there be?

Mark

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Categories Bridge Building, Conscious Bridge Website

To be for Something and against Nothing

January 21, 2010 //
0

There’s great potential in focusing our energy in the direction we want to go rather than pushing against some condition we don’t like.  Whatever we spend our mental coin on is what we tend to produce.  The trick, of course, is in gaining the ability to turn our attention away from that we don’t want and then towards that which we do.

I thought about this the other night as I sat in the Denver City Council chambers for around six hours watching our civic processes in action.  I was there in support of my daughter, whose company was entering into a contract with the city which required the council’s approval.  They were holding public hearings on the contract which would bring a series of high-tech movie events to two of the city’s parks over the next three years.  This type of special outdoor cinema has never been used in the United States before yet has been quite successful in other countries for a number of years.  (For more information on the concept you can visit the company’s website at http://www.usopenair.com/ ).

Now admittedly, I might have a slight bias in favor of this idea based on this being my daughter’s company, yet I really do believe that these events can revitalize some of Denver’s underused parks and showcase their specialness.  I really thought this concept was a no-brainer.  Hence I was a little bit surprised when I showed up at the council’s hearings and discovered a large contingent of people who were wearing homemade stickers encouraging the council to vote “no”.  There were about 75 people who signed up to speak to the council.  Of that number, roughly half were in favor of the contract and half were not.  About half of each group got to speak before time ran out.  I was pleased to be able to address the council.

It’s not my purpose here to explain all of the points for and against bringing these film events to Denver’s parks.  As always, reasonable minds can disagree and there were good points made on both sides.  However, it was interesting to note a general theme that emerged from each side.  My comments, as well as many of the comments for those in favor of the proposal, focused upon a vision of a possible future.  They pointed to the potential for this film series to create a vital and vibrant focal point for activating the park’s potential to be a hub for the sharing of community.  On the other hand, many of the comments against the proposal were (in my opinion) rooted in fear…fear of change, fear of this being a setting of a precedent that might lead to the loss of parks, fear of the unknown, and more.  To be fair, there were some comments by some opponents, who took a non-fear-based approach and attempted to offer what they viewed as an alternative win-win possibility.  But in general, most of the opponents appeared to be stuck in the past and to be “pushing against” the idea.

Mystic Ernest Holmes wrote, “Find me one person who is for something and against nothing, who is redeemed enough not to condemn others out of the burden of his soul, and I will find another savior, another Jesus, and an exalted human being. “  Holmes really was speaking to the power of the Law of Attraction when used in the direction of good for all people.  When we can focus on what we are for, when we can eliminate the need to make others wrong in the process, we can truly perform miracles.

I was pleased at the end of the evening when the council voted in favor of the contract.  Overall this was a great example of our civic processes working out just like they’re designed.

However, there is an issue of concern here, which is indicative of a greater trend in American politics in recent years.  There appears to be a greater degree of being less “for” something and more “against” something which unfortunately often deteriorates into name calling, vindictiveness, and divisive behavior in the public forum.  We see this in lack of unbiased and measured discourse in many television programs, as well as the highly partisan way in which our political parties vote. 

Just in the past day, a lot has been made about the election in Massachusetts of a Republican senator to replace Teddy Kennedy simply because that one vote keeps the Democrats from total control of the Senate.  If there was more bipartisan behavior in our Congress, than this one vote would matter less.  There is an assumption by both our media and our politicians that our Congress is simply going to vote along party lines no matter what the issue.

A recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor had an article about the rising national debt and the issue of Congressional approval of the debt ceiling.  There was a telling quote in the piece from Stanley Collender, a longtime congressional budget analyst, who stated, “Debt ceilings have become political footballs and will continue to be in this highly politicized Congress where making the other side lose is more important than governing.”  Unfortunately, his observation frequently seems all too true.

So then the challenge before us is how do we turn from this condition, which is less than what we desire and focus our energy on what we do want?  In my opinion, we have to first acknowledge the condition…not to give energy, not to grow it, but rather just to be aware of it.  It’s from that awareness that we can now consciously choose a higher direction for our politics and for our country.

And what is that higher direction?  In my opinion it includes the following:

  • Visualizing and speaking out about a positive future… expressing our desire for what we do want.
  • Seeking opportunities to reinforce working together.
  • Honoring differences but focusing on commonalities.
  • Looking for ways to turn civil discourse away from negativity and towards respect, dignity and our common bonds.

You probably could add to this list.  I hope that you do.

Blessings,

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Positive Evolution

What would you do?

January 20, 2010 //
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I’m asking all of us to be a conscious bridge to move the world to a positive future.

That sounds great till the world throws us situations which challenge us. Sometimes it’s a challenge to remain “conscious” when our emotions take over. There are other times when we feel like we are “conscious”, but the complexity of the situation calls us to question what’s the best action to take. Let’s look at a couple situations.

You are stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway. You and everyone else in the left hand lane have politely merged into the lane to the right about 300 yards away from one of those flashing arrow signs which had long been visible. You are in a hurry, and this traffic has frustrated you. Now someone comes speeding along in the left-hand lane and seeks to merge into your lane ahead of you. You can sense anger at this person because if he had done the “right thing.” In your mind, they should’ve already merged in behind you. So what is the “positive future” reaction you make?

Do you let them in and bless them, thinking maybe they must be a bigger hurry than you? Do you not look their way to keep the space between you and the car in front of you very close so they can’t merge? Do you glare at them and shoot them an ugly hand gesture?

Another situation…

After watching a documentary film, and then doing some follow-up research, you determine that the company you work for is contributing to the obesity epidemic by how they are marketing fattening foods to our youth. You enjoy your job, and it offers you meaningful outlets for your creativity. What do you do?

Do you look for ways within your sphere of influence within the company to help guide them away from this activity? Do you continue to work for the company, but badmouth them every chance you get? Do you quit the company in disgust the first chance you get?

So, how would you consciously handle these situations in a way that bridges us to our positive future?

Mark

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Categories Positive Evolution

What’s right or wrong?

January 19, 2010 //
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As I stated previously, the purpose of this website is to share information and foster dialogue on how we can use the power of our thoughts to create the highest possible future for humanity. That’s a lofty goal, I know. But like any large goal, it’s only attainable by breaking it down into smaller goals that are more manageable. So then that lofty goal, really can be attained by each of us making choices in our daily lives that are in the direction of the highest possible future.

But that raises the big question… given any situation in my life, how can I always know which choice is for my highest good and the highest good of the planet? In other words, given a situation large or small, how can I know which choice is “right”?

I’ve always found great wisdom in these words from the mystic Ernest Holmes, “The criterion for any man as to what is right or wrong for him is not to be found in some other man’s judgment. The criterion is: Does the thing I wish to do express more life, more happiness, more peace for myself, and at the same time harm no one? If it does, it is right. It is not selfish. But if it is done at the expense of anyone, then in such degree we are making a wrong use of the Law.”

I usually boil that down to asking myself if what I’m about to do ” expresses more life and harms no one?”

Of course the devil’s in the details, meaning reasonable people sometimes disagree on when something is expressing more life or when something might be harming someone. For example, a few days ago I stopped into a local Starbucks. Sitting at one of the tables was a scruffy gentleman nursing a cup of coffee and working to create small items of jewelry out of beads and strings he had laid out on the table. I immediately sensed some of the other patrons were bothered by the presence of this man. I stopped and asked him what he was making and he proudly presented me his artistic creations and insisted I take a gift of a key chain after complimenting his work.

So was this gentleman expressing more life and harming no one? In my opinion, he was certainly expressing life through his call to create his jewelry. And, I felt he was really harming no one by creating key chains at a table at Starbucks although some of the other patrons might have disagreed.

I’m sure you can think of plenty of situations in your life, where people disagree on whether something is right or wrong even if using the criteria I offer here. So how do we get to the truth in such situations? There’s two ways.

The first, which most of us use, is to go to our minds and try to logically argue which way is right or which way is wrong. We weigh pros and cons. We often take into account the opinions of experts or which answer the majority agrees with. There’s nothing wrong with using the mind in this approach.

However, there is a second way that we can get at truth when trying to determine if something is right or wrong–trying to decide if something expresses more life and harms no one. That way is to take it into the silence within us… to go within… to ask our higher selves… to listen to our intuition… to seek the wisdom of Spirit or Infinite Intelligence. There, in the silence, we will usually get an inner sense of what truly is best for ourselves and everyone.

Therefore, my suggestion for you today is when faced with a situation when you’re not sure which way to act, do this: ask yourself, which choice expresses more life and harms no one? If the answer is not immediately clear, then certainly use your mind to logically weigh the choices, but also take it in your heart and listen….and then trust your intuition.

Blessings and enjoy life.

Mark

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Categories Consciousness, Positive Evolution
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