At the close of 2011, the Greenheart Transforms book club participated in a wisdom gift exchange, sharing quotes, books and ideas. Inspired by that evening, I thought I would also share some words of wisdom from various people who have been masters for me as we embark on this transformational year in 2012.
In the workshop I did last summer with Rick Hanson, he talked about retaining the positive, and discussed the idea that the reason why the negative impacts us more than the positive might be due as much to cultural conditioning as it is to the hardwiring of the brain.
Join us for a trip through time and the experience of a life time in Ibiza. Find spiritual transformation in the beautiful surroundings of the island life in this June 2012 retreat led by Emanuel Kuntzelman.
We all enter the holiday season with the best of intentions of holiday cheer and stress free engagement with loved ones, only to see ourselves somewhat overwhelmed by the frenzy and fury of the season. Instead of the consumer focus on wish lists and gift-buying this month, get through these busy next few weeks by concentrating first and foremost on the quality of our inner spiritual being.
The awe and wonder is no longer about individual essence, but rather, about collective power. As we share our visions and join forces, we see that the power of One, becomes the power of Many and adds up to far more than the sum of individual parts.
Just as an individual must be open minded to open the doors to personal transformation, so must a society be open-minded to transform our social systems. To do this requires a change of attitude in relation to our values and loyalty to a given group. We now have to visualize ourselves as a member of the whole of humanity, and not just a limited group of familiar traditions and values.
It is important to emphasize that I’m not in any way asking anyone to stop their any personal work when I say we must focus on the good of the whole. The fact that we must begin shifting our focus from Descartes’s “I think therefore I am,” to the Ubuntu philosophy of “I am because you are;” doesn’t mean we stop worrying about our inner personal transformation.
If it takes an emergent norm to help people coalesce their views into a common will to overcome the most adverse circumstances, what precisely could the norm be? A good, central cause is needed in every group effort to carry the day. Teams need to win games and armies want to defeat enemies, and we must also have a central theme to rally the masses together. And the answer to motivate us to pull together? It is as simple as good old Mother Earth.
Recently, Emanuel participated in a retreat in California at the Esalen Institute where he was introduced to Integral Transformative Practice. After his extremely rewarding and positive experience during the two-day workshop, Emanuel was eager to bring ITP to Chicago. For the first time in its history, Integral Transformative Practice will be shared with the Windy City participants in a 2-day workshop Oct. 29 and 30 in partnership with Yoga Now.
We have to engage in making a change if we want to see results in the global community. Today, empathy isn’t enough, we have to take action, become edgy and take up the call to do something amazing to change the world.
