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BeTheChange May 2005
The gathering offered the opportunity to hear and engage with leading scientists and practitioners in a range of fields including business, health, environment, food, financial markets, spiritual development, holonics and more. Presentations are not the normal "dog and pony show" of standard conferences, but a selection of new thinking. It is a repeated "wake-up" call. The venue, Friends House (of the Society of Friends of spirit), lends itself well to the integral approach of spiritual practice grounded in stewardship of earth and justice for all life. BeTheChange.org.uk has information on presenters and a number of partipants. The three day event is comprehensive and therefore these notes do not attempt to summarise all activties and learning available. They present notes (in short form) on a number of ideas that are powerful and relevant and which are backed up by the presentations and science delivered at BTC. The format of the event is inclusive so that individuals from all fields can participate and engage. There is little partisanship. Complimentary, extracurricular activities engage and enliven participants; they include creative cuisine (Indian BarBQ), rap-poetry, group meditation, music and video. This gathering is highly recommended for all, irrespective of functional, business or political persuasion. The speakers and presentations that I found most powerful include: Ray Anderson (Interface), Deepak Chopra, Jim Cusamano, Vandana Shiva, Michael Lerner, Chris Astill-Smith, Elisabet Sahtouris. The story of ANZ by Sonia Stojanovic is a powerful example of integral systems enhancing business value and Richard Barrett's Business Consciousness Model is a powerful business engineering tool. All presentations and workshops were educational and inspirational. Sustainability is about profits. Enlightenment and consciousness is more. We eat to live not live to eat; (we make profits to exist, not exist to make profits).
We are deluded by the illusion that weapons will bring security (and have deceived ourselves that there is such a morality as "acceptable slaughter"), money will bring happiness, technology will bring health. Business chief executives have either founded their business, inherited it or were hired - the third group, hired managers, predominates and they are not interested in legacy. Accepted wisdom of business management is that loyalty correlates with success. Loyalty of employees, customers and investors. There is a direct correlation between employee turnover to profitability, across industries. Ray Anderson makes you cry
... (audio clip) Tomorrow's ChildWithout a name; an unseen faceand knowing not your time nor place Tomorrow's Child, though yet unborn, I met you first last Tuesday morn. A wise friend introduced us two, and through his shining point of view I saw a day which you would see; A day for you, and not for me. Knowing you has changed my thinking for I never had an inkling That perhaps the things I do might someday, somehow, threaten you. Tomorrow's Child, my daughter-son I'm afraid I've just begun To think of you and of your good, Though always having known I should. Begin I will to weigh the cost of what I squander; what is lost If ever I forget that you will someday come to live here too.
Glenn Thomas, © 1996
Jim Cusamano on the risk of the oil economy. Expecting a financial crash in no more than 3 years and possibly sooner. 9/10 recessions have been preceeded by oil spikes. For the last 20 years we have used twice as much oil as discovered, now it is hitting 4x (according to BP). Hubbert's Peak has been attained, predicting a rapid escalation in price. The total oil is estimated at 2 trillion barrels, we've used 950 billion and use 30 billion a year. Oil companies will say that they will find more, but the need is greater than all we have ever had - 15% of the global population uses 85% of oil, 45% uses 15% and 40% use nothing. The typical guy will continue driving when the fuel guage reads empty. That is what we ar edoing now, in our world "run" by men. The alternatives are available, despite limited resources committed to them. Ethanol can be produced at 60c per gallon. Fuel cells are 2.2 x as efficient as the internal combustion engine. Although FCs now cost $ 2,200 /horse power, compared to $ 22 /HP for ICE, mass production will bring the cost to $ 200 /HP; and this will decline with more investment. With hydrogen fuel additional savings would come from the lack of need for pipelines and refineries. The oil industry is currently supported by over $ 250 billion in subsidies. The democratisation of energy will open up opportunity and encourage equality.
Deepak Chopra. (Must read/hear.) The two hour evening with Chopra was refreshing and stimulating. However, his stream of thought is so dense with science and observation that few notes were taken. Fortunately a recording of his evening was made available and if you would like a copy, please contact us. His presentation of the integral science of body mind and spirit is advanced, digestible and draws on global cultures and experience. The recognition of our interconnectedness with the universe is critical to our continued evolution. There is no more important task than to reconnect with our soul. 5 star!
Bernard Lietaer, on money. Considers alternative dynamics to encourage more conscientious consumption such as matriarchal money systems, Balinese social capital, global currency, local community currency. He also stated his expectation of a financial collapse because of the over leveraging of western economies (too much debt), US$ reserve currency is threatened, US$ is not a refuge currency (nor are others).
Michael Lerner, Common Weal cancer center. Paints a powerful and frightening picture of the crisis facing life on earth. Gross and detailed parallels with the syptoms of cancer are to be seen in the biosphere. Conservation biologists have identified that earth is experiencing teh 6th great extinction since life happened, as climate change, tocis chemical imbalances and species loss are spiking. Much is a direct result of oil dependency in teh hydrocarbon century (C20th). The technology with which we now play - biotech, nanotech and robotics - has far greater power and unpredictability than hydorcarbon technology, yet we are not cautious or pragmatic about its development and use. On a personal level, our approach to healing is failing, despite huge resources, because it has failed to take into consideration personal, social, economic, political life. The US is a particular challenge because of the cultural perception that people have a right to pollute! in the last decade over 400 new chemicals have infiltrated our blood - "I did not give permission for companies to use my body as a repository for toxic chemicals". The reaction to the degradation of teh biosphere is parallel to the body's immune system. The movement to globally responsible behaviour is not centralised but is self-managing and nodes are emerging globally. On a human level, the successful curing of cancer is rare. We may or may not be successful in preserving the biosphere.
Chris Astill-Smith, Metabolics. Enlightening connections between physical well being and sub-conscious and unconscious imbalances. His presentations illustrate the connections between imbalances in micro-nutrients, sub-conscious concerns (eg anger) and unconscious ailments. While his business offers balanced nutraceuticals in benign carriers his advice for relieving unconscious ailments is resonant with other speakers: you have to rewire your unconscious through afffirmations that hardwire neural pathways. The suggestion is to repeat 20 times prior to going to sleep an affirmation of the format "I genuinely want to release all of my unconscious emotion of .............. now and forever" for a month. 500 repetitins will hardwire teh neuralnet. Your unconscious will fight back by suggesting that you don't need to do it tonight, changing the words etc. Successful completion will even improve physical posture.
Prevention is more effective than cure - Blue Cross gives a 30% discount if you go to the Chopra Centre. Income inequality encourages health issues: suicides are up and addictions too (particularly addiction to work and melodrama in more affluent societies). On a global level the inequality is huge: 20% on < $ 1 per day, 50% on less than $ 2 per day.
Creativity and innovation. Innovation is non-algorithmic. Intuition is right but not logical. This reflects the discontinuities of quantum physics and evolutionary jumps (the caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis is a real time example - the metamorphosis works though the genomes of caterpillar and buterfly are different). Nurturing insight requires: Ascertaining an objective, Gathering data, Analysing information, Incubation/reflection/meditation, which will release insight.
Quantum change. The new models for life are being explored by leaders in all fields. The change in society is being effected through changing stories. The stories that we tell and share reflect and cocreate the memes of modern culture. The imagery of stories creates meaning. The increasing use of the language of change and consciousness is enabling change of cultures. The connection between meaning (the values of humanity, the memes) has been demonstrated by Herbert Spectre's experiment in which rodents where taught to react to understand camphor aroma as a disease protective mechanism and could be taught this - effectively the association changed the molecular structure in certain cells allowing the rodent to protect itself. The source of change and enlightenment (the insights) is non-local discontinuity, or spirit.
Elisabet Sahtouris. (Must read/hear.) See her website for audio/video media - www.sahtouris.com. Cultural relativism doesn't work ... some standards are needed. Our model of reality must be derived from consciousness, so consciousness must be fundamental. (Western science is unusual in focussing on non-life - Plato's divergence.) The universe is self organising energy. (See What The Bleep Do We Know?) Life is self changing. The US flag is derived from the British East India Company flag! Malthus, who justified conquest with scarcity of resources argument, hired Darwin who adopted Malthus' theory of competition and scarcity. Fed the mentality that you get what you want while you can; used to justify child labour, holocaust, profit tyranny. BUT this is not actual (nor Darwin's intent, though he was influenced by personal economics and his peer group and religion); the cycle of life follows a spiral of individuation from unity, then tension among individuals, then negotiation, then resolution, then cooperation, then unity again. Self interest at all levels. Intelligent dynamic harmony. (This spiral reflects chakras.) Nature is about harmony and balance, not scarcity. We have a bad habit - 5,000 years of empire building. Organic soil has as much DNA as human. Natural intelligence - all level thinking. Quantum is non-linear. Genetic modification is unsuccessful, the scientific results are not demonstrable, it is not profitable.
Challenges for you. Judge yourself. Is there a little more I can do?
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know thyself - Socrates |
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