The Edge - Winter 2012

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     Dedicated to the memory of emily squires                                                                                                FALL/WINTER 2012   

Calling All Evolutionary Leaders

Steve McIntosh Explores "Evolution's Purpose"
An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Story of Our Origins


Steve McSteve McIntoshIntosh, author of Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution,  has written a new book that helps us to understand how evolution progresses through the choices we make toward beauty, truth and goodness.
Evolution's Purpose
In Evolution's Purpose, Steve paints a picture of "how the scientific story of our origins is actually a profound and sacred teaching compatible with many forms of contemporary spirituality. " He argues that a new evolutionary worldview is essential to creating a just and sustainable civilization that works for everyone. He suggests that we may be on the cusp of a second Enlightenment wherein human consciousness and culture give us new ways to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Steve and AndrewHear Steve McIntosh interview friend and spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen. The two integral philosophers discuss the latest spiritual and philosophical seeds that were planted during EnlightenNext’s recent "Being and Becoming" retreat in Tuscany, Italy, and generate new insights into the field of Evolutionary Enlightenment.   

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Awakened World Begins In Rome
Co-Sponsored by Association for Global New Thought

Awakened World

Two hundred religious and spiritual leaders, secular experts, Evolutionary Leaders, and grassroots activists from the great faith traditions traveled from countries around the globe and met in Rome and Florence October 13-21, 2012, to engage in dialogue to shape initiatives and encourage spiritually motivated global action for a better world.
Awakened World Participants

The conference, sponsored by the International Interreligious Peace Council, the Association for Global New Thought, and the Interreligious Engagement Project, engaged participants in working sessions to examine possibilities of reconciliation and peace, ecological stewardship, compassionate service, and spiritual deepening.

After traveling from Rome to Florence for the final three days, they shared action plans and refined a framework for an ongoing global process of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and engagement titled A Charter for Engaged Spirituality in the 21st Century. Link to the Charter pages HERE with an opportunity to submit comments and ideas to each Domain:
http://www.agnt.org/charter/charter.html.

Evolutionary Leaders present included conveners from the Association for Global New Thought Dr. Barbara Fields, Rev. Michael B. Beckwith and Rev. Kathy Hearn, along with participants Joan Borysenko, Rinaldo Brutoco, Jack Canfield, Gordon Dveirin, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Nina Meyerhof, Yuka Saionji, and Diane Williams – who enjoyed the chance to get together as well as the serious discussions.

Participants returned to their communities energized by a common vision of global evolutionary awareness and transformative action. In the words of organizer Dr. Barbara Fields, “Now we have a replicable model for that process; next, we must anchor this technology by transforming insight into action. In this conference, we saw before our eyes that achieving "spiritual consensus" in a field of true global diversity is the natural catalyst that drives any one knowledge base to offer its resources in service of the needs of the whole system.”

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Action!

Three Days of Love

Three Days of Love

24 members of the circle of Evolutionary Leaders have endorsed THREE DAYS OF LOVE from Dec. 20-22, 2012.

Will you join the love-a-thon to celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21st and the start of a new era on December 22nd by pledging to make your every word and action express love for three days? Sign on HERE and invite your friends to join.

Together, let us birth a new era of love for our entire global family.

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Jean Houston on Oprah Winfrey

What a treat: two great women engaged in a lively discussion of philosophy, personal experiences and spiritual exploration!  Dr. Jean Houston was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on her OWN Network's Super Soul Sunday.

Jean Houston on Oprah Winfrey

Oprah was fascinated by Jean, a truly unique American philosopher and one of the elders of the personal growth movement, as they explored both deeply personal experiences and also Jean's new book, The WIzard of US. Jean explained how - like the mythical Dorothy - everyone can be the hero of her own life and live an authentic life filled with heart, brains and courage.

THE WIZARD OF US

In the words of fellow Evolutionary Leader Elza S. Maalouf, "Jean was magnificent on Oprah. She was, as always, her brilliant self, speaking effortlessly to her host, who stopped few times to repeat what Jean was saying and had many of her famous Aha! moments. Oprah later tweeted many quotes from Jean's interview and said that this is the first time she asked for a transcript of the show, because she wanted to read every word Jean said!"
 
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Choice Point: The Movie

CHOICE POINT

Choice Point is a startling new movie that delves into the hearts and minds of some of the world's leading change-makers: business people, statesmen, sports stars, spiritual leaders, scientists, and philosophers,  including Evolutionary Leaders Gregg Braden, Jack Canfield and Barbara Marx Hubbard.

Their voices offer a profound message of hope as a pattern emerges that empowers each of us to be the change by making the choices that can not only transform ourselves, but also the world around us.

“A choice point opening at the end of one cycle before
the next cycle begins gives us an evolutionary edge
that perhaps our ancestors did not have.”

– Gregg Braden

Watch Now: Choice Point Movie

Emily Squires: 1941-2012

The community of Evolutionary Leaders is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our cherished member, Emily Squires, after a brief illness.

Emily Squires 1941-2012

Emily had a brilliant career, winning multiple Emmy awards for directing "Sesame Street,"  In recent years she devoted her talents to organizations like Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, the Coalition for One Voice, and the Source of Synergy Foundation, and she was a passionate voice against the dangers of hydrofracking.

She directed the Evolutionary Leaders highly successful 2010 event at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, entitled "A Call to Conscious Evolution."  We will miss her beyond measure.

FULL STORY & PHOTOS HERE

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Ashok Gangadean on "Global Enlightenment:
Our Evolutionary Shift to Integral Science and Medicine"


Prof. Ashok Gangadean, Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Haverford College, organizes an annual Global Philosophy Forum on Consciousness, Connectivity and Integral Modeling. The 2012 event focused on “Making Sense of Our Great Evolutionary Shift,” and also featured Evolutionary Leader Peter Russell. Professor Gangadean offered a comprehensive talk on how to experience our existence in a whole new way.

Peter RussellAshok Gangadean

“Our evolutionary journey into Global Enlightenment opens a new frontier for our global age. When we step back from our more localized world views and perspectives and dilate our hearts and minds into the more expansive space of Global Enlightenment certain astounding patterns and findings come to the fore which could not be readily seen before. Let's take this journey together and experience these remarkable clarifications."

Prof. Ashok Gangadean

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Featured Quote

From GOD: A Story of Revelation, by Deepak Chopra
God by Deepak Chopra
"Nearness to God is a constant, not just in human history, but in human nature. If we are connected to our souls, the connection is permanent, even if our attention falters. We think that God changes, because our own perception waxes and wanes. The messages keep coming, though, and God keeps showing different faces. Sometimes the whole notion of the divine gets hidden, when secular forces snatch the steering wheel and attempt to drive alone. But the force of spirituality never fully surrenders. God stands for our need to know ourselves, and as awareness evolves, so does God. This journey never ends."

Link to inspiring quotes from Evolutionary Leaders HERE.

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Evolutionary Leaders:
In Service to Conscious Evolution
An Interview with Diane Williams

Diane Williams, Founder and President of the Source of Synergy Foundation, was interviewed recently by Dr. Michael Wayne.

The Founder and Director of The  Center for Quantum Revolution, Dr. Wayne has pioneered the field of Quantum-Integral Medicine, which is about the science of emerging properties, and how it relates to the innate healing system and human potential.

His "Interviews with the Leading Edge" series on the Quantum Revolution website at www.quantumrevolution.net features people who are on the leading edge of transformational change, doing work to further the consciousness revolution.

Click below to listen to the second of a 3-part interview with Diane, where she discusses the "tipping point" of our current global civilization, as well as the vision of the Evolutionary Leaders project.

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Join the Evolution!

Answer the Call

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Inspiration Corner

Rev. Kathy Hearn urges us to "Make Some Changes"

2012-4-22 “Make Some Changes” Rev. Kathy Hearn from Center for Spiritual Living SR on Vimeo.

Note: Rev. Kathy Hearn is introduced at 2:03

Enjoy a half hour of wisdom from the Reverend Dr. Kathy Hearn, speaking at the Center for Spiritual Living in Santa Rosa, California.

Rev. Kathy is the Community Spiritual Leader of United Centers for Spiritual Living, an instructor for the Holmes Institute School of Consciousness Studies and a monthly contributor to Science of Mind magazine.

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Did Monsanto Trick California Voters?Ocean Robbins

By Ocean Robbins

Reprinted from the Huffington Post, Posted: 11/08/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/monsanto-prop-37_b_2088934.html


California could have been the first state in the nation to mandate the labeling of genetically engineered foods. We would have joined more than 60 countries where consumers have the right to know if their food has been genetically modified. But the prospect of Proposition 37 terrified the junk food and pesticide companies that want to keep us in the dark about what we eat.

The "No on 37" campaign spent $46 million burying the state's voters in an avalanche of misleading ads and outright falsehoods. Their efforts defeated the proposition, 53 percent to 47 percent.

But Monsanto and their peeps didn't just spend $46 million promoting their opinion. They also lied and got away with it. 

Check out these examples:

1) They illegally included the FDA logo in a "No on 37" mailing to state residents, and made up a quote from the FDA, which the FDA refuted. The FDA did not and cannot express an opinion on ballot initiatives.

2) They used the Stanford logo in TV ads and mailers, when the University also did not take a stand on the issue. And they said that Henry I. Miller, their hired gun, is a professor at Stanford when in reality, he works for the Hoover Institution -- which rents office space on the campus.

3) They paid a PR firm with expertise in fighting recycling legislation (on behalf of the soda pop industry) to generate a misleading "study" that was designed to show the proposition raising food prices by hundreds of dollars per state resident per year. This despite independent economic analysis concluding that it would not raise prices in any meaningful way, and that in Europe, mandated labeling was not linked to an increase in food prices. (Do you really believe the pesticide and junk food companies would spend $46 million trying to save you money?)

4) They said there have never been any documented ill-effects from GMO consumption. But many allege that 37 direct human deaths and 1,500 disabilities linked to a toxic batch of the supplement Tryptophan were caused by a genetically engineered strain of bacteria used in production. And there are numerous reports of livestock that have died as a result of grazing on GMO cotton. There could be far more widespread ill-effects, but without labeling, it's nearly impossible to find out conclusively.

5) They said Prop 37 was full of exemptions for special interests. But in reality, the exemptions were modeled after those adopted throughout the European Union and every other country that calls for labeling. For instance, livestock that are fed GMO grains don't have to be labeled genetically engineered unless the animal, itself, is genetically engineered. That's not a special interest exemption -- it's basic science.

What's Next For The Food Movement?
In the last decade, the movement for healthy, sustainable food has been growing exponentially, with consumption of organic foods growing from $8 billion in 2000 to $31 billion in 2011. We've seen an equally dramatic rise in the number of farmer's markets and CSAs. Still, it's a big jump to move from 4 percent market share, to changing national food policy. Tobacco was found to be harmful to health in 1950, and it took nearly half a century to meaningfully change laws.

The food movement is growing fast, but as a political force, it's still in its infancy. Big agribusiness still controls the purse strings in Congress, and runs the show at the FDA. At least for now.

An ABC News poll found that 93 percent of Americans want to know if their food is genetically engineered. Even after a narrow loss against a heavily financed and deeply entrenched food industry, the rapidly growing food movement may be just getting started.

"The arc of history is long," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told us, "but it bends towards justice." As we've seen time and time again, when enough people demand it, eventually, change does come.

Ocean Robbins is founder and co-host (with best-selling author John Robbins) of the 60,000 member Food Revolution Network, an initiative to help you heal your body, and your world... with food. Find out more and sign up here.

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I Think I'm Turning PurpleLynne McTaggart

By Lynne McTaggart

Reprinted from http://www.lynnemctaggart.com/blog

What has amazed me most during Superstorm Sandy, while whizzing over Europe and the Middle East recently and watching the aftermath of the US presidential election is how many people the world over understand that during this vital crossroads in our human history we will only survive by moving away from individualism to interdependence.

We need, essentially, to move beyond red states and blue states, to one BONDED purple state.

To do that requires learning how to do something besides polarizing against some other or ‘them’ who doesn’t agree with you or, no matter what his otherness happens to be. It involves, in essence, turning ‘purple’: learning to have aerial vision of the whole.

Built on sameness

Currently most relationships are forged from the erroneous idea that we have to be the same to get along and that differences between us are to be avoided at all costs. In fact, conflict is considered so antithetical to the human experience that when others disagree with us, we conclude that they must be stupid or ill informed. To justify this position, we find it necessary to debate them, demonize them and announce their ignorance to the world. In our minds, conflict can be resolved only with I win, you lose.

In my view, the key to a more holistic relationship with anyone is to conceive of the relationship as a “thing in itself” and to focus on the “space in between”—the glue that holds it together—especially when you do not agree with each other.

Once you view yourself as part of a bigger whole, you begin to act differently toward others. By making this one simple change of perspective and offering yourself as a vehicle of service to the connection, you will easily find the Bond that is always present and embrace difference within that larger experience of connection.

When you relate to others in this way, you do the opposite of what you’ve learned in critical thinking or debating classes. You focus on what is positive, truthful, and wise about what others are saying, not the flaws in their arguments, and look for areas of common ground.

You also learn how to promote closeness through the power of deep truth and candid disclosure rather than the strength of your arguments. During this type of deep sharing, the pull of wholeness builds trust and loosens attachment to fixed positions.
 
Here’s the 10 ways, in my view, we can overcome polarization and division of any sort:

10 Steps to Going Purple:

1. Keep alert for “Us versus Them” thinking, language, and actions. As soon as you start generalizing about one race or ethnic group of people—whether Republicans, Muslims, or even bankers—you have defined a group as “them.” Expunge this kind of language from your vocabulary.

2. Practice maintaining respect for a view that is different from your own. There is no right or wrong perception of the world.

3. Question anything you regard as a division between yourself and others. This includes your automatic assumptions about neighbors you don’t know, acquaintances of a different ethnicity or religion, the countries and people beyond your borders.

4. Separate out gradations of belief. The idea that all the people who hold a certain view have the same exact position is a stereotype. Fine gradations of belief exist among people who appear to agree, and most of us outside of a belief system don’t appreciate the wide spectrum of beliefs held within any given position. Pro-choice advocates, for instance, have widely divergent views from each other, from those who believe that abortion is justified in all circumstances to those who believe abortion is justified only in cases of rape. Seek to identify these fine distinctions in beliefs or practices so that you do not miss a chance to find common ground.

5. Look upon everyone involved as a potential partner and honor the need to connect with them.

6. Seek out kernels of truth in any opposing position rather than the differences in views between the other person and yourself. Don’t try to win the debate, convince others of your “rightness,” or convert them to another point of view.

7. Mentally swap roles with someone else. Imagine the issue from the polar opposite of your own position and offer as many solid arguments in favor of that position as you can. This helps you to take a larger perspective on the issue. By the same token, try to imagine someone else looking at your ideas. What do you think they see?  

8. Don’t be afraid if you disagree. Explore the values you have in common and seek a creative solution. Identify and explore both your core values and interests: underlying hopes, needs, values, concerns, motivations, fears, and ideals, and identify which interests are mutual.  

9. Experiment with a positive description of your differences. Instead of complaining, “Those atheist heathens don’t go to church,” think and say, “How interesting—atheists believe in a natural intelligence.” When disagreements occur, listen harder. You’ll often find that the problem is a gap in your knowledge of the events in the person’s life that have led him to that position.

10. Name your feelings. Then reflect back what you believe to be someone else’s feelings. Reveal the backstory of why you believe what you believe. Sharing deeply invites deep understanding and connection.

Okay, Democrats, go try this on some Republicans this week, and vice versa. And all of you, now it’s your turn to tell me your 10 tips for going ‘purple’.

 

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