cognitive science

Thought Leaders in a New World: 30-year Evo-leap

June 23, 2021 by Zen

Thought Leaders & Coming Off a Hiatus

In mid-1990, a public access show called One World began production, to talk to people about the process of overcoming obstacles, spiritual connections and building community as thought leaders with passion. Over 120 shows were produced through the end of 1992 and had around 4,000 weekly viewers at its close.

We were sponsored by the Christown Lions Club, had a dedicated crew of a half dozen, and it was a most rewarding experience for all of us. The focus was on peering into the depths of personal processes, professional career challenges and choices, how a global village was developing, and a personal insight or process shared by the guests for the benefit of folks going through similar challenges.

As with many volunteer efforts, it feel by the wayside when a commercial opportunity became available. Alas, looking back, it wasn’t the best choice, though I certainly gained experience producing 4 shows and directing challenging talent, plus producing my own show, ‘Who?’ which was focused on community activism. We only had two weeks of all the shows in the can before the plug got pulled as a result of misrepresentation of the station’s reach and a cancelled contract. I hoped someday to return.

Coming out of Covid and the challenges many face in business, personal endeavors and life in general gave me the opportunity to restore a passion. My wife, Luba, suggested I find a way to do what I love most, talking to people with empathy and generative listening, and finding that same golden thread of positive patterns in the choices we have available. Now the subtitle of my book, Stubbing My T.O.E. on Purpose offers a new opportunity for expression: A Seminal View of Consciousness, Cosmology and the Congruence of Science and Spirituality.

Inspiration, Manifestation and Support

The congruence of science and spirituality spiraled into a beautiful display of opportunity with people, places and things made available for, as a dear friend called it, an evo-leap in the conversations and advancement in thought leaders accessiblity. Now, 30 plus years later, One World in a New World seemed a cosmic conspiracy for thought leadership.

It’s much like the one that brought Luba and I together through a series of random (synchronistic, to be recognized later), yet serendipitous, events that included dreams, impressions and visions. I’ve lived my life like this and, without the experience, I’m sure it’s really hard to fathom that life can be lived in such a state by using practical hard and soft skillsets.

What I hope this series offers is a deepening of conversations that reveal a new living awareness that is bubbling up in humanity just in time to transcend a fallacious narrative that has nearly a global population believing in fake science. We cannot think our way through a system built on vibration, we have to sense our way through it.

Co-sensing and co-presencing are buzz words in the organizational development world. I was introduced to them through an MIT series I took with Otto Scharmer, called ‘Transforming Business, Society and Self,’ along with 32,000 others worldwide.

I love to dig deep, interrogate and uncover stuff; revealing a deeper awareness of self, others and our connectedness to the Earth and stars by design. I also love to restore order and understanding when necessary. Referring to the conversations as ‘apocalyptic chats’ addresses one of the greatest misunderstandings of all time. Apocalyptic doesn’t mean destruction, it means ‘uncovering.’

In each and through all of the apocalyptic chats, we’ll find a place to explore and reveal something new in each other in recognizing our own natural design and thereby an opportunity for a new shared living awareness. When we can find that is a small quantity, perhaps it can ripple through the thoughtmosphere and help us re-align the existing systems for the service to humanity and Earth through thought leadership and sense-making.

One World in a New World

In this first episode we introduce the Institute of Evolutionary Leadership, and follow with a series of thought leaders featured in their recent program. Zen explores a multinational journey and personal passions for getting people, places and things to work together better with Fyodor Ovchinnikov, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Institute for Evolutionary Leadership. Fyodor designed and produced a series of World Café style gatherings for thinkers, called Thought Leadership for Systems Transformation. I found him through the Global Regeneration Co-Lab and a mention of the series in one of the conversation threads.

What I love about this project is I get to talk to some of the world’s thought leaders at various levels of activity in the world of change across the gamut of business, education, industry organizational development and outright transformers of the way an agile business performs in the new normal. I feel right at home, present and vulnerable to whatever might happen because I trust it will always reveal something new and wonderful. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask for your comments, sharing and, of course, subscription to our new channel if you find value. Just open the video in YouTube. Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy the conversation.

The Institute for Evolutionary Leadership is a California-based social enterprise that develops leaders for systems transformation through educational programs, advising, strategic initiatives, and community building. It was co-founded in 2014 by Manuel Manga and Fyodor Ovchinnikov. Fyodor’s network of thought leaders is quite extensive.

Fyodor shares his circuitous journey through various universities for undergrad and graduate work, his mentors and their suggestions for assisting business development that eventually became IEL. The multidimensional path to meeting Manuel Manga and co-founding IEL is particularly interesting for those who have a passion for changing the way we approach business in the 21st Century.

He speaks of developing relationships around the world and the impact of a dream he had as a teen that had a profound connection to the reality he experienced years later. The reality of the attention, intention and interactions Fyodor gave to his passion demonstrates how many worlds work together simultaneously even though we may not be aware at the moment.

From Fyodor: Zen is very knowledgeable about a variety of topics related to transformational leadership and group dynamics. As a contributor to collective narratives co-created by the participants of the Thought Leadership for Systems Transformation Program, he added great value with his passion and experience. Zen is also a talented network weaver and a skilled podcast host. If you are looking for a coach or facilitator who has a deep commitment to transcending division and separation or if you are looking for a thought partner or connector in the field of change, engaging Zen would be a great choice!

Agility in a New World of Business and Personal Challenges

April 30, 2021 by Zen

What is Agility?

Business agility is the ability of an organization to: Adapt quickly to market changes – internally and externally. Respond rapidly and flexibly to customer demands. Adapt and lead change in a productive and cost-effective way without compromising quality.

I like to look for the best in things, or at least to take what is given and look at it from a greater perspective in relationship to the whole. We tend to be pretty narrow-focused when in the midst of a crisis or challenged when we feel we don’t have answers.

Taking all the bias away from who or what Klaus Schwab is, he’s in a position of power and authority to help shape our future. That is unquestionable as the Executive Director of the World Economic Forum. Let’s go a little deeper into the transcendence he offers in his book COVID-19: The Great Reset.

In speaking toward business challenges, he states that companies and corporations need to be agile. Those who cannot or hold to ‘old’ ways of doing business will more than likely fail. Let’s look at the word he uses – AGILE. It’s a buzz term in corporate philosophy.

It would seem that AGILE ought to include our current evolving knowledge of how connected our lives and the planet are, business needs to consider the ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standards on a go-forward basis. Like B-Corps, the ISO 26000 is intentional, where all other ISO certifications are quality-driven with documentation of ‘system’ adherence as proof. Imagine the agility of a workforce with common beneficial goals.

Intentionality

Don’t we need to be more intentional? Aren’t we being asked to look at a greater order? Even the recent reveals of Military videos of unidentified aerial phenomena means there is a bigger picture than we might have thought possible. This also, on a deeper level, speaks to the possibility of a greater order as well, one that we haven’t recognized because of our obsession with patterned behavior and desire to get ahead.

On a personal level, then, we also need to be AGILE in all the best ways possible. We deserve to be all that we are, right? Agility means that we are able to navigate the ocean of emotion together and find safe harbor as a global villagers who’ve learned how to play together better. Imagine the joy in that and the increase in all the right things for us all.

Isn’t it obvious that all the discordant patterns and ill-be-gotten agendas are surfacing for acknowledgement (many have been in denial) and transcendence? Whether it’s your own ignorance and misbehavior or our international leaders, corporate, government and military. Life is precious. We’ve got abundance, just not good management of it. Controlling a population isn’t the answer; empowering it is. That AGILITY in the 21st Century.

Agility commands our best and demands performance beyond words. Unfortunately people are usually unappreciated, underpaid and overworked to meet goals. It’s a drive for production that nearly eliminates any joy in the workplace, it’s all too serious. Leaders and owners forget about their internal customers – their suppliers, vendors and workforce. Change has been seen as too hard and a laborious process with way too much resistance.

I don’t know about you, though I get the sense that self-fulfilling prophecies abound as a result of that style of unconscious leadership and management. We get lost ‘in’ the business and neglect to work ‘on’ it from a human capital standpoint. People are PRICELESS! Both employee and management MUST agree on that fact and act accordingly. We call that interpersonal and emotional intelligence in learning organizations and holistic systems thinking.

For many years as a coach and consultant for business affairs, the truth is revealed of happy people getting more done with less supervision and exceeding expectations given the power to do so. Any critical thinking and deductive logic reveals that fact. It’s repeatable across the gamut of industry, government and military. Of course, happy people don’t tend to go to war, either. Everybody has what they need and the ability to perform to their potential. Our collective potential is harmony among people and planet. Why not give that a try?

Turning the Great Reset into a Great Awakening

April 19, 2021 by Zen

Great Reset into the Great Awakening?

Can we turn what’s being called the ‘great reset’ into a ‘great awakening’ that is beneficial? We’ve all been affected by the last year’s chaos and confusion over a pandemic that has the world in it’s grip, right? Businesses across industries and sizes have been saddled with the challenges of agility, perseverance and transformation to incorporate new demands and a shifting marketplace. Much of what was once done face-to-face has transformed into virtual encounters and/or organizational meetings.

I turned to a world-renowned leader for some additional perspectives, possible guidance and world view. Klaus Schwab is the Executive Director of the World Economic Forum, an organization that features global leaders and shapes economic policies that trickle down to you and me. Beyond the bi-polar views of the organization and its function, he notes some critical issues we face. Whether we like it or not, we’ve become a global village made up of people like you and me, as well as local, regional, national and global organizations struggling to meet the demands of this new 21st Century outlook.

Klaus’ questions about ‘can we be caring and compassion toward each other coming out of COVID?’ and ‘will businesses be agile enough to meet the demands and survive, let alone thrive?’ are certainly important questions we all need to consider; if not personally then for our businesses or companies. We simply must find a way to work together better and offer solutions that allow us to remain free and unencumbered by medical or political restrictions. Healthy people, and humanity in general, need options that don’t prohibit the evolution of our specie toward a Type 1 Civilization, our next step in our planetary civilization’s evolution toward the stars.

My life experience is one that has allowed me to consider other aspects of our reality, our interconnectedness across many fields of play. I say play because we are all actors who determine our own scripts, whether we realize it or not. The notion of cosmic consciousness condensed into form, which was the core understanding I received in a near-death experience as a teen in college in 1975, gives us pause to consider just how powerful our choices, our feelings and our thoughts are and how they affect our reality. Larry Dossey, MD, in his book One Mind (highly recommended), brings ancient and current understanding into view and illustrates, through examples of extraordinary abilities, that we are inexperienced and vastly under-educated in the knowledge of self, let alone others.

Can we turn the great reset into the great awakening? My transformational life coaching practice echoes this understanding as I work with clients who have dreams and aspirations and a loosely developed skillset that allows them to at least begin the journey of moving their dreams to reality. Several clients have come, some after consulting other business coaches who give them data dumps but no ‘how to’ hand-holding, only to find out that through careful and considerate questions the path for them opens as we craft action plans for them to do so. Whether they realize it or not there are spiritual practices that support their journey. The most simple is the old adage paraphrased, ‘where two or more are gathered, there I am also.’ Here’s an interesting question: Who are you?

Turning the Great Reset into the Great Awakening

For at least a couple of decades I made regular visits to discussion groups and workshops on self-improvement and self-development. The question I closed the last paragraph with was asked quite often, which drew out all kinds of answers. Some referred to what their jobs were, some were spiritual like ‘I am a divine being’ and some were focused on family relationships. Those were all good answers and relevant to the individuals, though the deeper truth seemed illusive, and all-encompassing answer that worked for everyone. I was first asked the question in the early 80s in Jim Tolleson’s Empire Builders weekend intensive held at the Francisco Grande in Casa Grande, Arizona.

My answer: “I Am… and the rest is up to your perception.” How or why did I answer that way? The simple answer is that my NDE allowed me to reference what appeared to be the fact that even as a cosmically conscious individual, others were bereft of the experience and therefore could only see me through their own lenses of perception. Every time we encounter another, those lenses apply whether we are cognizant of them or not. We see people, places and things through our own lens, developed or not. So how to we develop a better, more expansive lens, or do we? Perhaps a more well-developed lens will assist the process of converting the great reset into the great awakening.

I had a recent conversation with a business leader and philanthropist who mentioned Marianne Williamson’s quote in part. I’ll include the whole quote here as you will see how powerful it could be for you:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

In the growth to self-awareness and success we have to address the fears we encounter, and we all encounter fears. An old friend, Willy Whitefeather [RIP], in an interview I had with him for One World so many years ago, offered an interpretation that I’ve seen repeated over and over for decades. ‘FEAR is only False Evidence Appearing Real. What we seek to do is Free Every Anxious Reaction.’ The young whippersnapper in me piped up with, ‘and what we usually do is F.. Everything And Run.’ It’s quite interesting how the latter is absolutely true. We avoid rather than lean into our fears. Let’s turn this great reset into a great awakening of the human spirit of transcendence.

Embracing Your Own Creative Power

Imagine if you embraced the notion that you were powerful beyond measure. How would that look? Probably pretty scary at first. As a transformational life coach I start with that premise and work with clients to extend and integrate that awareness into their lives, their personal experience system beyond the beliefs they may have been entertaining for most of their lives. Their lives truly transform.

One client recently came to me with a dream of having her own TV show, among other things. The pandemic had severely dampened her work; doing live performances as an artist painting icons on the fly. No events meant no work. Sound familiar?

That all changed in a matter of months. Her faith in God played a huge part, though she didn’t realize it really turned into faith in herself. Our agreement (where two or more…) of her dream-come-true fueled the thoughtmospheric action that allowed it to come forth, first as a single show in an ongoing series that features a pay-it-forward theme. It worked so well that the producers began discussing the potentials of her own show and were going to pitch it to their network of over 75 million viewers. I don’t want to reveal much more, though you’ll find her in my testimonials, as the events are still unfolding. So, what is your dream or dreams?

Certainly I cannot take credit for the entire flow of events. I was merely a player in them, knowing the right script in order to engage the spectacle of transforming dreams into reality. How do I do that? Can it be learned? How can you take advantage of your own brilliance, skillset and talent? I’m able to do it through decades of practice, trial and error and learning the depths of cognitive science in order to apply the principles on a regular, if not on-demand, basis. Of course you can learn it, too, and with the help of a coach/mentor it is certainly much easier and truncates the timeframe you’d experience just doing it on your own. Taking advantage of your brilliance, skillset and talent means you lift yourself out of the self-deprecation and self-doubt you’ve no doubt included in your internal dialog with self for years.

Is This for YOU?

transformational life coaching, online life coach, transformation - a guide for change — This workbook is set up for a 30-day process. It will change your life for the better.

My program isn’t or everyone. It’s demanding of your intelligence, your ability to suspend beliefs and learning how to read the signs that are all around you at any given moment that you’ve been dismissing or missing altogether. It’s a kind of science of mind, an application of cognitive science, though there is really no religion or spirituality to it. It’s built in to every one of us by design. Like Larry Dossey offers in One Mind, and I can deliver to you as an experience over time…

Imagine a united consciousness, an awareness of which all of our minds are a part . . . and a potential way out of the division, greed, and destruction that threaten to engulf our world.

Most of the books about our connectedness offer examples of others who’ve managed to perform beyond the imagination and, consequently, have become objects of reference and study. Some offer methods to experiment and explore your own natural abilities, gifts and talents. After a decade or so of coaching and consulting, I put together a guide of my own, called Transformation: A Guide for Change. It’s got many of the exercises I learned and some that I found on my own through experimentation, trial and error, that worked really well. Since you are here, I’ll offer you a free download, without requiring your email or name, so you can test it for yourself and perhaps follow up with me.

A Kind of Revolution That Elevates instead of desimates

Best Practices of 2021 – New Millennial Mindset for Effectivity Comes First

January 18, 2021 by Zen

What will guide us best in 2021 and beyond?

In life we need to be effective. What are best practices in 2021? Doing the same thing over and over and not getting the results we want is certainly not effective, is it? Why do we do it then? Changing our habits is the solution. Change is a scary word to most people, yet look what we’ve been through in the last year and we’re still here, right? When we eventually unmask and reveal our true identity, how will you show up? Will you be trapped in the problems or freed in the future solutions?

One of our greatest and most successful guides in the last century is probably Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Of course we don’t need to have the desire to a highly successful person, just one that can negotiate the path we’re on well and build on it for a successful future, right? What do we need to know and how can we practice that knowledge so that it benefits our lives?

Steven Covey’s 7 Habits – Best Practices in 2021

Let’s begin with taking a look at those 7 Habits and just ponder them as you go down the list. No doubt you’ll have an inner essay going on, comparing and contrasting your current habits with those that are offered. I’d highly recommend getting the audio book if you don’t have it, and if you do have it, revisit it often. The seven habits are as follows:

Be proactive
Begin with the end in mind
Put first things first
Think win/win
Seek to understand first, before making yourself understood
Learn to synergize
Sharpen the saw

Being proactive means you want to take action toward upcoming events in your life, whether it is simply creating a mental map or actually doing something doesn’t matter. It’s making the step toward anticipation and away from anxiety. Having an insatiable curiosity and asking the right questions lead to greater results than just meeting things as they come, which is what most of us do. We’re reactionary instead of proactive.

Beginning with the end in mind gives us a mental picture of where we desire to be or to achieve. I think it was Napoleon Hill who brought the statement, ‘Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.’ Knowing where you want to be allows the questions of how to get there to emerge; the more we put our attention on the goal, and keep it there, the more easily the steps emerge.

Putting first things first is about priorities. Most of us have priorities that don’t match our vision when it comes to serving the mission of our life. What do feel is most important? Is it really? What else might be more important? How are you structuring those priorities with your daily activity? Do they match? Where do you need to adjust?

Thinking win/win means there is mutual gain in any transaction. Every interaction you have with another is a transaction in communication, at least. There is a mutual understanding of each other, hopefully. In approaching the activity of building resources, both human and material, how can you offer something in return or even make a random act of kindness toward another in your supply chain?

Seeking to understand first and then be understood is probably one of the greatest challenges we’ll have. Why? Because it involves communication; effective communication. If you ask any leader of a company or organization what their greatest challenge is, 9 our of 10 will probably say – communication. Conflicts and misunderstandings come from not understanding the dictionary each speaks from, the trigger words inherent in it as well as the words that create safe space and understanding. One of the best means of effective communication is using active listening.

I’ve pulled some basics from VeryWellMind to use here:

Features of Active Listening – Best Practice of 2021
Active listening involves more than just hearing someone speak. When you practice active listening, you are fully concentrating on what is being said. You listen with all of your senses and give your full attention to the person speaking.
Below are some features of active listening:
Neutral and nonjudgmental
Patient (periods of silence are not “filled”)
Verbal and nonverbal feedback to show signs of listening (e.g., smiling, eye contact, leaning in, mirroring)
Asking questions
Reflecting back what is said
Asking for clarification
Summarizing
In this way, active listening is the opposite of passive hearing. It’s truly a best practice for 2021 to establish the best communication.
Active listening serves the purpose of earning the trust of others and helping you to understand their situations. Active listening comprises both a desire to comprehend as well as to offer support and empathy to the speaker.
It differs from critical listening, in that you are not evaluating the message of the other person with the goal of offering your own opinion. Rather, the goal is simply for the other person to be heard, and perhaps to solve their own problems.
Active listening means not engaging in unhelpful listening habits such as the following:
Being stuck in your own head
Not showing respect for the speaker
Only hearing superficial meaning (not hearing underlying meaning)
Interrupting
Not making eye contact
Rushing the speaker
Becoming distracted
“Topping” the story (saying “that reminds me of the time…”)
Forgetting what was said in the past
Asking about unimportant details
Focusing too much on details and missing the big picture
Ignoring what you don’t understand
Daydreaming
Only pretending to pay attention

If you can practice better communication, your life will change dramatically for the better. Don’t try to be perfect, just be better with each attempt. It’s a practice, just like any discipline. The more you practice, the better you get. Your life may depend on it someday.

Learning to synergize is a challenge for most of us. We have so many deadlines and details, as well as commitments, floating around in our heads it’s a wonder we get anything done sometimes. It isn’t that difficult to learn how to synergize. Step back and take a look at everything on your plate, all of it. See the big picture, begin with the end in mind, and look for the natural patterns of how things fit together. There is a natural order that makes the best use of your energy and time, like a time management expert.

Sharpening the saw means making you the best you you can be – YOU are the ONE. It’s not selfish or self-centered, it’s honoring your BEing. It entails having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Applying yourself in each area enhances them all synergistically.

Another option as a best practice in 2021… Back at the beginning of the sideways movement of society in 2020, it occurred to me that perhaps a reflection on how to look around fearlessly and engage a better attitude toward each other might actually help us all. It’s a short video that you may find some value in as well. If you’d like to schedule a call to see how I can serve you, click here.

Apocalyptic Thinking for the Reset and Re-alignment in a New Time

January 5, 2021 by Zen

Facing Reality

I think most folks are confused about apocalyptic thinking. It means ‘unveiling’ so we needn’t fear it. What is the ‘new normal’ going to be? This year for me is about expressing my truth, becoming more eloquent and inviting others to explore the possibilities in the opportunities we face in 2021 and beyond. We’re recovering from a devastating year in our global history. I have a tremendous faith in our ability to rise above any challenges and love one another; as naïve as that may sound.

I’m sure as the truth rolls out about the real statistics on the pandemic that we’ll find the numbers aren’t that significantly different than previous flu seasons. We have had a test of a global management system we’d heard about for decades as a possible ‘new world order’ emerges under the guise of a ‘reset.’ Too many feel helpless in its wake, afraid of the future and with few tools to make any impact. What’s really going on inside you?

I’ve been a highly sensitive individual since childhood. Most people don’t have a clue as to what that really means. Consider the deep questions adoption brings to a young child when he finds out. Consider what those questions evolve into over time and with a deepening experience, an insatiable curiosity about truth. Also consider what kinds of experiences the curiosity may draw. Consider a highly-developed sensory system that many would call empathic.

highly sensitive person - traits - apocalyptic thinking

For me, on the spiritual side of apocalyptic thinking, it became a way to understand what Jesus’ teachings were truly, what the trinity actually is and how living by the principles embedded in our souls might look like in the real world; perhaps even a way to express why it might be like that. Jesus taught that there is no separation from Father, that we are all connected, right?

And, I believe, the Nag Hamadi (Dead Sea Scrolls) offered that Jesus told Thomas an even deeper truth that got eliminated at the Council of Nicaea. However, we did get that ‘I and the Father are one and all these things I do ye can do and more.’ Do we do them? No.

We fight in fear of losing our safety. In spite of the convictions of faith, love and trust and the fearlessness it brings, those who demonstrate fearlessness in the current times are cast out. The obfuscation of truth and manipulation of the masses is testing that deep dive to the ultimate.

Reset or New Paradigm?

What has been revealed over the centuries is the first bridging of church and state that took place at Nicaea, a means for which to rule the masses with an iron fist. Most believers are not scholars and are bereft of understanding how the Bible was created, opting for the ‘Word of God’ which is ridiculous in any real sense of understanding. Jesus spoke of The Word being in our hearts, not a book.

There is a lot of talk about the variances in beliefs and actions of ‘trinitized’ folks; those that actually live by the dictates of an awareness of their spirit and soul’s connection to cosmic consciousness. This might appear as apocalyptic thinking. The latter is rarely, if ever, addressed in assemblies of believers, period. It’s the key to the kingdom, imho, having had an NDE and experience of what it is like to leave this plane of existence and return with some serious questions.

I’ve spent my life developing a deeper and deeper relationship with God, only to find the ineffable experience of how attention, intention and actions are reflected truths in our direct experience of life on a daily basis. It isn’t just a ‘belief system’ it is an ‘experience system’ that permeates every aspect of our being and lives. It’s how we feel and think in every moment, which is far more disciplined than most can muster.

I had a moment at a place called Woods Canyon Lake in northern Arizona a few decades ago. It certainly isn’t the only ‘moment’ I’ve had, yet it speaks to the nature of your query, “What is truth?” I was with a small group of spiritual seekers on a retreat. We had just finished an exercise of acting as if Jesus was standing in front of us and interacting with him. Not one out of ten, except me, could even do it. I was really baffled and a bit confused.

I held back for a while, then blurted out a greeting that prompted the facilitator (30 years my senior) to move us into a guided meditation, asking us to close our eyes and take a few deep breaths in a sense of unconditional love. On my second breath a light appeared above me. My eyes were closed, still, but as I looked up the light I saw was Jesus. His face was somewhat obscured by the light but His Presence was undeniable.

There was a ray of light from his forehead and from his heart that merged about 18 inches above me and bathed me with an effervescent and iridescent sensation like you cannot imagine. Moments later I was crying like a baby.

He’d asked to speak through me and I felt completely unworthy; so far from what I knew to be my Divine calling. After a few more moments I decided I was not going to pass this opportunity up and defied all the nonsense my mind wanted to offer in disbelief. I let go of all the fears I had toward worthiness, an apocalyptic thinking moment for sure.

I took one more deep breath, still eyes closed, and opened my mouth as if to speak yet held no words in my head. I was mystified when I heard, “Know that I Am with you always,” come out of my mouth. I thought that was pretty standard and I could have made it up and spoke the words.

The next sentence, ‘This one’s fear is great,’ caught me off guard and my mind kicked in with questions, sufficient enough to disconnect my rational mind from my body, which continued to speak. I found myself in a conversation with Jesus at this point, though I was still speaking to the group simultaneous yet I do not recall any of the words after that.

Fearlessness for the Future

What I do recall further humbled me and is definitely an unveiling aligned with the notion of apocalyptic thinking. He told me that my fears were the same as his were, of not fulfilling our Divine mission on Earth. I saw a series of scenes, like video clips, he used to illustrate the point and to remove any doubt. It certainly didn’t place me anywhere close to His stature, but it did give me solace in my own.

Now I have to say I was given my ‘marching orders’ as a teenager during a near-death experience (on steroids) prompted by an answer to a prayer I’d offered a few days before of wanting to know truth and being willing to die for it if necessary. Believe what you want; just consider the possibility of its truth. Do we each have a Divine mission, so to speak?

As different as snowflakes that create a beautiful display when coagulated on the ground in Nature, and even in the city, we each fit together perfectly from that inner truth looking place. Free will allows us to choose differently and our egos do the rest. What if we were close to the same understanding and chose to further that cause instead of angrily divergent and willing to go to war over our differences?

I don’t consider myself a Christian, though I truly see the universality in Jesus’ teachings, along with long line of others. Universal truth has to bring all paths together and converge on the top of the mountain. From there, we have a better view of how they all fit together in harmony; eudaimonia, human flourishing, prosperity and blessedness.

Apocalyptic Thinking Leads Us Forward

Many hold the belief and/or knowing that we’re all ONE and that the ‘universe’ functions in Oneness – everything is connected. It is my opinion that this in itself is a moment of apocalyptic thinking that will emerge in the coming years. Science is proving that subtle changes in atmospheric conditions changes everything. We already know that holistic remedies and vaccines are minute amounts of the substance we want to guard ourselves against.

The thing is that in this place of considering subtle effects on ourselves and our environment, we blow past the notion that our own feelings and thoughts have a huge influence on the kind of reality we experience and/or co-create. The ‘unveiling’ of our personal power is disrupting the old standards, the organized religions and even the political climate.

Trying to come up with a reasonable offering that encapsulates nearly 50 years of deep diving into worlds most don’t even know exist, I came up with the following to illustrate what I know about attention, intention and action at its best…

Insatiable Curiosity in the Quest for Self-Awareness

October 23, 2020 by Zen

Curiouser and Curioser….

Curiosity is certainly compatible with life-affirming discoveries in the quest to understand what makes you tick, how you operate and your real core values. Oftentimes we go through life without questioning those things until we get stuck in a rut and need help getting out of it. It’s a natural process, or at least one that most folks go through at some point in their lives. Questioning authority or the nature of something is a self-empowering act.

Self-awareness is an ongoing process that lasts lifetimes, if you ascribe to the notion of reincarnation. There seems to be enough evidence to support it. Curiosity about life, your immediate surroundings and the world in general, is lacking in nearly every aspect of society today. My wife and I are both teachers, insatiably curious about each other, the world, how we operate and how we succeed and thrive in the world.

We’ve noticed that we’re rare in the population base. It isn’t an ego thing, just an observation. Few parents are curious, let alone insatiably so, which results in children having less curiosity about life. We’re concern about the apparent downward spiral in the desire to learn. The distractions, especially for children today, come in cell phones and computer games. No exploration of the neighborhood, let alone Nature, is happening. How can we grow to be better neighbors if we don’t even know the neighborhood?

In the current times curiosity is being punished, or so it seems. What doesn’t feel or seem right is being questioned, but not openly and with tenacity to get answers. Experts in very integral fields are asking questions and sharing their findings, though it’s all being censored as another agenda seems to be in place. The mere thought of, “Oh, my god, even the government doesn’t know what is going on,” strikes a certain funny bone to the curious and observant.

We cannot think our way through a system built on vibrations. We have to feel our way through it. ~ZB

How We Use Our Brains

Most of us live in our heads. Our curiosity doesn’t go much further. We imagine all kinds of things and then react to stimuli that supports our fears or self-deprecation in life. How often do you think of what you don’t want rather than what you do. We’re familiar with the adage of how fast bad news travels or that we hear negative remarks before positive. The One-Minute Manager routine sought to change that in the workplace, and had a lot of success in doing so.

Still, there’s that head thing. We are completely out of touch with our body. It’s often been said Westerners live from the shoulders up, out of touch with their body or what is happening with it. The only time we truly pay attention to the body is when it is in pain and is screaming for attention. We’re bereft of perceiving the subtle side, the nuances of the sensations we sometime feel and immediately dismiss with some kind of denial.

There’s a view long held by aborigines and is quite likely our way back into a world that makes sense. They say that we have three brains; the gut, the heart and the head. They consider the gut to be the first brain, where everything is connected and reveals ‘what is’ through the impressions of vibrations around us. It’s then sifted through the heart, where compassion and unconditional love are held naturally. Finally, the qualified sensation arrives in the brain for analysis and synthesis into a prudent action or thought that is consistent with the reality.

Westerners (and others) process from the head down, often interpreting reality in dissociative terms, compartmentalizing and separating oneself from the experience. Does that seem holistic or inclusive of the entire sensory devices we have at our disposal? The body is a transceiver. We’ve known that for decades through science, some other practices for millennia. What would happen if we let ourselves just FEEL without bias or prejudice? What we feel are sensations, not emotions. Emotions come after the interpretation, whether from the head down or gut up is optional.

Insatiable Awareness

Probably the challenge for most who exhibit a deeper curiosity is to manage the sensitivity that comes with awareness of the body. Empaths or sensitives have long struggled with the seeming insanity that comes with feeling deeply because it isn’t limited to their own. The sensations can feel really mixed, confusing to those who are just beginning to understand that we do have an auric field and it is perceptible. From experience, it’s enough to cause anthropophobia (fear of people). The unconsciousness of humans is depressing to the sensitive, aware of so much and unable to talk openly because of the fear of criticism most share.

It’s possible that many have had such experiences, a sensitivity beyond what they perceive as normal. Our society certain downplays being sensitive to the point of calling it a disorder or psychosis. We’re in the 21st century, not the middle ages. We have technology that put us on the Moon and Mars, but we cannot understand how our bodies and minds work yet? How do we learn the ropes of the sensory array that is part of our natural being? Folks like me have a little experience with the insanity, figured out ways to incorporate and integrate sensory perceptions, and making sense common that imbues our lives with joy and happiness. We don’t deny senses, we learn how to use them better.

Feynman does have a point – The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.