synchronicity

One World in a New World – Fyodor Ovchinnikov – Co-Founder, Institute for Evolutionary Leadership

October 15, 2021 by Zen

Our First Episode of One World in a New World

Your host 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 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 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!”

Co-Creating a New World Order Out of Chaos and Confusion

September 3, 2021 by Zen

Circumvention to Circumspection

You might think the title indicates a laborious attempt at describing some kind of utopian ideal with a new age twist. You’ll be disappointed, or perhaps pleasantly surprised. What I intend to share are some notions of very practical and pragmatic practices that will certainly set you up for a better experience now and in the future. You are co-creating a new world order of experience.

In writing Stubbing My T.O.E. on Purpose, I wanted a catchy title that referenced brilliance and humor in a double entendre. However, it’s the subtitle that really has the meat: A Seminal View of Consciousness, Cosmology and the Congruence of Science and Spirituality. Sure, most of us don’t go so deep into exploring our inner environment, let alone look for references in the outer world. We just don’t think that deep most of the time.

I’m a thinker; the deep the better at times. My early childhood set me up. Being orphaned and adopted, still an infant, turned into a quest for connection shortly after my adopted sister arrived a few month after my fourth birthday. I had a sense for exploring inside even then, developing a relationship with a ‘voice’ that’s been with me since. Ally, guide, mentor, teacher or unseen helper are many names I’ve heard the voice called; confidant and trainer work for me.

In my humble opinion and with more than just conjecture, I believe we all have such a voice within. It has nothing to do with religion. It has to do with character and conscience in our personal development. In a world where it’s customary to compete and win at all costs, that voice has been diminish by the fear of failure or loss or rejection. Success has been about acquisition and dominance of the market, with very little concern for the real human side of things.

Impostor to Real Deal

We’ve all been in a place where we’ve had to ‘fake it to make it’ until our confidence and skills developed in negotiating life, work and relationships. Many entrepreneurs feel inadequate, insecure and even a little insane in the face of their high expectations for performance and success. It’s great to set the bar high, though thrashing oneself repeatedly for not meeting a goal on time is a bit unnecessary. You don’t realize you’re being an impostor, a lesser self; denying your own inherent ability and innovation.

Ability and innovation? True, if you didn’t have the ability you’d have chosen something else. Meeting the challenges takes innovation; discovering that the way you think about the patterns and processes that are mandatory for achievements can evolve. There is a growing congruence of science and spirituality, method and mortality. The way we achieve real success requires a different kind of attention, intention and interaction than in the past.

Real success has taken on a much different meaning in the last few decades, as Cultural Creatives have grown up and become grandparents. The drive for dollars has been replaced by conscious capitalism and social entrepreneurialism where community and planetary needs are more important profit. Now that we’re in a time of what seems to be a complete restructuring of how we do business, agility with a conscience and being comfortable with ambiguity is critical. Covid caused an explosion in remote working, which had the side-effect of less pollution, just one of the benefits of the restructuring.

Another side-effect with the obsession on self-hygiene and forced sequestration was the opportunity to look in the mirror, the inner one, and question everything about self. How do we feel about the narrative? What do we truly believe in? What are we willing to die for, in the case of facing both vaccine and virus? How are we going to move forward and restore our lives, relationships and work? What changes are we going to have to make personally and professionally? Is there something else in process? Are we co-creating a new world order of natural design, one we’ve been missing, appearing through our experience?

What IS in Process?

Regardless of the cosmological consideration, religious prophecies, theories about population control or world domination; we still have to work together as human beings living on one planet. Perhaps it’s time we looked at a bigger picture, the larger puzzle and stop bickering about the corner pieces. Things will move forward. It’s the how that will make the difference and THAT happens beginning at an individual level, then a local level and beyond.

What appears to be in process is a great ‘weset’ in the ‘upwising’ of our notions about what we have in common and what we can do together as a result. A wise friend once told me, “There’s no ego without wego.” I use that statement for my partnering sessions when talking about teamwork. It’s not the elimination of ego, it’s the redirection of it from self to the needs of the job, project or program. We’ve tried to separate things for far too long, categorizing and specializing taking us further apart from acting as ONE.

That notion of acting as ONE has folks really perplexed, even though the basic understanding of the concept is present. The fear of loss of individuality and giving up freedoms is central to the reticence of exploring how it might happen. The trending of talk about complex systems is accompanied by the sense making trends in leadership and organizational development which further obfuscates simple solutions at the personal level.

The truth is we cannot change others or the world until we focus our attention, intention and interaction on changing self and, contrary to the thinking crowd, learn how to sense our way through our circumstances, situations and events in our lives. There’s a call and response happening across socio-economic conditions. How do we answer the question: Why are we here? Perhaps the notion of a perfected form, fit and function in the world needs consideration. That is an experience-able process in co-creating a new world order.

Perfected Form, Fit and Function

That phrase probably evokes the question of personal mission or purpose in life. Do we even ask that question now? What if we did? Perhaps we’re looking at all wrong or making it way too complex. In reality, even with the major changes in how we do business now there is no real change in the division of labor. It’s attitude. We all know the phrase, ‘your attitude determines your altitude,’ in career development and in life.

Finding your perfected form, fit and function doesn’t mean you have to stop what your doing and completely change your life. That’s where I come in as a transformational life coach. Of course, re-creating your life is possible if you feel disconnected or unfulfilled in the career or work you are doing currently. However, just changing your attitude about what you are doing and why can make all the difference in the world, no matter your vocation. What you do does make a difference to others, even if you cannot see it immediately or think you’re doing something menial.

The knowledge garnered from my early spiritual awakening let me know we are cosmic consciousness condensed into form. Even with that knowledge, the practical application of it evaded me for decades as I explored the nature of my own being and how I related to the world. That relationship included personal and professional realms, family, community and work. Being secure in myself and not because of a job or relationship, I had a little wiggle room for exploration and moving on when necessary.

A wise man and Taoist rector, Khigh Dhiegh, once told me there are two ways to interpret circumstances – desirable and undesirable. That comes from our senses, not our thinking, the nature of the circumstance affects how we feel. In the notion of quantum physics and the knowledge that everything is vibration alludes to the fact that we cannot think our way through a system built on vibrations, we have to sense our way through it. Does this not assist in co-creating a new world order?

Faith, Love and Trust – Co-Creating A New World Order

You probably think I’m going to talk about God with that subtitle. I’m not. The faith, love and trust in religious frameworks gives your power away. I believe, and that true religion supports, is the faith, love and trust in yourself. Your religion, or even if you have one, doesn’t matter. If God dwells within, then it is still the faith, love and trust in yourself that builds upon that notion.

How I see that faith, love and trust transforming into a practical and pragmatic framework (maybe even science) is in the focus of our attention, intention and interaction. According to modern quantum theory, our ability to be aware and observe affects our reality and quite probably produces it. In my opinion, the nature of quantum entanglement for humans is the acquiescing to the natural order in creation as an experience.

When we can cognate that and learn how to be present in the moment with it, the faith, love and trust converts into our direct experience. After all, that is truly the only thing we can trust is our direct experience. Theories don’t matter if they are not experience-able. We each have an individually unique experience, yet it is so close to others at times that improvisational moments produce break-through events in personal, professional and even technological realms. It’s a real new world order of being.

We are collectively in one of those moments, a bit prolonged with the nature of our ‘great weset‘ (better than ‘reset’) and an upwising of humanity toward a greater reality that bridges science and spirituality in a wonderful kaleidoscope of experiences with the same intent – to learn how to work together better and thrive, not just survive. My work helps some of those folks (hey, I’m only one guy) accelerate their understanding and capacity for self-expression and manifestation of their dreams and goals.

So co-creating a New World Order that I propose is one that is a naturally emergent quality of our evolutionary process toward harmony with self, others and Mother Earth.

What are Your Thoughts?

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.

Flu Season? Need an Immune System Boost? Try Colloidal Silver

March 17, 2020 by Zen

Colloidal Silver – Effective and Inexpensive Prophylactic

Colloidal Silver was approved by the FDA in the 1920s, nearly 100 years ago. Now they’ve rescinded that. Why? Answer: It’s cheap, effective and no need for prescriptions so nobody wins financially – except you. It is so easy to make that virtually anyone can do it. The relative safety of the right PPM is easy to determine as well. And… there is absolutely NO physical harm that can come from it. It is a flu season prophylactic. It’s good in the body and for topical applications.

According to statistics, there are approximately 34,000 deaths from flu in America every month through 1999. Influenza killed about 80,000 people in the 2017-2018 season, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Western medicine would have you vaccinated and, if contracted, a regime of various kinds of antibiotics depending on the physician or medical conditions.

What I have learned is that colloidal silver is an effective treatment for viruses and many other things as well. I’ll share a personal account as reference as to not rely on trusting statistics. There was a nasty flu that went through America in 1999. This isn’t a medical claim or anything of the sort from me, just what I experienced as a result of using it when faced with a nasty bug I’d seen keep folks sick for weeks. No other medications or prophylactics were involved. Use at your own risk.

How I found out about this flu season prophylactic was through experience. I was teaching high school at the time and teachers were out for weeks with it. I started to get symptoms on a Wednesday. Stayed home Thursday (fever of 102) and Friday, drinking a half dozen or so 6 oz. glasses of colloidal silver I made, not the store bought kind. I wanted to test its effectiveness knowing a friend’s research.

The fever broke Saturday and I continued drinking the colloidal silver through Sunday. Monday I returned to school well and with no side-effects from the flu. I was baffled and yet couldn’t deny the results. I suggested it to others, but people are lazy and dismiss things too easily if they don’t have ‘proof’ or the understanding of the science behind it. I suggest learning how to make it and drink a couple of glasses a day as a preventative measure.

I know of others who’ve had similar results, far too many for it to be a fluke. In light of the Corona Virus, colloidal silver MAY BE and effective prophylactic. It has proven usefulness, though our Fiduciary Drug Administration has rescinded its initial approval from a century ago for over-the-counter manufactured colloidal silver.

There are numerous websites and information with conflicting information about colloidal silver. Intend and motivations are always questionable, though when full disclosure of its benefits and potential pitfalls are revealed, colloidal silver is benign at worst and potentially life-saving with the current conditions we face. Why would it not be on the list of potential prophylactics? It’s is inexpensive to make, materials are readily available and with short-term applications it is completely safe for use according the the most reliable information available.

Special thanks to Tim Wiggins who spent several years compiling information on colloidal silver, wrote a book on my computer (he didn’t have one at the time) and published Sit. He shares vital information about the making of it as well, plus what to look for to make sure you’ve got a good batch, not something that could be potentially harmful. It is much more than just a flu season prophylactic.

From Amazon: Colloidal silver’s benefits were known by the pharmaceutical giants back in the 1920s, but naturally occurring minerals in water aren’t patentable…they couldn’t profit from it! Instead they developed 112 silver containing drugs. Then they created the FDA for protection. Now that a simpler manufacturing method has spawned university studies that have proven colloidal silver’s viability, these same pharmaceutical companies want the competition removed from the shelves. The FDA can’t justify that- yet. But what they did do amounts to the death knell for colloidal silver marketing. The FDA has made its Final Ruling, clearly at the behest of the drug thugs. Consumers can now only get colloidal silver in bottles labeled as: “mineral supplement”. They’re trying to force colloidal silver into oblivion. We won’t let them.

Here’s how to make it:

Purchase a couple of feet of 12 gauge jewelry-grade silver rod, it’s 99.925% pure silver. Not every jewelry store will have it. You’ll need to find a jewelry supply store. Just look them up online for one close to you or to order online. Here’s a link to purchase pre-cut .999% pure 12 gauge silver rod or you can purchase in bulk here.

Cut into 6″ lengths. Acquire an HP or other laptop charger with a 24 volt rating (photo below). I found a charger in a thrift store for $2.99. Tim tested many voltage rates to find the best producing results. It was found to be 24 volts, so make sure that the rating is correct. Deviations tend to produce lesser quality colloidal silver.

Purchase electrical connector (photo). The connector should be available from electronics or electrical supply store. Take one of the lengths to make sure of fit.

Remove computer plug-in on charger and strip wires about 1/2 inch. Attach to fitting as shown, using the set screws to secure the wires. Clip 2 pieces of silver rod in the connector (should just ‘snap’ in) and you are ready to rock. Just make sure the connector stays dry.

Get a glass gallon jar (best) and fill it with distilled water and put a pinch of Vitamin C crystals in water, or break of a very small piece from pure Vitamin C tablet. It only takes a very small amount to assist the electrolytic process. Plug in charger and put silver rods in water making sure the connector stays dry. Let ‘brew’ until the water becomes the color of medium tea, a slight amber color is perfect at 50 – 100 ppm. Drink as needed. 2 glasses a day in flu season is good.

Again – the proper solution will have the color of amber tea – clear, or nearly so. The photo below is an example of how it should look.

If gray or overly cloudy, toss it and start over. It probably wouldn’t hurt you, but it doesn’t have the right ratio of silver. There are conflicting PPM references online, just so you are aware. Just make sure it looks similar to the photo above and you should be fine. There really is nothing it will do to harm you short term.

If you really want to be helpful to your fellow humans, share this post. Be preventative not pejorative.

Colloidal Silver is a well-known flu season prophylactic.

Synchronicity – The Universe Conspiring for the Best in Us

February 28, 2016 by Zen

Coincidence or Conspiracy?

Had an interesting synchronicity this morning, not that they aren’t frequent, and this one was really great. I’ve been challenged in my vulnerability lately. I know that to be present, available to experience the cool stuff the universe has to offer, I’ve got to be willing to recognize whatever I’m withholding and let it go.

Along with that, I have to be willing to convey my feelings and thoughts without bias or prejudice. Things change then, usually for the better. Synchronicity, or the awareness of the events, seems to empower a new living awareness of just how intention and response can work.

It just so happens that listening to a message bearer later, the universe chimes in again, conspiring, with a process that both echoed and edified what I’ve learned. This particular process began with Love, the unconditional type, aware of the moment and accepting it as it is – embracing it.

Then, blessing it for providing the opportunity to learn something followed by doing the right thing (in love and service) and lastly, offering a prayer of gratitude and continued growth.

What often happens is we find that our projections return to offer us reflection through others, not that they ‘make’ us feel anything or ‘do’ anything to us specifically, even though what happens is rather painful.

The ‘enemy,’ if there is one, is often within. We fail to recognize the universe smiling back at us and perceive it as a snarl instead. There is no enemy, only energy.

Increasing Self-Awareness

One of the things that seems to be most prevalent in the benefits my clients receive from our coaching sessions is an increased self-awareness. What does that really mean, though? The suggestion I offer is to simply become more aware of one’s surroundings, even the subtle sounds and seeming distractions.

Synchronicity is defined as, “the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.” It is the engagement of these experiences that often lead to breakthroughs. The focus of attention is broadened simply by applying the effort to observe.