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!
