We Think, to Create the World We Want. As a result, the pair embraced the need to shift their view of the world away from looming negatives to focus on creating positive connections and meaningful relationships that recognize life’s interdependence and fuel con- structive change.


After more research, the duo built a simple website named Convenient Resilience.com and created a blog before commencing a coast-to-coast, 100-day, solutions-oriented journey last summer. They posted nearly 30 “webi- sodes” of heartfelt interactions with in- dividuals and organizations with stories to tell, like the group at 2100 Lakeside Emergency Men’s Shelter, in Cleve- land, Ohio, that is using small-scale, practical and cost-effective solutions to lessen their impact on the environment. “The personal stories we heard affirm what we learned from Frances—that it’s possible to locally solve global prob- lems together,” advise the sojourners, who travel in a grease-powered car. “Learn to think beyond nega- tive thought traps that engender fear,” advises Lappé. “Thinking, ‘There isn’t enough to go around, so I have to grab


“We are facing a critical moment in the unfolding of our human story, and feel called to create


pathways to a better future.” ~ Craig Hamilton


what I can now,’ for instance, focuses on separateness and lack, which is precisely what got us into the state we are in.”


Starting Within


A big-picture, more-whole-systems per- spective forms naturally when individuals come together to explore the power of building intentional coherence. The Art of Hosting (and convening conversations that matter), World Café, Vistar Method for Circles and OpenSpace collaborations leverage technology for the practice of mindfulness to foster deeper connections, authentic conversations and outside- the-box ideas, all contributing to a more enlightened collective intelligence. One’s own new world perspective can even emerge as a result of a dark night of the soul, as Patricia Ariadne, Ph.D., author of Drinking the Dragon,


has observed with clients that have undergone a personal metamorphosis as a result of the economic downturn. “Often, the entire process of transfor- mation indicates a spiritual initiation— a renewal or rebirth—that acts as an induction into a level of expanded consciousness and new relationship with Spirit,” remarks Ariadne. “True spiritual progress inevitably leads to a desire to be of greater service to others, to go from ‘Me to We,’ which I believe is our mandate for the 21st century.” Living mindfully can literally change our brains, states Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., in the introduction to A Mind- ful Nation, by Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, which reports on the supporting science. “Mindfulness… can improve our capacity for perspective taking and decision making, and enhance our emotional intelligence and our ability to act with clarity and wisdom, alone and in concert with others.” Kabat-Zinn is the founding director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society, at the University of Massa- chusetts Medical School, in Worcester. “A peaceful revolution is being led by ordinary citizens across our nation,” confirms Ryan. “At the core of it is mindfulness—finding ways to slow the mind, pay attention to the present mo- ment and see how you are connected to others and can work in a spirit of cooperation to get things done.” The inner impulse to recognize the deeper unity of all life and sense the reality of Oneness is bubbling up within individuals, small groups and organiza- tions, and finding expression in writings and teachings, according to Barbara Marx Hubbard, author of Birth 2012


“My experience has convinced me that


fixing the many problems that beset us requires


nothing less than ripping up our rulebook and


starting afresh, based


on something other than every man for himself.” ~ Lynne McTaggart


34 Collier/Lee Counties swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


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