Gathering for sharing and brainstorming

The phenomenon of social activism is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. It is just the sort of thing that appeals to the newly emerging subculture of people who are looking for what cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead, calls “whole process” creativity and personal involvement.

Educator and activist, Parker J. Palmer says, “movements begin when people refuse to live divided lives.” The Cultural Creatives that I’ve been talking about for the last few months, who are looking for the reality of the time we are living in, are willing to look at themselves, who they are, and what values they hold dear.

Like many Cultural Creatives, I grew up seeped in the culture of the freedom and peace movements, where finding one’s self often meant idealistically looking for Shangri-la. As I matured, as did these grassroots movements, as well as the society around us, I believe that the idealism matured as well, turning from a dream into the hope of reality.

This reality then becomes the basis and framework for our worldview. This type of person chooses whom to relate to, what their priorities are, what they want to accomplish, and even whom they will vote for, as it is reflected by this worldview. Turning this into action that will benefit society gives truth and authenticity to their idealism, and sets new norms within the culture for what they view as success.

The container of this action, for me, is not what is important. As with the religious path, it matters not whether one is a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Christian. I believe they can all be paths to the One. The principles behind our action will be what give substance to our results.

Similarly, whether we use biofuel, solar power or hydrogen in the next generation car is not something I would choose to worry about. Simply redistributing money, material resources or power will not accomplish poverty eradication, natural resource conservation, or globalization.

Wealth, like technology, is a tool that is created and used by people. And our natural resources do not belong to us anyway. How tools are used depends on the quality of the character and values of those who own the tools. Therefore, the principles that we see reflected in the nature around us, and how well we make them our own, will be the primary determinant if the decisions we make are wise or not.

In order to usher in a culture of wisdom, we must be aware of our choices. There are cultures of greed, of hate, and of selfishness—all arising from the choices we have made within the realm of our hearts. I believe that the phenomenon of the Cultural Creative must focus first on building a foundation for the transformation of heart.

We can begin by building bridges of understanding by making our common roots and origins, our common values, and purpose a shared experience. This can happen as we share our stories, making relationships with no hidden agendas or expectations.

Gathering together people of like mind, such as with conferences of educators, or scientists, or retired politicians, can be a beginning point. After their stories have been told, the time to brainstorm will begin, as each group focuses on problems within their discipline, taking into account the universal purpose of our lives—that of living for the sake of others.

Interestingly enough, I saw this very dynamic at work at the Doctoral Writing and Research class I wrote about in April. A group of doctoral candidates got together and shared their experiences. On that foundation the group brainstormed with each individual to assist in evolving and fine-tuning each person’s idea to create a dissertation that would take into account the individual’s passion and gifts, and how they could be expressed in a way that could be shared with and for the benefit of the rest of the world.

In my own case, I am choosing to tell each person’s story, focusing on the common threads shared by all, creating a tapestry of ideas and actions that I hope will become a model for others to pattern their own stories after.

A time for new habits

Now that we are finally taking heed of such disasters as growing extinction rates and the reality of global warming we are beginning to notice what we have done wrong, as well as what we are doing right. By studying our legacy, one given to us by Mother Earth herself, we may find our roots, ones that will lead to the uncovering of a heart connection, beyond facts and figures, but using the facts and figures. This may be just the “reason” we need to create new habits and ways of thinking that are inclusive of the whole of creation—and just might make us happy to boot!

Happiness, however cannot be sustained without a cultural change towards goodness and an awareness of these principles of creation. Although we don’t favor Descartes’ mechanical view of life anymore, it is still in our habits and in our learning and business environments. We have the habit that bigger is better and that more is not enough. Our education system is build on left brain memorization and testing, and our businesses are profitable if they are increasing, despite the fact that the reality of that increase is based on using up our natural resources and polluting what is left.

Vaclav Havel writes that “democracy depends on citizens feeling responsible for something more than their own little corner of safety . . . It must have citizens who insist on participating in their society” who are inspired and guided by a nation’s ideals. This participatory role is a must if our habits are to be broken. Only then can we experience ourselves in relationship again where mutual progress is based on mutual relationships.

Only then will we develop a felt connection to place that will indeed tell us who we are and dispel this myth of our rootless disconnect or dominion over the rest of the cosmos. Only then will we become humble enough to acknowledge the mystery behind our evolutionary spiral and become able to truly understand our co-creative role in it.

Lewis Mumford in The Transformations of Man, wrote of these changes in our worldview. “In this vision humanity is nature rendered self-conscious, one part of the cosmos capable of reflecting on itself, which has evolved so it stands on the threshold of conscious participation in the unfolding of the whole.”

However, developing, or rather, evolving the tools necessary to access and record this change takes time. Although the change and the need to change our worldview has been noted and discussed since the 50s, reframing a culture so that it will affect our daily lives takes a language change as well as an interweaving of disciplines and practices capable of providing a more holistic viewpoint.

Changing minds and hearts and creating new models, memes, rituals and practices takes time. Those of my generation grew up along side of a variety of grassroots movements, each working in its own little sphere of influence. We all grew up listening and taking to heart these messages of the civil rights, freedom, women and gay rights, peace, environmental and spiritual/consciousness movements.

All these models, whose values we take for granted today, were helping to create the external environment that would hold the new paradigm of what Paul Ray calls the Cultural Creatives. Ray suggests that it wasn’t until the second generation of “New Agers” appeared that our efforts turned from the needs of the individual to “efforts to come up with cultural solutions.”

It seems to me that this is the logical progression. For us to learn a new way of life we must have models that embody this new standard, beginning with our own individual body/spirit unity. Paul Ray emphasizes this when he writes, “There is one more factor that is significant now. It is the development of a new kind of movement where the participants take convergence for granted because they carry that convergence within themselves.”

This oneness of self can be reflected in our lives because of the increased awareness of the oneness of and interconnectivity of life. I believe it is true, that we will only be able to see the next step—that interconnectivity beginning to appear on a cultural level—in the second generation. The process has been modeled by parents, teachers and mentors and can now be assimilated with our children. The natural place for this to happen would be in our own families. This is the evolutionary path that I envision a wisdom culture taking.

As this original nature of ours is uncovered, the vision or original purpose of our lives will take on a clarity for us and we will begin to express it using our own unique gifts. This inspiration becomes our guiding ethic, our wisdom culture, and the path of our heart. It is Thomas Berry’s vision of the sacred depth of the individual as he or she expresses the universe’s awareness of its own being. Modeling that ethic and value to our children will certainly make the future more hopeful, and is, I believe, the next step in the progression of acknowledging the divine in our lives.

The vision quest

I was supposed to go on a vision quest this past week, but life got in the way. It was supposed to be a conditional offering for my family—to support them, embrace them, love them. My daughter is getting married, so I wanted to create a spiritual foundation for her and my new son to stand on as they start their life together. She’s also graduating from college and trying to find a “real” world job, so life is pretty stressful for her right now.

I wanted to surround Mom with love too as she moves to a new state, and starts a new home without Dad, who passed away. My brothers and sisters could use a little support from their big sister as well. One brother broke up with his girlfriend; another just got married, while a third lost his job and his apartment at the same time. My sister is trying to have a baby with no success; one nephew is also getting married, and another is working on finding himself and understanding his unique gifts.

Hmm, if this is just my family, maybe I need to do some heavy duty praying for the rest of the world as well. Just look at the headlines: war in Iraq, cyclone in Myanmar, China and Tibet, the Middle East, volcano in Chile, melting icebergs—the list goes on. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed these days. That’s one reason I decided to stay home—my family was overwhelmed and needed me to stick around.

Sometimes it’s easier to leave and not deal with the immediate situation, which often takes more time and patience. I was going to go to the small piece of land that Mom kept in the Catskill Mountains and lay the stone foundation for a small cabin some of us were thinking of building. I wouldn’t have to speak to anyone, deal with anyone’s problems, or cook dinner. I could meditate and work, placing each rock with care and concern for each one of my family members.

That was what I had envisioned. Now I’d have to find something else to do instead that I felt would have the same intention. The answer came quickly. I had brought some stones from our land in the Catskills and placed them haphazardly in the corner of our yard, added a few flowers and created a quick rock garden. It was in desperate need of a redesign and some care and concern. One stone for each family member, placed lovingly, and surrounded with flowers, took two days of lugging, digging, planting and watering.

But that wasn’t enough. Something else was needed—something more fundamental and difficult to accomplish. Two or three years ago we had an external pipe burst in our front yard. To replace it the water company had to dig up the brick walk on the side of the house. The bricks have remained neatly stacked against the wall since then, while the ground has grown over with grass. I needed to replace those bricks, and recreate the walk.

By the third night I couldn’t sleep, my body ached so much. Our earth is not rich, dark and loamy. It is red clay, almost as hard as the bricks themselves. I couldn’t even get the pitchfork to sink more than an inch into the ground with me jumping up and down on it. Some of the bricks were broken and of varying sizes and shapes. Some were mortared together, and some had six inches of concrete and gravel still attached to them. It wasn’t just a puzzle to fit the pieces together, it was more like a Frankenstein monster that I was determined to make beautiful.

On the sixth day I had eight more bricks to lay, then four. My neighbor, and sister-of-my-heart, called over the fence, “Are you almost done?” Considering I had started four hours earlier, I distractedly responded in the affirmative. But as was the case for the past few days, most bricks I had already laid had to be re-placed in order to fit the subsequent ones together.

In the midst of my struggles, and determination to finish on this day, I didn’t hear Doris coming into the yard. She was carrying a tray with three glasses and a bottle of sparkling cider. Her husband followed her in with three chairs. I hadn’t noticed that they were following my progress from day to day, or that they even cared. But here they were, ready to celebrate my victory and cheer for my success!

My quest to support, love and embrace my family had come right back to me. As I sat sipping sparkling cider with Doris, Winston went down on his hands and knees to fit in those last few bricks. Isn’t that amazing? That never could have happened in the woods alone. Family and community are so important in building a culture of wisdom and love. And what better foundation is there than being surrounded by those who are willing to build it together with you?

So far this year

Wow, since the beginning of the year so much has happened. In January, the school I was working for finished up its accreditation, of which I was the Chair. It went extremely well, with no stipulations or changes!

In February I got sent to Florida for a Resident Life Seminar that my job paid for, since I was going to write my dissertation on the life of the child, the interconnection of academic and artistic curriculum bound together by the resident life program.

I went back again in March for my brother's wedding. Then some changes: my boss, who had been so supportive of everything I did, resigned. There was some political maneuvering at the top levels and he was made a scapegoat. He wouldn't stand for it, so left. That left me "in charge" but I also had 2 PhD classes to go to the end of March and beginning of April.


One was in NY, the other in CA (saw redwoods for the first time, oh my!) The one in CA was about my dissertation. With all this commotion at work I had decided that I couldn't write it about school since the leadership style had changed from one of being inclusive to divided and competing for power, so I was going to just expand on my master's thesis.

I showed Jim Garrison, the President of Wisdom University, my thesis, and he said that it was a good first draft! Yeay, seems like half the work was already done. Then I went to the class and everything changed. The short story is that most everyone in the class spoke about finding themselves through finding their connection with the Divine (choose your own personal word for Him/Her/All/One) which led to finding their passion and how they could offer it/serve others.

What a wonderful theme binding us all together I thought, and with that I came up with my real dissertation proposal--to tell these people's stories as an example/model for this kind of alternative education that uses left and right brain, spiritual and physical, intellectual and emotional in order for the result to be something of value that can be offered to the world, and as an example of the emerging wisdom culture (as WU puts it, or as I wrote about, the new culture of heart) Tentative title: "Divine Sparks, Lighting the Fires Within: How Dissertation Words Derived from a Wisdom Culture Are Able to Create a New Paradigm and Light the Way into the Future" Pretty nifty huh?!

So, anyway, when I came back, work had decided that they didn't need me anymore, and I got laid off. That happened last week. Hmmm, interesting, after all that work I did for them. I was told I was too "aligned with my boss" (who was more than a month gone by this time) and that I was overqualified for the remaining position.

Now I find myself jobless again, but with loads of work to do. I've done 3 out of a required 12 classes. The next one is the beginning of June and I've got a 15 page post-paper, a 7 page pre-paper and 6 THICK books to read before then. Maybe it's a good idea that I don't have to work. Now about money . . .

Oh, and my daughter is graduating in May, getting married in August, and I'm moving my mom from Florida to Wisconsin the end of June. Besides all that I'm just moseying along, writing my posts, my papers, my column (religionandspirituality.com) and reading away. Wait . . . is that the grass calling to be mowed, and the hedges to be trimmed, the house to be cleaned and the laundry to be done? How did I do all these things before and work at the same time!

Imagining a Wisdom Culture

Sitting here in my study, I imagine what this wisdom culture would look like, and start thinking that there are things I’m doing right now that embody that culture. Every morning our family wakes to a day of development and compassion. Beginning with a practice—a time for learning and growing—whether it be reading from the Bible or a philosophy book, practicing Yoga or just exercising to music together—our family starts the day centering mind on the greater purpose and body on the individual intention. We even have a family pledge we declare that speaks in part of reconnecting to the land and living for a higher purpose.

Eating whole and healthy foods are an important part of starting our day. Some of them even come from our own garden in the backyard. Others come from the local farmer’s market, one of the many in one the fastest growing economies in America. Our daughter went to the neighborhood school that we helped start with a group of parents who were interested in fostering an education embracing a diverse background of cultures and religions, embodying a holistic form of education that includes mind, heart and body unity, not just the rote learning of the tradition school system.

My husband is from Norway. Even this fact, I believe speaks to the real beginnings of a wisdom culture where international and inter-racial unions are the norm and not the exception. He is an expert with working with his hands and can fix anything that can be taken apart and put back together again. His joy is to work in the building where he is building engineer designing and implementing green systems and recycling procedures.

At this point in my life I am working for a pre-professional ballet high school. Combining the academic and artistic fields the school embodies the paradigm of an alternative education system recognizing that intellect without emotion and will is deaf and blind. My current responsibility is to help develop a curriculum for the life of the child to embody a unity of these areas demonstrating the beauty of the human spirit through a unified mind and body reflected in the dance form of ballet.


Our daughter is about to graduate from college with a degree in biomedical engineering. Her first project was to solve the problem of one of the aging dams holding back the mighty Mississippi River. As other engineering students struggled with imagining ways to support and enforce the outdated structure, our daughter came up with an original solution. Gradually relocating businesses and families who lived in harm’s way, she let the structure wear away, for, as she said, “The River will eventually go where the river wants to go.”

These very personal examples, I believe are the necessary foundation for and beginning evidence of the wisdom culture to come. Of course, I believe that on a larger level the whole energy consumption/production model will be revamped as we turn solar, wind and ocean current energy into usable form. In fact, much of the technological expertise and awareness is already in place just waiting for the right time for this to happen. A similar situation can be seen throughout the world in one city or another in the area of transforming cities, transportation and industry. Bill McKibben reports in his book, Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth of the dramatic changes even the poorest of cities have already provoked by thinking outside of the box, another sign of these emerging times. Changes in downtown areas, rapid transit, and creating a community that feels responsible for the public arena around which they live and earn their livelihood are also evidences of an emerging wisdom culture.

As for politics and religions, I can only imagine that the grassroots movements that have been the precursors of the social and political human rights movements that many of the “Cultural Creatives” belonged to and participated in, will continue to be relevant in developing “home churches” or small group encounters and action groups. These groups will be centers for discussing and practicing different forms of spirituality or involved in taking responsibility for various aspects of running an effective and prosperous community. This is when knowing our strengths and our passion is important, for each individual, no matter how insignificant, will be a unique and invaluable piece of the whole puzzle that makes up this emerging worldview.

Healing Words

Awaken, my love;
The time for sleeping has ended.
I am waiting for you at the door;
Just walk through . . .

With these words, I am asked to begin my healing path. I asked, “What do I have to offer?” I am given the answer, “Healing words. Words of comfort and acceptance.” Different cultures, different peoples all have distinctive words. However, healing words flow from a stream of consciousness that accepts all of humanity as brothers and sisters—all beings as family.

I asked, “What is the one Word that will speak volumes?” I was told, “Healing is reconnection.” Then I was told to go out and find a stick. Find a stick that will represent that verbal proclamation. I found a seedpod. I was in California, so it happened to be a very small cone on the end of a branch of a giant redwood tree.


That seedpod was the germ of an idea that can now be made manifest. As the facilitator of these exercises, Rev. Dr. Tg Belcheir, writes, “The more you speak the words with conviction, as if what they describe has already occurred, the likelier it will be that they will manifest.” Healing words will help us create a healed world.

Another stick I was to find represented me. “What would you wave into existence with this magic stick?” I was asked. I would make the energy between all of us, and all beings, visible so that we could see the effect we have on each other. Words between us have been a source of disconnection and harm. Remember, however, that healing is reconnection, as long as the energy that precipitates this reconnection is sparked by the Divine.

I asked, “Show me the degree of my passion.” I was shown a bird of light sweeping through the sky, getting closer and closer, initiating waves of light, wave upon wave, flooding the land. I was told, “What you are seeking is seeking you with the same passion.”

I asked, “How will this serve my highest good? How does this embrace my knowingness and truth? How does this reveal what is unique and original in me?” The journey into ourselves is also the Journey into the Other. Often, on this path we judge and receive ourselves by the reflections and responses we receive from others. As this is based on their own abilities and inabilities to give and receive, many times we get an invalid picture of ourselves.

We won’t see who we really are until we see ourselves reflected in the Heart of the Beloved. This initiates a new story. This journey parallels the new Cosmology that science is unveiling. As we uncover the story of Cosmogenesis we find we have a new way of understanding our own sense of self. Thomas Berry writes in “The Great Work”, “Each being in its subjective depths carries that numinous mystery whence the universe emerges into being. This we might identify as the sacred depth of the individual.”

As each individual discovers his or her own sacred depth they will find a new connection to the Divine creating new words of healing and restoration. Understanding the vastness of this creative act can be felt in the words of Howard Thurman, “The boundaries of self did not hold me.” These words of our own creativity needs must spread like a fire across the land, and are the beginning of the new culture of wisdom.

In this emerging wisdom culture, we are turning to new alternatives. An alternative education will contribute to this healing and oneness. In this room full of dissertation candidates, the common theme running through most of our works is the path of finding our passion and ourselves, and offering it to others. The interesting thing is that this course runs first through the Heart of the Beloved.

This journey toward the Other is what precipitated the journey inward—as well as outward—in the dissertation process. Repeatedly being deluded by our connection with others has kept us from discovering that core of our original being. The journey into the Other, however, is a true/authentic connection/reflection that allows us to discover who we really are and then return a purer reflection back to the world.

This fits perfectly with the notion that inner healing comes with the purpose of serving. The one supports the many becomes the One. The dissertation stories I heard this week are the beginning foundations for a common base of understanding and interaction as a healing energy begins to flow from these words creating a new world culture of heart.

When present and future collide

When we collide
A universe of stars fill our eyes
When we collide
Like heaven has exploded inside
--k.d. lang

The last day of my class on “The Emerging Wisdom Culture” found us participating in a modified Joanna Macy ritual. Creating an inner circle, seated and facing an outer circle, we began. Breathing is always a most important first step. Breathing in deeply and then out with the “ah” of Ya Hadi we created a sacred circle of sound that contained us within a web of safety.

Those seated in the outside circle were representing the present; those seated in the inner circle portrayed humanity one hundred years in the future. I was one of the ones representing the future. “This is the question those in the future are asking you who are in the present. It is one of three. The future cannot speak; only listen to your ancestors’ remarks,” our guide said.

“What was it like back then, in the midst of climate change and war? What were you feeling when you saw people fighting each other, not appreciating their environment, not getting along with other cultures and peoples?” The woman sitting opposite me had bright blue eyes. She was so sincere and intense. “We had hard times, but we also had hope,” she began.

“There was a hope that a higher consciousness was within our reach. Within us was a belief that shone through, here and there throughout the world, always expanding, that a divinity was being expressed and amplified. The more people got together, the more they noticed that this was a time of transition. We weren’t satisfied with the way things were. We were looking for something that would bring us together on a planetary level, that would benefit all peoples, all beings.”

“The outer circle will now rotate to the right.” A brown-eyed Hawaiian was now sitting opposite me. My tongue seemed glued to my mouth, unable, and unwilling to speak within the intense atmosphere that had been created by the sincerity and earnestness of the participants. “Your descendants ask, ‘what kind of things gave you joy at this time? Where did you find your inspiration and hope?’ ”

The answer came quickly. “Our joy was real because of you. You, the children of the future, were our hope and our motivation. We never gave up thinking that you deserved the best we could offer. Whenever we thought of giving up, knowing that you were a reality made it possible to keep moving, to keep sacrificing.

“We had pain too, but our grief became a point of unity. We would rally around our mutual suffering finding new and deeper sources of compassion and inspiration, knowing that the one thing we didn’t want was for others to suffer, for our world to suffer. We wanted to create something better for you.”

I was in tears by the time an older woman sat across from me and took my hands. Granddaughter, she called me. A sob escaped my lips. I was the future, looking at my ancestors with so much love and appreciation for the difficulties they endured in order to bring me into existence in a world that lived and thrived. The question asked this time was, “What did you do during this time to help change things?”

“I often felt that I didn’t do enough,” the woman who portrayed my grandmother said. “That is until I realized that even the smallest things were sacred and could be offered for the sake of the future. I would find myself cutting carrots and thinking of you, knowing that my efforts to appreciate this food and prepare it with love for someone I loved, added to the foundation of love I was building for the future.”

I could feel this grandmother palpably swelling with the love for her partner, her children, grandchildren—and me. As she grew larger before my eyes, I saw in her the hope for the future. We don’t have to be the wisest, or the most powerful. We don’t have to be in positions of influence or control. We just need to let our own light shine, so that one by one, that brilliance will turn into a raging fire lighting the way into the future.