Fall 2008 (Issue 35)    

     The Cultural Creatives   |     Embodied Life   |    Prayer for Our Nation    |    Voter's Guide    |       Election Meditation

 

“Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

– President John F. Kennedy

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THE CULTURAL CREATIVES:
Paul Ray's Newest Values Survey on the Emerging Wisdom Culture

by Corinne McLaughlin

This summer Dr. Paul Ray, co-author of The Culture Creatives and former Chief of Policy Research on Energy Conservation for the Canadian Department of Energy, announced the astounding results of his latest Values Survey to members of the  Partnershift, of which our Center for Visionary Leadership is a member.(1) Our Center had sponsored Paul Ray’s groundbreaking Cultural Creatives launch in Washington DC in 2000 where he announced that 50,000 million Americans are both inner-directed and socially concerned, and embrace values such as environmentalism, spirituality and feminism.(2)  He called them “the Cultural Creatives.”  My husband Gordon and I later worked with Ray to present seminars on The New Civilization in the San Francisco area.

Ray was recently awarded a $100,000 grant to study how American culture is changing.  He surveyed 2000 Americans in March 2008 who answered 500 questions for the survey   conducted by TNS, the world’s largest commercial research house. The questionnaire was designed to focus primarily on American’s values beliefs and desires for their future, for their country and for the world, as that design yielded very precise, but emotionally powerful statements. He found that Cultural Creative values are embraced by the younger Millennium Generation, as well as by the Baby Boomer Generation.

Contrary to what the mainstream press reports, Ray found that the great majority of Americans are ready for positive action for the greater good and on behalf of the whole planet.  For example:

87% agree that “We need to treat the planet as a living system.”

81% agree that “Corporations must take more responsibility for their impact on global warming.”

62% agree that “The earth is headed for an environmental catastrophe unless we change.”

75% agree that “People need to work for the good of the planet, for it is our only home.”

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Meditation for the Highest Good in the Election

By Corinne McLaughlin

Begin by taking a few deep breaths to relax your body, emotions and mind, breathing in peace and stillness.

Link inwardly with all of those around the world who are also meditating for the U.S. at this time, connecting with them heart to heart and soul to soul.

Set aside your own political views and align with your highest self; inwardly affirm your intention in this meditation, using the prayers of your own spiritual tradition.

Align with the soul of America, her highest purpose, and see this nation and her people surrounded with spiritual light and love so that they may vote with wisdom and clarity.

Ask the higher spiritual forces to protect the election process on national, state and local levels, and to ensure a fair election, free from tampering.

Pray that the election bring forth the highest good for the American people and for all humanity, and visualize the most positive outcome.

Visualize a beautiful future for America—healthy, peaceful, and sustainable.

Print Meditation

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"When we unite for a moral purpose that is manifestly good and true, the spiritual energy unleashed can transform us.˝

--Former Vice President Al Gore (Nobel Prize acceptance speech)

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Spiritual Practice A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION We ask you to join with us wherever you are, for prayer and meditation for the future of your nation, with the following prayer:   May we as nation be guided by the Divine to rediscover the sacred flame of our national heritage, which so many have given their lives to safeguard; Let the wounds of separation and division be healed by opening our hearts to listen to the truth on all sides, allowing us to find a higher truth that includes us all; May we learn to honor and enjoy our diversity and differences as a people, even as we more deeply touch our fundamental unity; May we, as a people, undergo a transformation that will draw forth individuals to lead our nation who embody courage, compassion and a higher vision; May our leaders inspire us, and we so inspire each other, that a new spirit of forgiveness, caring and honesty be born in our nation;  May we, as a united people, move with clear, directed purpose to take our place within the community of nations to help build a better future for all humankind;  May we as a nation rededicate ourselves to truly living as one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; And may God’s Will be done for our nation, as we, the people, align with that Will. By Gordon Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin   Print Prayer

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A SPIRITUAL VOTER'S GUIDE

by Corinne McLaughlin

You are welcome to replicate this guide and circulate it widely.  The comprehensive questions below are designed to be a guide for deeper reflection, based on regular discussions in the media and political circles. 

If you care about your life, if you care about the life of other human beings, if you care about all life on this planet—answer the call of your soul to vote.  Our lives literally depend on how we vote.  As Americans, we have an important responsibility this Fall to vote in the elections. (If you’re a resident of another democratic country, see if the questions below are helpful in your situation or adapt them to fit.)

As you know, our political leaders and our media pay very close attention not only to who wins, but also to how close is the margin of victory.  This is how they evaluate how much popular support there is for policies such as continuing the war, addressing global warming, restricting rights in order to pursue terrorists, regulating unethical corporate behavior, etc.

Every vote can be a prayer for a better America. In a democracy, it is a spiritual responsibility to vote. Over 90% of the American people say they are guided by spiritual values or faith, but less than 50% of the American people vote in any Presidential election and much less in other elections. If we are committed to living by spiritual values, we must bring them into the voting booth, and educate ourselves about the candidates and the issues. 

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“War is a failure of the imagination.  Prayer is a weapon of mass deconstruction.”

—The Dalai Lama

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THE EMBODIED LIFE:
Cellular Awareness in Our Body and Interconnection

by Sabrina Page

Consciousness is evolving, and physical matter is transforming and evolving as it reflects this awakened consciousness. This new understanding and experience of matter is an expression of the rising of the feminine principle at this time on the Earth.  The ancient Taoists believe the mysterious feminine to be the receptive yin wisdom of the earth and the body, which supports and nourishes the creativity of life.  Matter is permeated with this creative intelligence.  By directing our attention within our own cells, we can directly experience the primal intelligence that moves through everything. 

The term embodiment refers to living at this level of awareness, dissolving into the sea of cellular consciousness. When we are embodied, our awareness resides within the body and at the same time moves through all that surrounds us, a tangible cellular interconnection. We perceive instead of think, informed from the creative awareness in our cells.  We live in the body and are also embedded in the world around us, able to shift our perspective, our assemblage point, at any moment.

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Letters to the Editor...

“Almost 2 years ago we started a group in Holland talking about spirituality and politics. The 11th of March we have founded the “Partij voor Mens en Spirit”--politics out of the heart. Your work has helped us much by forming our ideas. Thank you for that. The last two months we received already many, many unbelievable positive reactions at our initiative. We have been on television and radio. The time is here to make it!  I want you to know this and hope to encourage you and everyone who wants to start a spiritual political party. We believe now that it can be done! In 2010 are local elections here, in 2011 national elections. We will be ready for that and are uniting now all the positive powers--organisations that are working in the spiritual communities in our country. We have the inner feeling that this might break politics open in the whole of Europe and maybe in the world!”
 --Lea Manders, president of partij voor Mens en Spirit; www.mensenspirit.nl”

You are doing such great work. It is so needed.  Just want to thank you for the light you are radiating through your work”
--Rebecca Field, Los Gatos, CA

“Thank you.  It is a source of comfort and support just to know that we are still, ever, doing our part in the One Work in the same incarnational cycle this time around.  Many blessings and much love.” -- Alan Oken, Lisbon, Spain

WHAT'S NEW Here are some recent initiatives we are working with that we recommend: Meditation for Peace and Healing in the Middle East    We invite you to join a group of concerned people from around the world who are focusing their united thoughts, love and goodwill towards a peaceful resolution of the Middle East crisis, by uplifting the energetic conditions in the region to create a better life for all people living there. There are hundreds of individuals and groups around the world contributing to this meditative service, and we invite you to participate in this world experiment.  We seek to prove that group thought and intent can be a positive force in creating right conditions for solutions to emerge to seemingly intractable problems.  There will come a time in the future when we, as humanity, will have learned much about the immense power for good we have through a united focusing of our goodwill for all people in the world. What we are offering on this website is an opportunity for you to contribute to a worldwide meditation that is an expression of love and concern for the people and nations of the Middle East. Because this is a world problem that affects the entire planet, it requires people from all around the world to contribute to its solution.  The power of our united thoughts, love and goodwill, focused towards the good of humanity is still a new realization for many people. Many in their own lives have proven the truth that "energy follows thought," and have seen how our thoughts, emotions and attitudes create conditions in our lives. However, the application of this truth to world issues by large numbers of people in a coordinated manner is still a largely unproven hypothesis. Changing the energy field in the Middle East will support all those individuals and groups on all sides working for peace, conflict resolution and goodwill in the region. To accomplish this, we have been visualizing a vortex or funnel for the inflow of light, love and harmonious energies into the region. These energies, clearly and powerfully flowing into the region, are being circulated to the cities of the Middle East, through specific pathways. The goal is to purify and uplift the energetic field of the Middle East region, to contribute to a positive and solutions-oriented field of energy, so that new approaches to political and religious issues can be considered and adopted. If you would like to contribute your energy to this endeavor, please go to the www.worldmeditation.org, and click on the section for diagrams and instructions for these meditations. There are two possible levels of participation: a simpler version where you can visualize the energy flowing down the vortex and circulating to the cities, and another where you can visualize a series of triangles between three cities at a time. Your participation for just 5 minutes a day with either version will substantially contribute to building a positive energy field in the Middle East. We welcome your interest and participation in this work to help resolve some of the most challenging problems in our world today. Thank you for whatever attention and energy you can contribute to this worldwide effort. Meditations to Honor the Heart and Soul of America WiseUSA 2008 is a global non-partisan program to bring the world together in meditation and prayer before, during, and after the critical US elections in November 2008. From Oct 25 - Nov 6, join hundreds of thousands around the world in meditating and praying for wisdom and compassion to emerge in America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community. The highlight of the program will be a two-hour Global Ceremony on Sunday Nov 2, during which people worldwide will join together simultaneously in silent meditation, contemplative music, spoken and silent prayers, and celebration. This ceremony will be centered on large public gatherings in four major US cities that will be linked by videoconference and broadcast live online, with Emmy award-winning composer Gary Malkin as artistic director.  WiseUSA is a collaborative project initiated by the Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism at California Institute of Integral Studies. For more information: http://www.gaiafield.net. World Peace Intention Experiment:  Sunday, Sept. 14-21  At  9am PDT (12pm EDT), a 7 day event billed as “the world’s largest mind over matter experiment” will take place around the world: a scientifically controlled, web-based experiment to use the power of intention to create world peace.  Leading scientists will  test the power of group intention to lower violence in hot spots around the world.  Based on the work of Lynn McTaggart in her popular book, The Intention Experiment, the experiment will test the power of our thoughts to change the physical world.  The final day is the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21. For information:  www.theintentionexperiment.com A National Solutions Council   The Citizens Solutions Council proposes that the next President of the United States establish a National Solutions Council that will identify, connect, communicate and support what is working in America. This Council will inform and guide government officials and citizens about proven solutions to the challenges we face. The Council will be a model of bottom-up citizen input for a new government of the people. The Solutions Council could add a function to the office of the Vice Presidency, focusing on innovations that provide the change the public is demanding.  It can offer a participatory website which encourages Americans to share and learn from breakthrough solutions in each sector of society. The Solutions Council will be a clearinghouse to identify, communicate and support solutions and projects like these that are already working in fields such as education, health, environment, energy, economics, and security. It will seek common goals and match needs with resources to foster greater cooperation and effectiveness. It will offer a participatory website which encourages Americans to share and learn from breakthrough solutions in each sector of society. For more information, contact Eleanor LeCain at The Citizens Solutions Council and sign the petition:  emlecain@aol.com; www.citizenssolutionscouncil.net NEW BOOKS: Global Shift: How a New Worldview Is Transforming Humanity by Edmund Bourne, Ph.D. (published by Institution of Noetic Sciences and New Harbinger):  A sweeping survey of key ideas and books of the last few years that reflect an astounding shift in consciousness.  It provides a wonderfully synthetic overview of wholistic trends emerging in all fields, such as the synthesis of science and spirituality, conflict transformation and the greening of business. Available Jan. '09 from www.newharbinger.com; www.noetics.org When the Soul Awakens by Nancy Seifer and Martin Vieweg:  A clear and intelligent synthesis of the ageless wisdom teachings that is very accessible to those new to this wisdom, as well as long time students.  The authors provide an in-depth understanding of the soul, from Plato and Emerson to Teilhard de Chardin and Gary Zukav. Their brilliant insights illuminate the mysteries of the spiritual path and how we can each find our higher purpose and aid humanity at this time of world crisis. Available from www.amazon.com and www.whenthesoulawakens.org

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MISSION

The Center for Visionary Leadership was founded by Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson in 1996 as a non-denominational educational center to help people develop the inner, spiritual resources to be effective leaders and respond creatively to change. Our purpose is to develop and support values-based visionary leadership in all fields of human endeavor, especially business and politics. We offer educational programs on spiritual development and social change, and a free regular electronic newsletter with articles, spiritual practices, and featured visionary leaders.

Our approach is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the golden thread that connects the deeper, inner teachings of the world's spiritual traditions. We are non-partisan, transcending old categories of left and right and creating a new, practical synthesis.

MORE INFO

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THE CENTER FOR VISIONARY LEADERSHIP Helping people develop the inner resources to be effective leaders 369 3rd Street, #563     ·   San Rafael, CA  94901 Phone: (415) 472-2540 East Coast Office: (For orders, donations and membership) 6423 Hermsley Road     ·   Charlotte, NC  28278 Phone: (704) 583-0080 Email: cvldc@visionarylead.org Website: www.visionarylead.org © Copyright 2008  The Center for Visionary Leadership Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Feedback