October 1, 2001
In this issue:
Newsbrief: The Agenda Gets Its Own Website
Newsbrief: Feminine Perspectives on the Terrorism: A Real Opportunity
Editorial: “Learning From Ants: Getting Evolved,” by John Renesch
Newsbrief: October 8 Deadline for “Early Bird” Price for Writers’ Workshop
Next Month: “The Abominable Org-man: A New ‘Missing Link’ “
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEWSBRIEFS:
The Agenda Gets Its Own Website
“The 21st Century Agenda for Business” – the Internet resolution available to anyone with email to co-sign – now has its own Website, thanks to Steve Girolami.
Feminine Perspectives on the Terrorism: A Real Opportunity
Last evening’s meeting of The Presidio Dialogues focused on how the feminine principles of operating in the business (and the world) are more natural (like Nature operates) that the dominant masculine which governs how our organizations have been structured. Former Hunger Project executive Lynne Twist was joined by evolution biologist Elisabet Sahtouris and Dialogues Co-host Elizabeth Bloom for a powerful conversation. The evening was deemed very appropriate in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks so much of the dialogue following opening comments dealt with the system collapse/crisis and the opportunity facing us to leap forward into a new paradigm.
@@@@@@@@@@@
OCTOBER EDITORIAL
Recently I found that a colony of ants had invaded my kitchen area, a surprise event since I live fourteen stories above the ground. But, the ants didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be up that high in a concrete building so they were simply going about the business of ant work, scurrying about and looking very industrious.
Taking a break in my own work, I took some time to observe these tiny creatures going about their travels from here to there. All their movements seemed so purposeful! It was as if there was foreman barking orders as each member of the “crew” appeared completely knowledgeable about what he/she was supposed to be doing, operating with utmost certainty.
Then I noticed something about the way these industrious little beings moved. As they traveled along their two-way path to someplace out of my sight, they stopped and touched antenna almost every time they passed one another. It was as if they were saying something to each other. I’m certain they were passing something back and forth, maybe not hugs and kisses but something was happening between them! While I have seen this many times before I’ve never really taken much note of it.
As I continued to watch my new houseguests, I couldn’t help thinking about how humans pass each other on the sidewalk, or in a mall, or in office building elevators. We hardly look at one another much less say anything. And certainly there’s no touching!
I began to think a bit about human evolution. How much further evolved are we than the mighty ant? Most of us think we are far superior, do we not? Are we more evolved than they are when it comes to communication? Or, is evolution about any one species being better or worse than any other? Probably, I surmised, it is all relative.
I always thought of evolution as something that happens to us, not something that we do on purpose, consciously. It isn’t as if we chose to evolve? The environment has certain affects on us and we crept through centuries of ever-so-slight cumulative changes, each one layered on the past. Our ancestors made some decisions that had an impact on all of us centuries later, but there was never any awareness at the time of the choice. Our evolution seemed arbitrary, maybe even “accidental.” Certainly it wasn’t conscious. We didn’t wake up one day and say, “I think I’ll shed all this body hair and start using a fork at the dinner table.”
Today, we are at a point in our evolution where we can now choose to evolve to a new level, not simply taking whatever fate dishes out. While Consciousness itself may have been having its way with us all these billions of years now, we now possess the individual awareness that we can select what kind of future we’d like.
We can co-create with Consciousness and consciously choose a path we want to take as a species. I will call this “conscious evolvement” since choices are being made with full awareness on our parts, choices that allow for the human spirit to reach for higher potentials and higher callings – fulfilling the destiny of being fully human. After all, we can agree that we haven’t achieved any great heights when it comes to achieving our destiny as human beings. Can’t we?
First, we need to become a mature species – responding to each other and our organizations as adults. Then we can create mature organizations that nurture life instead of sapping our life-energies, eventually killing us. And then we can make sure all our systems do what we want them to do; after all, we created them to serve us and our needs, not so we’d have to serve them!
Then, after attaining this new maturity, we can examine ourselves and see if we are any closer to manifesting our destiny, to reaching the level of consciousness that Consciousness has in mind for us all. Then we might learn from the ants, and the cats, and the birds and the wind. Then, maybe, we will be open to engaging all Consciousness so that, eventually, we become aware that we are indeed Consciousness itself.
***********
NEWSBRIEF:
October 8 Deadline for “Early Birds” for Writers Workshop
If you have a book inside you and you’ve been procrastinating about getting started (or finished), consider signing up for a one-day workshop for new authors. John and Rick Benzel, a former editor with Jeremy Tarcher & Co./Putnam who presently does freelance editing and ghost-writing, will be leading this one-day workshop. Scheduled for Saturday, November 12, near the San Francisco Airport, the cost is only $250 if participants sign up before October 8. After this date the price goes up to $275 for advance registration and then $295 at the door. For more information call John at 415-437-6974 and he’ll send you all the details by email. But hurry, the 8th is coming fast!
**************************
About John Renesch
Better Future NEWS is prepared monthly by John Renesch, a San Francisco writer, futurist, and consultant/executive coach. John served as Editor-in-Chief of The New Leaders business newsletter from 1990 to 1997 as well as the specialty business book publisher, New Leaders Press, where he created a dozen business anthologies on progressive business subjects, including consciousness, intuition and leadership. These books include New Traditions in Business, Learning Organizations and The New Bottom Line. His latest book is Getting to the Better Future: A Matter of Conscious Choosing .
John is also an international keynote SPEAKER, having addressed audiences in Tokyo, Seoul, London, Brussels, Budapest as well as many cities throughout the U.S. For a list of all the SERVICES John offers, go to Services.