MARCH, 2006
In this issue:
1. Miscellaneous Newsbits From John
2. March Editorial: “Worthy Purpose: An Inspiring Mission From Pachamama Alliance”
3. Preview: Next Month’s Editorial
4. Quote of the Month: Martin Buber
5. Hot Link of the Month
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1. MISCELLANEOUS NEWSBITS FROM JOHN
New MAOL Class Starts Next Month
Beginning in early April, the Center for Leadership Studies begins its next Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL) class. I am on the faculty for the Center and look forward to teaching my section on “Conscious Leadership” during the course. If you are interested in earning an accredited graduate leadership degree contact Professor Mel Toomey (908) 722-5100. Feel free to use my name.
Global Dialogue Center Interview
The Global Dialogue Center is a virtual gathering place for people throughout the world with a focus on leadership, professional and personal development. The Center’s founder, Debbe Kennedy, interviewed me and the podcast should be available after mid-March. You can check out the Center at www.globaldialoguecenter.com/events. You can listen to the interview after March 15.
“The Great Dream” Available for Free Download
The main difference between the last edition of my latest book, Getting to the Better Future, and previous editions is that a new Epilogue (entitled “The Great Dream”) has replaced most of the backmatter which had been dedicated to the now-outdated “21st Century Agenda for Business.” Anyone can download the new Epilogue (in PDF format) from the book’s website and… it is free!
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2. MARCH EDITORIAL
(based on an excerpt from John’s book-in-progress, The New Human: Beyond the Naked Ape)
The Pachamama Alliance is a non-profit organization founded ten years ago by Bill and Lynne Twist. The Alliance has been working with the indigenous people of a large portion of Ecuador, the Achuar tribe, who are fighting to maintain their cherished way of living with Nature in spite of oil company developers’ and the debt-ridden Ecuadorian government’s attempts to exploit their land for oil. The Alliance is working with the Achuar to “change the dream of the North” – as in the Northern hemisphere countries – and bring global consciousness to the industrialized nations which are so blindly sacrificing the Earth’s Rainforests, the equivalent of humanity’s respiratory system, as well as entire indigenous societies, for the sake of their insatiable desire to grow and consume.
Awakening the Dreamer,
Changing the Dream Symposium
In 2005, the Alliance began a series of symposia called “Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Program” with this mission: “To bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet.” The one-day symposium I attended was filled with information about trends and conditions in the world that threaten or oppose these three objectives. Many of the people attending were veterans of the human potential movement. While most had achieved a certain level of self-awareness, few had previously committed themselves to any social action beyond their immediate lives and loved ones. By the end of the day most were prepared to become socially active in some way, working toward fulfilling at least one of the three parts of the symposium’s mission.
Creating a world that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling is indeed a worthy purpose for any individual or organization. These three elements sum up quite elegantly a more enlightened purpose for business and political leaders, social activists, thought leaders and other outspoken visionaries. To elaborate upon these objectives a bit further:
1. Environmental Sustainability: long-term environmental sustainability that allows future generations to have decent air, water and soil, leaving a zero footprint on Mother Nature.
2. Social Justice: equality when it comes to basic human rights; social justice allowing equal treatment of all of God’s creations.
3. Spiritual fulfillment: regardless of what path anyone follows in their pursuit of spiritual satisfaction, they are free to seek it any way they like as long as they do no harm and respect others.
America is the only existing country to be founded upon the ideas of freedom, equality and democracy. We should be able to get behind these values for the entire world. We have been champions of spiritual freedom and equal rights, even though our walk and our talk haven’t always been in synch. Let’s all get on board with this inspiring mission, take it on personally and insist the organizations in which we work follow suit. I invite all of you to join me by integrating these objectives into your lives. Can you imagine the legacy for our kids and grandchildren if each of us was guided by these three objectives?
What a different world we’d have! What a different world we’d leave our loved ones!
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[NOTE: For more information about the Symposium, go to the Pachamama Alliance website, www.pachamama.org, and clicking on Awakening the Dreamer Program.]
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3. NEXT MONTH’S EDITORIAL:
“Playing Dead: Pretending To Be Out of the Game”
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4. QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
“When I meet a man, I am not concerned about his opinions. I am concerned about the man.” – Martin Buber
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5. HOT LINK OF THE MONTH
Club of Amsterdam is an independent, international think tank that supports thought leaders and knowledge workers to form opinions, visions and agendas about preferred futures; John is speaking at their Summit on the Future on Risk conference, May 3-5, 2006, in Amsterdam.
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KEYNOTES THAT MAKE YOU THINK!
John delivers keynotes talks to corporations, associations and conferences. A list of his topics can be viewed at Keynotes That Make You Think! For references check: What people have said about John as a speaker.
John is a San Francisco writer and businessman-futurist. His latest book is Getting to the Better Future: A Matter of Conscious Choosing. More about John can be found at About.