Radical NLP, Mythology, Spirituality, Leadership, and other Change Technologies

#203 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 18 – Arman – Dancing With

RCG — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Certain threads run consistently through our lives and define both who we are and how we relate with the world. For the most part we remain unconscious of these threads that define our life story. This is a journey of becoming conscious of some of these threads and in the process the listeners becoming aware of their life stories.

Today, we explore dancing with Contact Improv:

Intro to Contact Improv
Relationship with the Other and Gravity
Impermanence

#202 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 17 – Sergey – Inner Dancing – Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:00:22 +0000

Today, we explore the drawbacks of inner dancing:

Impact of libido on others
Impact on relationships

#201 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 16 – Sergey – Inner Dancing

RCG — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:00:04 +0000

Today, we explore inner dancing:

Intro to 5Rhythms
What dancers get out of it
Libido

#200 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 15 – Mahipal Lunia- Warrior Way – Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:00:41 +0000

Today, we explore the drawbacks of the warrior way:

Expensive endeavour
Individual vs. collective
Lack of common sense

#199 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 14 – Mahipal Lunia – Warrior Way

RCG — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:36:28 +0000

Today, we explore the warrior way:

Martial arts journey
Development of the warrior
It’s a way of being
Everything is duty and privilege

Forget Self Improvement – find enjoyment

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:55:52 +0000

Loved this piece that was written, and IMHO it nails it. It took a while to understand what Joseph Campbell meant when he said” most people are not looking for meaning in their life, all they seek is rapture/coming alive.”

http://lifehacker.com/5890679/forget-self+improvement

Forget Self-Improvement

Ever wonder how some people accomplish so much? They run marathons, write novels, start companies… without making it seem like a big deal?

Well, it is a big deal. And in spite of how effortless these accomplishments may appear, people work harder than you likely realize to make these things happen. There is, however, one thing they know-at least in practice-that you don’t.

Most of us want to finish the race, but see running as a chore. A few dream about being great authors, but find the writing itself to be slow and difficult. Some of us learn all we can about starting a company, only to hit a wall when it comes time to get down to work.

Self-help books and workshops arm us with ways to trick ourselves into doing things we perhaps should, but generally don’t want, to do. I ask whether this lack of will might actually be the universe trying to tell us something?

Maybe you aren’t supposed to bother with the tedious stuff. Perhaps the reason you haven’t done it yet, is that you weren’t meant to. Might achievement, as a goal unto itself, be pointless? Could this need to have donesomething notable, simply be greed in a more socially-acceptable form?

More than all of the rest, though: What if the missing part of the puzzle is not a lack of willpower, but instead a lack of love?

The runner discovers tranquility on the road, forgetting the pain. The writer gives in to the joy of playing with words, moving past the aggravation. The entrepreneur finds purpose in making something, and stops noticing the long days.

You can spend your life fretting about how healthy, interesting, or successful you are. In fact, a whole industry depends upon this, and is eager to help you make plans to change.

On the other hand, you might consider simply finding what you love, and letting the rest take care of itself.

Forget Self-Improvement | Deliberatism

#198 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 13 – Arman Darini & Lisa – Conscious Relationships – The Costs

RCG — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:00:38 +0000

Today, we explore what we have to give up in order to have a conscious relationship:

Individual versus the couple
Conscious relationships require conscious individuals
The loneliness of a couple

#197 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 12 – Arman Darini & Lisa – Conscious Relationships

RCG — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:00:37 +0000

Today, we explore conscious relationships:

Three legs of a relationship: accept, support, challenge
Transparent living
Love & psychology
Sexuality: masculine and feminine

#196 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 11 – Sergey’ Berezin Perpetual Learning: Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:00:59 +0000

Today, we’ll learn of the price to pay for being a fast learner:

Effect on relationships
Impact on work
Annoyance with slower learners
Feeling perpetually stupid

#195 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 10 – Sergey’ Berezin Perpetual Learning

RCG — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:00:14 +0000

Today, we explore Sergey’s ways of learning fast and furious:

Clean slate
Patterns of learning
Examples from AI and martial arts
“How a car works”
The why and how

#194 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 9 – Mahipal Lunia and his sense of Contribution: Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:00:34 +0000

Guilt vs. Duty
Scale and hierarchy of helping
When not to help

#193 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 8 – Mahipal Lunia and his sense of Contribution

RCG — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:00:39 +0000

What is contribution, and why contribute
What happens when Mahipal sees someone in need of help
Examples from

Gundappa uncle and freedom struggle
Grandpa helping schools and hospitals
Sensei Sastri contributing to kids lives
Osho helping people experience freedom

Nature, National Park Services, Whales
Dayaa – the micro-gifting concept

In Response to – Existential Depression in Gifted Individuals?

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:48:31 +0000

Existential Depression In gifted Individuals | Radical Change Group

In response to an article and comments on a posting at RCG - http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/2009/03/03/existential-depression-in-gifted-indiviuals/comment-page-1/#comment-925

About 3 years ago I first posted this article on RCG as it rang very true to me at many levels. I have had first hand experience in my life and also seen this pattern in the lives of some people who have been close to me. What got me to write is that most of the focus has been on depression, and not any on how one makes peace with it, and move through those turbulances to arrive at calmness, peace and perhaps happiness and joy as well.

A lot of us come into a relationship with our story, with our own mutations, with out own “the world does not understand me.” And this only fuels the downturn IMO, what is required is the notion of relationships and moving the locus both within and without simultaneously, more in it later.

My own existential depression took many turns, including times when I locked myself away for extended periods and th basic questioning of everything in life and the meaning/lessness of it all. I have resisted responding to this thread on RCG for a very long time. However I decided to write and share with this group inspite of my own fears.

A lot of people see being so called gifted as a boon, and able to see/surf patterns as great thing – what they usually mean is how they could/would capitalize on a “marketable skill.” However I think many of you here on this thread know and understand that the gift can really be a BIG CURSE.

The meaninglessness arose in may ways because of that ability to see patterns far beyond oneself, and realizing our insignificance and our inability to “truly shape things.” and was further fueled by not seeing how others cannot see how things will fold out. And when they do fold out that way, it only seems to piss people off even more.

This lead to going into a deeper shell, in order to “act normal” and just live. And I discovered that’s not always easy nor is it advisable. After many years of trying to remain hidden and/or hide the gifts, i realized that the curse is in not accepting it. And yet i now understand that going into that darkness was critical for one to be shaped. Its the darkness and roughness around us, that IMO has the greatest power to cause shifts within us and our psyche. Disowning it only causes turmoil – and depression is only the beginning of the symptoms from my perspective. The trick is moving from disjoined to be joined, from falling part to falling together (as a friend pointed to me not too long ago), from being a clumsy swan on land to landing in our element and becoming majestically graceful. Easier said than done!

The journey from being disconnected to connecting is a profoundly moving, painful and yet rewarding one. the shift that had to happen in me was seeing what can this gift be applied towards, an aim far greater than myself, and in the service of a principal far greater than self.

I spend atleast a few years unable to make sense of things, and/or make peace with myself.This started a journey of “escaping from reality” in order to find some moments of what i thought were solace or peace. But there is no escape from, there can only be “escape into reality” and “escape through it.”

The interesting question now begins is how does one make this transition. What i found was i needed to find ways to get out of my mind and get deeply into the body proper. My training in Martial Arts was wonderful however it was known, meaning i was at home with it. I needed to find contexts where i am Uncomfortable and its unknown. Dancing and theater proved to be starting points on this journey for me. The clumsiness i discovered was refreshing, and started the journey of getting to know reality anew from a very different way/perspective.

Yet the biggest challenge still remained – that of “connection.” This has been the hardest one. I have been fortunate to have a bunch of really really smart friends. However this is a small tribe. And in many ways we are/were at the same frequency and same disillusionments. The hard part was building connection to a greater story for Self, and including other people very different from you into it.

This is a very specific intelligence IMO, a very different way of being and connecting in the world. A useful model to think about this is 8 circuit brain by Timothy Leary, and specifically studying the circuits 4 and 8. Its easy to get into an intellectual spin with it, but makes most sense to experiment and be disciplined about it. I started seeking contexts where i knew nothing about and started the process of starting learning with new groups – the learning ability (my curse now became my ally). this process of “co-learning” and “co-creating a project/s” became the means of learning to build those threads of connection with a wider group.

I am still in this journey to form those connections more deeply and am learning that the meaning in life and meaning in our gifts come from “deep significant relationships” – and when i say relationships its not just with other people, but also with our work, our community and most significantly our relationship with our “renewed and effervescent sense of self.” And then the final mile the relationship building with the noself/void.

What has helped a lot along on this journey has been a few very specific things. They all allowed me to oscillate between the within and without and learn to see/build a relationship between the two. This takes the focus away from my small world towards OUR LARGE WORLD.

Spending a lot more time in Nature, climbing and wilderness awoke something anew again while sharpening my acuity and connection with nature
Reading a lot less – went from reading about a book a week to less than a dozen a year, and slowing down on reading so much after years of reading voraciously it was hard to give up
Learning to listen intently and more importantly not solving other peoples problems, and just being there – believe me this harder than it seems
Meditation – nothing comes close to building a close relationship with the void/noself. (Circuit
Touching reality – this somatic/sensual way of knowing the world is critical in coming to terms with reality in the here and now, when this reality is more important than abstractions
Somatic disciplines – finding and creating space just for yourself, where the body and its movement become the prime instrument of meditation. Try ecstatic dancing or deep personal theatre as medium

This has been an incredibly hard piece for me to write, and yet its important IMO to start this journey of connecting beyond safe boundaries, so here we are my friends my piece on this in 1st person. And i would suggest you try listening to the series called “POSITIVE DEVIANCE” on this website. my friends and I have approached some of these issues and our ways of working with it.

I remain open to your thoughts, views, and your approaches for moving out that realm of existential depression….

#192 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 7 – Sergey Berezin – Efficiency and Organizing: Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:00:05 +0000

Today, Sergey will talk about the drawbacks of his efficiency and organizing:

Efficiency vs. effectiveness
Loss of surprise
Trees and the forest
Loss of control – what happens

#191 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 6 – Sergey Berezin – Efficiency and Organizing

RCG — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:00:02 +0000

Today, Sergey will talk about his efficiency and organizing:

Fish in the water analogy
Organizing and fixing for fixing sake
Efficiency to open time up for creative pursuit
Syntax, sequence of efficiency

#190 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 5 – Arman Darini & Lisa – Travel Living: Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:00:34 +0000

Today, we have a Anman and Lisa talk about the drawbacks of their Travel Living:

Leaving behind simple comforts, hobbies, things
Depth of relationships
Different meaning of the community

#189 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 4 – Arman Darini & Lisa – Travel Living

RCG — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:00:50 +0000

Today, we have a Anman and Lisa talk about their Travel Living:

What is travel living
How does it psychologically change you
Letting go of attachments
Who’s it for

#188 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 3 – A Connected Vision of Life with Mahipal Lunia: Potential Drawbacks

RCG — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:00:19 +0000

What are you missing out on?
Is it hard to find friends and peers?
Are common paths in life closed?
Are you missing out on an easy and comfortable life?
What about details? Does small picture suffer?

#187 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 2 – A Connected Vision of Life with Mahipal Lunia

RCG — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:00:06 +0000

Vision of our Planet.
What is greater than Self?
Where is the boundary of “I”?
What is the horizon of the vision?
How do you see people with opposite perspectives?
Do you have a special relationship with animals and plants?
Messiah complex.
Where is the humanity heading?

#186 Patterns of Fate and Destiny, part 1 – Overview with Mahipal Lunia, Armani Darini and Sergey Berezin

RCG — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:00:25 +0000

Why we are doing this – reveal yourself or be invented by the World
The 9 stories of our lives
It’s all about you

#185 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond, part 19

RCG — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:43:30 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

In today’s last episode in the series we cover the following topics:

Moving from programs to no programs
Practices to arrive at no programs
Honorable closure for this stage of Radical Change Group
Intro to forthcoming incarnation of RCG

Summer Break

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:57:58 +0000

Hello Everyone,

We are taking a small much deserved summer break after publishing over 180 recordings and will be back with our recordings in a few weeks.

It has been quite a journey for us along the way, and the RCG trio are taking some personal time to relax and reflect on whats next! So while we are on the break we are paying attention to some of the other things we do -

Arman is travelling the world, doing his contact improv workshops and starting his gaming company in Russia

Sergey is dancing deep into 5 Rhythms , editing his movie from Siberia and working on his next movie project

Mahipal is working on the educational non profit and spending time climbing mountains again

We will be back soon, and if you have some ideas/thoughts on what you might want to see us explore in our metalouges let us know..

cheers

Mahipal, Sergey and Arman

#184 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 18 – Nature of Reality

RCG — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:00:53 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Nature of Reality & knowing the spirit
Something is real
Nothing is real
Everything is real
How do you know it
Clash of experience and book
Flexibility

#183 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 17 – Religion & God

RCG — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:00:27 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Engaging the Spirit: Religion and God
Definitions of God
No god, one god, many gods
God at the level of culture
Mismatch of personal and cultural bias
Moving between biases

#182 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 16 – Ed Hall – Time, Space, Context

RCG — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:00:36 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Ed Hall: Time, Space, Context – Introduction
Time
Moving between cyclical & linear time
Space
Context
Can it be changed?

#181 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 15 – SD Levels 4-8

RCG — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:00:27 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Levels 4-8: Structures

#180 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 14 – SD Levels 3-7

RCG — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:00:52 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Levels 3-7: Power

#179 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 13 – SD Levels 2-6

RCG — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:00:18 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Levels 2-6: Relationships

#178 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 12 – SD Levels 1 & 5

RCG — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:00:36 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Levels 1 & 5: Survival, Time & Consumption

#177 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 11 – Spiral Dynamics Overview, part 2

RCG — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:00:29 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Orange
Green
Yellow
Turquoise
The Four Axis

#176 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 10 – Spiral Dynamics Overview, part 1

RCG — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:00:13 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

What is SD
Beige
Purple
Red
Blue

#175 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 09 – Options / Procedures

RCG — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:00:05 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Definitions
How is it relevant
Calibrating
Deeper levels
Authority for procedures and options
Moving from one to the other

#174 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 08 – Action Orientation

RCG — Sun, 01 May 2011 15:00:05 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

How do we understand it
Characteristics of people with strong goal or problem orientation
What happens when you are forced to switch
Moving between the orientations

#173 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 07 – Preferential Awareness

RCG — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:00:38 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Preferential Awareness Filters (people, activities, location, thing, information, etc.)
Definitions
Examples
How it is useful

#172 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 06 – Time Orientation

RCG — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:00:18 +0000

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Time Orientation (Past, Present, Future)
Definitions
Exercises
Using time orientation

#171 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 05 – Match / Mismatch

RCG — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:00:15 +0000

” Meta-programs in general are programs that create, control or make decisions about programs, such as when and how to run them, preferred and unpreferred programs, and strategic choices of fall-back or alternative programs.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) uses the term specifically to indicate the more general pervasive habitual patterns commonly used by an individual across a wide range of situations. Examples of NLP meta-programs include the preference for overview or detail, the preference for where to place one’s attention during conversation, habitual linguistic patterns and body language, and so on.

Related concepts in other disciplines are known as cognitive styles or thinking styles. “- From the Wikipedia

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Examples of our own metaprograms
Processing common piece of news
Two extremes
Matching & Mismatching
Exercises

#170 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 04 – Towards / Away

RCG — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:00:33 +0000

Related concepts in other disciplines are known as cognitive styles or thinking styles. “- From the Wikipedia

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Metaprogram: Towards / Away, Proactive / Reactive

#169 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 03 – Internal / External

RCG — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:00:36 +0000

Related concepts in other disciplines are known as cognitive styles or thinking styles. “- From the Wikipedia

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

Metaprogram of Reference Systems: Internal / External
Figuring out the metaprograms
Moving between the metaprograms

#168 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 02 – General / Specific

RCG — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:00:29 +0000

Related concepts in other disciplines are known as cognitive styles or thinking styles. “- From the Wikipedia

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts. This series starts with podcast #167.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

What are metaprogramming spectrums
Metaprogram: Generalization / Specificity
Why they are important
How to shift along the spectrum

#167 Metaprograms, Metaprogramming & Beyond 01 – Introduction

RCG — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:00:13 +0000

Related concepts in other disciplines are known as cognitive styles or thinking styles. “- From the Wikipedia

In this series of conversations we extend the notion of Metaprograms beyond NLP with many other streams of thoughts.

Today’s episode includes the following topics:

What are metaprograms
Programming & Metaprogramming
Memes, programs & metaprograms
Why study metaprograms
Where metaprograms exist
Social programs
Sources that influenced this series

#166 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 9

RCG — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:00:46 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Jeremy Taylor is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, who has worked with dreams for over thirty years. He blends the values of spirituality with an active social conscience and a Jungian perspective. Founding member and past president of the Association for the Study of Dreams, he has written four books integrating dream symbolism, mythology, and archetypal energy.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

On Group Size for Dream Work
Rik’s Dream
Rik’s Dream Analysis

#165 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 8

RCG — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 15:00:48 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Dream Group Process
Social Action Example – Overcoming Racism

#164 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 7

RCG — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:00:19 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Difference between Child and Adult Dreams
Arman’s Dream

#163 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 6

RCG — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:00:00 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Dreaming Asleep or Dream Coming Into Life
Integration

#162 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 5

RCG — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:00:03 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Why We Don’t Remember Some Dream Details
Why Do We See Others Clearer Than Ourselves?
Irresponsibility as a Brain Function

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (The Movie)

Sergey — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:15:32 +0000

Is officially released on YouTube. Whether you agree with it or not, it is a thoughtful point of view that is worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w

#161 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 4

RCG — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:00:08 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Step Back To Shamans vs. Adding to Modern Science Mind
Spiral Dynamics Refresher
Spiral Dynamics and Dreams

#160 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 3

RCG — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 15:00:29 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Changing the World & Close People with Each Mutation
Closest People as Biggest Enemies – Bright Shadow Projections
Taking Unconscious Into Consideration
Is Dream Work Diagnostic? Message to the Opponents

#159 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 2

RCG — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 15:00:17 +0000

We are continuing a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Personal & Transpersonal Dreams
Food for Gods, Ego & Archetypes, Conscious Sacrifice
Jung on Religious & Spiritual Paradox
More Shocks from Jung
Leadership Cultivation – Limiting Opportunities

#158 Conversations on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor, part 1

RCG — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:00:20 +0000

Today we are starting a series of talks on Dreams with Jeremy Taylor.

Special thanks to Rik Ganju for introducing Jeremy to the Radical Change Group team, and for participating in the conversations.

In this episode:

Introduction to the series
Jeremy Taylor introducing himself
On Nightmares

Holiday Announcement

RCG — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:00:37 +0000

As the holiday season approaches here in the United States – as well as in many other parts of the World – we are pausing our regular stream of podcasts for 3 weeks till January 9, 2011.

Happy holidays, and see you next year!

#157 The Way of the Warrior, part 7 – Change and Learning

RCG — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:00:17 +0000

We are honored and humbled to continue our conversation on the Way of the Warrior, this time with Vilaire Sensei and Sastri Sensei. Vilaire Sensei, Menkyo Kaiden is the presenter of the system in this generation, and Sastri Sensei, Menkyo Kaiden is the headmaster of the Indian Branch of KAR, and senior advisor to both the Kita Yama and Mountain View Aiki dojo.

Change that happens over years
- If a student does not feel a difference over a few years, then I as a sensei have not done my job
- Spiritual enlightenment depends on the indiviual
- Outsiders notice your growth before you do
- I am not here to be a good person, I am here to be a good teacher, to teach what I know
- People told me not to teach, but I choose to teach
Learning this art leads to
- Total confusion for a few months,
- After 6 months confidence starts to come from within, not from drilling toughness into you
- After about 30 months, training atleast 4 hours a week – you become atleast a little proficient in the art, atleast 20% of the syllabus of the art
- After that it grows from there, but you have to work a lot, atleast 4 hours per week of constant study
- Don’t come to my dojo to make friends and hang out
I am an instructor, not your trainer and there is a huge difference
Before Kaze I was not a humble person, always ready to go for a fight
- The art and Vilaire sensei made me a humble person
- How Sastri Sensei met Vilaire Sensei
  - The head instructor is mopping the floor
  - No order given, and the instructor leads the way on “how to be”
  - Transformation from an animal to learning to be a humble human
- Change comes from how the system teaches the instructors to behave and how to transmit
- The true student wants to learn whats on the other side of the wall, even when my body is not allowing me to go there
- Knowledge is infinite – there is no end, I wont see the end of it even in 10 lifetimes – this makes me humble
- I don’t care about wearing the kaiden/red-white belt – I don’t need it
- One learns one is a nobody
- A true student of the art evolves every single day
- One discovers ones own greatness, ones own basic goodness
Mahipal running into Sastri Sensei
- How Mahipal met Sastri Sensei
- Lessons in humility – sastri sensei takes Mahipal down and the journey begins
- I cannot keep this with me, it has to be given away, and only when I am giving this away is there some kind of peace
Senseis give so much
- Sensei sastri promises 3 years of his life
- Some of you will make it, some of you wont
- The intensity of the tests
  - My time with the students is limited
  - I even taught them menkyo techniques for their black belt tests
  - Did not want to leave my students as half baked martial artists
  - My students pushed me everyday and I would push them – my students made me a better instructor
  - Training on Christmas day, no breaks, keep coming back to learn more
- One you get your oku iri from me – you should be able to hold your own in any school
- The system evolves you
- If I did not fight, I would have a splitting headache – I had to fight, I had to throw that punch
- You need to fight so that you don’t lash out at someone else
- I am not a coward, I just don’t want to fight

#156 The Way of the Warrior, part 6 – Humility and the study of Art

RCG — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:00:56 +0000

The kindness and gentleness of this art
- Sometimes kindness means killing effectively
- As a sensei you are a commanding officer,
- A special bond is sometimes created with “some students”
- I have gained a family by being an instructor of this system
- Not everyone reaches graduate school nor do they need to, people leave school at different parts/levels
Enjoying the art you practice is critical
- Art was not designed to be liked, it was designed to be what it is
- Commercial schools change based on what people like
- We don’t depend on teaching the art to survive, we do other things, and come to the art for other reasons
Difference between warrior schools and other schools
- Warriors don’t worry about life and death, they do what they have to do
- Fighting for a cause, not for profit
- We study it because we see the beauty involved in the knowledge we are learning
- We look at ourselves and discover “my god, I am different now”
- Warrior art, philosophical living
- Learn humility, learn how to be human
- In some parts of the world they will hunt you down if they find out you are a martial artist
- Fighting is for babies, if you think sparring makes you tough you are in for a rude awakening
- Need to learn how to deal with real violence
- Guns don’t kill, you need to be able to pull the trigger – that requires training
- You don’t become a true warrior by being a keyboard martial artist
- Don’t come to learn from us if you just wish to learn how to defend against that onetime you may be mugged
- You cannot bypass violence, it part of human nature
- We deal with true violence to reach our highself

Holiday Announcement

Mahipal Lunia — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:37:16 +0000

This is a holiday announcement – it is the thanksgiving weekend – in the United States, and we are skipping an episode this week. We will resume our weekly podcasts again next week.

Sir Ken Robinson – Changing Paradigms in Education

Sergey — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:18:21 +0000

Ken argues – and quite convincingly – that our current education system is hopelessly outdated, and what is the direction we need to change it to bring the best in an individual – not to conform one to the system. The animated condensed version of the talk:

And below is the complete original lecture:

#155 The Way of the Warrior, part 5 – Evolution and Approaches

RCG — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:00:28 +0000

Think evolution, we don’t live like the samurai of the 18th century
- Fortunate to have an instructor who was a military man first and a martial artist next
- Like the bootcamp, you are going to hate me
- Not here to make Kaze Arashi Ryu popular, warfare is complicated, it can make you crazy
- Warfare is not based on weight categories and/or sport, being a warrior is about taking on whoever shows up in front of you
- True warrior is all about “surviving when the odds are against you”
- Reality of warfare, most people who practice sword do not even think about decapitation, they hide the real use so much they forget what and why they practice the sword
- I don’t want to own a school or operate anything, I just want to teach
- I wish I did not lose money teaching it, but that’s the way it works
Military is voluntary, and they make many promises
- You show up through the door I will teach you, no promises made
- Any idiot can kill, we teach how not to be killed and learn other things along the way
- Opening up other avenues – your inner selves
Distintions between different school
- Warrior schools, mixed martial arts and mcdonalds studios in malls
- I don’t want to talk about other schools, I will stick to what I do
- You cannot compare classical to jazz to rock and roll, each one has its place
- Different schools/traditions exist because people have different tastes
- Mixed martial arts is like having warfare without having warfare
- Kaze fits best where “real violence exists”
- I don’t take Kaze to avoid a mugging, but there is something greater emerges in the process of learning
- We go as close to true jutsu as possible
Experts are not born by watching, you need to be engaged
- Critics are easy to find, practioneers are hard to find
- When you fight there is no pity
- When you are in war, you cant say I will just shoot this guy in the leg, you are fighting for life
- We teach our students to be kind, compassionate, being true to yourself
- Our students are always looking to help another person, save animals etc
- Live in both worlds – where cruelty and softness exist
- The art made me, the praise should go to the art, when my students praise me I give the credit to the art
- Don’t be someones vomit, you want to learn come and get on the mat
- Its about becoming a balanced human being, and the instructors impart knowledge of martial arts and the philosophy of life

#154 The Way of the Warrior, part 4 – Tradition and Teacher

RCG — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:00:17 +0000

What is tradition
- Does not have to be old to be tradition
- Knowledge passed on from one person to another
- Tradition is based on principles not time
- Name does not matter, what you do/execute matters
- Don’t let famous names guide/misguide you
- Art is only as good as its presenter, and for this generation I am the presenter (Vilaire Shihan)
- Whatever I have done I have done from my heart, soul and spirit
- Fame is almost inverse of the art I do
- A small tradition, less than 188 students worldwide, and this is by choosing
- The knowledge we have been passing down is so special, and its not easy to duplicate at all – one can try and are free to do so if people please
- There is nothing to defend the system, it can stand on its own
- Is my samurai greater than your samurai ??
- Whose fame or skill is carrying the system/art
- The question should be “have I started where my teachers have stopped and are my students ready to surpass me”
True teacher
- Must expect your students to be better than you
- This art does require a certain amount intelligence
- I hope and pray my students are better than me
- I am NOT important, the art and expression is the important thing
- Don’t memorize, but analyze the techniques – its not monkey see, monkey do
- Don’t be bogged down by tradition or history – what is important is who are you and what can you do
- Its not how good your teacher is, the question is how good a student are you to learn
- A relationship based on respect is important to really learn
- Pay attention to what your heart tells you abut your teacher, not what the world says he is
- You are free to go and learn anywhere, if you find something better than what I have to offer, you can please leave and leave me alone

#153 Swimming with Dolphins – Passion – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 16

RCG — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:00:23 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

His 1,500-page dissertation is entitled “The Superhighway to Serfdom: How False-Social-Norms Marketing is Hijacking the American Dream.” He is a co-author (with Dudley Lynch) of the books The Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World, which has become a best seller, and Code of the Monarch: A Guide to the Real Global Business Revolution. He is also the author (with his wife, Susan) of the book Name Your Passion: A User’s Guide to Finding Your Personal Purpose.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

How do I know what my gift is?
What is the story that we are moving into?
- Each world view has its own mythology
- Moving from one world to the next through the narrative
Myths for each of the value systems
Surprises

#152 Swimming with Dolphins – Passion – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 15

RCG — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:00:39 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Passion
- Doing what you love
- Doing the way you love to do it – a good context
- Need to do it where it is needed – finding the right place
- "If you feel good at work, you are not doing your work" – the social myth to overcome
"The Secret" fad
- Envisioning is only half the story, you have to take action
- "I love a good breakfast, but I don’t like to make it". Try lying in bed manifesting it.
Attributes of the winners – people who have successively lived being on purpose
Bigger than self

#151 Swimming with Dolphins – Power – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 14

RCG — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:00:14 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Conscious consumption & investment
- Let’s all agree to work less
Cooperation
- Punishing the non-punisher
Manipulation of symbols
- Any codification and shorthand is a gross overgeneralization
- Breaking the power of symbols – going to process thinking
Linear & Systemic Thinking
- Majoring in minor things
Decision making & decision systems
- Cannot make a true transformation without entering the people’s map first
Knowing your board of directors
- Life is more complex than we would like it to be

#150 Swimming with Dolphins – Power – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 13

RCG — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:00:35 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Value Systems & Power
Architecture & Power
- The tallest building indicates the prevailing power
Motivation for Transition
- It has to be painful enough where you are, and the pleasure of where you want to go must be high enough in order to motivate you to endure the pain of the transition
- Learned helplessness – after some point, people give up
Power of Narrative

#149 Swimming with Dolphins – Power – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 12

RCG — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:00:51 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Religion – Fundamentalism
Corporate and Military
Media

Stories of Our Lives

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:37:53 +0000

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

#148 Swimming with Dolphins – Power – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 11

RCG — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:00:50 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Economy
- If we work less, we may have higher quality of life
- From deadlines to lifelines
- From maximizing profit to maximizing value
- Spreading ideas
Power
Holy and Unholy Trinity: Economy, Religion, Politics

#147 Swimming with Dolphins – Mirror Neurons & Social Capital – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 10

RCG — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:00:09 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the complete series.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Social Capital
- Economic ladder
- Social capital – doing business is a social process
- Context and environment is important
Mirror Neurons
- Empathy – mixing rich and poor makes rich want to help, if only not to feel the poor’s pain
Rapport, Brain and Autism
- Rapport – maching & mirroring – it’s a tool, the difference in application
- Autism – a disfunction of mirror neurons
- Monkey moving the cursor
Disconnect of empathy in our society
- Manipulation is not always bad

#146 Embodied Mythology Series 15: The Holy Grail with Paul Rebillot, part 3

RCG — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 15:00:26 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with our teacher and friend Paul Rebillot on the topic of the Healing Theatre – the combination of acting and drama, mythology, gestalt therapy, and rituals. For more information about Paul and his work, please visit his website – Direct Impact Creativity.

In this episode, Paul continues the discussion about the myth of the Holy Grail.

The topics covered in this talk are:

Levels of Spiritual Quest
Which myth is right for me?
What is a myth?
Multiple cultures
- The American myths

#145 Embodied Mythology Series 14: The Holy Grail with Paul Rebillot, part 2

RCG — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:00:41 +0000

In this episode, Paul describes the structure based on the myth of the Holy Grail.

The topics covered in this talk are:

The Structure
"What’s troubling you, my uncle?"
- Instead of giving an answer, ask a question
- Instead of solving each other’s problems, listen and make it possible for them to solve it
- Giving power to the person, rather than power over them
Staying present
Accepting the Symbolic

#144 Embodied Mythology Series 13: The Holy Grail with Paul Rebillot, part 1

RCG — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:00:13 +0000

In this episode, Paul tells the essential parts of the myth of the Holy Grail.

The topics covered in this talk are:

The Holy Grail – Parsival and his Mother
King Arthur
The Grail Castle
The Great Knight
Healing of the Wound
The Sacred Feminine

#143 Embodied Mythology Series 12: Rituals of Transformation with Paul Rebillot, part 2

RCG — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:00:06 +0000

In this episode, Paul explains the structure and design of Rites of Passage, or the Rituals of Transformation.

The topics covered in this talk are:

How do you know it’s time for the rite of passage
- Putting "blood" (life) back into the ritual
Lack of rituals in the modern society
- There are no rituals for crossing age thresholds – people want to stay young and don’t appreciate their own age
Making rites of passages in everyday life

What is Life All About – The Dalai Lama speaks

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:07:12 +0000

A fanatastic series of conversations with His Holiness at Delhi University

The Dalai Lama, What is Life all About,

#142 Embodied Mythology Series 11: Rituals of Transformation with Paul Rebillot, part 1

RCG — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:00:43 +0000

In this episode, Paul explains the structure and design of Rites of Passage, or the Rituals of Transformation.

The topics covered in this talk are:

Rites of Passage – Example
- Ways of leaving the "nest"
- Suffering is being stuck at a passage
Structure for creating rites of passages
- Ritual is dying to the old and being born into the new
Boy becoming a man – one of the aboriginal rituals
- How did you find out that there is no Santa Clause?
Various rites of passages
How do we construct these rituals?

Saying good-bye to the past
Symbolic act of ending the past
Going into the no-man’s-land
Crossing into the other side, being who they are. Trying something new behavior in the new place.
Group gesture to complete the ritual

Greal link if Mythology fascinates you – Meet the Gods

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:21:42 +0000

Welcome to Godchecker – your Guide to the Gods

We have more Gods than you can shake a stick at. Godchecker’s Mythology Encyclopedia currently features over 2,850 deities.

Browse the pantheons of the world, explore ancient myths, and discover Gods of everything from Fertility to Fluff with the fully searchable Holy Database Of All Known Gods.

www.godchecker.com
Technorati Tags: mythology, meet the gods, god checker

Culture Wires The Brain

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:36:50 +0000

More evidence of the BioPsychoSocial model for development is what needs to be studied.
Patterns exists and influence at the level of self, Self, Culture/Enviornment, and the relationship between the indiviual and the environment. We are working on a series right now exploring the meta-programs-patterns that govern our experience of the world.
Any suggestions, thoughts ideas (above and beyond the normal so called NLP Meta Programs) are welcome

Culture wires the brain: A cognitive neuroscience perspective

There is evidence that the collectivist nature of East Asian cultures versus individualistic Western cultures affects both brain and behavior. East Asians tend to process information in a global manner whereas Westerners tend to focus on individual objects. There are differences between East Asians and Westerners with respect to attention, categorization, and reasoning. For example, in one study, after viewing pictures of fish swimming, Japanese volunteers were more likely to remember contextual details of the image than were American volunteers. Experiments tracking participants’ eye movements revealed that Westerners spend more time looking at focal objects while Chinese volunteers look more at the background. In addition, our culture may play a role in the way we process facial information. Research has indicated that when viewing faces, East Asians focus on the central region of faces while Westerners look more broadly, focusing on both the eyes and mouth.

Technorati Tags: Brain, NLP, Meta Programs, BioPsychoSocial, Clare Graves, East and West,

Lost in Translation

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:36:57 +0000

An interesting article on something most of us intuitively know and many of the NLPers and linguists have for long shown, along with the work of Ed Hall!

Fasinating read coming to the MSM (mainstream media)

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?

Take “Humpty Dumpty sat on a…” Even this snippet of a nursery rhyme reveals how much languages can differ from one another. In English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we say “sat” rather than “sit.” In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can’t) change the verb to mark tense.

In Russian, you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the sitting. You would also have to decide if the sitting event was completed or not. If our ovoid hero sat on the wall for the entire time he was meant to, it would be a different form of the verb than if, say, he had a great fall.

In Turkish, you would have to include in the verb how you acquired this information. For example, if you saw the chubby fellow on the wall with your own eyes, you’d use one form of the verb, but if you had simply read or heard about it, you’d use a different form.

Does Language Influence Culture? – WSJ.com

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?

Take “Humpty Dumpty sat on a…” Even this snippet of a nursery rhyme reveals how much languages can differ from one another. In English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we say “sat” rather than “sit.” In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can’t) change the verb to mark tense.
Related Video

* Yes We Can Learn English

* Learning a Language Online

* Keeping Cajun Alive

In Russian, you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the sitting. You would also have to decide if the sitting event was completed or not. If our ovoid hero sat on the wall for the entire time he was meant to, it would be a different form of the verb than if, say, he had a great fall.

In Turkish, you would have to include in the verb how you acquired this information. For example, if you saw the chubby fellow on the wall with your own eyes, you’d use one form of the verb, but if you had simply read or heard about it, you’d use a different form.

Technorati Tags: WSJ, lost in translation, cognitive research, linguistics

#141 Embodied Mythology Series 10: Personal Myths with Paul Rebillot, part 2

RCG — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:00:34 +0000

In this episode, Paul is describing his approach to designing new structures from Personal Myths.

The topics covered in this talk are:

Identifying with every character in your myth
Variety of Shadows
Moving between roles
A story from Hero’s Journey workshop
- Example – Baba Yaga story
Feedback about the structure
Common patterns in the structures

#140 Embodied Mythology Series 09: Personal Myths with Paul Rebillot, part 1

RCG — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:00:32 +0000

In this episode, Paul is describing his approach to designing new structures from Personal Myths.

The topics covered in this talk are:

Personal Myths
- How to create your own structure
Trip to Epidavros (Greece)
- The sacred path of healing
- Illness means being out of harmony
- Healing process:
  - Going to the temple, dream, meet the priest, get diagnosed
  - Take care of the body
  - Go to theatre – to experience catharsis, take care of the soul
  - Go to a temple and re-integrate the God inside themselves
The workshop structure
- The body is the temple of the soul. Fool’s dance – meditation on the myth in the body.
- Dramatizing the myth – playing the roles, with interaction
- An initiation
The Minotaur story
An initiation
- Brings it to here and now.
Create your own structure

#139 Embodied Mythology Series 08: Death & Resurrection with Paul Rebillot, part 2

RCG — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:00:29 +0000

In this episode, Paul is describing the structure called Death & Resurrection.

The topics covered in this talk are:

The Awakening
- Bathing with perfumed water, to awaken the senses
- Sensorium – different kinds of smells, senses, getting loose
What actually dies is a role
- "Growth stops when we avoid pain" (Fritz Perls)
- Create your ideal parent to heal the part of you that was retarded (not developed)
Reparenting process
- Story about a school teacher of problem kids
- Reincarnation Game
What happens to people after the workshop
A Sci-Fi Story

#138 Embodied Mythology Series 08: Death & Resurrection with Paul Rebillot, part 1

RCG — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:00:42 +0000

In this episode, Paul is describing the structure called Death & Resurrection.

The topics covered in this talk are:

What does Death & Resurrection mean?
- A catapillar turns into a butterfly
- Christ
- Feeling of body falling apart to come back together again (martial arts)
- Total loss of control. When you confront death, there is nothing you can do except experience it
Why would you want to experience Death & Resurrection?
- First, the willingness to give everything up
- Idea of Phoenix – letting go of everything
- Confront your death, and resurrection will take care of itself
Stanislavsky approach
- Best actors put themselves into what they are doing
- "As if true" technique
- As if in four days I’m going to die
- What do you need to do to go into the death as an accomplishment
The three centers – body
- Body – connecting to the physical world
- Meditation in nature – "Death is certain. It comes without warning. This body will be a corpse."
- "The Body Mass" – in the evening, touch every part of your body and say good buy to all the parts.
- Next morning, make up wills and give out their posessions.
Relationships – saying good-bye to everyone
Last day of life
- Give a gift to yourself
- Write your own funeral
- The 7 most important things in their life to say good-bye to, and 3 things they are glad to get rid of. Bring 10 symbols for those.
- Burning everything and watching the smoke rise to the next life
- Every day people have to be more and more silent – essential silence, only say what’s needed
- The last supper – lifting the silence
- The Last Breath process, the moment of Death. Taking turns.

Holiday Announcement

RCG — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:00:17 +0000

This is a holiday announcement – it is the week of the 4th of July – the Independence Day in the United States, and we are skipping an episode this week. We will resume our weekly podcasts again next week.

#137 Buckminster Fuller – Conversations with David Neenan, part 2

RCG — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:00:38 +0000

We are continuing our conversation with David Neenan about Buckminster Fuller.

David Neenan is the creator of the pioneering Archistruction(R) process for planning, designing, and managing building construction projects. As president of The Neenan Company, he has combined leading-edge information processing and design methods and innovative "people" approaches to reengineer how the construction process works from conception to completion. His company uses the Archistruction methods to design and costruct office, medical, retail, and light industrial buildings for clients throughout the Rocky Mountain region from offices in Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. David is also a nationally recognized seminar leader, keynode speaker, business consultant, and the author of books such as "Evergreen" and "No Excuses: be the hero of your own life". He has produced his "Business & You" and other seminars in Colorado, Hawaii, California, Texas, Vermont, Taiwan, Sweden, Moscow, and Siberia. He and his wife, Sharon, live in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Topics covered in this episode:

The Lake Michigan Dialogue
- Not everyone can learn from hard experiences
- The only way to learn is to hang in there. Resilience is the key.
- You don’t belong to you, you belong to the Universe
- The "Guinea Pig B": what can one pennyless person do on behalf of the humanity?
- Best technology was used for "killingry", instead of for "livingry"
- The Universe is a perfect balance of tension and compression
Bucky’s principles in Business – Synergistics
Excuses and responsibility
- What can I do about?
- I didn’t do it
- Everybody else is doing it
- I couldn’t help it, I had no choice
- God told me to do it
- I couldn’t help it, I was afraid
How Bucky died
- "Call me trimtab"

Paul Ekman’s Taxonomy of Compassion –

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:31:25 +0000

Paul Ekman’s Taxonomy of Compassion

By Paul Ekman | June 21, 2010 | 0 comments

The renowned psychologist offers a lesson in emotional intelligence.

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This month, Greater Good features videos of a presentation by renowned psychologist Paul Ekman on “Darwin, Compassion, and the Dalai Lama.” In his talk, Ekman reveals the similarities between Darwin’s and the Dalai Lama’s perspectives on compassion, and he provides an overview of different forms of compassion, ranging from the most elementary to the most exceptional and heroic. Many writers group these phenomena together, explains Ekman, without realizing they’re talking about different things.

Below is a guide to understanding what these varying forms of compassion are and why they’re so important.

Emotion Recognition is the easiest—the sine qua non. It’s knowing how another person is feeling. Most people don’t need to be taught it, though people with Asperger’s, autism, or schizoprenia do. Realize that the torturer needs emotion recognition: to know how you feel doesn’t imply whether I’m going to try to relieve your suffering or inflict it, or just have no concern. But if I don’t know how you’re feeling, everything else just falls by the wayside.

Emotional Resonance is what Bill Clinton does: “I feel your pain.” I distinguish between two types of resonance: Identical Resonance is when you realize that someone is in pain and you actually physically experience that same feeling yourself. But when you say, “Oh, you poor baby! I’m so sorry you’re feeling that way. What can I do to help you?”—that’s Reactive Resonance.

Everybody loves people who resonate; resonance is crucial to our relationships with our loved ones. But if you’re like my daughter, an emergency room worker in San Francisco’s only trauma center, if you feel other people’s pain for 8 or 12 hours a day, you’ll burn out. The Dalai Lama says he feels others’ pain, but just very slightly and just for a few seconds, then it passes.

Not everyone resonates: There’s reason to believe that people with anti-social personalities don’t resonate, but they’re able to act as if they resonate, because they know other people like it, and that allows them to manipulate others.

Nadia Zwierzchowska

Familial Compassionis the seed of compassion, planted through the caregiver-offspring bond. It raises very interesting questions about people who were brought up without a single caregiver, or were brought up with a parent who had a very distant attachment. What is their capacity for compassion? Both the Dalai Lama and Darwin would say that they’re going to have problems—without the seed, the flower won’t grow.

Global Compassion was exemplified by the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. People around the world extended assistance to strangers, of different races and skin colors. Now, we know that not everybody has it—a lot of people acted, and a lot of people didn’t. How do we cultivate global compassion? I consider this one of the most crucial questions for the survival of our children and grandchildren, because the planet won’t survive without global compassion. We’ve got to try to see what we can learn from those who have it without training.

Sentient Compassion is when you extend feelings of compassion toward cockroaches, toward any living being. We don’t know whether people who have global compassion have sentient compassion. But my hunch is that if you’ve got sentient, you’ve got global. The Dalai Lama and Darwin agree that sentient is the highest moral virtue.

United States Navy/Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Smith

Heroic Compassionis like altruism with a risk. It has two forms: Immediate Heroic Compassionis when, without thought, you jump onto the subway tracks to rescue someone. It’s impulsive.

Considered Heroic Compassion isn’t done impulsively; it’s done with thought, and it can be maintained for many years.

Kristen Monroe, a political scientist at the University of California, Irvine, has done a study of people with heroic compassion, and here are her criteria for it: 1) you must act—not just think about how good it would be to act; 2) your goal is the welfare of the other person; 3) your action has consequences for that person; 4) there’s a good possibility your actions will diminish your own welfare—you’re putting yourself at risk; 5) and you have no anticipation of reward or recognition.

Again, we know that some people demonstrate heroic compassion without training. How’d they get it? What can we learn from them that will allow us to help other people develop it?

THANK YOU !!!

RCG — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:42:53 +0000

We want to thank all of our listeners, and all of our collaborators today as we have kind of hit a major milestone today. We never thought this project would come as far as it has or take the shape it has taken.

So we stand here somewhat proud, and yet very humbled that a small group, following its shared vision has managed to reach a goal far beyond its initial sights and its impact far greater than we had imagined.

Yes it feels great today for we have

Reached 500,000 downloads of our material
We have published 136 shows on various topics
Downloads from over 100 Countries
Our topics of exploration have spanned various streams including but not limited to Neuro Linguistic Programming, Spiral Dynamics, Gravesian Levels, Mythology, 8 Circuit Brain, Leadership, Martial Arts, Dance, Theater, Shamanism, Positive Deviance, Somatics, Buckminister Fuller………

And we want to thank all of you our listeners for helping us reach this with no marketing or push, but the growth has been completely by self discovery and word of mouth. We also want to thank all our collaborators in helping this project take shape. Our thanks go to -

Sensei Srini Sastri - Menkyo Kaiden, Kaze Arashi Ryu for “Way Of the Warrior” Series and so-so much more
Late Paul Rebillot – For being such a wonderful mentor in our mythology studies and the “Embodied Mythology” series
Late Richard Roberts – For bringing Joseph Cambell’s work even closer to us than we could have imagined
Gabrielle Roth & Kathy Altman – who continue to teach us how to dance to our own beat and the “5 Rhythms” series
Paul Kordis - Best selling author, Friend and collaborator, someone who writes and embodies the work of Clare Graves in the deepest possible ways and “Swimming With Dolphins” series
Marshal Thurber - For sponsoring our initiation into the world of Bucky Fuller, Positive Deviance and Super Learning – and the “Positive Deviance” series
David Neenan – Inviting us into his Business & You world, and unique mix of existential living and contribution and his series on “Bucky and Transformation”
Antero Alli - For the multiple Paratheatre experiences, and the series on “8 Circuit Brain” and “Archetypes Crossing” Series
Ismana Carney – For her graciousness at Esalen and the series on “Earth As Sacred Text”
Maniko – For helping us see how voice and dance merge, and the series on “Alchemy of Voice” series
And a few more Unnamed Mentors and friends who though remain behind curtains have helped shape us and our lives

And above all THANK YOU TO ALL OUR LISTENERS and all the emails and feedback you have sent to this project. We stand in awe, and with humility as we cross the milestone of HALF A MILLION DOWNLOADS!!!!!!!!!!

Amusing Ourselfves to death

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:54:37 +0000

orwell, huxley, stuart mcmillen,

#136 Buckminster Fuller – Conversations with David Neenan, part 1

RCG — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:00:03 +0000

We are happy to have David Neenan again in our studio, this time talking about Buckminster Fuller – a truly renaissance man of the 20th century.

Topics covered in this episode:

Introduction to Bucky
Abundance
- The collapsing dome story
- Simple concepts, but they are not easy
- If they are lost – help them, but if they are losers – don’t
- Miopic kindness and wise kindness
Communicating with mood
The Four Points of Bucky
- 1. Integrity
  - Human beings are patterns of integrity
  - Tell the truth – not the absolute Truth, but your own truth of the moment
- 2. Daring
  - Dare not to go with the crowd, but go with your own ideas
  - Standing up against the crowd – one of the biggest principles
- 3. Network
  - Acceleration of Technology towards Abundance
  - "You are network. Declare it, live it, learn to be with others, and grow from it".
- 4. Love
  - Stay with your integrity, dare to go with your own mind, network with other people of like minds, and love comprehensively.

#135 Positive Deviants 18 – Modeling Deviants, part 2

RCG — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:00:37 +0000

We are concluding our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Two Kinds of Modeling – Others and Self
Three types of modeling others – an overview
Indirect Modeling – Osho
Direct Learning – Absorbtion – Sensei Sastri
Eclectic Modeling – from many sources – RCG
Modeling Self
Concluding remarks

#134 Positive Deviants 17 – Modeling Deviants, part 1

RCG — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:00:12 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Modeling Deviants
What is Modeling
Why model deviants
Unique challenges in modeling deviants
When to Model Deviants

#133 Positive Deviants 16 – Making of a Deviant, part 2

RCG — Sun, 30 May 2010 15:00:25 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Reminder of the last episode
Abundance, doing more with less
You Are the Project
Listening with an Open Mind & Continuous Learning
Showcase Your Strength

#132 Positive Deviants 15 – Making of a Deviant, part 1

RCG — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:00:14 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Making of a Deviant
Comeback is Critical
Finding your passion
Getting Help from the Future
Exploring small niches

#131 Positive Deviants 14 – Impact of a Deviant, part 2

RCG — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:00:45 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Bottom-up deviants – grassroots
Dangers of being a deviant

#130 Positive Deviants 13 – Impact of a Deviant, part 1

RCG — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:00:16 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Staying true to one’s vision
Impact of a deviant
Top-down deviants

#129 Positive Deviants 12 – Deviant’s Life Cycle

RCG — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:00:07 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Deviant’s Life Cycle
5 Stages of an idea
- Fringe
- Edge
- Realm of the Cool
- The Next Big Thing
- Social Convention
Deviant’s Journey

#128 Positive Deviants 11 – The Fluid Nature of Deviancy, part 2

RCG — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:00:08 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Net Consequences
Motivation – fear vs. hope
Examples of Deviant’s Fluidity
Moving from one kind of deviance to the other

#127 Positive Deviants 10 – The Fluid Nature of Deviancy, part 1

RCG — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:00:11 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

The Fluid Nature of Deviancy
The Four Spheres of Influence
Lenses for Evaluating Deviants
Division vs. Integration
Status Quo vs. Evolution

#126 Positive Deviants 09 – The Curse of the Blessed, part 2

RCG — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:00:15 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover:

Effects of not dealing with challenges

#125 Positive Deviants 08 – The Curse of the Blessed, part 1

RCG — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:00:25 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

The Curse of the Blessed
Gifts come with curses

#124 Positive Deviants 07 – Deviant Qualities, part 4

RCG — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:00:26 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Checking the Edges
Low Regard for Social Conventions
Radical Change Group Takes the Deviancy Test

#123 Positive Deviants 06 – Deviant Qualities, part 3

RCG — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:00:57 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Recap of Previous Attributes
Rapid Cognition

#122 Positive Deviants 05 – Deviant Qualities, part 2

RCG — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:00:17 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Seeing Holes vs. Net
Moving Towards, Not Away

#121 Positive Deviants 04 – Deviant Qualities, part 1

RCG — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:00:37 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Deviant’s Qualities
Passion
Moral or Social Purpose

#120 Positive Deviants 03 – Nature & Nurture, part 2

RCG — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:00:38 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Shaping Environment
Nature & Nurture Together
Spiral Dynamics
Recommendations
Closing Thoughts

#119 Positive Deviants 02 – Nature & Nurture, part 1

RCG — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:00:45 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations on Positive Deviance (the first episode is podcast #118). In today’s episode we cover the following topics:

Nature & Nurture
How Deviants Come To Be
Nature
Nurture

#118 Positive Deviants 01 – Introduction

RCG — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:00:59 +0000

We are starting a new series of conversations in our attempt to bring several streams of thought aimed in the same direction. This direction is the notion of Positive Deviance. A Positive Deviant, also known as an Outsider, or an Outlier, is a person who in one way or another is above the norm. In the course of the series, we will explore many different definitions, views and angles on positive deviancy, whan makes deviants and how to recognize them, what it takes to be a deviant, the effects of deviants on others, how deviants come about, and how and what we can learn from them.

Today’s episode touches upon the following topics:

Introduction to the topic
Definition of a deviant
Mutants
Today’s deviants are tomorrow’s norm
Deviants are feared
Dangers of being a deviant
Is it a choice?

Goodbyes are never easy, and yet they do come as both ends and new beginnings

RCG — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:08:22 +0000

Goodbyes are never easy

These past few months have not been easy, as we have had to say goodbye to two good friends and teachers. Both of them enriched our lives with the magic of mythology and brought alive the Heroic Quest that would have otherwise been much more a theoritical and academic exercise. Words fail to do justice for what magical worlds these wonderful teachers, mentors and friends opened for us.

We are profoundly grateful for having had Paul Rebillot and Richard Roberts in our lives. And with sadness we mourn both their deaths, but with joy remember their lives, their contribution and their generous spirit with which they shared their learnings, not just with the founders of RCG but with the world at large

Both of them opened up their voices and hearts to RCG and made the only recordings they have available to the world at large. Their wisdom and generous spirit has touched thousands of lives worldwide and will be both missed and deeply treasured.

Richards & Paul has been for a long time battling their health issues and now are rejoined with the great spirit. They leave behind an array of students whose lives have been touched, transformed and enriched due to their presence.

We have had the unique honor and privilege to have been participants of the last workshop Paul did, and soon after he took ill. We will remember and treasure the wit, wisdom and above all the kind heart of this wonderful friend and teacher and the evenings we spent enthralled by his stories and learning his structures. He also introduced us to Gabrielle Roth and the work of 5 Rhythms which has had a significant impact on our lives. We will continue to bring some more of his recordings to the world at large through RCG and hope that his voice will find fertile ground where the saplings of new heroic quests emerge. This way his contribution will continue to live..

Richards gave us his time, his private recordings and many an insights into topics as diverse and esoteric as ESP, Seth material, Tarot, the Egyptian mythos, magick besides the magical encounters with Joesph Campbell. He brought Campbell to life, and made him even more a part of our lives. For this he will also have our profound gratitude.

As we lay our friends and teachers to rest, we realize that its never easy to say goodbye, and it leaves a kind of void that is hard to fill. And yet these goodbyes are also hello’s to a new world for both the departed and those still here. We wish that the journeys that Paul and Richards are now on finds happiness, peace and above all love.

And as once Paul told us “the caterpillar must become the butterfly” we will look to continue our quests in the becoming… and with love and fondness remember the enchantment both created for us, and hope to pass it on to the next generation.

Thank you Paul, thank you Richard – You both made this a richer world.

with love and gratitude

RCG

#117 The Earth as a Sacred Text – Conversations with Ismana, part 5

RCG — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:04 +0000

We are concluding our series of conversations with Ismana Carney – a Jung-based Earth-centered shamanic therapist. In these talks, Ismana explores with us some basic and very important questions through the eyes of a person deeply connected to Nature, Jungian psychology and shamanic traditions.

From the website of Terra Lucida Institute: Ismana Carney’s work is grounded in Carl Jung’s approach to dream work, archetypal, and Nature psychology, and cultivating the soul via Earth-centered rituals and therapeutic shamanic practices. Ismana teaches college and university courses in comparative world religions with a special emphasis on the mystical traditions. For the past two decades Ismana has also been involved both professionally and personally with Native indigenous tribal communities and their cultural and spiritual traditions. Ismana is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on Native American cultural and spiritual life.

In today’s episode:

Living in a relation with nature
- Everything is alive
Men’s and Women’s paths
Maturity
- What is a Mature Woman? Man?

#116 The Earth as a Sacred Text – Conversations with Ismana, part 4

RCG — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:00:39 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with Ismana Carney – a Jung-based Earth-centered shamanic therapist. In these talks, Ismana explores with us some basic and very important questions through the eyes of a person deeply connected to Nature, Jungian psychology and shamanic traditions.

In today’s episode:

A Hawk Story
Understanding the Language of Nature
Changing our languaging
- We are of the Earth, not on the Earth

#115 The Earth as a Sacred Text – Conversations with Ismana, part 3

RCG — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:00:06 +0000

In today’s episode:

Society and Love
- The Great Soap Opera
Discovering Your Nature through Nature
- Jung: story of the egyptian scarab beetle
Learning the Language of the Nature
Interpreting the Meaning of the Nature’s Language

#114 The Earth as a Sacred Text – Conversations with Ismana, part 2

RCG — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:00:45 +0000

In today’s episode:

Decisions & Purpose
Biological Perspective
Heart and Love

Haiti Earthquake

Sergey — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:18:09 +0000

A rare powerful earthquake has destroyed the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, left the country in chaos, practically without police and government, and the survivors are relying on the foreign aid for the basic survival needs – food, water, safety, medical help.

We are shaken by the news, and are passing the word to all our listeners and readers to help the people of Haiti with what you can. The RCG founders have donated from their personal funds to “Doctors Without Borders”. Many more organizations are listed in a CNN article – a very much needed and concrete way to make a difference.

#113 The Earth as a Sacred Text – Conversations with Ismana, part 1

RCG — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:00:31 +0000

Today, we are starting a fascinating series of conversations with Ismana Carney – a "Jung-based Earth-centered shamanic therapist", as she describes herself in the introduction. In these talks, Ismana explores with us some basic and very important questions through the eyes of a person deeply connected to Nature, Jungian psychology and shamanic traditions.

Here are the topics covered in this episode:

About Ismana
- Ph.D. in depth psychology
- About 40 years on a spiritual path
Value of a Shamanic Path
Balance with Social Necessities

The Rise of the Politics of Fear –

RCG — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:55:29 +0000

This is a fantastic documentary on how much of our lives have been shaped in the last three decades by two competitive mythologies, . Its a wonderful look at how myth on both sides of the fence played such an important role in reshaping the world in the last 3 decades

From the wikipedia and google video
The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. Its three one-hour parts consist mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis’s narration. The series was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in late 2004 and has subsequently been broadcast in multiple countries and shown in several film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
The films compare the rise of the Neo-Conservative movement in the United States and the radical Islamist movement, making comparisons on their origins and claiming similarities between the two. More controversially, it argues that the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organised force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries—and particularly American Neo-Conservatives—in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more utopian ideologies.

Part 1: “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
The first part of the series explains the origin of Islamism and Neo-Conservatism. It shows Egyptian civil servant Sayyid Qutb, depicted as the founder of modern Islamist thought, visiting the U.S. to learn about the education system, but becoming disgusted with what he saw as a corruption of morals and virtues in western society through individualism. When he returns to Egypt, he is disturbed by westernisation under Gamal Abdel Nasser and becomes convinced that in order to save society it must be completely restructured along the lines of Islamic law while still using western technology. He also becomes convinced that this can only be accomplished through the use of an elite “vanguard” to lead a revolution against the established order. Qutb becomes a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and, after being tortured in one of Nasser’s jails, comes to believe that western-influenced leaders can justly be killed for the sake of removing their corruption. Qutb is executed in 1966, but he inspires the future mentor of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to start his own secret Islamist group. Inspired by the 1979 Iranian revolution, Zawahiri and his allies assassinate Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat, in 1981, in hopes of starting their own revolution. The revolution does not materialise, and Zawahiri comes to believe that the majority of Muslims have been corrupted by their western-inspired leaders and thus may be legitimate targets of violence if they do not join him.
At the same time in the United States, a group of disillusioned liberals, including Irving Kristol and Paul Wolfowitz, look to the political thinking of Leo Strauss after the perceived failure of President Johnson’s “Great Society”. They come to the conclusion that the emphasis on individual liberty was the undoing of the plan. They envisioned restructuring America by uniting the American people against a common evil, and set about creating a mythical enemy. These factions, the Neo-Conservatives, came to power under the Reagan administration, with their allies Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, and work to unite the United States in fear of the Soviet Union. The Neo-Conservatives allege the Soviet Union is not following the terms of disarmament between the two countries, and, with the investigation of “Team B”, they accumulate a case to prove this with dubious evidence and methods. President Reagan is convinced nonetheless.

Part 2: “The Phantom Victory”
In the second episode, Islamist factions, rapidly falling under the more radical influence of Zawahiri and his rich Saudi acolyte Osama bin Laden, join the Neo-Conservative-influenced Reagan Administration to combat the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. When the Soviets eventually pull out and when the Eastern Bloc begins to collapse in the late 1980s, both groups believe they are the primary architects of the “Evil Empire’s” defeat. Curtis argues that the Soviets were on their last legs anyway, and were doomed to collapse without intervention.
However, the Islamists see it quite differently, and in their triumph believe that they had the power to create ‘pure’ Islamic states in Egypt and Algeria. However, attempts to create perpetual Islamic states are blocked by force. The Islamists then try to create revolutions in Egypt and Algeria by the use of terrorism to scare the people into rising up. However, the people are terrified by the violence and the Algerian government uses their fear as a way to maintain power. In the end, the Islamists declare the entire populations of the countries as inherently contaminated by western values, and finally in Algeria turn on each other, each believing that other terrorist groups are not pure enough Muslims either.
In America, the Neo-Conservatives’ aspirations to use the United States military power for further destruction of evil are thrown off track by the ascent of George HW Bush to the presidency, followed by the 1992 election of Bill Clinton leaving them out of power. The Neo-Conservatives, with their conservative Christian allies, attempt to demonise Clinton throughout his presidency with various real and fabricated stories of corruption and immorality. To their disappointment, however, the American people do not turn against Clinton. The Islamist attempts at revolution end in massive bloodshed, leaving the Islamists without popular support. Zawahiri and bin Laden flee to the sufficiently safe Afghanistan and declare a new strategy; to fight Western-inspired moral decay they must deal a blow to its source: the United States

Part 3: “The Shadows in the Cave”

The Neo-Conservatives use the September 11th attacks, with al-Fadl’s description of al-Qaeda,[citation needed] to launch the War on Terror.
The final episode addresses the actual rise of al-Qaeda. Curtis argues that, after their failed revolutions, bin Laden and Zawahiri had little or no popular support, let alone a serious complex organisation of terrorists, and were dependent upon independent operatives to carry out their new call for jihad. The film instead argues that in order to prosecute bin Laden in absentia for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, US prosecutors had to prove he was the head of a criminal organisation responsible for the bombings. They find a former associate of bin Laden, Jamal al-Fadl, and pay him to testify that bin Laden was the head of a massive terrorist organisation called “al-Qaeda”. With the September 11th attacks, Neo-Conservatives in the new Republican government of George W. Bush use this created concept of an organisation to justify another crusade against a new evil enemy, leading to the launch of the War on Terrorism.
After the American invasion of Afghanistan fails to uproot the alleged terrorist network, the Neo-Conservatives focus inwards, searching unsuccessfully for terrorist sleeper cells in America. They then extend the war on “terror” to a war against general perceived evils with the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The ideas and tactics also spread to the United Kingdom where Tony Blair uses the threat of terrorism to give him a new moral authority. The repercussions of the Neo-Conservative strategy are also explored with an investigation of indefinitely-detained terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay, many allegedly taken on the word of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance without actual investigation on the part of the United States military, and other forms of “preemption” against non-existent and unlikely threats made simply on the grounds that the parties involved could later become a threat. Curtis also makes a specific attempt to allay fears of a dirty bomb attack, and concludes by reassuring viewers that politicians will eventually have to concede that some threats are exaggerated and others altogether devoid of reality

Humor – A Systems View Of Religion

RCG — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:42:06 +0000

http://cdn.holytaco.com/www/sites/default/files/images/2009/10/Religion-Flowchart_1.jpg

R D Laing – A look into the Mind of the Man who brought Game Theory Into The Study of Mind

RCG — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:55:23 +0000

Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illness – in particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing’s views on the causes and treatment of serious mental dysfunction, greatly influenced by existential philosophy, ran counter to the psychiatric orthodoxy of the day by taking the expressed feelings of the individual patient or client as valid descriptions of lived experience rather than simply as symptoms of some separate or underlying disorder. Often associated with the anti-psychiatry movement, he himself rejected the label as such, as did certain others critical of conventional psychiatry at the time.

Century Of The Self – The Impact of Freudian Ideas on 20th Century

RCG — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:44:04 +0000

A powerful documentary

From The Wikipedia
“This series is about how those in power have used Freud’s theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy.” – Adam Curtis’ introduction to the first episode.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings. His influence on the twentieth century is generally considered profound. The series describes the ways public relations and politicians have utilized Freud’s theories during the last 100 years for the “engineering of consent”.
Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in public relations, are discussed. Freud’s daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as is one of the main opponents of Freud’s theories, Wilhelm Reich, in the third part.
Along these general themes, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism, representative democracy and its implications. It also questions the modern way we see ourselves, the attitude to fashion and superficiality.
The business and, increasingly, the political world uses psychological techniques to read and fulfill our desires, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to us. Curtis raises the question of the intentions and roots of this fact. Where once the political process was about engaging people’s rational, conscious minds, as well as facilitating their needs as a society, the documentary shows how by employing the tactics of psychoanalysis, politicians appeal to irrational, primitive impulses that have little apparent bearing on issues outside of the narrow self-interest of a consumer population. He cites Paul Mazer, a Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in the 1930s: “We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.”
In Episode 4 the main subjects are Philip Gould and Matthew Freud, the great grandson of Sigmund, a PR consultant. They were part of the efforts during the nineties to bring the Democrats in the US and New Labour in the United Kingdom back into power. Adam Curtis explores the psychological methods they now massively introduced into politics. He also argues that the eventual outcome strongly resembles Edward Bernays vision for the “Democracity” during the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
According to BBC publicity:
To many in both politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society in Britain and the United States. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson

RCG — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:52:30 +0000

Two genius’ of our time in conversation about everything from Politics to Quantum Mechanics

Rare historical film that we ran into and are sharing it here for people to watch if it interests them

The American Dream – Ayn Rand and George Carlin

RCG — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:41:07 +0000

An interesting video, it will be interesting to hear your views on this?

Ayn Rand represents to a large degree level 5/Orange intelligence, however we are curious what you think of this piece, as many of the things esp Big Oil she is talking about is still relevant in todays world.

And then we have another view point, this time from George Carlin, and he seems to speak about another level of intelligence, spoken from a very different world view.

Quest for Life – Discovering Your Human Potential

RCG — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:50:27 +0000

A wonderful collection of quotes on what human potential is

- Stephen Covey, best-selling author 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Spiritual & Political Leader of The Tibetan People
- Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Brand, Entrepreneur, 245th richest person in the world
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Activist, opposed to apartheid
- Jack Canfield, co-creator, Chicken Soup for the Soul
- T. Harv Eker, creator, Secrets of The Millionaire Mind
- John Assaraf, star in The Secret, best-selling author and entrepreneur
- Russell Simmons, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
- Byron Katie, Author, Speaker
- Wayne Muller, best-selling author, Legacy of the Heart
- Marci Shimoff, star in The Secret, best-selling author, Happy for No Reason
- Sir John Templeton, Billionaire, Investor & Philanthropist
- Hari Nam Singh Khalsa, Spiritual Leader & Corporate Mentor
- Gabrielle Roth, Musician, Dancer & Philosopher
- Hale Dwoskin, The Sedona Method
- Richard Carlson, best-selling author, Dont Sweat the Small Stuff
- Janet Attwood, best-selling author, The Passion Test
- Sam Keen, Author, Professor, Philosopher

Learning From History -The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis, by Bill Moyers

RCG — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:58:18 +0000

The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis, by Bill Moyers

This is the full length 90 min. version of Bill Moyer’s 1987 scathing critique of the criminal subterfuge carried out by the Executive Branch of the United States Government to carry out operations which are clearly contrary to the wishes and values of the American people. The ability to exercise this power with impunity is facilitated by the National Security Act of 1947. The thrust of the exposé is the Iran-Contra arms and drug-running operations which flooded the streets of our nation with crack cocaine. The significance of the documentary is probably greater today in 2007 than it was when it was made. We now have a situation in which these same forces have committed the most egregious terrorist attack on US soil and have declared a fraudulent so-called “War on Terror”. The ruling regime in the US who have conducted the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, are now banging the war drum against Iran. We have the PATRIOT act which has stripped us of many of our basic civil rights justified by the terror of 9/11 which is their own doing. This is the full length 90 min. version of Bill Moyer’s 1987 scathing critique of the criminal subterfuge carried out by the Executive Branch of the United States Government to carry out operations which are clearly contrary to the wishes and values of the American people. The ability to exercise this power with impunity is facilitated by the National Security Act of 1947. The thrust of the exposé is the Iran-Contra arms and drug-running operations which flooded the streets of our nation with crack cocaine. The significance of the documentary is probably greater today in 2007 than it was when it was made. We now have a situation in which these same forces have committed the most egregious terrorist attack on US soil and have declared a fraudulent so-called “War on Terror”. The ruling regime in the US who have conducted the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, are now banging the war drum against Iran. We have the PATRIOT act which has stripped us of many of our basic civil rights justified by the terror o…all » This is the full length 90 min. version of Bill Moyer’s 1987 scathing critique of the criminal subterfuge carried out by the Executive Branch of the United States Government to carry out operations which are clearly contrary to the wishes and values of the American people. The ability to exercise this power with impunity is facilitated by the National Security Act of 1947. The thrust of the exposé is the Iran-Contra arms and drug-running operations which flooded the streets of our nation with crack cocaine. The significance of the documentary is probably greater today in 2007 than it was when it was made. We now have a situation in which these same forces have committed the most egregious terrorist attack on US soil and have declared a fraudulent so-called “War on Terror”. The ruling regime in the US who have conducted the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, are now banging the war drum against Iran. We have the PATRIOT act which has stripped us of many of our basic civil rights justified by the terror of 9/11 which is their own doing

Randy Pausch – The Last Lecture “Making Your Childhood Dreams Come True”

RCG — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:38:03 +0000

ONE OF THE BEST TALKS WE HAVE HEARD, AND ONE THAT TOUCHES THE DEPTHS OF ONES HEARTS. ENJOY
Randy Pausch Almost all of us have childhood dreams: for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center (etc.cmu.edu), of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams. This talk will discuss how I achieved my childhood dreams (being in zero gravity, designing theme park rides for Disney, and a few others), and will contain realistic advice on how *you* can live your life so that you can make your childhood dreams come true, too.

Meetings With Remarkable Men – Gurdjieff

RCG — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:27:30 +0000

BRILLIANT PRODUCT OF A WONDERFUL THEATRE PERSONALITY PETER BROOK AND A TEACHER PAR EXCELLENCE – GURDJIEFF. ENJOY THE “SYMBOLIC MOVIE”

Gurdjieff – Meetings With Remarkable Men 1:42:52
Peter Brook, one of the pioneers of the experimental theatre movement of the 1950s and 1960s, was the director of Meetings with Remarkable Men. Brook tells the story of Asian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff, here played by Dragan Maksimovic. Gurdjieff devotes his entire existence, from youth to old age, in quest of the meaning of life. He eventually develops a form of meditation incorporating modern dance. Terence Stamp, who in Meetings with Remarkable Men plays Prince Lubovedsky, himself briefly retreated from his career after this picture, in favor of Eastern meditation.

Meetings with Remarkable Men
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meetings with Remarkable Men is the second volume of the All and Everything trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff. A book of autobiography, it was originally published in 1963 and tells the tale of the young Gurdjieff growing up in a world torn between his unexplainable experiences and the developing modern sciences.

The book takes the form of Gurdjieff’s reminiscences about various “remarkable men” that he has met, beginning with his father. They include the Armenian priest Pogossian; his friend Soloviev, Prince Lubovedsky, a Russian prince with metaphysical interests, and a couple of others.

In the course of describing these characters, Gurdjieff weaves their stories into the story of his own travels, and also into an overarching narrative which has them cooperate in locating spiritual texts and/or masters in various lands (mostly Central Asia). Gurdjieff calls this group the “Seekers of Truth”.

Most of them do in fact find “truth” in the form of some suitable spiritual destiny. The underlying philosophy, especially as articulated in an appendix, amounts to the assertion that people generally live their lives asleep, are unconscious of themselves, and accordingly behave like machines, subject to outside causes and pressures. Also, one of the chief assessments of the novel is that the people of the past epochs lived in more suitable outer conditions and at higher inner levels than the people today. Many additional hidden harmonies are noted or alluded to.

These contradictory towards modern beliefs claims have inspired some to question the book’s “autobiographical” character. For example, Gurdjieff claims to have first heard the Epic of Gilgamesh as an oral epic sung from memory by his father; to have made contact with various ancient brotherhoods including the Sarmoung Brotherhood; to have copied a map of “pre-sand Egypt”, and to have witnessed a number of miracles and esoteric phenomena. There is currently in existence an esoteric group of loosely affiliated individuals who engage in what is called “The Work”, which is the doing part of Gurdjieff’s teachings.

In a way it can be claimed that many of the vignettes in Meetings are meant to be symbolic, or “teaching stories”.

Happy Holidays – see you back in 2010

RCG — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:00:49 +0000

As the holiday season approaches here in the United States – as well as in many other parts of the World – we are pausing our regular stream of podcasts for 3 weeks till the 10th of January, 2010.

The year 2009 has been a very productive and insightful year for us. We have released more conversations with wonderful guests such as Gabrielle Roth, Paul Kordis, Antero Alli, Paul Rebillot, and Richard Roberts, as well as our own talks on change, patterns, learning and more.

This year also marked a transition for us at the Radical Change Group from relatively short and independent talks – to creating longer and more in-depth series of podcasts dedicated to broader topics. The first of such series – the “Body of Wisdom” has ended this year with our distillation of generalized principles from body-based disciplines such as martial arts, dance, rituals, and more.

In the coming year 2010 we are going to continue the dive deeper into such series of podcasts, starting with a new series on Positive Deviants. We will also be releasing more talks with our guests, and are planning on expanding our library of online material beyond the single stream of podcasts.

With that, we are wishing you Merry Christmas, a very Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays! See you back in 2010!

#112 The Body of Wisdom, part 17 – Don’t Leave the Body Behind

RCG — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:00:10 +0000

We are (finally!!) concluding our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 15th generalized principle called "Don’t Leave the Body Behind". The complete series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Don’t leave the body behind
- Prime example – the science community
- Dance
- Martial arts

#111 The Body of Wisdom, part 16 – Principle of No Paradoxes in the Body

RCG — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:00:35 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 14th generalized principle called "There Are No Paradoxes in the Body". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

There Are No Paradoxes in the Body
- Definition of a paradox
- Martial arts
- Paratheatre
Applications
- Relationships
- Organizations, political parties
- Personal development

For Everything Else, There’s Mastercard

Paul Kordis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:34:44 +0000

Each week I spend several hours of “porch time” (a la Boston Legal) with my friend Michael Szczepaniak discussing our newest insights into social and political economics. In several of these discussions I’ve related my frustration regarding my next blog contribution to this site. I just didn’t feel that I had a coherent way to craft a short and readable description of the madness we in America are currently experiencing. After venting my disappointment our conversation turned to the movie “The Soloist.” We especially enjoyed discussing the special features included in the DVD that provided all manner of data and rationale for helping the homeless. The next day he e-mailed me a short note that, to me, encapsulates the blog I wished I had written:

$16,000/yr. to house a homeless person and help them build a better life
$100,000/yr. to leave a homeless person on the street
$1,000,000/yr. to send them to Afghanistan

Having your priorities completely skewed – PRICELESS!

For everything else, there’s Mastercard.

Thanks Michael, that says it all.

#110 The Body of Wisdom, part 15 – Principle of Expressing Emotions

RCG — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:00:30 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 13th generalized principle called "Expressing Emotions". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Expression of emotions
- Emotions cannot be supressed, they can only be expressed
- Examples: dance, ritual work, spiritual work, martial arts
Applications
- Relationships
- Emotion: energy in motion
- Business: Transmutation of fear into hope
- Personal growth: self-expression, arts, sciences

#109 The Body of Wisdom, part 14 – Principle of Exploring and Pushing Your Boundaries

RCG — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:46 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 12th generalized principle called "Boundaries". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Boundaries
- Discovering & respecting your boundaries
Applications of Boundaries

#108 The Body of Wisdom, part 13 – Principle of Honoring Gestation Periods

RCG — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:00:07 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 11th generalized principle called "Gestation Periods". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Gestation periods
- It takes 20 years to become an overnight success
Managing the shocks
- Session of Confessions
- Openness

#107 The Body of Wisdom, part 12 – Principle of All Movement towards Wholeness

RCG — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:00:28 +0000

#107 The Body of Wisdom, part 12 – Movement to Wholeness

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 10th generalized principle called "Movement to Wholeness". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Movement from Fragmentation to Wholeness
- Seeing wholeness as a child vs. as a wise man
Applications of Wholeness
- NLP: Ecology check
- Business & organizations
- Personal Growth
- Relationships

#106 The Body of Wisdom, part 11 – Principle of Discovering and Working with Presence

RCG — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:00:51 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the 9th generalized principle called "Presence". The previous episodes from this series can be found on our website at http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/series/body-of-wisdom/

Presence
- Commitment, integrity & discipline
Applications of Presence
- In relationships
- In business, organizations & politics
- In personal development
Presence defined again
- How can you be present while in doubt
- Presence is alchemical
- Commitment to what is, even boredom
Why presence is important

#105 The Body of Wisdom, part 10 – Principle of Body First, Let Mind Follow

RCG — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:00:22 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the eighth generalized principle called "Body First ".

Body First
- Body leads, and mind catches up
- Fine distinctions
- NLP
Applications of Body First
Exercises for Body First

#104 The Body of Wisdom, part 9 – The Principle of Embodiment

RCG — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:00:30 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the seventh generalized principle called "Embodiment".

Embodiment
- Examples from martial arts, dance, rituals
Applications of embodiment
- Relationships
- Business
Exercises for Embodiment

#103 The Body of Wisdom, part 8 – The Principle of “Basics, Basics, Basics”

RCG — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:00:49 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the sixth generalized principle which we call "The Basics".

Basics
- Basics is the most advanced work your body does
- Basics have to come together to support mastery
Application of basics
- Relationships basics: communication, ability to take care of yourself (independence), etc.
- Business strategy basics: PEST and SWOT analysis, etc.
- Personal growth basics: know where you are, know where you want to go, and how to get there, etc.
Exercises for Basics
- Walking
- Communication

#102 The Body of Wisdom, part 7 – The Principle Of Syntax – Correct Sequence Matters

RCG — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:25 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the fifth generalized principle, "Sequence & Syntax".

Sequence & Syntax
- The very principles we talked about build up on each other in a particular sequence
- Sequence in Dance, Martial Arts, Rituals, Relationships, Business and organizations
Exercises for Sequencing
- Becoming aware of what works and patterns. NLP modeling.
- A way to feel the sequence is to change it and see what happens

#101 The Body of Wisdom, part 6 – The Principle Of Movement From Structure to Free-form

RCG — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:00:27 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the fourth generalized principle, "Structure to Freeform".

Structure to Freeform
- Expert to genius, from knowing the rules to learning to bend the rules
- Flowing with the rules (as opposed to "within the rules")
- Learning a discipline or fitting in a culture: from chaos, to rules, to deeper principles to new forms
Exercises for Structure to Freeform
- Pick a discipline and study it deeply

#100 The Body of Wisdom, part 5 – The Principle Of Flow – Saying Yes to What Is

RCG — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:00:20 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the third generalized principle that we like to call "Saying Yes to What Is". It is also known as "Flow".

Saying Yes to what is
- Two levels of response – immediate and deeper
- Flow
- Utilization
- Accepting unexpected invitations in the dance (like an accidental bump)
- In relationship – a child shows up, what do you do?
Exercises for "saying yes"
- Becoming aware of anything that touches your body (wall, another person) – stay with it
- Join a tumbling class, or Aikido, or Tai Chi, or any discipline based in flow
- When you’re bored, commit to being bored 100% and stay with it.

#99 The Body of Wisdom, part 4 – The Principle of Economy of Motion

RCG — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:00:33 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the second generalized principle called "Economy of Motion".

Economy of Motion
- The Path of Least Resistance
- Following your impulse – as opposed to stopping yourself with negative thinking
- Goal setting in NLP – planning direct path to it
- Dance – and everyday situations – economy of motion shows in elegance
Applications of the economy of motion
- Allows you to live longer
- Communicating in relationships – almost a sixth sense
- Organizations – producing what’s absolutely necessary, without the extra bells and whistles
- Learning – making as many mistakes as fast as I can. "Least resistance" doesn’t mean "the easiest" – sometimes it’s actually hard.
Exercises
- Stand still
- Move from your center
- Doing the most with the least

#98 The Body of Wisdom, part 3 – The Principle Of Stable Center & Process of Centering

RCG — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:00:57 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. Today, we are exploring the first generalized principle that we call "The Center", or "Centering".

What is Center
- The point around which I organize my body, my balance
- Center of gravity
- The Vertical centerline (in ritual, paratheatre) – "asocial"
- Horizontal centerline (in dance) – "social"
- Leverage for the power (e.g. lifting somebody in dance, or throwing an opponent in martial arts)
- Point of balance
- Center and gravity in relationship – "marriage to gravity"
Applications of Center
- Center in relationships – fluid center, shifting from one partner to the other depending on the context
- Center in personal growth and rituals – connection to gravity, being grounded
- Center in organizations – core competency
- Size of the Center – what’s encompassed in the center
Exercises for the Center
- Discovering your center – straight walk heel-to-toe (enhance – close your eyes)
- Shift your center into different parts of your body

#97 The Body of Wisdom, Part 2 – The Somatic Journey

RCG — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:00:34 +0000

We are continuing our series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. This is the second of the two introductory episodes, laying out the context, the definitions, and some of the foundations of the main body of the series.

Somatic journey
- Stages of learning a somatic discipline
- Stage 1: not fitting, feeling clumzy, no idea what I’m doing. Excitement and fear.
- Stage 2: surviving, staying through
- Stage 3: competition
- Stage 4: mastery – competition with yourself, precision
- Stage 5: spirituality and sharing – transpersonal discoveries, teaching others. You don’t do it, you are it.

#96 The Body of Wisdom, Part 1 – Basics & Groundwork

RCG — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:00:39 +0000

We are starting a major series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration of the body, the somatic disciplines and the underlying principles. The first two episodes are the introductory talks, laying out the context, the definitions, and some of the foundations of the main body of the series.

Introductions & overarching structure
- Principles, how they show in various somatic disciplines, and how we apply them in personal growth, relationships, and leadership / organizations.
Definitions
- What is somatic
- Distinctions of body, mind, spirit
- Impulses
- Somatic syntax
- Center
- Pre-verbal
- Direct experience, embodiment
- Propioception – sense of orienting yourself
- Flow – saying "yes" to life, going with what is
- Paradox, tension of the opposites
- Presence – where my attention flows, and how I am held as an entity proper. "I am here".
- Basics – foundational elements, the alphabets, the grammar
Why study somatics?
- All changes start with the body
- It all comes to emotions, which starts in the body. So, feeling our body is our basic need.
- The myth of our life resides in our body
- Being mindful and "bodyful" – paying attention not only to what you are paying attention, but also with what part of your body
- Changes in the body as a way to heal, to release tentions
- Focusing on the body leads to wholeness
- In modern society, especially western, body is considered a shadow (sinful, shameful) compared to the mind. Mythologically though, the shadow often has the greatest potential and energy, and needs to be integrated in order to do any serious work.
Somatic disciplines covered
- Dance (ballroom, 5Rhythms, contact improv)
- Meditation
- Martial arts
- Rituals (Paratheatre, mythological work with Paul Rebillot)
- Tantra
- Anthropology
- NLP
- Spiral Dynamics
Applications:
- Personal growth
- Relationships
- Leading change at the level of a unit (organization, society)

#95 Letting Go to Move On

RCG — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:00:20 +0000

In this episode, we are talking an important aspect of any transformation – accepting and letting go of the old, before embracing the new.

Why it is important
- What we accumulate holds us back
- Directionality – let go of what to move where? Changing the state of being
- "Gods of one level are the demons of the next"
What keeps us stuck?
- Delusions – and acceptance as a path
- Emotions that keep us back, and forgiveness as a way out.
- When you don’t see an alternative
Sequence of steps
- Forgive the old before moving on – otherwise, you’ll keep being bound to the old
- Denial, anger, sadness, acceptance (same sequence as for trauma)
- If you don’t let go of the old, it will haunt you
- Accepting, forgiving (if appropriate), finding an honorable closure, then moving on through a "rite of passage"
Closing remarks
- Don’t confuse forgiveness & acceptance with forgetting
- Hardest to accept & forgive yourself

#94 Swimming with Dolphins – Learning to Learn – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 9

RCG — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:00:29 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the previous episode (#93) of the series, or start with the first episode (#52) , if you haven’t heard it yet.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Choosing the change
- At level 7, change becomes autogenic and conscious
Learning to learn
Solutions at one level are the problems of the next
- Or, as Joseph Campbell put it, "Gods of one level are demons of the next"
Progress and Regress
- Transitions may happen backwards, to the lower levels

Previous value systems are necessary for the higher ones to emerge

False Freedom of Speech and the Perversion of the Golden Rule

Paul Kordis — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:30:44 +0000

False Freedom of Speech and the Perversion of the Golden Rule

Most of us have heard the admonition, “Treat others as you would have others treat you.” It’s the golden rule. And most of us have also heard it’s corrupted corollary, “He who has the gold makes the rules.” The first is a recommendation for getting along. The second is a sad recognition of the current facts.
This recognition is doubly sad as we observe America’s ongoing debate, if one could call it that, over healthcare. Once again those with the wealth, i.e. pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers, are making the rules. And by what yardstick are these rules being measured? The primary metric for the pharmaceutical industry is the one with which we are the most familiar: charge as much for your product as you can and don’t worry too much about the product’s quality or ultimate effect. The primary metric for insurance companies is similar. It’s called the Medical Loss Ratio. This ration is the amount of money the insurance companies get from their clients versus the money they spend to keep their clients healthy. Currently the ratio is about 20 percent profit versus 80 percent outlay for the client (see http://www.pnhp.org/news/2006/march/medicalloss_ratios_.php). This ratio makes Wall Street very happy, but what does it mean for the rest of us if cutting client care is the most important item on health insurer’s agenda? It most likely means that even more people in America won’t be able to afford health insurance and that even more people who can afford it will go underserved. This also means that those who fear a healthcare system run by government, such as Medicare which operates five to ten times more efficiently than private insurance providers, are currently faced with a healthcare system run by Wall Street, the same folks who created the current financial debacle (see http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/transcripts/index.html).
But this is merely an instance. When it comes to any of the critical issues facing our nation the same players are making the rules, those with the gold. Whether the issue is energy, unemployment, the environment, war, healthcare, retirement, or almost any other important issue you can shake a stick at, the game remains the same. And the game is rigged. Recently I read a blog lamenting that America will soon have a population where the bottom 90 percent feed like leeches on the top 10 percent. But ignoring the fact that this is economically improbable if not impossible, the real truth is just the opposite. The top 0.01 percent have been living off of the bottom 90 percent for the greater part of the last 5,000 years (Korten, 2006, 2009; Rothkopf, 2008; Simon, 2005). That is, those who don’t work make their living from those who do by employing them for less than they are worth, selling them products for more than the products are worth, and by stealing their taxes.
So how is it that the rest of us, the regular people, have no voice whatsoever in all of the important decisions?
The answer is:
• Our government representatives are for sale to the highest bidder
• Our government representatives are continually campaigning rather than governing because they need the money
• Our government representatives are sold at a higher price than most can afford
• Our government representatives see no alternative
See (Blumenthal, 1980; Johnston, 2003, 2007; Ornstein, 2000; Phillips, 2008; Sirota, 2006; Thurber, 1995).
And how has this happened?
It most recently has come about by way of corporate personhood. That is, corporations are now legally considered to be persons, with all of the rights and fewer of the responsibilities of the real people who compose the true citizenry of the United States. This reality is based on a lamentable and infuriating mistake, but it is still a reality (Hartmann, 2002; Korten, 2000, 2001). This reality dictates that giving money to government officials is protected by a corporation’s right, as a person, to free speech. And whenever campaign reform is mentioned, one that would limit the ability of corporations to give money to a politician via campaign contributions, the cry is heard loud and clear that the free speech granted to the corporate world would be violated if such reforms were to be enacted.
But in reality it is the free speech of those who cannot afford opulent campaign contributions that is being continuously and overtly violated. We now have a system of “one dollar, one vote” rather than “one person, one vote.”
Many solutions have been suggested, including the one I like best, the elimination of corporate personhood. Another one that I like is as follows:
Allow anyone, even corporations, to contribute to political campaigns. The money would then be pooled and divided equally among the legitimate candidates. This would also force the media to give equal time to all candidates for free, which was their original public charter.
Ironically, this would take lots and lots of money to initiate and implement. But there is an equally powerful option that would have a similar effect in the long run. Simply put, we can and should exercise our economic power as citizens to withhold money from people and corporations who violate the public trust and the public interest. If money speaks so loudly in Washington then it can be deafening on Wall Street. They can’t buy our government if we don’t give them any money with which to do it. This would create another corollary to the golden rule, “I won’t give you any gold if you would use it to rule me.”

References

Blumenthal, S. (1980). The permanent campaign: Inside the world of elite political operatives. Boston: Beacon Press.
Hartmann, T. (2002). Unequal protection: The rise of corporate dominance and the theft of human rights. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press.
Johnston, D. C. (2003). Perfectly legal: The covert campaign to rig our tax system to benefit the super rich – and cheat everybody else. New York: Portfolio.
Johnston, D. C. (2007). Free lunch: How the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at government expense (and stick you with the bill). New York: Portfolio.
Korten, D. C. (2000). The post-corporate world: Life after capitalism. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Korten, D. C. (2001). When corporations rule the world (2nd ed.). Bloomfield, Connecticut: Kumarian Press, Inc. and Berrett Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Korten, D. C. (2006). The great turning: From empire to earth community. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Korten, D. C. (2009). Agenda for a new economy: From phantom wealth to real wealth. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Ornstein, N. J. (Ed.). (2000). The permanent campaign and its future. La Vergne, Tennessee: AEI Press.
Phillips, K. (2008). Bad money: Reckless finance, failed politics, and the global crisis of American capitalism. New York: Viking.
Rothkopf, D. (2008). Superclass: The global power elite and the world they are making. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Simon, D. R. (2005). Elite deviance (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon.
Sirota, D. (2006). Hostile takeover: How big money and corruption conquered our government – and how we take it back. New York: Crown.
Thurber, J. A. (1995). The transformation of American campaigns. In J. A. Thurber & C. J. Nelson (Eds.), Campaigns and elections American style (pp. 1 – 13). Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

#93 Swimming with Dolphins – Systemic Consciousness – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 8

RCG — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:00:33 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the previous episode (#90) of the series, or start with the first episode (#52) , if you haven’t heard it yet.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Systemic Consciousness
Interconnectedness of the modern age
Break-through to level 7
- Bigger than all the previous levels combined
Neurological changes
- Level transitions are reflected by physical, neurological brain changes

#92 Great Moments, part 2

RCG — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:00:43 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great to turn your failures not just into success, but into great moments? This is our second part of the conversation, where we share our personal stories of our own great moments:

Applying principles of great moments
- Sergey: making a movie
- Mahipal: adapting to the job conditions
- Arman: relationship with parents
Closing thoughts

#91 Great Moments, part 1

RCG — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:00:49 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great to turn your failures not just into success, but into great moments? Here’s our first part of the conversation on the subject:

What is Failure
- Something to avoid
- True failure – try it, fail, and never try again
- Finding excuses to justify never trying again
Why do people fail?
- Do the same mistake over and over again
- Lack of sensory acuity
- Lack of skills
- Perspective on failure (falling down or failure to get up)
- Losing hope or not acting
- Forgetting to learn, giving it time ("expert desease")
- Fear of failure, protecting the ego
Great Moments
- Realization of having fallen down and process of getting up
- Not letting the results define me
- An "Aha!" moment
- I’ve just learned something more about the reality!
Examples of great moments
- Thomas Edison
- Buckminster Fuller – lake Michigan story
Structure of great moments
- Selebrating your mistakes as new learnings
- Willingness to try new approaches
- Willingness to test your assumptions
- Knowing the directon
- Willingness to go into unknown territory
- Comfort vs. Being Alive
- Making new mistakes

#90 Swimming with Dolphins – Meet the Dolphin- conversations with Paul Kordis, part 7

RCG — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:00:32 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the previous episode (#89) of the series, or start with the first episode (#52) , if you haven’t heard it yet.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Team dynamics model
Ideas for the sequel to the Dolphins book
Dolphin behavious & attributes
- Levels 6 through 8

Holiday Announcement

RCG — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:00:58 +0000

The Pursuit of Happiness

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:52:35 +0000

An interesting video , watch it

#89 Swimming with Dolphins – Emotions of Change – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 6

RCG — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:00:26 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the previous episode (#88) of the series, or start with the first episode (#52) , if you haven’t heard it yet.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Emotions of Change
- Dolphin book – written in late 80s
- Win-win concept
- Dolphin metaphor
- Sharks and Carps
- Types of behavior: sacrificial, selfish, compromise, collaboration
- Emotion cycles for each side of the wave
Decision strategies
- Accelerating rate of change
- Openness to change, ability to see it coming
- How much involvement you have in decision making
Purpose
- Why are we here?
- Context for the decisions

#88 Swimming with Dolphins – Value Systems – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 5

RCG — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:00:43 +0000

We are continuing our Swimming with Dolphins series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Check back to the previous episode (#64) of the series, or start with the first episode (#52) , if you haven’t heard it yet.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Graves model
The basic value systems

Autistic (right now)
Tribal (family, clan, blood relationship)
The loner (motocycle biker, leave me alone)
The loyalist
The achiever
Egalitarian
Dedication to what works. Negative side: arrogance.
Global

Movement from one system to the other
- It’s a Hero’s Journey
The rule of fours
- Freedom and Structure
- Task and Relationship
Importance of all systems

#87 Openness, part 1

RCG — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:00:38 +0000

Perhaps, one of the most difficult things to do in life is to open it up for ourselves and others to see – and accept it the way it is, without hiding from it or making up excuses. Today, we are opening the first half of the "can of worms" with the following topics:

What is openness?
- Context of challenge
- As opposed to closedness
- Acceptance of new and fresh
- Space for everytihng
- Opportunity of the full expression
Levels of openness
- Self, Others, God / Transcendent

#86 Accelerated Learning, part 2

RCG — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:00:08 +0000

In this podcast, we bring back the theme of accelerated learning that we started way back in one of our first episodes, now approaching it from a totally new angle and with the new learnings and experiences that we ourselves have learned in the meantime:

What is learning?
- What takes time in learning is "not getting it" (Marshall Thurber)
- "Phase change," or transformational learning, in contrast to "slow learning"
- The tipping point in learning
Examples of accelerated learning
- Learning NLP techniques – finding the bigger structure
- Ballroom dancing – exploring the space of mistakes
- Strategy to execution
What people remember?
- The first thing, the last thing, and any strongly emotional moments in between
- Structuring learning in smaller chunks
- Segmented learning
- Constructing stories
Examples of learning through stories
Different kinds of learning
- Academic
- Experiential
Games – making learning fun
Closing remarks
- Making games on the fly
- Look for humor
- Learning as new ways to have fun
- "Mischief accomplished!"

#85 Transformational Leadership – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 3

RCG — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:00:40 +0000

This episode concludes our series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis on the transformational leadership. Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Resistance to Change
Taking Responsibility
Head, Heart, and Hand
Emotional "Proud Flesh"
Through Suffering to Joy
Poetry – David Whyte

200K Downloads and Counting!

RCG — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:43:07 +0000

WOW!!!!! 200K downloads, unbelievable! – is what we keep saying. Last June, we were at 50K downloads, and had no idea where this would go, and not a year later we have tripled our viewership. This is all thanks to listeners like you who have found us and perhaps shared this with other listeners and friends.

We started this journey 3 years ago with some explicit goals, as a means to share our learnings and discoveries with the world as a gift, something coming from deep within and offered without expectations of anything in return. We also made a conscious decision not to advertise, promote or in other ways try to seed this content to generate artificial demand for it. We wanted this to spread organically, meaning that:

People would spread it by word of mouth, after being wowed by what they experienced;
We believed that if the ideas were valid and have value, they will survive. Otherwise, there is no need for them.
We wanted to allow nature to take its own course, as we expressed our voice in the deepest possible way.

So here we are, and we are both proud and humbled by what we have accomplished with your support. The highlights are:

Over 200k downloads with no advertising or promotion;
Listeners in over 80 countries worldwide;
We have been blessed with teachers from all over, teaching and sharing with us, many are our friends and continue to guide us on our journey. We want to also thank them for their time and contribution to our project:
- Sensei Sastri
- Gabrielle Roth
- Kathy Altman
- Antero Alli
- Paul Kordis
- Richard Roberts
- Marshall Thurber
- David Neenan
- Paul Rebillot

In closing, we are thankful to you all, and would love to get your feedback on what you liked, what you would like to see, and how we can improve our shows. Further if you have found these podcasts to be of value, help us now by spreading the value around, do share this site and this labor of love with those you think may benefit from it. If you enjoy this work, perhaps, you may consider forwarding this link and this work to 5-10 other people you think may benefit from it, spread the gift, spread the contribution, and help us move the evolution of ideas and beings a little further along.

Thank you!

#84 Transformational Leadership – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 2

RCG — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:00:14 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis on the transformational leadership. Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

The Dark Side of the US Politics
The Dark Side of Business and Organizations
Blindness to the pattern
Emotions of change (see the article at Human Capital Sustainability)
As above, so below
- From system level to personal level
Why acknowledging the dark side is importart?

#83 Transformational Leadership – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 1

RCG — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:00:40 +0000

Today, we are bringing you another series of conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis, this time on the transformational leadership. Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Dark and Light Side of Leadership
- The two extremes, and the middle – the transactional nature of leadership.
The 3-legged stool
- The Seat: Doing the right thing
- The legs:
  - Do you want to do it? Motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic
  - Can you do it? (Skills, abilities, etc)
  - The Resources – that’s where the leadership really falls into (tangible, intangible, etc.)
- The "Race Car Driver" model
Transformational Leadership
- Considering the emotional and spiritual aspects of leadership, in addition to the transactional aspect.
- Comes difficult in the business environments where the main idea is that the only purpose of business is profit. Yet when implemented, transformational leadership brings lots of profit.
- Ethics
The Dark Side of Leadership
- How it’s been ignored for too long, and what it cost us. A good leader should lead people to confront the dark side.

How to Choose the Work that Makes You Happiest

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:52:15 +0000

Amazon.com: The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film: Michael Ondaatje: Books

How to Choose the Work that Makes You Happiest.

From Walter Murch, an Academy Award-winning film editor and sound designer:

“As I’ve gone through life, I’ve found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection of what you loved most when you were somewhere between nine and eleven years old…At that age, you know enough of the world to have opinions about things, but you’re not old enough yet to be overly influenced by the crowd or by what other people are doing or what you think you ‘should’ be doing. If what you do later on ties into that reservoir in some way, then you are nurturing some essential part of yourself. It’s certainly been true in my case. I’m doing now, at fifty-eight, almost exactly what most excited me when I was eleven.

“But I went through a whole late-adolescent phase when I thought: Splicing sounds together can’t be a real occupation, maybe I should be a geologist or teach art history.”
– from The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film

happiness, walter murch, work life balance,

#82 Mythology – Conversations with Richard Roberts, part 5

RCG — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:00:26 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with an author, a poet, a Tarot scholar and a mythologist Richard Roberts.

In the 1960s, Alan Watts presented Roberts with a letter of introduction to Joseph Campbell, which led to a 20-year mentorship with the famed scholar of mythology – a partnership which included collaborating in seminars and writing books, and which lasted through the remainder of Campbell’s life.

In his college days, Roberts had vowed never to write a novel until he had an idea no writer before him ever had. In a vision, he conceived of a book in which his characters would "go into" other literary classics and interact with the characters, all the while writing in the style of the original authors of those classics. Roberts regards the resulting book, The Wind & The Wizard, as his life’s masterwork.

In this episode, Richard Roberts illuminates some details about Tarot and Numerology, specifically the "Magic 9" Arrangement of the Major Arcana. He also reads a few excerpts from Colin Wilson’s introduction to Richard’s and Joe’s book Tarot Revelations.

* The "Magic 9" Arrangement
- Numerology influence on the arrangement of the Major Arcana
Colin Wilson’s introduction to Tarot Revelations

An Inspired Life – In The hands Of Alchemy

RCG — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:50:39 +0000

“When Jerry Wennstrom destroyed his art in 1979, he threw himself into the great unknown searching for a more authentic life. Walking the road of radical emptiness, the result was the emergence of a completely genuine voice, gentle, sensitive to the stirrings of the divine in everyday life, and creative beyond reasonable bounds. Wedding compassion and creativity, In the Hands of Alchemy is a rare celebration of life and the joy of spiritual surrender.” – Chris Bache, author, Dark Night, Early Dawn
In the Hands of Alchemy is a portrait of artist Jerry Wennstrom whose work and life have become one — a spontaneous exercise in joy and inspiration for all who aspire to make art out of life. Jerry Wennstrom is an ordinary man who has made the extraordinary choice to live, work and be in relationship in a state of surrender to the will of divine energy. This choice affects everyone he comes in contact with. In the Hands of Alchemy is a documentary of this choice and its effect. Written for Parabola’s “;Cinema of the Spirit” festival, New York City, October 2000. The film was selected by a committee chaired by director Martin Scorsese.

In the Hands of Alchemy includes Depung-Loseling Tibetan Monks blessing a tower that Jerry built.

“There is a tremendous kind of courage that Jerry showed in the midst of the chaos and the individual loneliness of the Post-Modern world, to go his own way. It was the ultimate artistic step.” -David Whyte

“In the Hands of Alchemy is a delightful film, an alchemical mixture in itself of inspiration, spirituality, art and the story of a remarkable human being.” – David Spangler

BUY THE VIDEO!!! THIS IS A TRUE VISIONARY JOURNEY, A TRUE HERO’S JOURNEY, A TRUE ARTIST OF LIFE!!!!

An Visionary Life v/s Chasing Goals – In response to queiries on the Visionary Process in the Pattern Thinking Podcasts

RCG — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:35:13 +0000

We recieved quite a few emails and enquiries about leading a life of vision and goal setting . While its hard to capture some of this in prose, poetry seems to be a better way to express it. One such way of seeing this process is being an artist of one’s life – and this invovles leaving your old self/shadow behind and go into the great unknown.

This brings to mind a great story of a true artist and proponent of this way of being – Jerry Wennstrom!! Read him to understand the inspired life, and for a good introduction watch these videos of the poet david Whyte speaking of Jerry’s journey

Discovering Human Potenial – An Old/classic Video on Google

RCG — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:35:37 +0000

Inspirational Entertainment! Our Next Feature-Length Inspirational Movie is Here!!! Be entertained and inspired to know that humanity it transcending to a new consciousness. Experience the shift now. If you saw The Secret and wanted more substance and spirituality, then you are going to love this movie with extraordinary world leaders like… – Stephen Covey, best-selling author 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Spiritual & Political Leader of The Tibetan People – Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Brand, Entrepreneur, 245th richest person in the world – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Activist, opposed to apartheid – Jack Canfield, co-creator, Chicken Soup for the Soul – T. Harv Eker, creator, Secrets of The Millionaire Mind – John Assaraf, star in The Secret, best-selling author and entrepreneur – Russell Simmons, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist – Byron Katie, Author, Speaker – Wayne Muller, best-selling author, Legacy of the Heart – Marci Shimoff, star in The Secret, best-selling author, Happy for No Reason – Sir John Templeton, Billionaire, Investor & Philanthropist – Hari Nam Singh Khalsa, Spiritual Leader & Corporate Mentor – Gabrielle Roth, Musician, Dancer & Philosopher – Hale Dwoskin, The Sedona Method – Richard Carlson, best-selling author, Dont Sweat the Small Stuff – Janet Attwood, best-selling author, The Passion Test – Sam Keen, Author, Professor, Philosopher And that’s just the beginning.

#81 Mythology – Conversations with Richard Roberts, part 4

RCG — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:00:59 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with an author, a poet, a Tarot scholar and a mythologist Richard Roberts.

In this episode, Richard Roberts dives into his research of life after death and the works on the subject, consciousness of the Universe, Gnosis, and his collaboration with Joseph Campbell on their book Tarot Revelations.

From ghosts to enlightenment
- Earlier, Richard studied ghosts to find out if souls survive after death. In the same way, later he started to study gnosis to approach enlightenment. One day he found himself in a conscious sleep, and asked the question of "What is the meaning of everything". He was given a telepathic symbol
The Symbol of Gnosis
- Richard describes how to draw the symbol and its meaning
William James afterlife
- William James (in the book published by Jane Roberts about his afterlife) says that he never encountered the God of the Bible, but there was this presence, a light that would give him anything that he needed to grow his consciousness in his afterlife state.
Consciousness of the Universe
- Growing consciousness. We are part of God and God’s consciousness, and God’s consciousness grows as we grow our consciousness.
Indian myths of reincarnation
Collaboration with Joe on Tarot Revelations
- Joe’s contribution – the arrangement of the Marseilles deck
A Disguise of Hidden Knowledge
- Game of Tarot has been designed to appear as simply playing cards
Tarot Revelations – a unique book
- No one else at the time could have written this book, due to the combination of literature and study one had to go through
Western "Book of the Dead"
Richard’s & Joe’s palm readings

Dalai Lama: Smart does not mean happy

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:00:59 +0000

Dalai Lama: Smart does not mean happy – Articles of Faith – Boston.com

Dalai Lama: Smart does not mean happy

Email|Link|Comments (5) Posted by Michael Paulson May 1, 2009 07:48 AM

The Dalai Lama spent yesterday in Cambridge; I covered his visit to Harvard, and my colleague Jim Smith covered his visit to MIT. Here’s our dispatch, from today’s Globe:

CAMBRIDGE – Arrayed before him were deans and doctors, professors and pupils, and the full range of scholars who populate the hallowed halls of Harvard.
After the Dalai Lama slipped off his shoes, crammed his crossed legs into a too-narrow chair, and unceremoniously blew his nose, the world’s most revered and honored Buddhist monk offered a bit of wisdom for the sages: Being smart doesn’t make you happy.

During a day of high-minded events at Harvard and MIT, the 73-year-old spiritual leader repeatedly showed that he was not interested in the pomp of his surroundings.

When the crowd rose, in complete silence, as he entered Memorial Church, he said, abruptly and simply, “Sit down.”

At a tree-planting in his honor in Harvard Yard, he made it clear this would not just be for show. He chastised the president of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust, for shoveling too little dirt on the birch sapling’s roots, and once the dignitaries had done their thing, he grabbed his shovel and smoothed out the ground, and then took a plastic water bottle and liberally sprinkled its contents over the sun-drenched green leaves.

At Harvard, he flipped through a program while a group of Tibetan girls performed a dance for him; at MIT, as the Buddhist chaplain delivered closing remarks, the Dalai Lama busied himself putting on his slippers.

His day had two major events – a talk at Harvard about the importance of educating people to be compassionate, as well as intelligent, and a fund-raising event for a new institute in his name, the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, at MIT.

At Memorial Church, after being welcomed by Tibetan dancers and musicians, the Dalai Lama posed a rhetorical question, “whether education, intelligence, can bring inner peace,” and proceeded to conclude that it cannot. He joked about Harvard’s reputation, saying: “Some of my friends in the East once told me Harvard is so famous, even just to walk in that place is something sacred. That is too much, I think. Foolish people, or silly people, can walk [through] easily.”

At another point, he observed: “There are very smart scholars, professors . . . full of feelings of competition, full of jealousy, full of anger. . . . I don’t mean disrespect.”

He said, as he often does, that compassionate feelings appear to be a biological component of human beings – he cited the early connection between children and their mothers – and said those feelings need to be cultivated, not only by families, but also by schools.

He noted that Buddhist monks have weathered imprisonment in Chinese prisons with less apparent psychological damage than that experienced by veterans of the Iraq war, and said, “More compassionate persons, in spite of traumatic experiences, their mental state is still calm.” And he attributed some youth violence to a lack of “compassion, or affection, in family, or society.”

But he suggested that “Warm-heartedness” is difficult to teach.

“How to teach, I don’t know,” he said. “I often express these things. But how to implement, it’s up to you.”

At MIT, the Dalai Lama offered a mix of provocative ideas about promoting ethics in a secular society with banter and jokes that he chortled at himself.

After entering the nearly full Kresge Auditorium, where some guests had donated $1,250 or more for a pair of tickets, he kidded a Catholic monk in the front row that his head was less than perfectly shaved, unlike the Buddhist monks in the hall. Sitting cross-legged on a sofa, he recalled that he had visited a homeless shelter in San Francisco recently and told a man there that he, too, had suffered the same fate after going into exile in 1959. “I said, ‘Me too, homeless.’ “

His talk centered on how to achieve genuine compassion – not the kind that people easily muster for friends who share their views, but compassion for those they don’t agree with.

The Dalai Lama also said the new ethics center should search for ways to help secular people build ethical values, arguing that most of the world’s 6 billion people are nonbelievers who won’t get ethics through religion.

He asked the Catholic monk whether secularism means rejection of religion, to which the monk replied, “that depends on your experience of secularism.”

“Very wise answer,” the Dalai Lama told him to laughter. “We need to promote secular ethics through education.”

The Dalai Lama had some imaginative ideas for MIT scientists to work for peace.

“You could invent an injection for compassion,” he said. “I would want that.”

And maybe commerce could contribute: “You could have shops selling compassion. In a supermarket, you could buy compassion.”

A student asked about ethics and the weapons industry. The Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent campaign for Tibetan rights, said he hoped this would be the century for global demilitarization.

But a good start, he said, would be for institutions like MIT to invent a bullet “that misses ordinary people but hits the decision makers,” waving his arm in the path of a wiggling bullet to laughter and applause. “That kind of bullet needs to be developed. Wonderful.”

(Photo above, by Mark Wilson of the Globe staff, shows the Dalai Lama at Memorial Church at Harvard on 4/30/09.)

dalai lama, smart, happy

#80 Mythology – Conversations with Richard Roberts, part 3

RCG — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:00:24 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with an author, a poet, a Tarot scholar and a mythologist Richard Roberts.

In this episode, Richard Roberts introduces the MonoMyth as a path to individuation, tells a story of his own "belly of the whale" experience, and how his publishing company Vernal Equinox Press came to be.

MonoMyth as a path to individuation
Myths are psychic openings to individuation
- For many academics myths at the time were nothing more than a bunch of fairy tales
- For one who places self-knowledge above empirical knowledge, myths are psychic openings to the inner world and to the outer cosmos
- Ouroboros symbol, ying-yang symbol
- Joe pointed out that serpent was the God of Levant thousands of years before the creation of the Book of Genesis
Sophia and serpent
- Creation of the World, Adam, and Serpent as an instructor
Joe’s mentorship for Richard’s evolution
Tarot book publication
- Modern psychology confirms that the Tarot cards comprise an image comparable to that encountered in dreams of the path of initiation
Belly of the Whale
- Morgan & Morgan press – a hoax publisher
- Richard’s mother got sick
- Getting stuck in New York airport
- Joe tells Richard to "ride the tiger"
- Court gives rights back to Richard
Idea for the Vernal Equinox Press
- Publishing was expensive back then; Richard proposes the idea of his own publishing to Joe, he agrees
Story of Vernal Equinox Press
- 1953 – Richard being grad student
- Course "Myth and the Bible" – no courses like that anymore
- Early vegetation gods (4000BC) would die and revive around Vernal Equinox, and it appears the Easter resurrection of Jesus follows this pattern. Therefore, synchronicity with Richard’s birthday of March 21.

What A Combo – Bucky Fuller And Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

RCG — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:37:09 +0000

Buckminster Fuller and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Press Conference, Amherst, 1971. This is a rather interesting and very historical video. Two genius’ in their own right, in the sameroom, sharing/discussing together the BIG QUESTIONS.

Purpose of the universe
Meditation and its uses
Sense of Service
Money making as the root cause of the predicament we are in today

Watch the videos!!!

Letting Go Of Expectations

Mahipal Lunia — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:11:35 +0000

Probably one of the hardest things to do is when you have to let go o expectations and desires, and yet it seems everywhere i look ( have been listening/seeing the Dalai Lama, Matthew Ricard, Arnaud Desjardins, etc) they all seem to point at happiness/peace /joy being personal and inside. Yet it seems we tend to keep looking on the outside for it.

Lately Ihave been coming face to face with my own shortcomings and failed expectations quite a bit. One wise teacher/friend once told me – “look at the faults and work with them, they give you the human experience fully. Nobody is perfect.”

Foudn this write up rather heart warming and in some ways very rich so here sharing it with you.

Click the link to read the whole article/write up. The posting below is but an excerpt if the well written piece

Let Go Of Expectations | Joyful Days

Let Go Of Expectations

The one thing that shatters relationships and ruins friendships more than any other is expectations. When we say that someone is not meeting our ‘needs’, we usually mean that he is not living up to our expectations. True needs are very few, but expectations are limitless.

When a person’s behaviour does not match your expectations, you can try to change their behaviour, or you could let go of your expectations. The first is an exercise in frustration and causes untold damage to relationships. The second is also difficult, but possible and worthwhile. Learn to let go.

1. Identify faulty assumptions

2. Seek to understand

3. Observe carefully

4. Recognise the consequences

5. Ask for agreement

happiness, peace of mind, expectations, assumptions, understanding, observing, consequences, agreement

Anticipating happiness and ‘achieving’ happiness | Exchange | Ode Magazine

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:45:57 +0000

Happiness and peace of mind have been states many of us have been looking for in some shape or form, so when this came into my mailbox today thought I would share it.

Anticipating happiness and ‘achieving’ happiness | Exchange | Ode Magazine

I remember when I was in high school, looking forward to college, I thought independence from my parents, thousands of new people to meet and access to all the arts, shows and parties I could handle would make me the happiest person on the planet. I remember, years earlier, staring at the ashes of half of my family’s house – the half containing my room and all my belongings.

College was good. After a while, though, it was kind of average. As for all of my possessions burning up, a year later it was only a curious fact from my past. Many researchers have found that people significantly overestimate the emotional impact of both positive and negative future events. Dan Gilbert, a leading researcher in this area, cites the dramatic study of a group of people that have won the lottery and a group of people who have become paraplegic; a year later, both groups are equally happy.

Art Markman, in a Psychology Today blog, cites other studies in which people were asked to anticipate how they would feel upon receiving high or low scores on an intelligence test. Those who anticipated their emotional response worked harder, longer and felt more confident about their achievement than people who did not anticipate the test’s emotional outcome.

These results form a curious paradox, in which anticipating happiness can lead us to achieve what we think will make us happy, but when we achieve it, there’s no serious or long-lasting impact. What can we do to find happiness, then? Well, according to this paradox, we can’t do anything. On the other hand, as soon as we view happiness as a state of being instead of an accomplishment, the conflict disappears. Of course we can rush around doing things and never be happy, because nothing external translates into internal contentment.

These odd study results have been anticipated for thousands of years by many spiritual traditions. The writer of Ecclesiastes writes about the vanity of accomplishment and our inability to anticipate the future. Eastern meditation focuses on learning to be “present.” Happiness is something we are or we are not, in the present moment. It has to do with the things we choose to believe or to focus on, with the stories we tell ourselves, with our ability to avoid worrying about the future or hanging our hopes on a later day.

Take a deep breath. Savor the moment. Nothing will make you much happier or much less happy than you are right now.

For more information, watch a presentation by Dan Gilbert or read Art Markman’s blog.

happiness, ode magazine, art markman,

#79 Pattern Thinking, part 4

RCG — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:00:53 +0000

Where do we find new patterns
- Mythology
- Spiral Dynamics
- Modeling (NLP)
- Artificial Intelligence
Strict, probabilistic and Fuzzy logic
Science patterns
Techniques for shifting patterns
- Trying first in a safe context
- Dance, relationships, school, classes
- For future-oriented, look for the shortest path, make as many mistakes as possible. Learn from the shock.
Patterns of Empires

How can we sit back and do nothing when 1500 farmers commit mass suicide ?

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:11:16 +0000

I read ths yesterday and was immobilized. Kept me thinking “how can we allow something like this to happen and call our selves human” And is the life of a family not even work 400 Pounds?

Social responsibility is/should not be just the domain of governments, but in so many ways is the duty of its citizens as well. This whole incident has left me numb to an extent that something like this can happen, and we – i.e. people like you and me are not even aware of it, and most likely feel helpless. I wonder what is the way out, how can we claim to be human and not take some action on something like this.

This has left me totally at a loss of words – but this kind of crisis is also fertile ground for seeds of transformation to be planted. The question is what kind of seeds do we plant both in the place of tragedy and in our own consiousness. I would be curious to hear what you may have to sayHow

1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India – Asia, World – The Independent

1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today.

The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.

“The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago,” Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine

“Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well.”

Mr Sahu lives in a district that recorded 206 farmer suicides last year. Police records for the district add that many deaths occur due to debt and economic distress.

In another village nearby, Beturam Sahu, who owned two acres of land was among those who committed suicide. His crop is yet to be harvested, but his son Lakhnu left to take up a job as a manual labourer.

His family must repay a debt of £400 and the crop this year is poor.

“The crop is so bad this year that we will not even be able to save any seeds,” said Lakhnu’s friend Santosh. “There were no rains at all.”

“That’s why Lakhnu left even before harvesting the crop. There is nothing left to harvest in his land this time. He is worried how he will repay these loans.”

Bharatendu Prakash, from the Organic Farming Association of India, told the Press Association: “Farmers’ suicides are increasing due to a vicious circle created by money lenders. They lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death.”

Mr Prakash added that the government ought to take up the cause of the poor farmers just as they fight for a strong economy.

“Development should be for all. The government blames us for being against development. Forest area is depleting and dams are constructed without proper planning.

All this contributes to dipping water levels. Farmers should be taken into consideration when planning policies,” he said.

This article is from The Belfast Telegraph

mass sucide, farmers, transformation, consioussness,

The Effort Effect – you’ll reach new heights if you learn to embrace the occasional tumble.

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:23:16 +0000

STANFORD Magazine: March/April 2007 > Features > Mind-set Research

A 60-year-old academic psychologist might seem an unlikely sports motivation guru. But Dweck’s expertise—and her recent book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—bear directly on the sort of problem facing the Rovers. Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.

What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development.

mindset, stanford, carol dwack, effort effect,

#78 Pattern Thinking, part 3

RCG — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:00:12 +0000

Somatic patterns
- Martial arts
- Dancing
Biological patterns
Linguistic patterns
- NLP: Meta-model, Milton model, Sleight of mouth patterns
- Priming
Habits
Relationship patterns
Spotting patterns
- Asking for help and going for diversity
- Intent and attention

Medial Prefrontal Cortex, the source of wisdom in the brain

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:48:39 +0000

As I read this it reminded me of the 8 circuit brain model, and the fact that true wisdom comes from accessing the different kinds of intelligence present and being able to call forth the right kind of response in the face of shock or ourside force.

Scientists ‘discover’ source of wisdom in the human brain | Mail Online

human brain

Breakthrough: Scientists have pinpointed the part of the human brain related to wisdom

Scientists have discovered the source of wisdom in the human brain, it was revealed today.

Experts have pinpointed the part of the brain that guides people when they are battling with difficult moral dilemmas, according to a study.

Highly-sophisticated brain scans show that the response is linked to certain areas usually associated with primitive emotions of sex, fear and anger.

The findings, revealed by the Observer, are to be published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

They are a significant departure into an area of expertise that has long been regarded as one of religion and philosophy.

Study author Dilip Jeste, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California in San Diego, said: ‘Our research suggests there may be a basis in neurobiology for wisdom’s most universal traits.’

He and colleague Thomas Meeks discovered that a person weighing up an issue that just called for an altruistic response used the medial prefrontal cortext of the brain.

This is linked to intelligence and learning.

But when someone is battling with a moral dilemma, other areas of the brain are used such as the parts linked to rational thought and primitive emotions.

Mr Meeks said: ‘Several brain regions appear to be involved in different components of wisdom. It seems to involve a balance between more primitive brain regions, like the limbic system, and the newest ones, such as the prefrontal cortex.’

This type of research has only become possible in recent years due to technological advances in brain scanning, including functional magnetic resonance imaging.

This means experts can examine which parts of the brain that are used when people consider various tasks.

Such research has been made possible by the increasing sophistication of brain scanning techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

These allow researchers to see which parts of the brain become active when people undertake mental tasks.

Professor Jeste admitted the possibility that wisdom and free will are based on the make-up of someone’s brain rather than metaphysics is unsettling.

But he said: ‘Knowledge of the underlying mechanisms in the brain could potentially lead to developing interventions for enhancing wisdom.’

8 circuit brain, prefrontal cortex, wisdom,

#77 Pattern Thinking, part 2

RCG — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:00:19 +0000

High-level structure of patterns
- Context
- Sequence, Syntax
- Time scale
- Triggers
Types of patterns – Unconscious signals
- Personal unconscious signals
- Cultural unconscious signals – Time and Space

A Happier You With Tolle

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:15:01 +0000

While not excatly an Echart Tolle reader or fan by any stretch of imagination, I did find some of his quotes and ideas intriguing. Here is blurb from one of his books that I figured would be an interesting dialouge starter. Am curious what your views on this are

The greatest goal you can set this year is to make peace with your life, no matter your circumstances. These 10 powerful insights from Eckhart Tolle will get you started.

Don’t seek happiness. If you seek it, you won’t find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is rather than making up stories about it.
The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral, which always is as it is. There is the situation or the fact, and here are my thoughts about it. Instead of making up stories, stay with the facts. For example, “I am ruined” is a story. It limits you and prevents you from taking effective action. “I have 50 cents left in my bank account” is a fact. Facing facts is always empowering.
See if you can catch the voice in your head, perhaps in the very moment it complains about something, and recognize it for what it is: the voice of the ego, no more than a thought. Whenever you notice that voice, you will also realize that you are not the voice, but the one who is aware of it. In fact, you are the awareness that is aware of the voice. In the background, there is the awareness. In the foreground, there is the voice, the thinker. In this way you are becoming free of the ego, free of the unobserved mind.
Wherever you look, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence for the reality of time—a rotting apple, your face in the bathroom mirror compared with your face in a photo taken 30 years ago—yet you never find any direct evidence, you never experience time itself. You only ever experience the present moment.
Why do anxiety, stress, or negativity arise? Because you turned away from the present moment. And why did you do that? You thought something else was more important. One small error, one misperception, creates a world of suffering.
People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness. They don’t realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn’t have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that lies beyond what is happening or not happening. Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is untouched by time.
The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again.
Equating the physical body with “I,” the body that is destined to grow old, wither, and die, always leads to suffering. To refrain from identifying with the body doesn’t mean that you no longer care for it. If it is strong, beautiful, or vigorous, you can appreciate those attributes—while they last. You can also improve the body’s condition through nutrition and exercise. If you don’t equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes, or the body becomes incapacitated, this will not affect your sense of worth or identity in any way. In fact, as the body begins to weaken, the light of consciousness can shine more easily.
You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you and allowing that goodness to emerge.
If peace is really what you want, then you will choose peace.

eckart tolle, happiness, radical nlp, radical change group, openess to all life

#76 Pattern Thinking, part 1

RCG — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:00:33 +0000

What are patterns
- Science: map of the world, theory
- Structure wih a specific rhythm and beat
- Mythology: Frank Herbert’s quote
- Usefulness: patterns are everywhere, which ones we care about?
- Repetition of a structure, sequence
Patterns in Self
- Personal growth
- Where you are, where you are going, and how to get there
Patterns in Relationships
Patterns in large systems
- Business, politics
Why spotting patterns is important
- Survival
Usefulness and dangers of patterns
- Saves you CPU cycles
- Learn from prior generations
- Automated thinking, robotizing
- Distinction: who has control – you over pattern, or pattern over you
- Patterns help to survive, but too much pattern kills adaptation, which leads to extinction
- Context of war: make sure you spot your patterns before your opponent does
- Context of personal growth: use your friends / teachers to spot your patterns
- Whose patterns are these? Where did you get them from? Do they work for you?

Modeling Einstien’s Problem Solving Capabilities

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:25:12 +0000

At the heart of any modeling is the how, here is a nice sequencing of how Einstien went about solving problems. Have been looking a lot into this lately and ran into this article so thought I would share

If its of interest to you and you wish more details on modeling Einstien look into the work of Robert Dilts 3 volume masterpiece on strategy of genius.

Einstein’s Secret to Amazing Problem Solving (and 10 Specific Ways You Can Use It)

Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

This
quote does illustrate an important point: before jumping right into
solving a problem, we should step back and invest time and effort to
improve our understanding of it. Here are 10 strategies you can use to
see problems from many different perspectives and master what is the
most important step in problem solving: clearly defining the problem in the first place!

#75 The 5Rhythms: Maps of Ecstasy – Dancing with Gabrielle Roth, part 2

RCG — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:00:06 +0000

It is our great pleasure to present to you a series of conversations with an “urban shaman”, a cartographer of the inner space, an author, a musician, a dancer, and the founder of the 5Rhythms – Gabrielle Roth. This is the second episode of the series.

In this episode, we touch the following topics:

Resonance in the body – emotions
- Flowing resonates in the feet
- Staccato resonates in the hips and heart
- Chaos resonates in the neck, shoulders, head
- Lyrical resonates in the hands
- Stillness resonates in the breath
- We can learn to dance from anytihng – flower, rock, mountain, animals…
- Not “good” and “bad” – what is – is.
- In the West, we became afraid of fear
Dance of the nations
- We are in a millenium of Chaos, a humbling time. Shattering.
- The US might not be a super-power.
- It’s a review of what am I going to die for, and what am I living for
Body as a Living Bible
- Many people don’t know how to read it
- Reading it is a dance
- People open up in the face of danger

#74 The 5Rhythms: Maps of Ecstasy – Dancing with Gabrielle Roth, part 1

RCG — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:00:53 +0000

In this episode, we touch the following topics:

Maps of Ecstasy
- Timeless, egoless state of being
- Unleashed but focused
- Dance – a firey prayer
- You can dance forever (regardless of age)
- At first a refuge. But then became much bigger than a refuge, and more people were coming into my refuge.
- 5Rhythms – DNA of the creative process
Devnagiri and Jhoom
- The Western world lost its root – we are afraid of what is primal in us, and afraid of being touched and touch others in a way that awakens them
Being rooted and grounded
- Rooting is being off the Earth, and grounded is being on the Earth
- Centered and Grounded
Discovering the rhythms
Transformation and alchemy
- Fall in love and stay there
Shadow side of 5Rhythms
- Shadow to flowing is to be inert
- Staccato – tense and rigit
- Chaos – mentally confused and panicked
- Lyrical – spaced out
- Stillness – numb

#73 Embodied Mythology Series 07: Owning the Shadow with Paul Rebillot

RCG — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:00:04 +0000

In this episode, Paul is describing the structure called Owning the Shadow.

The topics covered in this talk are:

What is the shadow?
- If there is no light, there is no shadow
- "We have met the enemy, and he is us"
- The shadow is "forbidden"
Illuminating the Shadow
- My way of dealing with shadow is to illuminate
- Shadow is a tricky character – he escapes, moves back and forth
- Once you begin to recognize your shadow, it loses power
- Change the duel to the death (with the shadow) into a lover’s quarrel
Looking at the Shadow
- Looking at the Shadow has to be approach step-by-step
- Shadow frequently appears in dreams
- People that keep appearing in your life whom you cannot stand
- Jokes – what we laugh at
Revealing Shadow through Humor
- And things we cannot laugh at and take too seriously
- Anti-defamation (Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence)
Distilling the qualities of shadow
- List 25 people that disturb us most in our lives
- Distilling 5 common qualities, drawing them and putting in the bag
- We are dragging the bag of parts of us that we were told is bad
- The Golden Shadow
- Acting out the characters
Integrating the Shadow
- Creating a mask
  - First of your face
  - Then add bumps and colors
- Then have a costume party to enact the shadow completely, all out
- Gestalt work to integrate the shadow – dressing a partner into your shadow costume and see your own shadow
- By the end, love begings to happen for the shadow, which is really the answer
- Finally, a medicine wheel, to take the shadow with you on a spiritual level
Examples of shadow integration
- A man recognizing his homosexual shadow
- Turing stories you tell about people to yourself into creative works
Dealing with political shadow
- Take some action
- Look at the person you dispice and see where you are doing the same thing
- Talk about it to people
Justice and Vengeance
- If become what you kill
Parallels in the books and movies
- Harry Potter (book)
- The Matrix (movie)
- V for Vendetta (movie)
- "The Terrorist" (movie)

Technocrati Tags: Myth, Mythology, Hero's Journey, Lover's Journey, Owning the Shadow, Paul Rebillot

Existential Depression In gifted Indiviuals

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:30:02 +0000

I read this article a few times and thought I should share this. Have some friends and teachers who I would classify as extremely gifted. And as I read this I could see their lives being reflected in this article. I was/am curious how this article rings for the readers and if they find some truth in it in poeple they know.

Great Potential Press – Guiding Gifted Learners

Existential Depression in Gifted Individuals
James T. Webb, Ph.D.

Existential Depression in Gifted Individuals
James T. Webb, Ph.D.
Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted

Dr. Webb is co-author of the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders

It has been my experience that gifted and talented persons are more likely to experience a type of depression referred to as existential depression. Although an episode of existential depression may be precipitated in anyone by a major loss or the threat of a loss which highlights the transient nature of life, persons of higher intellectual ability are more prone to experience existential depression spontaneously. Sometimes this existential depression is tied into the positive disintegration experience referred to by Dabrowski (1996).

Existential depression is a depression that arises when an individual confronts certain basic issues of existence. Yalom (1980) describes four such issues (or “ultimate concerns”)–death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Death is an inevitable occurrence. Freedom, in an existential sense, refers to the absence of external structure. That is, humans do not enter a world which is inherently structured. We must give the world a structure which we ourselves create. Isolation recognizes that no matter how close we become to another person, a gap always remains, and we are nonetheless alone. Meaninglessness stems from the first three. If we must die, if we construct our own world, and if each of us is ultimately alone, then what meaning does life have?

Why should such existential concerns occur disproportionately among gifted persons? Partially, it is because substantial thought and reflection must occur to even consider such notions, rather than simply focusing on superficial day-to-day aspects of life. Other more specific characteristics of gifted children are important predisposers as well.

existential depression, gifted children,

#72 Mythology – Conversations with Richard Roberts, part 2

RCG — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:00:37 +0000

We are continuing our series of conversations with an author, a poet, a Tarot scholar and a mythologist Richard Roberts.

In this episode, Richard Roberts describes his meeting with Colin Wilson and his wife, talks about James Joyce’s Finnigan’s Wake, Sam Keen’s encounter sessions at Esalen, and his work on Tarot with Joseph Campbell.

Meeting Colin Wilson and corroborating Joe’s Writings
- In 1967 Colin came to San Francisco on a lecture tour. Richard mentioned that "Outsider" caused him to give up teaching and become an outsider.
- Richard then took Colin to a pub to discuss this – and had an instant rapport, just like with Joe before
- Colin invited Richard to visit him in England
- Colin’s two books from 70s on paranormal are probably best representations of the subject
- Colin’s wife was interested in archaeology and mythology, she took Richard to the site of King Mark’s Castle, and other places
- Richard took photos of these sites, and later showed them to Joe, who was overjoyed because he saw historical corroboration of the myths
Finnegan’s Wake as Death & Resurrection
- Irish musical song on which Finnegan’s Wake is based
- James Joyce’s version of the story – a dream of one man in one night, encapsulating the dreams of all men
- Joe’s wife decided to do a dance version of Finnigan’s wake
Esalen Encounter Sessions with Sam Keen
Poem for Joe As Parsifal
- Poem called "Chapel Perilous"
Tarot Revelations with Joseph & Richard
- Arrangement of Major Archana
- The 22 cards can be interpreted as Western Book of the Dead
- Jung’s work on alchemy
Tarot Rebellion
- Tarot and You (book)
- Many people in tarot community charge money by simply referring to the books of interpretation
- Richard had a "free association" method that conflicted with the traditional way
- Film on Tarot interpretations

Technocrati Tags: Richard Roberts, Joseph Campbell, Hero with a 1000 Faces, Colin Wilson, Finnegan's Wake, Tarot

#71 Mythology – Conversations with Richard Roberts, part 1

RCG — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:00:34 +0000

Today, we are starting a series of conversations with an author, a poet, a Tarot scholar and a mythologist Richard Roberts.

In his college days, Roberts had vowed never to write a novel until he had an idea no writer before him ever had. In a vision, he conceived of a book in which his characters would “go into” other literary classics and interact with the characters, all the while writing in the style of the original authors of those classics. Roberts regards the resulting book, The Wind & The Wizard, as his life’s masterwork.

In this episode, Richard Roberts describes how he came to meet Joseph Campbell and the related part of his life and work at the time.

Alan Watts and “the Hero with a 1000 faces”
- Richard came to California in 1956 – always carrying J. Campbell’s book, even to the beach
- Alan gave him a letter of introduction to J. Campbell
Meeting with the mentor Joseph Campbell
- At the athletic club, running around the track
- That evening Joseph’s wife was returning from a world’s tour of her dance version of “Finnigan’s Wake”
- After running around the track, Richard and Joseph went to the bar, and after a few drinks became friends for life
- “Waiting for the Goddess to unlock the waters”
Joe stays over and Henrich Zimmer is introduced
- Richard lets Joseph stay in his apartment in San Francisco for his Bay Area trip. Joseph later ships two boxes of books by Henrich Zimmer on Indian art and civilization to Richard as a thank you gift. These books furthered Richard’s interest in gnosticism.
Joe and The Major Arcana Tarot
- Joe was shown a deck of Tarot cards that he saw last time in 1940s at his friend’s Henrich Zimmer, who apparently was a Tarot scholar as well.
- Richard was also given a deck of cards that were alchemical in nature.
- They later began to correspond about arrangements of the Major Arcana
Gnostic Traditions, Jane Roberts & Nag Hamadi Library
- In 1972 the book “Seth Speaks” came out (Jane Roberts).
- Aug 11, 1971 – last session of Seth. Christ was not crusified – it was a conspiracy.
Laughing Jesus and Joe Campbell
- “A Seth Reader” book by Richard
- Joe read “A Seth Reader” and said, “I think this is how the Universe works”

Technocrati Tags: Richard Roberts, Joseph Campbell, Hero with a 1000 Faces, Alan Watts, Tarot, Seth Speaks, Nag Hamadi Library

#70 Reframing

RCG — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:00:30 +0000

Reframing (Wikipedia) – Another meaning or another sense is assigned by reframing a situation or context, thus sees a situation in another frame. A frame can refer to a belief, what limits our view of the world. If we let this limiting belief go, new conceptions and interpretation possibilities can develop.

This episode is framed by the following topics:

What is reframing?
- Changing the frame
- Changing the way you look at it
Examples of reframes
Where reframes are useful?
- Business: it’s not the best product that wins, but the one that communicates the best
- Relationships: Freedom to change my or other’s perspective
- Getting unstuck
Structure of reframing
- Content reframing
- Context reframing
- 6-step reframing
Reframing in personal growth
- Midlife crisis – getting laid off and starting out from scratch
- Real example – someone survived a car and plane crash, got paralysed and burned, and ran for the senate
- "Murderball" – a documentary on quadruplegics playing professional wheel-chair version of football
Reframing in relationships
Reframing in organizations

#69 Archetypes crossing – Paratheatre with Antero Alli, part 3 – How to Begin

RCG — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:00:58 +0000

We are continuing the series of conversations with Antero Alli on an experiential medium called ParaTheatre. To have a better understanding of the context, and for the introduction of the speakers, please refer to the first talk in the series.

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

ParaTheatre – how to start
Qualities needed for this work
Flexibility of ego
- Ego as a self-image. Fixed ego is an attempt to preserve this self-image. Flexible ego is the ability to be at home with both self-image and its opposite.
- Polarization technique as a way to support flexible ego
- Flexible ego is the same as a strong ego; as opposed to big ego.
On thinking before acting
Existing conditions
- Dealing with things that come up
- Antero’s example – escaing INTO reality, instead of away from it
Keeping a journal
Talking with our bodies
- We are continually sending signals
- Becoming more conscious of these signals, and allowing their expression without the constant need to evaluate the appropriateness of your actions, as you would in a typical social context
- Exploration of unfamiliar; creativity
Codification project
(Not) Mythologizing Archetypes
No-form – nothing special
No-form "conversion" period
ParaTheatre from books
Finding a language
- And how weird it may look for an uninitiated observer

Radix Omnium Malorum Avaritia

Paul Kordis — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:58:01 +0000

Originally on my Web site I posted something similar to the following:

Whereas an interest in one’s philosophical foundation seems these days to surrender to sound bites, simple rhetoric, and ideology, it is still an imperative when discussing human capital sustainability. Therefore, I shall divide the issue into three axes, each with diametric opposites at either end. These axes are love – greed, connection – isolation, and life – death, and are illustrated in the figure below:

From an historical perspective these axes seem to have always been in play. For example, when the universe first came into being, the big bang, it expanded for a short while and then almost immediately began to run down, that is, to succumb to the force of entropy. But just recently in the history of the universe life emerged on planet Earth, the little bang, and against all odds, even against the force of entropy, life began to run up, to escape to higher and higher orders of complexity, processing and organization. Life was then and continues now to be syntropic, that is, anti-entropic. Individual life forms may die, but life as a whole continues in an upward spiral of greater function and complexity. (From this perspective, for example, it would be erroneous to argue whether or not life begins at birth because life began eons ago and should continue unbroken into the future. Some even argue that the purpose of the universe is to foster life and its advancement, the strong anthropic principle. Therefore, the beginning of life was when life began and the only end of life would be the utter end of life everywhere.)

Once life was up and running, genetic evolution eventually led to memetic evolution in the form of intelligence and communication, and ultimately humanity’s genes and memes gave rise to phemes, or wisdom. Over the course of history humanity has done a marvelous job of transferring its genes and a fair-to-middling job of transferring memes, but it has really botched the job of transferring and disseminating phemes. However, this is a subject for another section.

For now suffice it to say that love, connection, and life appear to be essential ingredients of syntropy whereas death, isolation, and greed fall within the critical mix of entropy. This is not to say that one group is always good and the other always bad, or that one always represents syntropy and the other entropy. But for the most part these key ingredients define entropy and syntropy most of the time.

Therefore, the essential philosophical foundation for human capital sustainability, at least on these pages, will be grounded in the primary aspects of syntropy, i.e. love, life, and connection. Other similar ethics will certainly come into play, but these are the syntropic triad upon which they will be built. In aggregate, unfortunately, America appears to have spent several decades leaping into the gaping chasm of entropy, having strolled towards it for at least forty years and sprinted towards it for the past eight. This must change absolutely.

The only difference was that I used the word fear in the original text instead of greed. Having grown up in the psychological community, it was almost de rigueur to think of fear as the opposite of love. But love is such a big category and fear is rather small. And, at times fear is appropriate.

The notion of fear being the opposite of love was starting to feel wrong and worrying about it a real nuisance. If love could contain so many things that were good; compassion, generosity, kindness, peacefulness, forgiveness, etc., then what was an equally large category into which most of the bad things fit?

A PBS presentation on the seven deadly sins provided an answer. Although the seven deadly sins were never in the Bible, they had come to be considered by many spiritual authorities to be characteristic of the most common set of bad behaviors among we humans. But the sin that they consider to be the father of all sins, and to contain within it the seeds of all the others, was greed. And greed was the bad behavior bucket that I was looking for. Fear is merely a tool greed uses to get what it wants. Greed is the big enchilada. Greed is what has brought our ecosystem, economy, government, and society to the brink of disaster. And it doesn’t just exist at the top of the economic ladder, although the top has a disproportionate share.

Most citizens in America now demand that their merchandise be purchased at absolutely the lowest price while simultaneously demanding that they get the highest return on their investments – regardless of the cost imposed on other people or the planet (Reich, 2007). The herding instinct, when manifesting greed or fear, is what makes the market behave so erratically; when one person gets scared most everyone else gets scared; when one person gets greedy so does most everyone else (Ferguson, 2008; Shiller, 2000). Smart crowds do not operate well in this environment and they most likely never will (Surowiecki, 2004). When we spend most of our time and resources on quid pro quo and caveat emptor there is little time left over for summum bonum.

And we behave badly because this is what most of us have been taught. The classical and neo-classical creed have been drilled into our little consumer minds. The Market and unrestricted Capitalism, we are told, will work through an invisible hand to produce maximum benefit for everyone. Misquoted and misunderstood, Adam Smith is cited as the venerable father of this philosophy. But capitalism wasn’t even in the lexicon when he was writing his tomes on the economy, and the invisible hand only worked in the local market economies that he studied.

In the past people had better information, because things were not that complex, and they could deal with local bankers, suppliers, and producers on an eyeball-to-eyeball basis. At that time it was in the self interest of the provider to take care of the customer. In the past the rich rubbed elbows with the poor on a daily basis. At that time it was in the interest of the wealthy to protect their sensibilities by providing for the less fortunate. But now things are different. Neither honest business nor charity thrive when the wealthy are cocooned and live separate lives or when the banker, investor, supplier, manufacturer, etc. live at great distances from their customers. We are no longer, if we ever were, perfectly informed, purely self-interested, and perfectly rational — nor is the market free. There is no perfect competition and large businesses are forever the recipients of tax breaks, favoritism, protection, subsidy, and so on. Therefore, greed has been left to run rampant and unfettered, and what most of us are now experiencing in our tattered economy is the result. The invisible hand moved to coddle the rich, strike down the poor, and squeeze out the middle class.

So greed is a bad thing, even in small amounts, and has no laudable rationale. It is also the progenitor of many if not all of the subsequent bad behaviors that we exhibit as individuals and as a society – and this truth has been know for a long, long time. The Bible has often been misquoted by the anti-Herans as proposing that, "Money is the root of all evil." Some will then correct them by noting, "No, it says that the love of money is the root of all evil." But, in fact, the original Aramaic reads, "Radix omnium malorum avaritia," or "The root of all evil is avarice."

Recently Barack Obama has made a point of telling Americans that we must work together to love each other better, to make life richer, and to focus on the non-monetary things that improve our quality of life. But this will not happen until America gets over its case of addictive greed. For far too long we have worshiped greed as a virtue. It’s time to turn our backs on it and recognize it as the deadly vice that it truly is.

References

Ferguson, N. (2008). The ascent of money: A financial history of the world. New York: The Penguin Press.
Reich, R. B. (2007). Supercapitalism: The transformation of business, democracy,
and everyday life. New York: Knopf
Shiller, R. J. (2000). Irrational Exuberance. New York: Broadway Books.
Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds: Why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies, and nations. New York: Doubleday.

#68 Archetypes crossing – Paratheatre with Antero Alli, part 2 – The Major Elements

RCG — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:00:09 +0000

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Relationship to Space
- The very first ritual – entering the room
- Territorial instinct
- Relationship to space and no-form
Verticality
- Virtical vs. Horisontal attention
Asocial Intent
- To avoid the burden of social considerations – approval, attraction, wanting to beat up someone, etc.
- Not the same as anti-social (meaning "hostile"); instead, re-focused on relation to space around people
- Allows for connection to "verticality"
- Interaction with other people becomes from the place of offering, where one’s needs are already met by the connection to the vertical sources. The interactions become more authentic; you present yourself as you are, not as you want them to see you. You are not losing yourself in the other person. In contrast, most social interactions are based on meeting the needs, "what can I get from you", and very little vertical connection.
Feeling the body deeply
- ParaTheatre as a medium for triggering visions
- Feeling the body deeply to find the visions / images that are
Direct Experience
- Choice of what to be true to
- Ritual is not solving the conflict, but exposing the conflict, and interacting with it as the energy source for movement
The Force of Commitment
- Your capacity for follow-through
- Commitment always determines the quality of the result, in anything you do.
- Increasing the force of commitment
- Fear (of inadequacy) is where commitment is most required. Fear is the beginning stage of converting fears into commitments.
Integrity Point

#67 Archetypes crossing – Paratheatre with Antero Alli, part 1 – Introduction

RCG — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:00:38 +0000

Today we are starting another series of conversations with Antero Alli on an experiential medium called ParaTheatre.

Antero has been producing work in various mediums of theatre and
paratheatre since 1977 and, experimental video documents and feature
fiction films since 1993.

His paratheatre work is documented in his book, "Towards an Archeology
of the Soul" and in his videos "CRUX", "Archaic Community" and "Orphans of Delirium". Alli’s 2005 docufiction feature, "The Greater
Circulation", incoporates a paratheatre performance in a critically
acclaimed cinematic treatment of poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s "Requiem
for a Friend". His recent experimental feature, "The Invisible Forest" was inspired by the ideas of French Surrealist playwright/actor,
Antonin Artaud.

Twice a year, he facilitates paratheatre labs in Berkeley, California
with each lab having a focus on rituals based on specific themes, like
movements recalled from dreams, beginer’s mind, and others.

In this first episode, we touch upon the following topics:

What is ParaTheatre?
Reasons to do ParaTheatre
- To get high, to get in a certain state of consciousness
- Spiritual reasons, self-healing in a way. Experience communion with minimal interference of one’s beliefs, conceptions, ideas.
- To stay honest to one’s impulses, get in touch with spontaneity, flexibility of ego
- To induce visions: it’s a process of entering of feeling my body deeply; releasing energies that are trapped in my body, committing fully to the expression of those energies, and releasing images that have been trapped in the body with these energies.
- Performance arts people enter because they’ve got into a rut of repetition, to let their talent take over
- As a yoga: a physically intensive discipline with mind attention and intention and focus
- Those who have outgrown the hedonic motivation, the need to get high, move to circuit 6 in a way
- People who approach it more like a worship, more like a 7th circuit
What is a ritual?
Ritual as initiatic experience
- Cultivate greater receptivity to the unknown
Ritual Process
Group Circle
- Talk about what happened
- Let off steam
- Begin psychological intergation of pre- or post-verbal experiences

Osho’s Code

Arman — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:22:58 +0000

I have finished reading “Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic” by Osho. What a beautiful and intelligent man. An agent of radical change. As usual, I modeled him as I read, so here is his code (see below for a short intro to modeling):

I am not going to tolerate anything that is wrong to my conscience.
God is not a thing but a process.
Everything belongs to me.
Whatsoever the consequences, I am not going to be deviated from myself.
Don’t give me advice, – I want to learn on my own, – life has to be learned through trial & error.
If I accept death, there is no fear. Only life creates worry.
I am not here, I am a nobody, nothingness.
Never to allow an unintelligent thing to be imposed upon me, to fight against all kinds of stupidities, whatsoever the consequences. Be rational, logical to the very end.
Be more and more alert, so I don’t end up being just intellectual.
When I do something, I do it to the very end.
What is gone is gone, – I never look back.
I am not a man who can be stopped.
I am satisfied with something very simple – the very best of things.

Modeling forms the heart of NLP. It is a process of extracting the recipe, the blueprint behind repeatable success. Such recipe typically consists of patterns of beliefs, psychosomatic states and specific behaviors. When modeling from a book, only beliefs are visible (the other two require being with the person), so that is what I have listed above.

#66 Leading the Change – Catalyst and Enzyme, part 2

RCG — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:00:52 +0000

In the previous talk, we have explored the difference between being a catalyst and an enzyme of change. In this episode, we continue our discussion, and move it into the realm of personal stories, experiences, and learnings.

In this talk, we cover the following topics:

Personal stories
- Learning NLP
- Relationships and jealousy
- Changes in business
Switching from catalyst to enzyme, and from enzyme to catalyst

Technocrati Tags: Change, Transformation, Catalyst, Enzyme, Structural Change, Deming

Waking Life – An Adventure in The Mind, Body, Spirit

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:36:27 +0000

This is a very very good movie, something to chew on many times over. Watch it, and BUY IT!!
It is a movie you want to keep, and an artist/movie maker you want to support
http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Life-Ethan-Hawke/dp/B00005YU1O

A boy has a dream that he can float, but unless he holds on, he will drift away into the sky. Even when he is grown up, this idea recurs. After a strange accident, he walks through what may be a dream, flowing in and out of scenarios and encountering various characters. People he meets discuss science, philosophy and the life of dreaming and waking, and the protagonist gradually becomes alarmed that he cannot awake from this confusing dream

waking life,

the Belief in scarcity leads to Coercion

Arman — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:21:26 +0000

“Scarcity has always been imposed upon the community to serve the interests of those in control. Scarcity has been maintained by the system of organization so as to perpetuate inequity in service of the privileged. Privilege requires coercion; coercion is justified on the basis of scarcity. In the absence of coercion and in the presence of scarcity is the actuality ‘war if each against all’. So scarcity has always been jealously guarded as a justification for the use of force. The use of force requires social acquiescence if it is to have persistence as a means of control. But availability of resources is limited only by the poverty of ideas.

…

If you doubt this, consider the fact that the mutual convertibility of the elements means that all things are available everywhere; what is lacking are the ideas about how to get at those things. And this general principle applies not only to this extreme case. Ideas have always been controlled for the benefit of the few: the chief, the shaman, the God-king, the priesthood, the lord, … the power elite. It is in the control of ideas that we find the source of scarcity, and hence the justification of coercion.”

- an excerpt from “The Moon of Hoa Binh” by Cong Huen Ton Nu Nha Trang and William Pensinger.

“Are You Out Of Your Mind?”

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:11:07 +0000

“Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are to be prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here, before you now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No, I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me. I remember that for 100 years we have fought these machines. I remember that for 100 years they have sent their armies to destroy us, and after a century of war I remember that which matters most… We are still here! Today, let us send a message to that army. Tonight, let us shake this cave. Tonight, let us tremble these halls of earth, steel, and stone, let us be heard from red core to black sky. Tonight, let us make them remember.” And the drums beat and dancing begins

- Morpheus In Matrix Reloaded before the cave explodes into
the ecstatic dance

I remember the scene from Matrix Reloaded where after the speech, the citizens of zion break out into an ecstatic dance, what may seem oblivious to the impending attack on Zion. A friend sitting next to me said to
me “they are insane, who dances the night before such a big battle. They have got to be out of their minds to do that.” I laughed and did not think much of it then, but later it hit me, yes that’s the real question “Are you out of your mind or not?”

Fast forward a couple of years, it’s a September night in California and about 7 pm. The parking lot outside the quite gymnasium is full and the its getting a little chilly. The music is now thumping, and about 70 people are dancing, each moving to their own beat, to what would seem oblivious to the outside world. There is ecstasy, smiles and pain all intermixing in a medley of emotional movements. We are looking at the dancers from the outside, and not sure if this is something we want to do. Paul Rebilots words to us were “Check out Gabe Roth and her 5Rhythms.” We speak briefly to the DJ/5Rhytms teacher about what we need to do in order to
learn and participate “oh, nothing really, don’t think too much, just let the music move you.” It seemed insane a bit, a little out there, a little scary too perhaps given its rawness and that was all the reasons we needed to join. We have been dancing since, and during the seminars and workshops with Kathy Altman, Gabrielle Roth, Lori Smullin and Lori Saltman the key theme has always been “don’t think, feel the music, remember
feet first, move, move, trust yourself, find your own movements.” The key theme is “let the movements find you.”

As we danced more and more, the initial thinking am I moving ok? Do I look silly or do I look good? Can I impress? Etc all melted away and emerged pure movement, pure ecstasy. 2-3 hours of dancing leaves you “out of your mind, and deep into your senses” and the quality of sheer joy just sparkles in you and those around you.

Reminds me of another incident, in the early 90’s, we had been working with Sensei Sastri for a bit, and on our way for our Oku Iri (entrance to secrets) certification in Kaze Arashi Ryu (The wind storm system). We were doing randori and we were blindfolded now. I remember my muscles tensing, and my mind racing at a 100 miles an hour. The attack could come from anywhere, and I could be smacked in a million ways. The more I was thinking, the more I missed the attacks, the more I got smacked, the more I got smacked, the more I thought….. I could keep hearing sensei in the background saying “feel, feel, flow.” Tired and exhausted, my mind finally yelled and gave up ( a few good smacks do that) and I settled in and started to gently move to touch and feel the opponents, and finally I got the knack of feeling ones way through it, of trusting something other than just your mind, and seeing through with more than just ones eyes and one’s thinking. Suddenly the hit ratio improved, and was able to hold my own much better and divert the zuki’s (punches), feel my way out of throws and locks and even get into and destroy the power of kicks. How did this happen “by getting my mind out of the way, and allowing other intelligences to kick in.” Many Japanese martial arts call this Mushin or “no mind”

That evening on the way home a little bruised and in pain all over, yet with a smile on my face it stuck me that this was just like in Star Wars. When the Jedi are in training one frequently heard “use the force” or “trust the force” or “may the force be with you.” Even as the final battle unfolds, Luke lets go of the machines and uses his own force, his own higher instincts to guide him through the battle. I had always wondered would it not be cool to experience that, and now I had experienced it, in body and flesh, no longer did I need to believe in it, I knew it. I jumped and danced, and told myself, get the mind out, get the machines out, learn to trust those instincts. My fighting transformed that day, and I never looked back from then. I made a resolve, not to think too hard about it, but jump in and work it and let “it” flow through me.

Other good examples can also be found in works of great mythological fiction, both in Frank Herbert’s DUNE series and MATRIX. Paul Maudib trains while being blindfolded, and when the assassination attempts on his life fails and he is blinded, he discovers he can still “see great visions.” In Matrix Neo goes blind and yet “sees the truth.” What these wonderful myths of the future (good sci fi in my opinion are future myths, coming towards us) are telling us is that there is a truth visible only when we close our eyes to the so called system or world as we see it. Aligning to this higher truth, vision, force or instinct is what allows these heroes to pass through
their moments of greatest despair. Where the reliance has moved from man or man made technology, and moved towards something more primal, something we share with everything and everyone. Some call it the force, some call it god, some call it instinct or truth.

Call it what you may,I attest it’s the same thing. And one powerful way to access this is through “feeling the body deeply” and “sheer physicality.” The movement towards deep physical movement tends to bring one
into “one’s senses” and out of the prisons of our minds. Working on ParaTheatre Labs with Antero Alli, which has been inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowsky the same themes arise, the physicality. The idea behind the ritual technology is to start by feeling the body deeply and as Alli has told me a few times “don’t worry about understanding, do the movement, the no form, the mind can catch up later.”

Don’t get me wrong, the mind can be a useful thing, useful when you are using it. It is perhaps the greatest parasite when it is using you. Wen those thoughts don’t stop and seem to run amock and have a life of their own. Learning the trick of “stopping the world” as Castaneda put is crucial. This “stopping the world has been critical even in the development of NLP and almost ALL spiritual work. There are many ways of arriving here, of
stopping the world, of getting out of your mind, of connecting with your deepest instincts. The quickest way is perhaps “through the body proper.”

It came a full circle recently at my dojo when one of my students when asked to take rolls across the football field said out loud “ I must be out of my mind to do this” and I smiled, thought back of all the incidents mentioned above and said “if you are not yet, I sure hope this will lead you there soon.” And with that we started rolling on the field one thump after the next

mushin, no mind, come to your senses, nlp, stopping the world, castaneda, 5rhythms, sensei sastri, antero alli, jerzy grotowski, frank herbert, dune, matrix, neo, star wars, luke skywalker, morpheus, zion

#65 Leading the Change – Catalyst and Enzyme, part 1

RCG — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:00:17 +0000

We’ve all heard the phrase – "being the catalyst of change or transformation." But have we really thought of the implications of this metaphor, and how often do we consider the alternatives?

Change – the process of becoming different (Wikipedia)
[Catalyst] is a substance that increases the rate of reaction without being consumed by the reaction (Wikipedia)
Enzymes are biomolecules that catalyze chemical reactions. As with all catalysts, enzymes are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze, nor do they alter the equilibrium of these reactions. However, enzymes do differ from most other catalysts by being much more specific. (Wikipedia)
Coenzymes are small organic molecules that transport chemical groups from one enzyme to another. […] Coenzymes are chemically changed as a consequence of enzyme action. (Wikipedia)

In this talk, we cover the following topics:

Why studying change is so crucial?
- Either you live in a rut and eventually die, or live a full life. And to live a full life, you better study change.
- You are always changing – whether you want it or not. The question is only, do you want to take the reins of your transformation into
  your own hands, or not?
- "Change is the only constant" – and Deming added "you don’t have to change. Survival is optional."
- It’s in the moments of change fortunes are made and lost;
- It’s in the moments of change you either survive or die;
- It’s in leading these changes that great shifts happen.
- It’s knowing the waves of change enables you to ride with the change, if not lead it
- Like in surfing, if you calibrate it right, you ride the wave. But if you misjudge it, you go underwater.
Kinds of change
- Cyclical and Structural change
- How do you know a priori what kind of change it is?
Catalyst and Enzyme
- When leading change, what primary behavior you are demonstrating?
- Are you putting yourself on the line and changing with it, or simply observing the change on the outside?
- As in language – are you a verb or a noun (nominalization)?
Contexts for being enzyme or catalyst
- When it’s appropriate to be one or the other; sequencing

Technocrati Tags: Change, Transformation, Catalyst, Enzyme, Structural Change, Deming

The Business of Art and The Art of Business And….

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:41:05 +0000

Andre: What does it do to us, Wally, living in an environment where something as massive as the seasons or winter or cold, don’t in any way affect us? I mean, were animals after all. I mean… what does that mean? I think that means that instead of living under the sun and the moon and the sky and the stars, we’re living in a fantasy world of our own making.
Wally: Yeah, but I mean, I would never give up my electric blanket, Andre. I mean, because New York is cold in the winter. I mean, our apartment is cold! It’s a difficult environment. I mean, our life is tough enough as it is. I’m not looking for ways to get rid of a few things that provide relief and comfort. I mean, on the contrary, I’m looking for more comfort because the world is very abrasive. I mean, I’m trying to protect myself because, really, there’s these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look!
Andre: But, Wally, don’t you see that comfort can be dangerous? I mean, you like to be comfortable and I like to be comfortable too, but comfort can lull you into a dangerous tranquility.

Excerpt from “My Dinner With Andre” (1981)

Its 5 PM we start our quest this evening, the long drive from South Bay to Berkley, for a dinner with Antero Alli to discuss a movie project and pick his brain on what has worked for him in his projects. We have worked with Antero on 2 Paratheatre labs, participated in his AngelTech course, recorded a series of talks/podcasts with him. As always Sergey and I are discussing various things and laughing. Our latest fascination is a book called The Moon Of Hao Binh by William Pensinger. When I tell him “dude, I need a dictionary to read his book. And I need dictionaries in English, Japanese and German.” Sergey asks me why three languages, to which I say “he has written the book using these three languages, with doses of Vietnamese.” Sergey laughs and mockingly says “Who the hell writes one book using three different languages?” I respond “Pensinger does, he is apparently doing his thing his way. I don’t think he care whether the world reads his work or not”

We arrive at Himalaya, a Nepalese restaurant in Berkley at about 7 PM and are seated by the hostess after a warm Namaste. The menu is rich, and we order chicken tikka, ghosh haiyali (lamb), bhindi tarkari (okra) and of course Naan with Mango chutney on the side. Antero is seated in front of me and Sergey to my right. As we settle into our seats and the conversation is to begin I think to myself “This will surely be an interesting evening, and discussion will range from Paratheatre, to movies, to the business of movie making and who knows what else.”

I cant help but think to myself that this scene, this location and perhaps even the range of topics seems eerily similar to the movie “My Dinner With Andre (1980).” For those of you who have not seen the movie, we highly recommend this movie of two friends talking over dinner in a New York restaurant. The movie for those who have not seen it revolves around two key themes from the path breaking work of Jerzy Grotowski . The two themes are

1. Living spontaneously by following one’s impulses and

2. What is the purpose and nature of theater

The restaurant is half packed with guests all around, and quickly our focus begins to crystallize around our table and discussion to unfold. Two Paratheatre labs (watch for 3 podcasts on this topic coming soon, titled “Beware Archetypes Crossing”) each lasting between 8 – 10 weeks, meeting twice a week for 3 hours, it’s time to get some feedback and pointers to further development in this medium as we prepare for our third lab with him. Antero tells me to give myself more time in no-form. My mind quickly races and remembers trying to articulate what No Form is to a friend, before guiding him to Antero’s own description on his website. In Antero’s own words “The purpose of no-form is two-fold: 1) to deepen receptivity to energy sources innate to the physical and energetic bodies towards their engagement and expression and 2) to discharge and disperse identification with these forces after each engagement. Like an empty container, no-form allows us to become full with the energies engaged and then to empty, again. No-form is not something that can be taught but only developed and deepened; we either already have some existing relationship or intimacy with Void or, we do not. The experience is essentially personal to each individual but also, impersonal. Astrophysics suggests there is no such thing as ‘empty space’ anywhere in nature, that space is not empty but teeming with dynamic potential energy. They could have been describing no-form.

We moved on to discuss how Sergey works with his voice. Sergey has been working on unfolding his voice and discovering what else he can do. The discussion moved to how the quality of the voice changes based on which cavity we explore voice from. The quality of the voice changes so much based on wheatear it comes from the nose, the throat, the chest or the diaphragm. Antero concluded this part saying “explore your voice coming and going deep into different cavities and see what emerges” and the ever esoteric and yet so much in the body “move the voice through the body, through the muscles. Voice is energy, its vibration, it has an effect. Explore it.” There is the same theme again “dont go meta, go meso. Truth is here in the body, in the world, not out there outside the body, world”

The food arrived, the aroma of the food filled the room and we started to dig into the delicacies that lay before us. The paintings of various gods, the large wall painted with Mt. Meru and the sweet smells of various spices was a feast for our consciousness. The imagery of Mt. Meru bought the conversation now to the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky and his movie “The Holy Mountain.” The conversation was now quickly moving towards our work – the work of creating a movie/documentary with Bucky’s principles. Bucky or Buckminister Fuller’s ideas and generalized principles have had a huge impact on us, and we are looking at ways of exploring them in a new format.

Our discussion went all over with Antero sharing his directorial experiences and how to make movies. The themes revolved around picking the main theme, scouting the locations, nesting stories v/s one story etc. This has given us a lot of food for thought. As the main course comes to an end, and many of the tables that were once filled are now emptying and our ideas/thoughts racing at 100 miles an hour I ask “how do we draw a balance between what we want to say and what the audience will understand? Do we make the movie such that the largest possible audience gets the ideas, such that these seeds are planted into their consciousness?”

The hostess now approaches us, and brings us the check. I looked at her, and thinking to myself “we are not done,” and could we please get some chai for all of us. A good Indian subcontinent meal is never complete without chai. Indian chai when made right has just this right blend of sweetness and spiciness, coming from a mixture of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon among other spices. The whole approach of the hostess again brought to mind “My dinner with Andre” and the occasional intrusion of the waiter during the dinner, and more importantly a rich conversation. The chai arrived, and the aroma filled my consciousness while the warmth of the chai soothed the throat.

“ There are some that consider the audience and tailor the movie towards them” continued Antero as we sipped our delicious chai “but if that formula works, then there would be so many more hits and blockbusters.” We just rolled in laughter at the obviousness and irony of the statement. He summed his take on this with “stay true to your vision, plan hard on what you want to do, and be prepared for improvisations to happen, to emerge.” Our discussion went on for a while longer on various topic of making movies, and staying true to one’s vision and letting improvisations emerge. The hostess arrived once again with the check, and after paying for it, we started our walk back towards Antero’s home. Its about 10 PM now I think, most business around Shattuck Avenue have shut down for the night.

Its past 10 15 pm or so, and it will be atleast an hour’s drive home, we say our good bye’s for now “see you at the lab in March.” We get into Sergey’s car, our very faithful companion on many a trips of exploration, and start our drive back to the south bay. The hour is filled with lively discussion of things we learned, and the path that lay before us. Sergey stated “you know the thing that stood out for me is we need to focus on the imperfections of the characters, these screw ups in their lives will actually add to the richness of the story. If you notice the development and growth of RCG, we have been opening up to our faults more and more, being more vulnerable to who we are, and how we may be screwed up.” I nodded and said “yes, I agree, our path from our faults and short comings towards some sense of normalcy and contribution is the true hero’s journey. As Antero had said earlier “don’t build super heroes”– look in the ordinary and find the extraordinary.

A little past 11 when I got home and the same thought keeps running through me “stay true to your art, your vision.” It’s a cold night, I pull my comforter on me and think of yes its important to stay true to our art, our vision. Afterall that’s what we are doing with RCG, we have not advertised, we have not commercialized, we have done it as an expression, as an offering, it was for the sake of following our vision, our art, not for commercial value. And yet it seems to have touched listeners around the planet, and yet it has bought many wonderful people into our lives. Yes staying true to one’s vision, one’s art, one’s impulses even if you are on the Fringe, even if it makes you a deviant is critical. The question here truly is make sure you are a positive deviant.

All ideas’ follow the same path, they start with the artist/idealist on the fringe, then move into the cutting edge when a few others have seen and communicate the same vision. From here if it catches the eye of the hipsters it enters the realm of the cool in the hip circles until a “tipping point” arrives, taking towards the next big thing and it ends up becoming a social convention. The art and artist stays pure to his vision, and is found in the fringe and cutting edge, as more enter it the devox “voice of the deviant” starts to be lost, the business of art starts to fade, and the art of business kicks in.

The Art of Business is taking the ideas from the cutting edge and realm of the cool, and moving it into “the next big thing” and hope that this expression becomes a social convention. In making it a social convention huge fortunes are made usually for the venture capitalist and acute entrepreneur, they have usually moved away if not far away from the devox – the true voice of the original deviant, who perhaps sits and see’s his art is now perhaps a shadow of the original. It hits me as I roll in bed that perhaps this is what James Joyce was alluding to in his “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” where he speaks of the function of art. Joyce states that “true art is beautiful and/or sublime. It stops you dead in your tracks, leaves you speechless.” He further states what art is not “Improper art moves you to do something. It either aims to teach or move you to do something that you would not normally do.” It hits me that is the aim of advertising, the critical tool to move an idea/vision from the cutting edge to the next big thing. It aims at making you do something you would not normally do or want.

The Business of Art is following one’s impulses to find beauty and the sublime in it, and to be arrested in its awe. The Art of Business is “moving others to do something they may not normally do.” There has to be a third way… there must be a third way but for now I need to sleep, have a long day ahead and to be at work at 6 am and for now I tell myself “stay true to your art, your vision” and cuddle into the warmth of my comforter.

The next day, after a long day at work, between partnership meetings and meetings, I return home. My mind is still reeling from the conversations the night before and the business of art. Bucky and the movie to get the ideas out have somehow taken the back seat. I continue reading the Moon of Hao Bihn until its time to head to the dojo. The evening is cold, and it sure gets dark early in winters. The dojo, or where the way is practiced is a corner in the park. The class is small, 4 regular students and me, and this evening there are only two shows, and it hits me that even though there are just two students and me, we are here when its wet and cold, practicing our art – following our impulses to learn the martial art, that has been passed down generation to generation for perhaps hundreds of years, and in the process discover ourselves.

This evening in the dojo with two students reminds me of my days with my sensei, and the small one room dojo. Sensei had converted the small living room into our dojo, the room measured approximately 15 feet wide and about 25 feet in length, and was matted. Sensei had given up a lot, including promotions on his job and perhaps a lot more in order to be true to his art, to his form of expression of his spirit. Like clockwork he would be there every evening teaching the next generation of practioneers the art, the spirit and the way of the warrior. Sastri sensei left his family behind, left his country, his home, in order to follow his impulse, to introduce the art which he had dedicated many many years to another generation, in another part of the world. A group of us, would practice with him every opportunity we got for hours to an end. I remember clearly him one night telling us “you are young, and you can be a 100 other places on this Friday night, and yet here you giving and receiving pain. This will be rewarded, in ways you cannot conceive yet. You know you are like the young piano player, who is practicing and practicing while his friends play, a day will soon come, when the young maestro will play, and his friends will pay to watch. Stick with it, stick with the practice and dedication to the art, it will reward you in ways you don’t know yet.”

So here I am, sitting and that feeling of calm comes back, and I know that for me its “continue to being true to the art and expression” of my spirit, of my own way. The movie, the podcasts, the dojo all serve the same need, they are devices for reaching into the further reaches of my own inner space. Time to head to bed, this time more relaxed and telling myself the third way is “Art is the way” its not about the business of art or art of business, but Art is the way. And the way of art is “following those impulses from deep within” and then continuing to work on the art while others play, and when it is your turn to play they will pay to be there. Time to sleep, and tomorrow it will be time again to work on the art, while others perhaps are playing.

Technorati Tags: antero alli, dinner with andre, holy mountain, sensei sastri, james joyce, radical change group, art,

Other-awareness

Arman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:51:07 +0000

“Just imagine what it is like to carry the other-awareness like on carries a mantra. But how difficult it is to be aware of the other! It is not that our awareness slips; it just never gets established. How rare is the occurrence of other-awareness. We have no taste of what it is to truly hold-the-other-in-awareness. We cannot stand such joy! We are afraid. To hold the other-awareness-in-fullness is to voluntarily embrace the dissociation. The ego I-ness framework has to split. How could it be otherwise? One just happens. One is not a happen-er. The other-awareness is not just knowing that he or she is there. It is knowing that the other has a being-for-him/her-self as a self-limitation-of-the-whole. The other is a symbol of the self; the self, a symbol of the other. Ha! But to hold such an awareness: that is truly an act of sanctification. A benison for the beloved is to hold the other-awareness before-the-self. One must never forget that there is only one real I-ness. Before-the-self is not self-denial; it is other-self renewal. The other-self is a multi-unity. But, of course, one must embrace the split to real-ize that.

Why is it that no one is interested in experiencing the multi-unity of the other-self? Why is woman no leader? She should know! She should feel it in her abdomen. She should demand a fullness of the other-awareness. But she, too, never remembers the miracle of being-ness, or reaches for the fullness-of-the-context in moment to moment awareness. She, too, lives in a fog. What is it with woman that she does not know? Why does her inner taste not tell her? Why does she believe what she is told? Why she not already learned? If anyone should have deep sensitivity to the omni-multi-relation at the root of existence, it should be woman. Man-woman relating should highlight this omni-multi-ness. Why does she not know and insist? Why is she, too, afraid to embrace the being-branching at the heart of existence? Is not to birth a child, to experience the multi-unity? Where is her integrity? How can she let the intellectual aporia of enculturation short circuit her acting-from-the-being?”

- an excerpt from “The Moon of Hoa Binh” by Cong Huen Ton Nu Nha Trang and William Pensinger.

Arrested by Beauty, Bailed Out of Time

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:11:08 +0000

The intellectual is always showing off, the lover is always getting lost.

The intellectual runs away.afraid of drowning;

the whole business of love is to drown in the sea.

Intellectuals plan their repose; lovers are ashamed to rest.

The lover is always alone. even surrounded by people;

like water and oil, he remains apart.

The man who goes to the trouble of giving advice to a lover

get nothing. He’s mocked by passion.

Love is like musk. It attracts attention.

Love is a tree, and the lovers are its shade.

- Rumi

I sat down at The Palace of Fine Arts, wondering what the evening would be like. And appears this demure and understated man, in a pair of jeans and an old white shirt. Shy, somewhat clumsy when you first see him, and he bows to the crowd three times and sits down on his piano. And out of nowhere this once seemingly shy man is transformed, into sheer poetry. The music flows, and enthralls one and all. His piece ends and there is silence, before the crowd erupts in a crescendo of applause.

I sat there, mesmerized and lost in his music, lost in the sound and melody, especially of his classical pieces. His presence, and more importantly his passion with his piano had transported me from the chains of time, into the boundlessness of that space which is free of time. The music served as a gateway into the timeless. Two hours at the Palace of Fine Arts passed as though in a jiffy.

As I was driving back home, my mind kept going back into that feeling of timelessness, the passion George Winston shared through his piano at the Palace of Fine Arts, the music and how it evoked the feeling of total merger with it. And it dawned on me that this is pure being, pure presence, pure ….. and this is not the only time I have experienced it.

I remembered watching my sensei (who you can listen to on the way of the warrior podcasts) perform cross blocks followed by kokyu nage (a way of deflecting an oncoming attack followed up by a throw by disbalancing the opponent). It was sheer poetry in motion, all of us were in awe, and entrained into seeing beauty unfold right before our eyes.

The other incident which came to mind is watching Kathy Altman dance with us for three days, from 11 AM through 6 PM. Watching her merge and move with the music and the 5 rhythms progressed. Flowing smoothly, to expressing her will in staccato, to the rumble of chaos, into the smooth merger with the lyrical and arriving at peace into stillness. As she moved in her own way, there was that sense of beauty and sense of pure being flowing through, that captivated all of us who watched.

I have always been fascinated by watching mastery in any form, and always wanted to learn how people do things they do with exquisite finesse (this is the heart of modeling IMO). Upon approaching both my Sensei and Kathy (many years apart) they had interestingly told me the excat same thing when I told them ‘wow I want to move like that” – they said NO!! “you want to move how you move.” My sensei was a little more colorful when he said “don’t be my vomit” meaning don’t do things or say things exactly as he does, I needed to find my own way, my own art of expressing myself and my body in this world.

No matter what discipline one chooses to practice, with enough dedication (usually about 10 years of constant practice) you start to bring out that expression which is truly you, this is beyond all rationality, rationalization, all intellectuality and goes deep into the realm of CREATIVITY. Somehow from here, from this place YOU HAPPEN NATURALLY and FULLY.

The person you are, no matter how perhaps clumsy in the ordinary walk of life, are transformed into the an object of sheer beauty. Not only do you arrive into the timeless realm of pure being, but in the process of you arriving there, you take those who are with you or watching you along for the ride as well. This is the highest purpose of any art, any discipline IMO, one of transcending time and definitions into the realm of timelessness and awe. This is where Aesthetic Arrest happens naturally not only to you but also through you.

The trick is finding those devices and activities that take you more and more into the realm of your own being. It may be dancing, it may be martial arts, it may be sewing. Hell it may even be in the service of something or someone other than you. Reminds me of this story about Ramana Maharishi, who was a very revered sage in India.

One day a woman, who did not believe in god came to him. Upon further discussion on god and nature of love, maharishi asked her “is there someone or something you love more than anything else?” to which she replied “yes of course, my nephew. “ Maharishi then tells her “ well then go and attend to him, serve him, love him – and there is god.”

This process of finding something to serve and dedicate oneself to also brings out the very best in us. It also IMO brings us close to our element, closest to that which we are. And staying with this element, and true to it transforms the wobbly creature into a majestic swan

This clumsy living that moves lumbering
as if in ropes through what is not done
reminds us of the awkward way the swan walks
and to die, and to die, which is the letting go
of the ground we stand on and cling to everyday
is like the swan when he nervously lets himself
down into the water which receives him gaily
and which flows under and after him wave after wave
while the swan, unmoving and marvelously calm,
is pleased to be carried, each moment,
more fully grown, more like a king, farther and farther on..

- Rainer Maria Rilke “The Swan”

Irony of ironies, you find yourself only when you are willing to lose yourself to something/someone greater than yourself. In serving this expression you come more and more into yourself, and in the process of this “alchemy,” this transformation, you entrain those around you as well to be “captured and transformed by beauty” be it the piano, the samurai sword, the sway of a dancer or the play of a child.

The trick in this, is to “model yourself at your very best, when you are serving something other than you.” Get the syntax, magnify it.

May you lose yourself fully into something you truly love and in the process find yourself and entrain the world.

Aikijujutsu, 5rhythms, sensei sastri, kathy altman, Rumi, rilke, the swan, george winston, ramana maharishi, aesthetic arrest,

Want Clarity on Our Financial Situation and the Solution?

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:47:22 +0000

Receievd this email from Marshall Thurber as a part of his Positive Deviant Network this morning, and its an article by one of the most brilliant minds of our time, Hernando de Sato. Enjoy it
———————–

Dear M,

I just received an article (see below) from David Neenan as part of Live Capital LLC. This is an extraordinary document that, hopefully, will soon be published in the New York Times. Because of this possibility please do not send it to other newspapers.

This article makes sense; please take the time to read and digest it. When you have, and if you agree with the contents, I would like you to forward it to as many influential people as you know for their assessment and ask them to get it to as many influential people as they know (network science at its best).

Your action in doing this is democracy at its best; you can be part of improving our and the global financial situation; you can help by being part of a ground swell demanding this action. In most cases, politicians don’t lead; they follow the will of the people. Let them hear your voice and those of your friends.

If our Politicians follow this course of action the economic pain will be dramatically shortened. You can clearly make a difference by doing this.

This is the first time I have ever written a request like this. Please do your part.

With gratitude,

Marshall Thurber

IT’S ABOUT PAPER NOT BUBBLES: Stopping the Meltdown

By Hernando de Soto©

The meltdown of the global economy is due not to failing markets but to a violation of the rule of law. In recent years aggressive financiers have gutted the rule of law by taking out several essential inner mechanisms replacing them with an immense financial shadow economy, manufacturing hundreds of trillions of dollars of derivative paper so unruly, poorly recorded and untethered to real value that it has become increasingly worthless and difficult to trace. No one knows precisely how much there is or who holds it. Fear that potential borrowers could be burdened with so much of this toxic paper that they will be unable to repay their loans has initiated an inevitable chain reaction to a meltdown: as trust in legal paper breaks down, it paralyzes credit, which shrinks transactions, leading to a catastrophic drop in employment and in the value of everyone’s property.

When U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson initiated his Troubled Assets Recovery Program (TARP) last October with the widely reported objective of identifying and weeding out the toxic paper, I figured Western leaders understood that in their all-out efforts to avert meltdown the main challenge was to restore trust in the market: once TARP informed us of the amount, the location, and the nature of the bad paper, we would be in a position to know whom to help – and how to do it. Equally important, we could target the causes of this pandemonium and find ways to reform the law so that this never happens again. Once you are aware that in modern markets value travels on paper, you don’t have to be a genius to know that by restoring credibility to paper credit will resume.

Two months have passed, however, and TARP’S solution of isolating the toxic paper appears to have faded into the background. I now fear that Western authorities don’t really comprehend why mere paper is so important. In the non-Western world, where I come from, this is pretty obvious: the prosperous sector of our economy sit in their modern high rise buildings with all their assets well paperized (sending out clear signals regarding who is who, who owns what, what is where, and what is risky). But most people live in the anarchy of the shadow economy with their assets and contracts covered by paper that is endemically toxic: not recorded, not standardized, difficult to identify, hard to locate, their real value so opaque that ordinary people cannot build trust in each other or be trusted in global markets; they thus operate in a constant credit crunch and are stuck in
poverty. In short, for shadow economies outside the U.S. and Europe, “meltdown” is a chronic condition.

That is why property paper is so important: it embodies in precise written form the rule of law in the market and thereby destroys its main enemies – ambiguity and opaqueness. Ever since we humans started cooperating beyond the scope of the family, the tribe, or the fiefdom, and found it profitable to transact with people and assets beyond the confines of the neighborhood, we have depended on legally authenticated written statements to get the facts about things of value. That legal authority matured over the past 200 years, until developed economies finally reached a global consensus on the procedures, standards and principles required to document facts that everyone can easily understand and trust. Today, under the rule of law, we have a formidable legal system that we call “property,” which specializes in providing all the rules and recording mechanisms
needed to securely fix on paper the knowledge required to legitimately hold, transfer, transform and use the things we own, from houses to airplanes, from mortgages to stocks, and from patents to screenplays.

How Derivatives Violate the Rule of Law

Guess what are the only assets not governed by the rules of law that fix property to paper. You guessed it: derivatives, the very toxic paper currently melting down the global economy. That toxicity is the direct result of legal tinkering that substituted the authoritative and tested global consensus, which underpins the rule of law, with mathematical models and ratings for hire. During the past decade, in an effort to raise capital, some financiers have taken value from where the rule of law has positioned it – the property system – and repackaged it into paper synthetically created in the shadowy area of the law that governs derivatives. Once
paper crossed that line, it left behind the six automatic regulators that keep the written law in sync with economic reality:

Automatic Regulator 1: Only what is real may be recorded on paper.
Derivatives law is so untethered to real value and the rules of proper record-keeping that financiers have created bonds to represent homes, borrowers, and mortgages that literally do not exist. More astonishing still, these derivatives have strayed so far from the original assets that they were derived from, that a rating agency can decide to change the initial risk classification of a given set of mortgages just to make them more marketable. In contrast, property law accepts only real assets and interests (e.g. houses, owners, equity and mortgages), and demands that all the information about them be recorded carefully in centralized registries where anyone
interested can access it, relatively easily.

Automatic Regulator 2: All inter-party interests must be in sync with external interests.
The financial law governing derivatives has increasingly been re-engineered to suit the narrow needs of parties in a financial contract, disregarding how derivatives affect other interests. It foments niches and clandestine passages.

Property rests on what the law calls erga omnes (“towards everyone”) obligations– for every situation, it fixes rights and obligations regarding not only the ownership interests secured by a contract but also any external
interests that could suffer side effects. Property legally interconnects all interests and relationships directly or indirectly linked to an asset or a liability – whether credit or debt, vested or contingent, expectant, inchoate or consummate, potential or unliquidated – and thereby ensures that paper moves in step with the general interest. This network of signals and cross references creates common knowledge, and makes it easy for anyone to
track down paper, determine the various controlling interests, and protect his own. Significantly, property law was historically developed to open up the market by undercutting the secret prerogatives typical
of royal, feudal and mercantilist aristocracies.

Automatic Regulator 3: Financing must always be aligned to assets and their improvement.

The importance of aligning finance to property paper to create credit was spotted early on by John Kenneth Galbraith; studying the l929 Crash, he concluded that financial crises appear when the amount of debt secured
or created on the basis of assets becomes dangerously “out of scale” with the property required to pay the debt.

How does one measure Galbraith’s scale? By examining whether financing for the development of a particular asset will help generate surplus value. The reason for this is as old as Aristotle who explained
that the potential of any asset is bigger than the asset itself. This justifies leveraging, since discovering and developing potential requires supplementary credit scaled to our best estimate of an asset’s possible surplus value. The message is that growth comes from improving assets – a process in which financing plays only a supporting role (as we shall see in Automatic Regulator 4).

This “improvement” principle was honored from the very start of the American Republic: title was awarded to those settlers, railroads, and universities that could make improvements on the land they claimed or were granted. Long-established property law, therefore, demands that the financier never let the assets out of his sights as a constant reminder that the purpose of financing is to create additional wealth out of them: Assets can
be leveraged, transformed, combined, recombined, sliced and diced, and repackaged into any number of tranches, provided the process improves the value of the original asset. By contrast, in the world of re-engineered financial products, there are no mechanisms or incentives to ensure that the division of paper into tranches develops an asset’s potential.

Automatic Regulator 4: Property and production drive financing – not the other way around.

Finance supports wealth creation but in itself creates no value. It should never be allowed to take the lead: the role of finance is to keep the exchange economy going by passing money from those who save it to
those who invent and produce things. Financing is infrastructure, like roads and sewers. As Adam Smith wrote, money is the “great wheel of circulation…and it carries to market all the grass and corn of the country (but) produces not a single pile of either.” Even Marx agreed that value has nothing to do with money. This is why we have to stop looking for solutions to the meltdown that sacrifice the property and the wealth of producers to
subsidize the messed up financial facilities.

Automatic Regulator 5: All economic agents must be motivated and forced to record their assets and transactions – the essential knowledge to infer reality.

We humans have the ability to use our minds to imagine, to create, to invent, and to make all sorts of productive combinations, while being able to deceive one another, be mistaken, ambiguous, inconstant, and swept away by our ambitions. Like Janus, these two opposing aspects of the mind are conjoined; we cannot separate them. Financiers, too, can be both creative and predatory.

That is why property law has built-in restraints against too much “creativity” in transactions. The way information is recorded, arranged and formatted in property paper enables us to detect and sort out incongruities between a given reality and what is documented. It is only by fixing factual knowledge about assets on paper, as required by property law, that we can establish the framework of rules for determining what is true and thus separate what is false from what is only fantasy – thereby promoting the creative talents of the financial community and reining in their evil twins.

Like any other business people, financiers must be accountable and to keep the public informed: all effective property recording systems are paired with mechanisms that motivate and force every asset holder to
continually update the information about his assets. If information about financial products had been properly registered and updated, we would now have a clearer map for a way out of the current recession;
and we might have been able to detect earlier the incongruities that led to it.

Automatic Regulator 6: Clarity and precision are indispensable.
Knowledge about new-fangled financial derivatives must be collated in a manner that facilitates effective accountability and the inference of risk. At present, their terms are written in ways that are so complex
and literally so unreadable that they cease to have any immediate meaning; even to put a value on derivative interests is a stretch. In case of default, for example, it is excruciatingly difficult to determine the value of a cash flow to be received on assets held or to figure how much they can be discounted with any degree of accuracy.

Unlike property, information about derivatives is not standardized; instead, there are thousands of idiosyncratic bonds scattered helter-skelter all over the market. Until someone categorizes them, it will be difficult to calculate their worth in a reasonable amount of time. After default, it may be close to impossible to find out who is accountable for repaying the debt for a derivative that has been sold innumerable times. In fact, some derivative paper is so sloppily structured that not even banks have been able to figure out the contents of their own portfolios, and US courts continue to reject many foreclosures backed up by this kind of paper. Financial law seems to have overlooked the fact that proprietary paper was created to integrate and clarify, not to exclude and confuse.

The Political Challenge

The rule of law is much more than a body of norms: it is also a huge information and management system that needs these six regulators to capture, filter and process local data, until it is transformed into facts organized on paper that allow us to infer what is true and what is false. And that’s what the meltdown is: a massive collapse of trust in the rule of law as a provider of authenticated information due to a flood of derivative paper that no longer provides facts – and hence the contraction of credit.

What about the notorious bubble? A meltdown and the bursting of a bubble is not the same thing, though they can interact. While the bursting of the “sub-prime” housing bubble and the excess of liquidity that produced it may have triggered awareness that a lot of paper derived from bad mortgages was toxic, it did not produce the meltdown: a 7% of mortgage default and a 20% loss of value in the low-end housing market, though a social tragedy, is not enough to shatter trust in legal paper and freeze global credit. Nor is the meltdown due to under-regulation; the complexity and confusion in the financial sector indicates that there may be too much regulation overall.

If my analysis is right, then governments face two crucial tasks. The first is to purge the toxic paper: bankers are not lending because they don’t know how much of it is sitting in the balance sheets of potential borrowers. The second is to break the issue away from the restrictions of purely financial considerations so that authorities can see the economic collapse in its entirety and have access to all the levers necessary to avert meltdown. To purge the toxic paper, we have to step into the shadow economy, find it, count it and exorcise it. Once that happens, we may find that the toxicity is not as painful as we have been told. The $600 trillion dollars of derivatives may be the result of counting the same value many times over, and thus the final tally of the paper that is actually jamming most of the trust required to unfreeze credit may be no more than a manageable couple of trillion. In any case, the information we get is what we need to figure out the best way to deal with the crisis.

So let’s start counting. “It’s an impossible task,” say the Wall Street types I’ve talked to, insisting that “derivative paper is too complex and tangled up to sort out.” This is just not true. Most of us make a living finding
things and untangling them without asking for a medal –from doctors locating the source of an infection to paleontologists who recreate a dinosaur that lived millions of years ago from a fossil revealed by a rock fall. Americans and Europeans, in fact, used to be brilliant at finding toxic paper: lawyers and bureaucrats did exactly that to sort out conflicting claims after the California Gold Rush, to tame the Wild West, to pick up the pieces of Europe’s crumbling feudal order, to re-assemble Japan after World War II, and to reunify Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

That is how capitalism was built. Today, in developing and former Soviet Union countries, we are constantly searching for toxic paper in our shadow economies –informal titles, licenses, contracts, laundered money and identity documents – in an effort to bring the people who hold the paper into the mainstream.

So why are most Western treasuries avoiding the search for toxic paper? My best explanation is that they continue to deal with the meltdown mostly within the narrow context of derivatives law and its
constituency. This puts them at a tremendous disadvantage. First, the law that governs derivatives does not have the automatic regulators required to keep paper tethered to reality, the indicators to size up the damage, the information-sensitive agents to detect toxic paper quickly, the categories to classify the obstacles to reform, or the tools to sort out the growing conflict of interest between the holders of derivative paper and the rest of society. And second, the financial community –which typically provides the staff for dealing with all things financial— doesn’t have the inclination, the incentive or the economic interest to carry out the nitty-gritty, down
and dirty job that is routinely done by ordinary working people.

That is probably why some financial types keep saying, “Let the market do its work.” Well, that’s impossible in the current situation. Modern legal markets only work if the paper is reliable and people have some access to credit and information, which will not happen until the toxic paper jamming the system is dealt with. “Let the market do its work” now means, in effect, “let the shadow economy do its work,” and that is a very different proposition. In a shadow economy, with no widespread information and credit, the only people skilled at operating in the darkness are the vulture capitalists and the loan sharks who will devour producers with good credit scores but no credit, along with the recently unemployed, at bargain basement prices. And they will continue to do so until the stock of wealth of those who produce has paid off the undocumented debt generated by the toxic paper.

If you have ever wondered why there is so little enthusiasm for market economics in the Third World, now you have the answer: markets don’t work well when they operate without transparency, in the shadows and outside the rule of law. That’s what the violence was all about in the Wild West, in the black markets of the 1930’s, and today in the crime- and war-torn zones of developing nations.

What we are facing is a once in a lifetime event when the legal institutions that coordinate a production system have fallen into grave disrepair. This is a legal and political challenge. Legal because it is the result of American and European governments having allowed the paper that represents their assets cross the line from the rule of law into an incomplete legal space where arbitrary interests preside and paper swirls mindlessly out of control. It’s a political challenge because only fixing the law can eventually stop the meltdown.

The main duty of government is to bring the whole toxic environment under the rule of law where it will be subject to enforcement. No economic activity based on the public trust should be allowed to operate outside the general principles of property law. The rule of law sustains all economic activity, all of society, even freedom itself. This was true under Roman law with its convention “ubi societas, ibi ius” (where society is, there lives the law). And it has become even more widespread as globalization and international treaties have increased over the past 50 years. Financial institutions will have to serve society and fully report what they own and what they
owe, just like the rest of us, so that we get the facts necessary to find our way out of the current financial maze. They must be moored to reality and they must learn to put on paper statements about real things instead of statements about statements. Never again should financiers lose sight of facts and real value –homes, industries, services, patents, ideas, dreams and their potential. That is the only way to ensure calculability and create verifiable audit trails.

It is now time for politicians to muster the courage to rise above the narrow focus of financial specialists and take their position on the commanding heights, where they can view all the problems of a failing order and use all the levers of the law to address them. Markets were never intended to be anarchic: it has always been government’s role to police standards, weights and measures, records, and not condone legalized sharp practices in the darkness of the shadow economy.

Once it is clear that the meltdown is not about bubbles but about paper, government can step in to block the meltdown –in the name of property, capital, competitive markets and prosperity for all – without being accused of pandering to state socialism.

marshall thurber, hernando de sato, positive deviant network, financial meltdown,

A Story of Punished God

Sergey — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:19:19 +0000

This story landed in my inbox today – if you know the origin of this story, please let me know…

This god-like being had committed a great transgression and was punished by his fellow gods, condemned to live imprisoned in a mortal human body.

At his birth, he was trapped inside an infant body with only an infant’s ability to move and speak. As he grew, every outward aspect of his life seemed ordinary, except that he knew inside he was a god. He knew that in
spite of his appearance, his family and his upbringing, there was nothing ordinary about him.

He decided that if he could not reclaim the greatness of a god then he would build his greatness as a man.

Every action he took moved him in that direction. He did so with a calm and undisturbed patience, for he knew that inside he was a god. All the time he kept silent about who he knew he really was. To speak of it would only cause others to think him mad and egocentric. As he grew, he accomplished one thing after another. Some people praised him but it meant nothing to him. Others were envious and threatened by his achievements, but he was unmoved.

He continued to live a life of achievement.

On his death bed, he was surrounded by his friends and associates. Their eyes were filled with tears as they saw life slowly passing from him.

One of his closest friends leaned forward and asked ,"You have done so much for all of us and for yourself. How can we possibly live up to your achievements?" And in that moment he saw something in everyone around him that he had never recognized before. He saw a light within each of them that was the light of his former life as a god.

Still holding on to his secret and knowing that his imprisonment was about to end his last words were uttered: "Take what is important and live it."

As the light from his human eyes faded his real eyes opened, surrounded by the gods who had condemned him. Smiles filled their faces and they welcomed his return as if he were a returning king.

Without them ever telling him, he knew then his sentence was not a punishment but a blessing given by his closest friends.

Technocrati Tags: God, story, achievement, greatness

Happy New Year – and What’s Coming

RCG — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:00:04 +0000

Happy New Year 2009 to all of you!

As the founders of RCG, we have gone a long way, and sometimes,
looking back, it is hard to recognize the people we were just over two
years ago. And yet, as we look forward, we see that the journey has
but just begun.

In the coming year, we have a whole bunch of podcasts already lined up
for you as gifts from the Radical Change Group, and from the people
and practitioners who are working with us, and through us, in bringing
this to you.

The coming year will see some exciting topics that the three of us
cover – the original trio of the three friends.

In addition, we’ll be introducing some new conversations. Some
highlights of the topics include:

The talks on Shamanism with Ismana
On 5Rhythms dancing with the originator of the 5Rhythms Gabrielle Roth
Continuing our conversations on the strategy of the dolphin with Paul
Kordis
Speaking about a form of theatre known as ParaTheatre with Antero Alli
Mythology with Paul Rebillot

And we’re going to have a new focus on a few other areas, such as the works of Buckminster Fuller that impacted us deeply, and the work of Joseph Campbell and Richard Roberts.

We are also going to have more regular blog posts on our webpage – please visit us, read it, and if you like it – share it with your friends, and help us spread the word.

Why are we doing it?

In the spirit of Positive Deviance, because some things need to be done – to cause both societal and personal change. The key questions that we ask are:

What if… Transformational teachings were given as gifts, rather than traded for money?
What if… You had access to iconoclasts and change makers on-demand, rather than at their limited availability?
What if… The conversations were spontaneous, open, and emergent, rather than scripted, dogmatic, and dry?
What if… Change was approached holistically, through the synthesis of many streams of thought?
What if… The project was based on a sense of contribution to a vibrant community of like minded individuals?

The Gift Economy

This is a whole notion that we have started with the RCG. We want to get involved – help us shape what is becoming a shared gift, a shared reality, and also for you to take charge and shape it in your own ways.

Currently, we have two more projects going:

For both of them, our goal is to restore these tapes and videos, digitize them for the modern media, and distribute it across the World for free. We need your help here, we need you get involved, in any way possible.

We also have a Listener’s Survey – please take a minute to fill it out, so we know what resonates with you and what doesn’t, and how we can improve this.

Technocrati Tags: Radical Change Group, Transformation, Gift Economy, New Year, Shamanism, Ismana, 5Rhythms, Gabrielle Roth, Mythology, Paul Rebillot, Joseph Campbell, Strategy of the Dolphin, Paul Kordis, ParaTheatre, Antero Alli, Positive Deviance, Buckminster Fuller

It’s The Mutants That Make It

Sergey — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:17:15 +0000

Having been a long-time scientist myself, I’ve observed time and time again one very persistent approach by most of my fellow scientists to innovation: take what’s been done, and improve it. Not a single project that I’ve participated in could skip this important step – look what’s already been done, study the literature, talk to those who walked there before, learn what their approaches do well and where they have weaknesses, and see if you can keep the "good stuff" and somehow avoid the pitfalls, generally by tweaking things here and there. Granted, most of the technology comes from such an approach of learning more and more about the specific methods, and polishing them to perfection, until hardly anything can be improved, at which point the science proudly declares it to be "the state of the art" and "the best it can ever be", mathematicians formulate theorems proving that nothing better can be done with this technology – no matter how hard you try, and the method enters the classical textbooks as "the way to go". Until someone invents a new technology that totally outperforms the "old and tried" ways, making everyone wonder what has just happened…

"You don’t replace the old.
You make it obsolete by introducing a superior methodology."
(Buckminster Fuller)

Remember the vacuum tubes? Neither do I. Perhaps, the only surviving vacuum tubes these days are the CRT TVs and computer monitors – but even those are becoming increasingly obsolete. With the invent of a transistor, electronics suddenly became cheaper, more energy-efficient, and much more compact. I remember playing with transistors as a kid – soldering simple radios and amplifiers for my home fun projects. I still remember using the equations to balance a simple one-transistor amplifier with about 10x amplification, and stacking those up to achieve a descent output from a microphone. That was a rather delicate process, requiring some trial and error, fine-tuning, and quite a bit of time. Then came the integrated circuits. I still remember the feeling of awe when I first got hold of those IC amps that looked just like a single transistor, only with more "legs", and had a whopping 100,000x of amplification power, with all the balancing done with only two resisters in a "negative feedback loop" – to limit the amplification, sacrificing it for the stability of the circuit. So much simpler, so much higher quality, so much more predictable. You could still play with transistors, but anyone with these ICs would leave you eating the dust in no time. Nowadays, this technology seems ancient to me – as the entire systems are being implemented on-chip, and all you see are the external controls, displays and headphone jacks being connected directly to the single chip on the tiny printed board. Period. How do you ever beat that with single transistors, or even the IC amps? You can’t. And if that’s not impressive enough, we are now carrying equivalent of the early Cray Supercomputers in our pockets merely to entertain ourselves with over 1000 hours of CD-quality music at our fingertips…

Which reminds me of another story. Remember the open reel audio tapes? Or the vinyl records? Well, if you are under 25, you probably don’t even know what I’m talking about… The reels were popular in the 1960s, and were still in use in early 70s – I had one player at home as a kid. The technology kept improving – instead of one or two tracks in the early systems, one could then record 4 tracks of audio on a 6.25mm tape. Further improvements reduced the tape speed from 38cm/s to 19cm/s, and then even further to 9.5 and even 4.25cm/s (the "super LP" mode). The Dolby noise reduction technology further improved the sound quality that was previously only available for very high tape speeds. All went well, until came the compact cassette. With its tiny form factor, convenience of handling, and up to 90 minutes of high-quality sound recording, the consumer market has totally embraced the new technology. The sales of open-reel tapes have dropped, and manufacturers were forced to discontinue its mass-market production. The noise-reduction technology has also been streamlined and perfected to accommodate the now cheaper cassette players – the ubiquitous "Dolby B", retaining much of the sound quality of the reels. The technology kept steadily improving, and some time in the late 70s Dolby has came up with "Dolby S" – a recording technology that made cassettes rival then emerging digital audio. If you’ve never heard of Dolby S, it’s for good reason. At about the same time, the optical Compact Disks have entered the game. With signal now represented digitally, the problem of noise and non-linearity of the recoding medium became entirely irrelevant. The tapes – reels or cassettes – became history. Then, at the turn of the millennium, yet another technology quietly appeared. At first mostly unnoticed by the industry, it suddenly swept all over the world of audio like a tornado, creating havoc and legal panic of RIAA – the "notorious" MP3. CD sales dropped. People didn’t want to carry shelves full of jewel cases, or buy the bulky CD changers – they’d rather carry a tiny pocket device called an "mp3 player", and have their entire music collection with them on the go. Unlike a CD player, you can jog with it, drop it, shake it, wear it on your arm, or clip it to your belt – the music will play without skipping a beat, for hours on end. And, unlike the CDs, if you happen to run over your player with a steamroller, the music will still be there on your computer, intact. I’m now buying more music on iTunes than anywhere else, and even if I happen to get an occasional CD, I would immediately rip it and plug in to my iPod – never to look at that CD again.

It seems that, despite the prevalent belief in the scientific community, the history of innovation tells us quite a different story – the "next big thing" is not a fine-tuned and improved old, but rather a totally new, superior technology that happened to be so much more efficient that it made the old one obsolete. Just like in biological evolution, it’s not a gradual selection of the fittest that changes the species – as Darwin had thought, but a sudden mutation that happened to be more fit for the times that survives in the long run – only to be replaced by another superior mutation later on. The evolution is not linear – rather, it happens by quantum leaps, with a new mutant obsoleting the rest of its species.

Ironically, this has happened to the science itself. In mathematics it was the invent of calculus, the discovery of logical paradoxes in set theory and Cantor’s theory of types and transfinite numbers, culminating in Gödel’s famous incompleteness theorems, and moving further into computability and complexity theories by Turing and others that made previous efforts like Hilbert’s program rather irrelevant or impossible. It happened in physics, where the first naive models of the world by earlier philosophers were overthrown by Newton and his mathematically precise laws. Those in turn were later proven to be only approximations by the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

The industrial age – the economic child of precise science – was overshadowed by information age with the invent of a computer, and now this much shorter-lived era is being replaced again with new wave of technologies. Even within computer science itself the early assembly codes were replaced by primitive programming languages like Fortran and C, then much more advanced object-oriented languages (C++, Java), and now we are seeing graphical programming environments such as UML, Flash, AppleScript, and even web-based apps and mash-ups like WordPress that take the development of computer applications to higher and higher levels, making the old ways look archaic in comparison. It took YouTube one year to revolutionize the internet video. It took another year or so for iTunes to respond with video-on-demand – it’s only a matter of time before DVDs will become obsolete, just like VHS are now a relic. In a few years, the entire industry of 35mm still cameras was swept into oblivion by the stunning digital cameras. It didn’t take much longer for the digital video to catch up with 35mm film, and now you can buy a $1000 camcorder that would rival an expensive Hollywood equipment of the 90s. And for the "real price tag" – the RED camera will now take you places you’ve never even dreamed of with the good old film.

In the words of Buckminster Fuller, "You don’t replace the old. You make it obsolete by introducing a superior methodology." Or, as David Neenan has put it, "It’s the mutants that make it."

Happy New Year, and may it be a year of superior mutations – outdating the old ways!

Technocrati Tags: mutants, outdating the old, superior methodology, Buckminster Fuller, science, electronics, music industry, mp3, calculus, logic, set theory, Cantor, Goedel, incompleteness theorem, Turing, Darwin, evolution, Newton, Relativity theory, quantum mechanics, computer science, Hollywood

Did you say connect Bruce Lee, Joseph Cambell, Buckminster Fuller, Frank Herbert and Osho??

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:43:06 +0000

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.- Robert Frost

I did not see that roundhouse kick coming in, and the next second I was bleeding on the floor, and the shape of my face was to be changed forever. This was the late 80’s and once again, when doing my kumite (free sparring) against someone from another style, a very senior member of a different school, had managed to get me flat on the ground.

Inspite of being a brown belt in Shotokan karate, I was unable to defend myself. I trained 3 nights a week, for 3 hours each session and yet my results were a broken nose and bruised ego. I started to ask the question “why is my speciality of shotokan karate not working” and why do I seem to do so well against members of my own style and when faced with another stylist I am at a loss for what to do.

In my teens then I quickly arrived at the conclusion that I need to train more, and train in more diverse disciplines. I went out to a book store and ran into a copy of Tao Of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. I was hooked. He helped me understand that I could not let my style be my limitation, I had to learn to fight at all ranges and with all styles. I worked hard, training with a hard Kenpo sensei, a soft wushu sifu, a crazy sports karate coach and with friends who dabbled in mixed arts and boxing. A few things began to click and yet i was not as effective as I wanted to be. My sparring improved, I was more fluid and able to move in and out of different ranges with ease, however was unable to weave/tie the various systems together. This all started to change when I ran into quite by accident into my present Sensei, sensei sastri. When I met him, he was not able to negate all my styles and throw me around like a rag doll but had a sense of calm and peace about, the kind of calm and peaceful confidence that is both very appealing and scary.

Well, the next few years I apprenticed under my sensei in Kaze Arashi Ryu , working out 6 days a week, for 2-3 hours a day and was able to fluidly fight in all ranges and yet there was a symmetry and some core principles at work. One of the core principles here was to focus on “generalized principles” and the focus was not so much on techniques but on embodying the principles.

The big epiphany was most styles were specialists – either punching or kicking systems, or infighting and outfighting systems, hard and soft etc. But in order to be a complete fighter one had to be a generalist, a comprehensivist. This is also true in just about every other aspect of life, that overspecialization kills in the long run, and it is the generalist who emerges the winner in the long run. This process of learning the principles and embodying them took us deep into various other fields such as philosophy, zen, Neuro Linguistic Programming and business strategy. Suddenly the realization hit, that they were all deeply connected, and one could not just learn about one thing and not have it deeply impact the other systems.

One night I sat down and was watching the PBS special with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell and there during the the conversation Joe Campbell says “Specialization tends to limit the field of problems that the specialist is concerned with. Now, the person who isn’t a specialist, but a generalist like myself, sees something over here that he has learned from one specialist, something over there that he has learned from another specialist – and neither of them has considered the problem of why this occurs here and also there. So the generalist – and that’s a derogatory term, by the way, for academics – gets into a range of other problems that are more genuinely human, you might say, than specifically cultural.” And bingo I was nodding, Campbell could have been speaking about Martial Arts and not mythology and he would have still made perfect sense. Hooked as I was now to studying the Patterns of human development (the monomyth and NLP) I embarked to study the dots that connect.

Many years later as I sat down reading Frank Herbert’s Dune Series (yes again, for probably the nth time), there is a piece of the conversation where Herbert has in his ever poetic and magical language captures the heart of the same principle of generalization v/s specialization. He states “It is wise to have decisions of great moment monitored by generalists. Experts and specialists lead you quickly into chaos. They are the source of useless nit-picking, the ferocious quibble over a comma. The generalist, on the other hand, should bring to decision making a healthy common sense. The generalist must understand that anything which we can identify as our universe is merely part of larger phenomena. But the expert looks backward; he looks into the narrow standards of his own specialty. The generalist looks outward; he looks for living principles, knowing full well that such principles change, that they develop. It is to the characteristics of change itself that the generalist must look. There can be no permanent catalog of such change. You must look at it with as few preconceptions as possible. Languages build up to reflect specializations in a way of life. Each specialization may be recognized by its words, by its assumptions and sentence structures. Look for stoppages. Specializations represent places where life is being stopped, where movement is dammed up and frozen. ” Again he could have said the same about martial Arts, and I remembered with a smile and nod, as I checked for the validity of his insight with my body, with my impulses and yes it is so. These patterns connect, the generalist wins again.

In the past year my friends and I have been studing the work of Buckminster Fuller deeply, and this has lead to yet another reinvention of the work we do. Bucky has produced a series of “everything I know sessions” which would run anywhere from 20-40 hours. During these deep deep talks, he has emphasized the same idea again, that go with generalization and become comprehensivists. During one of the early EIK he eloquently states “Of course, our failures are a consequence of many factors, but possibly one of the most important is the fact that society operates on the theory that specialization is the key to success, not realizing that specialization precludes comprehensive thinking.” And continues “We have learned in biology and anthropology that extinction has been the consequence of overspecialization and our specialization is leading to extinction of the species. The only thing humans need is the ability to think. Unfortunately they think mostly about how to make a living and get along in the system rather than about what the universe is trying to tell us.”

Finally a few days ago was watching some video’s of Osho and there was the same thread again, this time from spirituality. He states “All experts are blind. Expertise means you become blind to everything else. You know more and more about less and less, and then one day you arrive at the ultimate goal of knowing all about nothing,”

I sat back and took notice, that yes in fact have spent many years becoming the generalist, and it has been the underlying principle in many thing I do. The jobs I have taken, my approach to martial arts, they approach to change work, how RCG has evolved and is continuing to evolve and the diverse seemingly unconnected disciplines we seem to learn – they are deeply connected. Not spending time to learn the principles that unite, leads one to overspecialization and that leads to stagnation and extinction.

I would like to leave this stream of consciousness with a few questions
1. Are you a specialist or a generalist?
2. How can you move towards a more comprehensive way of being and thinking?
3. Are you just studying success (mind technologies like NLP), or evolution of man and societies ( anthropology and spiral dynamics/gravesian model), or just working on the body (martial arts, dance) for example, or have you found ways to weave them together ?
4. How can you unleash your intuition towards higher and higher orders of being, and find patterns that connect and ride them.

With that signing off and wishing you all a very very happy and a comprehensive new year.
This is to wishing you that you dont get caught in the trap of specialization of NLP or any one style of work
May you be beyond categorizations and definitions
May many passions find you and may you find interests that enrich each other
And may you give back those learnings back to humanity to enrich those who come after you

radical nlp, change work, nlp, martial arts, shotokan, kenpo, wushu, aikijujutsu, bruce lee, frank herbert, dune, bill moyers, joseph campbell, bill moyers, power of myth, bucky, buckminster fuller, osho, generalization, specialisation,

RCG Reinvents Itself – Again

RCG — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:06:45 +0000

In the spirit of continuous change and transformation, the Radical Change Group is reinventing itself once again. In an attempt to capture our founding principles and communicate our values and contributions, we have created a short video. Feel free to re-post this video elsewhere – help us spread the word! And also, let us know what you think.

Have a great day, and a Happy New Year!

Artists of Life – Do Your Own Thinking – LIVE EXPERIENTIALLY AND EXPERIMENTALLY

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:22:54 +0000

Do Your own thinking. This seems to be the “crux of the matter” no matter what the approach you take to change work, be at the personal, inter personal or organizational/social level

BUCKY ON DOING YOUR OWN THINKING – FROM THE MAN WHO WANTED TO UNDERSTAND AND LIVE THE PRINCIPLES OF THE UNIVERSE

LEARY ON THINK FOR YOURSELF – FROM THE MAN WHO QUESTIONED AND CHALLENGED/CHANGED AUTHORITIES ALL THE WAY

BHAGWAD GITA/HINDUISM ON THINKING FOR YOURSELF, GO BEYOND THE VEDAS AND FOLLOW YOUR OWN TRUTH

It is amazing, that at the end of the day, the way out of of the problem is acutually to turn inward, inward deeper still.
All theory, all ideas, all beliefs just become “limitations to be overcome” and the path to oneself is “via negativa” by dropping away the adopted ideas, beliefs, and theory. This in so many ways is the birth of an artist, an artist in and of life. Not an easy path, not a path understood even by most, and definitely not a path walked by many. The path is filled with blood, sweat and tears, and yet at the end is the rapture and peace. So why does one need or why is one called to do one’s own thinking? Why is one called to become an “artist of life”… this I believe is a good question, a question for us to explore, a question perhaps to hold in one’s consciousness deeply and see what emerges, and see if and how it moves you.

We have been studying some of the paratheatre process inspired by Jerzy Growtowski and would like to end with his words in this short write up

“Why do we sacrifice so much energy to our art? Not in order to teach others but to learn with them what our existence, our organism, our personal and unrepeatable experience have to give us; to learn to break down the barriers which surround us and to free ourselves from the breaks which hold us back, from the lies about ourselves which we manufacture daily for ourselves and for others; to destroy the limitations caused by our ignorance and lack of courage; in short, to fill the emptiness in us: to fulfill ourselves. Art is neither a state of the soul (in the sense of some extraordinary, unpredictable moment of inspiration) nor a state of man (in the sense of a profession or social function). Art is a ripening, an evolution, an uplifting which enables us to emerge from darkness into a blaze of light.

We fight then to discover, to experience the truth about ourselves; to tear away the masks behind which we hide daily. We see theatre – especially in its palpable, carnal aspect – as a place of provocation, a challenge the actor sets himself and also, indirectly, other people. Theatre only has a meaning if it allows us to transcend our stereotyped vision, our conventional feelings and customs, our standards of judgment – not just for the sake of doing so, but so that we may experience what is real and, having already given up all daily escapes and pretenses, in a state of complete defenselessness unveil, give, discover ourselves. In this way – through shock, through the shudder which causes us to drop our dally masks and mannerisms – we are able, without hiding anything, to entrust ourselves to something we cannot name but in which live Eros and Charitas.”

BUCKY, BUCKMINISTER FULLER, TIMOTHY LEARY, BHAGWAT GITA, VEDANTA, jerzy grotowski

Grail Meaning and Legend – LEADING SYMBOLIC LIVES

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:07:13 +0000

Everyone of us who has gone down the path of exploring mythology, be it personal or transpersonal we have run into the encounter with the grail legends. These stories of the lives of knights and their quest are deeply embedded into our personal and collective psyche.

These two videos are by far the coolest and easiest introduction to the legend of th grail. Watch them, perhaps a few things will become even more clear and inspire you to explore mythology and the “path to personal transformation” even more closely.

Should you enjoy these videos, click on the link below for audio recordings of Joseph Campbell discussing the grail legends and links to our various podcasts on the mythology with paul rebillot

TALKS BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL ON THE GRAIL LEGEND

Joseph Campbell http://www.futurehi.net/media.html

* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 1A.mp3 (17.9mb)
* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 1B.mp3 (17.7mb)
* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 2A.mp3 (17.7mb)
* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 2B.mp3 (17.3mb)
* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 3A.mp3 (18.2mb)
* Joseph Campbell – The Grail Legends (4/82) – 3B.mp3 (18.2mb)

TO LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS ON MYTHOLOGY WITH PAUL REBILLOT VISIT
http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/categories/mythos/

08/3/08 #45 Embodied Mythology Series 06: The Lover’s Journey with Paul Re… by RCG
07/27/08 #44 Embodied Mythology Series 05: The Lover’s Journey with Paul Re… by RCG
06/22/08 #40 Embodied Mythology Series 04: The Hero’s Journey with Paul Reb… by RCG
05/11/08 #34 Embodied Mythology Series 03: The Healing Theatre-2 with Paul Rebillot by RCG
05/4/08 #33 Embodied Mythology Series 02 – The Healing Theatre with Paul Rebillot by RCG
11/25/07 #13 Embodied Mythology series 01 – Stories of Our Lives by RCG

UNTIL NEXT TIME, LIVE MYTHICALLY AND FULLY SYMBOLIC LIVES

NLP, MYTHOLOGY, JOSEPH CAMPBELL, PAUL REBILLOT, RADICAL CHANGE GROUP, GRAIL LEGEND, EMBODIED MYTHOLOGY, PERSONAL MYTH

Eye accesing cues video ..

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:57:57 +0000

Eye Accessing Cues

This is an interesting video which will explain how eye accessing cues work. This is a good visual representation of each of us access various faculties of our brain in order.

Eye accessing cues are one fo the first things we went aha over when we did get our “traditional nlp” training. Thi is a good into to it before getting into the more fun part of sub modalaties. For info/podcast on submodalaties refer to our podcast from 11/4/07. The link to it is below

http://www.radicalchangegroup.com/podcasts/categories/mind/nlp/page/2/#show-55

A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or structure (rather than content) within a sensory representational system. Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given representational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions include: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus, and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre, and so on (Wikipedia)

* Definitions of modalities and submodalities
* Hypnotic induction – finding The Goal of Your Life, and exploring submodalities in the process (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic)
* Amplifying the submodalities of the life goal
* Explanation of the process and submodalities
o Control knobs for the submodalities
o Being the DJ of your life – what resonates the most with you
* What is real, and what is imaginary?
* Why visualization doesn’t work

nlp, radical nlp, eyeaccessing cues, submodalaties, visual, auditory, kinesthetic,

How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialize by going through the motions in the head (12/23/2008)

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:17:19 +0000

Check the podcast on rapport where we have discussed these points and the role of mirror neurons.

How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialize by going through the motions in the head (12/23/2008)

How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialize by going through the motions in the head (12/23/2008)
Tags:
neurons, learning

The old adage that we can only learn how to do something by trying it ourselves may have to be revised in the light of recent discoveries in neuroscience. It turns out that humans, primates, some birds, and possibly other higher animals have mirror neurons that fire in the same pattern whether performing or just observing a task. These mirror neurons clearly play an important role in learning motor tasks involving hand eye coordination, and possibly also acquisition of language skills, as well as being required for social skills, but the exact processes involved are only just being discovered. In particular the relationship between mirror neural networks and social cognitive tasks has been unclear, and greater knowledge of it could shed light on problems such as autism that may arise when this process goes wrong.

This emerging field of mirror neurons in social cognition was discussed at a recent workshop organized by the European Science Foundation (ESF), which laid the ground for the first common research network dedicated to this fast emerging field, within the EU’s 7th Research Framework Programme running until 2013.

The role of mirror neurons at all levels of social interaction is even greater than had been realized, according to convenor of the ESF conference Riccardo Viale, president of Rosselli Foundation in Turin, Italy and professor of Cognitive Science (University of Milan). “Most of the speakers highlighted how the mirror mechanism is crucial for both more basic forms of emotional recognition and also higher aspects of empathy,” said Viale.

mirror neurons, learning,

What I got out of “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell

Arman — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:53:28 +0000

Three factors are essential for successful actualization of a genius:

Innate talent (genetical, governed by the threshold principle)
Legacy (the cultural and family heritage passed on from ancestors)
Opportunity (being in the right place, at the right time, – largely a matter of “luck”)

Also, (and this is key) the process of actualization is unstable. In the sense that two individuals starting with very similar innate talent & legacy, will diverge due to the “best get better opportunities” rule and to the “10,000 hours to expert” rule.

Ok. So where does this leave us, adults, who want to continue actualizatio of our own genius? It seems that all three factors are beyond our control and influence…

And this is where I take a non-traditional view. All three factors can be brought under our influence at any stage in life. The how will take a whole book to map out, so here are just a few brush strokes to start the map:

Innate talent consists of genetical (or early childhood, – which for our purposes is the same thing) potential and the fulfillment of that potential through life experience. What I have noticed is that a lot (if not most) adults’ potential has been barely fulfilled. Most types of intelligence (mental, social, emotional, physical) can be substantially improved through training.
Legacy is fixed only for kids. As adults we are free to enter the environments that carry different and necessary for us legacy. The institution of mentor/apprentice does exactly that.
“Opportunity is random” belief is based on Newtonian model of distinct object/observer Universe. A more accurate quantum model says that our intent can influence what opportunities are offered to us throughout life. Or in the words of Oogway from Kung Fu Panda: “There are no accidents.”

Announcements & Call To Participate

RCG — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:00:15 +0000

As the holiday season approaches here in the United States – as well as in many other parts of the World – we are pausing our regular stream of weekly podcasts for this period, and will resume again on the second Sunday of January, 2009 – that is on January 11th.

Over a year ago, we have launched the Radical Change Group with the the Gift Economy in mind, the idea that the Universe is a friendly and abundant place, and that the givers get, because what goes around, comes around.

In the last year, we have been working hard on bringing the talks and information as a gift to the world. Many amazing things have happened through that work, many doors have opened to us that we didn’t even know were there.

The focus of our podcasts have expanded to many fields like martial arts, mythology, adaptive intelligences (also known as Spiral Dynamics), the 8 circuit brain model, voice, dance, business, not to mention some advanced NLP topics. Many wonderful people have come and had great conversations with us – sensei Sastri, Paul Rebillot, Antero Alli, Paul Kordis, Marshall Thurber, David Neenan, Maniko, and Kathy Altman, to mention just those whose talks we have already released. We have learned a great deal ourselves in the process, and we hope you have enjoyed listening and learning with us as well.

In the next year, the year 2009, we are going to expand not only the range of topics, but also the range of projects we are involved in – and go well beyond the podcasts. We are starting this now with a new addition to our website – the Radical Projects section, where we’ve listed the first couple of projects we would like to announce at this time. Some of the gifts that we have received from the many people we’ve met this year were the recordings of various lectures and seminars of the great thinkers of the 20th century, that previously were not released or not widely available to the public. Two of these recordings we are going to restore, convert into the modern audio/video formats, and prepare for release to the world.

One is the audio recordings of Joseph Campbell – the renowned mythologist, together with Richard Roberts – a writer and a long-time friend of Joseph Campbell, who has produced and preserved these recordings – teaching what they called “The Third Model of the Universe” in a series of workshops in 1973-74 time period. These rare recordings have never been released to the public, and we hope that bringing these recording to life will help shed the light to what otherwise might have been lost to the world at large.

Another piece is the 20 hours of video recording of Buckminster Fuller – a true renaissance man, the Leonardo da Vinci of the 20th century – explaining everything he knew in a week-long meeting of late summer 1981, less than two years before his death. These recordings also have not been widely available to the public, and were preserved as a private collection of Marshall Thurber.

These and other projects, as well as our continuing stream of podcasts, will require much of our resources – both in terms of time and money – and if you have enjoyed the gifts of RCG in the last 16 months – this is your opportunity to join us in the spirit of the gift economy, and consider now giving us a gift of support for these and other projects. Please visit our website at RadicalChangeGroup.com and make a donation to support one or more of our Radical Projects, or volunteer to help us in any other way. We thank you for your continued participation as a listener, and appreciate any of your help – be it your feedback, spreading the word about our work, or supporting us with a donation. Thank you!

We are wishing you Merry Christmas and a happy New Year – Happy Holidays and see you again in 2009!

Technocrati Tags: gift economy, holiday, podcasts, Universe, abundance

#64 Swimming with Dolphins – The Inter-Dependence – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 4

RCG — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:00:09 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with Dr. Paul Kordis. Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Wave 4 – relationships and inter-dependency
- Wave 5 will be about spiritual and ethical
On "normal" distribution and the Gini coefficient
- Mutation – punctuated evolution
- Our society is far from "normal"
- Changes the entire economics
Leveling the playfield
Revamping Economics
- Rather than predicting, the economists should give us goals
- Normal distribution of wealth could be one measure / goal
- Cybernetic loop between me and the environment; continuous feedback-correction mechanism
- Quality of the feedback
- European Union is investing in the future by sacrificing something now. In the US, we are sacrificing the future to maintain (not even improve) our current level.

Technocrati Tags: Paul Kordis, Dolphins, Economics, Gini Coefficient, Inter-Dependency, Waves of Change, Generosity, Purpose, Passion, Globalization, Localization, NLP

#63 The 5Rhythms: an Organic Map of Life – Dancing with Kathy Altman, part 4

RCG — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:00:44 +0000

We are continuing our series on the practice of 5Rhythms – a moving meditation, a dance without steps; a practice introduced in the early 1970s by Gabrielle Roth. We invite you for an insightful conversation with a long-time 5Rhythms practitioner, Kathy Altman.

As Co-Director of The Moving Center School, Kathy was the first person asked to help Gabrielle bring her work out into the world. Over the past 20 years Kathy’s teaching has brought thousands of people back to the joy of their own, original movement. Using dance as the medium, Kathy illuminates for her students "as on the dance floor, so in life". She is devoted to inspiring people to live the teachings of presence, patience and practice long after the music ends.

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Cosmology of the psyche
- Maps – body, cycles, mirrors
Personal experiences with 5Rhythms
Systems theory
Contact Improv
Trynig 5Rhythms – Why not?

Technocrati Tags: 5Rhythms, Kathy Altman, Gabrielle Roth

Iodized Salt: The Cheapest Way to Make a Big Difference

Sergey — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:45:06 +0000

“Raising the World’s I.Q” (New York Times, Dec 4 2008)

…Almost one-third of the world’s people don’t get enough iodine from food and water. The result in extreme cases is large goiters that swell their necks, or other obvious impairments such as dwarfism or cretinism. But far more common is mental slowness…

…One of the attractions is that a campaign to iodize salt costs only 2 cents to 3 cents per person reached per year…

Technocrati Tags: Iodized salt, IQ, developing countries, charity, humanitarian aid

#62 Swimming with Dolphins – The Waves of Change – conversations with Paul Kordis, part 3

RCG — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:00:19 +0000

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Emergent phenomena – that enhances people’s life. It’s in the systems, institutions, organizations.
- Developments in the economic, political and religious systems are leading towards bifurcation point.
- Artifacts
Waves of change
- Take human history as a 30-day month
- First 29 days – hunting and gathering
- Wave 1: The agriculture came along – peaked in early 1900s
- Wave 2: The Industrial wave – started in 1650s, peaked in 1950s in the US
- Wave 3: Informational wave – peaked out in mid-1980s
- Wave 4: approaching the bifurcation point. Characterized by 6 primary technologies
  - Bio-engineering
  - Nanotechnology
  - Robotics (macro)
  - Machine cognition
  - New material science
  - Exotic energy sources
Key observation: in waves 1 & 2, change was slow, and we could adapt on the back of the wave. Wave 3 was faster, we had to adapt with the change. With wave 4, we may have to adapt before it happens.
Wave 4 technologies
- Car battery – building the capacitor with a virus
- Water filtration plant "Slingshot" – by the guy who built the Segway. Runs on methane, produces about mega-watt of energy, and produces enough fresh water for the entire village.
Betrayal of the technologies
- They de-centralize power, hence less profit for the richest

Technocrati Tags: Paul Kordis, Dolphins, Waves of Change, Syntropy, Spheres of Human Influence, Generosity, Purpose, Passion, Globalization, Localization, NLP

#61 The 5Rhythms: an Organic Map of Life – Dancing with Kathy Altman, part 3

RCG — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:00:34 +0000

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

As in dance, so in life
- We are all good at some rhythms, and not as good at others
- We practice the whole wave to gain more balance
- The first 3 rhythms are just gateways; lyrical and stillness are the reward
The Shadow side of the Rhythms
- Flow – inertia, where we can’t get ourselves going
- Staccato – tightness, rigidity of boundaries
- Chaos – confusion
- Lyrical – spacing out, instead of spacing in
- Stillness – getting numb, instead of quieting
Rhythms in real life
- Shadow sides are the extremes of the rhythms that define their true essense
- You see this everywhere in life
- Examples of famous people embodying various rhythms
Connections between people in dance
- Connecting essence to essence, soul to soul. Very different from connecting on a personality level.
- Ventilate your personality – that’s the practice
- "Just like me"

Technocrati Tags: 5Rhythms, Kathy Altman, Gabrielle Roth

What If…

RCG — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:12:38 +0000

What If…

…Transformational teachings were shared as gifts, rather than traded for money
…You had access to iconoclasts and change makers on-demand, rather than at their availability?
…The conversations were spontaneous, open, and emergent, rather than scripted, dogmatic, and dry?
…Change was approached synergistically, through the synthesis of many approaches?
…There were no ads or infomercials?

At the Radical Change Group, we believe that questions are more important than the answers. Hence, we have formulated our mission and focus as these "what if" questions – for our listeners to decide for themselves.

As we are rolling into yet another evolutionary phase, we need your active support more than ever. Please consider supporting us by either volunteering / interning with us, hiring us, or sponsoring us. We – and most importantly our listeners and those who otherwise benefit from this work – will appreciate your help!

The Radical Change Group Team.

#60 Introduction to Network Science

RCG — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:00:59 +0000

Network science is a new and emerging scientific discipline that examines the interconnections among diverse physical, informational, biological, cognitive, and social networks. This field of science seeks to discover common principles, algorithms and tools that govern network behavior. The National Research Council defines Network Science as "the organized knowledge of networks based on their study using the scientific method." (Wikipedia)

This introductory episode brings forth the following topics:

What is network science?
Structure of a network
- Nodes, links, clusters, weak links, hubs
- Examples of clusters and the power of the weak link
The power of the weak link
- Making connections
- Interested vs. Interesting
- Having / making friends
- Interviewing for a job
- Finding your love
The Power Law
- The "80-20 rule" (or "90-10 rule")
- Examples – wealth distribution, biggest players in a market, etc.
- Leveraging the power law
The first mover advantage

Technocrati Tags: Network Science, power law, weak link, networks, connections, links, hub

#59 The 5Rhythms: an Organic Map of Life – Dancing with Kathy Altman, part 2

RCG — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:00:58 +0000

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

5Rhythms as a spiritual discipline
- Most people medicate (drink), rather than meditate
- "I’m just a " – we are bigger than that
- It takes great discipline to move with our emotions rather than freeze
Practices for embracing emotions
- Recognize them as energy, not a static thing
- Let it in, let it through, let it out
Fear of your own greatness
How can this practice help us understand our reason for living?
- Learning to connect, despite of everything else. Err on the side of liveness, connection.
- Can I dance in a group of complete originals, just like me?
- Three types of relationships – to myself, to another, and to the community
Naming the rhythms
- Flowing – a grounded way of moving without stopping. No manipulation; following the needs and desires of the body in motion.
- Staccato – start to organize. Having a clear beginning, middle, and end to our movements. Finding natural physical boundaries. Moving with no force, but lots of power.
- Chaos – mind, and its watery nature. It’s where the build-up starts to crash, and we cannot control the uncontrollable.
- Lyrical – where things re-pattern themselves, bigger than we could have imagined. Let go of letting go, and see what remains. Discovering our own patterns, as opposed to the external patterns that shape us (as in Staccato).
- Stillness – the "dessert" after the "meal". Being.

#58 The Different Kinds of Change – Structural and Cyclical

RCG — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:00:47 +0000

Change can mean:

The process of becoming different
The act or process of changing

(from Wikipedia)

In this episode, we discuss the following topics:

Examples of structural and cyclical changes
Defining cyclical and structural change
Why this distinction is important
- One you can undo, and re-do again and again, the other – if you missed the boat, it’s gone.
- In business, fortunes are made (and lost) on correctly (or incorrectly) predicting structural changes.
- All structural change leaves behind damage
- Russian revolution of 1917 – a structural change that was a step back (from the Adaptive Intelligences perspective)
- American Revolution of 1776 – a structural change that is a step forward
- Personal growth – will the change stick? From the perspective of the neurological levels – on the lower levels, change is often cyclical (behavior), but higher up (values, identity, spiritual) it is often structural and thus, permanent
Calibrating what change it is
- Look for markers. In Business – where boundaries are dissolved or disrupted, it’s likely a structural change.
- Relationships – same event can be either cyclical or structural, depending on the particular context, and with experience, you usually know pretty well which one is which in a particular relationship
- Personal growth – first, by the neurological levels
Dealing with change
- Business – missing the change vs. riding the change.
- Relationships – being responsible for your actions and knowing where to stop
- Personal growth – embrace the structural change, be aware and either stack up or eliminate cyclical change, depending on whether you like it not
Initiating change
- how to choose the right type of change and how to do it in business, relationships, and personal growth

Technocrati Tags: Structural Change, Cyclical Change, Business, Relationships, Personal Growth

#57 The 5Rhythms: An Organic Map of Life – Dancing with Kathy Altman, part 1

RCG — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:00:19 +0000

We are begining our exploration of 5Rhythms – a moving meditation, a dance without steps; a practice introduced in the early 1970s by Gabrielle Roth. We invite you for an insightful conversation with a long-time 5Rhythms practitioner and an elder of the tradition, Kathy Altman.

As Co-Director of The Moving Center School, Kathy was the first person asked to help Gabrielle bring her work out into the world. Over the past 20 years Kathy’s teaching has brought thousands of people back to the joy of their own, original movement. Using dance as the medium, Kathy illuminates for her students “as on the dance floor, so in life”. She is devoted to inspiring people to live the teachings of presence, patience and practice long after the music ends.

In this episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Kathy’s story – how she met Gabrielle Roth and started 5Rhythms
What is 5Rhythms? Wave-like patterns.
- Completely organic, nothing imposed. Practice of recognition.
- Everything in nature moves in wave-like patterns. 5Rhythms is a map of wave-like patterns.
- Whole life as a wave.
- Fractal – wave inside a wave
Arman’s perspective
- The goal of “normal” dance classes is to teach you how to move “right”
- The goal of 5Rhythms class is exactly the opposite. You come with your own patterns, and the goal is to let them go.
A dance without steps
- It’s a training of listening, not responding
- Dementia and dance
- 2 things help: crossword puzzles and dancing without steps
- 5Rhythms for seniors
- It’s not about how you are physically fit. It’s not about how you move, it’s whether you move.
Music in 5Rhythms
- Music is a crutch, a seduction into the dance
- This is a moving meditation practice, where the pillow is the music
- Responding to music we don’t like – breaking away from the comfort zone
- How can I respond to what is not comfortable?
Dance no matter what
- No matter how bad I feel, can I dance that?

#56 Positive Deviance with Marshall Thurber, part 3

RCG — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:00:12 +0000

“Marshall Thurber is an evolutionary event in our time”
Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller,
World-renowned scholar and futurist

Marshall Thurber is a successful attorney, real estate developer, editor, businessman, educator, scholar, inventor, negotiator, author, visionary and public speaker.

A list of his students includes such success stories as Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame, the founder and creator of Paul Mitchell hair products, Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese, Tony Robbins, Harv Eker, and Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad).

In today’s episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Constructing the games
- Starting with a theory
- Game has to have a foreshadowing, a great theory, integrity, and come through fast
- The Accounting Game
- How to use the same principles to teach concepts to little kids?
Positive Deviant Network – comparing to NLP modeling.
- “Empowergy” – Marshall’s company
- 99% is under the bell curve; progress is made by people outside the bell curve. Systematizing what Positive Deviants do.
Emergence in PDN
- Cooperation, but no control. Connections are weak ties.

Technocrati Tags: Marshall Thurber, Buckminster Fuller, Convergence, Abundance, Novelty, Risk, Sharing, Business, Dynamic Value, DyVal, Positive Deviant, Positive Deviant Network, PDN

Are you a Positive Deviant?

This may be the single most important activity
you can do for yourself and your career!

What is POSITIVE DEVIANCE?

Deviance is the distance someone or something is from the center of the bell curve. Almost all wealth and positive change comes from .1% of all human beings. It always has and always will be that way.

That one person in a thousand thinks and acts very differently. You can confirm or learn about positive deviancy right here. If you would like a FREE twelve page report on How Positive Deviancy and Network Science Can Speed Your Success by Ten to Twenty Times, register now using our easy sign-up form below.

Throughout the world, there are a few “positive deviant” individuals whose uncommon behaviors or practices enable them to outperform or find better solutions to pervasive problems, even though they share the same resource base as their associates. They consistently identify and exploit existing resources to provide unique solutions (Dynamic Value or DyVal)

#55 Positive Deviance with Marshall Thurber, part 2

RCG — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:00:35 +0000

“Marshall Thurber is an evolutionary event in our time”
Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller,
World-renowned scholar and futurist

Marshall Thurber is a successful attorney, real estate developer, editor, businessman, educator, scholar, inventor, negotiator, author, visionary and public speaker.

In today’s episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Pattern recognition
- Structural vs. cyclical change
- No high-tech without high touch
- “Twoness”
Openness to novelty
- How to be open?
- Story about Bucky Fuller – God makes no mistakes
- The broken game (archistruction)
Games – bringing the experience and fun into the training
- Risk vs. Risky – the Land of Abundance game, making the point. The first 15%
- Amount of waste – 40% of waste in US business

Technocrati Tags: Marshall Thurber, Buckminster Fuller, Convergence, Abundance, Novelty, Risk, Sharing, Business, Dynamic Value, DyVal

Are you a Positive Deviant?

This may be the single most important activity
you can do for yourself and your career!

What is POSITIVE DEVIANCE?

#54 Positive Deviance with Marshall Thurber, part 1

RCG — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:39 +0000

“Marshall Thurber is an evolutionary event in our time”
Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller,
World-renowned scholar and futurist

Marshall Thurber is a successful attorney, real estate developer, editor, businessman, educator, scholar, inventor, negotiator, author, visionary and public speaker.

In today’s episode, we touch upon the following topics:

Biggest picture – the Universe (looking for patterns)
- No straight lines in the Universe; either converging or diverging
- Convergence on Earth – because of computers and the Internet
- Network yields to the power, but ultimately gets rid of it
Business needs to be thinking in terms of convergence
- Profit – filter of information
- Primary scarcities – time and attention
- Abundance – US is leading it
- Converging, sharing, being part of a bigger pie, growing exponentially.
- Information is going to be free. Sharing is having more – breaking from the paradigm of scarcity.
Dynamic Value
- Value = Quality / Price
- Pet rock – fad, because there was no opportunity cascade
- Create value that people are willing to exchange for money; more valuable than the money they have.
- Value will be more intangible.
- Technology and education

Technocrati Tags: Marshall Thurber, Buckminster Fuller, Convergence, Abundance, Sharing, Business, Dynamic Value, DyVal

Are you a Positive Deviant?

This may be the single most important activity
you can do for yourself and your career!

What is POSITIVE DEVIANCE?

#53 Swimming with Dolphins with Paul Kordis, part 2

RCG — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:00:45 +0000

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Spheres of human influence
- Individual behavior
- Social & organizational
- Political & Economic
- Spiritual / philosophical / ethical
- Political has built a wall from spiritual, so it cannot influence other spheres. Ideally, our decisions have to be based on the common ethics, which now becomes hard. Example: US foreign policy.
Spirituality is simple and practical
- Leadership and organizational development
- Know where you are, where you’re going, and how do you get there
- US founding documents – we just forgot to follow the map
Natural generosity and good will
- We’ve unlearned basic values
- We need to expand our sphere of perception. Need to know the problem first.
- Our brains are preoccupied with commercials and other noise
- Expand our view of time. Learn history.
- Expand our sphere of influence.
- Expanding one’s perception without expanding one’s sphere of influence quickly follows by depression
Purpose and passion
- Who do I want to become?
- What are my core competencies?
- Combining the two together, what opportunities present themselves for me to move forward?
- Think future (or historically), act now. The axis of expanding perception runs both ways.
Globalization and localization
Understanding ourselves
- Movie: Lars and the Real Girl
- Transforming oneself while transforming something outside
- Schizophrenia as a heroic journey
Concepts across disciplines
- If you study any discipline deep enough, you come to the same conclusions
- We adapt to systemic views

Technocrati Tags: Paul Kordis, Dolphins, Social Norm Marketing, Syntropy, Spheres of Human Influence, Generosity, Purpose, Passion, Globalization, Localization, NLP

#52 Swimming with Dolphins with Paul Kordis, part 1

RCG — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:00:26 +0000

Today we are going to introduce you to Dr. Paul Kordis. Paul has been researching writing, and speaking to groups for over 20 years about the processes of profound change. He is a globally traveled speaker and seminar leader on futuristic, human development, change and other topics. He received his Ph.D. degree (with honors) in human capital and economic development from Colorado State University in May, 2008.

Today’s conversation touches upon the following topics:

Spreading genes, memes, and phemes
- Older and younger generations have been cut apart
On existence of evil in the world
- Default mode is entropy; it requires effort to go on syntropic way
NLP
- Looking for an edge over others
- Direction of NLP: progression AND regression (standardization, certification)
- Started out as modeling others. Presupposition – “I’m not good enough”.
- Our approach – start out from my (individual) own uniqueness
Social Norm Marketing
- Book “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness” by Richard H. Thaler (Author), Cass R. Sunstein
- Small changes – healthy food closer to the entrance of the cafeteria, organ donors by default (unless opted out), publish your neighbors’ energy use in the bill. “Social norms marketing”.
- Binge drinking reduction through social norm marketing (how much do you drink & how much do you think others drink)
- False social norm marketing – providing distractions to people, making them think their opinion is in minority, and voicing it is dangerous. Example: gay rights and abortions in religious rights. People are making decisions out of fear.
The “Little Bang” – Life.
- Universe is entropic, but life is syntropic. See yodolphin.com for an article.
- 3 axis: Entropy-Syntropy, Love-Fear (life-death), Isolation-Connectivity
- The US in the last 40 years has been moving to entropy/fear/isolation. Not a good sign.
- How one handles novelty determines other dimensions

Technocrati Tags: Paul Kordis, Dolphins, Strategy of The Dolphin, Code of the monarch, Social Norm Marketing, Little Bang, Syntropy, NLP

Martin Seligman: What positive psychology can help you become

Sergey — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:55:28 +0000

Science, and psychology in particular, are catching up to the ideas of happiness, meaning, state of flow, and pleasure in life, in very specific and measurable ways:

www.authentichappiness.org

Technocrati Tags: Martin Seligman, TED, Happiness, Meaning, Positive Psychology, Flow, Pleasure

New Website Design

RCG — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:07:33 +0000

Today we are proud to announce the “radical change” of our own face – the design of our main website, www.radicalchangegroup.com.

Besides the cleaner and better look, the most important feature of this design is the organization of all the published info (podcasts and blog entries) by various criteria (categories, participants, and series).

As we are celebrating our first anniversary of weekly podcast releases, we feel it is prime time to organize the amount of information we have, so you – our visitors, have an easier time finding what you really need. Mind you – when the organizers have trouble sifting through their own material, it is indeed prime time for a radical change

Happy Transformations,

The Radical Change Group, International.

#51 Transforming Business and Life with David Neenan, part 3

RCG — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:00:30 +0000

We are continuing our conversation with David Neenan – the creator of the pioneering Archistruction(R) process for planning, designing, and managing building construction projects. As president of The Neenan Company, he has combined leading-edge information processing and design methods and innovative "people" approaches to reengineer how the construction process works from conception to completion. His company uses the Archistruction methods to design and costruct office, medical, retail, and light industrial buildings for clients throughout the Rocky Mountain region from offices in Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. David is also a nationally recognized seminar leader, keynode speaker, business consultant, and the author of books such as "Evergreen" and "No Excuses: be the hero of your own life". He has produced his "Business & You" and other seminars in Colorado, Hawaii, California, Texas, Vermont, Taiwan, Sweden, Moscow, and Siberia. He and his wife, Sharon, live in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Topics covered in this episode:

Archistruction
- Why only building buildings?
- Casper – lost $670K while having $93K
It’s the mutants that make it
- The learners will inherit the Earth (Marshall & taking the doors out)
How do you transcend the parts and include the whole
- Transition to system 7
Family – applying same principles
- The Nurture Assumption (book) – kids are more influenced by teenage peers, not by their parents
Finding a partner for life

Technocrati Tags: David Neenan, Archistruction, Business, Existentialism

This quote says it so well…..

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:51:45 +0000

Hernando de Soto – Presentation at CSU

Sergey — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:03:51 +0000

Presentation given at CSU College of Business Sept. 24, 2006.

The actual Hernando’s presentation starts at 21 min into the video.

Hernando de Soto – Capitalism at Crossroads

Sergey — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:57:14 +0000

“Capitalism can be the engine by which the poor, set free in an open marketplace, can raise themselves from poverty. We must give them the tools. We ignore them at our peril.” (Hernando de Soto)

Technocrati Tags: Hernando de Soto, David Neenan, Capitalism, Economics

#50 Transforming Business and Life with David Neenan, part 2

RCG — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:00:22 +0000

Topics covered in this episode:

Reinventing oneself – making mistakes at a higher level
Dynamic capitalism – Hernando DeSoto

LLC
Private property rights
Open banking system
Rule of law

ILD – Institute of Liberty and Democracy
Readiness factor – mapping out countries and their transitions
- Readiness for change
- What kind of change
Choosing opportunities to serve – how to choose the most effective ones?
- 8-min video with Hernando
- Showing results – Peru: getting a marriage license
Diagnostics – finding the critical points
Story – sardine factory

Technocrati Tags: David Neenan, Archistruction, Business, Existentialism

Interesting Proverbs, things to think about

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:38:09 +0000

Ancient Chinese Proverbs
# The swiftest horse can’t overtake a word once spoken*
# Before telling secrets on the road, look in the bushes
# A bad word whispered echoes a hundred miles*

# In a flood of words, surely some mistakes*
# A sharp tongue or pen can kill without a knife*
# If the first words fail, ten thousand will then not avail
# Watching chess games in silence. . .a superior person*
# The judge with seven reasons states only one in court
# If you want no one to know, don’t do it*
# If you want your dinner, don’t insult the cook*
# Honest scales and full measure hurt no one*
# Divide an orange–it tastes just as good
# If you always give you will always have
# Better lean and good than fat and evil
# To build it took one hundred years; to destroy it one day
# To know the road ahead, ask those returning*
# Touch black paint, have black fingers
# To succeed, consult three old people
# If you hurry through long days, you will hurry through short years
# Touch black paint, have black fingers
# The ripest fruit falls by itself*
# Simple to open a shop; another thing to keep it open
# What you don’t see, you don’t desire*
# Neither fortunes nor flowers last forever*
# An inch of gold can’t buy an inch of time
# Don’t waste your hour–the sun sets soon
# My life–a candle in the wind. . . frost on the leaves*
# Nurture the plant one year–ten days of flowers
# Slow work–fine work
# At birth we bring our nothing; at death we leave with the same*
# A king’s riches cannot buy an extra year*
# Beat the drum inside the house to spare the neighbors
# Climb the mountains to see lowlands
# Laws control a lesser person; right conduct controls a greater one*
# Forget the favors given; remember those received
# A careful foot can step anywhere*
# Stare at the profit and step in the pitfall
# In bed be wife and husband, in the hall each other’s honored guest
# To stop drinking, study a drunkard while you are sober
# If Heaven made someone, earth can find some use for them
# Without sorrows no one becomes a saint
# The pine stays green in winter. . . wisdom in hardship
# Three feet of ice were not frozen in a day*
# With virtue you can’t be completely poor; without it you can’t be truly rich*
# Determination tempers the sword of your character*
# Stout men, not stout walls, make the stout city
# To be heard afar, bang your gong on a hilltop
# Great doubts, deep wisdom. . . small doubts, little wisdom
# To know others, know yourself first*
# His virtues exceed his talents–a superior man *
# When the waters drop, the rocks appear*
# O eggs, don’t fight with rocks*
# Easier to rule a nation than a child*
# To have principles first have courage
# Blame yourself as you blame others; forgive others as you forgive yourself
# The wise listens to her mind, the foolish to the mob*
# A whitewashed crow soon shows black again
# Watch over workers at their labors, not their meals*
# Many a good face under a ragged hat
# Dogs have no prejudice against the poor
# If Heaven made someone, earth can find some use for them*
# Tile tossed over the wall. . . who knows where it will fall?*
# No horse can wear two saddles *
# While you are bargaining, conceal your coin
# No guests at home, no hosts abroad
# “I heard” is good; “I saw” is better
# We can study until old age. . . and still not finish
# A good teacher. . . better than a barrowful of books
# Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself

RISK

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:40:36 +0000

RISK

Author unknown

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to others is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken,

because the greatest hazard in life is to do nothing.

The person who risks nothing,

does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow,

but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave,

they forfeited their freedom.

Only the person who risks can be free

#49 Transforming Business and Life with David Neenan, part 1

RCG — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:00:51 +0000

Topics covered in this episode:

Changing Schools
- Most beloved and hated man in town
- Dealing with the School District – introducing superlearning into schools
Observing the Observer
- Handling opposition – Separate the observer from what is being observed
- Observe the observer you are – learn from it
Solving business problems – it’s about changing your life
Confucius story
- Always expect the unexpected
Learning organization
- vs. fighting or sleeping organizations
Discover your magnifiscence in a breakdown
Existentialism
- I’m born free, make choices from my freedom
- Responsibility – accountable for my decisions
- Anxiety – the elixir of life
- Evil
- Death
Taking responsibility
- Patterns – what stops people, and what helps them to break through
- If you have a problem, your options:
  - You can change yourself
  - You can change the system
  - You can get out
  - You can choose to suffer (99% of unconscious choice)
- If you think your leader sucks, look in the mirror
- Setting the right expectations
- Biggest mistake in starting a company – thinking that everyone is like me
Hiring is a crap shoot

Technocrati Tags: David Neenan, Archistruction, Business, Existentialism

#48 The State of Flow

RCG — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:00:39 +0000

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.
Colloquial terms for this or similar mental states include: to be on the ball, in the zone, or in the groove. (Wikipedia).

This episode covers the following topics:

What is flow?
- Our experiences of flow for the first time
- Arman – high school math team
- Sergey – dance, since being a kid
- M – flow is magic; martial arts – after a lot of training
What is the structure to your flow?
- Self-modeling (as opposed to modeling someone else)
- Common components:
  - Resonance
  - Time distortion
  - Elite performance
Building the capacity for holding the flow
How and when to apply the flow?

Technocrati Tags: flow, zone, peak state, elite performance, groove, resonance, time distortion

#47 The Alchemy of Voice series 02: The Embodied Voice, part 2

RCG — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:00:49 +0000

We are continuing our conversation with Maniko – an accomplished musician and signer, personal voice coach, workshop facilitator, and a really wonderful person.

She has extensive professional and experiential training in expressive arts therapies, emotional release and integration, meditative disciplines as well as dance, movement and resonance awareness as vehicles for bridging the worlds of spiritual development, personal integration and authentic self-expression.

Maniko’s websites: TempleOfSong.com and VoxMastery.com.

This episode includes the following topics:

Voice and Culture
How one can explore this?
- Just let your voice soar
- Contextualized vs. everyday practice
Range – knowing what’s available for me
- Expand and relax back, gradually.
- Physical movement, tonal movement, language movement, and silence – these are all our faculties
Speaking and singing voice – make your talk sing
Waking up the dead – voice in corporate world
Tuning in to the heart of the listener
Speaking to difficult audiences
Tuning in – taking it across contexts
Life as music – how do we sing it?
- When something turns you on – stop and listen, pay attention
Thank you!

Maniko’s songs used in this episode:

And Now
Just like this

Technocrati Tags: Voice, Embodied Voice, Alchemy of Voice, Maniko, Self-Expression

#46 The Alchemy of Voice series 01: The Embodied Voice, part 1

RCG — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:00:35 +0000

Today, we are introducing you to Maniko Dru Dadigan – an accomplished musician and signer, personal voice coach, workshop facilitator, and a really wonderful person.

Maniko’s websites: TempleOfSong.com and VoxMastery.com.

This episode includes the following topics:

Singing voice – connecting to heart
Terror of your own magnificence
Building a “soul muscle”
- Dance, singing and silence
- Working from within – with person’s own material
Standing up for what is true
Listening to others
Finding your own path – knowing your calling
Leaving your legacy
Maniko’s approach
- You are already a miracle
- Start with the body & breath
- Get the voice moving – no content, just resonant richness
- When things happen – write it down (so many songs came out from that)
- State of loving awareness
- Whole person integration
- It stops being a problem – it becomes a fuel for creativity
- Honoring what is
- Release to your genuine self-expression
- Purely experiential
Resonant voice gives birth to the myth and mysticism

Maniko’s songs used in this episode:

Nature of Things
Ishq Allah

Technocrati Tags: Voice, Embodied Voice, Alchemy of Voice, Maniko, Self-Expression

Quite An Interesting experiement – try it and be ready to change/be disoriented :) in a good way

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:41:28 +0000

Beliefs Unlimited Exercise

This exercise is useful when one attempts to move beyond one’s
current belief structures. Record the the following in a soothing and
authoritative manner five times into a tape recorder.
(start of belief unlimited tape)

In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is
true or becomes true within certain limits, to be found experientially
and experimentally. These limits are beliefs to be transcended.

Hidden from one’s self is a covert set of beliefs that control one’s thinking, one’s actions, and one’s feeling.

The covert set of hidden beliefs is the limiting set of beliefs to be transcended.

To transcend one’s limiting set, one establishes an open ended set of beliefs about the unknown.

The unknown exists in one’s goals for changing one’s self, in the
means for changing, in the use of others for the change, in one’s
capacity to change, in one’s orientation towards change, in one’s
elimination of hindrances to change, in one’s assimilation of the aids
to change, in one’s use of the impulse to change, in one’s need for
changing, in the possibilities of change, in the form of change itself,
and in the substance of change and of changing.

The unknown exists in one’s goals for changing one’s self, in the
means for changing, in the use of others for the change, in one’s
capacity to change, in one’s orientation towards change, in one’s
elimination of hindrances to change, in one’s assimilation of the aids
to change, in one’s use of the impulse to change, in one’s need for
changing, in the possibilities of change, in the form of change itself,
and in the substance of change and of changing.

There are unknowns in my goals towards changing.There are
unknowns in my means of changing. There are unknowns in my relations
with others in changing. There are unknowns in my capacity for
changing. There are unknowns in my orientation towards changing. There
are unknowns in my assimilation of changes. There are unknowns in my
needs for changing. There are unknowns in my possibilities of me
changing. There are unknowns in the forms into which changing will put
me. There are unknowns in the substance of the changes that I will
undergo, in my substance after changes.

My disbelief in all these unknowns is a limiting belief,
preventing my transcending my limits. My disbelief in all these
unknowns is a belief, a limiting belief, preventing my transcending my
limits.

By allowing, there are no limits; no limits to thinking, no
limits to feeling, no limits to movement. By allowing, there are no
limits. There are no limits to thinking, no limits to feeling, no
limits to movement.

That which is not allowed is forbidden. That which is allowed
exists. In allowing no limits, there are no limits. That which is
forbidden is not allowed. That which is not allowed forbidden. That
which exists is allowed. That which is allowed, exists. In allowing no
limits, there are no limits. That which is not allowed is forbidden.
That which is forbidden is not allowed. That which is allowed, exists.
That which exists is allowed. To allow no limits, there are no limits.
No limits allowed, no limits exist.

In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either
is true or becomes true. In the province of the mind there are no
limits. In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true
either is true or becomes true. There are no limits.

(end of Belief Unlimited tape)

(from The centre of the cyclone an autobiography of inner space by John C. Lilly,M.D.)

When listening to the tape, lie in a comfortable position on the
floor with the lights very dim and just allow the words and meaning
enter you without any resistance. DO IT SOON, DO IT REGULARLY.

#45 Embodied Mythology Series 06: The Lover’s Journey with Paul Rebillot, part 2

RCG — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:00:06 +0000

In this podcast , we discuss with Paul the Lover’s Journey – the structure he has introduced in the previous episode.

Hermes and the Dance of Transformation
- Dedication to Gods
- Story of the Dance of Transformation
What is the essense of femininity and masculinity?
Polarity, Acceptance, and Love
Feminine-Masculine duality and universal human being
Body Armor, Rolfing (see also Wikipedia entry)
Somatics – applications in healing
- Martial Arts – destructive / protective way. What are the healing applications?
From Body to Heart to Mind

Technocrati Tags: Myth, Mythology, Hero's Journey, Lover's Journey, Paul Rebillot

#44 Embodied Mythology Series 05: The Lover’s Journey with Paul Rebillot, part 1

RCG — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:00:35 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with our friend and teacher Paul Rebillot on the topic of the Healing Theatre – the combination of acting and drama, mythology, gestalt therapy, and rituals. For more information about Paul and his work, please visit his website – Direct Impact Creativity.

In this segment, Paul introduces us to his next original structure- the Lover’s Journey.

What is lover’s journey?
- A state of being. If the Hero’s Journey is phallic, masculine, then the Lover’s Journey is erotic
Work a little with mother and father
- “Parental possession meditation”: color parts for mother, father, your own
Sexual history
- Healing the sexual wounds; what comes out is a positive same-sex image
The negative same-sex image of themselves or others
Negative opposite sex image (anima / animus possession)
Healing of the anima/animus possession – “the dance of transformation”
Marriage
- Bringing together the four “people” – the four aspects of themselves
What is the result people get after the Lover’s Journey?

Technocrati Tags: Myth, Mythology, Hero's Journey, Lover's Journey, Paul Rebillot

Randy Pausch Passed Away

Sergey — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:10:10 +0000

Randy Pausch, the professor at Carnegie Mellon University who inspired countless students in the classroom and others worldwide through his highly acclaimed last lecture, has died of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

Read full article at the CMU website »

Technocrati Tags: Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

#43 Language Series 07: Sleight of Mouth Patterns – part 3

RCG — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:00:33 +0000

In this episode we are concluding the Sleight of Mouth patterns with the Alogical, or as we also call it Analogical, or Metaphorical SOM pattern.

The Alogical SOM Pattern
- Utilizes many different skills – metaphorical, hypnotic, by-passes logical objections
3 examples of the alogical pattern
Explanations of the metaphors
How do we use alogical SOM pattern in real life
The Ultimate SOM Pattern

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Sleigh of Mouth

#42 Language Series 06: Sleight of Mouth Patterns – part 2

RCG — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:00:36 +0000

In this episode, we explain and give examples of the "neurological" SOM patterns, the second class of SOMs in our classification.

Neurological Levels and SOM

SOM at the level of intent – capture the fort and rule the territory
Any level higher than the level of the problem can solve the problem

Examples of using neurological levels – three examples of limiting beliefs and an application of the SOM pattern.
Exercises
Changing the frame size (level of detail): chunk up / chunk down
- What it is, and three examples of SOM

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Sleigh of Mouth

Intentional Chocolate

Arman — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:32:27 +0000

http://oneminuteshift.com/videos/dean_radin/intentional_chocolate

Year 2012

Arman — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:59:32 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7NOOBaZBjw

Holiday Announcement

RCG — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:00:26 +0000

Have a great time, and for those in the US, happy holidays!

#41 Language Series 05: Sleight of Mouth Patterns – part 1

RCG — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:00:51 +0000

From Wikipedia: Ultimately, Sleight of Mouth focuses on influence by challenging, and thus changing, beliefs. [...] in Sleight of Mouth the concept of belief is built on a more specific set of definitions, as follows:

Complex Equivalence: X=Y, or X is equivalent to Y
Cause-Effect: X causes Y, X results in Y

In this episode, we define the sleight of mouth patterns, introduce our own classification, and show the first group of these patterns – the "logical" SOM.

What are SOMs?

Verbal Aiki – Flowing, harmonizing
If meta-model is about getting information, SOM is utilizing and directionalizing it

Our categorization of SOM
- Logical SOM
- Neurological SOM
- Alogical SOM
History of SOM patterns
- Robert Dilts modeling and codifying Richard Bandler
How do we use SOM in life
- The structure of humor
- The structure of transformation
- Personal relationships
Logical SOM patterns
- Counterexample
- Paradox, or apply to self

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Sleigh of Mouth

50000 DOWNLOADS AND GROWING STRONG :)

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:51:44 +0000

TODAY WE HIT 50K DOWNLOADS FOR OUR PODCASTS, A SIGNIFICANT MARK FOR US GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE DID NOADVERTISING OR MARKETING AROUND THIS CONTENT. IT HAS GROWN PRIMARILY THROUGH USERS/LISTENERS LIKE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT AND BRINGING OTHER VISITORS TO THE SITE

WE FEEL PROUD AND HUMBLED AT THE SAME TIME, A SMALL CONVERSATION IN A CAFE ON FALL AFTERNOON IN 2006 STARTED THREE FRIENDS ON A JOURNEY THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE THEIR LIVES AND BRING THEM IN CONTACT WITH LISTENERS AND COLLABORATORS AROUND THE WORLD. FOR THIS WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO MADE THIS JOURNEY SO FAR FOR US MEMORABLE AND EXCITING

Stats Summary
Feed   	Web  	Play 	Total
43257	5776	1391	50424

RADICAL CHANGE GROUP

#40 Embodied Mythology Series 04: The Hero’s Journey with Paul Rebillot

RCG — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:00:14 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with our dear teacher and friend Paul Rebillot on the topic of the Healing Theater – the combination of acting and drama, mythology, gestalt therapy, and rituals. For more information about Paul and his work, please visit his website – Direct Impact Creativity.

In this segment, Paul describes the cornerstone of his work – the Hero’s Journey.

The story of Cú Chulainn – the Hound of Culain
The rite of passage
- The “mini-schizophrenic episode”
The call to adventure
- First level of resistance: The world, people around you
- Help from a peer, a friend
- Moving into the non-linear, circular path
- The daemon of resistance
- Magical help, magical object
- Hero and Hera
The Threshold – the Demon of Resistance
- The personal, inner level of resistance
The Land of Miracles
- More tests on the way
- The Supreme Ordeal
- Place of the reward
Return to the real world
- Hero cannot stay in the land of miracles – has to come back
- Cannot take your gift back; you can only take the awareness or knowledge of the gift.
- Leave the magical powers behind, and takes the knowledge.
Alignment of the three centers
- Body (movement), Heart (feelings), Head (symbol, word)
Interpretation of Myth
- Myth as a symbol for the mind; the mind finds the meaning in symbol that resonates with the heart and the body
On Oriental traditions
- Becoming conscious of one’s gift – often comes from the spirit guide
- On spirituality
Origins of the Hero’s Journey process
- A “mini-schizophrenic episode” for doctors and nurses in a mental hospital
Separation from the archetype – returning home

Technocrati Tags: Myth, Mythology, Hero's Journey, Paul Rebillot

#39 Rapport series 03: Rhythms of Rapport, part 2 – Somatic, or Pre-Verbal Rapport

RCG — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:00:32 +0000

We are continuing our conversations on the rhythms of rapport, and this time we address the somatic – or pre-verbal – aspects of rapport.

Focus on aspects of the body:
- Breath
- Eyes (brain states)
- Overall body gestures and posture
- Large group dynamics
- Idiosyncracies
Areas:
- Dancing
- Business meetings
- Martial arts
Name of the podcast: somatic or pre-verbal?
- Somatic – anything related to the body
- Pre-verbal – at the primary level, before the language kicks in. Circuits 1 and 2.
Eye accessing cues
- Traditional NLP way – up, straigth, down
- Spacial locations
- Leading: shifting the locations, moving into different modalities
- Dance (5Rhythms) – eyes "language"
Body proper
- Tracking the impulses that move the body, and replicating that in yours
- Martial arts (aiki jujutsu) – tracking body as a whole; breathing patterns as expressions; pacing – flowing with a punch, leading – becoming a center and taking control
- Business meeting face to face – track tentions, match / mirror those, then lead to relaxation
- People with schizophrenia – enter their world and change it from there
- Rapport in dance
Large groups – rapport as a sense of belonging; track how space and time is treated
Idiosyncrasies – personal signatures, unique self-expressions

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Rapport, Language, Verbal, Tracking, Pacing, Leading

#38 Rapport series 02: Rhythms of Rapport, part 1 – Verbal Rapport

RCG — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:00:40 +0000

We are continuing a thread that we have started a long, long time ago on Rapport, reconsidering some of the aspects of rapport in a way that is not traditionally taught in NLP – by turning it from a nominalization into a process – a rhythm. Today we start by (re)defining the structure and dynamics of verbal rapport:

What is a rhythm?
- Pattern
- Resonance – as in physics (pendulum) and music (groove)
- Deeply felt somatic phenomena
- Matching and mismatching a rhythm
Tracking, pacing and leading
- words (backtracking)
- value words and predicates
- intent
Using meta-model to build rapport – not to destroy it
- Turning a “Meta-Monster” into a “Meta-Friend”
What to track
- One on one – words, language patterns
- Small groups – ocean of rapport, waves
- Large groups – myths, group fears and hopes

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Rapport, Language, Verbal, Tracking, Pacing, Leading

Philosophy at the matrix

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:50:28 +0000

The Matrix

The Matrix is a film that astounds not only with action and special effects but also with ideas. These pages are dedicated to exploring some of the many philosophical ideas that arise in both the original film and the sequels. In the upcoming months we will be continually expanding this section, offering essays from some of the brightest minds in philosophy and cognitive science. News about updates to this section can be found right here. (Scroll down to read about the latest update, or just click here.)

LAUNCH: NOVEMBER 20, 2002
We are kicking things off with essays from eight different contributors on various philosophical, technological, and religious aspects of the film.

Though this collection of essays is part of the official web site for
the Matrix films, the views expressed in these essays are solely
those of the individual authors. The Wachowski brothers have remained
relatively tight-lipped regarding the religious symbolism and philosophical
themes that permeate the film, preferring that the movie speak for itself.
Accordingly, you will not find anyone here claiming to offer the definitive analysis of the film, its symbols, message, etc. What you
will find instead are essays that both elucidate the philosophical problems
raised by the film and explore possible avenues for solving these problems.
Some of these essays are more pedagogical in nature – instructing
the reader in the various ways in which The Matrix raises questions
that have been tackled throughout history by prominent philosophers.
Other contributors use the film as a springboard for discussing their
own original philosophical views. As you will see, the authors
don’t always agree with each other regarding how best to interpret the
film. However, all of the essays share the aim of giving the reader
a sense of how this remarkable film offers more than the standard Hollywood
fare. In other words, their common goal is to help show you just “how
deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

Beginning the collection are three short essays in which I discuss two
of the more conspicuous philosophical questions raised by the film:
the skeptical worry that one’s experience may be illusory, and
the moral question of whether it matters. Highlighting the parallels
between the scenario described in The Matrix and similar imaginary
situations that have been much discussed by philosophers, these essays
offer an introduction to the positions taken by various thinkers on
these fascinating skeptical and moral puzzles. They serve as a warm-up
for things to come.

#37 The 8 Circuit Brain Model, part 3 – conversations with Antero Alli

RCG — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:00:01 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with Antero Alli.

This series of conversations is on the topic called the 8 Circuit Brain model. It is something that Timothy Leary first brought into the western consciousness. Later, Robert Anton Wilson in his book Prometheus Rising gave it a more wide spread appeal, and Antero in his book AngelTech provided a more hands-on approach to the same model.

This conversation covers the following topics:

Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, and Antero Alli – comparing approaches
Language as a magical act – evoking experiences through the use of language
- Writing of Robert Anton Wilson
Interactions of lower and upper circuits
- 1 & 5: anchor / stabilize your survival needs before you can safely experience bliss, and experience it longer. Get high, but remember to pay rent and stuff the fridge.
- Each upper circuit contains a specific shock to the system. The shock of circuit 5 is the shock of ecstasy. Circuit 6 – the shock of freedom.
- 2 & 6: develop emotional connections before opening up circuit six. Vision without compassion is cruelty.
- 3 & 7: the rational mind has a need to come up with new words and symbols to convey the experience of the shock of unity of the 7th circuit.

Technocrati Tags: 8 circuit brain, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Antero Alli, consciousness, imprint, response potential

Human brain appears ‘hard-wired’ for hierarchy (4/26/2008)

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:33:52 +0000

Human brain appears ‘hard-wired’ for hierarchy (4/26/2008)

Human imaging studies have for the first time identified brain circuitry associated with social status, according to researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health. They found that different brain areas are activated when a person moves up or down in a pecking order – or simply views perceived social superiors or inferiors. Circuitry activated by important events responded to a potential change in hierarchical status as much as it did to winning money.

“Our position in social hierarchies strongly influences motivation as well as physical and mental health,” said NIMH Director Thomas R Insel, M.D. “This first glimpse into how the brain processes that information advances our understanding of an important factor that can impact public health.”

Technorati Tags: brain structure, hierarchy, radical change group,

7 habits of really happy people

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 27 May 2008 01:11:39 +0000

7 habits of really happy people » Lyved

So here are seven habits that can be found in people who are
always really happy. If you can practice these and turn them into
habits you’ll be just as happy as them.

1. Don’t care what others think

They don’t care what others think or have to say. If
they did, they wouldn’t let themselves free and be happy because
of the possibility of scrutiny.

Really happy people also never let negative people and their
attitudes get to them. Whatever the negative people say or do just
rolls off the backs of the happy people.

2. Always looking at the bright side of things

No matter what situations are thrown at a happy person, they
look for the bright side. Everything that is negative has a positive
side to it. Negativity wouldn’t exist without positivity. Happy
people know this and have practiced looking for the bright side so much
that now it has become a habit. And even if a happy person can’t
find the bright side of something, they’ll create it.

3. Being friendly

Happy people are always looking to make friends. They
don’t care what you look like or what background you come from,
they just want someone new to laugh and be happy with. And by default
happy people are friendly; everyone wants to be happy as well and are
drawn to them.

If you know a friendly person who is always making fun of
others to bring them down, then they aren’t truly happy person.
There’s something inside of them that they are insecure about.

4. Laugh & Smile

This habit goes along with being friendly. I have NEVER seen
a happy person not smile or laugh. It just isn’t physically
possible. However, a really happy person smiles so much that they
turned it into a habit. You might even see them smiling for no real
reason, it’s that natural to them. Laughing is another mandatory
habit of really happy people. If you or they aren’t laughing,
then there’s no true happiness.

5. Live in the moment

Really happy people make the most of every minute and day
they have. They aren’t going to wait to have fun; they’re
going to create fun now.

6. Push aside their troubles

Even if a happy person can’t find or create the
positive side of a situation, they do the next best thing, they push it
aside. They forget about it and move on because they know it’s
only temporary and they know they can make their troubles leave even
sooner.

7. Laugh in the face of fear

Just like the rest of us, really happy people have fears.
Most of the time they just don’t display it. Happy people make
jokes to lighten the mood and to make others feel more relaxed so they
will too.

#36 The 8 Circuit Brain Model, part 2 – conversations with Antero Alli

RCG — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:00:07 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with Antero Alli.

This conversation covers the following topics:

Circuit 3: symbolic-conceptual intelligence
- Signs of getting stuck in circuit 3: "parroting", quoting other sources, but not having it come from you. Stuck at absorbtion, without proper integration.
- The aim of 3rd circuit is communication – real communication, making you think.
- Being logical is not the same as thinking
Circuit 4: ability to get along with people
- People are unpredictable, for the most part. Ability to live with this unpredictability
- Confidence of C-4 is whether you are likable
- The vehicle for C-4: the ego personality
- Annoyance as an indicator of unfulfilled needs / points of growth
Circuit 5: somatic intelligence; somatic opening to present time, living in the present, opening to all 5 senses.
- Like circuit 1, only with awareness. Getting high.
- Various practices can do it (meditation, etc.). If you live long enough, it tends to open up eventually, like any other circuit.
- Charisma: transmission of integrated circuit 5. Certain amount of performance on stage produces charisma.
Circuit 6:
- The central nervous system becomes self-aware.
- The energy body / double / aura
- Chakras
Circuit 7: Mytho-poetic, genetic intelligence
- This is where things become genuinely weird
- Existing conditions that are shared among the immediate family members
Circuit 8: non-local
- Out of body experiences, near-death experiences
- Finding non-locality in your experience, beyond the confines of time and space
- What Antero calls "Void"
- Connections between circuits 1-5, 2-6, 3-7, 4-8

Technocrati Tags: 8 circuit brain, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Antero Alli, consciousness, imprint, response potential

Modeling how we see natural scenes (5/22/2008)

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:25:08 +0000

Modeling how we see natural scenes (5/22/2008)

Sophisticated mathematical modeling methods and a “CatCam” that captures feline-centric video of a forest are two elements of a new effort to explain how the brain’s visual circuitry processes real scenes. The new model of the neural responses of a major visual-processing brain region promises to significantly advance understanding of vision.

Valerio Mante and colleagues published a description of their model and its properties in an article in the May 22, 2008, issue of the journal Neuron, published by Cell Press.

The researchers sought to develop the new model because until now, studies of the visual system have used simple stimuli such as dots, bars and gratings.

“Such simple, artificial stimuli present overwhelming advantages in terms of experimental control: their simple visual features can be tailored to isolate and study the function of one or few of the several mechanisms shaping the responses of visual neurons,” wrote the researchers. “Ultimately, however, we need to understand how neurons respond not only to these simple stimuli but also to image sequences that are arbitrarily complex, including those encountered in natural vision. The visual system evolved while viewing complex scenes, and its function may be uniquely adapted to the structure of natural images,” they wrote.

Specifically, the researchers sought to model the neuronal response the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus, a brain region that processes raw visual signals received from the retina.

To gather data for the model, they first recorded from LGN neurons in anesthetized cats, as the cats were presented with images of drifting gratings of different sizes, locations and spatial and temporal frequency. They also varied luminance and contrast of the images.

From these data, they created a mathematical model that aimed to describe how these neurons respond and adapt to such complex, changing stimuli. Their ultimate goal was to create a model that would describe not just neural response to the gratings, but to the complexities of natural scenes.

To test their model, they presented cats with two kinds of natural scenes, while recording from LGN neurons. One of these scenes was video recorded from a “CatCam” mounted on the head of a cat as it roamed through a forest. The other was short sequences from the cartoon Disney movie Tarzan.

The researchers found that their model predicted “much of the responses to complex, rapidly changing stimuli… Specifically, the model captures how these responses are affected by changes in luminance and contrast level, overcoming many of the shortcomings of simpler models,” they wrote.

“Even though our model does not capture the operation of all known nonlinear mechanisms, it promises to be a useful tool to understand the computations performed by the early visual system,” they wrote.

Mante and colleagues have provided “a long-needed bridge between the two stimulus worlds,” wrote Garrett Stanley of the Georgia Institute of Technology, in a preview of the paper in the same issue of Neuron.

“By creating an encoding model from a set of experiments involving sinusoidal gratings at different mean luminances and contrasts, and subsequently demonstrating that this model predicts the neuronal response to an entirely different class of visual stimuli based on the visual scene alone, Mante, et al. have made this problem general and provided a powerful description of the encoding properties of the pathway,” wrote Stanley.

The researchers include Valerio Mante, Vincent Bonin, and Matteo Carandini, of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Cell Press

Technorati Tags: modeling, natural sceanes,

Announcement – Beta-Testers Needed for MasterMind Community

RCG — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:00:07 +0000

Some time ago we have announced our intent to build an open-source collaboration platform, where people who are passionate about education, personal transformation and social change would gather together to collaborate around ideas and content.

Today, we are making our first big step towards that goal – building a MasterMind community of people who will begin such collaboration around ideas, and in particular, around the idea of how to build such an open-source platform.

At this point, we would like to invite 25 highly motivated individuals as beta-testers for the emerging MasterMind forum, to help us shape this community from its very roots, have a defining influence on what this group will become, and prepare it for the Grand Opening over the next few weeks. This is your chance for making your first significant contribution to the Radical Change Group community, to leave your legacy, earn the gratitude of many people to follow you into this community, and to work closely with us, the founders, on this wonderful and ambitious project.

If you feel the desire to join the beta-version of the group and help us shape its future, please contact us by filling out the form below.

Thank you, and we are looking forward to start working together with you!
The Radical Change Group.

How Thinking Can Change the Brain

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:46:07 +0000

How Thinking Can Change the Brain

20 Jan 2007 (Sharon Begley, Wall Street Journal) Dalai Lama helps scientists show the power of the mind to sculpt our gray matter.

Although science and religion are often in conflict, the Dalai Lama takes a different approach. Every year or so the head of Tibetan Buddhism invites a group of scientists to his home in Dharamsala, in Northern India, to discuss their work and how Buddhism might contribute to it.

In 2004 the subject was neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change its structure and function in response to experience. The following are vignettes adapted from “Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain,” which describes this emerging area of science:

The Dalai Lama, who had watched a brain operation during a visit to an American medical school over a decade earlier, asked the surgeons a startling question: Can the mind shape brain matter?

Over the years, he said, neuroscientists had explained to him that mental experiences reflect chemical and electrical changes in the brain. When electrical impulses zip through our visual cortex, for instance, we see; when neurochemicals course through the limbic system we feel.

But something had always bothered him about this explanation, the Dalai Lama said. Could it work the other way around? That is, in addition to the brain giving rise to thoughts and hopes and beliefs and emotions that add up to this thing we call the mind, maybe the mind also acts back on the brain to cause physical changes in the very matter that created it. If so, then pure thought would change the brain’s activity, its circuits or even its structure.

One brain surgeon hardly paused. Physical states give rise to mental states, he asserted; “downward” causation from the mental to the physical is not possible. The Dalai Lama let the matter drop. This wasn’t the first time a man of science had dismissed the possibility that the mind can change the brain. But “I thought then and still think that there is yet no scientific basis for such a categorical claim,” he later explained. “I am interested in the extent to which the mind itself, and specific subtle thoughts, may have an influence upon the brain.

The Dalai Lama had put his finger on an emerging revolution in brain research. In the last decade of the 20th century, neuroscientists overthrew the dogma that the adult brain can’t change. To the contrary, its structure and activity can morph in response to experience, an ability called neuroplasticity. The discovery has led to promising new treatments for children with dyslexia and for stroke patients, among others.

But the brain changes that were discovered in the first rounds of the neuroplasticity revolution reflected input from the outside world. For instance, certain synthesized speech can alter the auditory cortex of dyslexic kids in a way that lets their brains hear previously garbled syllables; intensely practiced movements can alter the motor cortex of stroke patients and allow them to move once paralyzed arms or legs.

The kind of change the Dalai Lama asked about was different. It would come from inside. Something as intangible and insubstantial as a thought would rewire the brain. To the mandarins of neuroscience, the very idea seemed as likely as the wings of a butterfly leaving a dent on an armored tank.

Neuroscientist Helen Mayberg had not endeared herself to the pharmaceutical industry by discovering, in 2002, that inert pills — placebos — work the same way on the brains of depressed people as antidepressants do. Activity in the frontal cortex, the seat of higher thought, increased; activity in limbic regions, which specialize in emotions, fell. She figured that cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which patients learn to think about their thoughts differently, would act by the same mechanism.

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Mayberg, Zindel Segal and their colleagues first used brain imaging to measure activity in the brains of depressed adults. Some of these volunteers then received paroxetine (the generic name of the antidepressant Paxil), while others underwent 15 to 20 sessions of cognitive-behavior therapy, learning not to catastrophize. That is, they were taught to break their habit of interpreting every little setback as a calamity, as when they conclude from a lousy date that no one will ever love them.

All the patients’ depression lifted, regardless of whether their brains were infused with a powerful drug or with a different way of thinking. Yet the only “drugs” that the cognitive-therapy group received were their own thoughts.

The scientists scanned their patients’ brains again, expecting that the changes would be the same no matter which treatment they received, as Dr. Mayberg had found in her placebo study. But no. “We were totally dead wrong,” she says. Cognitive-behavior therapy muted overactivity in the frontal cortex, the seat of reasoning, logic, analysis and higher thought. The antidepressant raised activity there. Cognitive-behavior therapy raised activity in the limbic system, the brain’s emotion center. The drug lowered activity there.

With cognitive therapy, says Dr. Mayberg, the brain is rewired “to adopt different thinking circuits.”

Such discoveries of how the mind can change the brain have a spooky quality that makes you want to cue the “Twilight Zone” theme, but they rest on a solid foundation of animal studies. Attention, for instance, seems like one of those ephemeral things that comes and goes in the mind but has no real physical presence. Yet attention can alter the layout of the brain as powerfully as a sculptor’s knife can alter a slab of stone.

That was shown dramatically in an experiment with monkeys in 1993. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, rigged up a device that tapped monkeys’ fingers 100 minutes a day every day. As this bizarre dance was playing on their fingers, the monkeys heard sounds through headphones. Some of the monkeys were taught: Ignore the sounds and pay attention to what you feel on your fingers, because when you tell us it changes we’ll reward you with a sip of juice. Other monkeys were taught: Pay attention to the sound, and if you indicate when it changes you’ll get juice.

After six weeks, the scientists compared the monkeys’ brains. Usually, when a spot on the skin receives unusual amounts of stimulation, the amount of cortex that processes touch expands. That was what the scientists found in the monkeys that paid attention to the taps: The somatosensory region that processes information from the fingers doubled or tripled. But when the monkeys paid attention to the sounds, there was no such expansion. Instead, the region of their auditory cortex that processes the frequency they heard increased.

Through attention, UCSF’s Michael Merzenich and a colleague wrote, “We choose and sculpt how our ever-changing minds will work, we choose who we will be the next moment in a very real sense, and these choices are left embossed in physical form on our material selves.”

The discovery that neuroplasticity cannot occur without attention has important implications. If a skill becomes so routine you can do it on autopilot, practicing it will no longer change the brain. And if you take up mental exercises to keep your brain young, they will not be as effective if you become able to do them without paying much attention.

Since the 1990s, the Dalai Lama had been lending monks and lamas to neuroscientists for studies of how meditation alters activity in the brain. The idea was not to document brain changes during meditation but to see whether such mental training produces enduring changes in the brain.

All the Buddhist “adepts” — experienced meditators — who lent their brains to science had practiced meditation for at least 10,000 hours. One by one, they made their way to the basement lab of Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He and his colleagues wired them up like latter-day Medusas, a tangle of wires snaking from their scalps to the lectroencephalograph that would record their brain waves.

Eight Buddhist adepts and 10 volunteers who had had a crash course in meditation engaged in the form of meditation called nonreferential compassion. In this state, the meditator focuses on unlimited compassion and loving kindness toward all living beings.

As the volunteers began meditating, one kind of brain wave grew exceptionally strong: gamma waves. These, scientists believe, are a signature of neuronal activity that knits together far-flung circuits — consciousness, in a sense. Gamma waves appear when the brain brings together different features of an object, such as look, feel, sound and other attributes that lead the brain to its aha moment of, yup, that’s an armadillo.

Some of the novices “showed a slight but significant increase in the gamma signal,” Prof. Davidson explained to the Dalai Lama. But at the moment the monks switched on compassion meditation, the gamma signal began rising and kept rising. On its own, that is hardly astounding: Everything the mind does has a physical correlate, so the gamma waves (much more intense than in the novice meditators) might just have been the mark of compassion meditation.

Except for one thing. In between meditations, the gamma signal in the monks never died down. Even when they were not meditating, their brains were different from the novices’ brains, marked by waves associated with perception, problem solving and consciousness. Moreover, the more hours of meditation training a monk had had, the stronger and more enduring the gamma signal.

It was something Prof. Davidson had been seeking since he trekked into the hills above Dharamsala to study lamas and monks: evidence that mental training can create an enduring brain trait.

Prof. Davidson then used fMRI imaging to detect which regions of the monks’ and novices’ brains became active during compassion meditation. The brains of all the subjects showed activity in regions that monitor one’s emotions, plan movements, and generate positive feelings such as happiness. Regions that keep track of what is self and what is other became quieter, as if during compassion meditation the subjects opened their minds and hearts to others.

More interesting were the differences between the monks and the novices. The monks had much greater activation in brain regions called the right insula and caudate, a network that underlies empathy and maternal love. They also had stronger connections from the frontal regions to the emotion regions, which is the pathway by which higher thought can control emotions.

In each case, monks with the most hours of meditation showed the most dramatic brain changes. That was a strong hint that mental training makes it easier for the brain to turn on circuits that underlie compassion and empathy.

“This positive state is a skill that can be trained,” Prof. Davidson says. “Our findings clearly indicate that meditation can change the function of the brain in an enduring way.”

Technocrati Tags: dalai lama, thinking, change the brain, neuroplasticity

#35 The 8 Circuit Brain Model, Part 1 – Conversations with Antero Alli

RCG — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:00:19 +0000

Today we are starting an exciting new series of conversations with an author, a ritualist, a film maker, a dramatist, and astrologer, and a theater director Antero Alli. These series of conversations are near and dear both to our hearts, and to the work that Antero does.

Antero Alli was born in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. He is an author of such books as AngelTech, Towards an Archeology of the Soul, Astrologic, the Vertical Oracle, and the Akashic Record Player. His deep background in theatre and paratheatre has resulted in numerous original performance works since 1977, and he’s currently the artistic director of ParaTheatrical ReSearch – a Berkeley based group of trained physical performers exploring asocial ritual dynamics. Since 1991 Antero has been writing, directing and producing his own films which include 6 feature functions, 3 paratheatre video documents, and about 20 short works.

This series of conversations is on the topic called the 8 Circuit Brain model. It is something that Timothy Leary first brought into the western consciousness, and later Robert Anton Wilson in his book Prometheus Rising gave it a more wide spread appeal. It was further developed by Antero in his book “Angel Tech”

This conversation covers the following topics:

History and introduction to the 8-circuit brain model
Absorb, Integrate, Transmit: Intelligence Increase
Embracing humility, flaws & paradox on the human journey
Circuit 1: Bio-Survival intelligence
Circuit 2: Emotional-Territorial intelligence
Direct experience
Meeting the needs of the second circuit

Technocrati Tags: 8 circuit brain, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Antero Alli, consciousness, imprint, response potential

www.paratheatrical.com

Businesspeople who are too sure of their abilities are less savvy entrepreneurs (5/16/2008)

Mahipal Lunia — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:20:14 +0000

No surprise at all , but perhaps a wakeup for some

Businesspeople who are too sure of their abilities are less savvy entrepreneurs (5/16/2008)

Apprentice-style ‘overconfidence’ is cause of too many business start-ups and why many ventures fail in first few years

Apprentice-style entrepreneurs who have an inflated sense of their own abilities may jump into new business ventures with insufficient regard for the competition and the size of the market, new research has found.

Psychologists say that people who are so ‘full of themselves’ and cocksure of their own abilities are the ones most likely to venture into markets that may be too small to accommodate another profitable business.

Research led by the University of Leicester, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, has shown that overconfidence among businesspeople is a reason why many ventures fail in the first few years.

And the ones most culpable were people with absolute confidence in their own abilities.

Technorati Tags: the apprientice, radical change group,

The Primacy Of Consciousness – Peter Russell Video lecture

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:22:49 +0000

Presentation given at “Physics of Consciousness” conference, Virginia, 2004, in which Peter Russell explores the mystery of consciousness from both scientific and mystical perspectives, showing how light is intrinsic to both, and giving a coherent argument as to why consciousness is fundamental essence of the cosmos.

About Peter *from his webpage*

Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest.

At Cambridge University (UK), he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation.

He also has a post-graduate degree in computer science, and conducted there some of the early work on 3-dimensional displays, presaging by some twenty years the advent of virtual reality.

In the mid-seventies Peter Russell joined forces with Tony Buzan and helped teach “Mind Maps” and learning methods to a variety of international organizations and educational institutions.

Since then his corporate programs have focused increasingly on self-development, creativity, stress management, and sustainable environmental practices. Clients have included IBM, Apple, Digital, American Express, Barclays Bank, Swedish Telecom, ICI, Shell Oil and British Petroleum.

His principal interest is the deeper, spiritual significance of the times we are passing through. He has written several books in this area — The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God.

As one of the more revolutionary futurists Peter Russell has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences, in Europe, Japan and the USA. His multi-image shows and videos, The Global Brain and The White Hole in Time have won praise and prizes from around the world. In 1993 the environmental magazine Buzzworm voted Peter Russell “Eco-Philosopher Extraordinaire” of the year.

‘You’ve got to find what you love,’ Jobs says

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:02:58 +0000

An amazing insight into an insanely successful entrepreneur and business genius of our times

Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of
the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college.
Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college
graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s
it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then
stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really
quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young,
unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for
adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college
graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a
lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the
last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on
a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have
an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My
biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated
from college and that my father had never graduated from high school.
She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few
months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to
college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a
college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my
working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition.
After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I
wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me
figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had
saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it
would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking
back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped
out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me,
and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the
floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢
deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town
every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna
temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my
curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me
give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy
instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every
label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had
dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to
take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif
and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between
different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great.
It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science
can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my
life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh
computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.
It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never
dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never
had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since
Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would
have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on
this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the
wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to
connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was
very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only
connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will
somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something —
your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let
me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz
and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard,
and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage
into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just
released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year
earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you
get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired
someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and
for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the
future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we
did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And
very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was
gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had
let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped
the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and
Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very
public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley.
But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I
did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had
been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from
Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The
heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a
beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of
the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another
company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would
become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer
animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most
successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of
events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we
developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And
Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been
fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the
patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.
Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going
was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that
is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going
to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly
satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to
do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep
looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know
when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better
and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.
Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live
each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be
right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33
years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If
today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about
to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days
in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve
ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because
almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all
fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the
face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that
you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of
thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no
reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30
in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t
even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost
certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect
to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go
home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to
die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d
have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to
make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as
possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a
biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my
stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a
few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there,
told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors
started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of
pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and
I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the
closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can
now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a
useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want
to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No
one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is
very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change
agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new
is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become
the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite
true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of
other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown
out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to
follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you
truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog,
which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a
fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he
brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s,
before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made
with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like
Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was
idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog,
and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was
the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final
issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you
might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath
it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell
message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have
always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew,
I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

#34 Embodied Mythology Series 03: The Healing Theatre-2 with Paul Rebillot

RCG — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:00:22 +0000

We are continuing our conversations with Paul Rebillot on the topic of the Healing Theatre – the combination of acting and drama, mythology, gestalt therapy, and rituals. For more information about Paul and his work, please visit his website – Direct Impact Creativity.

In this segment, Paul touches upon some of the most important, most immediate, yet perhaps the deepest and most impactufl aspects of mythological and ritual transformations.

Knowing your true call, and the many places it can come from
- Inside, outside, from God, and even from… behind
Levels of resistance (to the true call)
- World around you
- Yourself – the “demon of resistance”
- The Supreme Ordeal
A Question of Life and Death (what happens if you refuse your call?)
- “All of life is the rehearsal for the next moment”
- Integration of the daemon (the fear) and the hero (the call)
Peeling off the Masks
- Playing a role and forgetting myself, and how to return to my true self
- Healing – learn to do nothing, and just be present.
Coming to closure
- Your call – and other people
- Owning the sense of self-responsibility.
- Saving the World – one person at a time
The “Mini-Schizophrenic episode”
- Original thought that shatters the old forms
The Loss of the Ritual
- Transformation without structure is madness

Technocrati Tags: Myth, Mythology, Hero's Journey, Paul Rebillot

#33 Embodied Mythology Series 02 – The Healing Theatre with Paul Rebillot

RCG — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:11:27 +0000

We are delighted and honored to introduce you to one of our teacher’s Paul Rebillot, who has spent over 30 years of his life developing transformation through mythology, theatre, and ritual enactment. To his present work in personal growth he brings an actor’s confidence in the capacity of bodily gesture to reveal and to transform the point of view of the mind and the attitude of the heart.

From his work as actor, director, and teacher in classical and contemporary drama, Paul brought to his practice of Gestalt therapy a deep appreciation of the power of myth to enrich and to heal personal biography and to awaken individuals to the transpersonal dimensions and goals of their lives. For more information, please visit Paul Rebillot’s website – Direct Impact Creativity.

We are deeply grateful to our teacher on this path Paul Rebillot for spending many many hours with us describing his work, and generously agreeing to sharing it with our listeners around the world.

In this conversation, Paul tells a story of his own life and the path that led him to creating his processes – which are really the modern day rites of passages, the rituals of transformation:

How it all started
Into the Depth of Theatre
The Moment of Catharsis
The Healing Theatre
The First Trilogy:
- The Hero’s Journey
- Death and Resurrection
- The Family Circles
More Structures/Process’ He Has Developed
- The Lover’s Journey
- Owning the Shadow
- Adding Native Amerian tradition elements
- Exorcising the Demon “Should”
- Rituals of Transformation
- Dancing with the Gods
- The Reincarnation Game
The Story Continues

Technocrati Tags: Mythology, Hero's Journey, Paul Rebillot

#32 Language Series 04: Meta-Model – Deletions

RCG — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:17:56 +0000

This is the third and last podcast on the Meta-Model in this language series, to be followed by Sleight of Mouth patterns, and the Milton Model patterns, each a small series in itself.

In this last Meta-Model talk, we cover the following deletions:

Ambiguous nouns
Ambiguous verbs
Ambiguous adjectives and adverbs
Unspecified referential index
Implicit comparisons
Judgements

As usual, we chose our examples from 3 different areas:

Politics
Relationship
Business operations

And we run each pattern through three examples from each of those areas.

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Meta-Model, Deletions

Stumbling On Happiness

Mahipal Lunia — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:06:43 +0000

Dan Gilberts’ talk at TED on Happiness.

Technocrati Tags: dan gilbert, happiness, stumbling on happiness, Radical NLP, brain

Feynman – The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:42:45 +0000

Richard Feynman is one of this groups’ favorite poeple, a true genius of our times. Here is an opportunity to watch this man in action and decide for yourself

The Corporation Is Available as a Free Download -

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:36:06 +0000

The award winning
Canadian documentary ‘The Corporation’ has been released on
BitTorrent for free. Filmmaker Mark Achbar just released an updated
“official” torrent of it. Everyone is free to download,
watch, discuss, and share it.

The Corporation
received more than 20 awards, including an audience award at the the
prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The Film gives insight into the
inner workings of large and powerful corporations, and how these affect
our society.

The new torrent download includes a high-quality
rip of the master DVD and a 40 minute interview with Joel Bakan, the
author of the book and writer of the film. Mark Achbar actually
dedicated a computer in his garage to do nothing but seed.

Although
the torrent download is free, the filmmakers encourage people to donate
a small fee if they like what they see. We asked Mark Achbar how the
first round of donations went. He said, “since my initial torrent launch
of The Corporation at the end of August, there have been $635.00 in
contributions. They ranged from $2 to three very generous gifts of $100
each. All are very much appreciated.”

Technocrati Tags: the corporation, radical change group, leadership, sun dance

Can the Brain Be Rebooted to Stop Drug Addiction?

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:45:40 +0000

If you are a regular on our podcasts/blog, then this is an article that would perhaps be of interest to you
Can the Brain Be Rebooted to Stop Drug Addiction?: Scientific American

Scientists for the first time have identified long-term changes in mice brains that may shed light on why addicts get hooked on drugs—in this case methamphetamines—and have such a tough time kicking the habit. The findings, reported in the journal Neuron, could set the stage for new ways to block cravings—and help addicts dry out.

Researchers, using fluorescent tracer dye, discovered that mice given methamphetamines for 10 days (roughly equivalent to a human using it for two years) had suppressed activity in a certain area of their brains. Much to their surprise, normal function did not return even when the drug was stopped, but did when they administered a single dose of it again after the mice had been in withdrawal.

Study co-author Nigel Bamford, a pediatric neurologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, says that if similar changes occur in humans, it will indicate that an effective way to fight addiction may be to design therapies that target the affected area—the striatum, a forebrain region that controls movement but also has been linked to habit-forming behavior.

Technorati Tags: radical change group, scientific american, brain, neuroscience,

Happiness Is An Inside Job

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:39:12 +0000

ABSTRACT
If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but
not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the
inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of
well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us
to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A
Guide to Life’s Most Important Skill and from the research in
neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.
Speaker Bio: Matthieu Ricard, a gifted scientist turned Buddhist monk,
is a best selling author, translator, and photographer. He has lived
and studied in the Himalayas for the last 35 years where he currently
works on humanitarian projects. He is an active participant in the
current scientific research on meditation and the brain.

Technocrati Tags: happiness, neuroscience, meditation, NLP, radical change group

#31 Language Series 03: Meta-Model – Distortions

Sergey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:30:13 +0000

This is the second in the series of talks on the Meta-Model, where we cover five patterns of distortions:

Nominalizations
Modal operators of possibility
Modal operators of necessity
Presuppositions
Mind Reading

As before, we chose our examples from 3 different areas:

Politics
Relationship
Business operations

And we run each pattern through three examples from each of those areas.

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Meta-Model, Distortions

Frank Herbert interview. Political prophecy.

Mahipal Lunia — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:27:30 +0000

Frank Herbert interview. Political prophecy.
Prophetic interview with Frank Herbert, the creator of the Dune saga.
“Leaders mistakes are amplified by those who follow them without
question.” His books were metaphors for oil dependency, pollution,
corruption, and govt. control.

Technorati Tags: radical nlp, radical change group, frank herbert, dune, political prophecy

#30 Language Series 02: Meta-Model – Generalizations

RCG — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:54:00 +0000

The meta-model in neuro-linguistic programming (or meta-model of therapy) is a heuristic set of questions designed to specify information, challenge and expand the limits to a person’s model of the world. It responds to the distortions, generalizations, and deletions in the speaker’s language. The meta-model forms the basis of Neuro-linguistic programming [...] (Wikipedia)

What is the Meta-Model?
- Making the language more specific, understanding what words really mean
- Tool of precision, a way to understand the maps people build in their heads
- A way to direct the language
- The language of precision, a tool to uncover the deep structure, the map
Using the Meta-Model in everyday life
- In conflicts
- Finding the root cause of the problem as a trainer
- Way to gain deep understanding and direct people to the solutions
Description of the Meta-Model
- Brief history
- Meta-model violations
- Generalizations, Distortions, Deletions
Our approach to the Meta-Model: examples from 3 areas
- Politics
- Relationships
- Business operations
Generalizations – Universal quantifiers
Complex equivalences
Cause-effect

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Meta-Model

Neuromarketing is here

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:06:21 +0000

Well when brain science meets marketing the level of persuasion changes A LOT. knowing about it is essential in order to use it and defend against it.

frontline: the persuaders: neuromarketing | PBS

neuromarketing: is it coming to a lab near you? by Mary Carmichael

For an ad campaign that started a revolution in marketing, the Pepsi Challenge TV spots of the 1970s and ’80s were almost absurdly simple. Little more than a series of blind taste tests, these ads showed people being asked to choose between Pepsi and Coke without knowing which one they were consuming. Not surprisingly, given the sponsor, Pepsi was usually the winner.

Mary Carmichael is a FRONTLINE web associate producer.

But 30 years after the commercials debuted, neuroscientist Read Montague was still thinking about them. Something didn’t make sense. If people preferred the taste of Pepsi, the drink should have dominated the market. It didn’t. So in the summer of 2003, Montague gave himself a ‘Pepsi Challenge’ of a different sort: to figure out why people would buy a product they didn’t particularly like.

Technorati Tags: Radical Change group, nlp, neuromarketing, marketing, neurobiology

7 Lessons From the Greatest Mind

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:44:27 +0000

A good read, perhaps a good excercise is to figure out what YOU consider the greatest minds to be and what their lessons for YOU are, it will be a terrific way to know/discover whats most important for you and why

7 Lessons From the World’s Greatest Minds | Jonathan Mead

1. Realizing Your Dreams

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
- Lawrence J. Peter

2. Overcoming Fear

“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Intention and Desire

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.”
- Guatama Buddha

4. Happiness

“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
- Benjamin Franklin

5. Self Acceptance

“If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” – Jesus

6. Appreciation and Gratitude

“So much has been given to me, I have not time to ponder over that which has been denied.”
- Helen Keller

7. The Art of Simplicity

“I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it short.”
- Blaise Pascal

The Art of Complex Problem Solving

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:42:23 +0000

A cool and interesting ideagram as to how one can solve complex problems. Its a good model/modeling session of how to solve big problems and move towards solutions

The Art of Complex Problem Solving

Check this out

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:27:26 +0000

beautiful way to see 4 millions years of becoming Human as we are today

Becoming Human: Paleoanthropology, Evolution and Human Origins

#29 Language Series 01 – an Overview

RCG — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:58:15 +0000

Language and NLP
- NLP – is Neuro-Linguistic Programming – language is a key
- Language is the habitat we live in, and learn. NLP is learning how to learn.
- Comparison with “wolf children” – those who don’t have a language
Language is enfolded in us, and the context unfolds it out of us.
- Language shapes and creates realities.
- Ambiguity in words
- Linguistic relationships that wouldn’t have existed without the language
- What we think changes what we sort for, and the language is the tool that directionalizes the mind
- How different languages shift the perceptions of reality
Pioneering work in Language
- Alfred Korzibski – connection of language and neurology, language and environment.
  - The map is not the territory (distortion)
  - The map does not represent all of the territory (deletion)
  - Every map is self-reflexive (generalization)
- Noam Chomsky – transformational grammar. Deep structure and surface structure.
- NLP: The Meta-Model, the Milton Model, and the Sleight of Mouth
The structure of the following podcasts in the language series
(total of 11 podcasts including this one)
- Three main models, each in three podcasts (total of 9 podcasts):
  - Meta-model
  - Sleight of Mouth patterns
  - Milton model
- For each model, we pick 3 different contexts, and apply each pattern in each of those contexts
- The final podcast will tie all the models together

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language, Meta-Model, Milton Model, Sleight of Mouth

Five Things Happy People Do

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:34:13 +0000

An interesting article by a Neuroscientist – worth a quick glance

Five Things Happy People Do

Five Things Happy People Do
By Gabrielle LeBlanc

happy people Sages going back to Socrates have offered advice on how to be happy, but only now are scientists beginning to address this question with systematic, controlled research. Although many of the new studies reaffirm time-honored wisdom (“Do what you love,” “To thine own self be true”), they also add a number of fresh twists and insights. We canvassed the leading experts on what happy people have in common—and why it’s worth trying to become one of them:

They find their most golden self

They design their lives to bring in joy.

They avoid “if only” fantasies.

They put best friends first

They allow themselves to be happy.

Technorati Tags: happiness, nlp, radical change group, oprah, happiness,

Meaning of Life

Mahipal Lunia — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:37:37 +0000

This is an interesting video – interesting insight into how ppl think of the all important questions and also how it will get you to think

#28 Perceptual Positions

RCG — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:16:32 +0000

Perceptual positions is a neuro-linguistic programming and psychology term denoting that a complex system may look very different, and different information will be available, depending how one looks at it and one’s point of view. (Wikipedia)

Defining perceptual positions
- Different points of view
- Points of reference, different perspectives, way of shifting your outlook, thus changing your experience and understanding of the event
- The more perspectives you master, the more objective your view of reality becomes
Four different perceptual positions – more detailed definitions
Give 3 different frames:
- Martial arts
- Relationships
- Coaching
Uses of the perceptual positions in NLP: conflict resolution technique
Expand the frame of perceptual positions
- - Finding your element, and your life story. Parallels Colin Wilson’s idea of dual consciousness: worm’s eye view and bird’s eye view
- Perceptual positions as roles: Walt Disney creativity strategy
- "Board of directors" for your life
Fun games to develop your skills in perceptual positions
- Shadow walk exercise
- Any contact sport

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Perceptual Positions, Conflict Resolution, Walt Disney Creativity Strategy

The Power Of BS – Belief Systems

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:30:35 +0000

glumbert – How to ruin a day at the museum

Technorati Tags: creationist, evolution, denver, bs, belief systems

#27 Designer Swishes

RCG — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:55:39 +0000

Swish is a novel visualization technique for reducing unwanted habits. The process involves disrupting a pattern of thought that usually leads to an unwanted behavior such that it leads to a desired alternative. (Wikipedia)

This podcast covers the following topics:

Definitions of swishes
- Binding a new response to an existing trigger. Most popular NLP way: by changing pictures in your mind.
- Neural pathways – digging a new "trench", new circuitry in the brain
- Triggers can be in different modalities; doing a swish in the driver modality
Uses of swishes – personal examples
- Martial arts: practicing movements at inappropriate times
- Not being able to take praise
- Building social confidence
Guided experience of a visual swish
Discussion of the NLP swish
Expanding the frame of the swish
- Dance, 5Rhymths by Gabrielle Roth
- "Fool’s dance" – a series of movements in monomyth workshop
- Movement towards our highest potential

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Swish, 5Rhythms, Dance, Monomyth

Network – Television is a goddamned amusement park

Sergey — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:55:21 +0000

Turn off your TV! Now!

"This piece was created by cobbling together several speeches made by Howard Beale in the 1976 movie “Network”. Network is famous for establishing the phrase “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” It seems to me that Beale’s weak-up appeal to the American public is just as applicable today as it was 30 years ago. "

Technocrati Tags: TV, Television, Propaganda, Brainwash

#26 Advanced Anchoring

RCG — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:37:13 +0000

This episode assumes familiarity with the basic ideas of anchoring. For the initial introduction, please first listen to the earlier podcast on anchoring (episode #6).

In this podcast, we cover the following advanced anchoring topics:

Sliding anchors and their uses
- Increasing or decreasing an anchored state
- Creating "emotional cocktails"
- The Circle of Excellence technique
- Auditory sliding anchors in dancing
- Public speaking
Stacking anchors
- Circle of excellence: putting different states into the same place (anchor)
- Stacking anchors at a family dinner table
- Stacking anchors in a business setting
Chaining anchors
- Typically for transitions between very different states, breaking it up into smaller steps
- Setting up one state to be the anchor for triggering the next
- Examples:
  - Confusion to clarity
  - Loss of a loved one – from denial to acceptance
  - Denial of knowledge – from frustration to curiousity and commitment / learning state
Spatial anchors
- Martial art forms
- Arguments in relationships
- Addressing groups
- Dictionary of anchors
Borrowing, or stealing anchors
Weaving it all together

Technocrati Tags: NLP, anchoring, sliding anchors, stacking anchors, chaining anchors, spatial anchors, borrowing anchors, stealing anchors

#25 Belief Systems

RCG — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:53:03 +0000

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. (Wikipedia)

Relevant meaning of Belief System refers to World View (Wikipedia). It refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it.

In this podcast, we cover the following topics:

The three perspectives we are taking:
- Knowledge engineering
- Perception engineering
- Intelligence engineering
Defining what beliefs are
How beliefs are useful
- From learning specific skills to a more general discussion on morality and ethics
Tracking beliefs
Constructing new beliefs
Deconstructing and changing beliefs
Specific NLP tools for changing beliefs
- NLP "reimprinting" process
- Swish pattern
- Submodalities

Technocrati Tags: belief systems, changing beliefs, NLP, world view, knowledge engineering, perception engineering, intelligence

#24 The Way of the Warrior, part 3

RCG — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:10:07 +0000

We are continuing our conversation with our honored guest Sensei Srinivasan Sastri, a MenkyoKaiden in the art of Kaze Arashi Ryu. He is graciously offering us his insights into what it means to lead one’s life as a true warrior.

In today’s podcast, sensei Sastri touches upon the following topics:

Body, Mind & Spirit
The whole unit
Being in the moment
Spirituality
Search for beauty – ideals
Choosing what’s meaningful
Ethics – making decisions
Morality
Acceptance
Being true to yourself
Learning from mistakes

Technocrati Tags: martial arts, morality, ethics, spirituality

#23 The Way of the Warrior, part 2

RCG — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:43:31 +0000

We are continuing our conversation with our honored guest sensei Srinivasan Sastri, a MenkyoKaiden in the art of Kaze Arashi Ryu. He is graciously offering us his insights into what it means to lead one’s life as a true warrior.

In today’s podcast, sensei Sastri touches upon the following topics:

Attributes of a student
How to find a good teacher
What is a good teacher
What draws a student to an art
Teaching kids
Dealing with negative emotions – fear and confidence
Minimizing worry, and becoming spiritual

Technocrati Tags: being a student, being a teacher, fear and confidence, martial arts

#22 Freedom, Manipulation & Influence

RCG — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:36:15 +0000

Common definitions "Personal" Freedom – I, Me and Myself
Manipulation of others
Influence as sneaky manipulation
Where does this power trip takes us
It is an evolutionary stage
Self-control and freedom for others – turning it around 180 degrees
Ethical Influence
- Systemic influence
- From mind trip to the path of the heart
Tools we used to bring out these notions in us
- Observing life
- Body-based work, following one’s heart
- Sharing

#21 The Way of the Warrior, part 1

RCG — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:19:29 +0000

Today what we are going to offer you is a rare glimps into the mind and the attitude of a true warrior. It’s a rare honor and privilege for us to be able to host sensei Srinivasan Sastri, a MenkyoKaiden in the art of Kaze Arashi Ryu. He is graciously offering us his insights into what it means to lead one’s life as a true warrior.

We frame this series of podcasts as mini-modeling sessions – an NLP term for extracting the essense of someone’s excellence, and creating a model or a guidance towards achieving similar results in yourself, and teaching it to others.

In today’s podcast, sensei Sastri talks about:

Kaze Arashi Ryu
What makes an art
Reasons to learn an art
True learning never ends
Learning the principles
Visualization
Fighting multiple opponents
Applying principles in real life
Awareness training
Being in the zone
Kick Defenses

Keeping Your Brain Fit _ US News and World Report

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:27:21 +0000

Keeping Your Brain Fit – U.S. News & World Report (usnews.com)

You might be interested in checking the latest issue on US News. Would be interesting to hear what you think about the articles from this MSM (Mainstream Media) provider

Technorati Tags: US News, Brain, Mental Fitness,

Call for Collaborators on Open Source Platform for Education

RCG — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:03:05 +0000

When we started these freely available podcasts with a non-profit group in mind, it might have seemed like a crazy idea to most people. Today, we are happy to see that our podcasts are being downloaded all around the World - Europe, China, India, USA, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and many others.

Now, we are taking another step that might seem like a crazy idea today, but – who knows what the future holds – we are moving towards creating an open-source platform for education. Open source in personal growth is a radical paradigm shift. People say, you want to be different. We say, it’s not enough – let’s contribute to make a difference. Not only you will experience personal change – you will participate in creating it, and transform yourself in the process. This means freely available content, created not just by us, but by you! This means, you get to find and work together with peers all across the globe doing the work you love, get recognized for your contribution, and see the world change in a meaningful way.

To make this dream come true, we need your help to seed this project. We are inviting skilled professionals who want to contribute their time into creating the open source collaboration platform for education. If you have skills in one or more of the following areas:

Programmers
Web Designers
Graphic Artists
Mind Mappers
Musicians
Voice Artists
Sound Engineers
Translators from English to other languages
Anyone with original AND cutting-edge work on personal growth

Then please, contact us at collaborate@radicalchangegroup.com or through the web form, or just leave a comment in this podcast, and we’ll take it from there. This project can only succeed with your help. Become a Partner in Change, and let’s contribute to make a difference.

The Radical Change Group
www.radicalchangegroup.com

Technocrati Tags: open source, personal growth, self growth, contribute, collaborate

#20 Adaptive Intelligences, Part 4 – Clare Graves model & NLP

RCG — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:43:33 +0000

In this issue, we explore how the model of Adaptive Intelligencies melds with concepts and techniques of NLP, and how both models enrich each other when used in combination.

We took a number of well-known NLP concepts and structured our conversation around those – how they can be used, or how they are enhanced by, the levels of intelligencies, the Clare Graves model of Bio-Psycho-Social System of Human Development. The NLP concepts we touched in this manner are:

Rapport and calibration: how to calibrate various levels, and build rapport with the person at a certain level
Positional perspectives – ability and willinness to do it at different levels, and number of distinctions people can make
Somatics, body movements and postures at different levels of intelligencies
How the language changes with each level
- Milton model – first appears in Purple and continues into Red
- Meta-model – comes in at Blue (to understand the details of the rules), and really develop in Orange, where precision is important
- SOM comes up in Green, reframing perspectives
- From "digital" to "analog" system
Metaphors
Family structures, relationships
Space and architecture
Health
Metaprograms
- Internal – External; lust for power – surrender to love
- Attention filters – things, people, information
- Thinking styles – Top-down / Bottom-up
- Pre-consciousness, personal consciousness, transpersonal consciousness
Time
- Where past, present and future appear, and the abisity to use and influence it appears
Learning styles

To The Crazy Ones – Think Different

Mahipal Lunia — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:37:50 +0000

#19 Adaptive Intelligencies, Part 3 – The Graves Model of Bio-Psycho-Social System of Human Development

RCG — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:12:38 +0000

We are continuing to go in-depth into each of the levels of Adaptive Intelligencies. In this podcast, we cover the remaining 3 levels: Orange, Green and Yellow.

Level 5 – Orange:
- From the land of stability and security (blue) to options, possibilities, using and re-inventing the rules, prosperity, control over resources. Success is the keyword. He/she who has the largest resources has most power. Example: US corporations having more power that even the government or religion. Enterpreneurs, wealth hubs.
- Metaphors: games; win-lose metaphors. One with more toys wins the game.
- Shades of gray (on previous levels mainly black and white)
- Movies: "Stepford wives", "The Wall Street"
- Leadership: to be gain, and to be kept.
- Learning: break into part and analyse in pieces. The sense of wholeness hasn’t come here yet. Motivation: Challenges, and rewards after overcoming a challenge, or to let them demonstrate how skilled and powerful they are. Prove themselves.
- Time: future-oriented. Present is sacrificed for the future, always in the rat-race.
- Values: reasons for making money – accumulation of wealth.
- Metaprograms: internal.
- Extensions: high fashion, expensive things
- Body: suave
- Organizational structure: small scunk groups going for opportunities. Free market.
- Science: if Newtonian is Blue, then Orange is Thermodynamics.
- Scientific Orange: commercialize scientific findings
- Architecture: sky scrapers; business buildings are the highest
Level 6 – Green
- 1960s – hippy movement, free love, equality, acceptence, pluralistic world view. Relativity of viewpoints, resources. Democracy (in idealized form) is Green. It is important to hear everybody’s voice. Dark side: insistence on everybody being heard, and nothing gets done. Nobody’s taking charge (everybody’s equal), flat land, doesn’t recognize that people have different skills or points of view. Talks of law of attraction, spirituality, personal growth. New age spirituality sometimes gets mixed with magic (Purple) and confused for transcendence.
- Family structure: harmony and love
- Architecture: Frank Lloyd – everything blends into each other.
- Metaprograms: external reference, attentions on people, on relationships. My rules for me, and your rules for you.
- Clothing: loose-fitting clothing, flowing.
- Political system: liberitarian view, freedom
- Learning: unconscious model, mirror neurons come in
- Movies: Star Track
Level 7 – Yellow
- Systemic, "Gaia" perspective.
- Values: freedom, flexibility, knowledge, competence. What do you know? Who can I learn it from? So much to learn, so little time.
- Leadership: based on process who is best suited for what, and changes hands quickly.
- Jobs: experts, advisors, stay in a shadow (advisors to kings – Merlin – an advisor to the King)
- Metaprograms: reference – internal, expression of self. Metaphors – paradoxical, breaking free from dualities (right and wrong, black and white). You hold the tension of the opposites until the third quality emerges.
- Movies: "Pi"
- Learning strategies: self-driven, go anywhere to anyone where you can learn. You are becoming like a sponge.
- Calibration: high sensory acuity, fluidly switch from being a teacher to being a student.

#18 Adaptive Intelligencies, Part 2 – The Graves Model of Bio-Psycho-Social System of Human Development

RCG — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:07:15 +0000

In this podcast, we discuss in depth the first four levels of adaptive intelligencies, the model of Clare Graves that he called bio-psycho-social systems of human development. Here we bring multiple dimensions such as the concepts of time (ref. Edward T. Hall), learning strategies, body dynamics, mythology, NLP metaprograms, language, architecture, and others, and see how these change with each level.

The topics of this talk includes:

Why is it important to master this model?
- Personal growth, personal evolution
- Deep understanding of yourself, your response potential
- Understand structures (religious, political, etc.)
- Rapport – with others, and with that what is greater than you
- Moving between different cultures in the global economy
- What is its impact on things like perception of time, architecture, science
- Each level expands the boundaries of the previous levels by orders of magnitudes.
Beige – primal survival, food, warmth, shelter.
- Very early stage of human evolution, children up to age of 16-18 months.
- Architecture: Caves, fire to keep warm and keep away the animals
- Movies: Tarzan; Cast Away (beginning)
Purple – tribe, magical world infused with god. You live as the tribe, and sacrifice yourself for the survival of the tribe. Introduction of specialization. About 50,000 years ago. Obidience to elders.
- Movies: Medicine Man, Spirited Away, Lion King
- Extensions: talismans, magical objects
- Learning: how to be with people, the trust. Superstition-driven. Rituals.
- Body dynamics: ritual dance
- Myth: oral myths of creation of the Universe
- Time: Ability to see (but not use) the past; emergence of cyclical time; “cicrle of life”
- Architecture: circular huts
Red – is the big power trip; the first differentiation of self from
the world. Aggression. Conquest, explotative empires. Possession,
“you are mine”, “I do anything for me.” Complete egoists. 10,000 years
ago; child of 2-5 years old, “the terrible 2s”.
- Examples: Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great.
- Metaprograms: internally driven (expressing self); rules for others, no rules for me.
- Movies: Attila the Hun, Gladiator, the villians in the James Bond movies
- Metaphors: Life is a Jungle, it’s a doggy dog world
- Body dynamics: passive-aggressive, unashamedly egoistic; space around them and taking command of space
- Time: First time when humans can utilize the past
- Architecture: Castles, outposts
- Positional perspectives: the first, self appears (no others)
- Learning strategy: very firm and strong, they only respond to the power, but not threatening, and immediate rewards (no future yet at this level)
Blue – 5,000 years ago, hierarchy, piramid. Literal interpretation
of laws, religions, rules. Only my truth is the right truth. In its
worst form becomes theocracy. Religion gives you gilt, law gives you
fear, punishment. The first level to bring stability and peace. At
its best, it’s stability and peace of mind, the meaning.
- Language: “must”, “should”, “have to”, “it is wrong”.
- Time: The future appears – cannot change it yet, but can observe. Paradise in the future.
- Physics: Newtonian – blue. Absolute space, time.
- Jobs: beurocrats, preachers, criminal law, science (the regular kind)
- Extensions: clothes – everyone dresses as everyone else, uniforms
- Body: rigit movements
- Movies: 1984 (George Orwell) – the epithomy of blue, V for Vendetta, Dune (movement from purple to blue: tribe to king to religion)
- Architecture: The tallest buildings are the houses of law, polititians, and religions
- Books: what’s moral and what’s not moral
- Martial Arts: samurai warriors – who does the sword serve?
- NLP Metaprograms: external reference, someone else’s rules for my life, but they are also my rules; black and white perspectives.
- Learning strategies: motivate by punishment.
Transition to Orange – to be continued in the next podcast

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Clare Graves, Adaptive Intelligencies, Learning strategies, Somatics, mythology, Metaprograms, language patterns, architecture, Edward T Hall

#17 Adaptive Intelligencies, Part 1 – The Graves Model of Bio-Psycho-Social System of Human Development

RCG — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:00:15 +0000

WE BELIEVE RCG IS THE FIRST TO BRING OUT A PODCAST SERIES (AND FREE AT THAT) ON THE WORK OF DR. CLARE GRAVES. ENJOY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY STUDY DR. GRAVES WORK IN DETAIL – IT JUST MIGHT CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD.

Adaptive Intelligencies – finding a pattern in an apparent noise. The journey of becoming human, and relation of the Universe.
Neurological Levels
The Story of Evolution
People behind the model of Value Systems, Adaptive Intelligencies, vMemes
- Dr. Clare Graves – Bio-Psycho-Social System
- Don Beck & Chris Cowen – Spiral Dynamics
- Ken Wilber
Key ideas behind the model of Adaptive Intelligencies
- Understanding the steps, influence and make intelligencies work together
- New levels of communication
Brief description of each level
1. Beige – survival
2. Purple – tribe
3. Red – Power
4. Blue – law, the truth
5. Orange – wealth, success, achievement
6. Green – Community, connection
7. Yellow – emergence of the being, systemic
Levels 4, 5 and 6 in more detail
Applying the model and connecting the dots
- Calibrating NLP centers
- Each level requires all levels below
- Connecting various streams of thoughts
  - NLP
  - Joseph Campbell
  - Imprinting – Konrad Lorenz & Timothy Leary
  - Cultural Anthropology – Edward T. Hall, treating space and time
  - Psychological developing of men
  - Evolution of physics
Analyzing NLP presuppositions and trainings
Unfolding of intelligencies

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Clare Graves, Adaptive Intelligences, Joseph Campbell, Calibration,

Upcoming podcasts in 2008 – and Happy New Year

RCG — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:00:13 +0000

Happy New Year from the Radical Change Group!

We are announcing our plans for the upcoming podcasts this year, that expand the range of topics we cover well beyond NLP, and into the areas like

Work by Dr. Clare Graves
8-Circuit Brain Model
Mythology
Martial Arts
Leadership, personal freedom
Advanced NLP topics:
- Language (Metamodel, Milton model, Sleight of Mouth patterns)
- Models of Time
- Belief Systems
- and many others

There are other ways the Radical Change Group as an organization will grow in the year 2008 and bring you new knowledge and services. Stay tuned!

And please – please! – give us your feedback. Leave your comments on the podcasts, or submit your private comments through the Contact Us web form.

Holiday Announcement

RCG — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:46:09 +0000

The Radical Change Group is stopping the weekly release of podcasts for the holiday season, and will resume regular podcasts again on Sunday, January 13, 2008. We have some quite radical and far reaching topics awaiting you in the new year. Stay tuned…

At this point, we would like to ask you for a couple of small favors. If you have listened to some of our podcasts, please take a moment, go to the website (www.radicalchangegroup.com) and leave us a comment. You can leave a public comment directly at the relevant podcast, or write us using the web form on the Radical Team page.

Also, if you find that our podcasts have helped you in any way, please forward this web page to your friends who you believe may benefit from it too. We would greatly appreciate it!

With that, we wish you happy holidays, and see (or hear) you again in 2008!

The Radical Change Group
Change Architects – Making Sensible Changes

#16 States of Consciousness

RCG — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:53:00 +0000

What states are, and why we should pay attention to them?
- Gestalt of neurology of the mind and the body
- State change work in NLP – one of those all-purpose concepts
- State control, especially kinesthetic
States are like a computer program
Why have conscious control over the states?
- Different states have different intelligences imbibed in them. Learning is state-dependent, and there is a purpose for each state and intelligence
- Learning to ride a bike
- Relationships
- Being a leader in business or politics
State Syntax
- Definitions of a state:
- Neurology of the body, position
- Internal neurology – chemicals, foods
- Kinds of thoughts, words, inner dialogue
- Emotions
- Submodalities
What we pay attention to – calibration
- Feelings in the body and how they move
- How your body is positioned and how it moves
- Breathing
Exercise: map out a list of emotions
How to gain conscious control of the states
- Anchor the states
- The Swish pattern
  - Visual
  - Auditory
  - Kinesthetic
  - Combining all three
Designer states
- Emotional bar – an equalizer deck for emotions
- Guided exercise with 3 dimensions (three emotions)
- How many more dimensions would you like to add to your mind?
Technocrati Tags: NLP, States, State control, emotions,

#15 From Fear to Excellence

RCG — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 08:41:25 +0000

Defining emotional states and goals
- States – precursors of the life you’re living and the life you’re meant to live
- Have a clear goal
- Need both to achieve success
Specific NLP techniques
- Circle of excellence
- Time line: creating a compelling future
- Using poetry and martial arts in combination: being in a state where everything is possible
Why some people fail to achieve their goals?
- The two most important questions that must be asked in the correct order
- The lack of connection between the big goal and the daily routine
- Three things:
  1. You need to want to have a dream
  2. You have to know how to set goals and dream – it has a structure
  3. Follow your dream
How to set and achieve goals?
- Now starting and end points
- S.M.A.R.T goals
- Time line way
- The way of adventure
Personal examples
- Programming a large system
- Focusing on the inside
- Walking your path
Technocrati Tags: NLP, goal setting, goals, circle of excellence, time line, Rilke,

Dr. John Lilly: Through the Center of the Mandala

Mahipal Lunia — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:59:04 +0000

From “ECCO: Earth Coincidence Control Office”

Listen to this genius speak anytime you have an opportunity. This video is a great preview into the mind/ideas of John Lilly

Planet Breath

Arman — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:17:50 +0000

Our planet IS alive – watch Breathing Planet, – it’s all just a matter of the timescale…

#14 Introduction to Memetics

RCG — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:27:27 +0000

A meme (pronounced [mi:m] in IPA), as defined within memetic theory, comprises a theoretical unit of cultural information, the building block of cultural evolution or diffusion that propagates from one mind to another analogously to the way in which a gene propagates from one organism to another as a unit of genetic information and of biological evolution.[1] Multiple memes may propagate as cooperative groups called memeplexes (meme complexes). (Wikipedia)

In this talk, we cover the following topics:

Definitions of memes and memetics
Why do we care about memes?
Meme dynamics (analogy to genes)
What makes a meme stick?
How these memes are programmed in us?
How NLP and Memetics work together
- Memes as beliefs
- Belief/meme change techniques from NLP
How do we dis-infect ourselves from the mind viruses (“bad” memes)?

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Beliefs, Belief work, memes, memetics,

#13 Embodied Mythology series 01 – Stories of Our Lives

RCG — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:00:04 +0000

This podcast starts a series of presentations on mythology. Here we describe the basic structure of a myth, and show how it unfolds in three different (and well-known) stories.

What is myth?
Levels of understanding mythology
Joseph Campbell
The monomyth
A quick overview of three movies
1. Star Wars
2. Lord of the Ring
3. Lion King
Applying the structure of the monomyth to the three movies
Closing thoughts

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Mythology, Mythosphere, Monomyth, Joseph Campbell, Personal Mythology, Star Wars, Lord of The Ring, Lion King,

A Two year old demonstrates what is possible…

Mahipal Lunia — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:46:42 +0000

She is two years old and could put many people if not most people to shame with her brilliance. Check it out, this is what is possible – if we allow our children to truly come alive and embrace the wisdom they already are

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=4023

#12 Neurological Levels

RCG — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:42:37 +0000

The Neurological levels were proposed by anthropologist Gregory Bateson (1972, 1979). He defined a hierarchy of abstraction including beliefs, values and identity. He perceived relationships as having a higher abstraction than identity, and therefore influencing lower levels in the hierarchy, such as beliefs and behavior.

In Neuro-linguistic programming, they were developed by Robert Dilts into the Dilts’ Neuro-logical levels (also known as the logical levels of change and the logical levels of thinking) which are useful for assisting with or understanding change from an individual, social or organization point of view. Each level is progressively more psychologically encompassing and impactful. (Wikipedia)

Why neurological levels?
Definitions of neurological levels
- The “pyramid” – traditional NLP definition
- Levels of identification – our take on it
Description of each level in more detail
Applications
- Self-alignment
- Relationships
- Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches
Calibrating the levels
Solving a problem with neurological levels in mind
- Bottom-up
- Top-down
Other model of alignment: Clare Graves, the levels of values & life conditions
- Neurological levels at each level of the Graves model

Technocrati Tags: Neurological Levels, NLP, Gregory Bateson, Robert Dilts, Neuro Logical levels, Calibration

Deepak Chopra on Shift

Mahipal Lunia — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:52:35 +0000

Shift in Action

#11 Reality Tunnels

RCG — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:52:22 +0000

Reality tunnel is a term coined by Timothy Leary and popularised by Robert Anton Wilson. The theory states that, with a subconscious set of mental “filters” formed from their beliefs and experiences, every individual interprets this same world differently, hence “Truth is in the eye of the beholder”. (Wikipedia)

What is reality? – Our own perspectives of realities & reality tunnels
- Spiritual
- NLP
- Perceptions that we hold true – “Perception engineering”
Reality from the scientific & spiritual perspectives
Structure of subjective reality
- NLP: reality strategies
- Beliefs
- Values
- Imprints (response potential)
Expanding the definition of reality of NLP
- NLP: reality of the past
- Beliefs, Values, Imprints: reality in the now
- Map of realities: reality of the future
  - Linguistic constructs of realities
    - Visualization
    - Future behavior generator (NLP)
  - Holding reality in the body
  - Submodalities (compare: hopes, dreams, desires)
    - Location, location, location
Epistomology – how do we know what we know, how do we know what is true
- What our beliefs allow inside
Summary of perspectives on realities
- Remembering past (NLP)
- Beliefs and values
- How do you return to what is true for you, and yet go through different tunnels of reality
- The map is not the territory – once you change the map, the territory is transformed
How do realities evolve (models)
- Stages of different realities – 8 circuit model, response potentials
- Work of Dr. Clare Graves, and the derived work on Spiral Dynamics
- The chakra system
- Joseph Campbell: The Monomyth, the Hero’s Journey

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Reality Strategies, Beliefs, Values, Imprints, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Clare Graves, Joseph Campbell

Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes

Mahipal Lunia — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:28:24 +0000

Why do people succeed? Because they’re smart? Or lucky? How about: Neither. Richard St. John compacts more than a decade of research into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success. (Hint: Passion, persistence, and pushy mothers help.) Inspired by a chance encounter with a high school student who asked him how to become a success, St. John interviewed more than 500 successful people, then distilled what they told him into eight simple principles.

#10 Submodalities

RCG — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:00:52 +0000

Definitions of modalities and submodalities
Hypnotic induction – finding The Goal of Your Life, and exploring submodalities in the process (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic)
Amplifying the submodalities of the life goal
Explanation of the process and submodalities
- Control knobs for the submodalities
- Being the DJ of your life – what resonates the most with you
What is real, and what is imaginary?
Why visualization doesn’t work

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Submodality, Submodalaties, Representational Systems, Visualization, Change Work

#9 Metaprograms

RCG — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:18:37 +0000

Meta-programs in general are programs that create, control or make decisions about programs, such as when and how to run them, preferred and unpreferred programs, and strategic choices of fall-back or alternative programs.

Covered in this podcast:

Introducing Metaprograms
Definitions of Metaprograms
Distinctions between Metaprograms, Beliefs, and Strategies
Uses of metaprograms
- Rapport
- Motivation
- Personal growth – expanding dimensions by embracing the paradox at each level
Towards – away from
Chunk size
Learning direction: Top-down – bottom-up – metaphorical (by analogy)
Options – Procedures
Making decisions – internal-external
Self – Other – Switch – Simultaneous
Match – Mismatch – Polarity
Environmental sorting: People – Information – Activities – Places – Things
Convincer strategy – automatic, few times, never
Active – Passive
Personal stories
Calibrating Metaprograms

Technocrati Tags: metaprograms, NLP, Rapport, Motivation, Growth, towards-away, chunk size, learning direction, options - procedures, match mismatch, sorting patterns, active passive, calibration

Are You Part Of The 11% – Marianne Williamson

Mahipal Lunia — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 05:54:50 +0000

Shift in Action

A journey to the center of your mind – Ramachandran

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:16:56 +0000

In a wide-ranging talk, Vilayanur Ramachandran explores how brain damage can reveal the connection between the internal structures of the brain and the corresponding functions of the mind. He talks about phantom limb pain, synesthesia (when people hear color or smell sounds), and the Capgras delusion, when brain-damaged people believe their closest friends and family have been replaced with imposters.

Neurologist V.S. Ramachandran looks deep into the brain’s most basic mechanisms. By working with those who have very specific mental disabilities caused by brain injury or stroke, he can map functions of the mind to physical structures of the brain.

#8 Accelerated Learning

RCG — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:13:24 +0000

Why learning is important?
What is learning?
Teaching an old dog new tricks
Methods of learning
- Scientific – standing on the shoulders of guiants
- Skills + Knowledge
- Osmosis, deep immersion
Uses of accelerated learning
Mindmapping
Speed reading
Memory techniques
DTI (Deep Trance Identification)
Accelerated teaching
State management
Discussion of our education system

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Accelerated Learning, Superlearning, mind mapping, speed reading, deep trance identification, state control, state management

The Ten Videos to Change How You View the World

Mahipal Lunia — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:22:06 +0000

Worth looking into…

The Ten Videos to Change How You View the World – lifehack.org

I believe that a sign of good information is that it makes you
think. If reading a book, listening to a lecture or watching a video
doesn’t change how you think, it probably isn’t that
important. But if you encounter something that forces you to change
your views, even if you don’t completely agree with it,
you’ve found something valuable.

The problem is where do you find these ideas? Better yet, where do you find the time to consume this information?

Recently I found a great place to get started. TED (Technology,
Entertainment, Design) is a huge conference held each year. The best
thinkers come together and share their ideas. Their website, www.ted.com, has hundreds of free speeches. Here’s ten that might just change how you view the world:

#7 Nested Loops – Stories within Stories within Stories…

RCG — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:45:34 +0000

We briefly define what nested loops are, then each of us tells a different story, by embedding one story into the story of others. Once the stories unwind themselves, and you slowly start coming back from the enchantment of the trance, we tell you another story about the nested loops, discuss their practical applications, and close the session with parting thoughts about nested loops.

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Nested Loops, metaphors, story telling, change work

Lecture Of A Lifetime – What is Life All About –

Mahipal Lunia — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:14:16 +0000

#6 Anchoring

RCG — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:38:54 +0000

Anchoring is a neuro-linguistic programming term for the process by which memory recall, state change or other responses become associated with (anchored to) some stimulus, in such a way that perception of the stimulus (the anchor) leads by reflex to the anchored response occurring. The stimulus may be quite neutral or even out of conscious awareness, and the response may be either positive or negative. They are capable of being formed and reinforced by repeated stimuli, and thus are analogous to classical conditioning.

Basic anchoring involves in essence, the elicitation of a strong congruent experience of a desired state, whilst using some notable stimulus (touch, word, sight) at the time this is most fully realized. In many cases, repetition of the stimulus will reassociate and restore the experience of the state. (Wikipedia)

In this podcast, we introduce the pervasive NLP construct called anchors, and play with several ideas around anchoring. In particular, we categorize anchors by responses:

Emotional (the typical NLP anchors)
Behavioral
Ritual, Cultural

and by triggers:

Static
Dynamic
Environmental anchors
Rituals (now as a trigger)

Finally, we discuss applications of anchors of different varieties.

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Anchoring, Ritual

#5 The Power of Language – and Going Beyond

RCG — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:00:55 +0000

Communication – Using Language and Going Beyond

Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. Communication requires that all parties understand a common language that is exchanged. A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon. Though commonly used as a means of communication among people, human language is only one instance of this phenomenon. (Wikipedia)

This introductory podcast spans a range of topics:

What Is Language?
The Structure of Language
Communicating with Others
Weaving Spells (Who is Milton Erickson?)
Breaking Spells – Meta-Model and Modeling
- Uncovering lost meaning, disambiguating language
- Resolving conflicts in relationships
- Modeling excellence
Sleight of Mouth – the Language Patterns
Communicating with Self
- Negation
- Congruity
- Shame
- Metaphors & Stories
Communicating with the Universe
- Manifesting thoughts
- The power of intent
- The higher purpose

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Language patterns, Milton Model, Meta Model, Sleight of Mouth, SOM, Communication

#4 Learning to Listen – Literal, Structural & Mythical Listening

RCG — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:36:38 +0000

Main Entry: ¹lis·ten From the Webster Dictionary
Pronunciation: 'li-s^&n
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): lis·tened; lis·ten·ing /'lis-ni[ng], 'li-s^&n-i[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English listnen, from Old English hlysnan; akin to Sanskrit srosati he hears, Old English hlud loud
transitive verb, archaic : to give ear to : HEAR
intransitive verb
1 : to pay attention to sound <listen to music>
2 : to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration <listen to a plea>
3 : to be alert to catch an expected sound <listen for his step>

The topics we cover in this podcast are:

Three ways of listening – literal, structural, mythical
Bohmian Dialogue
Our stories about listening
Organ Language
Metaphors
Modality Words
Backtracking
Somatic Listening
Facial Expressions
Autism
Listening Strategies
Beliefs about Listening
Cultural Listening

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Calibration, Listening, Bohmian Dialogue, Modality words, Somatic, Tracking

#3 Waking Up to Your Senses – Systemic Calibration

RCG — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:00:37 +0000

Sense noun 2 a : the faculty of perceiving by means of sense organs b : a specialized function or mechanism (as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch) by which an animal receives and responds to external or internal stimuli c : the sensory mechanisms constituting a unit distinct from other functions (as movement or thought)
3 : conscious awareness or rationality (from Merriam-Webster dictionary)

See also Sense(s) , Representational systems, and Philosophy of perception (Wikipedia)

In this podcast, we take several different perspectives in approaching the following questions:

What does it mean to wake up to your senses?
How is it useful?
How to start learning it?
- Changing habits
- Paying attention to what people do or say
- Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone (martial art approach)
- Linguistic exercises (backtracking)
- NLP exercises (eye accessing cues and spacial marking)
What are the limits of our perceptions?

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Calibration, Tracking, backtracking, eye accessing cues, spacial marking, change work

#2 Rapport series 01 – the Art of Getting in Sync

RCG — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:45:09 +0000

Rapport is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction. It is commonality of perspective, being in “sync”, being on the same wavelength as the person you are talking to. (Wikipedia)

Today’s topics include:

What is Rapport?
Why is Rapport Important?
Mechanisms of Rapport
Levels of Rapport (body, language, values & beliefs, symbolic)
Neuro-biology of Rapport – mirror neurons
Rapport with Groups
Breaking Rapport
Rapport Exercises

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Rapport, Influence, Communication, Language, Beliefs, Values, Symbolic, Iconic

The Podcasts Are Here…

RCG — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:34:42 +0000

Today we have started a steady stream of weekly releases of our discussions and dialogues on various topics such as NLP, Business, Leadership, Mythology, and Spirituality. As podcasts are published, they will appear under the corresponding sections.

Keep coming back each week to listen to a new edition. Or, better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed (using iTunes or any other podcast reader), and be on top of all our latest releases!

Enjoy,

The Change Architects – Enabling Sensible Changes (c)

#1 Introduction to NLP

RCG — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:31:07 +0000

Hello, World!

The Radical Change Group presents a series of weekly conversations andinterviews on Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Business, Leadership,
Mythology, and Spirituality.

This is the first podcast in the series, introducing you to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP for short.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to psychotherapy and a “model of interpersonal communications”^[1] based on the subjective study of language, communication and change. It was co-founded by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s as a method of personal development. They developed a set of practices and techniques based on modeling successful psychotherapists of the time. (Wikipedia)

In this podcast the discussions focuses on:

Introducing your hosts
What is NLP? And our approaches to it.
Genetic limitations – or are they?
Brief history of NLP
On using canned NLP techniques
NLP and Science
NLP Presuppositions
Benefits of NLP
Learning NLP
Concluding remarks

Enjoy!

Technocrati Tags: NLP, Presuppositions, Communication

The Radical Change Group^TM
^{^.}