Tag Archives: Personal Power

The Master Key System — Part 1

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Part One of a classic written by Charles F. Haanel in 1912, speaking of personal power, control, abundance, and potential:

PART ONE

1. That much gathers more is true on every plane of existence and that loss leads to greater loss is equally true.

2. Mind is creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the result of our habitual or predominant mental attitude.

3. The attitude of mind necessarily depends upon what we think. Therefore, the secret of all power, all achievement and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.

4. This is true because we must “be” before we can “do,” and we can “do” only to the extent which we “are,” and what we “are” depends upon what we “think.”

5. We cannot express powers that we do not possess. The only way by which we may secure possession of power is to become conscious of power, and we can never become conscious of power until we learn that all power is from within.

6. There is a world within – a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and life and beauty and, although invisible, its forces are mighty.

7. The world within is governed by mind. When we discover this world we shall find the solution for every problem, the cause for every effect; and since the world within is subject to our control, all laws of power and possession are also within our control.

8. The world without is a reflection of the world within. What appears without is what has been found within. In the world within may be found infinite Wisdom, infinite Power, infinite Supply of all that is necessary, waiting for unfoldment, development and expression. If we recognize these potentialities in the world within they will take form in the world without.

9. Harmony in the world within will be reflected in the world without by harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, the best of everything. It is the foundation of health and a necessary essential to all greatness, all power, all attainment, all achievement and all success.

10. Harmony in the world within means the ability to control our thoughts, and to determine for ourselves how any experience is to affect us.

11. Harmony in the world within results in optimism and affluence; affluence within results in affluence without.

12. The world without reflects the circumstances and the conditions of the consciousness within.

13. If we find wisdom in the world within, we shall have the understanding to discern the marvelous possibilities that are latent in this world within, and we shall be given the power to make these possibilities manifest in the world without.

14. As we become conscious of the wisdom in the world within, we mentally take possession of this wisdom, and by taking mental possession we come into actual possession of the power and wisdom necessary to bring into manifestation the essentials necessary for our most complete and harmonious development.

15. The world within is the practical world in which the men and women of power generate courage, hope, enthusiasm, confidence, trust and faith, by which they are given the fine intelligence to see the vision and the practical skill to make the vision real.

16. Life is an unfoldment, not accretion. What comes to us in the world without is what we already possess in the world within.

17. All possession is based on consciousness. All gain is the result of an accumulative consciousness. All loss is the result of a scattering consciousness.

18. Mental efficiency is contingent upon harmony; discord means confusion; therefore, he who would acquire power must be in harmony with Natural Law.

19. We are related to the world without by the objective mind. The brain is the organ of this mind and the cerebro-spinal system of nerves puts us in conscious communication with every part of the body. This system of nerves responds to every sensation of light, heat, odor, sound and taste.

20. When this mind thinks correctly, when it understands the truth, when the thoughts sent through the cerebro-spinal nervous system to the body are constructive, these sensations are pleasant, harmonious.

21. The result is that we build strength, vitality and all constructive forces into our body, but it is through this same objective mind that all distress, sickness, lack, limitation and every form of discord and inharmony is admitted to our lives. It is therefore through the objective mind, by wrong thinking, that we are related to all destructive forces.

22. We are related to the world within by the subconscious mind. The solar plexus is the organ of this mind; the sympathetic system of nerves presides over all subjective sensations, such as joy, fear, love, emotion, respiration, imagination and all other subconscious phenomena. It is through the subconscious that we are connected with the Universal Mind and brought into relation with the Infinite constructive forces of the Universe.

23. It is the coordination of these two centers of our being, and the understanding of their functions, which is the great secret of life. With this knowledge we can bring the objective and subjective minds into conscious cooperation and thus coordinate the finite and the infinite. Our future is entirely within our own control. It is not at the mercy of any capricious or uncertain external power.

24. All agree that there is but one Principle or Consciousness pervading the entire Universe, occupying all space, and being essentially the same in kind at every point of its presence. It is all powerful, all wisdom and always present. All thoughts and things are within Itself. It is all in all.

25. There is but one consciousness in the universe able to think; and when it thinks, its thoughts become objective things to it. As this Consciousness is omnipresent, it must be present within every individual; each individual must be a manifestation of that Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Consciousness.

26. As there is only one Consciousness in the Universe that is able to think it necessarily follows that your consciousness is identical with the Universal Consciousness, or, in other words, all mind is one mind. There is no dodging this conclusion.

27. The consciousness that focuses in your brain cells is the same consciousness which focuses in the brain cells of every other individual. Each individual is but the individualization of the Universal, the Cosmic Mind.

28. The Universal Mind is static or potential energy; it simply is; it can manifest only through the individual, and the individual can manifest only through the Universal. They are one.

29. The ability of the individual to think is his ability to act on the Universal and bring it into manifestation. Human consciousness consists only in the ability of man to think. Mind in itself is believed to be a subtle form of static energy, from which arises the activities called ‘thought,’ which is the dynamic phase of mind. Mind is static energy, thought is dynamic energy – the two phases of the same thing. Thought is therefore the vibratory force formed by converting static mind into dynamic mind.

30. As the sum of all attributes are contained in the Universal Mind, which is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent, these attributes must be present at all times in their potential form in every individual. Therefore, when the individual thinks, the thought is compelled by its nature to embody itself in an objectivity or condition which will correspond with its origin.

31. Every thought therefore is a cause and every condition an effect; for this reason it is absolutely essential that you control your thoughts so as to bring forth only desirable conditions.

32. All power is from within, and is absolutely under your control; it comes through exact knowledge and by the voluntary exercises of exact principles.

33. It should be plain that when you acquire a thorough understanding of this law, and are able to control your thought processes, you can apply it to any condition; in other words, you will have come into conscious cooperation with Omnipotent law which is the fundamental basis of all things.

34. The Universal Mind is the life principle of every atom which is in existence; every atom is continually striving to manifest more life; all are intelligent, and all are seeking to carry out the purpose for which they were created.

35. A majority of mankind lives in the world without; few have found the world within, and yet it is the world within that makes the world without; it is therefore creative and everything which you find in your world without has been created by you in the world within.

36. This system will bring you into a realization of power which will be yours when you understand this relation between the world without and the world within. The world within is the cause, the world without the effect; to change the effect you must change the cause.

37. You will at once see that this is a radically new and different idea; most men try to change effects by working with effects. They fail to see that this is simply changing one form of distress for another. To remove discord, we must remove the cause, and this cause can be found only in the world within.

38. All growth is from within. This is evident in all nature. Every plant, every animal, every human is a living testimony to this great law, and the error of the ages is in looking for strength or power from without.

39. The world within is the Universal fountain of supply, and the world without is the outlet to the stream. Our ability to receive depends upon our recognition of this Universal Fountain, this Infinite Energy of which each individual is an outlet, and so is one with every other individual.

40. Recognition is a mental process, mental action is therefore the interaction of the individual upon the Universal Mind, and as the Universal Mind is the intelligence which pervades all space and animates all living things, this mental action and reaction is the law of causation, but the principle of causation does not obtain in the individual but in the Universal Mind. It is not an objective faculty but a subjective process, and the results are seen in an infinite variety of conditions and experiences.

41. In order to express life there must be mind; nothing can exist without mind. Everything which exists is some manifestation of this one basic substance from which and by which all things have been created and are continually being recreated.

42. We live in a fathomless sea of plastic mind substance. This substance is ever alive and active. It is sensitive to the highest degree. It takes form according to the mental demand. Thought forms the mold or matrix from which the substance expresses.

43. Remember that it is in the application alone that the value consists, and that a practical understanding of this law will substitute abundance for poverty, wisdom for ignorance, harmony for discord and freedom for tyranny, and certainly there can be no greater blessing than these from a material and social standpoint.

44. Now make the application: Select a room where you can be alone and undisturbed; sit erect, comfortably, but do not lounge; let your thoughts roam where they will but be perfectly still for from fifteen minutes to half an hour; continue this for three or four days or for a week until you secure full control of your physical being.

45. Many will find this extremely difficult; others will conquer with ease, but it is absolutely essential to secure complete control of the body before you are ready to progress. Next week you will receive instructions for the next step; in the meantime you must have mastered this one.

41. In order to express life there must be mind; nothing can exist without mind. Everything which exists is some manifestation of this one basic substance from which and by which all things have been created and are continually being recreated.

42. We live in a fathomless sea of plastic mind substance. This substance is ever alive and active. It is sensitive to the highest degree. It takes form according to the mental demand. Thought forms the mold or matrix from which the substance expresses.

43. Remember that it is in the application alone that the value consists, and that a practical understanding of this law will substitute abundance for poverty, wisdom for ignorance, harmony for discord and freedom for tyranny, and certainly there can be no greater blessing than these from a material and social standpoint.

44. Now make the application: Select a room where you can be alone and undisturbed; sit erect, comfortably, but do not lounge; let your thoughts roam where they will but be perfectly still for from fifteen minutes to half an hour; continue this for three or four days or for a week until you secure full control of your physical being.

45. Many will find this extremely difficult; others will conquer with ease, but it is absolutely essential to secure complete control of the body before you are ready to progress. Next week you will receive instructions for the next step; in the meantime you must have mastered this one.

from:   http://www.psitek.net/pages/PsiTekTMKS3.html

The Hathors through Tom Kenyon on Chaotic Nodes

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THE EMERGENCE OF MULTIPLE CHAOTIC NODES (Deutsch)

A Hathor Message through Tom Kenyon

Your planet is entering a critical transition state, characterized by a multiplicity of Chaotic Nodes.

In our previous communications we have discussed the changes taking place on your Earth in the context of a single Chaotic Node. But from our viewpoint, multiple Chaotic Nodes are now emerging. These complex interacting nodes involve such things as radical weather anomalies, increases in earthquake and volcanic activity, critical challenges to the planet’s eco-systems, challenges to agriculture and food sources, as well as political and economic volatility.

In addition to these planetary Chaotic Nodes, the sun of your solar system is entering a greater level of volatility and unpredictability as well. It is entering into multiple Chaotic Nodes itself, driven by its own internal cycles, but also greatly impacted, as we have said in previous messages, by the galactic center.

The physical challenges you will face in the near future are many, but our message at this time does not concern the physical dimension of these difficulties. These changes, and their resulting challenges, will be apparent to anyone who looks beneath the surface of current events.

Our focus in this communication is on the emotional and spiritual crisis you are facing.

When a system enters multiple Chaotic Nodes there is increased stress on those elements or beings that reside in the vibratory level of existence where the Chaotic Nodes are taking place.

Let us speak to this for a moment in terms other than human existence. From our experience, other dimensions of consciousness and existence are also experiencing their own version of multiple Chaotic Nodes. Thus, the energetic challenges you are facing are not limited just to Earth, but extend to all dimensions of consciousness and all beings, including non-corporeal (energy beings without bodies), who are related to Earth and this galaxy.

But let us come down to Earth, to the nexus point of your existence in time and space.

As we said earlier, beings living in a realm of existence undergoing multiple Chaotic Nodes will be inevitably stressed by increases in chaotic events.

As chaotic elements within planetary weather patterns increase, as challenges to agriculture multiply, and as economic problems grow, there will be an increase in global human anxiety.

This type of anxiety tends to center around physical survival, and while anxiety about survival can drive human beings into a type of madness and irrationality, there is something more insidious and hidden in the current transition state you are now entering.

This hidden danger has to do with thought forms perpetuated by some of your major religions and spiritual traditions. These thought forms and belief systems maintain the notion that there is a separation between the physical and the interdimensional (spiritual) aspects of your existence. The physical world is viewed as tainted; nature is seen as something to be subdued and dominated (as opposed to co-creating with the natural world), and in essence, the world is viewed as something to be escaped from.

We do not share this belief. Our experience is that consciousness is one continuum from the highest vibrations of light into the lowest vibrations of matter and that the very atoms and subatomic particles that comprise your world are, by their very nature, sacred – if by sacred you mean related to the whole.

As the stresses generated by multiple Chaotic Nodes increase, there will be a tendency for many humans to enter delusional and dissociative states of consciousness.

Those who adhere to the thought form that there is an eternal schism between the realms of matter and those of spirit will be most prone to this aberration in consciousness. And as stresses increase, due to the complex interaction of multiple Chaotic Nodes, there will be a marked tendency for some of these individuals to be separated further and further from the realities of the physical dimension. This type of communal dissociation will be further driven by religious and spiritual thought forms regarding “the End Times,” “the Day of Judgment,” and the “Purification of Earth.” This delusional state of mind will become a type of collective mental/emotional virus as whole groups of individuals succumb to stress and overwhelm as they struggle to deal with the global effects of multiple Chaotic Nodes.

 

Lines in the Sand

From our perspective, a line is being drawn in the sands of human consciousness. And this line is nothing less than the demarcation between those who uphold the schism between matter and spirit as perpetuated by the world’s major religions and those who don’t.

What side of this line you stand on will determine to a great extent what you are open to, in terms of planetary and personal transformation.

All Initiates must determine for themselves, what is true and not true, especially when it comes to this religiously perpetuated schism between matter and spirit. And by Initiates, we simply mean those who strive to live upward in consciousness, regardless of the method or spiritual traditions they follow.

 

The Path of the Heart

From our perspective, the threshold for an Initiate from the lower vibrational worlds into the upper worlds is, first and foremost, through the heart. This transit of consciousness is essentially an inner journey from the lower chakras to the higher chakras. It is only when an Initiate both transcends and transforms his or her personal fixation on security, sex and power that the upward spiral opens. And the entrance into this upward spiral of consciousness occurs when the heart chakra becomes energetically open and permeable.

The paradox and the difficulty is that you live in a dualistic universe, and virtually any action you take is met by a counter-force. This paradox and difficulty is like a metaphorical grain of sand in an oyster; it is irritating. But through the process of self-evolution, the irritation (i.e. duality) becomes a pearl, and paradoxically, something of value emerges from that which was problematic. But each Initiate must create this pearl of self-transformation for him or herself. No religion, no master, no teacher or guru can do it for you.

It may sound too simplistic but, in our experience, the greatest evolutionary catalyst, and the greatest vibratory field of safety to bridge transition states (such as the one you are collectively entering), is through the heart, your heart.

Let us be more specific here. As the number of Chaotic Nodes increases, the challenges to mental and emotional stability will multiply. And as a result, increasing numbers of individuals will enter irrational states of consciousness. There will be a tendency for these individuals to act out in self-destructive ways. And because you are connected to all life on this planet, you will be affected to some extent by the emotional turmoil of others.

Thus it would be of great benefit to you as an Initiate, to cultivate a coherent emotional state, something you return to again and again, reinforcing what we call a positive attractor.

Then it will be as if you have an energetic bubble of coherency around you. You will be able to see clearly and respond to the dualistic world you live in, yet your vibratory essence will remain protected from the increasing levels of chaos and irrationality of others. How you do this is your choice. There are many ways to accomplish this. We will simply offer two.

The first is the most basic and fundamental but is the foundation for the more advanced. We are well aware that many persons reading these messages are new to this type of information, while others are very advanced, which is why we are offering two techniques.

 

The Basic Technique

This first method is for those unfamiliar with the vastness of their own inner consciousness. It is simple but highly effective.

We recommend you regularly cultivate this coherent state in the garden of your mind.

To accomplish this, you simply reside in the feelings of appreciation or gratitude, without any reason to do so. In other words, you are not looking to something in your environment or your life to feel appreciation or gratitude for. You simply enter into this vibratory state for no other reason other than choosing to do so.

This vibratory state creates a coherency in your body and mind, and it is a type of mental/emotional upliftment that acts as a counter-balance to the downward spiral many humans will be experiencing.

We recommend that you enter this emotional state several times a day. Just a minute or two is all that is needed, but by entering into this vibratory state throughout the day, you train your brain/mind/body to enter into a coherent state at will. And this will be a very helpful and important mind-skill as you enter further into this planetary transition state (i.e. the emergence of multiple Chaotic Nodes).

One reason we say that this mind-skill will be helpful to you is due to the inherent effects of multiple Chaotic Nodes.

Many of you will find greater opportunities for frustration in your daily life. This is because actions taken will increasingly not lead to the result anticipated. Even those of you who are intellectually gifted and masters of manifestation may find blocks and unanticipated hindrances, due to no causation on your part, but rather due to the actions or inactions of others, as well as unanticipated problems caused by the increase of chaotic events in the world around you. Thus, when you find yourself at your wit’s end, so to speak, if you have cultivated the positive attractor of appreciation or gratitude you can use it to intervene into your own emotional turmoil, for if you succumb to your own emotional stress the contagion of mass hysteria is more likely to reach you.

Think of this simple technique as a lifesaver. It’s something passive, you just rest in it, and it creates a vibratory field that by its very nature protects your emotional and spiritual essence.

 

The Advanced Technique

The second technique we wish to share is for those of you who are more experienced with your inner worlds.

We discussed the first part of this method in a previous message called Ecstasy and the Heart.

The technique involves focusing on the physical heart, not the heart chakra, and while focusing your attention on the physical heart you enter into the state of appreciation or gratitude (just as with the simple method we gave earlier).

The effect of holding your awareness in the physical heart while experiencing appreciation or gratitude creates bliss or ecstasy if you hold the two together long enough.

Once you enter bliss or ecstasy you become aware of the space between the atoms of your body and your environment. This is a shift of mental attention and is based on the quantum reality that physical matter is over 99% space.

Obviously, you do not perceive this space between the atoms of your body and your immediate environment through your physical senses due to the limitations of your nervous system. But the non-local aspect of your consciousness that is unfettered by the limitations of your physical reality can experience this space.

The final stage of this technique involves a shifting of attention. As you become aware of this space in your body and the space around you, you perform a paradoxical feat of consciousness. You send the appreciation and gratitude you are experiencing, both to the space within your body and to the space around you, as well to the particles of matter that comprise your body and the world around you.

This “holding” of both space and matter in the vibratory realm of appreciation or gratitude will eventually reveal your nature as both an embodied and un-embodied being—as a being living through a physical body or form and simultaneously as a consciousness unbounded by form. If you persist with this method, it will eventually open a miraculous doorway for you, a doorway that leads to profound insights regarding the nature of ascension.

In regard to choosing which method to use, we suggest you begin where you are.

The first method, though simple, is highly effective at protecting you from the contagion of human irrationality and will lift you upward into the currents of the upward spiral, even as those around you spiral downward.

When you feel you are ready, you can explore the advanced method. This is not a marathon race to see who can get to the advanced method the quickest.

The only thing that is required is that you reside in appreciation or gratitude as often as possible without causation. This simple vibratory realm will be a great ally to you as you pass through the current planetary transition state.

Another ally to you in this transition is a meditation we gave in one of our previous communications. We call it The Crystal Palace Within, and we encourage you to experiment with it. If it speaks to you, use it often for it connects you to the wisdom of Gaia (Earth) and enlivens a central conduit for the higher realms of your existence known to your science as your pineal gland and known to us as the jewel in the head.

(For those of you planning to join us for the World Meditation on November 11th of this year (11/11/11), we ask that you work with The Crystal Palace Meditation as often as is convenient, to prepare you for the next Dimensional Attunement, which will be used during the World Meditation.)

This Dimensional Attunement will be a sound meditation created to transmit light into the pituitary gland, the master regulator of your endocrine system. We will be giving instructions on how to use this sound meditation on your own and for use during the world meditation on 11/11/11.

We will post the Pituitary Dimensional Attunement (sound meditation) in the Sound Gifts section of the website at the end of September or the beginning of October.

 

Summary

As we said at the beginning of this message, you are entering a critical transition state. For those unfamiliar with our previous message entitled Transition States of Consciousness, we strongly suggest that you take a look at this communication.

Your Earth is entering a perilous period in its upward movement. Many aspects of your reality will be changing right before your eyes, more rapidly than you could ever have imagined.

Due to the acceleration of time, the transformation of your civilization will increase exponentially. Your word “transformation” literally means moving beyond form, thus the structures of your reality (meaning the thought forms and beliefs as well as the external realities of your life) will be undergoing rapid change.

A greater fluidity of consciousness is required. Protection of your vibratory essence is vital. You are entering harrowing times and yet in this complexity there are immense opportunities for your own personal evolution.

We believe that there will be a greater polarization between people as the Chaotic Nodes increase in number and intensity. And yet even in the midst of that polarization, if your heart/mind is open you will have moments of deep communion with others, even strangers, whenever you look into the eyes of another human being who recognizes the sacredness of this moment, the sacredness of life, and the sacredness of this Earth.

Our thoughts and blessings are with you.

The Hathors
August 12, 2011

from:    http://www.spiritofmaat.com/feb12/emergence_of_multiple_chaotic_nodes.html

 

Change, Community, and Personal Power

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Michele Hunt

Transformation Catalyst; Author, ‘Putting Vision and Values To Work’

 The Genie Is Out of the Bottle — People Everywhere are Claiming Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
Posted: 12/ 2/11 09:44 AM

As we look around our world we see a plethora of outcries, protest and revolutions demanding change. On the surface they seem to be very different groups with different agendas, from vastly different cultures, different races and even different generations. The remarkable thing however, is that this phenomena is happening almost everywhere, in the same timeframe and at a volume unlike anything we have seen in the history of humankind. This should cause us to ask some very important, fundamental questions:

  • On a deep level, could there be some common yearnings in people that connect all of these cries for change?
  • Why now and why everywhere; is there a common cause beyond the obvious economic and political conditions?
  • Could there be a shared vision of life’s possibilities and potential growing in the hearts and minds of people around the world?

In the mist of the chaos and confusion of our time we tend to be too blinded by our “day to day” struggles and parochial focus, to see what might be unfolding on a macro bases. When I step back and listen to what people are saying — fundamentally, I hear the same cry for change. The “Arab Spring” revolutionaries in the Middle East; the “Occupy Wall Street” protestors in cities across in the world; the anti-globalization protesters at the G-20 Summit, all seem to be demanding the right be free to pursue their hopes and dreams.

While the messages of these revolts and protest speak to specific conditions: ending oppressive dictatorships, ending the income inequality, the fear of the growing marriage between corporations and governments, I believe the core message is fundamentally the same — PEOPLE FIRST! People around the world have evolved to the place where they are claiming their unalienable rights.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The essence of this profound statement from the United States Declaration of Independence is shared by a rapidly growing number of people around the world, and impassioned US citizens are finding the courage to claim their Rights.

Why Now!

Since the beginning of the “civilized” world, people have been serving governments, businesses, institutions and the economic systems that support them. Under this model the world has seen continuous war and conflict, poverty, pain and the degradation of our planet. I believe the most devastating affect of putting people last, has been the damage to our individual and collective self-esteem, which has dampened the human spirit.

People are changing! People are now demanding an authentic shift in power from governments, institutions and systems to PEOPLE FIRST. We may be on the cusp of actualizing the social model most people have dreamed about and countries have fought for — a model that is — “of the people, by the people, for the people”. This radical change is evidenced by the proliferation of social media technology. Massive numbers of people and organizations are creating the technological tools to enable people all over the world to connect to one another, in real-time, unencumbered by governments, institutions, media, geography and cultures. Even language barriers are diminishing, thanks to Google translate.

The social media revolution is a phenomena created by people, for people. This revolution has dramatically enabled people to communicate with one another igniting what I call a “PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE movement. This movement is growing at an exponential pace. The Arab Spring spread across the Middle East in a matter of months. The Occupy Wall Street movement, started in September of this year in New York City and San Francisco — today the Occupy Together Meetup website reports there are 2,683 Occupy communities throughout the world, including 95 countries around the world — all this momentum in just two and a half months.

In the early stages of these movements people were perplexed, critical and many were dismissive about their validity. Today many people believe they have the potential to go viral. It is not just the protesters we see in the streets crying for change — listen to your neighbors, the conversations at your local restaurants and bars and the conversations around the dinner tables — the silent majority’s frustration levels are nearing a breaking point.

It is impossible to calibrate the impact all of these movements and technological developments will have on governments and civil societies around the world in 1-3 years — I believe it will be enormous. The People-To-People movement is eliminating the barriers and boundaries that separate us. This is a historical game changer never before realized in the history of humankind. This movement is messy, unpredictable, and wrought with ambiguity. The old forms of social control are not working and this is creating fear, and confusion. At the same time, something far more profound is happening. On a very deep level people are beginning to understand that we all have far more in common than we differ. We are discovering common values and aspirations that transcend nations, cultures, race, ages and circumstances. We are learning that what people value most is fundamentally the same: Everyone shares the need:

  • To connect with others
  • To participate – be included, be heard
  • To contribute our talents and gifts towards something that matters to us
  • To learn and grow
  • To be recognized
  • To have a sense of belonging
  • Ultimately, to be loved

I strongly believe these universally shared-values resonate with all of us. Growing up, I was raised a GI Brat living in many places around the world. Over the last 25 years I have traveled 50-80% every year working in cities on every continent except Antarctica. I have worked in and with corporations, governments, and nonprofit organizations. I worked in a halfway house for adult female inmates and a prison for adult male felony offenders. In my diverse journey I have yet to find anyone who did not want to be included, to be heard, to be valued, recognized and to be loved.

The growing People-To-People movement, enabled by the social media revolution is bringing us out of the dark ages. We are becoming aware of the fact that everyone and everything is related. We are inextricably connected and bonded by a powerful life force that compels us to grow, evolve and pursue our dreams.

This new consciousness is rippling and multiplying across our world almost as fast as the technology that carries it. Although the media focuses on the negative aspects of people connecting to people, if we look below the waterline we will see that people are breaking out of the patterns of cynicism, hopelessness and despair and discovering the individual and collective power we all have within us to change our reality. The rapidly evolving internet technology has become a powerful tool for social, environmental and political action — and it is unstoppable!

A New Vision

What we need is a new story for the future of humankind. It is a new day; the past has relinquished its hold on the future. We need is vision that is inclusive and born out of our universally shared human values. A vision that inspires us to overcome our fears and compels us to recreate our governments, institutions, organizations and communities to be worthy of peoples commitment.

Imagine governments that authentically serve the will of the people — participatory democracies that are inclusive and transparent.

Imagine leaders having the self-confidence, inner strength and wisdom to become what Robert Greenleaf called — servant leaders. Leaders who see leadership as a function rather than a status.

Imagine corporations and consumers alike working together for the good of all. Corporations and business committed sustainable value — doing well and doing good as a viable business model. And people, making the commitment and having the discipline to buy products from companies and patronize businesses whose products, decisions and actions are ethically, socially and environmentally responsible.

Simon Mainwaring’s new book W First, proposes a compelling argument why we must alter the current free market capitalism from destructive capitalism to sustainable capitalism. He offers a new vision and specific ideas to “transform the entire private sector, corporations and consumers alike — into a force for global renewal” Mainwaring believes that We First is neither anti-capitalist nor anti-wealth. It is pro-prosperity”. He defines prosperity as — “Well-being for all” and believes that in the long run serving everyone’s interest also serves our own.

There are a growing number of companies and consumers that share Mainwaring’s vision of prosperity.

  • There are innovative mobile phone applications that enable consumers to become ethical shoppers. Barcoo, developed by a group of young Germans, is a free download application that allows customers to point their mobile phones at the barcode on products while shopping to cheek a company’s performance on social and environmental responsibility. It even gives information on how a company treats its staff.
  • Some Internet gaming developers and companies are beginning to use social gaming to solve real-world problems. Zynga, the worlds largest social gaming company is developing “Games for Good”. According to NPD Group, a marketing research firm, the on-line gaming industry, has grown into a 15.7 billion dollar industry – 60 million Americans have played a game on-line. Imagine if the Apps for Good trend accelerates.
  • A company out of Amsterdam, Oat Shoes, has developed sneakers that are attractive and environmentally friendly. When they wear out, bury them and they will blossom. OAT Shoes states on their website “The future of fashion lies in reconciliation between nature and industry. OAT Shoes strives to lead the way to that future”.

People are becoming passionate about changing the world. The explosion of social networking through internet technology is a powerful example of people’s hunger to connect with one another. People are not just demanding change — they are making change happen.

Communities of like-minded people are redefining ways of being together; moving from hierarchical, exclusive, separate constructs, to inclusive communities that flourish on the flow of ideas around common interest. While the media focuses on the abuses and destructive groups on the internet, there are far more positive communities creating new thinking, new possibilities and generating new actions and movements for change. People are coming up with bold ideas to change our world, many of which do not require a lot of money. They are not asking for permission or forgiveness but rather putting their ideas to work. The number of social networking groups connecting, learning and working together to solve problems is amazing. This authentic shift of Power to people has the potential to impact everyone and every segment of our society.

The genie is out of the bottle! People are claiming their power. That energy cannot be forced, coerced, bribed or beaten back into that the old controlling structures, systems or mindsets. The People-To-People movement, enabled by the powerful social media revolution, leads me to believe that a massive global movement to transform society’s unhealthy systems, structures and behaviors, to enable all life to flourish — is possible.

from:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/people-to-people-movement_b_1125381.html?ref=impact&ir=Impact