Barbara Canez is new!

Barbara will now author Eco Being.  Don’t miss her debut!

“The times they are a-changin’.” We see and feel it all around us. In politics, in the climate, and most recently, in the economy. In this special interim mailing, we would like to offer a simple invitation: choose to take action outside of the box. Acting outside the box can feel especially challenging, because change brings up uncertainty, and uncertainty can make us feel uncomfortable.

In our last newsletter, we discussed the personal box (or identity, or structure) we create based on all of the beliefs we hold about our life’s experiences. These beliefs become the filter through which we interpret every experience moving forward. Well, the same is true at the level of humanity: we have a set of cultural beliefs based on the entire history of human-kind and its collective interpretation of experience. After all, everything is interconnected, so why would the box be any different at the scale of the collective than what we experience personally?

Just as it happens at the individual level, collective cultural evolution happens when we free ourselves from our beliefs and make our structure flexible – more able to adapt to the circumstances of the present moment. What we are witnessing now is the evolution of our collective culture as experienced through the re-structuring of our economy. The old structure can no longer stand on the beliefs which have defined it to this point. What
is the outcome of this change? We don’t know. What we do know is that holding on to an outdated structure is futile. We all know the story: when change is afoot, the universe invites us along with a whisper at first, then a tap, then a knock, then a pound, and so on, until we get the message. This happens because it is the nature of the universe to balance itself. If we are the creators of our life in collaboration with Life at large, then this moment is our call to wake-up and consciously choose what to create next.

We can choose to hunker down, to ride it out. This is the familiar response to feeling out of control. What if instead we chose to take an action outside of the familiar box? What if we acknowledge that change is happening, that it generates fear in us, and in that admission, free ourselves to take a new action, from our creativity and awareness?

This is the simple invitation: to use our awareness, our conscious choice, to take an action based on creativity and inspiration, not on the habit of the collective box.

What can you do? Here are some ways you can take action right now if this simple invitation inspires you:

1. Send this invitation out to everyone you know. Cut and paste it, forward it in this format, edit it as your creativity dictates, create your own message: it does not matter. What does matter is to share the possibility with others that we can take action NOW in a new way. Like ripples in a pond, our conscious choices make a difference in the outcome of what we are experiencing. We can ally fear. We can offer a vision of balance. We can build a network of support. Our thoughts matter, our actions matter.

2. Create gatherings in your communities, your workplaces, your families, where a vision of smooth, graceful transition is held and sent out into the world. Many traditions have a form to gather in community in this way. If you do not have a tradition, then invent your own. Once again, there are no rules; there is only the choice to create anew, outside of the limitations of our old structures.

For our part, One Community Programs is taking these actions:

1. We are hosting a series of free bi-weekly teleclasses to gather in community and support conscious choice in every action from now until the end of November. See the schedule below and on our website.

2. We have added a blog “What Can You Imagine” on the homepage of our website where we ask everyone to share how they are taking action outside of the box, fueled by conscious choice. Your action will feed the collective consciousness and inspire others. We are sure of this beyond a doubt, so please share your creativity and inspiration with the world.

3. We are expanding the format and intention of our upcoming journey to Mexico to directly support the growing awareness that we create the quality of life on this planet with our conscious choice. We consolidate our power when we gather in community, with common purpose, to move through fear and limitation to new choice and action. The fee schedule for the trip will be based on total attendance, so the more participants we have, the lower the cost per person will be. The deeply reduced fee structure is a one time offering, funded by the generosity of anonymous individuals committed to the awakening and unity of humanity NOW. Please inquire if you are inspired to join us.

4. We will create a special live gathering across the miles on November 2, 2008 at 11:00 am eastern time to link those at home with those of us in Teotihuacan. Details will be sent out prior to October 30 describing how to engage with us in the Teotihuacan-World Meditation. Let us know if you are interested in this gathering, and we will send you the details.