Shera R. Sever: Igniting the Spark™

Last night, I had the opportunity to hear one of my earlier mentors, CJ Hayden ,speak as part of the monthly meeting at Spirit and Work Resource Center in Berkeley, CA. CJ, a principle at Wings Business Coaching, was a wonderful role model for me when I started Resumes That Work™ back in 1995.

Now the author of two books, CJ has found her true calling as a coach for social entrepreneurs- a calling that resonates with the core of my being as well.

In her presentation, she highlighted a very important distinction between a socially responsible business and a social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurs are first and foremost Change Agents. Their reason for being is to lead SOCIAL CHANGE with an entrepreneurial approach. They are not merely socially conscious business owners with a desire to reduce their environmental footprint.

One of my long term clients, CEO Women in Oakland, CA is a perfect example of social entrepreneurship. Executive Director, Farhana Huq has received multiple awards and micro loans with the “Start Your Own Business” training for immigrant and refugee women.

So how do Social Entrepreneurs fund their ventures and earn a living?

• Micro-enterprise loans (Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank)
• Non-profit organizations with earned income- (Delancy Street in San Francisco)
• Teaching, writing, speaking engagements that fund their ventures
• Grants, fellowships, or awards
• Through another business that runs the social venture (examples: Paul Newman’s Own Foundation or Steven Van Yoder and the GIVE Foundation )
• Selling products and services from the social venture itself: (example: Lila Igram and Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund)
• Through a working spouse or parent (wow!- any extra spouses or parents out there to support my vision and venture?)

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” ~ Joel Barker

Conscious Capitalism is what we’re talking about, and I am committed to leading social entrpreneurs’ visions to action.

The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world-we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep,to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.

-Joanna Macy, author World as Self, World as Lover

The Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Initiative held it’s second Global Gathering on the campus of Mills College in Oakland, CA on June 26-29.

Nearly 200 committed facilitators (including me) from four continents ,along with guest speakers Lynne Twist, Brian Swimme, and Joanne Macy , among others, gathered to re-affirm, apply, and expand our commitment to an environmentally sustainable, socially just, spiritually fulfilling presence on this planet as the guiding principle for these times.

The Global Gathering re-ignited in me what really is important – and what I am committed to- on a personal, professional, and collective level.

It’s easy to forget that real change begins with changing oneself.

At the conference, all of us felt and agreed that this is a most amazing time to be alive, that we don’t have all the answers, and that in fact, we may or may not be successful in creating the personal and collective changes that must take place now.

If we focus our actions on cooperation, not competition, on doing more with less, (and perhaps on DOING less and BEING more), heal our addictions to consumption, and re-claim the role of world citizen founded on interdependence and respect for the dignity of all life,we may be able to “turn the wheel” towards sustainable solutions.

Turning the Wheel. . .

• WHAT can I start doing today and the rest of the year to bring more cooperation and collaboration into the company culture, our teams, client relations, and communities?
• WHO am I mentoring? WHO are my mentors?
• WHO are my”emPower partners?” Is there a team, a social network, forum, panel, or consortium that can be formed with “competitors”?
• WHAT is my role and contribution to the “Great Turning”?
• What will future generations learn from and do with your contributions?

What is the New Survivalism? Visiting the Survival Blog touted in the NY Times, would have you buying bullet proof vest, arms and other “homeland security” items to ward off the impending doom.

It seems that in every gathering I  attended  this past  weekend, there was a discussion or conversation about food shortages, global warming, and getting “prepared”.  I have to admit that until this weekend, I had not placed these topics on the Urgent list in my own life planning.

 I am all for local food production, community-building and emergency plans, but the fear mania and the advertisements associated with the New Survivalism has me wanting to spend the rest of my years in Buddhist robes. 

Crazy Wisdom vs. New Survivalism

I went to see Wes (Scoop) Nisker and his “Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again”, comic monologue.  Although meant to lighten the human spirit and put the western ego in it’s proper place, he shared  many  insightful facts based on his many years of Buddhist meditation, teaching, and study in neuroscience and the evolution of the human brain.   Wes reminds us that there is less than 10% difference in the DNA strands that homo sapiens share with all other forms of life. 

Another conversation I had yesterday with a very diverse group of international  ”healers”, facilitators, and writers, touched upon MIchael Pollan’s masterpiece, “ The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. I am adding it to my list of “must reads”.

One thing for certain is that the American attitude of “Entitlement” needs to shift, now! It really is time for us all to wake up and live in a way that honors our interconnection. As a single woman living in an urban environment, I am seeing how important it is to gather the “tribes”- my extended families- and take some time to really discuss these matters, our commitments, and what we can offer each other in the face of great uncertainty, predicted chaos and violence.

We cannot have peace on the Earth, unless we also have peace with the Earth.
-Julia Butterfly Hill

Earth Day is near and dear to my heart, as I have been involved with sustainability since the early ’70′s working at one of the first recycling centers in the USA in a small community in the Midwest.

Our recycling center was part of a fund raising project, that enabled nearly 70 youth to travel and perform throughout western Europe as part of an international symphonic music festival. Having passing a very stringent audition, I fortunately, was able to participate as one of the youngest performers in the group. (And thus began my travel lust- another story. . .)

Fast forward to 1995, as an educator and content producer, I became involved with a regional committee here in the Bay Area that was drafting content for the Earth Charter. Since then, the Earth Charter has been translated into over 30 languages, is used in school and university curricula, and has been adopted by hundreds of cities internationally, as their “constitution”.

I joined the Pachamama Alliance several years ago, and enrolled in the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Facilitator Training. The ATD symposium is an absolute must for anyone who is truly committed to creating an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually uplifting presence on this planet. That same year (2006) I was the Managing Editor for the Sustainable World Sourcebook, now used as one of the many rich resources for personal ecology education and building sustainable communities. You can download a pdf here.

Paul Hawken has also been a source of inspiration and fuel for my commitment to sustainability education in the community and in the workplace. Visit WiserEarth and join this social network.

 There are so many actions we can take to honor and heal our Earth. Doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous and intelligent (even competitive).

One can make a difference.

Respect, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

In an earlier post this week, I cited the Oprah/Tolle webcast “dialogs”.

There’s a wonderful exercise that came out of last night’s webcast- about complaining.

Make a running list of all of your complaints or complaining thoughts for a week, and observe where that voice is coming from. It’s not you, just your egoic conditioning – according to Eckert Tolle, the true You is the one observing what your mind is doing.

Now, isn’t that interesting?

Another exercise that I have applied in the past to help me break negative thought patterns is to wear a rubber band around my wrist- everytime I have a complaining thought, I snap it- hard!

Seeing and feeling the sting helps bring me back to the present moment, and away from these negative thought patterns quickly. It feels so good to be present.

Finding stillness within is about being grateful

What is truer than truth? The Story. . .says Nobel Prize novelist Isabelle Allende.

She is a maverick, human rights activist, a raging feminist, historian, and a leader of the human heart and spirit. I have read all that this remarkable woman , story-teller, true magician of words has produced.  

Back in 2002, I swayed in a hammock along the Bays of Hueltulco (in Southern Mexico) and read Eckert Tolle’s The Power of Now , five times! I was in a mental obsessive state and found myself at peace after my “conversations” with Mr. Tolle.

In 2005, he released “The New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose“,
where Mr. Tolle continues to expand upon his theme and encourages us to be still and listen for the answer to one very important question:

“What does life want from me?”

The New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose is currently featured in Oprah’s Book Club and her new Soul Series: live web-events and global classroom

Click here to view.

With the exception of the advertising, I love this format for expanding consciousness.

The learning includes workbooks, live Q & A using Skype, and the option to download , view or listen to the webcast from your iphone/ipod, anytime!

There is a new “race” in consciousness. As an educator, writer, and content producer, I am very excited about the possibilities. Learning has never been so much fun and accessible!

My, it ‘s been some time since I’ve posted here. I decided to start the new year on a holiday in Maui (my first time on that magical island).

It was truly a wonderful way to refresh and rejuvenate, release a lot of monkey mind clutter, eat lightly, do yoga with community, and get clear on what’s important to me.

I imagine many of you have been to Maui, but if not, I highly, highly recommend the Hana Coast. I felt such a deep peace there and rate her exquisite beauty right along with several other of my favorite places: the Baleares Islands (Spain), the Cyclades (Greece), Bali, and several islands in Southern Thailand (Koh Lanta, Ko Samui, et. al.). Yes, I’m an island girl.

I re-discovered what CLARITY is on this journey and that no matter how many goal-setting programs/workshops we participate in, if we don’t SEE and FEEL the DESIRE for an intended reality (as if it is occurring NOW) then the goal remains just that- a wish on a list.

That’s why I am such an advocate of Vision Boards and Vision Statements. They are fantastic platforms for COLLABORATING and COMMUNICATING with OTHERS what we see US (you, me, them, ) CREATING. We are living in most amazing times of radical shifts and unprecedented change. Breathe into your heart and discover what makes YOU come ALIVE. Share Your Visions.

Producer Annie Leonard, along with the Tides Foundation and an impressive list of NGO’s have done a terrific job at synthesizing a very complex reality in this revealing movie. For all my colleagues who are educators, how can we promote and incorporate this into our middle school and high school curricula? I believe this could also very easily be used as teaching tool in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. Would love to hear your comments.

Story of Stuff

Even if you’re sitting on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” -Will Rogers

Like many clients I have worked with, I am a Personality Type Seven in the Enneagram System meaning, I like to keep my options open. In Northern California, some call this “going with the flow”, and may use this strategy as their chosen methodology for postponing decision-making and commitments.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am all for being in the flow. After all, that’s where magic happens. There is a great awareness that arises in this “Being with What Is”- or as Gil Fronsdal calls it, the Practice of “Not-Knowing”. Socrates said, “The realization of not knowing is the beginning of wisdom.” Practicing being comfortable with the unknown, yet trusting in an inherent wisdom by keeping the channel open is what Martha Graham coined, “The Blessed Unrest”.

I have spent many months in this “Blessed Unrest, practicing the “Not-Knowing” inquiry. I’ve learned to befriend radical uncertainty. When we practice being comfortable with the unknown, a deep inner knowing does emerge of a what is possible. This or something better! We don’t need to have all the answers to take action towards a desired outcome.

With the recent explosion of The Secret & The Law of Attraction, we have all been reminded that desires and passion coupled with focused intention and trust is the most powerful formula for manifestation. In order to create change and see specific results, it is essential to put our attention on what we want.

The Key is to FOCUS on the OUTCOME
as if it already EXISTS.

So, do you want to create the momentum that will produce optimal results in your business or organization? Would you like to attract more ideal clients? Increase your revenue? Double your income? Transition into a new career? Try these seemingly simple steps for 60 days and see the results:

1. Write your goals as affirmations. Writing is essential.It creates suggestion in the subconscious. Use present tense, with specifics: It is now March 2008, I have/am________ or my company is/has________.
Write what you will be doing and feeling when you are living in this outcome. Include as much detail as possible for evidence of achievement. This is a critical component in knowing/seeing that you have achieved your desired outcome.

2. Read these goals aloud 2-3 times a day- first thing in the morning and right before bedtime is very effective.

3. Use visuals to support your goals/affirmations: Create a collage or vision board. If you are leading a management team, facilitating a change initiative or strategic visioning process, I recommend using more sophisticated graphic template guides such as those available at www.grove.com.

4. Surround yourself with people who will support the achievement of your outcomes and hold you to high standards. Remove yourself from people and environments that do not support your vision.

5. Get inspired. Read autobiographies and biographies of your heroes, living or not. I was very motivated in my recent re-reading of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and following his “secret” 100%.

6. Saturate yourself with learning. Engage in personal development workshops and seminars. Harv Eker’s Millionaire Mind Intensives and Guerilla Business School are life-changing.

7. Vow to Play a Bigger Game. Marianne Williamson said it best: “. . . we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

8. Maintain a consistent exercise program and balanced, healthy nutrition. Drink plenty of water. Reduce/eliminate sugar, alcohol, caffeine and red meat intake.

9. Every moment is a choice point. Living in this realization is very empowering. If you find yourself unclear at a choice point, be with the uncertainty. As one of my mentors often reminded me in times of anxiety or fear: ‘Don’t do anything, just be still.” Allow the inner flame of clarity to emerge. Then, refer back to the picture /words of your DESIRED OUTCOME and select an ACTION(S) that propels you towards your desires and goals.

10. Have fun with the process and enjoy the journey!

If it’s humanly possible, you CAN DO IT!

We all need support. Are you seeking a professional partner and vision keeper committed to helping you achieve desired outcomes in your business, organization, or with your “blessed unrest”? If so, contact me.  I’m here to serve!