Global Oneness Project

I can write about this in my little vacuum all I want, but here's a link to a project that's all about living this concept of oneness and interconnectedness.  Take the time to watch their latest movie, check out their great video library, and support them if you feel so inclined.

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Extreme Community Makeover

"American individualism, much celebrated and cherished, has developed without its essential corrective, which is belonging." - Wallace Stegner

The Extreme Home Makeover crew recently did a house just a couple miles down the road from me.  I've always enjoyed the show and seeing the way the communities come together to support each of the families who receive new homes.  But it took having it happen practically in my own backyard to shake me awake in astonishment to the fact that there are extraordinary families and people and circumstances all around every one of us and not just in some faraway unique parts of the country somewhere.  It stunned me that there were people living in such challenging conditions, and living such amazing lives, so close to me but completely outside my awareness.  And of course from there it's just a small step to realize that even on our own streets or in our own apartment buildings, each of us is living our own heroic life of sorts, facing our own challenges, having our own unique experiences, and feeling our own deep feelings, and doing all this pretty much outside the awareness of most of our neighbors.  

It certainly isn't any new observation that we've become so insulated and isolated in our modern American lifestyle.  Sure, we may know the names and a few surface details of the lives of some of our neighbors, but how many of them do we really know?  It's one thing to know about somebody but another entirely to really know who they are.  Yet when we do find out who they are on the inside, what their struggles and joys and fears and challenges are, we feel more connected to them and more compassionate toward them, as evidenced by the way that community after community turns out en masse to help these people on the EHM episodes. 

And I don't think they all show up just 'cause they may get a chance to be on TV.  Most of the people who volunteer, and there are hundreds at each site, are never mentioned or seen on TV.  They're there because they care and because they sincerely want to be of service to those in need and to help make a positive difference in someone's lives.

So if that desire to be more deeply connected and supportive of each other is so much a part of so many of us, why do we settle for the lives of relative isolation that most of us live?  If that's not the kind of community we really want to be a part of, why do we choose it?  Why has it become so difficult for us to be more open with each other about the deeper, more 'real' aspects of our lives?

Neighbors are like relatives.  You don't get to choose who they are; you just have to learn to live with them as best you can.  And granted, that's easier with some people than with others.  But I bet if we took the time to really get to know each other, choosing to hold people at a distance and stay so isolated in our individual little hermetically sealed houses and lives would become much more the exception than the rule for most of us.  It just takes someone to take that first step, reach out that first hand, extend that first invitation, and allow someone else into their house and into their life.  Will you be that someone?

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On A Mission

Endeavour undocked from the ISS two nights ago.  That marked the end of a 12 day (or night for many of us) stint on console working the mission, and the end of what essentially becomes total immersion in a completely different world during that time.  Six people left the planet to go on this journey, but many more of us left our normal daily lives behind and spent the last two weeks up on the Station in a sense also, focused on and dedicated to doing all that it took to make sure the mission was safe and successful in every moment.  And even though we weren’t each on console 24 hours a day, the mental commitment and focus didn’t end for many of us when our shifts ended. 

For me, as the lead for our group for this mission, that meant continuing to follow activities, process e-mails and instant messages and phone calls, and stay up to speed on what was happening on other shifts while I was home between shifts myself.  To some extent that was a personal choice – not everyone puts in quite that much effort.  But it was my last mission as a flight lead and I wanted to make sure I ended this part of my career with my best effort and that my team knew I was there to support them throughout the mission.

Something else happened, as it always does at least for me, during the mission.  I became part of a tremendous group effort to extend ourselves beyond our normal limits, doing whatever it took to achieve a successful mission together.  In this environment our normal ego boundaries were set aside (mostly) and we joined together in service to a greater good, a grander vision and purpose, to something much bigger and bolder than any one of us alone, to something that could only be accomplished if we all worked selflessly as one.  For those 12 days I knew and felt, as I believe most everyone else does who works these missions, that what really matters and why I’m really here in this job and in this life is to commit myself fully to the service of this greater good, to helping extend our communal reach into the new, the challenging, the unknown. 

In doing that I experienced the power of our interconnectedness with each other.  Space travel is, among other things, a manifestation of our collective drive to extend ourselves, explore, and grow, and it’s a great demonstration of the fact that we accomplish all that most effectively when we’re all supporting each other in that ‘endeavour.’  To be able to consciously participate in and feel that can be a powerful, transformational experience. 

The STS-130 mission ends when Endeavour lands, hopefully later tonight.  But the bigger mission goes on, both outwardly and inwardly.  Those of us who are fortunate enough to work in this business have been richly blessed to be able to experience these times of extraordinary unity, growth, and achievement fairly often.  We’ve been given multiple tastes of how far we can go together when we join up to support each other in service to a collective vision of exploration and growth.  With the Shuttle back on the ground, our larger mission remains to extend that experience and commitment to all aspects of our lives, encouraging and supporting each other on our own continuing individual and collective journeys. 

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Lesson From The Animal Kingdom

Not much time to write tonight, so I'll share a cool video that says volumes about the interconnectedness of all life, regardless of species.  And it's just a lot of fun to watch!

The Orangutan and the Hound

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Perspective Shift

Here's an interesting little experiment you can try - I did it in a couple of work meetings earlier this week and noticed a big difference in my sense of connectedness to the people there...

In a meeting or other gathering, first look around the room and focus on seeing everyone as separate, having their own agendas and interests, not really caring that much about you as an individual, just conducting their interactions in some semi-positive way because that's what they're 'supposed' to do. Notice how different each of them are from you, how differently they each look and talk and act. And then notice how that feels. Maybe you'll sense walls around people, including yourself. Maybe you'll find yourself feeling somewhat defensive or guarded. Maybe you'll be more likely to put on an act and say or do things you don't really feel for the sake of not being judged or rejected by the group. Whatever you feel, it will be based largely on a perception of separation between you and the others there. Let that feeling sink in for a minute or two.

Then look around the room again, this time telling yourself (silently is recommended, especially if you're in a business meeting!) that you're all connected. You can repeat to yourself the phrase "We are all one," or "I am one with all," or something that supports the notion of connectedness between everyone there. Or you can take a long piece of string and tie everyone together (okay, that's probably a little too literal). But find some way to really 'get it' within yourself that you're all connected, that you all share a common oneness of humanity and spirit, and then look upon everyone from that perspective and see how differently you feel. (Note - as you look around, you may want to be aware of how this changes your facial expression too - don't get yourself thrown out of the meeting for making bedroom eyes at the person across the table from you, no matter how innocent your expression may feel to you!)

When you make this perspective shift it can totally change the tone of the experience, for you and probably for the people around you too. For me, I noticed a positive shift in the energy of my interaction with people. The meetings were no longer droning tedious clunky things, but ones in which I found myself in a more comfortable, relaxed, natural flow with everyone, more fully and positively engaged in the discussion and more appreciative of the decisions that came from those discussions. See if you notice something similar when you try it.

Then realize that all this happened in your head. The others didn't change how they were appearing or talking or acting in any way. Your sense of connection to them and the positive changes resulting from that focus were solely a function of your own choice to see them in that light, to look on them with love and acceptance and oneness instead of separation.

And then realize that you can do this anytime, anywhere, with anything or anyone. It can work if you're traveling in some strange new place. It can work if you're stuck in traffic. It can work if you're having a disagreement with your partner. It can work if you're watching the news on TV. It can work anywhere, anytime because it's simply a return to Reality and our true nature. There is no time or place when we're not all connected, so there is no time or place when consciously remembering that can't shift you into a more positive, productive, loving, peaceful state of being.

Remembering Who You Really Are and who we all are together can be a very powerful, liberating gift for yourself and your world.

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A Musical Interlude

Food for thought from some leading scientific thinkers, with a unique presentation...

Ponder and enjoy!

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Everyone Deserves A Roof

Speaking of helping others self-actualize, we've first gotta tend to their basic survival needs as the good Dr. Maslow says. Here's a great way for you to do that:

www.edar.org

Check it out!

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