The Global Conversation

Tag: Change the World

  • But I’m just little ol’ me

    The situations facing Humanity today seem daunting.  So much so that they can feel pretty overwhelming on an individual level.  Some days I experience the certainty of my role in effecting positive change.  But some days I find myself questioning my ability to make much of a difference, much less a significant change, in the world in which I live.   I have even been tempted in certain moments to believe that my perceived “lack of ability’ means I should just leave the “heavy lifting” to someone sitting in a more powerful or influential position.

    Have you experienced this sense of powerlessness?  Does your heart and soul yearn to be part of the solution, yet your mind doesn’t know where to even begin?

    The good news is that we are all powerful.   We all have the ability to create change.  We all are in a unique position to influence the way life is lived on our planet.  And the even better news is it doesn’t require financial abundance or a large team of brilliant philosophers nodding in agreement with you.  It doesn’t require a captive audience or a best-selling book.  And you don’t even have to be a spiritual master.

    It simply begins with your next choice.  It starts with a decision to choose in accordance and in alignment with your beliefs.  It unravels from the expenditure of your energy into actions that support and foster the type of world you wish to live in.

    For example…

    Maybe today you will begin using paper bags at the grocery store instead of plastic, a non-negotiable decision to protect the well-being of our planet.

    Or perhaps you will locate the local farmers markets or co-ops in your area and begin purchasing your food from the people who farm organically right in your own backyard, so to speak.

    What if you stopped buying bottled water and began to filter your own?

    Might it be possible that you could do without Starbucks for a day or two and instead give that $5.00 or $10.00 to someone who could really use it?

    Would you be open to initiating more conversations with the people you come across in your day-to-day affairs?  The couple waiting in line behind you at the movie theater, the delivery man in the elevator, the lady ringing up your purchase at the convenience store?

    Are you willing to consider an entirely new way of thinking about why you are even here in the first place, on this planet, right now?  If your ideas about that changed, how might that impact the choices you make in your relationships with other human beings, the animals, the plants, the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the land you walk on?

    Are you prepared to try something new, maybe one thing, and take one small step in the direction of the larger global objectives placed before us?

    Yes, some of these are simple ideas.  But, hey, who said changing the world had to be complicated?  Who declared that it has to be all or nothing?   Maybe you have some ideas, thoughts, or opinions you are willing to share right here with the visitors who come to this website, ways in which we can all contribute to the abundance and health of our planet and the well-being of all human beings who share this space we call home.  I urge you to feel free to express them.  After all, we are The Global Conversation.

    I part with the practical and loving words of someone very wise, my own wonderful mother, who once said to me:   “I want to leave the world a nice place for my grandchildren to live in.”

    That is the kind of world I want to live in.

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

  • Communication that could change the world…

    Recently, I received a phone call from a friend who desired a safe space to share an experience of being talked at, rather than talked to. She was visiting with a family member, catching up on life, and discussing a variety of topics when an opinion-pusher invited themselves into their conversation to set them both straight about everything they were wrong about. The negative outcome my friend felt from the exchange was not so much the opinions themselves but rather the need of the other person to be right about their point of view, rather than being willing to discuss their differing ideas.

    We all have a point of view, an idea of how things should be, and a right to express those ideas. Yet how we choose to communicate our intention behind what we are saying goes a long way to having our expressions received. I have observed in the world today that most feel an overwhelming need to share their opinions, whether they are helpful or not. In my friend’s case, no thought was given to how the uninvited communication would land or whether or not they would even be interested in discussing differing points of view at the time. Had the Buttinski asked to join the conversation, instead of just barfing opinion all over them, a much different outcome could have been created.

    For me, real communication has nothing to do with being right; it has to do with being heard. Being right turns communication into debate or, worse, argument. Debate can be healthy, for often that is how we learn and grow. Debate causes us to think about issues, where we stand, and why we believe what we do. Being right is where communication ends and righteousness begins. At least in debate one listens to the other point of view before offering a counterpoint or a positional response. Real communication, however, has zero need to be right about its point of view. Healthy communication allows all points of view to be heard and then the freedom for the participants to agree or disagree without consequence.

    For example, over the years of working with the Conversations with God Foundation, I have received some rather confrontational communications around religious belief. Because I was listed on the website as “Reverend JR,” I would sometimes receive mail from people attempting to “save my lost soul.” It is held by some that CwG is of the “devil” and those of us who find value in it would soon see the error of our ways in hell. According to a few of my concerned “soul savers,” I, as a reverend, would find myself in a “special place of hell” for leading my flock away from the one true savior.

    I used to respond to these letters with the thought that surely we could discuss our ideas about God in a way that could be productive and beneficial for both of us but that the need to be right thing far too often got in the way. I quickly realized that with most of these letters, the writers were not interested in having a dialogue, but rather a monologue. There is no conversation in a monologue and no opportunity to grow if you think you already have all the answers. My interest in finding common ground and expanding our mutual understanding of God was, in the end, lost to this “need to be right” obsession.

    Being a lifelong student, I love to converse with people from all over the world, from different backgrounds, religions, and all points of view. I learn so much about myself, about life, and about God from these conversations. I decided long ago that I would honor all faiths and all points of view and let go of the need to be right about anything, especially for someone else. Instead, I would trust that each person could and would decide what works for them and that there is great value in discussing ideas and listening to alternate points of view. It is amazing what a conversation can create.

    It is from this place that the beginning of conversations that could change the world reside. The necessary ingredients of these conversations begins with respect and tolerance. My Father use to say that respect and tolerance would heal the world. Think about it. What would happen tomorrow if we all awoke without the need to be right?

    What if no one felt the need to be right about anything they currently held as a truth? What if each of us felt secure enough within to look at our own beliefs and even became willing to challenge those beliefs by listening to alternate points of view? What if we were willing to take a fresh look at all of our deeply held ideas to see if more could be revealed through inquiry?

    For example, is humanity convinced that God, if there is a God, has said all there is to say about life? If so, why hasn’t religion solved the major challenges that face humanity by now? Why are the greatest numbers of us still suffering? Perhaps there is more to be communicated about God and about life. Perhaps there is more to know, the knowing of which would change everything.

    It takes great courage and strength to stand in the place of “I am willing to be wrong about that.” Freedom lives on the other side of this equation. For if you lack the need to be right, nothing needs to happen for you to be at peace.

    You see, if the above statement was true for you, your happiness meter would go off the chart. It would also be the end of many of the circumstances and conditions that do not work in our world today. We are the world’s circumstances in motion. What we choose every day affects the whole of us.

    Could we all benefit from letting go of the need be right? You bet. The need to be right seems to me to be one of our greatest addictions and one of the reasons we are evolving so slowly.

    When I look out upon the landscape of humanity, whether historically or now, the need to be right has been the cause of so much pain, tragedy, and heartache. It isn’t just God or religion. Look at every system in the world today. The need to be right has shut down real communication in favor of positions and arguments that continue to lead to things like war.

    The media is responsible for some of it, for sure, with Facebook, reality TV, and opinion-driven product blasting points-of-view content at you 24/7. But we have to take responsibility for our participation in it. Energy grows where energy goes. Stop participating in these systems and watch how quickly they will change.

    The tool required to let go of the need to be right is critical thinking. Critical thinking is not a skill taught in school; it is developed by people who become willing to step back and consider differing points of view, by those willing to engage in real conversation, inquiry, and dialogue. This is the missing link in our human condition right now. This is the thing that could change everything.

    Critical thinking develops this kind of communication that could and would change the world. What is required is the ability to see that what works for you may not work for another. Are you willing to consider the possibility that your way may not be THE WAY but, rather, simply another way? The statement from Conversations with God applies here perfectly: “Ours is not a better way, ours is merely another way.”

    This kind of thinking applied, this kind of communication expressed, this kind of willingness to be open to new possibilities and new thoughts will be used by the people who do change the world. Why not let that be you?

    PS: I’m willing to be wrong about all of it!

    (J.R. Westen, D.D. is a Holistic Health & Spiritual Counselor who has worked and presented side-by-side with Neale Donald Walsch for over a decade. He is passionate about helping individuals move beyond their emotional and spiritual challenges, transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs. His counseling and coaching provides practical wisdom and guidance that can be immediately incorporated to shift one’s experience of life.

    As is true for most impactful teachers, J.R.’s own struggles and triumphs inspired him to find powerful ways of helping others. Sober since June 1, 1986, J.R.’s passion for helping individuals move through intense life challenges drove him to also specialize in Addiction and Grief Recovery.

    J.R. currently shares his gift of counseling & coaching with individuals from around the world through the Wellness Center, Simply Vibrant, located on Long Island N.Y.  In addition, he operates “Change House” a place where people come to transform.  He also works with Escondido Sobering Services and now serves as the Director for the Conversations with God Foundation. He can be contacted at JR@CWG.ORG or JR@theglobalconversation.com, or to book an appointment, write support@simplyvibrant.com.)

  • So You Want to Change the World? Series Part One

    Part One: Sharing Love in Newtown, and Beyond

    Last week, an incomprehensible tragedy occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. The effects of this devastating event could not only be felt in the community of Sandy Hook Elementary, but in the hearts and minds of teens all across the nation. I have heard my friends repeatedly ask and wonder, “Why did this happen? What made Adam Lanza do it? How can we stop this from ever happening again?”

    Though these questions have no easy answers, we do easily notice that teens don’t want to become a product of their society – we don’t want to align ourselves with a world filled with acts of thoughtless violence. We teens know that life can be so much more than what is now, but most of us just aren’t sure on the way we will achieve it. We want to change the world, but how?

    Changing the world sounds like a pretty difficult task, not to mention a HUGE burden of responsibility. But it doesn’t have to be. It CAN be incredibly simple, if we choose it to be. In our first steps towards creating a New Cultural Story, we don’t need to change the world; we just need to change a few things in ourselves. In Conversations With God For Teens, Neale presents the Three Way Path: Have fun. Spread joy. Share love. By just applying these three simple ideas in our own thought, word, and deed, we will bring more change in our world than we could have ever hoped for. By being the embodiment of fun, joy, and love, we can be the change we wish to see in the world.

    So, it’s not so tough after all. Teens across the nation are already changing the world, and they are doing it by sharing love with the residents of Newtown. One of the largely unpublished stories of the Sandy Hook Tragedy was a photograph from Reuters from the memorial of a floor-to-ceiling printout entitled “Stay Strong Newtown: 10,000 Teens Send Their Text Messages of Support.” For the single act of violence, 10,000 messages of love, comfort, and empathy were sent by these teens alone. These teens shared love, when love may seem hard to find. For the families involved in the tragedy, they are receiving and feeling that love. And that has made all the difference.

    I thank not only those teens, but every teen who has sent their messages of love to a world that so desperately needs more of them in its inbox. Sharing love has shown that our generation truly believes in a new path with a new direction. We just need to forge on.

    (Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)