Theory W

An Aids Awareness Pledge October 1, 2008

For some years now, a school in Cape Town, South Africa holds an annual Aids Awareness Day as part of their general HIV/Aids Awareness activities. The entire school-day is given over to a range of events, from drama workshops to public gatherings. The day ends with the scholars coming together to make the pledge below. It is a moving testimony to the level of awareness, commitment and creativity that is possible even in the face of the terrible suffering caused by this horrific virus. 

THE PLEDGE[1]

 I believe in myself,

and that the future can be shaped and directed by the values I live by.

I have a dream where all people will live with dignity and freedom:

where a sense of belonging and civic pride will

replace the pain, suffering and alienation of people who have

been affected by the HIV/AIDS experience today.

I promise to be true to the morals and teaching of my faith:

to act responsibly and respect my body.

I commit myself to get involved with my community in acts

of kindness and service so that my society will reflect

the true meaning of ubuntu.

I pledge to be part of transforming our society in the battle against AIDS.

This I promise.

[1]This Pledge is made by the girls of St Cyprian’s School, Cape Town, South Africa at their annual Youth Aids Day Service. Written by The Revd. Vivien Harber, the former School Chaplain

Surrender? Are you crazy? September 26, 2008

In his wise and yet playful book called, The Laws of Spirit – A Tale of Transformation, Dan Millman[1] describes what he calls The Law of Surrender in the following words:

Surrender means accepting this moment, this body, and this life with open arms.  Surrender involves getting out of our own way and living in accord with a higher will, expressed as the wisdom of the heart.  Far more than passive acceptance, surrender uses every challenge as a means of spiritual growth and extended awareness.[2]

In the book, Millman describes encounter he as the writer has with an (imaginary) mountain Sage in which the Sage teaches him several significant if not vital spiritual lessons or laws, one of which is The Law of Surrender.  At one point, the Sage says to him:

Although The Law of Surrender means accepting whatever happens in your life, it does not mean passive toleration for what you don’t like, or ignoring in justice, or allowing yourself to be victimised or controlled. True surrender is active, positive, assertive — a creative commitment to make use of your situation, in a spirit of appreciation.[3]

What the Sage is teaching is that surrendering helps us to understand the power that is unleashed by the act of acceptance.  Surrendering allows us as human beings to come to terms with accepting.  And in life there is much that requires acceptance.  And certainly nothing can be transformed before it has been accepted.  Surrendering, says the Sage, means accepting not only life’s ups and downs, but also accepting yourself — your body, your thoughts, and your feelings.

In another episode the Sage reminds Millman of the power of water.  While appearing soft and malleable water of course is the most penetrating, the most purposeful of substances.  While yielding, it is forceful and flexible, it surrenders to gravity without resistance, adapting to the shape of any container and so it reveals the most intelligent and powerful response any of us can make in any circumstance which is, to practice surrendering. Surrendering, she says is like having power like that of water in one’s life.  Surrendering enables one patiently to reach our goal when even the odds are against us.  Again, to practice this form of surrender is not an act of weakness.  Rather, the Sage reminds us, this form of surrender is what sets the masters of the martial arts apart as true masters.  How? The highest martial arts, like water, are flowing and flexible, responsive rather than rigid or reactive.  Such arts teach as to pull when pushed and to push when pulled – to blend with life’s forces rather than wasting energy struggling against them.[4] Again using the analogy of the martial arts Millman has the Sage tell us that the true warrior needs to surrender any attachments he or she may have two victory if they are going to achieve their goal. 

Only the warrior who lets go of the smaller self with its desires, fears, and attachments would remain relaxed and focused.  In a dual, surrendering to death means survival: clinging to life means losing it!

The Metaphor of the Dance September 15, 2008

Someone I once worked with – a Brazilian women who loved to dance – and one of the finest facilitators I ever met – brought to mind in me a metaphor I called the dancer and the dance. It goes like this:

Everyday, a creative possibility… September 12, 2008

  “My wish is that South Africans never give up on the belief in goodness, that they cherish that faith in human beings as a cornerstone of our democracy. The first value mentioned under the founding principles of our Constitution is that of human dignity. We accord persons dignity by assuming that they are good, that they share the human qualities we ascribe to ourselves. Historical enemies succeeded in negotiating a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy exactly because we were prepared to accept the inherent capacity for goodness in the other.”

 Nelson Mandela

 ”If you want to build a ship, do not drum up people together to collect the wood or assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

 Antoine de Saint Exupery

 Two great quotes from two great people, each of whom understood that the mixture of ‘a longing for the immensity of the sea’ (vision) and ‘assuming people are good’ (ascribing to people their human dignity) are explosive, are revolutionary, can shift us from, as Zander says, ‘conversations of the downward spiral’ to seeing ‘endless creative possibilities’. These are not simply philosophical promises – they are real, life-changing possibilities. Today Zimbabweans have the opportunity to experience the power of mixing vision with human dignity. Today, in China, athletes are doing the impossible, against all odds, showing us clearly what happens when people mix passionate vision with the capacity to love themselves (never to lose their innate human dignity, even in the face of suffering). Today, in South Africa, we have the opportunity – even in the face of confusion and the leadership struggles – to hold onto and hold out to (the world) the founding vision of this new South Africa which does ascribe to each of us an irrevocable human dignity.

Passionate vision and ascribing to everyone their human dignity – powerful alchemy for everyday living, for changing the world, creating possibilities everywhere… 

chris

A relative to all… September 10, 2008

At the heart of the work we do is the Theory W model – a theory of transformation that suggests that the journey of transformation is a process from a ‘ego-self’ driven paradigm that leaves us in a state of separation to paradigm of wholeness in which we suddenly become aware of the intricate connectivity between all things. Everything is connected. We can see this through a million different examples – from philosophy to science to psychology to spirituality to sociology – each discipline has its understanding of this one truth – that all belong, that all is connected, that ‘none are exiles in the human family’ (as Tutu would say), that each of the parts is actually a reflection of the whole, that everything is actually energy operating at different speeds of light (held together in the ‘energy or quantum soup’ – as Chopra calls it). (more…)