COMMON GOOD AND CARING

Posted on February 22, 2025

Today’s media platforms reveal that America’s three-legged democracy stool is missing its third leg. Economics and politics are alive; and the missing third leg, morality, rears its head daily. In the rear-view mirror are values, virtues, ethics, compassion, leadership, character, decency, common good, honesty, integrity, and common beliefs. Witness suppression of voting rights, helping others turned political, media untruths, cyber and space warfare, infrastructure decay, inequitable wages, healthcare and childcare shortcomings, systemic racism and casts, LGBTQ+ rights questioned, abortion rights removed, Congressional hearings about insurrection, environmental degradation, untreated mental health, home grown terrorism, immigration overload and inhumanity, DOGE rampage, thriving white supremacy, education state-of-the-art and funding deficiencies, insane gun control, deterioration of government credibility—SCOTUS, Congress, and Office of the President—and the list continues. The danger is continued and deepening division, fear, autocracy, privatization, and fascism. The opportunity is to improve common good, helping others, caring about others, and loving others; and merge and participate in interactive dialogue and collectively manifest the missing third leg of the stool, morality, or common good and caring, for America, Americans, and the globe. As Jonathan Sacks offers in Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times,

Recovering liberal democratic freedom will involve emphasizing responsibilities as well as rights; shared rules, not just individual choices; caring for others as well as for ourselves; and making space not just for self-interest but also for common good. Morality is an essential feature of our human environment, as important as the market (economics) and the state (politics), but outsourceable to neither. Morality humanizes the competition for wealth and power. It is the redemption of our solitude. (20)

Authoritarianism has gotten us where we are; and unless we do something different, we will stay where we are and eventually destroy ourselves. In The Passionate Mind Revisited Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad offer, “Authoritarianism has two basic traits: a person or ideology that claims to know what’s best for others; and second, the authority is unchallengeable-not open to feedback and change when shown to be wrong.” (15) If the old, traditionalist worldview wins there is little likelihood the species will survive.

Yes, it feels like the country is a mess and that post truth, and consequently mistrust, is bubbling with conspiracy, spins, lies, partial truths, and more lies! Simply unhealthy ego, circus, work-in-process human condition and shortcomings that are offering platforms for tomorrow’s challenges, opportunities, and evolution. An analytical glance reveals a least common denominator to be polarization, nurtured by festering, unhealthy selves that unleash pain and suffering in many forms.

Digging deep into the dark side of the psyche, contemplation coupled with meditation, and collective, interactive dialogue offer a breath of evolutionary optimism and hope for Americans. Subsequent results can offer productive, interactive, authentic dialogue to build coalitions; teamwork; creation of evolutionary beliefs and values; nurturing and building visions for generations of children; and experiences of compassion as the antibiotic to confront a nasty infection. No one needs to suffer, and no one wants to suffer. We need to transcend and include and not undermine the human desire to evolve and survive.

Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad offer,

Humanity has displayed great creativity in most domains, except for relationships. Most of our problems are a function of unworkable relationships between people, groups, religions, regions, and countries, and humanity’s relation with the Earth. Because killing, or the threat of it, is and has been the bottom line of power, and has given the nature of power and wealth to coalesce and expand, and given that children need lengthy nurturing, humanity has not yet constructed a social system that can sufficiently promote the general wellbeing of large populations…We need an evolutionary leap in relationships to match our extraordinary recent leaps in science and technology and the resulting juggernaut taking us we know not where. Developing our relational and social capabilities must include the global dimension by replacing traditional unlivable, authoritarian ideals with more viable pan-cultural values that can flexibly meet accelerated change. We must learn how to be global social animals at last, through deepening, exploring, and building on the untapped potential in our nature, broadening our awareness, and emotionally maturing-all of which are possible if we care enough about surviving. (357)

Simply, we all need to grow our individual and collective mindfulness, awareness, and self-restraint and put “care” into all we think, say, and do. As good leaders understand and practice, transcending, including, and evolving implies a willingness to listen to and accept those who are different and have belief processes that are different.

 

 

GOLF AS GURU

Posted on February 15, 2025

Golf, entertainment, fun and creative, these are just a few of the words that capture the spirit and story of Woody and Birdy Ball, the caretakers of readers who take the opportunity to experience the journey of Golf as Guru: Mind”full”ness, Awareness and Self-Restraint.

Our culture today has become battles for our ATTENTION through media frenzies, predominantly inspired by television and social media. As the manuscript for Golf as Guru was being completed and a publisher being selected, the inspiration arose to have the book be entertaining for a reader. Thus were born the spirits of Woody and Birdy Ball, the two golf ball characters to be discovered on the cover and at the beginning of each chapter as one enjoys the journey through the book.

Woody and Birdy were born around a table at a Mesa, Arizona Starbucks. Project participants were my dear wife, Cindy; Aubree Garrett, Graphic Designer and Illustrator (aubreeshae.com); and the author. After business and creative vision dialogue, Cindy and I turned Aubree loose to create Woody and Birdy. Initially, since she was not a golfer, it was challenging for her to create golf ball characters who were dressed like golfers and in golfing motion; however, once we gave birth to Woody Ball and Birdy Ball, Aubree was off to the races while at the same time maintaining a full class schedule and working. Weekly, as each illustration arrived, Cindy and I would grab the computer and excitedly view each illustration, fist pump, celebrate and be entertained. It was a fun project; and our hope is that you will enjoy the journey of Woody and Birdy Ball as much as we have. You will quickly note that on the cover of Golf as Guru are Woody and Birdy riding their magic carpet to The World Golf Hall of Fame, St. Augustine, Florida. Enjoy!!

EMPATHY and COMPASSION

Posted on February 7, 2025

USA TODAY, page 1, Thursday, February 6, 2025, reports,

In a news conference about the worst air crash in the United States in two decades, Trump claimed the agency (Federal Aviation Administration) was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities and psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under diversity and inclusion hiring initiatives.”

USA TODAY, page 3A, Thursday, February 6, 2025, reports,

USAID mission: Help nations fight poverty. Trump and Musk aim to dismantle agency…Following a week of turmoil as senior officials were put on leave, Musk announced on social media Monday that he and Trump plan to shut down the agency entirely…In fiscal year 2023…USAID disbursed more than $72 billion…USAID had a staff of more than 10,000 people.

In a 2017 report, “Mass Deportation Would Impoverish US Families and Create Immense Social Costs,” the Center for Immigration Studies, Robert Warren and Donald Kermin, offered,

… a massive deportation program can be expected to have the following major consequences:

  • Removing undocumented residents from mixed-status households (one documented immigrant, one undocumented immigrant) would reduce median household income from $41,300 to $22,000, a drop of $19,300, or 47 percent, which would plunge millions of US families into poverty.
  • The nation’s housing market would be jeopardized because a high percentage of the 1.2 million mortgages held by households with undocumented immigrants would be in peril.
  • Gross domestic product (GDP) would be reduced by 1.4 percent in the first year, and cumulative GDP would be reduced by $4.7 trillion over 10 years.

As each of need to do with personal financial affairs, Trump and Musk are to be commended for scrutinizing government financial affairs; however, the way changes are being implemented hints of no transition management plans for the desired changes and perhaps personal mental health issues…failure to rip off the empathy and compassion scabs. It feels like Trump and Musk may have mental health issues that do not facilitate good leadership and change management skills and talents. Psychology Today, February 6, 2025, “6 Reasons Why Some People Can’t Cry,” pages 1-11, offers possible causes as trauma, personality style, antidepressants, depression, medical condition, and social stigma. And Jay Shetty (8 Rules of Love) would offer that one is not able to love others unless one loves the self and embraces one’s karma…what goes around comes around.

After having read some 60 + books about President Donald J. Trump, some thoughts for contemplation about his character, personality, mentality, and interests are as follows,

  • Low functioning includes persons who “… do not exhibit polished and polite behaviors as a mask for their manipulations…may lack the education or interpersonal skills to control and deceive. Instead, they might use threats, coercion, or intimidation to achieve their desired outcome.” (Source: Dr. Timothy J. Legg, “What Is a High-Functioning Sociopath?”, 5-28-2019, https://www.healthline.com, 1-3.)
  • Narcissistic sociopath: one form of antisocial personality disorder and is the result of environmental factors such as a child or teen’s upbringing in a negative household that resulted in physical abuse, emotional abuse, or childhood trauma. (Sources: Mary L. Trump, Too Much and Never Enough, 2020, Simon & Schuster; https://psychcentral.com, Dr. John M. Grohol, “Differences Between a Psychopath vs Sociopath,” 5-20-2020, 1-5; Dr. Tarra Bates-Duford, “Psychopath vs Sociopath: 16 Key Differences,” 9-7-2018, 1-3; https://www.health.com, Rosie McCall, “9 Ways to Spot a Sociopath,” 10-4-2019, 1-7.
  • Gangster, corrupt, convicted felon, and behaves as if above the law.
  • A stale, nasty breath of death, hate, narcissism, chaos, fear, revenge, conspiracy, norm erosion, “dark,” institutional deconstruction, and neo-facism.

A red flag went up for this author about Elon Musk while reading Walter Isaacson’s ELON MUSK (2013, NY, NY: Simon & Schuster),

“With a childhood like his in South Africa, I think you have to shut yourself down emotionally in some ways,” says his first wife Justine, the mother of five of his surviving ten children. “If your father is always calling you a moron and idiot, maybe the only response is to turn off anything inside that would’ve opened up an emotional dimension that he didn’t have tools to deal with.” The emotional shutoff valve could make him callous, but it also made him a risk-seeking innovator. “He learned to shutdown fear,” she says. If you turn off fear, then maybe you must turn off other things, like joy and empathy.” The PTSD from his childhood also instilled in him an aversion to contentment. “I just don’t think he knows how to savor success and smell the flowers,” says Claire Boucher, the artist known as Grimes, who is mother of three of his other children. “I think he got conditioned in childhood that life is pain.” Musk agrees. “Adversity shaped me,” he says. My pain threshold became very high. (5)

Is it possible that Trump and Musk do not cry? If they do not, the author will not feel alone. We simply need to learn, perk, and deeply experience Jay Shetty’s first two rules of love: Let Yourself Be Alone (14) and Don’t Ignore Your Karma (38).

Whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, America needs leaders and leadership by folks who can genuinely rip off the empathy and compassion scabs and care, help, service, love the Self, love their partners, and love others, while at the same time keeping America’s finances within means and budgets. The financial scrutiny is well overdue! Simply improve the change management, paying particular attention to the transition management process for the folks who are impacted, directly and indirectly. The state of our current political affairs are a shining example of the contrast between position power and earned power where leaders are objective and not self-serving and bring empathy and compassion to decisions that are in the best interests of America today and in the future. Manage the money and do it with the heart and mind entrained.

 

 

100% RESPONSIBILITY

Posted on February 1, 2025

During Corporate America years at Coors a lasting experience was the opportunity to work with Hyler Bracey, President, the Atlanta Consulting Group. The Coors family had hired Hyler and his associates to facilitate transition of Adolph Coors Company from several dependent, vertically organized companies into two independent companies, Coors Brewing Company and Graphic Packaging Company.

At the age of 28, Hyler was in a stock car racing accident and burned over 60% of his body. His face was severely disfigured, and his fingers were like burned twigs in a bonfire. However, his character, personality and mentality, manifested through his blue eyes and subconscious mind, were magnetizing and drew you to his heart…his personality, values, virtues, and goals were immaculate. Hyler modeled that physical scars offer a story of the past and do not dictate where one intends to go. He walked the talk of one of the key concepts he and his associates shared with the Coors leadership team: life happens because of me and not to me, or the concept of 100% responsibility.

Daily we are witnesses to scurrying about to avoid being identified as the culprit. In our culture there is intense desire to be off the hook; and clever and devious actions taken to get off the hook are known as cover your posterior. Quite simply, desired results do not equal excuses coupled with no desired results; and blaming, justifying, spinning, lying and choosing not to accept responsibility when something goes wrong is a negative life and leadership strategy, simply integral ethics gone wrong. Being right is a booby prize! The real prize is the desired result which has not been realized. Blaming and justifying put us at the mercy of other people and events and do not make things happen. A better strategy is not to give away power and influence by blaming and justifying. Take charge: 100% responsibility, I am 100% responsible and others are 0% responsible.

Imagine the power in this country where everyone is assuming 100% responsibility for its success. Imagine how refreshing it would be for the President, Senators and Representatives to be examining what they did and what they could do rather than expending energy and plotting how to get off the hook. Perhaps the greatest value of the 100%-0% concept is that it focuses energy on creating desired results rather than finding ways of avoiding responsibility. Because it encourages folks to develop new options to produce desired results, it is a deeply empowering concept.

Thank you Hyler for pointing the way to 100% responsibility, a leader’s tool to make things happen and generate positive differences in every area of American lives. The negative option is wasting time and money blaming, defending, justifying, spinning, meeting, lying, cheating, making excuses and not getting the job done for Americans.

INSPIRING RESOURCES

Managing From the Heart (Hyler Bracey, Jack Rosenblum, Aubrey Sanford, Roy Trueblood, 1990, Atlanta GA: HEART Resources)

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day (Jay Shetty, 2020, NY, NY: Simon & Schuster)

Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening (Ken Wilber, Terry Patten, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli, 2008, Boulder, CO: Integral. Note Chapter 8: Integral Ethics)

HYPERPOLARIZATION

Posted on January 25, 2025

Hyperpolarization is accompanied by social regression and anger. Steve McIntosh offers,

Although America is plagued with abundant problems and challenges, most of these problems have pragmatic solutions that are within our power to implement. Almost none of these solutions, however, can be realized within our current political environment. Our frustrated, stymied, stalemated, and hyperpolarized political process is stuck in its tracks, and this gridlocked condition is now causing our social regression. Hyperpolarization is really the mother of all our problems because very few of the serious challenges we face can be adequately addressed until we ameliorate the fractious and frozen state of our body politic. (Developmental Politics: How America Can Grow into a Better Version of Itself. 2020. St. Paul, Minnesota: Paragon House, xiii)

The only way to effectively solve this ugly problem is to evolve our collective human condition. This can commence by selecting politicians who are leaders. As we do homework for elections, leadership qualities can be identified.

Core Values, Virtues and Guiding Principles

  • The Constitution is sacredly obligatory upon all.
  • Some core values are truth to power, honesty, integrity, hope, love, and morality; and putting quality, compassion, common good, and virtue in all one is and all one does.
  • We do not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those amongst us who do.
  • We respect law and order.
  • We are committed to “walk the talk,” to action, and to the concept of 100% responsibility, life happens because of me and not to me.
  • We are objective, not self-serving, and make decisions in the best interests of The United States of America.

Leaders

  • Have a track record of success building coalitions and are trusted.
  • Have a history of putting quality, common good, compassion and virtue in all he-she is and all he-she does.
  • Understand that great leaders have been good followers and that leadership is an influence relationship that energizes earned power and willingness to achieve mutually defined goals.
  • Are master of the authentic self, mind”full”ness, awareness, self-restraint and integral life practice; and model the way as persons, in relationships, socially, institutionally, culturally, and by helping others and caring about others.
  • Have high standards with respect to morals, ethics, guiding principles, virtues and core values that are plainly manifested in personality, character, mentality, and magnetism.
  • Are visibly committed to health, wellness, and well-being personally and for all Americans.
  • Are well-qualified, compassionately listen, inspire hope, have faith, and are empathetic.
  • Know where the country is and what it needs.
  • Will be surrounded by exceptionally well-qualified associates who are leaders.
  • Will diligently work to create and maintain a compelling worldview vision and action strategies and plans for the country.
  • Will lead the development of policies and programs to evolve the country for all Americans.

Leadership

LEADERSHIP is an attribute of an individual’s brand; and is an earned, trust based, influence relationship between the respective leader, other leaders and followers who intend ethical and moral change that mirror common purpose. Some key qualities are as follows:

  • INTEGRAL ETHICS: The concept of integral connotes comprehensive, whole, balanced and “best of the best” and the concept of ethics is sincere private commitment to doing what it takes to grow into a life of full integrity: “walk the talk” in every area of life and “model the way” as individuals; in relationships; and when skillfully helping and supporting others. It is an opportunity for happiness and freedom and embraces 100% ethical responsibility for cultivation of care, compassion and awareness in the world and the globe: the range and depth of ethical choices that includes conscience, intra-psychic ethics—health, wellness and wellbeing, behavior, cultural relationships and systems and the environment. Ethics includes the full spectrum of morals, values and principles and is the art of being a good person and practicing goodness in everyday life. It includes all ways of being truthful, intelligent, authentic, and courageous that constitutes integrity: coupling intentions, promises and commitments with actions and behavior. The fruit of everyday ethics is humility and deep self-respect, a meaningful and lasting integrity that frees the person from living in denial, self-division, and self-contempt. Good leaders provide clarity about institutional ethics, morals, values, and guiding principles and behave consistently with these organizational beliefs. Ethics can also be the common values of a specific group.
  • MORALS: Judgments made by an individual and concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness and badness of human character.
  • VALUES: Determine what a person pays attention to and how the person acts. Examples: trust and trusted; integrity; direct; open; honesty; caring; compassionate; moral; health, wellness, and wellbeing; financial viability; leadership; hope; and peace-of-mind.
  • GUIDING PRINCIPLES: Core values that are articulated. Examples: Do not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do. Objective, not self-serving and acts in the best interests of the people and organization being served. Committed to the concept of 100% responsibility: life happens because of me and not to me. Does not blame others, learns from one’s own experiences in an intentional and self-directed manner and applies that learning to new challenges. Sets a good example for physical health, emotional balance, mental clarity, spiritual awakening, ethical behavior, and integration of hidden, denied, and repressed reflections manifested in the world. I am a student of life. I am silent self alone. I do everything with love. No matter what I am experiencing, it is arising in the awareness I am-the Universal Self.
  • PURPOSE: Reason for existence. Examples: Exemplary student of life. In the service of global health, wellness, and wellbeing, to embody, celebrate and study the ever-greater depth of awareness, humanity, and life.
  • FOLLOWERSHIP: The actions of someone in a subordinate role. The intentional practice on the part of the subordinate to enhance the synergistic interchange between the follower and the leader. Team players committed to team play.
  • INTEGRAL VISION: Comprehensive, compelling picture of a desired future state. Leaders create and communicate a world centric vision, strategies and direction for the organization and persons led. Articulate a worldview for the Nation and the globe and possesses an integral understanding that allows the leader to be aware and understand other persons thus opening greater mutual understanding and openness to innovative, harmonious resolution; and more intelligent and appropriate responses to conflicts faced.
  • MISSION DRIVEN: Peace-of-mind with purpose and connections built on a foundation of compassion. Has a bias for action, for trying new things and for getting things done. Aggressively pursues objectives and sets high standards for self and others. Takes calculated risks and makes personal sacrifices to get things done.
  • EXECUTIVE MATURITY: Acts appropriately in business, social and political situations. Displays control in complex, ambiguous or stressful situations. Identifies with persons, shares their values and beliefs and is comfortable with them. Works toward mutually carved-out, worldview goals.
  • HUMAN NEEDS SATISFACTION: Is “in-tune” with mental and emotional needs of others, cares about people and puts action plans in-place to create an environment to improve the quality of life and personal productivity that is beneficial for persons. Links recognition to accomplishment and shows appreciation and expresses pride in the team’s accomplishments.
  • INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE: Student of integral theory and integral life practice—physical health, emotional balance, mental clarity, and spiritual awakening—that includes a pluralistic and multicultural composite map of the human territory and ways to include the important dimensions of being to enable growth, awakening and development to fullest capacities. Integral theory does not dictate how to practice or how to live. It offers new perspectives on practice and life, new possibilities, and new horizons; and it opens minds, thus hearts, to a more inclusive and compassionate embrace of the Cosmos and all its inhabitants. Leaders who push the edges of their discipline do so by taking perspectives with more depth and more span than most others.
  • INTEGRAL COMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MASTER: Integral communications translates the way an individual speaks to others’ perspectives while still being an authentic self. Simply keeps persons informed and creates communication forums and diverse coalitions to give and receive information and ethically manage perceptions. The spectrum of communication expertise: intrapersonal, interpersonal, person-to-persons, mass media, social media and associated technologies that optimize communication needs and strategies.

Artificial Intelligence: The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence-visual perception, speech recognition, decision making and translation between languages.

  • QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS and INFLUENCE: Develops, uses, and sustains strong, cooperative relationships with persons. Uses effective listening and interpersonal skills to achieve mutual trust and respect. Accomplishes tasks and objectives by resolving conflicts and influencing the actions of others. Is seen as a change agent; and makes a difference when involved.
  • STAFFING and STAFF DEVELOPMENT: Attracts and selects people with innate talents and learned skills. Assesses the short and long-term needs of the institution and develops plans to improve the overall structure and talent and skills strength of the institution.
  • TEAM LEADERSHIP: Achieves results by motivating and inspiring a unified, winning team. Builds commitment to common goals by communicating a sense of mission and by energizing the team. Creates an environment where differences are valued, where systems work equally well for all and wherein persons can retain uniqueness and contribute at their full potential.
  • BUSINESS and FINANCIAL SAVY: Has a worldview perspective and is aware and understands the implications of changes in the globe. Has “street smarts,” sizes-up situations quickly, is practical, and knows the right things to do and when to do them. Plans, communicates, monitors and controls, establishes risks, solves problems and makes sound decisions concerning economic and financial performance.
  • HANDLING COMPLEXITY: Analyzes and solves complex problems. Deals effectively with large amounts of data, changing conditions, incomplete data, or uncertainty. Understands how seemingly unrelated issues interact and affect one another. Gets to the essence of complex issues quickly, generates a variety of alternative courses of action and makes effective decisions.
  • IDEA LEADERSHIP: Open to input, change and new ideas. Implements breakthrough and innovative ideas, programs and processes that make a genuine difference.
  • INTEGRAL POLITICS: is aware and understands the inadequacies of political parties because of limited and partial views that do not address the complex issues facing the world today.

Individuals matter, leaders matter, and leadership matters. If democracy is to prevail, we must select good leaders and hold them accountable for high quality leadership!! The evolution imperative of wholeness and inspired, growing awareness of the human condition, coupled with helping others, can change the daily headlines from an underlying sense of fear, chaos, and domination to love and freedom. Leaders can be grown who create a vibrant civil society where people continue to be free, to live as they choose, to speak their minds, to organize peacefully, and to have a say in how they are governed. Steve McIntosh contends, “…the fractured state of American society also has the potential to catalyze a cultural renewal that can lead to a new era of political cooperation and progress. In other words, the difficult work of overcoming hyperpolarization can actually lead to a renaissance in American culture. (xiii)

EGO

Posted on January 21, 2025

Jay Shetty, in his Think Like a Monk, Chapter 8 EGO, offers,

In the darkness of the ego we think we’re special and powerful and significant, but when we look at ourselves in context of the great universe, we see that we only play a small part. To find true humility, like the firefly, we must look at ourselves when the sun is out and we can see clearly. (184) Our mutual task is to clear the clouds to see the sun.

As 2025 unfolds, a MUST READ for all Americans, whether Republican, Independent, or Democrat, is The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary by Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann. The introduction certainly nails what we have witnessed, are witnessing and will witness, “His ‘brand’…transgression-an id with no super ego.” (xiii) Simply, the impulsive part of the personality that is driven by pleasure and repulsed by pain, absent the judgmental and morally correct part of personality. Murray and Weissmann offer, “THE UNITIED STATES is venturing into uncharted territory with not one, but four, criminal indictments of a former president for crimes alleged to have been committed before, during, and after his presidency.” (xvi)

Partisan politics is a dangerous duel of limited and partial truths; and binds party sorted folks to fixed, literal or otherwise limiting beliefs and frames of minds. Political party sorted, addicted surrogates make obvious excuses for candidates and excuse the inexcusable with respect to virtue, morality, judgment, intent, behavior, actions, ethics, and laws. W. Edwards Deming remarked, “If a person is not performing as expected, it is probably because they are miscast for the job.” Michael Cohen offers, “No one ever tells Trump the truth about his behavior and beliefs, or the consequences of his conduct and ignorance and arrogance, in business or in his personal life and now in politics. Trump is the boy in the bubble, impervious to the thoughts and feelings or others, entirely and utterly focused on his own desires and ambitions.” Witness the current reality of self-serving, oligarchy work-in-process.

As a country, we need leaders who will lead the country, improve the country, and set the stage for future generations, not folks who will continue to deconstruct the many institutions that are the foundation and pillars of the America many Americans desire. America needs individuals with healthy ego, the conscious part of personality that mediates between the id and the superego and makes decisions that are in the best interests of the UNITED STATES.

PROGRAM THE SUBCONSCIOUS

Posted on January 11, 2025

The golf course has been a wonderful place to learn about and practice the art and science of mastering the self; health, wellness and well-being; and mind”full”ness, awareness and self-restraint. The game’s gifts reminds of General Douglas MacArthur’s words, uttered in the context of West Point, Black Knights of the Hudson football: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that at other times and in other places, bear the fruits of victory.”

A recent journey, inspired by the golf instruction to trust the subconscious mind to swing the golf club, has been into the wonders and world of the subconscious mind. Little did I realize that the subconscious mind touches everything we think and do; that our character, personality, mentally and magnetism are expressions of the subconscious mind; and that we receive back the programming we have consciously or unconsciously offered to the subconscious. A frequent question has been: Why didn’t I learn about the subconscious mind in school? Two answers that have emerged are that folks want to control the evolution of the lives of others; and that awareness and understanding of the subconscious are subjective and not scientific. Consequently, as humans we wake up, grow up and show up through the conscious mind where only 10% of who we exist. Unfortunately, we miss 90% of who we are.

Recent golf experiences with the power of harmony between the conscious and subconscious mind offers that trusting the subconscious to swing the club has resulted in playing golf that is the “funest” and “bestest” ever. The disposition and attitude about life and living are more positive, there is more patience, swing thoughts have become almost non-existent, and health, wellness and well-being have moved to the front of each day with mantras. A nice mantra is “Every day in every respect, I am getting better and better.” (Emile Coue’) If your desire and will are fired up and you are ready to learn more about the subconscious, Christian D. Larson’s The Great Within might work for you. Have fun, trust the subconscious and hit ‘em high and straight…be one with the environment, club, ball and target.

ADDICTION

Posted on January 4, 2025

Today it feels like we humans are stuck chin deep in the past, nurtured by a mental-emotional loop that offers more of the same predictable outcomes. A frequent judgement is that cultic-tribal addiction—political party sorting—is simply unresolved discomfort within the emotional body, or as offered in Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening (Wilber, Patten, Leonard, and Morelli, 2008, Boston, MA: Integral, page 41, 92-93),

…the shadow or dark side of the psyche, those aspects of ourselves that we’ve split off, rejected, denied, hidden from ourselves, projected onto others, or otherwise disowned…repressed unconscious…because we’ve pushed or pressed it out of our awareness, and unconscious because we are not aware of it…But the fact that we are not conscious or aware of the shadow does not mean that it has no effect: it just expresses itself through distorted and unhealthy means-or what is typically called neuroses…safety and security are sought by bonding together and identifying (fusing) with a tribe in order to persevere and protect against outsiders. Allegiance and admiration are given to the chief…emergence of a sense of self (ego) distinct from the tribe, although it often acts impulsively on behalf of its favored group.

Undoing and reintegrating this repressed and denied unconscious to improve our psychological health is process, is not easy, and can be painful and scary; however, the work can free energy that has been spent shadowboxing with the self, most often since we were kids. An initial step is simply passionate intent and a sense of openness and a commitment to face everything and fear nothing. Just sit in the flames of unresolved discomfort and evolve with sparkling, energized presence in a quantum universe. And because we harbor emotional junk does not make us bad folks, it simply shows up as stress, sucks our energy, harms our relationships with others, and the body keeps the score.

Dr. Joe Dispenza, in Becoming Supernatural, offers,

Integral to this process is not squandering our energy by emotionally reacting to leaders or people in power. When they capture our emotions, they capture our attention, and thus they have captured our energy. This is how people gain power over us. Instead, we must make a stand for principles, values, and moral imperatives like freedom, justice, truth, and equality. When we achieve this through the power of the collective, we will unite behind the energy of oneness rather than be controlled by the idea of separation. This is when standing up for truth is no longer personal, but through unifying and building community, becomes personal. (Pages 321, 322)

Quality, common good, compassion, and virtue can indeed become partners. Recent digging deep with a quantum healing coach has been quite challenging. Learning to coach perfectionist Little John has orchestrated the reflection juices, the sitting turbulence, the mental gymnastics, and the emotional canoe in the ocean absent a paddle. At times it has been difficult to simply take a time out, listen to pineal activation music, and just be present. Recent curiosities have been what “happy” feels like and whether the current path is just another adventure on the awareness journey. Dispenza contends, “To stand up for justice and peace, then, you must first find peace within yourself. You must then demonstrate peace to others, which means you can’t make a stand for peace or be peace while you’re warring with your neighbor, hating your co-worker, or judging your boss.” (Page 321) Choose peace starting with peace-of-mind! It might just offer a sparking, energized star in a quantum universe.

 

 

 

AWARENESS and CARE

Posted on December 28, 2024

Happy New Year!! Let’s get the year off to a good start by making a commitment to dampen these troubling, chaotic, evolving, and divided times. Growing our awareness and care can certainly help. Simply Big Mind, Big Heart, an expression of integral ethics.

Listening to mind chatter, reflection, sitting, and reading about integral ethics have surfaced that expanding personal awareness and the circle of care and help invites one to take a helicopter perspective of what it means to practice goodness in our everyday lives. Integral ethics “…provides a framework for thinking about how we live and for making the best moral decisions we can. It also makes sense of people’s different ethical structures by using…AQAL distinctions-quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types.” (Integral Life Practice, 255) A quick peek at some of the terms…

  • AQAL: all quadrants, all lines. An integral life practice perspective has four quadrants, individual inner, individual outer, collective inner, and collective outer.
  • Individual inner: conscience, depth of self-reflection, emotions, repressed unconscious, mind chatter, thoughts, etc. (266)
  • Individual outer: exercise, diet, appearance, use of drugs, plastic surgery, behaviors, etc. (266)
  • Collective inner: friendships, partners, family, relationships, mutual understanding, etc. (267)
  • Collective outer: government, institutions, health system, economic system, technology, environments, etc. (268).
  • Each quadrant has levels, lines, states, and types.
  • Levels: higher or lower altitudes, stages or waves of consciousness. (74)
  • Lines: streams of development, cognition, needs, self-identity, values, worldview, emotions, aesthetics, morals, interpersonal relating, kinesthetic, spirituality, etc. (81-82)
  • States of consciousness: elation, boredom, fear, irritation, curiosity, etc. (100)
  • Types: types of music, gender, language, hair color, etc. (106)

Some associated integral ethics terms…

  • Leadership: an attribute of an individual’s brand; and is an earned, trust based, influence relationship between the respective leader, other leaders, and followers who intend ethical and moral change that mirror common purpose. Good leaders have been good followers and/or can be good followers.
  • Virtues: behaviors that demonstrate Examples: gratitude, trust, hope, honesty, courage, integrity, compassion, and prudence.
  • Values: goals and ideals that guide one’s actions. Examples: adaptability, dependability, family, empathy, and generosity.
  • Guiding principles: a set of core values and beliefs that influence a person’s or organization’s behavior and decision-making. Example: Quality, common good, authenticity, and virtue in all we are and all we do.
  • Awareness: depth or degree of perception, knowledge, consciousness, and realization…Big Mind.
  • Care: to have concern or interest…Big Heart.

The more I have reflected on integral ethics, the more the concept appears to touch on every aspect of our lives. We can nourish the depth of personal awareness and care via the flexibility of processes found in Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening (Wilber et al, 2008, Boulder, CO: Integral, 255-285).

PLATINUM RULE

Posted on December 21, 2024

The Platinum Rule: “Treat others as THEY would like to be treated.” (Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening, Ken Wilber, Terry Patten, Adam Leonard & Marco Morelli, 2008, Boulder, Colorado: Integral Books, page 259):

Who are THEY? That is a fantastic question! What about the Golden Rule?

Initially, perking, reflection, reading, and sitting have offered that THEY are humans and include the Self and others…partners, moms, popps, kids, grandkids, family, relatives, uncs, aunts, community members, friends, work associates, golf partners, bowling buddies, gym associates, teammates, et al. An interesting perspective is offered in Integral Life Practice,

The ability to take wider (evolving awareness) and deeper (evolving care and compassion) perspectives may lead you to higher expressions of traditional ethical dictums. For instance, the Golden Rule, recognized by most religious traditions, essentially says “treat others as you would like to be treated.” Yet when you take another’s perspective you may discover that the way you would like to be treated differs from the way the other would like to be treated…The Platinum Rule honors the rich diversity of human sensibilities and structures of awareness by asking advanced ethical practitioners to take the perspective of another and act from that awareness. The philosopher Karl Popper articulated the Platinum Rule when he said, “The Golden Rule is a good standard which is further improved by doing unto others, whenever possible, as they want to be done.” …New awareness expands my circle of care and compassion. Care demands new awareness. Awareness grows, care grows, awareness grows, care grows. (259)

Additional perking, reflection, sitting, and reading have surfaced that expanding the circle of care invites one to take a helicopter view of a specific THEY and explore respective ways of showing up in the world…

  • Individual inner: conscience, depth of self-reflection, emotions, repressed unconscious, mind chatter, thoughts, etc. (266)
  • Individual outer: exercise, diet, appearance, use of drugs, plastic surgery, behaviors, etc. (266)
  • Collective inner: friendships, partners, family, relationships, mutual understanding, etc. (267)
  • Collective outer: government, health system, economic system, technology, environments, etc. (268)

Enjoy the Holiday Season with Big Mind-Big Heart…simply embrace taking the perspective of another and act from that awareness.