 May - June 2003 NGWS in Action Newsletter - PAGE 1
The Piscean era – the last 2000+ years – was a time in which humanity worked to raise its consciousness from a tribal one to an individual one. This was a long, slow process. Although we continued to work in groups, we now did so with a strong realization of our individuality and our separateness from other group members and from other groups. The Aquarian Age, into which we now move, carries the energy of Group work, but expressed on a higher level of the spiral than that of the Piscean era. The inter-group work we see happening all around us now is colored by the realization of our deep connection with all life on the planet and by a respect for our diversity of expression. Inclusiveness is the keynote, as is a concern for the good of the whole. Humanity is truly beginning to “think globally” in that we now look at the impact our actions may have on the planet and on whole systems. Groups of the past were often highly competitive – each jealously guarding their own members and territory from other groups. Exclusivity was the Piscean keynote. But the growing understanding of our essential oneness has begun to change the relationship between groups. We now see groups in all areas of human endeavor working together, pooling resources and skills and taking advantage of the strength in numbers. Unity in diversity has become a keynote of this work. In this issue we explore and celebrate this wonderful trend in human affairs. Join us! Unity in diversity Chaos
theory looks right into the heart of diversity and reveals unity. Recognise your group and all other similar groups as parts of a worldwide spiritual movement which (when it reaches momentum) results in unity for all. A super-organisation which emphasises unity is the last thing to be desired; a multiplicity of living organisms held loosely together by cooperation, constant communication and possessing identity of goal and of purpose is what the world needs today. Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II, Alice A. Bailey, p. 458 It is time for all of us who believe that we live in an era of shifting paradigm to understand more deeply that the changes we are advocating are predicated on relationship--that the wealth of the future and our ability to work efficiently and effectively are all about accessing webs of relationship. Nina Utne from A Wealth of Relationships in the July-August 2003 Utne magazine - www.utne.com The Significance of Intergroup Work by Gordon Davidson World Server groups are found in every country, culture and tradition of the world, and can be recognized by their universal, non-dogmatic approach, their love of humanity and their willingness to serve the enlightenment and redemption of humanity at any personal cost, and often in very innovative ways. They may simply be a small group of three or more, quietly meditating and working in their community, or very large national or international groups that encourage exploring and developing the inner life, an appreciation for the deeper principles that govern our world and lives, with a commitment to inspiring others to make a contribution to the upliftment of humanity, based on an experienced Oneness of Spirit within their group, and with those they serve. However, even with the most enlightened and selfless groups, there is an inevitable tendency to become insular and to stay within the ring-pass-not of their own work. This can happen gradually, due to the separative tendencies of the mind, as groups begin to regard the work of other groups through a lens of separation, and see the work of other groups as somehow not quite right, glamoured, or otherwise flawed. We might then ask, why is it important to relate to other groups? Why not just let each group go on doing its self-chosen work, knowing that each one is part of the One Work, and all subjectively linked? The Tibetan teacher who worked with Alice Bailey stated that groups serving other groups and working together would be a major characteristic of the Aquarian age. Intergroup work is important because the current degree of crisis/opportunity in humanity and its world today demands new approaches. Although the fundamental principles and touchstones remain constant, the methods, techniques and requirements of group work are constantly changing, based on the inflow of new energies, the expanding consciousness of humanity and the deepening capacities of servers. Men and women of high spiritual quality, deep compassion and keen intellect, who are dedicated to serving humanity and are impacting world affairs are emerging everywhere. The Dalai Lama, Oscar Arias, Gro Brundtland, Vaclav Havel, Mary Robinson, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, are a few examples. There are many others, working behind the scenes, who are influencing and uplifting human affairs, conditioning human thought and raising the kingdoms of nature. They work through organizations that support the United Nations and through movements for the rights of the abused and oppressed everywhere, for the protection and love of the kingdoms of nature, and for the directing of humanity towards building the new, principled civilization. Groups also are being asked to take a new stance in relation to the world and to each other. Intergroup cooperation, meeting the spiritual needs of humanity, and fulfilling a bridging function between the sources of spiritual inspiration and the New Group of World Servers (those who love and selflessly serve humanity) are some of the new requirements of groups today. Hence the need for intergroup relationships based on an unshakable Oneness of Spirit, expressed through cooperation and coordinated work, that includes many different groups all over the world. Due to the new energies of synthesis impacting humanity, the trend in human thinking and planning towards synthesis and amalgamation, is accelerating, although it is sometimes expressed in a distorted manner. The development of the European Monetary Union, with a single European currency is one example among the many new free trade regions and gradual unifications that are emerging in Asia, North and South America, and recently proposed for East Africa. Though these trends are often manipulated for material control and dominance, synthesis can still result if there is a change in the underlying purpose... The emergence of United Religions, an effort to end conflict and wars caused by religious differences by creating an organization similar to the United Nations is another example of the trend towards synthesis. This keynote of creating a new synthesis of forms which reveals the light within, is reflected in the concept of intergroup work. It seems we are being asked to create a new form for the world - intergroup work, which honors the purpose, integrity and light of existing groups, but also builds active, cooperative relationships between groups, based on an experience of the One Soul and the universality of the work. This results in a synergized form of intergroup work that embodies and releases more light. This form allows each group to carry out its unique and essential purpose, while also choosing to unite and work in coordination with other groups when such collaboration enhances their chosen purposes. There can be a great deal of unity and coordination on the universal essentials that everyone agrees upon. Thus groups that can adapt to, and utilize new tools and techniques that can reach a humanity in need, while maintaining a sense of higher principle and purpose, become more useful. Many are utilizing modern means such as the internet, email and faxes to increase purposeful communication between groups. Likewise, groups are functioning as points of synthesis in the world, bringing a range of individuals and groups into contact with each other, promoting unity, cooperation and ultimately, fusion. As these groups come together for intergroup work, they are building a united focus of consciousness. The larger intergroup moves as a unified world body, with a cooperative, coordinated strategy. It then becomes a receiver and distributor of new energies that can inspire and move forward the work of all the participating groups. And it provides what is needed for an integrated, world group vehicle oriented around a higher principle. Once the group has achieved this level of integration, it can then organize itself around projects and programs that all agree to participate in and can benefit from in expanded service. Many today realize that humanity's need and the current crisis/opportunity is so great that world server group work must increase its power and effectiveness in order to truly meet the needs of the times. It is becoming clear that the crisis that humanity currently faces is unprecedented, and that a battle is underway for the very soul and future of humanity. The forces of materialism are waging an all-out effort to convince unawakened humanity that self-interest, greed and separateness are logical, acceptable and viable means of organizing our world. Pioneering work along intergroup lines has been done by the Los Angeles Intergroup with several groups working together to co-sponsor the Three Spiritual Festivals. The World Service Intergroup has organized several international gatherings and conferences. This type of approach is being experimented with today by varous intergroup networks, which have been steadily growing. True intergroup work has the purpose of strengthening active intergroup cooperation, building lighted linkages between different groups, and at the same time strengthening a recognized inner synthesis. This is the true significance of international intergroup work. Gordon Davidson is co-founder and President of The Center for Visionary Leadership. He co-authored Spiritual Politics and Builders of the Dawn and co-founded Sirius, an educational center and ecological village in Massachusetts in 1978. Gordon is the former Executive Director of the Social Investment Forum and the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies. He is a Fellow of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, on the Board of Directors of Meditation Mount in Ojai, CA, and has taught spiritual development and social change for over 20 years in the U.S. and Europe.
love is a place yes is a world
e. e.
cummings
synergetic.
Roget's II: The New
Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995.
It's hard to work in groups when you're omnipotent. News Item: A Declaration of Interdependence
From the David Suzuki Foundation
I call you to no organisational
loyalties, but only to love your fellowmen, be they German, American, British,
French or Asiatic. I call you from your dreams of vague beauty, impossible
Utopias and wishful thinking to face life as it is today; and then to begin, in
the place where you are, to make it better. I call you to the experiment of
right human relations, beginning with your own personal relations to your family
and friends, and then to the task of educating those you contact so that they
also start a similar work. It is the work of attaining right individual
relations, right group relations, right intergroup relations, right national
relations and right international relations. I call you to the realisation that
in this work no one is futile or useless, but that all have a place of practical
value. I call you to recognise that goodwill is a dynamic energy which can bring
about world changes of a fundamental kind, and that its mode of expression is
through the activity of the individual man and woman and through their massed
intent. The massed power of goodwill, the dynamic effect of intelligent and
active understanding, and the potency of a trained and alive public opinion
which desires the greatest good of the greatest number, are beyond belief. This
dynamic power has never been employed. It can, today, save the world. Margaret Mead Was Right These words from Margaret Mead pop up everywhere: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead was right, and if you need convincing, consider the numbers: there are an estimated 7.5 million grassroots groups in the United States alone, according to grassroots scholar David Horton Smith, who says these groups represent "a major engine of democratic participation." Indeed. And that engine is revving, powering all kinds of positive change around the world. Entrepreneur and activist Anita Roddick writes on how revolutionary eccentrics with wild ideas are righting wrongs from child labor to economic injustice. These revolutionaries, Roddick says, "change the world because their passion and conviction will not allow them not to."..."Real change can be small-scale and still be revolutionary." Roddick writes. "All it takes is an ability to see other possibilities, and the willingness to help others see them, too."
From the Hope Magazine
July/August 2003 issue At the Interfaith Conference, Anglican Bishop William E. Swing issued the challenge for a new global civilization:
"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it." An end to violence
conducted in the name of religion. It's a radical idea that just might work.
Religious leaders from 50 countries are joining in an effort to find out... Making Peace Between Religions They gathered in a circle as the medicine man lit a pipe of sacred tobacco on the Palo Alto campus of Stanford University. A Buddhist monk stood next to a Muslim cleric, an Episcopalian bishop alongside a shaman from East Africa. The last rays of the late afternoon sun caught the smoke and the blessings. Later, the 220 people gathered from 50 countries would listen to African-American storytelling and Andean music and join in a circle to learn Sufi dancing. The sharing of sacred rituals and cultural traditions was only part of the agenda for the global summit of the United Religions Initiative. The URI was born of a dream that the spiritual leaders of the world would stop "squandering the treasure chest of spirituality which religions could offer the world," in the words of founder, William Swing, Episcopalian bishop of California. Swing's vision is that this treasure chest could be put to use building peace--particularly among religious and ethnic groups that have been at war.
The United Religions Initiative was born three years ago in San Francisco, after the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of the United Nations. Bishop Swing was asked to speak at the UN celebration, and the question that stayed with him after the event was this: If the nations of the world have a place to gather and work out their differences, why shouldn't the world's religions? Bishop Swing took that question to religious leaders around the world. He found little support among the top leadership of the established religions, where questions of position and protocol can be as relentless as those in diplomatic circles. But he found warm support among religious and spiritual people at all other levels and from all traditions; these are the people who form the working group--United Religions Initiative. Local action with a global presence "Imagine an organization that is inclusive, decentralized, self-sustaining, where decisions are made at local levels, resources are shared, where local actions are connected to form a global presence, where the spiritual wisdom of all faith traditions is revered, and where the deepest values of people are respected and put into action for the good of all." That challenge greeted each delegate to this year's gathering as they began drafting a charter for the United Religions Initiative. To make the vision a reality, the founders turned to organizational development guru Dee Hocks. URI will be a "chaordic" organization, which places the bulk of the authority at the local level. Chaordic, a term coined by Hocks, combines the word "chaos" and "order." Key to this concept is a clear statement of purpose, principles, and practices. With those in place, an organization can be decentralized, flexible, and self-organizing while maintaining its integrity of purpose.
The draft purpose of the URI, as approved at the June gathering, is: "To create a safe space for a spiritual partnership in which the people of the world pursue justice, healing, and peace with reverence for all life." This statement will form the foundation of the URI charter, which will circulate among members of the world's religions for comment and revision in preparation for ratification in the year 2000. At that point, organizers hope to formally launch the United Religions, a 21st century, religious-based version of the United Nations. The URI gatherings have a tone distinct from that of UN conferences or many other international gatherings. In order to create the "safe space for spiritual partnership" envisioned by the delegates, organizers drew on a process, known as Appreciative Inquiry, developed by David Cooperrider. This process is designed to help people discover what gives life to their organization and to develop together shared images of future possibilities to be co-created. The URI gathering began with delegates taking turns interviewing one another about their calling to the work of peace making, and their interest in URI and its goals. The intent, according to the facilitators, was to "live into" the United Religions by being fully "present and available to discover the best of what your fellow human beings have to offer."
Taking action for peace The appreciative, chaordic model is beginning to bear fruit:
A declaration signed by almost all the delegates from India and Pakistan called for global nuclear disarmament, dialogue and confidence-building between religious and cultural leaders from India and Pakistan, and an ongoing Indo-Pakistan dialogue under the auspices of the URI. The time is right for the people of different faiths to meet, Bishop Swing believes. "There is enormous harm that can be done on this planet in the name of God," he said. "If we seek cooperation among religions instead of destruction, we'll see a whole new world." You can reach the United Religions Initiative at PO Box 29242, San Francisco, CA 94129-0242. 415/561-2300, Fax: 415/561-2313 Email: office@uri.org; Web: www.uri.org. http://www.futurenet.org/7Peacebuilding/URI.html "There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the world religions...."No world peace without peace among religions; no peace among religions without dialog between religions." Hans Küng
http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/March02/Zwicky/Figures/figure1.jpg "We simply cannot enter the next century at each other’s throats. . . We are at a crucial crossroad in the history of this nation — and we either hang together by combating the forces that divide and degrade us or we hang separately. Do we have the intelligence, humor, imagination, courage, tolerance, love, respect, and will to meet the challenge?" — Cornel West
News Item: For five days in mid-June, 2003, 160 members of forty-eight groups from 17 countries met at Findhorn Foundation in Scotland for the 8th annual WSI gathering. Members of the WSI are educational and meditation groups located around the world who study and honor all of the great spiritual teachings of the ages, especially the more modern presentations by H.P. Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, Helena Roerich and other teachers of the Ageless Wisdom. The WSI is committed to developing intergroup contact, cooperation and synthetic, subjective work. They have been meeting each year since 1996 during one of the Three Spiritual Festivals in various locations around the world including New York, London, Geneva, Darjeeling and Tokyo. Co-sponsoring Groups of the event were:
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on this notification list. "Imagine an organization that is inclusive, decentralized, self-sustaining, where decisions are made at local levels, resources are shared, where local actions are connected to form a global presence, where the spiritual wisdom of all faith traditions is revered, and where the deepest values of people are respected and put into action for the good of all."
There are some serious moves being made in the United States to control
Page Two of our News-zine is very full this time. Here you will find a
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