Edgewalkers

Serving Those Who Walk Between the Worlds

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Let There be Light: Appreciating the Flamekeeper

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Flamekeeper, photo by Vadim Sadovski from Unsplash

By Susan K Furness, Edgewalker Senior Associate

I love playing with polarities or opposites. I embrace their canny ability to help recognise positive learning, naming my truth through observation and not opinion. I mean, if I am unable to describe the liberation in fearlessness, could I tackle the paralysis of fear? Likewise, if I haven’t lived in dark or darkness, could I name light? 

In her book, Edgewalkers Dr. Judi Neal unleashes truths in the experience of the moment. Indeed, the book was birthed after years in the corporate world, and she later integrated her business experience with academia-based research. As her professional insights were compared with freshly harvested data she was able to ground her intuitive knowing. 

Published in 2006, her book cements more than 25 years of research. She describes Edgewalkers as on the cutting edge of human evolution suggesting when an Edgewalker archetype is awake to self-truth they become committed to making a positive difference in the world.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Judi embraces the realization we each show up with different worldviews or what we call “Archetypes of Change.”

I joined the Edgewalker community in 2007 joyfully embracing her glossary describing eclectic approaches to communications, planning, innovation, risk-taking, and openness to change that I witness in business and life. 

As with polarities, such words help flick the switch to understanding. In a ‘blink’ as experience is named, my individual worldview and response is ripe for evolution. In that moment, I resemble Dr Judi’s profiling of an Edgewalker : ‘using human potential to integrate intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual energy in service to something greater (than myself)’. 

Dr. Judi cautions : “It can be lonely being out on the edge, and people often think you are crazy….”.

Ain’t that a fact; one I receive as good news, least not in the these curiously lingering corona times as many seek the ‘new useful’. In this hazy light, I welcome a guiding light and in pops the second archetype, the Flamekeeper. 

Dr. Judi describes : Flamekeepers are those people who keep the original vision of the organization or community system alive. They keep wise counsel and are focused on what is best about the past … open to change, using experience to honor what has worked in the past.

These attributes influence my toolkit as I step willingly yet cautiously into 2021 – some pundits label it ‘twenty twenty won’. I opt to carry luggage not baggage, appreciating the courage required to bless goodbye to what doesn’t serve anymore. This takes de-cluttering to a new place, often on the edge of surrender. 

Dr. Judi reminds us a Flamekeeper orientation pays homage to the guiding mission and purpose : “A strong sense of stewardship permeates the culture of a Flamekeeper organization, allowing the business to carry into the future the best of the past, while also remaining adaptive and nimble.”

The Flamekeeper also appreciate values : ‘…values are clearly articulated, and employees are able to name when actions are in alignment with these values.’

I deeply value the vault of vocabulary unleashed by Dr. Judi’s work especially the nimble relationship to change and a graceful relationship to time akin to the five archetypes. 

And there is no time like the present to face our truth and douse the flame that no longer serves. These times call us as beacons; to illuminate an expansionary view of our world as we walk the bridge to oneness in love, prosperity and peace.

You can read more about Edgewalker Organizations and the Archetypes of Change (called “Orientations” in the article, by clicking in this website on Resources/Articles by Judi Neal/Edgewalker Organizations.

Edgewalkers in the New Era

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Patricia Campanile, Senior Edgewalker Associate


Dr. Judi Neal, author of “Edgewalkers: People and Organizations that Take Risks, Build Bridges and Break New Ground” (Praeger 2006) defines Edgewalkers as “people who walk between worlds and have the ability to build bridges between different worlds. They have a strong inner life and are very grounded and effective in the everyday external world.” There are five Archetypes of Change that people and organizations may take, depending on the situation. They affect the extent to which the individual or organization can truly be on the leading edge. The Edgewalker Archetype looks to the future and is focused on openness to possibilities.

“Edgewalkers” are needed now more than ever in the New Year, in the NEW ERA. How do you know if you are an Edgewalker – walking, working, living on the leading edge? I have a distinct memory of first hearing the word when my long time friend and colleague Dr. Judi Neal was writing the book and birthing the idea. I felt instantly connected to the word “Edgewalkers” and was excited that there was a term, a way of being that I could relate to. I have always felt different and lived out of the box. My whole life I sensed that I was called to do something something special in world. I live an unusual yet exciting nomadic lifestyle full of adventure, wonder, magic. My (w) holistic shift in perspective includes embracing diversity and assisting my coaching clients and organizations in bridging new ways of thinking and being. I seek guidance and make choices in my life and work based on trusting my strong intuition and living first from the inside out and then the outside in. I seek to walk between worlds as I integrate the spiritual and the earthly. My strong foundation is built on a rich spiritual life combined with grounded down-to-earth, strategic and practical skills.

As we bridge this pivotal time in the world, we can create our future and use the chaos and uncertainty we find ourselves in as an opportunity to break new ground and expand our possibilities. Edgewalkers are often global, Universal citizens who often have an unusual combination of interests, speak many languages and are familiar with many cultures. Strongly aware of the problems of the whole planet, Edgewalkers want to see more action taken. They are not afraid of risk taking, making changes and recognizing the importance of evolutionary transformation during this fertile time in history. As leaders they are different from the typical leader you might find in an organization. For example, they naturally listen beyond the words that are spoken and align their work with their deepest values. They are not afraid to explore new ideas and wonder about what the next new thing is in their field or area of interest. There are many Edgewalkers in the world. You are not alone. We are increasingly attracting and connecting with our “tribe”, our people, as we provide one another support, growth, collaboration, community and focused vision.

Fellow Edgewalkers we embrace you, celebrate you, invite you to join us on this evolutionary journey. Now more than ever this New Year is the perfect time, a New Era, to consciously choose and courageously contribute our innovative ideas, creative solutions, unique experiences, and Divine gifts to the planet. We are the ones we have been waiting for!

Connectedness and Oneness

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Photo Credit: Gabriella Gould, Unsplash

By Judi Neal, Founder, Edgewalkers International

Over the past several months we have been sharing blogs on each of the five qualities of an Edgewalker: (1) Self-Awareness, (2) Passion, (3) Integrity, (4) Vision, and (5) Playfulness. Each of these qualities contributes to individuals and leaders being innovative, creative, and on the leading edge. We also shared the five skills of an Edgewalker, with today’s post being the last in this series: (1) Sensing the Future, (2) Risk-Taking, (3) Manifesting, (4) Focusing, and (5) Connecting.  In the Edgewalker book, this last skill was originally called “Appreciating,” but our research based on surveys using the Edgewalker ProfileTM confirmed that “Connecting” is the higher order skill.

We see Self-Awareness as the foundational quality of Edgewalkers. Without it, none of the other qualities and skills can arise at any meaningful level.  By the same token, we see Connecting as the essential outcome of being an Edgewalker.  Edgewalkers are the quintessential connectors. We define Connecting as:

The ability to see and build unique connections between people, tasks and ideas.

I would like to take this definition deeper and say that the skill of Connecting is based on a level of consciousness that sees the world as interconnected and at a profound level knows that everything is Oneness. This level of consciousness comes from two sources. The first is what I call a moment of grace. People often describe these as mystical experiences, where their perception shifts from separateness to being merged with everything. These experiences are accompanied by overwhelming feelings of bliss, joy, and love. Quite often, an experience like this leads a person onto the spiritual path and to a transformation of personality and life. Think of St. Paul’s “Road to Damascus” experience of the light.  We don’t earn these experiences and we can’t control them and make them happen. I think of them as gifts from the Universe.

Many things bring about these moments of grace; rituals, sacred spaces, or being in nature for example. They can also be a result of illness, near-death experiences, or great loss. It’s what we do with these wake-up calls that matters.  Research shows that an overwhelming majority of people who have near-death experiences come back knowing that they are here for a reason, even if they don’t know what it is. That’s what happened to me in childbirth when I was twenty-four years old, and at first, I thought I was the only one who had ever been sent back. It was such a relief years later, after reading Raymond Moody’s book Life After Life, where I learned that many people have shared this experience of dying and coming back. The key thing is that the experience motivated me to understand why I was sent back and to learn what is mine to do.

The second source of this consciousness of Oneness is some form of regular contemplative practice. We usually think of meditation, prayer or journaling as the primary contemplative practices. Fred Tsao and Chris Laszlo call these “practices of connectedness” in their book Quantum Leadership where they describe a vast array of practices beyond the typical ones, including Appreciative Inquiry, art and aesthetics, and shared group level practices. When I did my research for Edgewalkers, I found that the most common form of contemplative practice in the leaders I studied was what Tsao and Laszlo call nature immersion. Thich Nhat Han says even washing dishes can be a contemplative practice if you shift your attention to oneness with the soapy water, and a sense of service as you clean the dishes. New Year’s Eve, as celebrated in the Western world is upon us, and the majority of the human race is happy to see 2020 go. As we move into 2021, I encourage you to amplify whatever practices you have that lead you to a greater sense of connection and Oneness with the world. We don’t need everyone on the planet to see and live from this Oneness, we just need a critical mass of Edgewalkers, Shamans, healers, corporate change agents, spiritual activists, and artists to do their inner work so that our outer work together makes a positive difference. We also need to see our connection to one another and to know in our bones that we are a part of a greater emergence in the world of a higher level of collective consciousness. You are not alone.

The Fiction and the Fact of Focusing

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Photo courtesy of Pexels

By Susan Furness, Edgewalkers Senior Associate

As I focus on Focusing, the serious side of me is provoked. I mean if I am going to focus, I must give my full attention, right? I need to carve time to focus on the job-in-hand. I need be fully attentive to be in the game. I need to be clear on the direction to shoot the goal. 

Yet, I could confuse the rules of the game. I could miss the net. Indeed, Old Father Time might have other plans, and send in the proverbial curved ball. 

These in-the-moment pontifications masquerading as observations convert a word that has an air of delicacy into the energetic of a chore. A chore that comes with its own rules, regulations and standard operating procedures, smacking of a straitjacket when I favour a wardrobe with flow. 

Doh!

This is why I have spent years in the lap of procrastination as I labour along giving Susan-styled lip-service to my kinship with focus; I am fearful I might roll the wrong dice, kick the wrong ball, run in the wrong direction, get side-lined and benched on the wrong side of the court in the lap of the competition. 

No way! 

I am Numero Uno. My Enneagram team shirt says Number 1 – the Perfectionist. My fact of the fiction of Focusing is the perfectionist in me brings out the procrastinator in me and I lose my eye on focus to the mouth of ‘I really am needed over there right, now’. 

Blink! Hello Ego.

This is it. To be the art of focus requires the practise of letting go – to surrender into the moment of Now is to Focus. Captain Ego is a misfit in this match.

In this moment, I am living proof of the fact, not the fiction, of Focusing. I am taking each moment to listen to my heart before I ask my head to let my fingers to do the walking on the keyboard and type this blog. 

In the flow of focus, I gather and join ‘moments of focus’, newly defined by me now as ‘the journey of Manifestation’ freshly described as ‘the act of weaving moments of focus to deliver the present in the present.’ 

In her book Edgewalkers; People and Organizations that Take Risks, Build Bridges and Break New Ground, Dr Judi Neal identifies Focusing as one of the five Edgewalker Skills. The good news is she states, “the Edgewalker skills can be developed step-by-step through training, attention and practice.”

I’m all in. To be in service to what is next now, I must be in infinite practise – of letting go. 

Dr Neal defines the skill of focusing as “the ability to be very centered and to give all your attention to an action or project that has significance and importance.” She goes on to share that “manifesting is the ability to take concrete, practical steps and bring a thought, idea or vision into being.”

When I live with focus, I can focus and manifest with grace, I can I shoot into the back of the right net and I am able to cross a finite finishing line. This blog stands as example. A non-fiction blog that is a manifested fact of focus. 

Mastering the Magic of Manifesting!

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By Patricia Campanile

Manifesting, as defined by Dr. Judi Neal in her book “Edgewalkers” is “The ability to try what hasn’t been tried before, to trust your instincts, and to break new ground.” Manifesting is one of the five Edgewalker Skills that can be developed step-by-step through training, attention and practice. It is one of the ‘doing’ elements of Edgewalkers that has been identified – the actions, behaviors, and skills that help an individual or an organization to function on the leading edge.

Manifestation is bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief – if you think it, it will come. However, there is more to manifestation than positive thinking and willpower via your thoughts, beliefs, actions and emotions. Magical Manifesting begins when you realize and apply the Universal Law “What You Focus on Expands” and continues with the Law of Attraction “Energy Follows Thought”. The exciting truth is Law of Attraction knows no bounds and manifestation can be wide-reaching in all areas of your life. Once you start “Mastering the Magic of Manifesting” there’s no limit to what—or how often or how much—you can manifest.

Often what is stopping you from manifesting your dreams is you. Self-Awareness is essential in changing your mindset and behaviors. You will need to stay focused and remove any obstacles which may cloud your vision, including fear and negative self-talk. For example, if you often find yourself questioning your worth or saying “I don’t deserve this,” think of all the reasons why you are worthy and deserving. It is also important to focus on what you have, not what you don’t have.

The good news is you have the power, the “magic wand”, to manifest your dreams and desires. An exciting and life-changing result of my Edgewalker journey has been “Mastering the Magic of Manifesting.” I focus my attention on what I want, knowing that I DO create my reality by choosing to consciously co-create with Spirit. I connect with and trust my intuition and take inspired action that results in breaking new ground in manifesting my dreams and desires. I always ask for the Highest Good and Divine Right Timing for myself and all involved. I am open and expectant to “This or something better” as the Universe often has a bigger plan, more creative outcome and unexpected surprises that I could never imagine with my conscious mind and limited perspective. I remember that the “Universe Handles the Details”. The how is none of my business. My focus is on what I want (NOT what I don’t want).

To begin manifesting be clear about your goals, dreams, your heart’s desires. Everyone is unique and approaches manifestation differently. Honor what feels best for you. The more clear and concise you can be, the better. You need to ask the Universe for what you want once you’ve identified exactly what your hopes, dreams, and goals are. You can write a letter to the Universe, or speak your intentions out loud, do a ritual, or create a vision board with images, phrases and photos that speak to you. Use visual tools to keep you driven and focused. Once you ask the Universe for what you want keep an eye out for signs of achievement or success.

Knowing what you want is half the battle and taking action is key as you will not see any results without action. As an Edgewalker coach I often ask my clients the question, “Where do you see and feel yourself a year from now.” I support them in imagining and envisioning their future self. Reframing your mindset this way will enable you to be successful. Act as if, fake it to you make it. ‘Being’ the person who already has, does, and feels your dreams, desires and goals helps you become that person and magnetically attracts to you what you want to manifest. Gratitude is key. While you may not get everything you envision in the order and time frame you want, however you should receive and acknowledge what you do get. Be grateful for what is on the way and mindful and thankful for what you do receive.

“Magical Manifesting” is a fluid process. To be a “Master Magician” you must be flexible. Faith is a guiding force and a powerful motivator. Work towards your goals and remain receptive. The steps you take do not matter as much as your belief, so trust your actions, visions, and clarity as well as the ‘Powers that be.’ If you see it and feel it, you will achieve it. The easiest way to manifest anything is to be clear about what you want. Don’t give the universe mixed signals… and take action. What you can visualize in your mind, you can hold in your hands. Use your magic wand! You have manifesting to do!

Patricia Campanile, M.H.S.A.

Certified Edgewalker Coach & Facilitator #239-248-5800

Calibrating Risk

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Photo by Valentin Betancur

By Judi Neal

One of the things that distinguishes Edgewalkers, those who walk on the leading edge, is their willingness to take risks that others might not. I define healthy risk-taking as; “The ability to try what hasn’t been tried before, to trust your instincts, and to break new ground.” Because of their interest in exploring what’s over the horizon and their passion for creating something new, Edgewalkers are likely to take calibrated risks in service of making a difference.  With the Edgwalkers I have interviewed, it is not unusual to hear that they have made major changes in their lives.  One successful artist destroyed all his work one night and went off to live on an island in Puget Sound to go more deeply into what wanted to emerge through him.  A year later he began making art again and his work was more three-dimensional and powerful than ever before.  Business leaders have bet the farm on a new product or service. Others have been willing to move to an unknown place because something was calling. Some have closed down or sold companies that became too constraining for where their spirit was leading them.  

However, not all risk-taking is made up of dramatic life-changes. Sometimes the risk can be a small act that makes a huge difference.  It can be the choice to listen deeply rather than lecturing or trying to control a person. It can be a choice to be vulnerable and to speak your truth to another, even if it might endanger the relationship.  It can even be a choice to sit still and just be with yourself and your anxiety when you would rather be up and busy doing anything but listening to your own still, small voice.  

It’s important to caliberate between risk-taking and risky behavior. When I talk about risk-taking, the context is taking action in service of something greater. Edgewalkers, in their risk-taking, are responding to a vision of something they want to manifest, and they are willing to do what it takes to create something that has never existed before.  They feel a sense of calling and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to fulfill their destiny.  

Risky behavior, on the other hand, comes from the ego and is often not healthy. It is done in the service of thrill-seeking and selfish pleasure.  It does not consider the impact on others.  I am not talking here of extreme athletes and others who want to push the boundaries of human potential. I am talking about behavior that puts self and others in potential danger. Street racing, drinking games, risky sexual behavior, gambling are examples of unhealthy risky behavior. At the moment they might make someone feel more fully alive, but there is a good chance of potential harm and long-term consequences.

In these days of Covid-19, I have chosen to take zero risk. I have work that matters to me now and in the future, and I want to be healthy and alive to do it. I don’t socialize, even outdoors. I don’t travel, even though I miss my family and friends. I wear a mask, even if I’m just walking on my street.  I am calibrating my personal risk very tightly because the negative repercussions on my loved ones and on the work I’m called to do are potentially too high to be worth even the slightest risk. These are my personal decisions and are based on my calibration of the costs vs. gains. Each person has to make their own calibration of the level of risk that works for them in their situation.  

A key guiding question is “Am I doing this in the service of what I’m called to do, or is this just for the momentary thrill and pleasure of it?” Your gut and your heart will know the right answer.