Edgewalkers

Serving Those Who Walk Between the Worlds

Edgewalkers

Choose Love Not Fear

I want to share an article I wrote for our local newspaper recently, in response to the multiple terror attacks.

Choose Love Not Fear

How do people of faith make sense of the horror of terrorism attacks in Paris, Lebanon, Syria, Russia and so many places around the world? These are questions I am dealing with right now, especially because I have friends in Paris, and because I had a wonderful trip there a year ago, where my only concern was pickpockets.  The spiritual principle for me in this context is “Choose love, not fear.”  For me, God is love, and fear is an expression of not trusting God’s greater good.

When I find myself fearful, which happens more than I would like to admit, I try to remember to choose love, and not give into fear. The descriptions in the news of the actions of the terrorists in Paris did evoke fear in me.  It made me wonder if I would ever want to go to Paris again. Or New York.  Or London.  Or any other place that I imagine a terrorist might want to attack.  And I can easily slip into thinking of the shootings in theaters, churches, schools, and the Oklahoma City bombing.  Or closer to home, I think about the student who killed a professor in his office in the building next to where I used to work at the University of Arkansas.  It’s so easy to be afraid.  But that is not what spiritual traditions teach us.

In the Bible, every time an angel appears to a prophet or to someone like Mary, the angel says “fear not.”  Melinda Martin, a minister’s wife in Texas, went through her concordance and found that “fear not” is listed 80+ times, and other similar phrases such as “be not afraid” are used 30+ times. Some examples are:

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified (Matthew 28:5).”
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John (Luke 1:13).”

 

The Hebrew Bible offers this spiritual guidance:  “Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh (Proverbs 3:25).”  What an interesting phrase “Desolation of the wicked.”  A definition of desolation is “a state of complete emptiness or destruction.”  The etomology of the word is from Latin, desolare, ‘to abandon.’ But who or what is abandoned when a person or group willingly causes desolation?  Perhaps they have abandoned God, or feel abandoned by a materialistic society, or perhaps they have abandoned their own soul. I can read it this word as ‘de-soul-ation,’ even though this is incorrect etomologically.  It might be correct theologically.  Somehow these individuals have lost their own soul in the willingness to create terror and havoc among their human brothers and sisters.

Can my understanding from this perspective lead me to more compassion for people who commit heinous acts?  I wish I could say I was there, and I hope to get there someday.  I still find myself in grief and feeling empathy for the innocent victims of these acts.  Perhaps over time, or as I evolve on my spiritual path, compassion for terrorists and other perpetrators of violence will come to me more naturally and more quickly.

After 9/11, the Dalai Lama said, “Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force because it does not address the complex underlying problems. In fact the use of force may not only fail to solve the problems, it may exacerbate them and frequently leaves destruction and suffering in its wake. Human conflicts should be resolved with compassion.  The key is non-violence…I would also like to point out that talk of nonviolence when things are going smoothly is not of much relevance.  It is precisely when things become really difficult, urgent and critical that we should think and act nonviolently.”

In response to questions about the Paris attacks, the Dalai Lama has a very interesting perspective on how to take spiritual action.  He said during an interview, “We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place.”

I am not an expert on international relations or on Middle East history or in any other field that would allow me to offer suggestions to leaders about how to solve this problem.  I don’t have the answers.  What I hold onto is the belief that humanity is evolving, as Teilhard de Chardin explains so eloquently, and that there is a very large body of evidence that we collectively are getting less violent each century, decade and year.  Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard University, has documented the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present and says, “we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.”  It’s difficult to believe this if you spend a lot of time reading the news, but the fact is – violence sells.  However, it is not the way most humans conduct themselves in the world.

The news is not likely to guide us in seeing acts of kindness and compassion in the world, so its up to us individually and collectively to see and foster compassion where ever we can – to choose love, not fear.  Fayetteville has been designated as a Compassionate City by the International Campaign for Compassionate Communities. Compassion Fayetteville focuses on documenting daily acts of kindness.  “Seek and ye shall find (Matthew 7:7).”  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).”  There are many opportunities every day to choose love not fear.  By paying attention to this choice, we can move towards more love in the world. That is the best way I know of, in this moment, to combat terrorism.  It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got.

Dr. Judi Neal is the Chairman and CEO of Edgewalkers International, a consulting firm focused on workplace spirituality.  She is the author of four books, including Edgewalkers, and Creating Enlightened Organizations.

Hearthtenders

I often get asked if I think everyone in an organization should be an Edgewalker?  My answer is no.  An organization full of Edgewalkers would be chaotic.  Edgewalkers are the explorers and bridge builders, and they are drawn to be on the boundary of the organization.  It would be like having a Native American tribe full of scouts, with no one to watch the children or skin the buffalo.  If everyone was an Edgewalker in an organization, there would be no one to take the orders, keep the records, answer the phone calls and do the other work that keeps the engine running.

Those tasks are the role of the Hearthtender.  In every well-functioning organization, you have people who have a strong spirit of service and who have a gift for managing the details of the day-to-day work.  Hearthtenders are not drawn to change the way an Edgewalker is, but they welcome change if it makes their jobs more efficient and makes it easier to be of service to customers, whether those customers are internal or external.

I used to work in the organizational development department of a Honeywell manufacturing facility in Arizona.  One day people from Corporate got the bright idea that they could save money and please the stockholders if they held a layoff.   They got rid of most of the administrative assistants.  It was clear to me that they had no understanding at all of the huge role administrative assistnts play in getting the done. As you might expect, things quickly came to a standstill.

Two weeks later, all of the administrative assistants were back on the job.  The leadership had developed a new appreciation for the importance of the Hearthtender role.

I am collecting data on the typical distribution of each of the five Archetypes of Change in organizations – Edgewalkers, Flamekeepers, Hearthtenders, Placeholders, and Guardians.  My suspicion is that Hearthtenders will be the largest group by far.

If you are a leader trying to create transformation in your organization, it is very important to consider the worldview of the Hearthtenders, and to frame the positive benefits of the change in a way that appeals to people who value efficiency, a sense of personal connectedness, and the opportunity to be of service.  Most organizational change is pretty disruptive, and Hearthtenders will resist change that gets in the way of them doing their work in an effective way.

What ways have you found to get Hearthtenders on board?  Do you have a story of Hearthtender resistance to change – one with a happy ending? I’d love to hear from you.

Edgewalkers as Visionaries

art 1Each month I host an open teleconference on some topic of interest to Edgewalkers.  The purpose of these teleconferences is to help grow our Edgewalker community and to support and inspire people who feel called to live on the edge of what’s possible in the world.

This month’s topic was “Edgewalkers as Visionaries.”  Visioning is one of the five qualities of an Edgewalker, and Edgewalkers literally have visions.  They are deeply interested in the potential of the future and have a longing to contribute to a better world.  This longing is natural in all human beings, but is definitely more pronounced in some people.  Often it is the result of some difficult and life transforming event that resulted in personal suffering.  The Edgewalker is motivated to help prevent that suffering for others by some positive action in the world.

In our call this month, we explored the question of “What enhances your ability to be a visionary?”  Caring about the future, and believing that a better future is possible is essential.  One resource that inspires the possibility of a better future are the audio programs on www.integralenlightenment.com.  Or read John Renesch’s book “Getting to the Better Future.”  Or view the Stephen Pinker video on “The Myth of Violence,” http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html.  Edgewalkers look for evidence of the evolution of human consciousness, with the belief that what you pay attention to grows.

Many people assume that visionaries are impractical, but Edgewalkers are known for their ability to have visions and then to manifest them. Tom Anderson describes a vision as feeling like you are receiving a direct electrical charge of electricity from a power plant, and that the only way you can communicate it to others and move forward is to step it down through a series of transformers.  Others speak about the manifesting process as one of breaking things up into smaller, manageable steps.  A critical factor is having a community or a coach that helps you clarify your vision and holds you accountable for actions that you say you will take.

I would love to hear from you about any examples of a vision that you have been able to make into a reality.

Liminal Time

Doorway - janet deyI have never seen times as uncertain as these. I lived through the sixties, and there was an uncertainty, but there was also such a sense of hope and creativity. Something is different about the mood of humanity right now. There is so much more fear and dread. There are also more extremes. Look at the weather, sports, politics, terrorism.

Maybe the sixties were the warm-up act for what is occurring on the world stage today. The vision of a better, more peaceful, more sustainable world is not lost, it’s just buried under the news of Al-Qaeda’s leaders being killed, tornados and earthquakes destroying cities, and the economy going down the tube. There is a native American story about a grandfather telling his grandson about two wolves that are fighting each other. One is filled with fear and greed and violence and the other is filled with love and connection and gentleness. The young boy asks, “which one will win.” His grandfather answers, “The one you feed.”

The news and our daily conversations have been feeding the fearful, angry wolf. Our NGO work and our spiritual work feed the loving gentle wolf. We are in a liminal time where it is hard to see which wolf will win. Collectively we can begin to explore ways to withdraw energy from the fearful angry wolf and start feeding the loving gentle wolf.

Join me on June 21st, the Summer Solstice, as we explore the edges of liminal space and the bridging of world views. Call in number: 1-712-451-6100, participant code: 575735#. This call is free, although long distance charges may apply. The call is 7-8pm Central Time.

Photo courtesy of Janet Dey