Let's march forward with the flags of our quiet belief aloft. On to the Savitri Era

[The well-known motivational theorist, Abraham Maslow, once commented: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail." Today many people are attempting to create organizational transformation using a hammer and nail mentality. They diligently hammer away at issues with logical, linear action plans, attempting to create major change with minimal chaos. Consequently, the results of their new initiatives are often merely incremental and sometimes only cosmetic... In short, the principles of quantum mechanics challenge us to turn our view of reality upside down and acknowledge that there is much more to life than meets the eye. -- by Charlotte Shelton WiseWork This article first appeared in the World Business Academy "Perspectives," March 1999. NewWork Opinion Home]

[On the westerners' side it is an insistence on "fact" and an analysis of objective facts on the basis of reason and an infants' psychology. --by Debashish on Mon 29 Sep 2008 10:23 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link Re: Rationalism and the yogic life 7:04 AM ]

[The message is clear: We are wasting our time trying to reach agreements while remaining at our present level of consciousness. The one thing needful is to grow beyond it... -- by koantum on Mon 29 Sep 2008 07:40 PM PDT Profile Permanent Link Re: Rationalism and the yogic life Science, Culture and Integral Yoga 11:14 AM]

[The other thing I discovered doing all that computer simulation work was that we almost never actually understand what specific policy changes will make the differences we intend. We had10,000 different variables we were tracking in the World Model and found that most of the seemingly obvious changes we made would usually make little difference (the system would compensate in unexpected ways), or would sometimes produce changes different from what we intended. Forrester called this the "counter intuitive behavior of social systems," which became a famous phrase among systems modelers. (He used the word "intuitive" in a different sense than SA does.) Forrester meant that the thousands of nonlinear feedback loops involved in today's complex national and especially global systems allow them to behave in unexpected ways compared to the simple mental ('intuitive') models we've constructed based on our everyday experience. To put it bluntly, we basically don't know what we're talking about! (Usually.) This is one of the reasons SA/M's work appeals to me. Their warnings against an overly mental approach to the world make complete sense to me. Today's policy and economic experts use computer models with hundreds of thousands of interacting nonlinear variables which still can only accurately predict for a couple of years what a given policy intervention would actually do (& that's assuming no exogenous changes). I've come to the conclusion that the only hope is to somehow connect with a deeper wisdom than merely mental processes can achieve,and the only way I know how to do that is through a serious sadhana based on a long-term well-tested spiritual tradition. After experiencing a few such traditions, my personal choice is that IY is the most effective way to accomplish this, though of course it's not a guaranteed result. -- by ronjon on Tue 09 Aug 2005 01:27 AM PDT Permanent Link From: Ron Anastasia (rjon@vzavenue.net)]

[ To me, attempting to resolve such a profound question from the limited viewpoints of normal human consciousness is fruitless. Sort of like scientific materialists attempting to prove/disprove the existence of the soul by weighing a body at the moment of death. I'd prefer to simply acknowledge the possibility of more expanded levels of consciousness in which direct personal experience may render the question moot. -- by ronjon on Sun 28 Sep 2008 01:48 PM PDT Profile Permanent Link 7:51 AM]

[9. EQUANIMITY: An established poise in the being which accepts all that comes, all that happens, with an attitude of perfect equality. There is no undue elation when things are favourable, no depression when they are unfavourable. The status in calm is never disturbed.
10. PERSEVERANCE: A dogged will to pursue the quest whatever the difficulties, whatever the setbacks. It involves adour, endurance and an attitude of never accepting defeat and giving up but always insisting on doing better and better till the goal is reached.
11. COURAGE: A thrust in nature that defies all danger and threat of circumstances and goes forward with conviction of truth on its side. This courage is not physical alone; it is a natural daring that is active on all the level of the being. There is a vital, moral, mental and spiritual courage.
12 PEACE: A state of established inner immovability. An undisturbable state of consciousness, firm like a rock, exhuding a liberated joy.
These four relate to our attitude to the world around. The divine consciousness found itself in us in the measure in which we establish these powers in ourselves. -- The Mother, The Twelve Powers Explained]

The need of the hour is to focus on convergences by latching on to a global (not merely ecological or economic) perspective. Differences may signify the symptoms, but the cure is already at the core of a promised Harmony. To follow and not falter, to dare and not doubt, to defy adversity and not succumb to a lack of conviction are our obvious levers of collaboration. To believe in no other solution, to run after no other power or promise is our forte. Let's march forward with the flags of our quiet belief aloft. On to the Savitri Era! [TNM]