Already this season, I have requests to lift spirits.
Everybody needs love and encouragement. It’s not the negative news, pictures or reporting that inspires us to respond to world pain. But positive vibrations do.
Inspired and soulful inquiries move conversations forward. Moving the conversation forward means speaking into community when your contribution inspires the learning environment. Lifting vibrations and aligning moves the conversation forward.
Old worldviews are problem-based with uninspired, and even toxic, vibrations. Humans resort to scarcity and fear-based thinking. Negative speech and dissecting issues brings the conversation down ... and us along with it.
Three days ago, a friend on Facebook posted on her timeline: “I’m leaving Facebook. I can’t stand all these awful images.” Putting up awful images on Linkedin, Facebook and in the media news shuts down inspiration and positive energy that could make a difference.
One person wrote in response to our friend leaving:
Posting horrible things is unnecessary to get the people who will help,
to help. And shock value of horrendous photos is not going to get the
people who are not already helping, to help.
to help. And shock value of horrendous photos is not going to get the
people who are not already helping, to help.
MaryGaye LeBoeuf
Old belief systems are dying out. Yet, there is still controversy about what creates positive change. I believe that MaryGaye is right; shock value does not motivate us to create positive change. Namaste Global Vision's ten years of research in the animal steward field suggests the same. There's a lot of despair, anger and burn-out in the animal steward field ... and a lot of negative results.
If you don’t do this by tonight.....it will be the end. This isn’t a message of hope. Nor does it inspire. When I get one of these Facebook messages, I have a sinking feeling; I have heart palpitations. I have to stop and do intentional work to re-align my vibrational field before I can move into a positive place...before I am RELIABLE to make a difference.
FIRST CHANGE YOUR VIBRATION AND THEN TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!
Noeline McManaway has been helping people for years to lift their vibrational field, transforming negative issues. She offers a rich perspective:
Once we get into our aligned positive beneficial space then we have that field of positive energy going out for someone else to pick up on. When we are depressed and in that negative state, someone already with that tendency picks up on that and they get more depressed. When we're happy and aligned that energy goes out to anyone who can benefit from it.
We all NEED to SEE what is WORKING, be inspired, and buoyed up. We need positive images. Years ago, part of my job was to consult with leaders of halfway houses: homes for women re-entering society after long bouts of drug abuse. Lenore, Director of one of these programs, ALWAYS met me at the door saying: “Tell me something good.” She was drowning in a sea of sorrow. She counted on me to tell her what was working!
Scientific research demonstrates that what we focus on expands. Focus on the negative and negative outcomes grow. Focus on positive inquiries and positive outcomes flourish. Appreciative Inquiry, an organizational leadership process, teaches that asking the right questions allows the pathway for positive results to open up.
“Many well intentioned teams have abandoned problem-solving projects because the weight of the problem was too much to bear,” David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva write.
Appreciative Inquiry Organizational Change Model teaches that positive interviews create positive futures. The key is first to change your vibrational field and THEN focus on what you want.
Wild Horses are in the news recently. If I used a problem-based approach, I might ask someone:
“What is your systematic approach to save wild horses before it’s totally too late?”
It generates scarcity consciousness. It suggests nothing CAN be done. It invites in the awful news. It calls out low vibrations.
If I asked a question from an Appreciative Inquiry model, I’d ask:
“I know you’re a very committed person that likely works 40-50 hours a week. I see how much you care about your work and the environment. Could you take a moment and share your best experience with wild horses? What’s your most positive story about wild horses presently running free? What is one thing you’d be willing to do to build on that success in Wyoming?”
It honors success and commitment. It inspires change. It builds on success. It listens for what’s possible. People’s vibrations light up in sharing good stories. Change occurs when we are aligned and sending forth positive vibrations. It’s what animals and people need. To build on that foundation, I might ask people to turn to something that inspires them.
Michael Stillwater and Gary Malkin put together such an inspiring video. “The Great Bell Chant” nourishes lives. It fosters positive vibrations. It renews the spirit.
