LETTING MY HEART LEAD THE WAY

     We know a great deal about what leaders do and how they do it. But we know very little 

      about the inner place, the source from which they operate. And it is this source that 

      "Theory U" attempts to explore. When leaders develop the capacity to come near to

      that source, they experience the future as if it were "wanting to be born" - an 

      experience called "presencing." That experience often carries with it ideas for 

      meeting challenges and for bringing into being an otherwise impossible future.

                             Otto Scharmer author of Theory U and Leading From The Emerging Future

This morning I told a friend, “I need to get off the phone and let my Muse show me my next blog. I’ve no idea where it’s coming from." This year’s sojourn has been about what Otto Scharmer calls "letting come an emergent future." 

It’s quite the adventure living into this freedom. It's about breaking the chains of traditional thinking. It's about trusting my heart to lead me. 

Some of my most life-altering moments have been when I let my heart lead the way. Since I was a child, I always wanted to be near chimpanzees. I shared this one day in a group. Well someone knew someone who had recently gone to a chimpanzee sanctuary in the United States. 

"Oh, boy." 

A phone call later, I was speaking with a woman thought to be the sanctuary founder. Turns out she wasn't in charge of a sanctuary at all. She arranged African Safaris."Had she ever arranged a trip to a chimp sanctuary?" Well, yes she had. 

That's how I found myself on a plane to Zambia, Africa, the home of Chimfunshi. Talk about experiencing a future "waiting to be born." 

Shelia Siddle with an orphaned chimp

With nothing more than their heart’s dedication, the Siddles created the largest Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the world. Inspired and on fire, I saw my new future birthing before me as I hung out with the chimps. I saw the Siddle's sheer innovation, freshness and native leadership.

Chimfunshi chimps; photo by Karla Boyd

I had listened for years to the suffering of animal rescue workers: they were burnt-out and in need of new ways. In Africa, I saw how to move beyond the old paradigms that perpetuate more suffering. On that auspicious journey, I was called to offer leadership development work into the animal steward community upon my return to the states. 

Last week, I wrote a blog, Change Your Vibration And Tell Me What You Want. It's a request to publish positive media images and share what IS working. It's what made the Siddles natural leaders. It's what let me trust my heart and get on a plane to Africa. 

After I hung up the phone with my friend, a rainbow appeared on my walk. Back home, leaning into the unknown, I found myself opening to a link about positive news stories. Harmonyfund.org and Laura Simpson's “Unique Blue Sky Approach” caught my eye. In perfect synch with last week 's blog message were these words:

     We do not expose our supporters to graphic photos of animal suffering or distribute

     dire forecasts about animal suffering. Instead we focus on a spirit of joy and 

     determination as we pursue essential operations to provide food, veterinary medicine, 

     shelter and protection from cruelty for animals worldwide.

Harmony Fund photo

That is how I believe we move into our best futures ... flowing with the threads of where our hearts are leading us. 

So when, dear Reader, did you last follow your heart? 

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, PEACE AND TRANSFORMATION

If I were to interview organizational consultant colleagues, they would say that mission embodied companies are the most likely to succeed. Many consultants write about the value of aligned personal and organizational values. Most consultants know of the gap between living personal values and the organization’s values in the workplace.

We are living at a time that’s vital to our global family’s sustainability. We need to heal the splits between our core right brain values and our actions. Happiness is a core value of the United States Constitution. Many of us now know that the key to happiness lies in manifesting our core values of peace, love, joy, and compassion into our lives and the world. Yet, there is a huge split in we Americans’ ability to manifest equality and happiness for all.

            “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
             they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
             among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Many Americans say that peace of mind is a core value. Auto and health care insurance; estate, auto sales and pet sitting advertising capitalize on this in their slogans. Yet, the USA does not have a track record of demonstrating peaceful actions and relations. We don't treat everyone in the USA as if they have a right to pursue freedom or happiness.

The Huffington Post wrote a recent article, “Violent Deaths More Common In U.S. Than Any Other Wealthy Nation Report,” finding that “homicide and suicide together account for about a quarter of the years of life lost for U.S. men compared to those in peer countries.” Poverty is another factor in American violent deaths. Alcohol related accidents and drug abuse are others.

           Other Statistics of incongruence with American Values of Peace and Happiness
          1. USA: Highest crime rate of any wealthy nation.
          2. USA: Residents say they love animals and yet consume one-sixth of the
              global population of them. 

3. Most surprising is the Global Peace Index 2012. The USA ranks low on the list.

        

It’s striking that, ranked at #88, Americans haven’t yet demonstrated inner peace translating to world peace statistics. Yet, you cannot be committed to peace, joy and happiness while engaged in practices, images, language, thoughts, values, mindsets, policies and decisions that promote violence.

Physician Gary Slutkin returned from a decade of treating diseases in Africa. When he returned to American, ready to rest from epidemic deaths, he discovered America was not exempt from the scourge of brutal disease. He encountered gun violence that followed patterns of infectious disease. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work.


Americans can join Dr. Slulkin and others who are helping the USA and the world align their core values and manifest them into peace and happiness. Otto Scharmer writes:

           What's being born is...something that we can feel in many places across Planet 
           Earth. This future is not just about firefighting and tinkering with the surface 
           of structural change. It’s not just about replacing one mindset that no longer 
           serves us with another. It’s a future that requires us to tap into a deeper level
           of our humanity, of who we really are and who we want to be as a society. It
           is a future that we can sense and actualize by shifting the inner place from 
           which we operate.

We can shift into love, harmony, joy and compassion. We can find freedom for all. There is growing value in our earth’s sustainability.

It is up to all of us to align our core values with our life practices. I consider this essential and noble work. It’s money well spent. We can close the gap between constitutional declarations, organizational missions, and personal values.

Reader, do you want genuine happiness? Are you willing to invest your life’s energy into creating it for you...and the world?