Global Values
A New Paradigm for a New World
by Karin Miller
XI. A Call to Action
Many of us are frustrated with the world in which we live. We may feel as if we must fix things out there if we want to be happy; not to mention survive as a species. This approach of looking outside ourselves for a solution, however, is never fully successful because it addresses only the effects rather than the root cause of the problem. Every thought we have manifests as a piece of the world that surrounds us – whether it be in the way people treat us individually or the social structures that are implemented for society as a whole. Together, we create our reality with our thoughts and perspectives about the world. When we operate under a paradigm of disconnection from others, we produce more divisions and discord. When we adopt values that recognize the oneness and interconnection of all things, we create the possibility of a healthy and sustainable world.
If we want to change the world, we must first take responsibility for our own thoughts and actions. By shifting from a worldview of individualism and separation to a paradigm grounded in a holistic approach, we take the first step in our transformation. When we think we live in a world of "us versus them" and "me versus other", it necessarily follows that we attack and protect ourselves against the other. With these attack thoughts, we manifest vengeance in the world. When we see ourselves as one with all things, and experience the life force and love that unites us all, we manifest love in the world. The healing of our divisions and discord lies within us. We must merely change our minds.
A quiet mind enables transformation.
In today’s hectic world, our thoughts can tend to race to keep up. Our minds are often filled with thoughts stemming from our fears and anxieties in daily life. In an effort to control our circumstances, we may think the same unproductive thoughts over and over again. Why did he say that to me? Was I wrong in doing this or that? How can I get my way? While self-reflection can be productive, our minds can somewhat obsessively repeat thoughts that do not produce positive results in our lives.
Practices of mindfulness, meditation, prayer, and yoga have been around for centuries and are gaining popularity around the world to help people deal with stress and bring peace and equanimity to daily life. To some people, such practices may seem to be complicated, difficult or even overwhelming. Some may think they need special training or a spiritual or religious teacher to even begin. While classes and guidance can be useful, it is also very effective to simply sit and be still. By doing so, we become conscious about our racing minds and gain the ability to slow down, become centered, and connect with our fundamental nature. We reach beyond our exterior, superficial self to experience our deeper connection to life and the love that connects us all.
For a simple meditation practice, it may be helpful to focus on one of the values identified in this book.
Set a timer for twenty minutes, preferably when you wake up in the morning. If twenty minutes seems too long, try starting with just five minutes. Five minutes alone will be enough to guide your thought forms throughout the day.
Read one of the values, perhaps starting with: "Unity - Together we make up one body of life."
Sit comfortably in a chair with your spine upright and your feet flat on the floor, your hands gently resting on your legs and palms facing upward and open. Close your eyes. Relax your jaw, face and shoulders.
Repeat the phrase out loud a few times. For example, "Unity - Together we make up one body of life."
Close your mouth and breathe through your nose, if possible. This type of breathing helps to slow down the nervous system. Rest your attention on the breath drawing in and out of your nose. That focused attention will help you to stay present.
Feel life moving through you. Feel the energy in your hands. Once you can feel the energy in your hands, expand your awareness to the energy in your whole body.
Repeat the phrase mentally a few times—just silently to yourself. "Unity - Together we make up one body of life." Don’t worry about doing this right or trying hard to concentrate. Your thoughts will naturally drift away to what you might eat for lunch or an errand that you need to do. When you realize that you have drifted away, repeat the word "Unity" and return to focusing on your breath drawing in and out of your nose.
Try to watch your thoughts as if you were secretly watching someone else’s thoughts in a video. Be curious as to where your mind drifts and gently bring it back to watching your breath and the value of Unity.
Continue with this practice for five to twenty minutes and end your practice with a feeling of gratitude for the time to connect with your deeper sense of self and your connection to the whole. Throughout the day, you may wish to remind yourself of the value of Unity and its meaning in your life.
Repeat this practice daily, focusing on one value each day as follows:
UNITY—Together we make up one body of life. Our diversity is a celebration of all that is. Together, we are whole.
COMMUNITY—Because we are one, individuals acting in isolation are often ineffective. By joining forces with others, we will realize our full potential.
LIFE—Life energizes and moves all things. The continuity of life is the core of our existence.
FREEDOM—Freedom is a natural right. Democratic principles are the foundation of social justice.
CONNECTION—All things have a profound impact on each other: global economies, cultures, environments, political systems, and our minds, bodies, and spirits.
SUSTAINABILITY—Sustainable practices are essential to maintain the flow of life for the individual, the community, and the world.
CREATIVITY—Our purpose in life is to create and express ourselves in our unique and diverse ways that support the lives of others.
EMPOWERMENT—By empowering others, we empower ourselves because we are all one. We can only realize our true power together.
CHOICE—We have the freedom to choose what we create and destroy, how we act and react, what we value, and how we live.
INTEGRITY—Everything is integrated - inherently complete, undivided parts of the whole. When we remember our oneness, we act with integrity to the benefit of all.
A meditation practice, such as the one just described, will help you to calm your mind and focus on what you wish to manifest in the world. We may feel like we are very separate minds with very different agendas. But when we quiet our minds, we come to realize that we are merely expressions of one mind, one life, and one integrated whole. In such moments of inner peace and stillness, we dissolve our barriers to happiness and experience the love that connects us all.
As we heal ourselves, we heal the world.
Most of us came into this world quite happy. As babies and children, we naturally had much joy. As we grew up, however, we had painful experiences and grew to doubt ourselves and perhaps feel we may not deserve love and happiness. We tried to protect ourselves from others hurting us and built up blocks both within ourselves and around us for protection. These walls and divisions may have been helpful at times, but over time they may keep us from being fully alive and experiencing all the joys life has to offer.
The good news is that since we are the ones who created such mental obstacles, we have the power to remove them. Meditation, introspection, contemplation and a still mind help us to begin to see the blocks that we have created. By shifting one’s viewpoint from one of separation and isolation to a paradigm based on the unity and interconnection of all that is, the blocks that keep us separate are revealed.
We come to realize that we must let go of our narrow identification with our individual selves in order to join the love and power of the universe that is always available. As we join in this new paradigm of unity and community, our ego begins to dissolve but it fights every step of the way. It is as if our ego is the Wicked Witch of the West in the story of The Wizard of Oz. She throws obstacles in our way to keep us from returning home to our true selves. Dorothy, the innocent child within each of us, however, has the power and resourcefulness to easily dissolve the Wicked Witch with a bucket of water. Our innocence dissolves the ego with the essence of life that flows through us, renews us and refreshes us. We come to recognize that the Wicked Witch is not outside ourselves, but a shadow of our true self—the dark side of our true nature that keeps us from realizing our full potential.
Global Values are based upon the concept that everything in the entire universe has a single source and that our inner most selves are not only connected to that source but are that source itself. When our awareness is unblocked and free, we realize that source is not out there somewhere, but rather deep within ourselves. Like a young, innocent child in a story book, we come to understand that we have had the power to transform our circumstances all along.
We begin to recognize the continuity of life—flowing through us and all things—as the core of our existence. Ever since the big bang that initiated the universe, life moved out from its singularity and took form in matter. That initial vibration still resonates and travels through all things as life flows from one thing to the next. Our self-awareness allows us to choose whether to align with that which supports life and its evolution or that which inhibits it. Through introspection, meditation, and contemplation, we aim to be liberated from the smaller self to align with a larger vision that recognizes our connection to all.
A revolution of values will transform the world.
Global Values are intended to serve as a framework through which we can transform our thinking, and thereby transform our world. By adopting these values and aligning our actions with such moral convictions, we create the possibility of manifesting a healthy and sustainable environment. A monumental transformation of society is emerging, grounded in our shift from values based on separation and isolation to a new paradigm based on the oneness and interconnectedness of all things. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for such a revolution of values many decades ago. On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination, Dr. King delivered his first major anti-war speech entitled Beyond Vietnam in which he called for a revolution of values supporting a love for all mankind:
A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.
This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind.
These words are as applicable to today’s challenges as they were then. King’s call for a revolution in values is still being answered since it is a challenging path to take. While such a change of mind is simple, it can challenge everything that we believe about the world. In the face of conflict and injustice, people who are not willing to make a radical shift in perspective tend to either adopt an attitude of complacency and apathy or they resort to violence to stamp out the opposition. In fact, complacency on the part of many opens the door to those who wish to resort to violence. The apathy of the many enables the violence of the few.
Today, many people around the world face intolerance toward different beliefs and practices. Difficulties and violence arise due to divided sides that are so polarized they are no longer open to discussions with one another. The key to bridging these seemingly impossible divides is to face such polarization with a revolution of love for one another. We must forgive ourselves and each other for past transgressions if we wish to end our long dream of disaster. Only by rising above our polarized views and treating each other with respect and dignity can we hope to have meaningful discussion, find common ground and fulfill peaceful revolution.
King further calls for a "shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society" and his words have even greater meaning now.
Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on to the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.
While such a shift has yet to fully manifest, the dire status of the world demands that we change our ways. As such a revolution of values emerges, it causes us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies and beliefs. We must reassess our individual and collective practices to better suit the evolution of humanity as a whole, shifting from money-driven values to people-driven values. We must move away from short term individual gain at expense of the whole to long term sustainable practices for all. Although society is in general operating under an outdated paradigm of separation and isolationism, a minority who dare to challenge the status quo and make their voices be heard can have a revolutionary effect. Many people have already awoken to the realization of their connection to all and are actively living these values. As more people join this values-based movement, the scales will tip toward positive social transformation.
With our hearts, minds, and courage, we lead the way.
Now is the time for a paradigm shift driven by a revolution of values. The longer we wait, the longer we will suffer because we are denying the truth of who we really are. We are inextricably bound together as one body of life. The love of the universe—the one song of creation— connects us all. We can choose to be an instrument of life or a hindrance. We can choose love or we can choose to remain in fear, blocking our awareness to the love that surrounds us. If we choose the later, we will experience pain as life works around us. If we choose to join in this movement, we will experience the love that the universe has to offer. The choice is ours.
Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we dreamed we could find happiness somewhere over the rainbow and got swept away by a cyclone of change. We embarked on a creative adventure, but we lost our way. Each character in our journey—like the Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Good Witch of the East, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard, and Dorothy herself—represents an aspect of our selves that seems unfulfilled. Like the Tin Man who sought a heart, the Scarecrow who sought a brain, and the Cowardly Lion who sought courage, we sought answers outside ourselves, only to find that we have possessed the answers all along; we had only fallen asleep to the truth of who we really are. As we each reclaim and integrate those aspects of ourselves that had been forgotten or shut down—our hearts, minds, and courage—we finally wake up to experience the love of the universe that travels through and connects all things. When we awaken from our slumber, which for some has been a nightmare, we can rest in the knowledge that we are empowered to correct our ways. The path to our transformation lies within our own hearts and minds.
Throughout our life’s journey, we have the opportunity to contribute to the process of reintegration of the whole. It is our responsibility to re-member — to mentally piece back together — our oneness and unified nature. By loving one another as ourselves, we will evolve to a new state of being through peaceful discourse and curtail the violence and hatred that is currently manifesting throughout the world. It takes great vision to imagine—and courage to trust—that a new and beautiful world filled with love can emerge from our current predicament. With an open heart, an open mind, and the courage to lead the way, may we remember who we really are, united as one. Together we will realize our full potential. Together we return to the peace and love at the heart of our existence, like the comfort of coming home.