Obama is Following … Paradigm Nouveau

June 30th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Have you ever heard that, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything?”  In the mid-80s, this saying stayed with me the whole time I watched the movie, Gandhi. Perhaps I was at a place in my life where I was really ready to get the truth and power behind taking a stand.
If Gandhi could bring down the British Empire by a stand, then anything was possible.

In May, 2005, while I was hosting a Hunter Lovins/Natural Capitalism event in my living room, I declared to everyone that this planet was mine and I stand for a sustainable future for my kids and all generations to come. Immediately after this evening, with candid education from Bill Becker and Hunter, I came to understand the seriousness of global warming. Still … my stand didn’t waver. Instead, I went into ACTION!

I told all the mothers, teenagers, senior citizens, and anyone else who would listen, that our planet’s in jeopardy, and that the people need to lead. My message was not one of panic; rather it was one of responsibility.

As a Colorado citizen, in 2006 I had my company write a check to cover the costs of replacing every single light bulb in our state capital building. This was the beginning of a campaign, called the New Light Project, to expand to every state. I did this to demonstrate my stand and my power as a global citizen. I was certain that politicians and big business would follow once the results were in. Not only is it the right thing to do from an energy standpoint, but the savings are impressive as well!

Today, my instincts proved correct. The article below demonstrates the power of taking a stand. Can you believe it? President Obama is making sure that the light bulbs in the White House are being changed … and that’s just the beginning of New Light.

What are you willing to stand for?

Obama Touts New Light Bulb Standards

President Obama on Monday announced new federal efforts to promote energy efficiency in the United States, through stricter standards on fluorescent and incandescent light and other measures.

“I know light bulbs might not seem sexy,” Mr. Obama said, “but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses.”

I Know It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll …

June 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

I may be 47, but damn, I like rock ‘n roll, and all kinds of music.

During the Clinton Global Initiative last September, I was sitting on an aisle chair right near the stage. Former President Bill Clinton always plays good music before the start of each general session. I was in a “let’s rock this place” attitude and ready for the conference to begin with the opening Clinton-facilitated panel. It was entitled A Call to Action with Al Gore, Queen Rania of Jordan, Neville Isdell (Chairman of Coca-Cola), President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and U2 lead singer Bono. During the conversation I noticed Bono waving discreetly and giving a peace sign in my general direction. Could he actually be trying to communicate with me? The room included some of the world’s most high-powered politicians, international business leaders, philanthropists, celebrities and heads of state. Why is he trying to get my attention? I waved back, and received a thumbs up and another peace sign. Oh yes, a smile too. During the rest of this opening discussion there was a knowing understanding between us … it was as if we were listening to the same beat from the same drum, even though there wasn’t any music playing in the room. Maybe this is what they mean by catching someone’s vibes.

You might ask what this has to do with sustainability, grassroots movements or new paradigms. Maybe nothing … Maybe everything …

Blowing the Mind and Melting the Heart in London

April 20th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

I was stunned. I had sat crying uncontrollably for over two hours as I watched the stage performance of Billy Elliot - the Musical at the Victoria Palace in London tonight. What a way to wrap up my 4 day trip to the UK. The culmination of events leading up to the performance only ripened me toward the experience of a blown mind and a melted heart.

It was only after reading Elton John’s words that I began to even find my writer’s voice to pen this blog:

“I am extraordinarily proud of what Lee [Hall] and I have created for the stage musical of Billy Elliot. The show demonstrates everything I love about the power of art. It can inspire you. It can transform lives. Art can make you look at life in a way you never have before. And it can take you places well beyond your wildest dreams.”

My loss of words, which for those who know me may seem an impossible phenomenon, wasn’t simply a result of the show. The process began when I showed up for my yoga teacher training early Saturday morning. In a heated room full of people from several countries, I followed a demanding set of instructions for hours. The secret was to keep my mind out of the room and let my body flow. I can’t remember how long I hung out in Downward Facing Dog pose, but I experienced burning through my shoulders, down my arms and across my chest, while the sensation of my heart melting permeated my body. At one point, I realized that I was not the only one in this alchemic process. I glanced to my right and saw Rick dripping buckets of sweat and then glanced to my left and saw a middle aged British woman with a red head band pushing herself to the point of shaking arms and strenuous breathing. We were going through the eye of the needle together and having the same realization … we were stronger than we knew.

After the morning session, the room was beaming with light, the kind of light that shines through when a shell or crust has a crack or has completely broken open.

Sustainability: The Tibetan Story

April 2nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Last month I had the amazing opportunity to join my daughter, Camille, for her college Spring Break. We had decided to trek in the Himalayas above Dharamsala for our trip, starting at McLeod Ganj. I had been there before, most notably for Losar (Tibetan New Year) in February 1971 and again in 1972. Can it really have been that long ago? What a difference the decades have made as the village has grown in size! McLeod Ganj was then a small outlying area above Dharamsala, a neighborhood with a few wooden houses. In the center was a temple with a huge prayer wheel and a row of prayer wheels surrounding it. Here, devout Tibetans who had settled nearby to be in the energetic field of the Dalai Lama could make their daily circumambulations, turning the wheels as an offering and chanting mantras.

My mantra before the trip (and I found out that it extended during my trip), was, “What’s sustainability?” I had been working on wrapping my mind around this question since Audrey James from Paradigm Nouveau approached me last fall. My answers over the past 6 months have evolved into open-ended inquiries. The question itself is beautiful. So there I found myself in Dharamsala, India, with the Tibetan people, looking through the lens of this question. In short, my answer through observation was this:

Sustainability is not a place or a system or a method, an object or even a goal. Although the idea of sustainability can be a guiding principle in our planning, the truth is ultimately that nothing is sustainable “out there” because everything is in a state of flux. What really can be sustained lives within us. The Tibetans use the message from the Dalai Lama, “Never give up … work for peace in your heart and in the world … never give up.” This possibility of hope sustains them at the level of their soul. When their soul is sustained, life can continue to grow, even in the face of unthinkable circumstances.