So Simple

Waking up and becoming aware is each person's response-ability. All arguments cease without the breath to carry them. This IS the ultimate test of all thought or image-based discussions/arguments. Without Your breath, you cannot think or talk, or anything. So many discussions about possible solutions to the, apparent, infinitude of problems. There are no problems that the Breath will not address, because it is what is supporting them. To remove support from those things you don't want, stop thinking and talking about them. How do you stop thinking and talking about these things? - study and apply "The Practice" and be conscious of Your Breath as often as you can remember. Speak only of those things that you want to experience. The Breath (God, or any label you give it) is taking us to our Destination and IT knows all that is going on. En-joy, Appreciate and Trust Your Breath because it is what is supplying all that you are experiencing and it is becoming conscious of itself, through you. www.reverenceforlifeuniversity.com

This was posted on Facebook after watching the movie I Am.

You, Containing the Multi-verse

"We are taught by the great actions that the universe is the property of every individual in it. Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He many divest himself of it, he may creep into a corner, and abdicate his kingdom, as most men do, but he is entitled to the world by his constitution. In proportion to the energy of his thought and will, he takes up the world unto himself." 

Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ Nature

Essays from Albert Schweitzer

Here are several quotes from Albert Schweitzer, one of the greatest thinkers of our times. These selections were included in my first digital book "I Am Sharing: Thoughts, Experiences and Learning About Love and Service"

Skepticism
The city of truth cannot be built on the swampy ground of skepticism. Our spiritual life is rotten throughout because it is permeated through and through with skepticism, and we live in consequence in a world which in every respect is full of falsehood. We are not far from shipwreck on the rock of wanting to have even truth organized.

Truth taken over by skepticism which has become believing has not the spiritual qualities of that which originated in thinking. It has been externalized and rendered torpid. It does obtain influence over a man, but it is not capable of uniting itself with him to the very marrow of his being. Living truth is that alone which has its origin in thinking.

Just as a tree bears year after year the same fruit and yet fruit which is each year new, so must all permanently valuable ideas be continually born again in thought. But our age is bent on trying to make the barren tree of skepticism fruitful by tying fruits of truth on its branches.
(Life, p. 259) from Albert Schweitzer and Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Loss of Self Confidence
The circumstances of the age do their best to deliver us up to the spirit of the age. The seed of skepticism has germinated. In fact, the modern man has no longer any spiritual self-confidence at all. Behind a self-confident exterior he conceals a great inward lack of confidence. In spite of his great capacity in material matters he is an altogether stunted being, because he makes no use of his capacity for thinking. It will ever remain incomprehensible that our generation, which has shown itself so great by its achievements in discovery and invention, could fall so low spiritually as to give up thinking.
(Life, p. 257) from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Man of Today
The man of today is exposed to influences which are bent on robbing him of all confidence in his own thinking. The spirit of spiritual dependence to which he is called on to surrender is in everything that he hears, or reads; it is in the people whom he meets every day; it is in the parties and associations which have claimed him as their own; it pervades all the circumstances of his life.

From every side and in the most varied ways it is dinned into him that the truths and convictions which he needs for life must be taken by him from the associations which have rights over him. The spirit of the age never lets him come to himself. Over and over again convictions are forced upon him in the same way as, by means of the electric advertisements which flare in the streets of every large town any company which has sufficient capital to get itself securely established, exercises pressure on him at every step he takes to induce him to buy their boot polish or their soup tablets.

By the spirit of the age, then, the man of today is forced into skepticism about his own thinking, in order to make him receptive to truth which comes to him from authority. To all this constant influence he cannot make the resistance that is desirable because he is an overworked and distracted being without power to concentrate. Moreover, the manifold material trammels which are his lot work upon his mentality in such a way that he comes at last to believe himself unqualified to make any claim to thoughts of his own.
(Life, pp. 255 f.) from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Modern Thought has No Goal
With the spirit of the age I am in complete disagreement, because it is filled with disdain for thinking. That such is its attitude is to some extent explicable by the fact that thought has never yet reached the goal which it must set before itself. Time after time it was convinced that it had clearly established a world-view which was in accordance with knowledge and ethically satisfactory. But time after time the truth came out that it had not succeeded. Doubts, therefore, could well arise as to whether thinking would ever be capable of answering
current questions about the world and or relation to it in such a way that we could give a meaning and a content to our lives.
[Life, p. 254] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947. 

Thinking Drops the Tiller
In modern thinking the same thing happens as in religion. Thinking drops the tiller from its hand in the middle of the storm. It renounces the idea of giving human beings ideals by the help of which they can get on with reality. It leaves them to themselves, and that in a most terrible moment. For the present moment is terrible. Man has won power over the forces of nature and by that has become superman - and at the same time most miserable man! For this power over the forces of nature is not being used beneficially, but destructively. [Religion, p. 1520] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Modern Thinking Unequal to its Task
The spirit of the age rejoices, instead of lamenting, that thinking seems to be unequal to its task, and gives it no credit for what, in spite of imperfections, it has already accomplished. It refuses to admit, what is nevertheless the fact, that all spiritual progress up to today has come about through the achievements of thought, or to reflect that thinking may still be able in the future to accomplish what it has not succeeded in accomplishing as yet.
[Life, p. 255] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Life Without Thought
No one who opens the sluices to let a flood of skepticism pour itself over the land must expect to be able to bring it back within its proper bounds. Of those who let themselves get too disheartened to try any longer to discover truth by their own thinking, only few find a substitute for it in truth taken from others. The mass of people remain skeptical. They lose all feeling for truth, and all sense of need for it as well, finding themselves quite comfortable in a life without thought, driven now here, now there, from one opinion to another
[Life, p. 258] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Religion of Our Age
If one reviews the development of religion since the middle of the nineteenth century, one understands the tragic fact that although really living religion is to be found among us, it is not the leaven that leavens the thinking of our age.
[Religion, p. 1484] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Lack of Reason in Our Time
The history of our time is characterized by lack of reason which has no parallel in the past. Future historians will one day analyze this history in detail, and test by means of it their learning and their freedom from prejudice. But for all future times there will be, as there is for today, only one explanation, viz., that we sought to live and to carry on with a civilization which had no ethical principle behind it.
[Decay, p. 61] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Clogged Spirit
A fundamental impulse to reflect about the universe stirs us during those years in which we begin to think independently. Later on we let it languish, even though feeling clearly that we thereby impoverish ourselves and become less capable of what is good. We are like springs of water which no longer run because they have not been watched and have gradually become choked with rubbish. more than any other age has our own neglected to watch the thousand springs of thought; hence the drought in which we are pining. But if we only go on to remove the rubbish which conceals the water, the sands will be irrigated again, and life will spring up where hitherto there has been only a desert.
[Decay, pp. 92 f.] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Divorce of Science and Reflection
Today thought gets no help from science, and the latter stands facing it independent and unconcerned. The newest scientific knowledge may be allied with an entirely un-reflecting view of the universe. It maintains that it is concerned only with the establishment of individual facts, since it is only by means of these that scientific knowledge can maintain its practical character; the coordination of the different branches of knowledge and the utilization of the results to form a theory of the universe are, it says, not its business. Once every man of science was also a thinker who counted for something in the general spiritual life of his generation. Our age has discovered how to divorce knowledge from thought, with the result that we have, indeed, a science which is free, but hardly any science left which reflects.
[Decay, p. 72] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Secondary Issues Prevail
Our philosophizing has become more and more involved in the discussion of secondary issues. It has lost touch with the elemental questions regarding life and the world which it is man's task to pose and to solve, and has found satisfaction more and more in discussing problems of a purely academic nature and in a mere virtuosity of philosophical technique. It has become increasingly absorbed in side issues. Instead of genuine classical music it has frequently produced only chamber music, often excellent in its way, but not the real thing. And so this philosophy, which was occupied only in elucidating itself, instead of struggling to achieve a
world-view grounded in thought and essential for life, has led us into a position where we are devoid of any world-view at all, as an inevitable consequence of this, of any real civilization.
[Ethics, p. viii] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Danger of Technical Language
Technical expressions are a danger for every system of philosophy, whether Indian or European. For they may become formulae which hinder the natural development of thought in the same way as ruts in a road hinder traffic. So to find out what are its real contents it is reasonable to test a system of thought by setting aside expressions which it has coined for its own use and compelling it to speak in ordinary comprehensible language.
[Indian, p. ix] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Tragedy of Western Thought
Western thought is not governed by mystical thought by the idea that the one thing needful is the spiritual union of man with infinite Being, and therefore (if it is obliged to renounce the hope of attaining to a knowledge of the universe that corresponds to ethical world- and life affirmation), it is in danger of saying it is satisfied not only with lowered ideals, but also with an inferior conception of world-view. That is the tragedy that is being enacted before our eyes.
[Indian, pp. 253 f.] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Spiritual Bankruptcy
Renunciation of thinking is a declaration of spiritual bankruptcy. Where there is no longer a conviction that man can get to know the truth by their own thinking, skepticism begins. Those who work to make our age skeptical in this way, do so in the expectation that, as a result of renouncing all hope of self-discovered truth, men will end by accepting as truth what is forced upon them with authority and by propaganda.
[Life, p. 258] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

The Ideals that We Need
Humanity has always needed ethical ideals to enable it to find the right path, that man may make the right use of the power he possesses. Today his power is increased a thousandfold. A thousandfold greater is now the need for man to possess ethical ideas to point the way. Yet at the very moment when this happens, thinking fails. In this period of deepest need thinking is not giving to humanity the ideals it needs so that it may not be overwhelmed. Is that our destiny? I hope not. I believe not. I think that in our age we are all carrying within us a new form of thought which will give us ethical ideals.
[Religion, p. 1520] from Albert Schweitzer an Anthology. The Beacon Press. 1947.

Team/Individual Experience Plan & Study Guide ~ Newday Wellness

Working Together – Coaching, teams/tribes - Collaboration with  Newday Wellness
creating a life-long Practice and fellowship of personal and group support.

Here is Newday's curriculum for your Multi-dimensional healing/wellness experience in Kochi, India.

Consider this an individual actualization course. The following materials have been compiled over a 32 year process of spiritual growth, seeking and individual transformation,
Shared by Dr. Andrew Skadberg, Ph.D. (Andy)

The following outline sets up a "course", or preparation for both individuals and groups who are participating in the Newday Wellness experience, or for that matter, any new venture into personal growth and transformation. The following are suggestions for individuals to read, contemplate and potentially use as guideposts for discovering YOUR-SELF, which ultimately is what we are all here to discover (quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson). This resource is closely associated with the Reverence for Life University which was officially launched in Jamaica in 1994, and has since been evolving into the "University of You!" At the bottom of this post you will find several Websites that are available for individual, community and organization re-creation.

Two quotes to start are "We are all in this together" and "Be the Love and Peace You want to Experience in the World" ~ Andy

 Vision

“Authority without vision is the author of much confusion.” Desmond Donald Green

Our Vision is to create harmonious playing/working relationships to fulfill the members of the group’s personal aspirations and visions; to support the whole being, spiritual, physical, mental. To create an environment which maintains integrity of the group while assuring that no member “falls through the cracks”. Where, potentially, a long-term support and encouragement group is formed to allow each of the members to thrive and realize their personal potentials to the fullest. To create a fun and full-filling experience that will inspire each person to go realize the potential of NOW and to go forward with their lives with enthusiasm, joy and abundance. Eye Am Breathing this Reality into Being, NOW.

Mantra: "MY BREATH IS MY PARADISE OF ORIGINAL SWEETNESS" - it is recommended that this be repeated as often as possible, either verbally, or in thought.

Timelessness of the Experience

Our now moments reach into our future and past. We can transform our past by changing a belief now. As we embrace each now, our future is altered. 

THE PRESENT IS THE POINT OF POWER

All of your physical, mental and spiritual abilities are focused together, then in the brilliant concentration of "present" experience. You are not at the mercy of the past, or of previous convictions, unless you believe that you are. If you fully comprehend your power in the present, you will realize that action at that point also alters the past, its beliefs and your reactions.

In other words I am telling you that your present beliefs, in a manner of speaking, are like the directions given to the entire personality, simultaneously organizing and reorganizing past experience according to your current concepts of reality.

The future--the probable future--is being altered in the same way, or course. To look backward for the source of current problems can lead you into the habit of seeking only negative episodes from your past, and prevent you from experiencing it as a source of pleasure, accomplishment, or success (very intently).

You are structuring your earlier life through the dissatisfaction of the present, and therefore reinforcing your problems.

It is as if you were reading a history book that was devoted only to the failures, cruelties and errors of the race, ignoring all of its accomplishments. Such practices can lead you to use your own "history" so that it gives a very distorted picture of who and what you are--a picture that then paints your present circumstances.

Those given to such practices--constant examination of the past in order to discover what is wrong in the present--too often miss the point. Instead, they constantly reinforce the negative experience from which they are trying to escape. Their initial problems were caused precisely as a result of the same kind of thinking. A great many unsatisfactory conditions result because individuals become frightened at various periods in their lives, doubt themselves, and begin to concentrate of "negative" aspects.

........

The question. "What is wrong with me?" will only lead you to create further limitations, and to reinforce those that you do have, through exaggerating such activities in the present and projecting them into the future.

Which you? Which world? These questions are to be answered in the "now" as you understand it, through the realization that your power of action is in the present and not in the past. Your only effective point of changing any aspect of your world lies in that miraculous instant connection of spirit and self through neurological impact.  

To rid yourself of annoying restrictions then, my dear friend, you repattern your past from the present. Whatever your circumstances, you use the past as a rich source looking through it for your successes, restructuring it. When you search it looking for what is wrong, then you become blind to what was right, in those terms, so that the past only mirrors the shortcomings that now face you.

Excerpt from Seth book, Nature of Personal Reality, by Jane Roberts

 Basic Texts – Required Reading

The Practice ( Global Citizenship Passport as pdf), by Desmond D. Green

Angels in Experience, by Dawn Vaz-Green - available from Lulu for purchase.

There are several Web portals associated with this project. The main portal is the Reverence for Life University

Application of The Practice for both the Individual and the Group

The Practice will provide the foundational principles/guidelines for both the individual and the group experience. The reason is to keep the group dynamics based on solid footing while keeping the process of group communications and interactions as simple as possible. Of course, each group is free to develop their own processes based on their own ideas or referencing other materials and experience.

Our emphasis on The Practice is simply to provide guidelines that will keep the group playing and working together for the common goals of the individuals and the group. Special attention should be given to the principles of “Trust”, “Spirit of Generosity” and “Breath Based vs Imaged Based Relationships”.

Here is a General Outline of the preparation for this Course/Experience
1. Preparations - for trip, familiarization with Newday program and India experience.
2. Studying, contemplation, journaling.
3. Specific preparations for travel.
4. Completing the preliminary reading and reflection and writing.
5. Preparing, adjusting, contributing to be part of the team experience.
6. Study Newday process and expectations/requirements.
7. Prepare personal Study guide, plan and statement as extensive as desired.
 - see Recreation Experience Model -
8. Travel to
9. Onsite Experience
10. Return home, and processing of the experience

Outcomes

Although every person, ultimately, determines what their benefits will be from any experience, we do have some suggestions for what could be expected as a result of their participation in the Newday (Reverence for Life) experiences. Here are those suggestions: (r = required, s = suggested)

~ Vision/Mission Statement (r)
      It would be highly beneficial for each student/participant to have a written statement of their Vision that  results from their experiences. (More information can be found at the Vision Excelerator about the importance of written, "non-contradictory" statements about a person's intention for themselves.)
~ Continuation Plan (Health, Wellness, Excercise, Practice) (r)
     Newday (RFL) will Share a specific set of activities to continue the health and wellness benefits of the experiences. This item is about developing a personal plan/strategy for continuing the experiences after we return from India. This item may or may not include activities with your team/tribe.
~ Vision Strategy - Life, Bigger Picture (s) - what do you want to create? Who are you? What is your grandest dream? What would like to create as a legacy?
~ Completed journal with reflections from experiences (r)
    - this is each persons personal property. There will be no requirement to share this with anyone, unless the participant desires to share with others. There may be some benefits to Sharing, but truly there will be no expectations to do so.
~ Ideas for continuing working with team/tribe (s)
~ Bucket list (s)
    - inspired by the movie "The Bucket List", this would be an initial set of life experiences that each participant is interested in experiencing. There will be a lot of latitude for how this is expressed.

~ what do you want to add?

Recommended Reading – outside, some of these books are included as digital books available for download and on the memory stick provided with this experience.
Other Recommended Reading
Trust Your Breath by Desmond D. Green - pdf
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - pdf
Dreaming Yourself Awake by B. Alan Wallace
Bhagavad Gita - I personally really appreciate the translation by Juan Mascaro
Nature & Walking, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles - pdf
The Master Key by Charlees Haanel - pdf
The Mouse and the Magician by Dawn Vaz-Green
The Leader Who is Hardly Known by Stephen V. Simpson
The Processing Pinnacle by Stephen V. Simpson
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
Jesus the Son of Man pdf, by Kahil Gibran
When Love Guides Your Thoughts pdf edited by Andrew N. Skadberg, Ph.D.
Autobiography of a Yogi  pdf, by Paramahansa Yogananda
Spirit Guides We Are Not Alone by Iris Belhayes
Law of One Series pdf by Ra
The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book, by Jane Roberts

Ask Questions - and Answer, Eventually
~ What do I hope to get out of the experience?
~ What do I need to heal, physical/mental/spiritual/emotional?
~ What am I willing to do to change?
~ How am I willing to adapt to work effectively with my team/tribe?
~ The experience starts now (see Recreation Experience Model) and goes until . . . . ?
~ I Am my own living art project/sculpture/symphony! Who, what, do I want to BE and do?
~ What can I give/share with Newday and this process we are creating? (see Spirit of Generosity, The
     Practice)
~ What am I willing to let go of/surrender? (I have a Vision, essay by Andy Skadberg)
~ What fears or concerns do I have?
~ How committed am I to this process?
~ How open am I to new ideas?
~ Am I willing to change?
~ What Vision do I have for my life from this point forward? Dreams. Aspirations.

Prepatory Essays to Read: written and/or compiled by Andrew Skadberg, Ph.D.

• How to Live
• How Do We Simplify the Model
• Recreation Experience Model
• Questioning Beliefs
• Preparation for Re-Creation
• Solomon Individual Empowerment Star
• 813
• Trail Blazing
• Peace Making       Prayer for Peace      The Peacemaker
• Reverence for Life by Albert Schweitzer
• Realization of Self Love
• Re-definition, Individual/Collective, Your Power to Re-Create
• Be-Coming
• Attention and Creation - A Few Thoughts
• Love Transcends

If you enjoy the above essays, you may want to read a few more that you can access from these links.
Is There a Lack of Energy - an examination of the idea of "scarcity", which is predominant in our economic system.
Light Star Study Group
Calling All to Action - Evaluation, Examination, Introspection
Essays by Albert Schweitzer 
World Proclamation of Emancipation 2011
The Practice - the Breath Process

Other Web sites associated with this process
The Moods Channel - Desmond Green
Vision Excelerator - Idea, organization, business incubation
Global Breath Consciousness Institute
Rural Innovation Institute
Eye Am Sharing
Breathosphere
Breathe Consciously
Experience Co-Evolution Group - Consultancy for region, community, business development, diversification and tourism
Buddha Relics Quad Cities

Recreation Experience Model

The Recreation Experience Model would provide considerable assistance to people serving other people in practically any context. I see this to be a valuable way for businesses and service organizations to look at how they will interact with their customers. Also, to give us a greater understanding about the larger context that we live our lives through our experiences.

Here is presented the model that I used when teaching a course for economic development directors about diversifying community economies into Experiential Tourism. The course is entitled "A New Pair of Glasses". As you read, adapt your own understanding of your experiences and how this model could assist you to

The Recreation (Tourism) Experience Model
An important concept to grasp for understanding how the tourism product is received by the consumer is illustrated in the recreation experience model. Tourism experiences are unique because, when best developed, they usually occur over time, and will potentially be long-lasting and life changing.

Nearly everyone can remember a very memorable travel experience.

In essence there are five points in time that the model describes where the traveler will anticipate, experience or reflect. Here is a cursory overview:

1) Anticipation. This first point is when a person begins to contemplate their travel experience. The tourism product provider can make their first impression here because this is when their customer makes contact to make their travel (or visit) arrangements. They might do it by phone, on the Internet (most common now) or occasionally make a preliminary visit. Careful consideration should be given to quality customer service by the business or community trying to attract a customer, often this is when the sale is made. Typically travel purchases are made “site unseen”, unless you have developed a wonderful Website that gives them a sense of the experience.

2) Travel to. As people travel to their destinations they have an abundance of time and they will begin contemplating their future experience. If they have received some promotional information from the attraction they will be visiting, this will enhance their anticipation.

3) On-site experience. This is when the traveler actually arrives and participates in their recreational/leisure activity. As with any business, careful consideration to all aspects of their visitor’s experience is important to make a positive and lasting impression.

4) Travel from. Because travel often takes a considerable amount of time, this can be a very important stage for a traveler’s experience. Based on the culmination of their anticipation, whether or not their expectations were met or exceeded during their “on-site” experience will determine the type of reflection that will occur during this part of the recreation/tourism experience. It is important to note that word-of-mouth is a primary marketing driver for the experiential tourism industry. If the experience was good, then they will likely be thinking of telling their friends and family about their trip. Otherwise, well, we have all heard the saying about at least ten people hearing about it.

5) Recollection. Often times some of the “negatives” of a person’s travel experience might fade over time, depending on the severity of the situation. As mentioned previously, it seems almost universal that people will reflect on their travel experiences and decide whether or not they would like to participate in it again. Their memories can be enhanced by the purchase of memorabilia or by the tourism destination providing some sort of ongoing communication with their customers. This might come in the form of a newsletter, (printed or electronic), or an occasional postcard to inform the client of a special event or offer. In any case, as a tourism product provider, one needs to be mindful of the process of the “Recreation Experience Model” and give careful consideration to the product development and marketing strategies.

Solomon Individual Empowerment Star - SIES

 

The Solomon Individual Empowerment Star (SIES) is a model that is adaptable to any scale (individual, group, community), but more importantly to any individual. Originally these ideas behind the Empowerment Star were developed in the context of helping communities realize the potential of tourism in their communities. The concept was to offer a group of people within a community a way by which they could, through a step-by-step process to create a Community Guidebook. The process would accomplish the following important objectives: a) determine and capitalize upon the potential tourism in their community, b) organize themselves into a working group, c) identify a “product” (e.g. Guidebook, Website) and create it, d) establish a successful process for their group to work together, e) have a tangible, useful and valuable outcomes, and finally, f) this process would lead to the group’s ability to expand and continue this same process for other projects.

The SEIS (or The Process) is a valuable series of exercises or guidelines, for success working in groups, but this same process can be used by individuals. That is what is being presented here. Basically it is similar to completing a series of homework assignments, but The Process, the six points of the star, builds on itself, and can lead the individual to an entirely new perspective with a group of skills that will lead to greater personal successes, that can then be shared, or experienced, with others.

The various sources that has supported and guided the SIES are too numerous to mention. However, some quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, which I was studying at the time of this writing seem to be serendipitous. In this verse, Krishna, the Spirit of the Supreme, responds to Arjuna in the field of battle.

3: 16 Thus was the Wheel of Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.

The SIES is also a wheel, driven by unselfish motivations to find one’s own true path, and to be able to contribute to the betterment of the world. It is work, not laborious work per se, but work involving self knowledge, contemplation, and continual pursuit of finding one´s true purpose, and the Truth (I have added emphasis in italics in these quotes). Here again, Krishna is sharing with Arjuna:

3: 20: King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all, and then carry on thy task in life.

3:21: In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that a great man follows becomes a guide to the world.

3:22: I have no work to do in all the worlds, Arjuna—for these are mine. I have nothing to obtain, because I have all. And yet I work.

3: 23: If I was not bound to action, never-tiring, everlastingly, men that follow many paths would follow my path of inaction.

3:24: If ever my work had an end, these worlds would end in destruction, confusion would reign within all: this would be the death of all beings.

3: 25: Even as the unwise work selfishly in the bondage of selfish works, let the wise man work unselfishly for the good of all the world.

. . . .

3: 35: And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another´s, even if it be great. To die in one´s duty is life: to live in another´s is death.

The SIES is designed to lead a person through a set of procedures, or activities and actions that will naturally result in personal empowerment – the ability to succeed. We suggest that the student should read “When Love Guides Your Thoughts”, as a prelude to doing these exercises. This book is designed to illumine the individual to “correct thinking”, as indicated in the center of the yellow pyramid in the SIES diagram.

At the top of the pyramid is “Learning/Growth”, in other words, experience. In our view this is what life on this planet is really about, both for the individual and for the collective. We will not delve into the spiritual, metaphysical or philosophical support of this idea, because it could be an entire book on its own. Here we present it as a given. We could provide significant supporting materials and teachings, but it should not be necessary. All a person has to do is contemplate the idea and discover if it applies to themselves.

The third element of the pyramid is the foundation—Spiritual, Realization. In our experience, spiritual understanding, or a desire for it, are absolutely critical for growth and development as a human-being. We do not view the saying “we are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, but Spiritual beings having a physical experience” to be a trite saying. Our view is that the truth of being a “human-being” is to be much more a Spiritual entity than physical, “human”. If the reader questions this, they may not be appreciative to SIES. For support of this foundational principle, we would suggest a person look to those books that assist people to find their own spiritual truths, the Bible, The Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, or any of many, many books that teach about the true nature of the Cosmos, and our Being. A list that helped me develop this concept was provided earlier in the book and more are is provided at the end.

The outer, points on the star, are The Process. The Process, at the pinnacle of the star is the beginning, and the subsequent “points”, or principles, move clockwise around the star.

Here is a brief overview of this conceptual model. The actual course will have a series of specific exercises associated with expanded discussion.

1. The Process: This is the beginning, and the ending of a cycle. Like breathing. Imagine taking a breath before you do anything. The start of a race, preparing to speak, starting your meditation. But breathing never ends, so where does a cycle of breaths begin and end, after awhile it doesn´t matter. Just keep breathing.

This is a process. Like life is a process. Through utilizing these six concepts, a person will be lead to a higher understanding of life, which will naturally lead to a happier life.

           

Upon considering the SIES with no prior experience with it, this “point” on the star is the beginning! Be open to possibilities. Be aware that you will be supported and Loved through this process, and that it is YOUR process (more on this later).

           

After having completed a cycle, or many cycles, The Process step is one of evaluation and contemplation. Taking in the experiences and processing them for another go around. It should be natural and relaxed. Be aware of all that is supporting you at every moment for your own personal transformational process. Believe me, you have incredible support!

2. Fulfillment, Engagement, Flow: Whatever one attempts to do, one is motivated by “fulfillment”, which others might term as “rewards”. (A cautionary note:  rewards can be a trap, if they are attached to transient desires for “worldly” or sensual pleasures, we have found the Bhagavad Gita to provide wonderful guidance on this). Fulfillment may come in many forms. However, it is not our point to list what these might be because they can vary so greatly for each individual. And Fulfillment for an individual can change significantly over time. It is important to know that inherent in effective fulfillment is a sense, or process, of encouragement which provides incentives to an individual to keep working and achieving. This fulfillment can be external, but the SIES process is really grounded in internal rewards which some might call self-actualization, or as “spiritual realization” (the base of the inner pyramid).

The next part of this first “point on the star” is “challenge”. A very important academic theory guides our understanding of this item which is called “optimal experience theory” (flow theory). There are a number of characteristics associated with flow theory, but the two most important are “rewards and challenge”. There is a dynamic relationship between these two – if the rewards are not enough, a person will quit. If the challenges are not enough, people will get bored, or if the challenges are too much they will quit due to frustration. For more on Optimal Experience Theory.

Here is the definition of Flow Theory

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.^[1]

According to Csíkszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task.^[2]

3. Skill sets, Organization, Replicability: is the third Point on the Star. The Process will lead an individual in a way that will help them learn organizational skills and also a process by which this “model”, or procedure, for their life will be replicable for them in any situation. This is not like goal setting. Goal setting is not a dynamic process that allows an individual to adequately absorb and comprehend new information, or power, which is inherent in the living process.

We see goal setting as a “behind the starting line” approach to life because from a vantage point in time “now”, people cannot see the true, or full picture—the true opportunities that await them as they move from Now into future Nows. We view living in a way that, as we move through our life experiences, and we are open to continual learning and growth,  in each and every NOW, and we relish the PRESENT, we are constantly presented with new opportunities, many which we were not previously aware of. So this idea of “Goal Setting” which is really based on our “historical” perspectives, really limits our ability to adapt and utilize new information and insights as we go along. When I set a goal, and I lock into that goal, I can very easily put blinders on to many, many opportunities that could be presenting themselves. Our friend Robert from Jamaica said he lived his life based on what he called “goal-less” living, and we can appreciate his statement.

In addition to this open-ness, SIES is very different in that it includes an element of constant evaluation and adaptation – allowing for continual adjustments to strategy to maximize a person’s ultimate results. Another way we might describe this is as a process to become a master at adaptivetant evaluation and adaptation – allowing for continual adjustments to strategy to maximize a person’s ultimate results. Another way we might describe this is as a process to become a master at adaptive strategies. Adaptive strategies would be the ability to flourish and succeed in any situation or context.

4. Harmonic People Skills - Interpersonal: The fourth “Point”, or “principle” on the Star is an important aspect of SIES  to improve interpersonal skills. We believe this is pivotal for helping people to live a better life. If one examines life of humans in general, most of our challenges are a result of us not getting along with other people. Why is this so? Of course innumerable reasons could be cited, however we believe that it really comes down to our relationship with ourselves first, which then end up creating the way that we interact with other people. In truth, most of these difficulties for ourselves and others could be put into the simple word, FEAR. Nonetheless, we end up treating other people how we really (subconsciously) feel about ourselves. So our focus with the SIES is on the individual, to give them skills to be agile and adaptable and understanding with all people. The principle is really guided by the Golden Rule – “do unto others as you would have done unto you”. To do this you must comprehend the true depth of this great teaching, and also internalize how you want to be treated. To accomplish this you must be on the path to “self knowledge” which is the first of the thirteen Thinking Rules in “When Love Guides Your Thoughts”. Shakespeare in Hamlet puts it like this:

            This above all, — to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night and day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

The SIES Process is a step up, or is complimentary, to the internal practices that must be developed for a person to truly “know thyself”. This means, that we are actively taking our individual growth and learning and attempting to Share it with others. This means that SIES, is complimentary to a person´s individual practices, meditations, spiritual pursuits, and aims to improve their relationship to other people. After these processes begin with a transformation of our personal perspectives, then we can begin to improve our performance as we live and work in the various organizations and situations of the world (family, job, social works, etc.).

A wonderful compliment to the SIES is The Practice created by Desmond Donald Green. Of course, we are not suggesting that there is one path to self-transformation and empowerment. They are innumerable. Another is A Course in Miracles. Each individual should find their own solution, but the key is not to just float in the sea of confusion that exists as we seek “the Truth” in the external happenings of the world. The Truth, as revealed by all of the greatest teachers can only be found within. However, as we work to find our own best process, we can utilize the wisdom that has been provided to us by the ONE through many, many sources.

5. Demonstration—Becoming a Truth Leader: The next “point on the star” with SIES we call “Demonstration—Becoming a Truth Leader”. The SIES Process, which has a very natural flow, actually creates a “demonstration”. We have observed that the greatest teachers throughout human history have taught by demonstration (Jesus, Buddha, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Norman Borlaug and many others). So this step is really to mimic those great people. Now, not everyone wants to be a “great teacher” and we have only listed the most prominent here. However, the important fact is we have all been touched by modest/humble demonstrations. In many cases it might be our mother or father, or sister, teacher or professor. The main point here is to prepare a person to understand that as they improve their lives, people will watch. And if others can see that you can do it, then they might believe they can change their lives too. This is really the most effective way to teach. And this is not about becoming a “clanging symbol” it is more like lighting a lantern and bringing some light to the world. This is what we mean by becoming a “Truth Leader”, by the simple discovery that honesty and sincerity are really foundational principles for living in peace, we can then share our “truths” with integrity. This simply means doing the best that we can at any point in time. No one can be expected to do anything else. Solomon´s Empowerment strategies are tested and proven throughout human history, because we believe these models have been discerned from the great teachings, at least we did our best. And they can be used by anyone. That is the beauty of this all. It is not rocket science.

6. Understanding, Awareness, Communication This is the final “point” on the star, before beginning the SIES Process once again. Another way we can phrase this is “Preparing for the World”. Almost everyone desires to touch people’s lives. If not in a big way, then in the way that improves the lives of the people around them. This last item is the step that prepares a person to take these same principles into the rest of their lives – to their place of worship, to their job, to their community, etc. All of the principles already discussed come to play here, but especially interpersonal skills. Here are the key issues that a person needs to master in order to have the best success with working with outside organizations:

a) Vision, Executions skills – knowing how to establish roles & responsibilities, and determine rewards (for each individual).
b) Communication skills (internal and external)
c) Outputs, which means “getting things done”
d) Maintaining harmony (conflict resolution/arbitration)
e) Process management
f) Progress evaluation – this occurs constantly throughout the process

Self Searching: this is one of the keys to success. This is where mastery of oneself and one’s life arises. This topic is mentioned in When Love Guides Your Thoughts, and relates to the process of looking at one’s life and finding those areas where you have experienced challenges and hardships – these can especially be identified by emotional trauma. When have you experienced the most difficult and internally painful times? Or those times that may have occurred before your conscious memory that shaped the very foundations of your personality. This will go way back in your life in most cases. In the author´s case the first issue was being bottle fed rather than breast fed. One of our advisors has identified A Course in Miracles (ACIM) as the best tool by which to gain more clarity as one goes into the world.

However, we have created a very simple diagram that describes what seems to be a missing piece in how we have been taught, or learned, to live our lives successfully and happily.

 

      Solomon´s Personal Empowerment—Thought, Experience, Processing

This is a super simplified diagram, but most good ideas are simple in concept. If we describe the center of this diagram with the three terms connected by arrows “thought, experience, processing”, we will understand in a metaphysical, and in fact literal way how we experience our lives, in other words our physical/material reality. Of course, an entire series of books could be written about just these ideas, but we just want to introduce these ideas to you. Just trust, or just contemplate, on our suggestion that your “ideas” that have become something “physical”. Have you ever touched “a thought”, or one of your ideas? How does something you cannot touch, interface with physical reality? You can study this subject through many sources, but it is best if you just spend a little time considering how all of our “reality” comes into being. Extremely simply, it begins with the first two terms “Thought  = creation” and “Experience = Manifestation”. This is how our ideas are turned into “things”, how things come into existence and create our “material reality”. If you haven´t considered this before, just trust that this is how it happens. One book that we recommend that goes into some detail, but with very little extra rhetoric is “The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. Wallace´s book is provided as part of our “e-books” and we highly recommend that you add it to your digital library.

After we accept that the first two items are the truth, then we need to consider what appears to be the missing part of the picture. That relates to “processing”, the third step in our living process. Most people are stuck in the first two items (the 2-step) in this diagram. Most people believe that outside circumstances are just “happening to them”, that they do not actually have power over them. Then they end up repeating the same mistakes over and over again. In fact, usually this is occurring on an inter-generational basis in families. The truth is, we are the creators of all of our experiences—all of them. What has been missing in so many people’s lives is the third element — The ability to process, evaluate (or contemplate) and change the patterns, our internal reactions to, apparently, “external” influences. This is one of the key elements of the Solomon Source Empowerment strategy. To give you the ability to get to the “problems” or issues, honestly face them, and then move into a new paradigm of existence. It is really a simple process, but may require real dedication and courage. But the rewards are significantly greater than the efforts required.

Evaluation: The SIES is situated “metaphorically” in a “soup” of evaluation. This means that your evaluative mind-set should constantly be aware, or “turned on”. This is not as difficult as one might imagine. Especially if one has seriously studied “When Love Guides Your Thoughts” and has committed to seeking Truth and the pursuit of being Love to the world. It really becomes a sort of “watch program” that is constantly vigilant for situations which are going to bear sour fruit, or bad results.  In some ways, it is as simple as monitoring one’s own emotional status. However, before those channels are clear there needs to be a serious inventory of past programs and trauma as mentioned in the previous item.

The evaluation mode is connected to adaptation so we learn to be constantly aware and are ready to make adjustments when necessary. Many of these concepts are touched on in “When Love Guides Your Thoughts”.

Getting Your Model: This is the last part of this introduction to the SIES process. It is apparent that, as we observe the struggles of so many people in the world, we all need a “model” for how to have a more successful life. And no one has ever really provided us one, that is because they have been trying to give you their model (in the case of some great teachers such as Jesus, it was others who altered a working model).

This is the issue. What we have not been told, or realized, is that we need to adapt “their models” to be our model. When we discover this simple truth a whole new world arises. It really doesn’t matter what a model looks like, the trick is to modify it to suit your needs. The key is to make it your own. So, we are providing you our “model” and want you to change it in a way that suits your needs – so it serves you and makes sense to you!! This is because it is your model ultimately. That is the only way that it will assist you to accomplish the things that you want to.

I think Jesus really points to this in the quote,

“Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these”. John 14: 12

In my life learning process (or remembering as Socrates believed), I have decided that Jesus was telling us that there is only one way to God, but it was not “his” way, but that the one way to reach God is through our own hearts. So there is only one way. Your way is through your heart, and my way is through my heart. This idea is captured in the following:

“It is the father, living in me who is doing the work.” John 14: 10

With SIES, all we are doing is providing you a structure, or concept, but it is only meaningful if it makes sense to you and you integrate it into your consciousness, your life. Pictures, metaphors, symbols, diagrams, flow charts, etc. work well for many people, others maybe a formula. In any case, don’t think we are telling you what to do, we are just pointing a way, but you choose the path.

Throughout all of my books, writing and work I have used many diagrams to assist us in simplifying things and providing “a model” for our projects. Maybe one of these will work for you, or maybe some combination (maybe the puzzle, Metatron’s cube, or mandala). Take what you want, but the key, again, is to adjust, alter and adapt the model to fit your needs, and also to be agile, adaptable and evaluative throughout the process. If a model doesn’t work any more, get a new one.