REUNION- Reflections on Mind Valley Forum 2018

In Reunion, the prefix “re” (Re = Egyptian god of light) infers that there was once an inherent union (a singular bright light), then a separation, followed again by a union. I love applying the concept of Reunion to our global society, as it gives me hope that unity among humanity is again possible.

Haven’t we created enough friction and tension among our multi-cultural communities with our populist, separatist, myopic, navel-gazing thinking? Isn’t it high time for one big, brave, bold, brilliant move toward re-union among all global citizens- peoples, cultures, nations, tribes, and traditions under the banner of a common humanity? Isn’t this meant to be our greatest moment in history at the edge of the Anthropocene? Doesn’t this Age mark the pinnacle of our highly-evolved, technically-advanced, supremely-innovative, and socially-connected species; where we’re to ignite our greatest positive potential, to progress forward together toward a future of shared prosperity for all? Cardinal Turkin, who contributed greatly to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, highlighted again and again during a special session at the UN HQ in Geneva I recently attended—that the re-unification of humanity is at the heart of humanity’s future hope. It is the centerpiece of the Pope’s seminal text and the keystone of the Catholic (universal) church. He asserted that if we focused on our common humanity and celebrated our diversity by living a life of universal compassion for one another (every other), then we would survive these changing times… and indeed thrive. Meanwhile others, like Stephen Hawkins, before his death last week and with less hope in humanity, reminded us that only if we set our sights off planet in the next 1000 years would our species persist, and then only some of us. Stephen Hawkins theorized that our human nature would continue to populate all corners of the planet and run our nature debt into the ground of our own existence… and he’s a pretty smart person, been right about the nature of the universe…so far.

So, which will it be? I guess it is up to you and to me… to thee and to the tree (of life).

What says mainstream global media-news? Do our channels of communication reinforce a culture of unity or a culture of division? Does media and entertainment project a culture of peace and prosperity or one riddled with interpersonal conflict, personal abuse, fragmented homes, combative communities, disruptive and corrupt leadership, natural disaster, war, crime, and dark, dystopian futures.? Most might conclude the later. Thus unfortunately, we continue to live our limited lives under duress and stress, uncertain about our future. And sadly, similar to the food we eat; we become what we consume… So, we find ourselves at the heart of a rather dark, divided world dominated by fear and pain, desperately in need of positive media medicine and a conscious community with whom to heal, to adapt, and to evolve in a different direction… a conscious community with whom to Reunite.

Thankfully, we have free will. We can choose the future we want and we can choose the tribe with whom we want to associate-to reunite. Thankfully, today there are more and more communities forming and collectively norming to raise the vibration of humanity. Sprouting up in the US alone organizations; such as, TED, Unify, Singularity University, Xprize, Renaissance, Global Citizens, Evolve, Spirit Rock, DailyOm, Gaia, Mind&Life, Agape, Oprah-Chopra Meditation, Evolve… are growing in influence and expanding their membership, globally. These communities seem genuinely concerned about the well-being of all living beings and support the greatest life, happiness, and prosperity for all. As well thankfully, individuals of this generation and age, while being shaken up by the world’s darkness, are both growing up and waking up at the same time (language borrowed from Neale Donald Walsch inConversations with God). And, they (we) are seeking reunion with those who share a similar natural inclination toward the light of love.

One such conscious community I’ve recently discovered is Mind Valley. And indeed, they aptly call their conference forums, Reunions.

Now most of us more commonly associate a Reunion with a periodic social gathering of fellow classmates after graduation from high school or college. Indeed during these reunions, we are again united with familiar others from our shared past and shared cultural upbringing as part of a school or community or fraternity or sorority. Each university, business, civic group, sports team, or religion lives by specific customs, colors, totems, norms, symbols, slang, anthems, rules, expected behavior, … and reunions to re-identify, to re-unify, and to re-enforce the group culture. Over time the norms of a group culture may even become ingrained (programmed) into our lived reality (especially during our younger, impressionable years) in such a way that like the internal motherboard of a computer— the group culture just works and we ride along our day-day on autopilot within its invisible matrix… until we again choose to question The Rules. Ideally, our innate selves (our soul-our light body having a human experience) would naturally gravitate toward groups resonating with our internal values, our inherent life purpose, and our right worldly mission. And ideally, group cultures would adapt and evolve over time to stay current and thereby remain relevant to members as they grow up and wake up. Sadly, this is not always the case.

However, given the leadership of Mind Valley under Vishen Lakhiani, himself a curious, inquiring soul; it seems of central importance for members of the Mind Valley tribe to question the norms and rules of their lives and to continue updating their mental models of reality to suit continuous personal growth and maturation of the Mind Valley community. This focus on the dynamic and continuous evolution of the person; as well as the group, is a very special feature of Mind Valley; and one I respect. And indeed, the dynamism of Mind Valley leads me to believe that this is a culture, fit-for-purpose, optimized for our changing times to survive and to thrive through the transition of our human species from one living an ethno-centric reality—concerned primarily with the family & tribe to a world-centric reality— concerned with all living beings. In Ken Weber’s Integral Theory this line and level of development for humans leans toward (and requires) an ever-expanding emotionally intelligent and inclusive tribal identification/association with every other living being. Imagine, such a reunionwhere one becomes One of complete, conscious harmony with all of life. Wow- that’s deep and wide… and wouldn’t that be one heck of a Reunion? But is it practically possible? What Mind might that entail?

Most of us are physically born into a distinct landscape of culture and community— one by-the-way we did not overtly choose. Thus, we necessarily begin our little lives within a pre-determined, limited cultural reality. However, the good news is… since we are naturally curious creatures with a mind to question and a propensity toward truth (truth for each unique one of us); we are imbued with the internal wiring to question the boundaries of our reality and to expand our mind beyond the one watershed and valley where we were born. We have the capacity to perceive ourselves as part of an universal tribe and to re-write our current reality in such a way, so as to re-unite with the more inclusive world-centric tribe within which we have always belonged. Isn’t that beautiful… and empowering?

Of course, this is not to say that the family, the schools, the community and religious groups… the cultures within which we base our being do not serve our conscious evolution and so must necessarily be abandoned in order to mature into our own unique persons, evolving as more world-centric (cosmo-centric) beings. A curious, inquiring mind is very different from one driven by disruption and deviance for its own sake. Certainly, the ultimate goal behind self-reflection and limited culture-deflection is not to enrage, but to engage our birthright of choice and to practice listening to our inner voice of truth— to seek expression of our Natura Vera (authentic innate self) for the benefit of Me-Myself-I-All… and to naturally attract our world-centric kin vibrating on the same higher frequency. Right?

Vishan Lakhani, again Founder of Mind Valley, wrote a book entitled, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, where he invites his readers to “redefine their lives and to succeed on their own terms”— to decode the culturescape (as he calls it) within which we were born and to re-program, update our human operating systems, in ways that optimize our unique full human potential. It is a beautiful vision and one that I would like to explore further in another article. Suffice to say for now, Vishan’s book is a great guide. And, there are a plethora of tools, techniques, and resources available, especially within the Mind Valley virtual library to empower each of us to reflect on our current cultural context and to consciously choose the communities and groups within which we want to shake up, grow up, and wake up into world-centric oriented beings, Reunited with our true Natura Vera—Naturally Intelligent selves, once again.