What is Integrity?

Much of my day is spent with the question, “What is integrity.” I write, I reflect, I teach, I read, I feel. All in the quest for simple clarity. It’s emerging, and it’s surprising. When I first considered integrity, I was sure it was about being more honest. That’s true, and there is more. In fact, so much more that I then felt overwhelmed.

What I’m discovering about integrity is that it’s about the absolute alignment of my body, thoughts, feelings and actions. It calls me to total awareness.  This understanding sometimes brings forth despair. “How can anyone be in integrity?” the voice inside says. Yet, I know there are moments when I am in integrity. “If that’s so”, I wonder, “what’s happening in those moments?” “I’m present”, is my first response. “So is being present required for integrity?” I ask myself. Yep.

Is the quest for integrity so simple that it only requires being fully present? I’m not sure, but it feels like this could be true. When I’m present, I’m aware of everything I’m experiencing in this moment. I act from this awareness with a deliberateness that is only possible from this complete awareness. I can feel my body without the distortion of thoughts. My experiences are pure as they are not motivated by needs or desires.

This simple understanding doesn’t mean that being in integrity is easy. It requires diligence and practice. It demands self-honesty and reflection.

The question is, “Are you ready for complete integrity?” This question brings to mind our conversation a few days ago about accountability. With integrity, it’s also an all or nothing experience. No need for despair though, we have the opportunity to experience integrity more and more. This is possible if we stop judging ourselves when we are not in integrity. Judgment brings with it so much self-deception. We believe that if we are out of integrity we are “bad”. Nope, we are just out of integrity, like most everyone else. When we discover this is happening, we can stop, reorient to being present, and continue. It’s that simple.

Over the next few months, I will be writing more about integrity, offering ways I’ve found to be present with my body, emotions, thoughts, feelings and actions. I welcome your feedback. No more important time than now to increase the number who are living in integrity.

Move your Money!

These is a lot of talking about how mad we are that the big banks are paying out strongBillions/strong of strongDollars/strong in bonuses when they had their hands out just a year ago. Remember, they were telling us they needed the governments help to even survive. In fact, they were so convincing that they scared Congress into doing what they wanted with no strings attached.

Now a year later, they are telling us they made records profits and the executives deserve to be paid for their hard work. Now some folks are calling this one of the greatest frauds perpetrated on the US. Bill Black, a former government official during the Savings and Loan crisis laid this case out on the Business Matter’s program titled, “Cronie Capitalism” . Could be. But it doesn’t look like anyone in Washington is going to do anything substantive about this. Sure there’s hand wavering and lots of talk, but no real legislation and the dollars from Wall Street firms and big banks continue to flow in to the campaign coffers of both political parties.

But don’t despair. Maybe there’s something we can do about it. Something that doesn’t require the President or anyone in Congress to do anything. Something that can have a profound affect. What would that be, you may ask?

Over the holidays a group of people that included Ariana Huffington of the Huffingon Post were talking about what they could do about this clear inequity. They decided to start a campaign to recommend that people move their money from the large banks who has taken our taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves while failing to help homeowners or small businesses.

Take this money and move it to financial institutions that are part of the solution. The movement is called Move Your Money. It encourages people to move their money from the big banks to credit unions and community banks.

I know how convenient it is to have you account at Bank of America or Chase or Citibank, I was stuck in the convenience situation myself. But I realized that I am part of the problem unless I take action personally. So I did, I opened my personal and business accounts at a local community bank.

Some will ask are they safe? When you look at the problems of the financial crisis, you don’t find credit unions or community banks holding Credit Default Swaps or packaging up mortgages into securities and loosing contact with their customer. Sure profits may be down, but they still do business the old fashion way – face to face. They know you and you know them.

I am encouraging you to consider taking action. Find out more about this movement. Go to the moveyourmoney.info website and see what others are doing and saying. See if it this feels like the right thing for you to do. Remember that you can make a difference .

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Is War A Necessity of Peace?

The following is an except from the speech by President Barak Obama when he received the Nobel Prize for Peace:

“So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly inreconcilable truths — that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. “Let us focus,” he said, “on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions. A gradual evolution of human institutions.“

What might this evolution look like? What might these practical steps beAs I have read and re-read this speech, I found my reaction went from anger to despair to resolution.For those of you who haven’t either read or heard the entirety of this speech, I encourage you to do so by checking out the links for it on our website.

It seemed offensive to me for President Obama to reference Martin Luther King, Jr and Mohatmas Ghandi and then say they are wrong minded because its not possible to use non-violence to change the actions of a despot or groups acting with disdain for other’s human rights. He said that the only way for countries to defend themselves was with the use of force. He did give an eloquent rationalization for this point of view.

Its felt that the President has taken a pill since he was candidate Obama and his perspectives about war and peace had been altered. There has been a large cry of outrage from many who backed his run for President who now feel betrayed.

That may be true, and I believe that the President missed a golden opportunity to expose and begin a dialogue to truthfully bring about an end to war and an emergence of a sustainable peace not only between nations but within nations.

On the December 18th Business Matters program, we talk about the role of capitalism in reducing war between nations. Its not good business to fight each other. OK, but let’s take that all the way.

We have a huge war machine in the US. For example, in the fiscal 2010 US Government budget, $1 Trillion is allocated to either defense or national security spending. That accounts for ½ of all the money spent in the world these areas. Imagine – all the countries in the world combined, including Russia, China and India combined spend what we alone spend

This enormous machine has links into over 100,00 businesses of the US alone. These businesses that involved in war are naturally going to fight to keep the existing system alive. For many of them it feels like a battle for survival.

So without a transitionary plan to redirect the work of these businesses and others like them in other parts of the world to peace oriented production, wars will be waged in some manner or form.

If we continue to spend at this level, there will not be adequate resources for the fundamentals of peace like food security, education and the environment. Its time for national governments to start having the hard conversations about redirection of resources. After WWII, there was an unpredicted restructuring of the war machine to peaceful applications. The time is now for such a commitment.

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New Day – Letting go of the Past

As I reflect on this day, I see how often I refer to the past to make decisions about the present. Much like living through looking in the rear view mirror. What is it that I feel I can glean from this perspective? What am I afraid of in the present moment?

The answer is clear. I am afraid I will make the same mistakes that have been part of my past. In a flash, I realize that by being focused on the past, I will always repeat it.

Only by allowing the past to fade away and bringing all my attention to this moment do I experinece today in its full brilliance.

For now,

Thomas

What’s In a Name?

Once again, our four-year old Michael shows what an amazing teacher he is. We have recently moved from suburbia to southwestern Wisconsin. This has been a dream of my wife and I for some time and we are very content with our move. As with any new location, we are finding some of the local peculiarities that people may have forgotten to mention the sixty times we visited the area.

I was traveling (fortunately for me) one September day, when I called home to learn from my excited wife that our home was being invaded by asian beetles. These lady bug look-a-likes were pouring into our home from any crack that was bigger than a pin head. I am not exaggerating when I say pouring in. The windows and doors of the house were coated with these little creatures. Hundreds were making their way into the house, in fact, my wife resorted to using a vacuum cleaner to hose them up as they sneaked in through the doors and windows.

We found out that this is a normal occurrence each fall. We also discovered that a small population of these beetles make a permanent residence in your home until the spring.

If this wasn’t enough, we also experienced the fly emergence. Flies are the fall companions of the asian beetles and anytime a door is opened, they invite themselves in for our hospitality. In addition to vacuuming beetles, we also had fly strips up in logical places, like light fixtures and ceiling fans.

Most of us were pretty annoyed with these squatters in our private space, but not Michael. Michael liked these little beetles. In fact, he liked them so much that he started calling them “Burts”. Like, “there goes a Burt up the wall”, or “look at that Burt on our dinning room table”. He even felt like the flies should have a name too, so they are Freds.

About this time, our 11 year old, Kamran was at the farm for the weekend. He is not fond of insects at all and these beetles were really annoying to him. When he heard Michael calling the beetles Burt, he stopped his normal complaining about the bugs. He started talking with the Burts in the house and his frustration with flies seemed to dissolve as well as he followed Michael’s lead and called them Freds.

This relationship with the beetles (Burts) and flies (Freds) continues into winter. There are still a small cadre of Burts enjoying the warmth of our home and when they crawl onto the table or land on our heads, we smile, invite them to go somewhere else and that’s that. Just yesterday, Michael came in to the kitchen holding a Fred and said with great reverence, this Fred died. I am going to take him outside now.

So what is the lesson of Michael? He has shown me that if I can identify personally with something in my environment that I might normally want to either marginalize or treat in an inhuman way, my whole experience changes. Rather than treating something as an anno

ying thing, I realize that it has value and should be treated with respect. Yes, even insects are living beings. They may not have a mind such as ours (actually, that may have some advantages at times), but they are still a wealth of mystery. How do they know when to awaken from their long sleep? How do they know how to find food and water. How do they find others of their own kind? Mysteries that I can’t explain.

Michael shows me that there is benefit in engaging these insects rather than being focused on their elimination. Even the death of a fly can be an event that is treated with reverence.

How does this play out in a broader context? I first think of the term “collateral damage” that is used by the military and politicians to explain civilian deaths and injuries in a military conflict. It can also be used to explain the displacement of people because of war. When I hear about collateral damage of over 1 million in Iraq, what do I feel? If I don’t have a personal picture of those who are affected, its not much more than words to me. How can I personalize something that I knowis not in keeping with my values so that I am aroused to action?

Thinking about the lesson of Michael, I know that I can use my intuition to have a sense of the people impacted. I can remember that they are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, grandmas and grandpas. I can remember my grandparents or parents. It is in that moment that I begin to get a sense of the impact of what has happened, and I know I can’t stand idly by.

This awareness extends everywhere. Since I am a middle class white guy, how can I feel what its like to be poor or disenfranchised? I can talk to those who are and get to know their stories and from that understanding I can remember that everything is personal.

This is a beginning for me. I will continue to work with the lesson of Michael as I become more aware of the places where I act with inhumanity and change that behavior, as soon as I know it is happening.

I would love your comments on the lesson of Michael.

Until later,

Thomas

On Writing Well or How to Do What you Love and get Paid for It.

I am a fan of Sharon Astyk’s blog. She offers a wide variety of wisdom on important global issues. Perhaps more important, she is a subsistence farmer, who offers wit and advice on how to live in a simple, more self-sufficient life. She is also an accomplished author of three books, “Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front” (Sharon Astyk), “A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil” (Sharon Astyk, Aaron Newton) and “Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation” (Sharon Astyk).

One of Sharon’s recent blog postings moved me. As you can tell, she is a serious writer. In the posting titled, The Writing Life, Sharon offers one of the most thoughtful, helpful and inspirational pieces about doing what you.

I work with many folks who are trying to bring together their passions and purpose with work. They often complain that you can’t really do what they love and have a good livelihood. That’s not my experience and Sharon’s piece pokes a big hole in that belief.

Sharon’s personal story is about doing what she loves because it’s the right thing for her to do. She didn’t start out writing so that she would make a lot of money or to have lots of readers. She says that when she started blogging (she recently celebrated her 1000^th blog posting), she didn’t know if there would be more than four people reading her blog.

Some will read Sharon’s piece and say she was lucky. I don’t believe in luck. I believe that Sharon is listening to that inner muse we all have. Some call it intuition will others may refer to it as sixth sense. This inner guidance is ignored by most of us because we have been taught that the only real source of direction is our logic of the opinion of others who know more than we do. I guess Sharon missed that lesson.

So whether you are a writer or someone who is wandering around with the question “how do I do what I love?”, this article will serve you well.

Until later,

Thomas

Motherhood and What Really Matters in Business

Money and the Meaning of Life is the title of a book Jacob Needleman published in 1994. Needleman’s premise is that our obsession with money and materialism has eroded our aliveness, robbed us of our authenticity, and left us spiritually impoverished. I read this book many years ago, and was reminded of its lessons as I have reflected upon my conversations with women business owners over the past few weeks.

I had been preparing for our Business Matters program on women entrepreneurs . For some time, I have had the sense that there was much to learn from women in business that could change for the better the role that business plays in our world. What I found crystallized my intuition and sparked a passion to learn all I can and tell their stories to both men and women.

One of the most poignant lessons came from understanding the purpose these women had for starting their businesses. In no case did they tell me that they started the business so that they could make a lot of money. Their reasons varied a bit; however, in essence, they are the same. They started the business because they thought they could do something that was valuable. They started the business because they wanted to no longer participate in a system that was focused on money first and people second. They started the business so they could channel their passions into something they loved doing.

There is a sense that with this focus these women-owned businesses would not be successful. If success is only measured in terms of maximizing profits, perhaps that is true. Maximizing profits is a code word for making as much money as possible. These women did derive profits from their businesses. That is vital in a world where we are not self-sufficient and use money to secure the resources we need for a healthy life.

For them, though, success was measured in a broader context. Success came from how well they took care of their customers. Success, for them, is measured in how they felt about themselves at the end of the day. Success, for them, comes from knowing they are doing the right thing for their communities.

These qualities are amplified by one thing many of these women share – they are mothers. As a mother, they took care of a sick child through the night while everyone else slept. As a mother, they juggled the needs of all the members of the family. As a mother, they made things happen no matter what resources they had.
All of these qualities and more are what we say we want in those who lead and work in organizations, yet we don’t place a high value on what women, particularly mothers, bring. These qualities of care, determination and imagination are discounted when a woman applies for a bank loan to start her business. They are told their work experience as a “stay at home” mom isn’t relevant. I have to tell you after talking with these women entrepreneurs that that’s just plain wrong. There is no better experience than for leading a business than mom as ‘CEO’ of the family.

What I found in women led businesses can be a roadmap for how we can move from the devastating impact of consumption at all costs. The women I spoke with show us how collaborative work environments produce better long term results for everyone. It’s time for us men to go back to the drawing board with our beliefs about what business is about and take the lessons these women are clearly showing us.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thomas

Michael – Zen Teacher of Gratitude

Today I was sitting in our living room when Michael, our 3-year old, turns from his play and asks me a simple question. “Papa, did you buy Thomas (the tank engine) for me?” “Yes, mom and I did.” “Did you buy Percy (another Thomas character) for me?” “Yes, MIchael, mom and I did.”

“Oh, thank you Papa!”. The genuineness of this appreciation was clear. The amazing thing is, he regularly asks me these questions, and each time he express his appreciation as if we had purchased the toy just minutes before.

As I was considering this interaction, I realized what a teacher this little one is. How often do I take for granted everything in my world. Sure, I might appreciate something when it is new or when I specifically reflect on what I am grateful for. What Michael was showing me is that gratitude is a constant feeling.

Each time that Michael plays with his toys, it’s like the first time for him. He remembers how he received the toy. He remembers who gave him the toy. He then feels appreciation for the toy and for the giver. He is filled with joy and gratitude.

What would happen if I treated each moment like Michael? All that I encounter is fresh, and I appreciate it anew in that moment. What joy my life would be filled with! I am sure that I would not have room for anger or fear if I am living this way.

Until later,
Thomas

Technorati Tags: authenticity, children, Gratitude, humanity, humility, Truth, Wisdom

What do I have to say?

If you write, you know there comes a moment when you wonder, “what is it that I could have to say that others would find interesting?”. It is the same worry that I suspect those who “expose”

themselves in public, such as stage performers or comics or musicians, have. 

This worry is fueled by the hubris of life that feeds flames of discord about our value. It can at times intensify to the extent that it is all we can feel. Our world is consumed with this question and we dread that the answer is “Nothing”!

I was watching this drama play out the other day, and saw the long hallway it is, threading its way throughout my life. I have a number of mechanisms to cope with this fear of “nothing”-ness. I can be boastful, and pretend that it doesn’t exist. The result of that approach is not particularly useful and creates strain all around. Another response is to become like a turtle. I pull into my shell and allow the worthlessness to fester into a throbbing despair.

As I was writing in my journal last night, I was remembering a recent lesson. I was sitting in the desert in a deep meditation and wandering through the darkness. Within this darkness were the castoffs of experiences that had been tossed aside, without allowing their lessons to penetrate my mind and be held by my heart. In this playground of monsters, I was reminded that I could simply stand up. I did not have to just sit and let the demons gnaw at me.

In standing, I break up the pity party and let in light so the true nature of my life can be revealed, and the distortions that upend my equilibrium can be put into their proper place.

May you have a peaceful day,

Thomas

Technorati Tags: authenticity, Awareness, Deliberateness, Determination, Feeling, Love, selfexpression, simplicity, Truth, Wisdom

What do you work for?

The answer to this question may be one of the most important clues to why life is either exactly what I want it to be, or not. This question has been one that I have come back to time after time, and I am back to it again.

I have been reading “An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in conversation with Michael Toms” (Michael Toms). I am a relative newcomer to the world of Joseph Campbell, although I have several of his books in my library (unread until now). In the introduction to this book, Toms speaks of his long friendship with Campbell and reveals a bit about his life. It is this introduction that stimulated me to reconsider the aforementioned question.

When I think about the question, “What do I work for?”, I find inspiration from Campbell’s life. He was a life-long proponent of “following your bliss”. Campbell points out that he had the belief early on that this was the way to live. Forty years after embracing this way of living, he reported that he was right. His life unfolded in ways unimaginable because he never wavered from what was calling to him as his “bliss”. In fact, he never let money be the guide for any decision he made. He felt that if you life fully alive, the money part would take care of itself.

I have said something like this to many who have participated in programs I have lead, however, I recognize that I don’t always live this way myself. It appears that Joseph Campbell made a decision early in his life to live simply. It was clear that this choice provided him with complete freedom to do whatever felt right for him. This included taking four years off to read when he was 30. Reading that, he felt, supported what he was most passionate about.

When I consider this example, I wonder, “what keeps me from embracing a life of simplicity and joy?” There are a few immediate answers. The first is that I have become attached to a “life-style”. Much of the trappings that surround me as I write are not critical to my joy or vital to take care of the things that are important to me. So why are they here? When I build my place of work or homestead, I follow a pattern. This pattern is chosen by me, mostly unconsciously, based upon what others either said or what I felt they would think of me. This creates a life-long experience of being on a perpetual treadmill.

Well… if I am so clear, then why do I continue living the way that I do? Good question, and one that my wife and I are exploring now. We have started with the process of eliminating what is not important in our home. We have not completed this and I expect we will early in the new year. We are also looking at how we “earn a living”, how we take care of the essential needs of our family (food, shelter, clothing), and how we can move away from dependence on goods and services that are not consistent with our values.

Now to the second answer to the question “what keeps me from embracing a life of simplicity and joy?” That answer is fear! I am afraid of the change I see is required to simplify and live a life more balanced. A life filled with freedom and fulfillment. This fear clouds many of my decisions, and on occasion leads to paralysis. How am I engaging this? My wife and I are tackling this together. We both see the effects of the “fear of the unknown” and are supporting each other when the fear overtakes us.

As we walk into the new year together, we are beginning to feel a change coming, and this has filled us with a sense of joy and excitement!

Until later,

Thomas

Technorati Tags: authenticity, Awareness, Deliberateness, Feeling, Knowing, Self-sufficiency, selfexpression, simplicity, Truth, Wisdom