Connecting With Others: A Prescription For Overcoming Social, Cultural, And Economic Differences

Culture, Featured

We suspect — or at least we hope — that there are more and more things… where people have the opportunity to discover their commonality. These are things that can change the world, even if it’s by one person at a time.” – Gregory Stebbins, President of Insight University The Power Of Connection In Stebbins’ article for the Huffington Post, “Connection: The Heart of Our Humanity,” he writes about the power of connection, how it has the ability to bridge social, cultural, and economic gaps: I made friends and shared extremely touching experiences with them, [even though some] I barely talked to. I know not their personalities and everyday lives, but I know their core being. I also learned my core being; I saw myself in a way I have never seen before; full of love, laughter and beautiful qualities that I can appreciate in myself. Now I see myself as a person, someone to be loved and cared for, who deserves the respect I give everyone else. … Life … is an ebb and flow. [This program] taught me how to grow from the ebbs, remember the flows and to always continue to love myself, others and life.” – A young woman, “who had just completed a 4-day program for teens from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.” How Can You Know If You Are Placing Value In Connecting With Others? To test out whether there is value for you in connecting with others… here’s a simple suggestion. Try it and see if you notice a difference. Once a day, when you’re getting ready to text or email...

Our World Would Be Different If We Could See Inside Each Others Hearts

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If you could stand in someone else’s shoes… Hear what they hear. See what they see. Feel what they feel. Would you treat them differently?” – The Cleveland Clinic What Do We Know About The Human Race? Well, we know something very basic: we all share common desires for food, shelter, sex, family, honor, power, knowledge, and wealth. And yet… we fundamentally lack the ability to, “Truly inhabit the shoes of another.” But what if we could, somehow, “See life through another’s eyes?” How would our world, and everyone’s world, change? A World Where Each Sees & Feels What Others Feel Imagine, for a moment, a world where: Each sees themselves tied to everyone else. A world where each realizes their common ambitions, together, seeing that the greatest profit can only be achieved through valuing the connection that they share. A world where equality isn’t just a “word,” and hatred is something which everyone seeks to overcome, in order to arrive at that next, new, superior state. Imagine a world of mutual responsibility. ‘ What Do You Think? How is a world, where everyone truly values what others see, think, and feel, formed? Image: “Empathy” by Pierre Phaneuf on...

Midway: A Film About Man’s Interconnection With The Albatross

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Do we have the courage to face the realities of our time, and allow ourselves to feel deeply enough that it transforms us, and our future? Come with me on a journey through the eye of beauty, across an ocean of grief and beyond.” – Chris Jordan, filmmaker of Midway The currently-in-production film, Midway, according to its site, … explores the plight of Laysan albatross plagued by the ingestion of our plastic trash. Both elegy and warning, the film explores the interconnectedness of species, with the albatross on Midway as a mirror of our humanity.” Midway is scheduled to premiere in late 2013. Here is the trailer: MIDWAY : trailer : a film by Chris Jordan from Midway on...

Dear Son, How Was Your Day At School?

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My dear son, Did you & your friends learn about this at school today? Did you learn that all kids have feelings just like you and that it is destructive to individually  compete against one another because you learn through that how to use everyone and thing throughout your life for the sake of your own benefit? Did you learn and discuss that a third of the world’s population is dying from starvation, and that they don’t even have a glass of water to drink? Did you learn & see examples of how to respect others’  opinions that are different from your own even if you don’t always agree on the same topic? Did you learn that each and every one of you was born with a special talent? Did you learn you how to perceive yourself & others objectively? Did you learn about collective group creativity together? Did you learn that there is more than one correct answer to a question? Did you learn that your amazing capabilities  cannot be defined by a percentage rating on a piece of paper? Did you learn that each and everyone of you has something special that only you can contribute in order to complete a balanced society? Did you & your friends learn about this at school today?   Love,...

What Is Love? – Street Interviews On Valentine’s Day 2013

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What The Kids Are Saying: We R All One

Culture, Featured

Currently on our planet most people imagine themselves to be separate from each other, living in separate families or clans, gathered in separate neighborhoods or states, collected in separate nations or countries, further separate by race, skin color, religion, gender, political party, social class, and the list goes on. This could be called the state of the disunion because we believe that we are separate.” As a result, we have been missing the mark in our attempts to create a world of peace, harmony, and happiness. The truth is, we are all one… we are seeing that this idea of separation is an illusion. Our belief in disunity is the cause of all dysfunction on our planet. Nothing that exists in the universe is separate from anything else.” What we are saying is that the wisdom of oneness is not just a touchy feely, feel good, new age catchphrase anymore… it is a precise description of the nature of ultimate reality… we are deeply connected to all of life.” We are on a magnificent journey from me to we.” Image: “we are all one” by Jesslee Cuizon on...