In October 2008, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke, facing a liquidity crisis that threatened a meltdown of the world financial system, had an opportunity to consider heretofore unthinkable policy moves -- even nationalizing the nation's biggest banks. But they had to act fast.
That's the way it is when a crisis hits. All of a sudden, huge changes are possible, but urgency and fear are off-the-charts, and there's little time or bandwidth for deliberation.
- What if, among Paulson's and Bernanke's circles of respected advisors, there had been a network of enlightened thinkers who had alreadythought long and hard about these issues? What if they had written white papers describing the kinds of solutions that could be considered, and what if they had thought deeply not just about how to successfully address the short-term crisis -- but how to do it wisely, with a view toward long-term transformation?
- What if,using grounded, well-informed, complex, nuanced, higher vision-logic, they had looked for solutions based on the following key criteria?
- Seek policy solutions that would gradually move the US and world financial systems--at least incrementally--toward sustainability, increasing the likelihood of smoother transitions.
- Avoid approaches that would merely delay key moments-of-reckoning, increasing the likelihood or inevitability of more disruptive adjustments.
- Do so in a way that's politically feasible given the current climate, but also pushes the body politic (and media) to grow in its capacity for more profoundly sustainable approaches to our most challenging problems.
With all that context and meta-context on the table, now, let's unpack the simple 3-part summary of the strategy outlined at the beginning of this post.
1. Become "Bodhidharma". Practice, grow, evolve, mature into the deepest, clearest, most powerful, authentically wise, trustworthy, skillful and persuasive human being you can be. This is the essential foundation, and it will last all of our lifetimes.
Part of that life of practice take place in relationship to others. Help to co-create a wiser integral evolutionary culture--a conscious community of practice and civic responsibility. To paraphrase Thich Nhat Hanh, the next Buddha--or Bodhidharma--may be a Sangha. This, too, is an essential foundation.
Notice, it is not necessary to beBodhidharma or "radically enlightened", but only to be authentically aligned with and engaged in the process of becomingthat kind of being.
2.Help create enlightened sustainable solutions--"spare parts' for 4-quadrant systems redesignout of which we can gradually build more sustainable societies, and that decision makers can draw upon as elements of responses to crises. (This step includes a diverse array of "spare parts," projects relating not only to sustainable energy or land & water use, but also to financial & monetary policies, organizational governance, political reforms, as well as clarified higher values, culture, and spirituality.)
A key point here: many individuals don't self-identify as "leaders." A truly integral evolutionary culture (rather than a merely intellectual movement) can contribute directly or indirectly to the process of developing them, including cultivating qualitiesof leadership even in individuals who may not be in conventional leadership positions.
3.Gain "the ear of the Emperor".By this I mean, become credible, expert, influential, and powerful in the cultures and institutions with the greatest influence over high-impact decisions (or even moderate-impact decisions--we need engagement across all scales).
If it's not your dharma to become a decision-maker, become an advisor, a teacher, or influencer of them--or an advisor to such advisors--or just serve such people. It may be your path to simply be a deeply conscious human being who helps create an integral evolutionary spiritual culture that nurtures and supports others who do this work. In any case, you can live a life that expresses a fierce evolutionary commitment to enable sanity and wisdom to guide human affairs.
This 3-part strategy is simultaneous, not sequential.
You obviously don't have to get enlightened before you work on sustainable solutions to practical problems, nor do you have to have enlightened solutions in hand before you gain access to power and influence.
If your intentions and behavior are deeply guided by all 3 of these injunctions, you won't fall into the errors that have tended to thwart enlightened activism.
Activists generally make two errors: They fail to become deep and wise; and they tend to react against the abuses and errors of the powerful rather than guiding them skillfully. On the other hand, those who embrace the spiritual path make their own species of errors: They tend to avoid working "in the trenches" to forge detailed practical sustainable solutions; and they cede power to benighted egos for whom it is the only focus.
For enlightened responsibility to awaken in the human system, a new kind of responsibility must awaken in each of us--in me, and in you. We can't delegate it all to elected officials and CEOs. The process will inevitably be messy and imperfect, so no single strategy sums it all up. But these 3 injunctions can guide us to good effect. To reprise them:
- Become Bodhidharma.
- Help create enlightened sustainable solutions--"spare parts' for 4-quadrant systems redesign.
- Gain the ear of the Emperor.
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