This article speaks to the work of writer and movie maker, Betsy Chase. Betsy was involved with the popular movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" Betsy's newest book is called "Tipping Sacred Cows" The article also speaks to Betsy's work as reflecting a new way of thinking about the world, which is not top down".and could be seen as bottom up"..but its more than that. Its about an organic way of decision making.

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In our world there is a growing segment that is questioning everything, deeply. Ever since the beginning of last century, physicists with open eyes began scratching their heads and made some pretty radical conclusions. One primary conclusion was that Consciousness was behind this world we live in (e.g., Tom Campbell) and that the various religions spoke most truly to what the findings of physics were revealing (e.g., Frizof Capra's Tao of Physics). These writings came about due to the results of experiments in which a particle behaved like a wave, when not being measured, and appeared as a particle when it was being measured. As stated on Wikipedia:

Wave--particle duality is a theory that proposes that every elementary particle exhibits the properties of not only particles, but also waves. A central concept of quantum mechanics, this duality addresses the inability of the classical concepts "particle" or "wave" to fully describe the behavior of quantum-scale objects. As Einstein described: "It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave--particle_duality).

To put some concrete pictures to this craziness, consider the following Dr. Quantum YouTube Video.

The so-called objective-rational world of traditional science is a farce. There is no "objective" world "out there" with an objectively observing "I" "in here." Even in the hard core science of physics, there is no separation between observer and observed, or scientist and subject. We are inherently living as participants in a participatory universe. We live in a gigantic community!

It furthermore appears for every perception there is a dance of waves and a mind that is directed in what it sees by its ability to read frequencies of waves of light, sound and touch. Indeed, if one changes one's state of mind, say by taking a hallucinogenic, he or she would see a different world. Change the inner world of the observer, and the world changes. World and observer are in a reciprocal relationship. Change the observer and the world changes and vice versa.

What does this mean to today's problems of alienation, pollution, the destruction of biospheres, constant warfare and/or threat of war, standardized education, and nutrition-poor diets? (You can add more issues to the list.)

Interestingly, a neurologist named Karl Pribram found that our brains create an image via a form of calculus, he termed Fourier Transforms. Again, rather than our being passive participants in the universal dance, we are actively participating in this universe while performing high-powered calculus that allows us to engage in the play!

Let's make this more personal. If you think upon a particular natural scene, how you perceive it is going to be determined by your orientation, the lighting, what is around you, the feel of the air (you will perceive differently if you feel cold or hot), your feelings and so on. Pretty much, you and the scene you are looking at is simply a state of wholeness at a particular point in time and space. There is a relationship between you and the environment; and both are interdependent with each other and the rest of the world.

We are truly participants in this world.

Frances Moore Lappe also thinks so. As she states in her Ecomind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want the universe does not run on a top-down system of control, but runs on complex interactions of the parts. So, you, the reader, are nothing less than a participant in the world's creation.

One clear example of this idea is biologist James Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis, which states that the planet operates as a single organism with the parts interacting with the whole in making the planet habitable for life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock).

We're all in it together. We are all co-creators. There is not a singular creator out there with us hairless monkeys in here.

So, do we continue going down the route of surrendering to top-down authority? Or, do we go down the route of being participants? Is being a participant akin to Rob Kall's empowerment from the bottom-up? Or perhaps there is no bottom up or top down. There are only participants/particles. We are all involved! By all of us, I mean the planets, the stars, the ants and bees and".even".a slight gust of wind blowing in from the northeast. Oh, and that pizza that gave you heartburn or gas".yes, that too has an effect on everything. It's like the man who kicks the cat who bites the wife who then kicks the wall. What goes around comes around and we--like everything else--are a conscious pass-through in that ongoing, ever-changing process.

In a similar vein, Betsy Chasse, author of Tipping Sacred Cows says, "It's time to tip some sacred cows about what we think we know about spirituality, reality, and ourselves. It's time to get liberated from the fences we've put up and frolic once again through the pasture of life, realizing that stepping in cow sh*t is not always such a bad thing. That happiness is not a destination but a state of mind and you're already there if you're willing to just do a little work to uncover your true bliss, your happy mojo, that creamy cream that exists in the middle of you!"

Betsy has some wonderful insights on finding your own spiritual path in today's hectic world. It's certainly not that she is dissing the spiritual life. She's saying not to lock it up in orthodoxies, beliefs, assumptions, or creeds--even those of New Age spirituality. Forget the shoulds, the quest for purity, the need to look and sound "spiritual", and the need for answers. Dance and frolic with the questions. Remain open to what sensation, intuition, experience, and your gut emotions tell you. If you're on the right track, they won't give you "answers" but insights that lead to ever new and deeper questions.

Yes, Betsy, cow sh*t does indeed make the flowers grow. And, it makes us grow. As she further states:

"As I stand here knee deep in manure, finding my way to reclaiming myself, I'm going to share my version of finding your own capacity to live your life to your highest potential, even while cleaning up cat vomit, carpooling, and waiting in line at the post office." She identifies herself first and foremost as a mom, "with two wonderful kids, Elora and Max. They are the light of my life and my world revolves around them! We love to garden, paint, create and cause as much of a rumpus as we can together."

And what effect does her being a mom of two wonderful kids have on those kids? And, what of the activities she gets them into".creative acts such as gardening and art? How will what Betsy does today in her raising of her children mean to how they will relate to the cosmos when adults?

The potentials are without boundaries for we live in a universe in which the entire universe is involved in everything else. Plant a sustainable garden and the world is enriched. Thus, those children can be involved in universal change.

One of the most important pieces of participating creatively in the ever-changing dance of life that Betsy discusses is the need for us to expose the old patterns and unconscious belief systems. In my opinion, this must include a questioning and identification of how our religions, sciences, and politics reflect each other. Most of these are deeply top-down in their orientation with a founder, or leader at the helm. In most cases, these people are most interested in accumulating power over other people and, even, the world. Doesn't matter if its Priest, Preacher, Teacher, CEO, or Politician. The driving motif of top-down control is behind each one of them and links them as one.

Many readers will be familiar with the "take what you like and leave the rest" motto of twelve step programs. That's because these programs are democratic, member-to-member events without a leader. There is no top or bottom, just a group of people helping each other to get, remain, or regain sobriety.

Betsy is suggesting we don't give away our power, authority, comprehension, creativity, or credit to anybody else. These delightful, fulfilling qualities are ours to live out, rejoice in, and share with the rest of the world we co-create synergistically.

As Betsy speaks to change, I think of my oft-quoted line from the Tao Te Ching, "Be newborn; be free of yourself." Or if you would rather choose the words of Jesus Christ: "Be like that infant suckling his mother's breast."

In Buddhist terms, this is being unconditioned. In the mystical Christian terms, it is what the virgin birth meant. (Mary certainly had to let go of her preconceived notion about how one becomes pregnant and enter willingly into a childlike innocence.) Being virgin was being "as you were when you were not!" Being unconditioned means you let go of everything you think you and the world are. Thus, you become newborn.

This is DEEP change. Question everything. Liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, left-wing, right-wing".all these probably more familiar to most readers as the co-creator, co-director and co-producer of the film, What the Bleep Do We Know?! This was a well-received movie with lots of big names including the likes of Deepak Chapra and Fred Alan Wolff. The movie's site makes a really nice statement that is in line with Rob Kall's "Bottom Up" philosophy:

Originally released in February 2004 in one theater in Yelm, Washington, What the BLEEP Do We Know!? went on to become the fifth highest grossing documentary in the United States, with ticket sales of $12 Million.

Shunned by all movie distributors, the producers set about distributing and marketing the movie themselves in a "proof of concept" strategy to show theater owners there was indeed a market for spiritually oriented films that catered to audiences' intelligence, not their lowest common denominator.

Although rejected by every major film festival (Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Cannes, etc"),What the BLEEP did get entered in five smaller festivals, and won in every one. This, along with the grass roots, word-of-mouth campaign, kept the film in theaters for weeks and months on end. After five months of surprising box office numbers, the film attracted the attention of Samuel Goldwyn Films, and the producers entered into a distribution deal. The word-of-mouth buzz continued and the film showed real staying power (it played in one theater in Phoenix for 40+ consecutive weeks).

Following its theatrical run, FOX picked up the DVD rights and released What the BLEEP Do We Know!? March 15, 2005. The DVD immediately shot to the top of Amazon's best selling list, and was named Amazon's #1 DVD surprise of the year. To date it has sold over a million copies.

Is Rob's "Bottom Up" philosophy taking hold? The important piece to realize is that the "Bottom Up" philosophy is not growing due to a group of important men on the order of Benjamin Franklin or George Washington saying, "let's do this in the world." Indeed, that would be Top Down and would lead to the same tyrannical system we have now. No, there truly is a "Bottom Up" movement that is occurring. It's huge and it's diverse. For many of us, it is originating in our hearts. We only see the patterns external to us unfolding. Yet, with widened eyes we look out and see and then say in amazement: "That's pretty much what I'm saying!" In psychiatrist Carl Jung's terminology, this is called a synchronicity. I would reply that synchronicity is simply the unified way the universe works.

Why else would it be called a uni-verse if it were not diverse in its unity?

To listen to an interview with Betsy Chasse by myself and my wife Merry: