John Perkins on Dreams

In his newsletter from awhile back, John Perkins speaks of dreams and reality being formed from dreams.  Whatever your imagination conjures up will define the reality around you.  If you wish to prize a fancy house and a fancy car, then those will be your life pursuit.  If you look away from world problems then they will remain there unattended.  Greed, apathy, devaluation and monetization of life.  If these values are what are sought after they become one's reality.  If one pursues justice, humanity, poverty/starvation reduction, or peace, those will become one's reality.  If a critical mass of people seek the same thing, it becomes reality.


What you see around you has come out of people's imagination.  Going to work 8 to 5.  Watching tv.  Skyscrapers, cars, houses..  Poverty,  waste of energy and resources,  uneven distribution of food and resources, indoctrinated schooling, mainstream religion..  It's all accepted as being the only way.  But it is not.


Presented are two newsletters from John Perkins.  The first one talks about the problems.  The second one presents the solution.  It is he changing of our imagination and consciousness.

Imagination, vision, dreams, hope and wishes are powerful.  They define one's self, who in turns, defines the world.  So go pursue whatever you wish to.  You are free to do so!

From Istanbul: The Real Question - and Answer

By John Perkins

 Dear friends,

As I prepare to give the keynote address at a conference of more than 4000 Eurasian leaders in the information and communications fields (ICT Summit Eurasia), and as I walk through this very ancient city, visiting sites that date back thousands of years, I’m struck by these 3 facts: For the first time in human history:

1. we are all impacted by the same crises, including climate chaos, diminishing resources, increasing prices for food, fuel and other essentials, overpopulation, and species extinctions;
2. we are all communicating with each other through the internet and cell phones; and
3. we have created a global economy that is a terrible failure, where 5 % of us (living in the U.S) consume 30% of the resources, while nearly 50% of the world’s people are starving or close to starvation.

We must ask ourselves how we will reconcile these 3 facts. Will we be wise enough to see that 1 and 3 require that we use 2 to transform ourselves and our societies? In doing so, we can insure that our offspring will grow up in a world they will thank us for. Or will we stumble along our current path of denial? And create a world that no child will want to inherit.

The global economic crisis is a symptom and a messenger. It has exposed our darkest secrets. The most materialistic and wealthiest nation in the history of the world, the U.S., also has the highest rates of suicide, drug abuse, murder, incarcerations, and other negative social factors. Our economy is based on fighting wars – killing people and ravaging the planet –  trading paper (mergers, derivatives, etc.), and selling each other things most of us don’t need. Meanwhile our planet is drowning in pollution, people are starving, our resources are dissipating, and our animals and plants are disappearing at shocking rates.

So, the question we must ask ourselves and those in charge of providing information and communications (like the ones I’m speaking to here in Istanbul – and I will ask them this) is: Will we continue to use our new-found ability to communicate with everyone on the planet to talk about fashion, sports, and the love lives of movie stars? Or will we use our networks to let our corporate and political leaders know that we insist on creating an economy driven by a commitment to providing every person with adequate food, shelter, and social services; cleaning up the polluted air, land, and water; developing more efficient forms of transportation; and drastically reducing energy consumption and redirecting its production to sustainable technologies?

The answers seem obvious, don’t they?

John

The World is As You Shapeshift It

By John Perkins

I’ve been thinking lately in terms of how shapeshifting into compassion can be a choice for all of us on a daily basis. Many of the greatest events in history started with one person’s commitment to shapeshift toward a more compassionate and just world for all. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson, Jane Goodall, the Dalai Lama, Jesus Christ, and all the great spiritual leaders chose to focus on creating just such a world.

Most recently we saw the passing of the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for combining environmentalism with social and political activism. Wangari Maathai, was the founder of the Green Belt Movement; over three decades she inspired economically disadvantaged women to plant more than 30 million trees in Kenya. Maathai was also the inspiration behind the UN Environmental Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign, which has planted more than 11 billion trees to date.

What wondrous trees will be passed on for centuries to her descendants and my grandson’s descendants – all because of one woman planting one seed that then multiplied into millions!

From a shamanic perspective, shapeshifting begins with a dream, an intent. You then give it energy if you want it to truly occur in this world. Action follows. Intent, energy and action: Only when these three human forces are in place can you have true shapeshifting. The shamans believe we are one with everything, including the mountains, the plants, and the animals. Therefore if we are to support the idea of true peace, we must look at a much bigger concept than human existence. We must look for peace and compassion in all things.

Several years ago I was blessed to sit beside the Dalai Lama on a flight over the Himalayas. He and I talked about compassion and shapeshifting. I asked him, “What will it take, your Holiness, for us to have peace?”

“Well,” he responded, “you know, we cannot have peace until we have taken action that reflects our compassion, and our willingness to take responsibility.” He then added, “Peace can only come from taking responsibility for all forms of life…all sentient beings, including the insects.”

One of the most compassionate and important things we can do is create societies that deeply honor the earth and all sentient beings everywhere – cultures that by their nature will create a peaceful place for the trees, the rabbits, the spiders, the whales, and the tadpoles.

In order to have peace we must consistently shapeshift away from war and fear, away from greed and exploitation. We must shapeshift into a commitment to end all poverty and instead embrace compassion.

You and I can take one step today and plant a tree in our own backyard, in our community, or at a neighborhood school in honor of Wangari Maathai. Then you and I can plant the seeds of compassion every single day. We can spread these seeds among everyone we meet and everywhere we go in this incredibly beautiful world.

John

John Perkins

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