I have taken those teachings quite seriously and have a personal issue with hypocrisy, particularly with those in leadership roles who say they stand for a particular persuasion, and yet their behaviors are not congruent with those fundamental beliefs. My previous post expressed this frustration with hypocrisy, which I see is completely rampant within our Nation today.

Because of the consensus building work that I do, and the powerful results that I have experienced using this approach to foster congruent change based on ALL views, I see voting for one view or another view as limiting our human potential. I do believe and appreciate democracy, participatory democracy, where ALL voices and views are heard and respectfully considered by the whole. Participatory democracy is different than representative democracy, where someone represents a collection of voters based on a majority vote.

I have learned, usually through embarrassment, to see that the reality of the world IS bigger than my personal view. I do my work in a circle, usually of conflicting interests. These conflicting interests often line up on opposite sides of the circle, wanting to be as FAR away from the “enemy” as possible. Yet, when an environment of respectful listening occurs through the course of the workshop, these diverse interests and viewpoints usually end up mingled throughout the circle.

The people learn to feel safe and respected with their views, knowing that those views are all important to solving the issue at hand. Furthermore, they learn to appreciate and understand the “other” views, and incorporate the entire collection of views within the room into the desired outcomes and solutions of the workshop.

I often start the workshop describing how depending on where you sit in the room, you have a different view of the room. While the view that each individual sees is generally correct for the direction they are pointing, in reality, the total concept of the view of the room cannot be described by any one individual. It takes the whole group, or representative views of the various angles of the room, to develop a more accurate, complete view of the room.

This complete view adds value to understanding what can be done in the room. Is there a kitchen in the room? Or in the next room? Where are the bathrooms? Are there windows? With curtains? Is it raining, or cold, or sunny outside? What about blackboards, whiteboards, screens for projection of visual images? What kind of markers do we need, for blackboards, whiteboards, paper easals? What’s the temperature? Is there a thermostat or a fireplace? What about a first aid kit or a fire extinguisher? What if we need to get out of the room? Is there a door into a hallway, or outdoors?

The diversity of views in this simple analogy help people to understand there is value and purpose in all of these views. The process I use, where all voices matter and no one will be skipped over or denigrated for their personal view, allows people to feel safe. This relaxes people who are in conflict and come to the workshop with a lot of anxiety tied to the differences in the various views of the issue and their imagined fears of confrontation, usually based on past unpleasant experiences.

I allow each person to express their view of the present situation. Next, we acknowledge their fears about the issue. This allows people of differing views to incorporate solutions that are careful about creating outcomes that will not result in those fears becoming reality. Then, we share the views of the hopes of each person in the workshop. From those collective hopes, we design what needs to happen in order to create the common, desired outcome.

I have worked with hundreds of conflicts over my career. Some are small, like what will lead a student to a successful outcome of a summer scholarship opportunity or a family that is dealing with estate planning issues. Other issues have been complex such as how to allocate time and money in a complex government with over 250 government programs that achieves an holistic outcome that simultaneously benefits social/cultural, economic, and ecological values in a sustaining, harmonious manner; or a community of seven warring ethnic groups that desired to significantly increase food production and eliminate violent conflict.

My point about sharing these personal experiences is that I see the Republicans, Democrats, and others as sitting in those chairs in the workshop. Unfortunately, they are currently lined up against the walls of a rectangular room, with a sharp division. Meanwhile, as the Chinese leadership as so astutely observed, real world issues are imploding around our nation, and those we label as our national leadership are locked in being right, that their view IS the ONLY view of the room. You are even labeled “UnAmerican,” if you don’t believe “my” way!

There is a BIG need to move these polarized groups into a circle, where ALL views will be listened to and considered respectfully. Each view is valuable to our national outcome. Rather than putting so much energy into shouting their views at each other and denying that the “other” side sees what they see, these people need to come together in a safe, respectful manner, air their own views, so that they have the mental / emotional space to bring in new perspectives and possibilities. I know that this is possible, as I have facilitated and seen this happen hundreds of times, with diverse groups from all over the world and within our nation.

Humans typically rally around issues, like a common enemy. Look what happened as a result of 911! Republicans and Democrats, and many other persuasions, rallied around defeating al Qaeda. Back in the early 70’s, Republicans and Democracts rallied against deteriorating natural resources like rivers that would burn due to pollution and the extinction of species. Because of our internal fear mechanism, we tend to more commonly rally AGAINST a common enemy.

However, it’s also within our capability as humans to rally FOR something, like a common purpose. This requires that ALL people will be listened to and their views are incorporated into a complete perspective of this common purpose. An environment of confidence that “our” views will be safely incorporated into this common purpose needs to exist. When this happens, a tremendous amount of energy, effort, time and money is invested into creating the common purpose, working FOR something.

This is a similar behavior as we witness when people are focused on a common enemy, and working AGAINST something. The difference in the outcomes of these behaviors is that the core beliefs are set in place so that things will be done FOR the common good. When this happens, there is an opportunity for significantly increased quality, efficiency, and effectiveness. Just imagine what all the energy, time, and money that is currently being used AGAINST so many issues in our country and world would look like if it were, instead, focused on working FOR or TOWARD a common purpose?

Denis Waitley, a performance researcher of POWs, Olympic and Superbowl athletes, learned that POWs who had a very clearly defined purpose were placed in maximum security prisons as they had a deeper drive to escape. POWs that didn’t have the clarity of vision were placed in minimum security prisons, as they had little risk of going anywhere. When thinking of this analogy, it’s easy to see why the Chinese leadership is not worried about the United States. We do not have a clearly defined common purpose, so we are of little threat. What would happen if we created a common purpose based on the collective wisdom of diverse people and viewpoints that were respectfully incorporated into a plan to create that vision?

So, what is my political persuasion? To me, politics is about power. It is impacted by size and distance. The more “votes / money / influence” a person gets on “my” side, the more power “I” have. Given what I said above, where would I like to see “my power” invested and focused?

First of all, I’d like to see the creation of a safe, respectful environment for ALL views. Just like in nature, where a biodiversity has a tendency to create more stability, I believe that diversity in a society can bring stability and richness due to the diverse views. The challenge is to create a form of governance that allows the diversity to work in harmony.

I suggest a process that fosters the ability for a safe, respectful learning environment based on diverse views. There are processes that effectively and efficiently create this kind of environment, even with large groups. I have observed that we have an overreliance on antiquated processes like town hall meetings and educational formats focused on “talking heads,” which were effective for the eras of kings and queens, but tend to polarize communities. Remember, I am interested in creating a society based on a common purpose, not based on a common enemy. These processes do serve a purpose, yet need to be considered in terms of how well the processes serve to foster the creation of a common purpose.

The process of voting creates “winners” and “losers.” A process that results in true consensus, where solutions are based on 100 percent agreement to do the “right thing” is the most powerful and stable outcome. There is the belief that this is a slow, tedious process, and most so-called consensus building processes usually work in the short-run by agreement through attrition. Consequently, there is skepticism in our society about effective consensus building processes. However, the process that I use builds consensus rather quickly.

When consensus building results in 100 percent agreement and is demonstrated behaviorally, the issues of distrust and resulting energy tied to distrust is channeled into creating the desired outcomes. When voting occurs and there are losers, whether it’s the 49 percent or the 1 percent, there is a condition of imbalanced power and the Second Law of Thermodynamics seems to play into the human construct, resulting in effort and power going to equalize this disproportionate imbalance of power.

While I will not dictate what the collective outcome of the American view would be, I would suspect a common purpose for our country would look something like this:
• A living democracy, which fosters respect, dignity, and safety for all citizens
• Financial stability and prosperity for all citizens
• Ecological balance and stability, where the processes of nature are generally functioning toward species diversity and great ability for photosynthesis to capture solar energy in a sustaining manner
This is a simplistic common purpose, which can be further expanded by the engaged citizens of America through a participatory process. In my experience, working with groups throughout the world, these are the core concepts that seem to show up. I have learned to trust the wisdom of a collective body of diverse thinkers when there is a respectful environment of listening.

The power of this approach is when we have a common purpose, we have something rally around and invest resources toward. What would happen if those that are in leadership positions could use a process that allows their views to be incorporated into a common desired outcomes? How would that affect our nation? How would this affect the Chinese leadership’s view of our country? It seems that we have more important issues than the debating of a dysfunctional government and blaming others for that dysfunction. As Pogo said, “we have met the enemy, and it is us.”

My previous blog was written out of frustration about the hypocrisy of Dick Cheney blaming the current state of affairs on President Obama. The fault lies with all of us. It takes courage to stand up and admit one’s shortcomings, unless you are afraid and want to hide something. We have more serious issues than blaming others. We need real statesmen and women to step up and do positive things for our nation. Each of us has personal power to make a difference, Let’s use that personal power to not be our own enemy, but instead, create a world that is worthy of our children and grandchildren.

I have been talking about the United States in this blog posting; however, what I have learned through my international travels is that our country could benefit from participating in a similar manner with the global community. Not just engaging with the “powerful leaders” of those countries, but also the underrepresented. This would be valuable for our own internal development as a nation, as well as the external global perspective.

Many of the global issues that we face as a nation could be alleviated with a better understanding. Programs like the Peace Corps and other exchange programs have helped us better understand the world views. I have observed that many Americans traveling internationally or talking about other countries tends to display an arrogance based on ignorance. The concept of the “ugly” American seems to be prevalent.

I don’t vote for a party. I vote for a better nation and world. I see no party that has ALL the views for a better world. I see ALL parties and persuasions as vital to a better nation and world. Consequently, my vote is for the world that reflects basic human values. We can do much better than the party vote.

First of all, what happened to the 2000’s? You can’t even name them easily. We call other decades the “70’s” or the “90’s.” The “2000’s” sounds too long: like a thousand years versus a decade. Do we call it the decade of null or zeros? Actually, the “null” years seems to be an appropriate title for those missing years. Anyway, what happened to the period from 2000 to 2008?

I know that the man who finally got a heart was able to secure significant financial contracts for his company, Halliburton; all in the name of the war on terrorism. As an ecologist with a background in economics, I cannot make sense of the claim that war is good for the economy. I mean: you blow things up, destroy our natural resources to rebuild more stuff – tanks, bombs, guns, etc. Besides having to get rare minerals from China to replace what we destroyed in those electronic components, it seems the only ones who benefit from an “improved economy of war” are corporate stockholders and executives… like, for example, the man who finally got a heart.

I also wonder about crimes against humanity. Please help me understand. I know that the loss of life in Syria is an atrocity. Close to 10,000 now. However, the Iraqi war claimed way over 100,000, including over 5,000 Americans. More Americans died in Iraq than were lost in the 911 events. Please help me understand why we call for crimes against humanity in one case and not another? Please? A lot of good people and families died and were impacted from the Iraqi war. The money to pay for all this loss of life and weapons comes from taxes. I think Washington, DC thinks those tax dollars come out of thin air. Or maybe that’s the story they would like us to consider. The new guy running for President should know (the one who changes his story when he needs his votes to accomplish his goal). He pays 15%, unlike the likes of us 99 percenters. He is smarter than we are.

Please help me understand how the market corrects for mistakes after it becomes costly to do otherwise. As an ecologist, I see the consequences of misplaced carbon due to fossil fuel use and land management practices that are promoted by USDA and corporate universities and businesses. Will the market “fix” our standard of living and quality of life once we can no longer produce reliable food for a global population of humans that now is approaching 8 billion because the “market” damaged our ecosystem? Or is the market going to “fix” massive hunger and disease? Or will the solution be the Next Coming? I just don’t understand from my ecological, science based background. Please tell me the answers that I seek.

Please help me understand why in the current political climate, there is no discussion about the massive loss of jobs and the financial collapse that happened before January 2009. I mean, the graphs that I see show this really STEEP curve for job loss, house foreclosures, and lost wealth beginning in those “null, 2000” years. Even the stock market’s confidence showed this really steep downward curve, and now it has climbed up again. Why do certain elected people put the blame for that collapse on the current President? Sometimes, the disrespect that we see toward our President almost seems like race is an issue. Even the cowboy President wasn’t treated as disrespectfully.

Please help me understand how a destroyed economy, the worst since the Great Depression, can be turned on a dime, or at least in a year or so? Our deeply damaged economy should be able to change direction as quickly as those giant ocean going ships like aircraft carriers and oil tankers, right? In reality, I have learned that it takes something like several miles; once they decide it’s time to go the other direction. Please help me understand with a little physics, since I never took physics in high school.

By the way, where’s the guy they once called the President? Yeah, the one who served two terms? Where is he? Aren’t we proud of what happened during the “null” years? Or maybe we are afraid? “Oh, whatever,” right? The language of the 99%! It’s like all the management of our society prior to January 2009 is unaccountable. Those responsible for that collapse simply don’t seem to accept responsibility. That includes not only the one who recently got a heart, but also the men and women that we call Congress.

And please help me understand about how an inquiry into thoughtless government spending is an issue only of the current administration? I realize one party was having a little difficulty letting any administrators be approved until the current President made an executive decision while the clowns were spending their hard-earned money over an extended Christmas vacation. You know, the guys and gals with the same health care plan as the rest of us.

I once worked in a federal agency. The government employs all kinds of jokers and clowns to spend our tax funds. Like my former boss near the top of a USDA organization in Oregon who was hired during the Reagan era. He draws over $100,000 per year of income and benefits and literally spends half of his day on the phone with his family, directing how they should be spending their lives. When he is asked to do something, he gets the look of a deer in headlights.

I can say that the $1,000,000 of income and benefits that he has taken from the American public in the ten years that I have known him has not generated $1,000,000 worth of benefits to our society in terms of actual work output. Sure, he personally spends that money in the economy; I’d prefer to keep my tax dollars that are spent on him and invest those in the economy like I best see fit. I would think the man who just got a heart would say that that’s ok as long as the federal tax dollars are kept in the pockets of “hard working Americans,” or something like that. However, the years that I knew this joker were during the reign of the man who just got a heart and his side kick, that invisible guy.

Please help me understand why the Chinese leadership recently said that they are not worried about the United States as a major power in the future? I don’t get it! With all those Ivy League schools advising the likes of the man who finally got a heart, the self-proclaimed Darth Vader, and all the cronies in the national capitol that the Chinese leaders don’t respect, why wouldn’t the Chinese be shaking in their boots about brilliance arising from the star of the western world, the model of democracy and capitalism? Please help me understand. I don’t get it. Why would the Chinese leadership think of saying such a thing?

I just wonder about the notion that if we don’t learn from history, we are bound to repeat it. It’s a good thing “No Child Left Behind” has so screwed up our education system that there is no chance of learning from history, in spite of the best efforts of highly qualified, dedicated and underpaid teachers. Maybe I am answering my own question about the null years. We have erased the ability in our education system to look further back than three years.

Now, I also see that my confusion is not just based on the lack of statesmen and women in the Republican Party. They were significantly reprimanded by the voters in the country in 2009 because of their poor record during the “null” years. I believe the Democrats had an opportunity to get things right when they fully had the majority in Congress and the White House. They could have chosen to be more effective at creating a government based on consensus. For the first six months, the Democratic majority ran rampant, running over the Republican perspective. The new majority made the mistake of bulldozing their way, and not respecting the valuable insights that only a full circle of people of diverse views can provide. Well, those Republican boys and girls got mad and took their toys home, becoming known as the Party of “NO.” Power has a tendency to equalize – Second Law of Thermodynamics, which is another one of those lessons that we don’t have time to learn in school anymore because we are too busy testing.

And six months into the Democrat’s strategy, when the supermajority in the Senate changed with the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, it was too late to reverse the movement toward consensus. The Republicans were “mad.” Please help me understand how these fools, all of them, can step off the “merry-go-around” of politics and get serious about rebuilding the America that I desire to live in, one of respect and dignity. What is wrong with these people?

Please help me understand what happened to statesmen and women? And the good of our country? Maybe now I can see why the Chinese leaders aren’t worried about America? After all, we sent our people to Iraq to die, or get mutilated, or come back with PTSD and spent our trillions, so the Chinese could go into Iraq and get oil contracts. Isn’t it amazing how our resources such as coal and uranium are now going to China? We are becoming a colonized country, with our natural resources being exported to other, more financially well off countries who can afford to pay for the resources. We fight the wars, and they reap the benefits. I call that a clever war strategy. But, what do I know?

So, please, anyone who reads this, please guide me to what I am missing! Help me “get it” so I can vote intelligently when the time comes. Please help me understand!

Over the last several hundred years of burning fossil fuels and destructive actions on our land and oceans, we have released a lot of carbon molecules into our atmosphere. This affect has placed increasing amounts of greenhouses gases, including water vapor, into our atmosphere. These gases are capturing vast amounts of energy from the sun that allowed us to have a more regulated climate around our earth. This regulated climate allowed us to predict growing crops in particular zones and allowed us to have a reliable source of food. This ability allowed us to create civilization, as we experience civilization.

With more energy being stored in our atmosphere, there is a reaction for this energy to do work, which is demonstrated in more extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, storms. Some of the symptoms that affect us as a species is the disruption of reliable food production. Food is carbohydrates that are created though photosynthesis with the mixing of carbon molecules from the atmosphere and water. If there are damaging frosts, droughts, floods, shortened growing seasons due to late spring or early fall cold temperatures, our ability to grow food is significantly disrupted. If pollinating species like bees are not able to reach crops that need pollination at certain stages of plant development, the seeds and fruit of food plants will not ripen.

This is very serious, especially since our human population catapulted past the 7 billion mark recently, on the way to 8 billion. Recently, a friend who is in his 80’s put population growth in perspective for me. In his lifetime, the population has grown from 2 billion to 7 billion. If just one man’s life has seen this growth, with humans existing as a species on this earth for a couple of million years, his illustration of population growth shows how explosively steep the growth curve is, which is accompanied with the need for more food.

There are a lot of efforts to slow the carbon movement up to the atmosphere. However, those means are slow to gain general acceptance due to impacts on the economy and our accustomed standard of living. Many developing nations, like China and India, want to have the lifestyle of Americans. Our nation has had 5 percent of the world’s population and consumed 25 percent of the fossil fuels of the world. Alternatives to fossil fuel are slow to develop and often have significant negative side effects. These concerns are not to suggest that we don’t discount the value of slowing carbon transfer into the atmosphere. However, the atmosphere appears to be “heating up” with solar activity much quicker than our ability to be resilient.

Is there a significant opportunity to reverse this trend? The realistic answer is yes. Our atmosphere has a different makeup than our neighboring planets, Mars and Venus. We have oxygen in our atmosphere. For example, we can light a match. There isn’t the ability to light a match on the other two planets because of a lack of oxygen. Why do we have atmospheric oxygen? We have oxygen because we have life on our planet. Organisms, like green plants, use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water into carbohydrates, which is the material you see when you look at a tree, an agricultural crop, or grass plants. The more active photosynthesis is, the more carbon dioxide and water are combined to make carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are stored in the leaves, stems, fruit, seeds, and roots of plants. Carbohydrates in roots can be converted to humus by microbes. This can essentially “lock” carbon into the soil for long periods of time. The ability of plants to convert atmospheric carbon is not a fixed rate. This rate of conversion can be increased, significantly. There are actions that humans can take to increase plant growth, and this can be done on large acreages. Increasing a percentage of carbon in the soil by 1 percent over hundreds of millions of acres will pull an immense amount of carbon out of the atmosphere, and this rate of change can happen in DAYS, not decades!

Two-thirds of the land surface area of the earth is grassland-savannah lands. On these lands, grass plants can significantly accelerate growth, and conversion of carbon. Much of this carbon will be stored in the roots and potentially converted to soil carbon. A French researcher, in the 1950’s demonstrated that by changing one day of grazing and one day of rest for pastures, he could increase production of plant material (carbohydrates) by 60%. This same type of result can happen globally.

Why is this not happening now? Let’s first look backwards. Much of the grasslands and savannahs of the world had migratory grazing animals with pack hunting predators. This relationship was described by John Audubon in his observations of the Missouri River. This symbiotic relationship, as we see still in the Serengeti of Africa, produced very prolific grasslands of abundant bio-diversity, stable organic soils, and effective water conditions like streams and riparian areas. Increased carbon in the soil in the form of organic matter can then capture and retain water in our soil, which raises water tables and provides steady flows during dry periods.

Unfortunately, we have removed that natural pattern of nature on much of the earth. The symbiotic relationship of migratory grazing animals, kept bunched and moving by pack hunting predators, was vital to health, productive and vibrant landscapes. As this removal of migratory grazing herds occurred and was replaced by stationary domestic grazing animals, the land began to collapse. During this collapse, the photosynthetic process reversed and stored soil carbon eventually was released back into the atmosphere. This is further exasperated by complete removal of grazing animals, as can be seen at most of our national monuments, parks, and wildlife refuges across the southwestern area of the United States.

There are many examples of ranches that are able to replicate the migration of grazing animals using domestic livestock and are restoring the health of the ecosystem. This results in growing significant increases in biomass (carbohydrates) and capturing more water in the soil, which is slowly released during the hot, dry seasons into streams and rivers. Why is this not practiced on a grander scale? These methods of land management could potentially reverse the carbon and water vapor increases in our atmosphere. Why? Plain and simple! Human beliefs!

The USDA experts continue to tell people that overgrazing is caused by too many animals. The concept to take half of a plant and leave half of a plant is the basis for management throughout the world. However, neither buffalo nor cows eat half a plant! It is not natural for a grazing animal to eat this way. Yet, that belief is core to every level of management on federal and state lands through most of the United States. Overgrazing has nothing to do with numbers (remember the masses of buffalo or wildebeest migrating across the plains and savannahs).

Overgrazing is simply a matter of time! The massive herds of grazing animals moved, in a herd. These herds stayed bunched because of the relationship to pack hunting predators like wolves, dogs, and lions. The herds didn’t stay stationary for months at a time. The grass plant has figured this out, with the growing point of the leaf below the mouth of the grazing animal. If the animal bites and moves on, the grass will re-grow. This re-growth comes from carbohydrate energy stored in the root of the plant. If there is continuous grazing, then the plant will use its root energy up until the plant dies. If the plant is able to rebuild its food factory, the leaf (because the animal has moved on) the plant can restore the energy in its root for the next time an animal grazes. The French researcher who increased plant growth by 60 percent learned that when the grass is actively growing, reducing the exposure of the grazing animal to the grass (controlling time) allowed the plant to really grow optimally. And that converts more carbon from the atmosphere into roots in the soil.

Another serious belief that prevents us from being successful with reversing carbon the flow of carbon is that leaving land alone in our drier climates, without disturbance, will make the land better. Again, remembering where migratory herds of grazing animals formally existed on the earth, those lands once were abundant and had robust and relatively stable streams and soils covered with vegetation. Where the lands have had migratory grazing animals removed, such as the western half of the United States, we witness a total collapse of the ecosystem.

Chaco Canyon National Monument, New Mexico, is a classic example of this. Even the adjoining lands that suffer from overgrazing (as described above) are more stable than our national monument. The lands surrounding the monument have domestic animals that are present for weeks and months. Yet, there is more ground cover protecting the soil than the lands within the monument. Why does resting these lands (or protecting land) in these drier regions cause ecological collapse, and hence harm our ability to retain carbon in our soils versus adding more carbon into the atmosphere?

In dry regions, the symbiotic relationship of a large herd of migratory grazing animals would clean the old material of grasses and place this material back on the soil to be mixed into the soil and to cover the soil and add protection from water, wind, and hot sun. When this function stops, the grasses build up many years of old, dead plant material. Since the growing points of the grasses are low, this eventually creates so much shade that the leaf will not grow tall enough to convert energy. As a result, the centers of these grasses begin to die. Eventually, the entire plant dies. In Chaco Canyon, vast areas lay barren, with carcasses of scattered grasses, which was once a thriving community of organisms. Now, even the brush, with deeper roots that tap into underground water, is dying. Since the organic matter is disappearing, the water runs off the land, tearing gullies that now threaten the very ruins that the national monument was set up to protect.

Another belief that compounds this situation is that most ranchers feel it’s is too difficult to move livestock regularly, like a herd of buffalo. To saddle up horses and go out into vast brushy, rugged land is a major undertaking. To do this kind of undertaking on a daily or weekly basis just seems so overwhelming. However, livestock and wild animals can be trained to move easily with some familiar signal, like a whistle.

I know this is possible, as I have done this. I could move 1000 head of livestock in Hawaii in 15 minutes. I could move a herd of 150 longhorn cattle from 2000 acres of rugged, brushy hill country of Texas in 30 minutes. This kind of movement started to reverse the collapse of the ecosystem and restored actively growing grasses on these ranches. Not only are there core beliefs about how land should be managed “properly,” there are limitations to beliefs about how to do this within an economic and socially sound manner. In many situations, multiple new beliefs need to be adopted, while simultaneously eliminating many non-functional beliefs, if we are to be successful.

The challenging part of this opportunity is changing the way people believe. The ability is within our grasp. We can do this, now! The benefits are life saving. If we can do this now, why isn’t it happening already? It’s because we have very significant beliefs that permeate our view of the world and how things should be, which keeps us limited to the current state of affairs.

Tell me in the comment section below, what you would do to save our species from the devastating effects of an altered carbon cycle and impacted climate? How could ineffectual beliefs be eliminated and new, successful beliefs be adopted quickly on a massive scale, particularly when these are so ingrained in our society and bureaucracies? I want to know what your ideas are.

This approach is about quality improvement, which is what current and future employers and students want to know, though is trained not to think this way. A grade inaccurately measures quality improvement, and often has a social stigma with it. Instead of assigning a grade on a scale, help employees and students design methods that allow them to see their quality improvement toward a desired outcome, while providing the teacher or employer with quick feedback about their learning and production needs during the time you are gifted to have them in your classroom or workplace.

This will allow students to get the most out of the learning (both during the present class and beyond), without the stigma of grades. Instead of a teacher being solely responsible for measuring progress, the student takes a more active role in their learning by measuring their progress. Unfortunately, many of our learning and organizational systems are not focused on quality improvement and believe that it is simpler to have grades, even when it is damaging to self-esteem for many AND when most of the responsibility for the student’s success lays in the hands of management (teachers / administrators).

To learn more, read Dr. Edward Deming’s book or watch his video titled “Out of the Crisis.”

During my first morning in my adobe casita, with white walls and wooden ceiling, I woke up from a deep sleep. I had been awake nearly 48 hours with little sleep while flying home. All I could see at first, from my bed, was the white adobe wall and the wooden ceiling. My first thought was “I wonder where I am this morning?” I turned around in the bed, and there were “my” things, including the special gifts from friends over the years. I felt grounded being with what was familiar.

As I reflect upon my trip, one of the base feelings that I have is a sense of peacefulness with a desire to be quiet and still. When I reflect on this feeling, and how it feels within my body, I notice that I had this feeling throughout my time in Palestine. As I continued with this train of thought, I realized that I felt a sense of peace while in Palestine. My thought then went to the concept that if I feel peaceful in Palestine, then it’s possible for others to feel peaceful in Palestine. If others can feel peaceful in Palestine, and that grows, then peace is possible in Palestine and Israel. It may all be about moving people out of fear toward hope and controlling traumatic reaction. Is it that simple, given the complexity of the situation?

I’ve begun following up with some requests that were made for Al Aqaba and Bethlehem. I made a list of unresolved issues that I am initiating movement to successfully resolve. I am getting my own home in order as well, including being clear with my intentions and reducing clutter. I intended to use this trip as an opportunity to create a place to initiate my writing, though my blog. The writing that I did during my trip and this first piece since I have returned is my statement of intention for my writing. To get my writing moving would be a great gift that could come from this first trip. I also learned more about the quality of giving, generosity, vulnerability, and joy. I intend to become even freer as I move forward in my life.

What’s next? I believe that the answer to that question already is in motion. The answer is about “intention,” and was already put in place long ago, before the actual trip. Recently, on a trip to Telluride, Colorado, I was window shopping in the old restored mining town high in the Rockies, and came across a wall hanging. This wall hanging had these words by Confucius, “Every thought you think is generating your future; every act you do is cultivating your future; Every word you speak is creating your future; You must become aware of the thoughts you are tossing out into the universe.”

No worries! What’s next is already in motion…

I was amazed, yet not surprised; and disappointed to see so many sects, or divisions, in the location where some believe Jesus died, based on the life of one person. I had many talks with people that had different views of religion. Some were firm in their own belief; Christian, Muslim, Jew, and Hindi. Others felt that organized religion based on man’s belief was missing the point. I heard about the extremists who are on all sides of the religious beliefs, where they want everyone gone that doesn’t believe their way.

I wondered if there could ever be any solution that would result in respecting all views, and maintain the unique qualities and respect the individual beliefs of individuals. I remembered the story of potato soup, versus fruit salad. A potato soup is usually bland. It’s a meshing of all flavors. Of course, some people like potato soup. However, fruit salad retains the unique qualities of all individual fruits, maintaining the individuality and making a dish that is delicious. This is the world of diversity. All these cultures / religions could co-exist, maintaining their individual uniqueness. This is how many told me it used to be. The greeting circle is a powerful tool to begin this connection of respect. It can work! I believe the extremes exist because of the denial of “the other.” As I wrote in the earlier blog titled “I AM!”

I had the opportunity to sit on the plane from Tel Aviv to Brussels with a young Jewish man from Queens, NY who has lived in a Jerusalem settlement for the past four years. He was able to begin helping me understand the “other” viewpoint that I hadn’t had the opportunity to hear this week. There is a lot of fear driving all of this, which was my main learning from him, or at least, this is what I suspected was going on.

He also was impressed with my sense of “goodness.” He said in his religion, there are lots of laws, and practicing the laws creates a life of goodness. He saw me coming from my own sense of goodness, from the voice inside, without the need for law. I felt honored. This seems to come out when I interact with many people. I enjoyed having the opportunity to help close the circle for this trip with a Jewish point of view. Though I was tired, it was worth talking with him.

I learned more about other religions that I have had little background growing up with, such as the Muslim and Jewish religions. I never understood what kosher meant. Yes, all of my life, I have seen the word and never asked. Today, I did. I learned that it’s like “market branding,” much like “The Food Alliance” or “Country Natural Beef.” Of course, I know kosher is biblically-based, so this way of expressing the concept like “market branding” just helps me understand. I mean no disrespect. Through the course of my journey through the “holy lands,” I saw and learned about similarities in the desire for goodwill coming from all people. Walking near the Western Wall of Old Jerusalem was powerful for me, where the Jewish and Moslem cultures come together, and have clashed in the past.

I also learned last night from a friend at the airport last night that several incidences have occurred where Jews went into Areas A & B, and didn’t show up back in the Jewish part of Israel on their stated return time. The military felt compelled to go search for these people, thinking they were kidnapped. Often, it turned out, that the people simply didn’t go home on time and were reported missing. Sometimes, though, they were kidnapped. Jews are free to travel in Area C, because the Israeli military governs this part of the West Bank, even though this is identified as Palestinian. Many, many Jewish settlements are being built and expanded there, really expanding the population of Jews in this internationally-recognized Palestinian zone. Al Aqaba and the guest house in Bethlehem are in Area C.

I wondered what I needed to do to honor the various cultures in my work. I am glad that I was able to experience and observe these various perspectives in several different settings. A particular amount of my thinking went into what I need to do to make the greeting circle most effective, particularly where men and women co-exist, yet have different ways of cultural interaction. This gender issue is a big one in so many places. I also wondered about how best to work with language differences. I feel comfortable with managing the languages like I did in Africa where I had four languages to manage and the Navajo Nation, where we had just the two languages.

I enjoyed observing the economic structure of the various communities. This was very interesting, especially given that people have been established for hundreds and even thousands of years in family businesses on site. Ibrahim estimated that his family numbered 14,000 members in his community, which in itself has quite an economic impact and network of distribution of wealth. The transportation is remarkable with the bus/taxi system across the country and territories, even with the restrictions of travel. These restrictions really create a hardship on the people that I met, and even in my freedom of movement.

I also saw how events like the construction of the wall totally collapsed the economic well being of families and communities. I saw homes completed isolated from their neighbors, roads, and the necessary infrastructure to sustain their way of life. I was impressed with the standard of living. The Palestinian standard of living was much higher than I expected, given my other experiences in Africa and Mexico. Even the rural areas had a higher standard of living.

My agricultural and ecological background always raises my interests in how food is produced and distributed; and how the ecological foundation blocks of water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, and community dynamics are functioning. I have wondered about the carbon cycle and the challenges that we seem to be facing as a species with the threat of a carbon cycle out of balance for our own good. The atmosphere seems to be increasingly violent as a result of additional stored energy within our atmosphere. This is manifested in the nature of changing weather patterns, more violent weather events, including drought, floods, and storms. This is happening because there is more water vapor and carbon-based molecules in the atmosphere, which prevent energy that enters our atmosphere from the sun being released back into space.

I am most concerned about crop failures and disruptions to our food supply due to new patterns of heat, cold, dry, and wet. Not only can this alter a productive harvest, it can also disrupt the pollinators that are so important to propagating our crops. With our population jetting past 7 billion recently, and continuing to climb at an exponential rate, shortages of food beyond the distribution issues that we face is concerning.

What is really disappointing is that we have the ability to correct the carbon imbalance rather rapidly as a species, if we had a different set of beliefs. Something this simple, beliefs, is rapidly challenging our well being. For more information about the carbon cycle and new beliefs that can dramatically improve our condition, see www.soilcarboncoalition.org.

Across the street, on the other side of “the wall,” are some of the family members, living in their home. The tourist attraction that once created a thriving livelihood for this family is across “the wall,” two houses over. The sister, whose children used to play, is down the street a block, on the other side of “the wall.”

There are posters and graffiti scrawled on “the wall,” depicting and shouting out the inhuman action this represents. “My knees shaking – The soldiers would come and beat at the door with their guns. I had to go down. It was always me. If my husband had gone, they might have shot him. It was too tense. I went down the stairs with my knees shaking and I let them in. Upstairs my children would be crying, “Now is the time for shooting.”

Why? The question screams out for an answer!

This is a beautiful family. The home is clean, festive, welcoming of friends and guests from near and far; though few are able to find their way through the poorly marked checkpoint, down this isolated location anymore; surrounded with guns, soldiers, and tanks that can come out and end a life at any moment… just following orders.

Who? Who gives those orders? Where? Where do they live? Do the “who” live “where” the neighborhood has become like this, with “the wall?” I don’t understand. They don’t understand. The children don’t understand. Please explain something rationale, that allows us to believe in humanity?

What is the scar tissue that has been formed in these young people’s minds?

There is the other side, beyond the wall. There is a family with hope for a future. They are building a ladder, an invisible ladder, with the hope of one day seeing the view of a beautiful world. They believe they are bigger than the wall, if the ladder can just get high enough. They are finding the raw materials from within themselves and many other people who understand. They know that “my children shall not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character (from graffiti on “the wall”).” This family is rich, for they possess the beauty of life. There is a sparkle in their eyes, a flicker of hope stirring in their soul. These are good people. The wall is beginning to come down.

A beautiful mural has been painted, on “the wall,” facing their front door. As the children come out of their house and go to school, instead of dark, drab concrete, they can see a view of a better world, vibrant and full of color. There are animals of all kinds, beautiful, bright flowers, green grass and trees. In the distance of this mural is a rainbow with a path leading from the cold, windy, isolated street that takes them to their place of hope.

“You can put my body in a prison – Not my mind! (from graffiti on “the wall”)”

Trauma seems to really impact us emotionally. Trauma also seems to have a physical or physiological affect on people. I heard two research stories recently, which support the notion that trauma is more than just an emotional issue to resolve. One study shows that people who actually have a larger lower part of the brain, where the reptilian and mammalian brain originates, tend to be more fearful. Another study shows that under repeated trauma, the neurons grow more receptors to transmit chemical messages. With continued trauma, these receptors and spaces between neurons become calcified. This creates an automatic flow of information between neurons rather than a delayed reaction through a chemical transfer of information.

The lower brain’s primary focus is survival of self. It senses what is occurring in the world around the individual, and through a screening of potential risk or harm, begins to develop actions for survival. The heart rate goes up, breathing quickens, blood flows, and there is more acuity in necessary senses for survival. The body prepares to act for fight or flight. This is automatic and happens first. People that have been highly traumatized in life are often hyper-sensitive, and spending a lot of energy looking for danger. Due to a chemical disconnect that occurs when threatened, we literally “flip our lid.” Our higher brain gets disconnected from our lower brain for a certain period during times of great stress. The higher brain, the neo-cortex and frontal lobe, is where rational, cognitive thinking occur.

I am not sure if we can listen respectfully if we are terrified. Respectful listening requires one to calm down and be present. Respectful listening requires one to stop their own story in order to listen to another, particularly if the other story is opposite of our own. I have found even now, with all my own personal work with resolving the trauma in my life, that if I get triggered, my higher brain shuts down and I cannot hear what is being said. I just cannot recall what a person was saying. Respectful listening is required in order to change our beliefs about a situation, to be able to understand a new perspective. Behaviors, strategies and actions change based on the core focus about beliefs about the past, present and future.

I was at an international conference in Salzburg, Austria many years go. One of the presenters, Wit MacMillan, former Vice President of Cargill International, gave a presentation about the adoption of sustainable practices in agriculture. His main point was that the adoption level was based on the people’s understanding of the risk and reward of the practices. I had dinner with him and mentioned that I actually saw the situation as the individual’s “perception” of risk and reward. If we perceive something to be a certain way, we will choose our response / reaction based upon that view. Our beliefs often produce the reality we perceive, even if the outcome is totally influenced by our perception, not physical reality. This is what is called the self-fulfilling prophecy.

The successes that are associated with my work are often a result of my ability to help people change their belief about the potential outcomes. If individuals focus on a fear-based outcome, this is usually what is manifested. I often find that people in conflict are already living their worst outcomes. If they focus their mind on a hope-based outcome, this is usually what is manifested. Understanding how the human brain works with fear and hope, can allow shift to happen from one type of behavioral outcome to a different type of behavioral outcome. Consequently, there is a great opportunity to change large conflicts by making little shifts within individuals.

I have observed over the years of my work that a group is comprised of individuals. When I work to resolve group conflicts, such as in the workplace, between factions, or within families, being able to reduce the imaged fears of one individual can affect and ultimately shift the whole group. The saying goes “change one, you change them all.” If just one person could begin listening respectfully to understand the bigger picture, they could assemble this more complete story into a solution that works for everyone.

I have listened to many people here who have had guns, prisons, and soldiers involved in their life story. On this trip, I am met a few people who befriended me, and were willing to ask for guidance to change their situation. What I helped them do was to quiet the brain, and help shift the intensity of thought from their fears to their hopes. If the brain was going to be active, it might as well be active thinking about what they desired instead of what they were afraid of. In the future, either can happen. In the present, this is the current reality. And in reality, the only moment we have is now. The last second of life is gone, and the next second is not here yet. How we invest our efforts now, creates tomorrow.

The first step that seems to be vital in this shift is self-consciousness, or becoming self-aware. In order to shift the brain, when it gets racing into the worst possible outcomes, one must be aware that that pattern is occurring. There are feelings in the body that indicate that one is being driven by fearful thoughts. When a person becomes aware of those body sensations, they can then relax through meditation or breathing, and then shift their mind toward what they would like to see as the desired outcomes.

So, what difference could I do during my trip? What gifts could I leave? What contribution could I do in making a better world for my first granddaughter? First, the adage, “seek first to understand, then be understood,” has been on my mind. I have spent a lot of my trip observing and listening to what people were saying, and doing. I watched interactions, sometimes asking questions. The language gets in the way occasionally, so I rely on various perspectives of others when observing a situation. I have found myself tired from a lot of sensory work. I have been fortunate enough to have a good place to rest and meals graciously provided, often in family homes. I have also been able to find times to be still and quiet my own being.

There have been times that I have watched myself go through my worst outcomes and fears. There is a lot of unknowing and uncertainty. This creates quite a void for thought and emotion. I remember news reports from the past of events in this region. There are stories from people I have met. And there are the images of what I am seeing and experiencing now. I would like to understand the “other sides.” I can guess why I see the things that I see, however, respectful listening needs to occur for all people. Of course, I came here with the realization that this is a complex situation. There seems to be simplicity in the solution – remove fear, create hope.

The simple things that I have focused on are helping people in their daily lives deal with the trauma or resolve a small, yet significant issue. These simple things included helping a mother sleep more peacefully at night time, or helping set up a positive framework within a friend’s mind to solve a family conflict. My experiences have included helping a wife create healing in a family where there is an abusive husband with a family pattern of abuse, or helping a young high school daughter flesh out her dream for the future, and acknowledging her ability to achieve such a vision. Or the simple act of listening with respect, and being interested, the power of acknowledging that one exists. Waving to children brings great joy.

I focused my thoughts today on what I sense from the people that I have been meeting in Palestine. This awareness is the simple importance of being recognized as a human being. That’s all! A simple nod to acknowledge someone’s presence; a thank you spoken, particularly in the native tongue; a friend opening a door for someone else; a touch of affection in a public place; listening intently without distraction; repeating accurately what another says; fulfilling a request of a loved one – these are all means to demonstrate that “the other” exists. You can see the results of these simple gestures on the faces of people.

I have heard in several recent workshops that people are feeling marginalized in their current situations of life. When people feel marginalized, they speak louder, or repeat themselves, or do protests. Just a simple genuine gesture makes all the difference in the world. When people get frustrated, irritated, resentful, or impatient with listening and connecting with another, it’s because they often know what needs to be done; and that is to do things “my way.” Different responses make all the difference in the world in terms of gaining common understanding and commitment; or rejection and disharmony. A simple gesture, a few seconds or minutes more… can change the world.

When we discriminate with people, where some are the privileged and others are excluded, the message really is that you don’t exist. As I walk through Palestine, I hear the cry of acknowledgement that “I exist, and I want to be recognized by you.” I see the cost of not recognizing basic human rights. The irony is that that at one time, “the other” didn’t exist, and has countered by becoming that one that denies existence. Just this year, I have seen this marginalization on North American Indian reservations, in Hawaii, in the Deep South, in cultures where women are marginalized, with the loggers on the Olympic Peninsula, in the halls of academy, and now here.

I understand the importance of this basic human need, as I have personally experienced non-existence. As a child, there were many times that my desires and wants were put off by others. It didn’t matter if I was cold, or my eyes hurt from chlorine, I wanted to play, or was couldn’t sleep at night because I was terrified of stories “the church” told me. It was “the other” that only mattered. Today, in my own life’s journey, experiencing the place of “I exist, and I want to be recognized by you” really speaks home to me. I do the consensus building work that I do today, with the emphasis on providing the space for the unheard one to speak, is very important to me.

And it matters! I see it in their faces. I see it in the outcomes. People tell me thank you.

Mayor Haj Sami met us in his office after we unloaded our luggage in the community guesthouse. Sami, began by using the word “Peace,” to live in peace with the neighbors. He then suggested that we take a tour of the village. Sami is in a wheel-chair, confined for life from a bullet he took from a soldier in 1971.

The five of us took off for a walk through this beautiful village. The air was warm and the recent rains were helping the crops to grow green and robust. We ate peas picked from the fields and given to us by local residents. The sheep were being herded on the surrounding hillsides, on their way back to the village for the night. Since I work with animals and ranchers, and am always amazed how much time it takes many western ranchers to gather livestock and how afraid their animals are of people, I marveled at the ease with which these animals followed the herders back to the corrals.

This village, like many in the Palestinian territory, has had houses and roads demolished by the army. Various reasons are given, yet there seems to be a lot of confusion about why. Questions come up like “What harm are these villagers to the army and the settlers, which continue to increase in the territory?” They talk about a double-standard of rules, one set for Israeli-Jews and another set for Palestinians. There are restrictions for travel and what and where things can be built.

Our afternoon walk was long, and covered the whole community on asphalt paved roads. Sami is able to navigate on these types of roads even with the steep pitches up and down the valleys. He introduced us to many community members. Every time a child saw Morgan, the young American woman who has been teaching in the village, they would shout with joy and wave to her. People were very kind. Sami continually used the word “peace” as we walked.

This village seems to be becoming successful with enhancing their community even with the recent and constant threat of military action to demolish the infrastructure. New roads have been paved and lined with low concrete barriers, which serve as property boundaries and prevents military equipment from running across farm and pasture land. They are expanding their school and playground facilities for the children. They are developing enterprises such as a brick making factory to build local homes and to export the extra bricks and a small clothing manufacturing facility.

What I experienced on this tour was a man in a wheel-chair and a community of people placing their focus on best possible outcomes, based on the offer of peace. The people I met came across to me as respectful, kind, generous people. I saw this in their interactions with each other and to us, as guests in the community. These are a people who are using their personal power with the hope of the outcome that they speak, which is peace.

I can see that this could be difficult for these villagers. The military’s mock village often hosts military games and has ammunition being fired just a few hundred yards from the town center. Recently, 100s of army soldiers came into the town and remained for several hours. The children are frightened, the women and men are frightened. And still Sami talks about the word “Peace.” We had dinner with Sami, his wife and a community leader. Upon my questioning of the meaning of a poster with Arabic words written on it, Sami shared the writing of the 99 beliefs for Islam, which talked about “right” living. When he finished, I asked him if he had anger about the bullet that took his legs and his abilities to do many things that he used to do. He said in the Koran, one can be anger or kind. It’s a choice. He chose to be kind. To be peaceful!

As I prepare for bed this evening after my first introduction to Al Aqaba, I reflect that I found a man and a community that has little “positional” power, yet they choose to use their “personal” power to do good. Even with the immense amount of trauma and disrespect, here is a community that is living their best possible outcomes already. There still is certainly more for them to discover and resolve, such as what can be done to eliminate the fear each night that the soldiers will return, someone will get shot, or homes and roads razed. Nevertheless, they are not giving up hope and are doing the very best that they can do to create a healthy future for their children, families, community, and larger world.

I go to bed thankful and grateful that I have met these people. They help me believe that even with traumatic backgrounds; it is possible for humans to continue to attain the higher level of being human. This makes me think of the book by Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, who in the Nazi concentration camp found that when human conditions are absolutely horrid, people can still aspire to the higher power of love. These are things that I believe, as I have seen these behaviors play out in so much of my work in the past. Perhaps, I can contribute additional skills for the people in Al Aqaba to set a new standard in Palestine that moves all people to a place of safety, respect, and dignity.