By Jim Selman | Bio
The engine that drives the world’s economy is a principle that is embedded in our worldview—“more, better and different”. It may seem obvious, but when we think about consumerism, materialism or alcoholism—or any ‘ism’ really—they are all based on the idea that if we like something, then ‘more’ is good (and conversely, if we don’t like it, then ‘less’ is good). Continuous improvement demands that things get better and better—and ‘more’ better
By Jim Selman | Bio
As
an elder, what do I have to say regarding the ‘crisis’ in the financial
system? To begin, I don’t know what to say about the crisis. But I do
know that this is not a time for ‘idle’ opinions or mouthing platitudes
and ideological dogma. I know the seemingly ‘sudden’ emergence of this
situation is mostly the fact that the media and government pays
attention only after something happens and doesn’t bother to listen to
thoughtful
The ServiceNation campaign kicked off with a Summit in New York City on September 11th. This grassroots national movement aims to enrol increasing numbers of Americans in committing a year of their lives to national service and, by 2020, to engage 100 million citizens (up from 61 million today) in volunteering each year in schools, workplaces and community organizations. The movement launches tomorrow with a
The third week of September in the U.S. is a time to celebrate the role all 92 million unmarried Americans–whether they are widowed, divorced, separated or ‘single’–play in our society. Organizations like Unmarried.org (the Alternatives to Marriage Project) are active in changing current stereotypes and addressing legislation and policies that deny an unmarried individual’s equal rights in terms of healthcare access and taxation.
Bella DePaolo, a UC Santa Barbara
By Jim Selman | Bio
I don’t think that age is personal. I know it feels like it is ‘me’ that is getting older, but I don’t experience myself as older. If anything, I experience my ‘self’ as being ‘better’ than at any time I can remember over the past 66 years. I feel more ‘alive’, more engaged, more present and more satisfied than ever. It is true that my body can’t run, wrestle or climb as easily as in the past. I make love more often
September 21st was International Day of Peace. Every year since its inception by the UN in 1982, this holiday has grown to mobilize millions of people around the world to
call for the end of conflict and the creation of a culture of peace among all nations and
peoples. In 2002, the UN officially declared September 21st to be the permanent date for the Day of Peace. Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day. It can
By Shae Hadden | Bio
The official arrival of fall always surprises me. It’s never the change in weather so much as the passage of time that draws me up short—what happened to the last few months of my life? This year I feel as if I’ve been lost in a time warp while the rest of the world runs ahead at its crazy pace…and as if I’m only just beginning to rejoin the rest of the human race. And no, I didn’t go on an extended vacation or take a leave of absence. All I did was connect to my
The theme of the UK’s Older People’s Day (which will be October 1st this year) is bringing generations together. The U.K.’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) released figures late last month that indicate people from different generations are spending more time with people outside their own age group. Research conducted through the British Marketing Research Bureau for the DWP’s "
By David Korten | Website
Reprinted from "Purple America," the Fall 2008 YES! Magazine
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Read the first part of the article here.
Wired to Connect
Scientists
who use advanced imaging technology to study brain function report that
the human brain is wired to reward caring, cooperation, and service.
According to this research, merely thinking about another person
By Jim Selman | Bio
I came across an extraordinary six-minute YouTube video called ‘The Shift’—a presentation that blows one’s mind with factoids about the rate of change in the world. The Shift they are talking about is a ‘paradigm shift’, meaning our entire worldview, indeed our whole reality, is being turned upside down and inside out by virtue of technology, population and the exponentially accelerating rate of change. Whether we like it or not, our ‘new reality’ challenges our commonsense and conventional wisdom with ideas like “Knowledge is becoming obsolete before you learn it”.Joel Barker sold a videotape in the 1980s called “Discovering the Future: The Business of Paradigms™” in which he showed that the world is always a function of our interpretation of it and that, from time to time, for a variety of reasons, the world transforms in ways that are difficult to impossible for people to fathom when it is happening. He is generally upbeat about these periods of dramatic change and asks