Prime example:  the whole US Congress and our often spineless president, who have managed to lock us into a totally non-visionary plan aimed at avoiding default that in truth seems to make no-one but cable news pundits happy.  And for these pundits the only happiness lies in the fodder it gives them for more ongoing commentary.

Now I know the Congress isn’t totally to blame for this mess.  We’re all part of the culture that demands quick fixes and is addicted to fear, unfounded reporting, and blame.  We’re all at least partially the creators of an economy that puts our undiscerning trust into things like forever increasing housing prices and the big gambling casino masquerading as the stock market instead of finding a better way to discern what’s truly valuable.

Pride, Self-will and Fear Prevent Us From Having a Great Government

And we’re all part of an electorate who are anything but the visionaries we were born to be when it comes to electing our officials.  Instead of carefully assessing who gets our vote, we tend to make unstudied decisions based on our biases and a whole lot of emotional/spiritual distortions caused by pride, self-will and fear.

According to the Pathwork™ almost all human failings come from the innumerable manifestations of these three faults.  Each is a distortion of something wonderful about being human.  Each can readily be seen in politics, though it’s usually easier to see it in the “other side” than in our own.

Pride distorts our true self-esteem and self-respect into idealized self-images or beliefs “that we are better than others so we have a right to our self-importance and specialness.  … The antidotes to pride are honest self-confrontation and humble self-acceptance out of which real self-esteem comes.”

“Self-will says we must get what we want when we want it, thereby justifying our egotism: ‘I want what I want when I want it’. Self-will is distinct from free will, which is simply the capacity of the entity to choose, to direct, to activate. Self-will occurs when free will is used in the service of the little self, the limited ego consciousness, in an attempt to control others and life.”

Fear distorts the brilliant instincts and information systems that warn us of potential danger.  Fear instead comes from attitudes that say, “‘I will not trust’, and often also ‘if I am not special, or do not get my way, then something terrible will happen’. Fear both supports and results from the attitudes of pride and self-will. Fear keeps us restricted within the narrow boundaries of the little ego-self. The attitude of fear often makes us justify negative thoughts and acts which we never face directly because we are lost in the disorientation caused by fear.”

(The preceding quotes were taken from notes from the Pathwork™ in Texas on “Facing the Lower Self,” Chapter 6 of The Undefended Self by Susan Thesenga

Yes, I know it’s fun to assess all the fear, pride and self-will in various “them” categories.  A more productive path is to look at our own stuff, so we can see how it’s blocking our clear sight of what is, our tremendous possibilities to imagine something better, and our ability to discern the difference between truth and illusion.  The better we do this, the easier it is to work with others who also get stuck in their own pride, self-will and fear.

Without Vision, The US Wouldn’t Even Be Here

So much US history is truly visionary.  The dreams of freedom from a motley crew of scattered ordinary people led first to the vision of freedom from colonialism, then the creation of a constitution and bill of rights that can still work today.  Over the decades, various individuals and groups have faced down various manifestations of pride, self-will and fear — like racism, a hurting environment or massive impoverishment — and created visionary approaches to big problems by bringing out the best that is in us.

We very much need such visionary leadership now. Especially now, in the wake of the debt agreement that sets us up for so much ongoing disagreement.  Especially now, when we are so divided, so overwhelmed by information and so starved for due diligence or the quiet time we need to discern either what we truly need as a country or how to get it.

I know it’s not easy to create a vision, but we can do it.   The first step I’d like all Congresspeople to take is to kneel by the Washington National Cathedral’s statuette of Abraham Lincoln kneeling in prayer.  Like all of you, he needed guidance to deal with a country at odds with itself.  And like I know many of you have found, as Lincoln did, “I have often been driven to my knees by the knowledge that I had no place else to go.”’’  You can see the photo of Lincoln kneeling here. http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0001484.htm

In fact the sculptor of this statuette, Herbert S. Houck, was the grandson of a man who saw Lincoln kneeling in the woods just before delivering the Gettysburg Address. Notice how this only 38” high statuette manages to portray strength, courage and a lot of humility.  We need that from our leaders.

Please, dear Congress, President and other leaders, go past your own belief systems, to what Meister Eckhart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meister_Eckhart#Eckhart_today calls “the god beyond God,” to the truth that is bigger than any pride, self-will or fear, so we imperfect people can work better together.

Please, help us break free of the crippling idealized self images like America First of “Greatest Country in the World, Always!.” Help us see our true gifts so that we can not jus deal with the challenges of economy, but find our rightful, humble, truly self-respecting country among other great countries.

Please.  Please be the best self we elected you to be so you can help call out the best in us.

And thank you for being willing to be out there in the public eye, daring to take on the challenges.  Let us know how we can help you.

Comments are welcome.  Many blessings as always, Pat McHenry Sullivan

What to do?  Perhaps its time to take a closer look at starting your own business.

Small business is actually the backbone of America.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA),  small firms generate 60% to 80% of all new jobs.  For almost every one of the last 10 years, the birth rate of small businesses has exceeded their death rate, while for large firms the death rate has been greater than their birth rate.

Small business expert and author Pat McHenry Sullivan has been counseling potential entrepreneurs for more than 15 years.  Through her workshops and individual consultations, she has helped hundreds of people write business plans which launched successful and satisfying enterprises.  I asked her assessment of the current economic times.  My questions are in bold; Pat’s answers are in italics.

Is this a good time to start a new business?

If you have the need now, and the passion now, and your products or services are needed now, then now is the time to do it.  Historically, many of the most enduring and profitable businesses began in an economic downturn. Starting to explore by writing a business plan can be valuable for 3 reasons: a) to see if your idea is feasible; b) to discover the best ways to turn your idea into reality, including having a clear vision of your market and how you can best serve them; and c) discerning whether or not you really want to follow your fully-fleshed business idea.  Also, if you start planning now, you will be ready to launch or expand when the economy improves.

Where is the opportunity in this chaos and suffering?

Right now, you can get terrific deals on work space, great employees, etc.  Friends, family, and potential business partners who are also unemployed have more time to brainstorm with you. And you may have more time to see more clearly who you are and what you want to do with you life now that you are free of the daily grind.

What is the new economic framework?  How is it different from the old which nearly brought the collapse of our whole economy?

A lot remains to be seen, especially if Obama can lead a return to solid regulation of the banking and financial industry.  Here are some trends that affect everyone:

• People are saving more, buying less, so you need to be much clearer about what you offer, who needs it, and how they will benefit from what you sell.
• People are more concerned with value they can see and touch
• People  want something they can trust — which means they want more authentic communication from you.
• Traditional small business lending is way down, though it might ease over the next year; creativity and resourcefulness are required to overcome minimal capital.
• People want more ownership in the economy; many are shifting from the larger banks to community ones.

What are the new rules that can rebuild our lives and the economy?

The more your business is anchored in your deepest values, the more solid—and successful—it will be. Here are some ways to do that:

• Cooperate more with others — e.g., build alliances with people you might think of as competitors; look for win-win solutions everywhere.
• Think respectfulness with clients and employees — this will draw and keep them with you, and not cause legal or other problems.
• Know and live your values in everything.  Do what you say, say what you do.
• Take full responsibility for your own choices.
• Build sustainability into your company.  Look for role models, support, and practical tips in the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

Are you intrigued but a little timorous?  There are lots of places to reach out for help.

Comments from Ellen:  The SBA website is full of useful information, including a basic business plan outline.  SCORE is a national association whose purpose is to help small business owners form and grow their businesses.  SCORE has 364 chapters in the U.S.; their volunteers have been involved in all aspects of business.

You can also reach Pat Sullivan, President of Visionary Resources, at: visionpat@aol.com, 510-530-0284.  Her free webinar, “Inspired Strategy: How to Turn a Vision into A Practical Plan,” given Feb 10 through the William & Mary Alumni Association, is archived at https://www.wmalumni.com/?Webinarhome.

This interview by Ellen Augustine, M.A., originally appeared in the Bedford Ohio Standard on January 29, 2010 and is reprinted with permission.  Ellen is a speaker and author on national currents and the emerging sustainable economy. She may be reached at ellenaugustine@earthlink.net, 510-428-1832, www.storiesofhope.us.

Comments!  Please add your tips, questions and resources.

So, how do you safeguard all your relationships in these economically trying times?

Firstly, make sure you are communicating.

As a couples therapist, I encourage my clients to be honest with each other about what is going on at work and with finances even if it is difficult. Many men struggle with the imperative “be a provider” and worry if their ability to “bring home the bacon” is threatened, then they are a failure. This is far from the truth, but if you hide your struggles from your partner, the fallout will be greater than some feelings of shame.

Have you ever hidden money problems from your partner? It’ll bite you.

At work, communication is just as important.  Nothing is worse than not knowing what is going on.  Ask questions and don’t spread rumors.  Keep each other up to date without exaggerating or being a worrier.  Stick to the serenity prayer.  Meditate.

Next, work as a team with your partner.

This is not the time to bury your head in the sand and let your loved one take care of it all. Get aware of what is coming in, what is due, and what is saved. That way you and your partner can make sound decisions. Ask each other for opinions or ideas; you never know what another point of view will bring to the table. Respect your partner with the belief they truly can function as a partner.

Team spirit isn’t just for cheerleaders and sports in school.  At work, a sense of shared commitment and direction will help you and your co-workers weather tough times- even financial.  If anyone feels alone, hung out to dry, or disconnected, you’ll lose out on important support.  Help create team spirit even if your bosses don’t:  talk up the mission, the real goals, and what you see as truly important about what you all do.

How else can you help each other pull through financial strains?

Support your partner and ask for support even if it is difficult. Both of you are probably stressed about the whole deal; this means you can empathize. It also means there are times when you speak and times when you listen. I have a couple who both are struggling- her customer numbers have fallen, and his venture business is not taking off. Sometimes she needs to talk, to just have him listen- he’s recently learned how important this skill is, and he’s practicing. In return, she has learned to not constantly bug him about his business and what he’s doing about it; she realized he’s working hard and can’t control it all. Both of them are creating healing moments with these decisions, and it helps them get through.

The same is true at work.  Sometimes your coworkers need to talk to be heard, other times they need feedback and suggestions.  Make sure you clarify your role in the discussion.  If you need either of these things, make sure your listener knows your expectation.  I do also suggest you stay away from constant griping and sniping; they both sap the spirit and energy out of you.  If you find yourself (or another person) falling into the snipe/gripe trap, ask, “What are you going to do to change what you can about it?”

What is the number one thing you can do?

Realize the finance climate is affecting all of you. Be kind to one another, support each other, give encouraging words to partner and colleagues, and hug your partner often.

Today’s courageous work:

1.    Talk with your partner about finances. Make sure you both are clear where you stand and what the plans are (current and backup.) Ask each other what each wants in relation to money problems (ideas, plans, an open ear.)
2.    Create a sense of positive energy and team spirit in your workplace with open communication, good listening, and a lack of snipe/gripe.
3.    Communicate, be a team, support one another, and realize you all are affected.

Kim Leatherdale LPC is the Happy Couple Expert.  She regularly shares easy tips and useful information  at http://creatingrewardingrelationships.blogspot.com/

She also offers video, phone, email, and in-office counseling sessions for couples and individuals; contact her via her blog profile.  Follow her on Twitter- HappyCoupleXprt- for fun quotes and hints.

Just What is Conscious Capitalism and Why Is It So Beneficial to Us All?

The conveners of last summer’s conference on conscious capitalism at Bentley University offered these three key elements of conscious capitalism:

• companies have a purpose that transcends profit maximization;
• companies are managed for the benefit of all stakeholders in their ecosystem, not just shareholders; and
• companies are led by spiritually evolved, self-effacing servant leaders.

Companies that practice conscious capitalism embody the idea that profit and prosperity go hand in hand with social justice and environmental stewardship. They operate with a systems view, recognizing and benefiting from the connectedness and interdependence of all stakeholders. They tap into deeper sources of positive energy and create greater value for all stakeholders. They utilize creative business models that are both transformational and inspirational, and can help solve the world’s many social and environmental problems.

Over Half the Fortune 500 Companies Are Already Profiting by Embracing At Least One Aspect of Conscious Capitalism

That’s the view of Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism (Hampton Roads 2005).  As she recently reported,  whereas the unconscious form of profit-worshiping, short-term profits mentality has led to economic meltdown, conscious capitalists are profiting now while creating a sustainable economy that “responsibly embraces all of its stakeholders- – investors, customers, communities, employees, and the environment.”

In her groundbreaking Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, Aburdene reported seven powerful trends (backed up by statistics and compelling stories from many Fortune 500 companies) that are at the core of conscious capitalism:

• The Power of Spirituality – From Personal to Organizational;
• The Dawn of Conscious Capitalism;
• Leading from the Middle;
• Spirituality in Business;
• The Values-Driven Consumer;
• The Wave of Conscious Solutions;
• The Socially Responsible Investment Boom

Missed the Bentley Conference on Conscious Capitalism? See it Free and Online.

The conference featured a who’s who of leaders in the field of conscious business and spirituality in the workplace. Among the themes the conference covered are:

1.   The Need for a New Approach to Business
2.   Business and Higher Purpose
3.   Stakeholder Management and Alignment
4.   Feminization of the Culture
5.   Work as Calling
6.   Conscious Marketing
7.   Measures That Matter
8.   Contemplative Practices in Management
9.   Reforming Business Education

To view the various topics, click here, and scroll down the list of topics and presenters. Click on a program you’d like to view, and you’ll be privy to the wisdom of people like John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, or Judith Neal, the founder of the Association for Spirit and Work and now director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace.

Needed: a Way To Better Way to Measure Value

One thing that’s holding the growth of conscious business back is the shyness of many prominent business leaders to speak openly about such matters as spirit and work, out of the fear that such thoughts will be considered flaky or unprofessional. Another is the lack of solid, respected ways to measure the impact of consciousness to the bottom line. This blog recently covered that topic and will cover it often in the future.

What are your thoughts on how conscious capitalism could benefit you and your world?

How do you measure what matters most to you?

As always, many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan

If love is one of the most powerful forces for good in the universe, then loving money must also be a powerful force for good.

Consider just the loving aspects of patience and kindness. Loving a child with patience and kindness includes nurturing not just his creative spirit and self worth, but also her respect for the boundaries of others. Loving a friend or spouse means accepting their imperfections and helping to meet their needs with joy, but not allowing abuse from them.

When I truly love money, I can’t do un-loving things to it, like put it on a pedestal or demand that it make me feel better about myself. Nor can I allow it to hold me or my values in bondage.

Having patience with money means no more investments or credit cards where I’m too busy to understand the terms. It means foregoing the heady excitement and sense of entitlement like I had in the 90′s when I watched my 401 (k)’s “worth” grow so fast, than I became enraged when it dropped to less than a 15% return, then lost money.

Loving money also means discerning the impact of my earning and spending, even when it costs more to support fair trade than to buy cheap stuff from companies that exploit the land or people. It means giving up the illusion that I am somehow more spiritual than those who have more money and admitting that underneath this illusion are some pretty unspiritual things like arrogance or fear. It means taking on more of the scary tasks of money-making, particularly marketing and selling, with patience and kindness.

And it means being patience and kind with all the parts of me that are not patient or kind around money, work and everything else– like the parts of me that are in a hurry to get this post done and the parts of me that resist doing it and the parts that are so into perfection that I can never get anything done.

Imagine loving money with patience and kindness as a personal and corporate strategy.

That’s actually happening way more than is reported, even when the words “patience” or “kindness” aren’t used. Many examples can be found in the spirit and work movement, the trends towards socially responsible businesses and investing, and the slow money movement.

Money itself is experiencing an extreme makeover through the conscious capitalism movement. Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism reported in the most recent edition of Enlighten Next Magazine  that half the Fortune 500 companies actually already practice at least a little conscious capitalism. She reports how these companies have turned away from “the worship of profits while ignoring the long-term costs of earning them” to business that “embraces all its stakeholders – investors, customers, communities, employees, and the environment.”

Profit is alive and well in conscious capitalism, and the bottom line of conscious capitalists benefit greatly from increased customer and employee loyalties. One of the things that’s needed for the benefits of conscious capitalism to become more popular is for it to be reported more and for a new standard helps us assess the material value of such values as compassion and long-term thinking.

That’s a subject we touched on here several months ago, in a call to let go our obsession with the latest burps of the Dow and instead focus on a more long-term Tao (meaning way or path to wisdom, among other things) that takes care of the immediate needs and the future, while leaving plenty of good things for generations to come.

What’s your vision for how your relationship with money could be transformed with patience and kindness?

What thoughts stir about the true love of money when you read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13?

What other sacred texts from any faith, poetry or quotes inspire true love of money for you?

What practices help you truly love any aspect of your relationship to money?

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome. Many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan

I really want that right now, not just around the ever-present health care financing issue, but around everything else that’s dominating the news today, like how hard it is for many of us to make a living right now. Like how many people we know are stuck in painful jobs they hate but don’t dare leave. Or for those of us who are entrepreneurs, where the next clients are coming from in a time when so many are still cutting back.

Healthcare financing and all our other money or work issues could benefit from some individual and collective deep breaths.

Won’t you breathe with me right now? Just take one breath, then another, and feel your energy rising. As you breathe, listen to the silence. Trust that you’ve got something worth saying, starting with yourself, so make that commitment to hear yourself.

Listen more than speak to yourself. Listen past your own assumptions and beliefs and pet projects into the stillness of your own heart. And when you are ready, share what’s true for you with another.

One thing I know for sure is that whenever two or more of us come together long enough to really see each other, to really listen to each other, we are wiser. Confusion becomes clarity. Enmity becomes dialogue, then collaboration. Money wasted, lives harmed turned into money used well for the best of human and earthly life.

It’s not easy to find money or work wisdom in a noisy, divisive world.

Even in my quiet office with candles burning, it’s hard to put aside all sorts of ideas and assumptions so I can be present to a deeper Presence. Even with years of practice in hearing what really matters most to others and myself around spirit, work and money, it’s hard to hear the one thing I need to hear right here, right now.

The wisdom I find in the silence calls me down from my high horse and holds a mirror to truths I’d rather evade. It calls me to say or do things I’d not otherwise dream or dare, things that risk ridicule or failure or even scarier, a hope and awe that make me tremble

And so, being human, I often run from the silence, and I bet you do, too.That’s why it always helps to have companions on the journey of dealing with what matters, whether on the mundane or spiritual level.

The world is filled with tips and resources for finding wisdom for money, work and other spiritual or mundane issues.

As a kid, I loved watching my mother and her best friend share everything from recipes to laughs to prayers to tips on sewing and how to handle us kids. As a business plan writer and teacher, I love sharing resources and ideas for how to turn a dream into thriving reality. As a writer and speaker in the field of spirit and work, I’m passionate about sharing tips and resources from all the world’s faiths for all types of work.

Here are some favorites you may try:

Go to the place where you feel most attuned to your wisdom source. For most people that’s the bathroom (no.1 according to a survey of business executives, especially the shower), a place of worship (not necessarily your own religion) or nature. If you can’t actually go to your wisdom place, go there virtually. (www.workwithmeaningandjoy.com/ww_-_retreat.pdf)

If you are under time pressure or are uncomfortable with meditation, run or do whatever else that helps you get your body, mind and spirit into a non-competitive zone. Many lawyers I know find that answers that eluded them during hard thinking come easily on the run.

Work off your anger or frustration safely, like our grandparents did while chopping wood or beating rugs over the clothesline. Some friends and I one had a great time working off some political fury by smashing yard-sale chipped pottery against a concrete wall. By the time we had carefully swept up the shards, we had a lot more energy that we could focus positively.

Tomorrow, by request, some tips from writers and speakers about how to get your most meaningful points across in a noisy, crowded world.

As always, many blessings. And come back again real soon,
Pat McHenry Sullivan

“Tao” means the way, path or guiding principle for working with faith, integrity and meaning in a mysterious universe.

The concept of way, path or guiding principle is central to all religious faiths and secular philosophies — not just the ancient faith of Taoism. We may get lost in ethical fogs or illusion, but through prayer or other pathways, we can find our way back to what most matters. We can find wisdom through patience and by reconciling seeming opposites, like our need to earn money while also caring for others.

In any true tao, paradox is the norm. Example: sometimes the best way to deal with a time crunch is to take more time for prayer or meditation. In the timeless space of ultimate reality that is beyond words or even thought, we generate new insights for the challenge of the moment.

The “Dow” is a rapidly changing bunch of numbers that has been endowed with the perception that it offers great financial wisdom.

“The Dow” stands for a constantly changing index of stock prices selected by the editors of the Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Company. It’s supposed to measure the financial worth of “the market.” Stocks up, Dow up; stocks down, Dow down. Dow up, good; Dow down, bad.

The Dow is not an intelligent creature. It’s “subject to panics and irrational exuberance and sour moods and churlishness and massive misjudgments. To judge whether an economic plan is working or not requires time and wisdom – neither of which are found in the daily results of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,” writes Joe Campbell. http://2parse.com/?p=2307.

Stock prices make no accounting of environmental or human costs of production or benefits of goods and services. Often the higher the stock price, the lower the human or environmental benefit. And often, stock prices have little or no real relationship to the actual production of goods and services.

Yet many individuals, driven by many media, are obsessed with stock numbers. Jon Stewart satirized this by suggesting that Obama should wear a visor showing the latest stock prices whenever he speaks. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220253&title=The-Dow-Knows-All. That way even the laziest viewer could stay focused on “what matters” without having to move focus from Obama to the latest stock numbers.

The Dow is often a powerful catalyst for decisions that take us away from true prosperity.

Can you imagine having to run a business with your eye constantly on stock market prices, not on the true worth you are creating for customers? And knowing that by squeezing costs — no matter the harm to others or the earth or even your own company over the long run– you raise your perceived value and access to capital?

Well, that kind of consciousness has run rampant the past decade, and everyone has suffered from it.

The health care crisis is just one example of how harmful stock price obsession can be. As health insurance whistleblower Wendell Potter reports, “I knew that 47 million people were uninsured, but … in the financial medium, what you think about are the numbers … and whether or not you’re going to meet Wall Street’s expectations.” http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/transcript2.html?print

On June 24, 2009, Potter testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that as a senior executive at health insurance companies, “I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick – all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors.”

The impact of this is an awful truth: between us and our doctors are not just health insurance executives but also Wall Street investors, forcing the health insurance companies to force doctors to cut costs so investors can make higher profits.

We need a tao or way to deal with the realities of money that is more meaningful, conscious and beneficial.

Countering this trend of 24-hour Dow obsession are a number of movements that will be discussed in future posts, especially socially responsible investing and conscious capitalism. All mean that we don’t just buy based on price and momentary gain, but we invest longer term in products and services we care about, that provide real good to us and others. We invest more in smaller, local companies that we can know better.

Any tao of money management will require us to relax self-will and be more engaged in something bigger than ourselves, which is a lot more conscious and engaged process than the 60′s definition of tao as “go with the flow.”

When we’re open to it, guidance to find and follow our tao is everywhere. Some of my favorite gems come from Jon Stewart’s 2004 commencement address to our common alma mater, William and Mary:

• So how do you know what is the right path to choose to get the result that you desire? And the honest answer is this. You won’t. And accepting that greatly eases the anxiety of your life experience.
• [The] truly exciting thing about your life, is that there is no core curriculum. The entire place is an elective. The paths are infinite and the results uncertain.
• Success is defined in myriad ways. [It] will come from your own internal sense of decency .
• Love what you do. Get good at it. Competence is a rare commodity in this day and age. And let the chips fall where they may.

What wisdom guides you on your path?

As always, many blessings and come back real soon, Pat McHenry Sullivan

Right now, far too many people “go naked” (industry terminology for people without health insurance). Congressman Zach Wamp of Tennessee would have us believe that ½ of all people who “go naked … just take the chance of getting sick. They end up in the emergency room costing you and me a whole lot more money.” The Congressman also believes that the attempt to extend health care to all is “almost a fast march to socialism.

There may be huge philosophical differences between those who believe access to health care is a right and those who think it is a privilege. There’s no way I see to settle that argument without getting past industry lies that are mouthed by politicians and reported extensively by “the news.”

Here’s one truth: the Amish and some other groups don’t buy insurance because they don’t believe in it. Instead, the Amish care well for each other through richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. A few people do gamble on health. But most people without health insurance simply can’t afford it and/or can’t get it because they have pre-existing conditions.

A huge insurance industry lie is that government-run programs (like Medicare) are the worst things that could happen to us.

Former insurance company executive Wendell Potter reports that the industry has used scare tactics for many years to get us to distrust government-run programs. “If there were a broader program like our Medicare program, it could potentially reduce the profits of these big companies. So that is their biggest concern.”

Michael Moore’s 2006 film “Sicko” hit the nail right on the head, says Potter. Yet the insurance industry warned Congressional members that if they talked about or endorsed the film, “we can make things tough for you … by running ads, commercials in your home district when you’re running for reelection, not contributing to your campaigns again, or contributing to your competitor.”

Personally, qualifying for Medicare by turning 65 is one of the best things that has happened to me and my husband. The only thing between us and high quality care (even for pre-existing conditions) is a telephone call or e-mail as needed among us, our doctors and other providers, like the labs or pharmacy. Cost of a recent visit, including 4 knee x-rays after a fall: $20 co-pay to the doctor; another $20 for x-rays. Waiting time: a few minutes. Approval or paperwork required: none.

Our experience is common for people with good Medicare choices and in England, Canada or other countries with government-run healthcare. That belies the insurance industry’s horrifying pictures of government interference, while glossing over the fact that for too many people, insurance company paperwork and denials of care are huge barriers between patient and doctor.

Business lies can be very difficult to unmask, because they are so rooted in unconsciousness and distortions.

As an insurance industry V.P., Potter was insulated. “I knew that 47 million people were uninsured, but … what you think about are the numbers … and whether or not you’re going to meet Wall Street’s expectations. …[you can only] stay there, if you don’t really think that you’re talking about and dealing with real human beings.”

Potter’s wakeup call came when he went home to Tennessee and visited an occasional offering of free medical care at the fair grounds in Wise, VA. He talked there to people who had come from at least 6 states as they waited in long lines for care in horse stalls and other improvised clinics. “They could have been people who grew up at the house down the road from me. It was like a lightning bolt had hit me.”

Potter returned to corporate headquarters, trying to process it all. One book that helped him get clarity and leave his job was President John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage.

On June 24, 2009, Potter testified to the U.S. Senate that as a senior executive at health insurance companies, “I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick – all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors.”

All of us are called to help create affordable health care.

Please join me in a movement to shoulder more personal responsibility for our own health care. Maybe you’re not so lucky as I am to have free access to a gym and buddies to help get past resistance to working out, but you can get your workout somehow, even if your workout weights are just cans filled with tomatoes. And you can certainly find some live or on-line buddies to help you eat better.

Whatever your political persuasion, please follow the links above to Potter’s interview by Moyers (including the links there to the insurance industry’s attempts to discredit “Sicko”), and to Potter’s Congressional testimony.

I don’t pretend to know the best health care financing strategy. But I know the best thing we can do to create divine care for ourselves and others is to begin with prayer. Then, as we hear the truth in our own hearts, it’s time to share the truth as we see it with others, including our legislators.

As always, many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan

Now that we finally have cable and decent streaming capability on our computers, my husband and I have become faithful to the late night fake news shows of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. We’ve also maintained our loyalty to Bill Moyers on PBS, whose prophetic guests are not always amusing.

The big difference between prophetic comedians and the people we usually think of as prophets is that we’re more likely to listen when we get to laugh first.

When we invite comedians into our living rooms, we accept the truth that when we laugh at the craziness, illusions and pretenses of the powerful and celebrated, we might also be confronting our own truths. With Stewart and Colbert, we also meet authors and thought leaders that get lost in much of the mainstream’s media obsession with the latest shiny (tawdry?) thing or its dependence on press releases from the powerful.

Were it not for Stephen Colbert’s fake news show, I might never have heard about Leymah Gbowee, a perfect role model for how spirit in action can benefit the lives and economy of a huge community.

Gbowee was once just another war-weary Liberian single mother. Then she had a crazy dream that led her to organize the country’s “market women,” some of whom had originally helped run guns that fueled a war among various warlords and against ruthless and corrupt Liberian president Charles Taylor. Armed only with quiet courage and white tee-shirts, this Christian and Muslim group of market women grew so large that they eventually helped topple Taylor and banish him from Liberia.

Now Taylor is on trial in The Hague at a U.N.-backed court for his alleged war crimes against Sierra Leone, and Liberia’s new president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa.  Liberia is in the process of rebuilding a country where years of war had left 1/3 of the people homeless. Now “market woman” is a term of honor, and a major job of the new president is to help market women build better lives

Even for stories about work with meaning and purpose, it always helps get the story out if it has a sexy angle.

Naturally, in interviewing Ms. Gbowee, comedian Colbert started with the sexy bits, and how one of Gbowee’s major strategies was to organize a sex strike.

Colbert: You shut down the playground for Liberian men, you might say. .. How did you get other women to join in on this?

Gbowee: Desperation. … I had no idea about that Greek play ["Lysistrata" by Aristophanes, first performed in 411 B.C.] … But we had just gotten to the point where we were really fed up and we thought our men folk were not really serious about ending the conflict … So we needed to find a way to get to them and we thought that was one of the best ways.

Colbert: How did you word it?

Gbowee: We just said “no sex.” No sex until the conflict ends. .. So, even if you were not a fighter, if you had a friend who was a fighter, you had to stand up to him as a man [and tell him] “put the guns down, no sex until the war ends.”

Put together the Colbert Report segment with Bill Moyers’ show on Gbowee and you’ve got a powerful role model for dealing with everything from gang warfare to economic and healthcare reform … or even reclaiming the soul of the media.

“Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” the award-winning film about Gbowee and others who created the market women movement, will be shown on PBS some time in 2010. In the meantime, here are some things you can do:

• Watch the Colbert and Moyers clips with Ms. Gbowee and catch her contagious spirit.
• Foster your spirit by praying for guidance on how you can best put it to work.
• Find a screening of the film or arrange one for your group.
• Have fun with friends proposing your own “sex strike” or other creative strategies to local, national or world problems.
• Look for groups in your own area, like Life Skills for Peace, which is impacting youth in gang-ridden areas of Richmond, CA.  Help those groups and/or create one of your own.

Remember Viktor Frankl’s words from yesterday’s post: if we were immortal, we put off following our calls to make the world a better place. But we are very mortal, and we are designed to care.

Many blessings as always, Pat McHenry Sullivan

This doesn’t have to mean that we worship money. The dollar bill is filled with wisdom that can help us have a better relationship with money, including having more money and a more sustainable, just economy — even in a recession.

The wisdom of the dollar bill starts with the history of the vision that guided our country’s founding. Long before there was any hope of creating a United States, people dared to speak openly about their dream of human rights in countries that were then ruled by powerful kings who thought they ruled by divine right. That hope led to the more audacious hope of a successful revolution by American colonists against England, then the most powerful nation in the world.

Three of the original committee for drafting the Declaration of Independence — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson — were appointed in July 1776 to develop a seal for the United States. Two committees and about six years later, Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Congress, and William Barton, a Philadelphia lawyer, designed the Great Seal which eventually became part of our currency. Since 1935, the Great Seal has appeared on the back of the dollar bill. Note that none of these men had any political power before doing what all of us can do: consider carefully what matters, speak out for what matters, do what matters.

Lesson from history: however powerless you now feel, initiate a new relationship with money with a vision. Don’t let current lack of knowledge about how you can fulfill this vision stop you. Dare to hold your vision and speak it, no matter how many people laugh at you, or even threaten you. Allow your passion for your vision to draw allies. As anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Think of the front of the dollar bill as representing our business and legal relationship to money and the reverse as our spiritual, emotional and philosophical relationship to money.

The front side is loaded with representations that this bill is backed by the US, including the seal of the US Department of Treasury, the signatures of the Secretary of the US Treasury and the Treasurer of the United States, and a serial number.

On the back side of the bill, the delicate web of the front border is greatly expanded. On the left side of the bill is the reverse side of the Great Seal, which features a pyramid, symbol of strength and durability. Its unfinished state reminds many that our history is unfinished, not set in stone. Instead, we are guided by the Eye of Providence (God).

Over the eye is the Latin phrase, “Annuit Coeptis.” While the official US Treasury explanation of this phrase is that “He (God) has favored our undertakings,” referring to many instances of perceived Divine Providence as our government was formed, my Latin lover husband John says it can actually be translated as “”He/she has shown favor to the beginnings.” Underneath the eye is the phrase “novus ordo seclorum,” which translates to “a new order of the ages.” A newer translation, “a new order for the earth,” may be incorrect says John, but it does give some interesting food for environmental inspiration.

On the right side of the back of the dollar bill is the front of the Great Seal, featuring the uniquely American bald eagle (i.e., crownless). Originally, the eagle faced the claws in which he held arrows; after the horrors of World War II, Harry Truman had the seal redesigned to face the olive branch in the eagle’s other claw.

In the center of the bill is a huge word “ONE,” just below the phrase in smaller print, “In God we Trust.” During the Civil War, the words were added to some of our coins because of increased religious sentiment then. Almost a century later, a joint resolution of the 84th Congress made “In God we Trust,” the national motto of the United States. On October 1, 1957, the phrase first appeared on paper money.

Notice how the front and the back of the dollar bill are woven together of the same fibers, carrying the concept of the web from front to back, integrating the essential symbols on the back with the practical and legal information on the front.

What if we let the wisdom on the dollar bill guide us to a rich, sustainable and just economy — starting with our own individual relationship with money?

The first time I asked this question at a gathering of the Spirit and Work Resource Center [www.spiritandworkresourcecenter.com], participants focused on what it really means to be one with each other and one with God (or whatever name we use for the mystery of Creation). What does it mean to really trust that our truest, most eternal wisdom source can guide us through everyday, nitty gritty challenges?

Subsequent discussions in churches of different denominations or with friends led us to explore more of the history of the dollar bill, which led to new questions. What hope and caution, for instance, can we take from our rich history as a nation and our own personal histories — including the wisdom of elders who have already survived various economic challenges?

What new vision can we see if we anchor our financial and other practical questions in the wisdom of Providence? If we balance our need to take care of ourselves with our compassion? If we allow our practical financial planning and economic policy to flow from spiritual and other inspiration? If we see ourselves as part of a beautiful web connecting all of Creation: past, present and future?

What’s your guiding wisdom, right here, right now, from the dollar bill and its history? We welcome your comments here. Please, however, nothing esoteric, like Masonic or Illuminati symbols — just your thoughts and inspiration from taking a closer look at the ordinary, everyday dollar bill.

As always, bless your work to bring together your vision, values, work and money.

Pat McHenry Sullivan, with the increasing research and writing help of John Sullivan