Before the outer revolution, there must be an inner revolution. The real revolution is a revolution of the heart. By taming our minds and cultivating an awareness of the present moment our basic nature emerges - completely open, unprejudiced and compassionate. We discover the world to be naturally sacred; full of beauty...we begin to wake up. We no longer have a strong identification with our thoughts and external accomplishments. We naturally want to be of benefit. It's what the Dalai Lama calls total world peace through inner peace. When a critical mass of humanity awakens, the whole collective will be awakened. Therefore, the very wellbeing of the planet depends on the way you handle your body, your feelings, your perceptions and your consciousness. Contemplative practices such as meditation, presence and mindfulness are key - they help us become aware of our thoughts, be more attentive, creative, curious, suspend judgement, release old identities and live in the present.
Allegiance to the Power of Presence. The heart of our work lies in cultivating an awareness of the present moment. Stillness. Being here. Now. We work to change our future by accepting "what is" and act in the present moment. Through relaxation and presence we act from our deepest wisdom, unblock unconditional love and begin to sense profound interconnection. We begin to see simplicity as the ultimate sophistication and to truly experience our lives – right here and now!
We are an experiment, not a set of answers.We are not a formulaic, centrally-directed institution seeking to impose a new ideology. On the contrary, we have no ideology, dogma and seek to deeply collaborate across a wide and diverse range of disciplines. We aim to be unattached to the outcome and have faith that our actions will lead to good results even if we don't yet know what they will be.
Multiple Crises = A 2nd Renaissance. We are on the verge of the catastrophic collapse of a multitude of systems. We choose to view this as humanity's greatest ever opportunity to renew, innovate and transform. To transform from the 'Myth of Conquerer' and 'Dominator Model' to one of a new 'Life-Sustaining Partnership'. A time when we activate our emotional and spiritual intelligence. A model where caretaking replaces conquering and we take fierce action to restore that which has been lost. To activate this new story requires deep personal transformation and then aligning our inner wisdom with collaborative efforts. This is the era when we will find a common language shared by all disciplines - science, business, politics, art and religion. We learn this language by developing virtues such as care, gratitude, hope, compassion and kindness.
Reverence for the Interconnection of Life. A root cause of human discord lies in the misunderstanding of the true nature of reality as an interdependent whole. Martin Luther King said, "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single fabric of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
For millennia, we humans have identified with a false self - the one we have referred to as ‘I’. This identification with our limited, seperate, personal egos has caused much suffering and conflict. This is a “me” to “we” movement. When people shift their exclusive focus away from personal fulfilment towards the needs of the community
and the natural world we expand our sense of identity and begin to experience life as interconnected. This is when real solutions will emerge.
Business can be an agent of Change. Given we live in a capitalistic era, we aspire to be both mission and profit driven. Our vision is utterly unsustainable if it doesn't generate genuine profitability.
Mass Communication is Critical. The media has the power to affect change on a personal and global level. We believe the individual, when armed with information, will be naturally catalysed to make conscious choices. We seek to find solutions to a modern media that encourages overconsumption, stereotypes, hyper-stimulation, psychic numbing and general mis-information. We aim to find ways to harness media to build a city-wide network of solidarity including nourishing film, transformative downloadable audio and the best local and international film and audio. We encourage that which is intelligently optimistic, integrative and sustainable.
Focus on the Small - You Do Change the world! When we usually think of a revolution we think of large and spectacular events. In reality, revolutions always start with small and deeply personal initiatives.
Social Change will come from the bottom-up, not from waiting for politicians or business to take the lead. True change will come when we heal, transform and take care of ourselves...and then live simply, be wildly creative, innovative and collaborative...while remaining humble and provisional in our knowing. Practices such as meditation, voluntary simplicity, laughter, prayer, dance, journaling, walking, service, kindness are some of the small practices to change our world.
Make it Fun, Easy, Loving and Solution Orientated. The
new breed of social activism is peaceful, contemplative, strategic, entertaining, compassionate, co-operative, solution orientated, leveraged, convenient, fun, profitable and inspiring. Irrespective of how serious the circumstances,
we can't focus on the sky falling without finding solutions on how to catch it. Fear, anger and judgement leads to paralysis, while hope breeds optimism, action and change.
The Goal - Sydney as the Global Hub for a Sustainable World! Cities are a collective intelligence with enormous potential. Whether it was the 2000 Olympics, Earth Hour, New Years Eve fireworks or our response to the AIDS epidemic, Sydney knows how to pull together, lead the world and make shit happen!
The question is: How do Sydneysiders co-create to make Sydney the global hub for an awakened, peaceful and sustainable civilization?
Collaborate. Collaborate. Collaborate. Whole-system change requires an integrated and collaborative approach. The time for ego, judgement and competition is over. NOW is time to
work together for the collective good.
Community has always been the unit of change and we need to draw together, build bridges and provide the means for cross-boundary, trans-disciplinary thinking. One critical bridge is between the perceived gap between spiritual practice and concrete action into the world.
We must address root causes.We can continue to stomp on the ants coming out from under the sink, but until we remove the overflowing rubbish bin, they are just going to keep coming. Here are some root areas:
Money must be put in its place; Taming our
wild minds and
endless need to consume; Living from
interconnection; Dissolving
separating dogmas and ideologies; Re-
connecting with nature; Transforming or switching off
dysfunctional media.
What if we took the pay-it-forward formula seriously? We believe
kindness is our planets greatest need - kindness toward ourselves, the natural world and each other.
We want to start a kindness revolution! Our
Kindness Cards are designed for the Sydney-wide awakening of compassion and interconnection...
anonymous generosity between people. Day 1: One person does 3 acts of kindness; Day 2: Those 3 people pay-it-forward; Day 3: Those 27 people pay-it-forward.
After two weeks this equals 4,782, 969 people!
The spirituality of tomorrow has no dogma, ideology or spokesperson. Rigid ideologies, religious chauvinism and the dogma of consumerism are too dangerous in the modern world. The new spirituality is a pathless path where we separate the old wisdom from its religious and cultural context. True spiritual teachers serve to point us back to our own heart and inner authority. It is time for an
earth-based spirituality grounded in
ecological values – interconnection, compassion and reverence for life. Nature cultivates presence, which in turn uncovers our inherent compassion and desire to serve others.
Don't take these principles too seriously. Everything is provisional. Don't become attached to these principles. Laugh. Dance. Celebrate Life's gift.