| have the privilege of facilitating an amazing group of | | | | the law of abundance? |
| soul-centered business builders who are engaged in a | | | | That is a multi-trillion dollar question our world is |
| 12 month exploration of what it means to practice | | | | grappling with right now. |
| conscious capitalism. Not just as a theory, but as | | | | I believe this question is at the heart of the current |
| both a spiritual and economic practice. | | | | economic crisis, of the shift from unconscious |
| Yesterday, we received a special gift in the form of | | | | capitalism to conscious capitalism, and the shift from |
| Terry Tillman, one of the senior elders in the field of | | | | unconscious philanthropy to conscious philanthropy. |
| conscious leadership development. I think I'm learning | | | | It's at the heart of Selling By Giving, and it's at the |
| as much as anyone in the group, and I had a | | | | heart of our 12 month group. You can read about the |
| particularly profound take-away that I want to share | | | | three keys to integrating spirituality and business (i.e. |
| with you. | | | | abundance and scarcity) that I've come across so |
| Terry reminded us that one of the highest spiritual | | | | far, in |
| laws on our planet is the law of abundance, also | | | | I believe the answer starts by recognizing how deep |
| known as the law of giving and receiving. As defined | | | | this conflict goes within each of us and within our |
| by Deepak Chopra, "The universe operates through | | | | organizations, and by learning to embrace this. It also |
| dynamic exchange...giving and receiving are different | | | | starts by recognizing that conscious capitalism can't |
| aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. And in | | | | be measured just by the mission of the organization. |
| our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep | | | | It also requires focusing on the consciousness of the |
| the abundance of the universe circulating in our | | | | members in the organization. In other words, it's not |
| lives."law-of-abundance | | | | enough to focus just on what we do, it also requires |
| What is the difference between a lush tropic island | | | | focusing on how we are as we do it. |
| and the Dead Sea? The former circulates water, | | | | As my teachers at the University of Santa Monica |
| both giving and receiving it. The Dead Sea doesn't - it | | | | say, "how you are with the issue is the issue." |
| only receives. | | | | Similarly, "how you are with the conflicts inherent in |
| The spiritual law of abundance is as automatic and | | | | conscious capitalism is the measure of how conscious |
| consistent as the physical law of gravity, and | | | | your capitalism is."conscious-business |
| abundance only breaks down when we stop the | | | | Most of the work in this area I've seen so far has |
| flow. When we become attached to things, we stop | | | | tended to come from one of two angles. |
| giving, we stop the flow - and we suffer. When we | | | | 1) For-profit organizations seeking to make their |
| judge ourselves as unworthy, we stop receiving, we | | | | mission more loving. This includes corporate social |
| stop the flow - and we suffer. In contrast, a | | | | responsibility, the triple bottom line, etc. |
| commitment to providing exceptional value means | | | | 2) Non-profit organizations seeking to make their |
| being equally committed to giving exceptional value | | | | mission more self-sustaining. This includes social |
| and to receiving payment for that value. It means | | | | enterprise, social entrepreneurship, venture |
| being committed to practicing the law of abundance. | | | | philanthropy, etc. |
| Notice in your life, do you have a harder time giving | | | | But the thing is, when we're coming from a lower |
| or receiving? Which side do you have more of your | | | | place in consciousness, business is a battle for |
| blocks on? (We all have at least some blocks - | | | | survival, and service is a sacrifice. When we're at the |
| otherwise we wouldn't have anything left to learn...) | | | | bottom of the pyramid, we do have to choose |
| When we open to spiritual reality, our experience is | | | | between the left and the right, between for-profit |
| one of abundance. In contrast, modern economic | | | | and non-profit, between receiving and giving. It's only |
| theory is based on scarcity. One of Wikipedia's | | | | as we lift in consciousness (a large piece of which |
| definitions of economics is "the social science of | | | | happens by integrating the conflicts inside us and by |
| choice under scarcity." | | | | learning to love all of who we are) that we're able to |
| This does not mean that economics is wrong. What | | | | actually live the law of abundance. |
| it means is that the world changes as we lift in | | | | Because of this, you can't build a conscious |
| consciousness. At the physical level, the world looks | | | | organization without also focusing on the |
| like it's based in scarcity, win/lose, either/or, and | | | | consciousness of its members'. |
| survival of the fittest. But as we're able to see things | | | | When our conscious self is identified with our physical |
| from a higher perspective, we realize that things are | | | | self, economics is about scarcity and service is about |
| based in abundance, win/win, both/and, and love. | | | | sacrifice. This is shown at the bottom of the triangle, |
| The challenge is that when we start to see this, we | | | | and it's what happens when we listen to the news |
| naturally tend to go into spiritual bypass, where we | | | | and go into fear. |
| only want to focus on the spiritual and we tend to | | | | When our conscious self is identified with our spiritual |
| deny the physical (which is just another form of | | | | self, both economics and service are about |
| either/or). We may shift from the receiving-only | | | | abundance and love. This is shown at the top of the |
| focus of unconscious for-profit organizations | | | | triangle, and it's what happens when we learn to see |
| ("money, money, I want more money NOW") to the | | | | everything in life, including our inner conflicts, as |
| giving-only focus of unconscious non-profit | | | | opportunities for learning, upliftment and growth. It's |
| organizations ("there shouldn't be any scarcity so I'm | | | | what happens as we find our inner conflicts, and |
| going to fix things by stealing from the rich and giving | | | | instead of trying to fight, feed or flee them, we learn |
| to the poor"). | | | | to love them instead. |
| We may sit around and think that if we just watch | | | | Doing so requires learning to embrace both sides of |
| The Secret another 27 times, we'll win the Lotto and | | | | Love (acceptance and loving self-discipline) and both |
| live happily ever after. Or we may see our self worth | | | | sides of reality (physical and spiritual). Notice that the |
| as defined by how much we sacrifice our needs for | | | | symbol for love is not a circle (which symbolizes |
| others. Or we may feel a secret sense of | | | | oneness) it's a heart, which symbolizes two becoming |
| entitlement, where we expect that if we become | | | | one while also remaining two. Similarly, to do business |
| good enough at providing our services, we deserve | | | | from a place of love and consciousness means |
| to have a full practice - without having to learn how | | | | integrating two value systems so they become one |
| to enroll clients. | | | | while also remaining two - the foundation to the |
| So how do we embrace both the law of scarcity and | | | | three keys for integrating spirituality and business. |