The end of Dictator Gaddhafi and the source of Dictatorship

Just a few minutes ago I heard the news about the death of Muammar Gaddhafi, previous dictator of Libya. Staring at the images on the BBC news channel showing the people of Lybia celebrating in the streets, which is completely understandable, I felt an urge to lit a candle for his soul.

Having lived a life that has been affected by the dictatorship in my own homeland Iran, and through continuous reflections on the source and nature of the dictatorships, I have come to see it as a process or a way of being sourced from a certain level of consciousness. Seen within that frame, the question of dictatorship shifts from focusing on the political power structure or the people in that structure, to the consciousness level that the whole society operates at.

Let it flow my tribe! Let it flow…

We have come into circle from each corner of the earth,
East and west, Southern hemisphere and North,
“A journey home” sets the fire in our center.

We have gathered here to hold a family,
A holon* of this larger tribe,
In it’s moment of passing a threshold,
In it’s moment of truth.

Earth & the spirit of Embracing the Mystery

One of the differences that I have recognized between the modern way of life and some ancient ones is the way questions are dealt with. In our modern lives, questions are more of problems-to-be-solved. The journeys we form around them is about finding the right answer, solving the problem. In these journeys, destination or the answer is the source of meaning and energy. This is the mental model that our economies, educational systems, other social structures and relationships are formed around.

Heart as the gateway for intelligence

Only from the heart can you touch the sky. ~ Rumi

I received this quote from Rumi today morning on my mobile phone. There was a meeting scheduled with a client, and on my way I was wondering how this heart space can come into a business meeting. My client is a pure-hearted lady from Istanbul who does not understand ‘making profit’ only as maximizing material value. After we went through the technicalities she asked me if I will visit Istanbul again, and I shared with her the story of the Caravan-tribe that was formed in Art of Hosting Istanbul and also the significance of the city in my personal journey in life. The heart space was opened naturally.

Leadership paradigm and ecosystem awareness

Many times when in a conversation with friends, we realize how the current paradigm of leadership does not serve the whole. And not only it does not serve, but it creates the results that none of us is looking for in the long run. Therefore, it’s important to shift the leadership paradigm in order for us to collectively innovate new social structures that are organic, holistic and at the service of the people and the planet.

A few days ago I had a heart-opening conversation with my friend Kristina, and this issue came to surface again. We recognized the following fundamental shifts in our modern paradigm that is already happening, which could be extended to the leadership paradigm as well:

Spacial dynamics and the source of intelligence

When I sat today at a coffee place by a lake in Dubai, I suddenly sensed a vibe within me to come here and write down some words. The vibe brought me back Filiz’s words on Spacial Dynamics > MedicineWords.

How much are our moods, feelings, thoughts and actions affected by the energies of the space? How much are we aware of such energies, and how would it affect our life journeys if we become more conscious of them?

The DNA of a collective field

As Otto Scharmer and many other thought leaders call it, shifting from an Egosystem awareness to Ecosystem awareness is the essence of leadership at this time. For that to happen, we are called to consciously (re-)invent and give shape to the basic patterns of our collective fields.
How do we come together?
How do we think and sense together?
And how do we create together?

It’s not just about coming together in any form, or with the patterns of the past that we are conditioned with. We need to become aware of the level of attention and intention that we bring to our collective fields, and invent the new patterns and processes that will allow us re-align our energies with the larger systems within which we are operating. These core patterns could actually be seen as the DNA of a new species.

Dancing with the crisis

How is the word ‘crisis’ perceived by you? Think about it!

For many people it’s associated with ‘a big problem’, and therefore something to be avoided as much as possible. And if it shows up, to be quickly fixed. Take the case of Wikileaks’ Cablegate as an example. Many know the case as a major crisis in the political world. How did the US government go around it?

Well, at first they tried to stop the information to be publicized, using many different strategies including legal threats to Wikileaks’ owners. And when the information was out, when the crisis showed up, Hilary Clinton was all over the place to fix the ‘problem’. The question is, how many times do you see those patterns of relating to a crisis around you? Avoiding and then quick-fixing?