The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits

Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. But a recent study of 12 high-impact nonprofits including Teach for America, Habitat for Humanity and the Exploratorium shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others. The secret to their success lies in how they mobilize every sector of society -- government, business, nonprofits, and the public –- to be a force for good.

In this thought-provoking article, authors Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield crystallize their findings into six pithy practices that high-impact non-profits use to achieve extraordinary results.

READ ARTICLE: HERE

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success". --Henry Ford

Zentertainment Talk Radio

Conscious Radio Discovering Life's Possibilities ~

Host Jo Davidson describes Zentertainment Talk Radio as "a place to discover (or uncover) creativity, healing, peace, and laughter." Jo's soul-full voice, deep compassion and keen intelligence inform her interviews with a variety of facinating people.

LISTEN TO JO'S WONDERFUL AND INSPIRING MUSIC & INTERVIEWS: HERE

Deep Dialogue and Mindfull Change

While meditation strives for one-pointedness, dialogue attempts to enact multi-pointedness: dialogue focuses on each speaker, with multiple nodes of meaning, intention and response. Rather than transcending "the world," dialogue works with raw materials of the world, creating coherence & meaning out of the blitz of our multitasking 21st-century.

We suggest that an integral approach to change-making must engage the rich tapestry of Life-processes and include deeper 'dialogues' - between people, institutions, ecosystems, cultures and the artifactual world. It is only through such ‘deep dialogue’ that we will begin to effectively align our efforts to co-create a more aware & sustainable world.

READ MORE ABOUT DEEP DIALOGUE: HERE

Decision-Making In Psychiatric Patients

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine suggest that psychiatrists may need to approach the treatment of psychiatric patients from a new direction -- by understanding that individual's behavior and decision-making are based on an attempt to reach an inner equilibrium.

In an upcoming paper in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, Martin Paulus M.D., professor in UCSD's Department of Psychiatry, cites the complex affective, cognitive and behavioral phenomena that come into play during decision-making.

Paulus compiled a body of growing evidence in the October 26 issue of the journal Science, that demonstrates how human decision-making is inextricably linked to an individuals' need to maintain a homeostatic balance.

READ MORE: HERE

Integral Embrace: A Plea for Solidarity

In a recent letter to the readers of the Integral World website, author and Now & Zen founder Steve McIntosh sounded the call for solidarity among the diverse community of people interested in the Integral Movement.

Steve suggests attempting “to build cohesion within the integral movement and to exhibit a sense of ownership and commitment to this emerging new worldview.”

READ THE FULL LETTER: HERE

Questioning Kazlev's Redefinitions

In a recent blog post, author Joe Perez argues that M. Alan Kazlev’s recent essay and assessment of the Integral Movement leaves much to be desired. Among other criticisms, Perez questions Kazlev’s various definitions of integral culture/thought, and suggests that Kazlev is largely unfamiliar with Ken Wilber’s recent writing on the topic of advanced spiritual development.

READ THE FULL REVIEW: HERE

You can find Joe’s own definition of Integral (2006)--called STEAM--in his book Rising Up: Reflections on Gay Culture, Politics, Spirit.

This definition is available in a free preview ebook version: HERE.

BC Healthy Communities: An Integral Approach to Capacity Building

Experience shows that efforts to build healthy communities will be more successful and more sustainable when capacity building is front and centre. In short, capacity building and community development go hand in hand.

BC Healthy Communities (BCHC) has adopted an integral approach to capacity building, one that addresses the whole person within the whole community. An integral lens helps BCHC deal with the important interconnections among people, organizations, and sectors. BCHC uses it’s approach to address the interconnections among the multiple determinants of health, well-being and healthy development.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: HERE

Integral Forestry: People, Planning and Ecology in the Slocan Valley

In January 2004 Next Step Integral’s founder, Stephan Martineau, initiated an attempt to implement an Integral Approach to Forestry in the Slocan Valley of British-Columbia in collaboration with several grass roots organizations.

The Slocan Valley seemed like the perfect candidate for such a project. How so? It had all the elements that would lead anyone to predict guaranteed failure. If an integral approach were to be successful, it would speak loudly for the approach.

READ ABOUT THE PROJECT: HERE

ALSO - READ AN INTERVIEW WITH STEPHAN: HERE

Blog Action Day Oct 15th, 2007!

SEE THE FINAL RESULTS OF THIS GLOBAL PROJECT: HERE -- ALSO READ: THIS

Self-Transformation & Praxis - Part 1

An Interview with Michael Murphy

This is the first in a series of posts that will examine the history & evolution of contemporary integrative transformative practices.

In this interview Michael Murphy reviews how he came to promote integral practices as the best way of transforming self - and as a result, the world.

READ FULL INTERVIEW: HERE

The Ecology of Genes: New Findings Shatter Previous Genetic Theory

New findings have discovered that the human genome may be highly networked. That is, genes do not operate in isolation, but rather they are networked together in a far more complex ecosystem than previously thought. It may be impossible to separate one gene from another in fact.

This throws into question not only our understanding of genetics and the human genome, but also the whole genomics industry, which relies heavily on the idea that genes and drugs based on them can be patented.

READ MORE: HERE

The Dynamics of Work: Energy, Self and Spirit

The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource. According to this Harvard Business Review article, energy is a different story.

Defined in physics as simply the capacity to work, this article argues that energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings: the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. In each, energy can be systematically expanded and regularly renewed by establishing behaviors that are intentionally practiced and precisely scheduled -- in other words, the importance of managing energy over time.


READ FULL ARTICLE: HERE

"The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have."

-- Norman Vincent Peale

The Spirituality of Tomorrow?