ExploreForce Inquiries

Another day in paradise, 2011.  3:22pm

This page is designed to help contextualize some of the inquiries I suggest we engage in.

Michael Skye here.  That's me above presenting at a VisionForce Summit in Jim Channon's bioport in his permaculture paradise at the top of a mountain on the Big Island in 2008.

Jim pioneered the idea of the Warrior Monk, a soldier masterful with the most advanced mind-science who could use peaceful methods on the battlefield to defeat the enemy.  He invented a proto-mythology with his First Earth Battalion field manual (download here), which spread amongst the military's ranks.

In 1978, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Channon  announced that he worked for the planet.  
 

While at the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Channon spent two years researching the value of the human potential movement. He created a proto-mythology for the soldier of the future known as The First Earth Battalion. These warrior monks would dedicate their allegiance, first and foremost, to people and planet.

Jim's visionary journey was satirized in the recent Hollywood film starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, Men Who Stare At Goats:

The film's title references one of the military's experiments, in which soldiers stared at goats to see if they could kill them with their thoughts.  (Apparently one died, but probably from just dumb luck! haha)

In my opinion the trailer of Men Who Stare At Goats is a lot funnier than the actual film, which for me was disappointing.   The end of the film portrays Jim, who in reality leads a very visionary life, in a dishonoring way.

I won't go on and on about Jim here.  (But who knows... as part of VisionForce's newly emerging ExploreForce, maybe you'll join us at our next VisionForce Summit at Jim's permaculture paradise in Hawaii?  Jim has a standing invitation to us, but I've not confirmed dates, etc. What if?)

My invitation to you concerns a different kind of mission.

If you choose to be an early member of ExploreForce, our working name for our project, we will be delving into some of the same corners of the galaxy that Jim did, but with an eye towards FACING what many are not facing in the realms of human development.

In the 70's human development was far from the mainstream.  Much of it was taboo, in fact.  Now, it seems that human development has become quite mainstream... and it's become somewhat taboo to question much of it.

I'm writing you from from a little internet cafe in South Brazil near the pousada below.  I'm about to start a little workshop tour through several cities of Brazil (site), but doing it the easy way, after having experienced so many crazy things as someone who is working to "be the change" in our world over the last decade.

I feel I've got some fresh eyes to look at the frontiers of those of us who are "agents of change," or in a sense Warrior Monks.  Away from "the front lines" and immersed in other cultures for the last two years, I feel I've got some very revealing things to report.

You may have received my emails recently, in which I started a conversation critical of many aspects of "American Guru" ways and current American Culture?

Well, it's been a month since then.  I took my time to to reflect on all of this...

And, I have worked out a format to continue to develop this American Guru conversation in a way that is very exciting for me. 

So, if you, too, are excited about it, I invite you to consider joining me.

Exploring Big Questions

Here are a few of the Big Questions (and some taboo ones!) I plan to take on... and make public (and I would love your support, ideas and participation):

• The Secret / The Law of Attraction:

  • Is there a dark side to "The Law of Attraction" and "Prosperity Consciousness?"
     

  • Are there real people being harmed by these ideas, some who are promoting them, and the way that many people relate to them?
     

  • Can we trust people like star of The Secret, James Arthur Ray, after the scandal in Sedona? 
     

  • Does what happened there point to any big "secrets" to American Culture that are undermining our culture itself, and cultures and people around the world, who emulate American Culture?
     

  • Why have the respected leaders of the Transformational Leadership Council, who also starred in The Secret, remained silent (The Reverend Michael Beckwith, Bill Harris, etc.)?  And Oprah?  What does their silence mean?  What does this say about how trustworthy other "American Gurus" are?
     

  • And if you are ever in a position as a teacher or a leader, and people are harmed, who will stand with you besides your attorney?  Where are Ray's allies?
     

  • Are there dynamics about American Culture that keep otherwise well-intentioned and integrous leaders from being more transparent and trustworthy? 
     

  • Does the way that many "American Gurus" teach keep folks from evolving into visionary leaders of their own lives?  If so, how? 
     

  • There are other ideas in the realm of human development I'd like to explore with both a critical and an honoring eye, including my own ideas.  There are no sacred cows in this exploration!
     

• American Culture

  • Is America facing real crises right now (financial, environmental, emotional, familial, drug abuse, violence, prison system, etc.)?  And, if so, what role are our leaders playing? 
     

  • Do the American Dream and typical American values such as hope and faith play integral roles in perpetuating our crises?  How might such values, unexamined, be undermining the rest of our values and perpetuating the crises we face?
     

  • How does culture perpetuate itself by our actions to change it?  How might I, you, we be perpetuating our crises by "doing our part" to "be the change?
     

  • How free are we really?  Does pursuing the American Dream tend to give us what we're really after?  Even those of us who succeed?  Really?  (I'll share what I've learned from my extensive travels on six continents over the last two years, and we'll talk to some brilliant minds on this topic)
     

  • Is it possible that the US is on a collision course with reality?  A wake up call far beyond the Great Recession? 
     

  • If so, are you ready?  Are there ways you are doing the American thing... keeping hope and faith alive, dreaming bigger, working harder, being patriotic and believing in essential American Greatness, never giving up, being heroic, etc., that are preventing you from the actions that would lead you to real wealth?
     

  • What is real wealth?  How has culture defined it for us?  How might that definition be preventing us from experience more wealth? 
     

  • By the way I've long been one of the biggest advocates of the American Way.  My ancestors migrated to the Pennsylvania colony well before we became a country, and were pioneers in the Wild West.  I've been staunchly free-mind, free-markets my whole adult life, having been hugely influenced by the greatest defender of Capitalism, Ayn Rand.  So, my criticism is not coming from someone who does not honor or value much of what is beautiful about America.
     

• The Guru Business  (I am including the Network Marketing industry, the "How To Be A Well-Paid Expert" Self-Help Industry, etc.)

  • Are there dark sides or secrets to the industries selling meaning-making entrepreneurship to folks? 
     

  • Could there be a "bubble" in such industries?  And if/when the bubble pops, who gets hurt? 
     

  • How could you be hurt by the popping of such a bubble, whether as a buyer or seller, a teacher or student?
     

  • What could the beautiful potential be for such industries, if there were more trust and transparency in these industries?
     

  • What are the cultural dynamics that prevent more trust and transparency?
     

  • How might you be selling or buying a "bag of goods" in such industries?
     

  • What are the tempting teaching shortcuts that many leaders, facilitators, coaches and teachers take, which prevent people from "developing" into more of their own authorities?
     

  • What are the tempting selling shortcuts that many leaders, facilitators, coaches and teachers take, which prevent people from "developing" into more of their own authorities?
     

  • What are the hidden secrets of the origins of many of the biggest human development programs?  How can learning about such origins impact our own teaching and leadership for the better?
     

  • What is the future of this industry?  What trends are emerging that threaten to make the trainings that so many are paying for virtually obsolete?
     

  • What other promising and emerging models are there for human development?  What can I personally share from the many different ways I've offered my work?  (lots to share about how I'm doing it in South America now too!)
     

  • How could life be so much easier for those who are leaders, teachers, coaches, etc., if they're not subscribed to the vision of life being sold to us?
     

  • How can we take people even deeper by switching our approaches to coaching, training, teaching, facilitating, etc.?

Etc., etc.

I'm not going to list all of the big questions... in part, because I desire to form such questions in dialogue with you and others. 

My point is, I want to explore, to peer into, to look at the critical issues that most are not looking at.  I've learned so much as someone who is in this industry of empowering others.  And I am prepared to share humiliating learnings of my own, as well as what I've experienced with other leaders and would-be leaders.

That's what our newly emerging ExploreForce will do.

I see us...

Pioneering A Visionary Learning Environment for Teachers, Coaches, Facilitators And Leaders

Beyond just delving into these big questions, however, I’m going to use this exploration to develop a rich visionary learning environment (VLE) for those who would be Visionary Teachers and Leaders.   This includes,

• coaches
• facilitators
• trainers
• teachers
• consultants
• etc.

There are some very big distinctions I’d like to make between old ways of being a teacher, facilitator, coach or “guru” (again, I use the term very loosely), and the new ways. 

The old ways have resulted in the world we have today—many brilliant minds who’ve created an advanced technological reality on many fronts, but with ridiculous crises that we can’t seem to get a grip on.  How can we be so smart in some ways, yet so… un-visionary in others?

There are other great inquiries involved... like how do we make a shift in how we parent, raise, educate, nurture our youth to become visionary creators who value living in harmony with their world and others at a next level?

Folks who are daring to combine entrepreneurship with teaching others in the realm of human development, spirituality, business, etc., are part of some exciting new trends that promise the world a more liberated, conscious and empowered populace.

But often they/we are teaching/facilitating/coaching/consulting/leading as if there is a simple and fairly static reality that they’ve already figured out.  They’re feeding edumacation to those who desire to finally “figure out” our crazy world and have a greater sense of comfort, peace and confidence.  As if there are simple “answers,” or as if the students are living in the same world that the teacher learned his answers in!  As if, as if…!!! 

There’s so much to say about this whole realm of inquiry, including addressing business practices, educational environments, etc., but I think you get the idea.

From Positionary Teacher of the Past
to Visionary Teacher of the Future
(and substitute your own word for teacher: leader, coach, facilitator, etc.)

A grand inquiry in this quest to go from the educator/leader of the past to the educator/leader of the future.  This is how I can address the American Guru phenomenon I was writing to you about.

If you remember my Visionary Mind Shifts course I created online in early 2006 (wow, 5 years?!), you remember it as a set of paradigm shifting distinctions, or “mind-shifts.”

It was particularly designed to invite folks into shifting…

From the Positionary Mind of the Past
to the Visionary Mind of the Future.

 It included mind-shifts such as:

• Stand vs. Position

• Goodness vs. Greatness

• Visionary vs. Positionary

I foresee us drawing in part on what was effective about that course, and likely use it while looking at Teachers.  For example, in one mind shift I can show how,

The Positionary Teacher of The Past might often tend to act as if we are still living in a stable world, where the West has won, and our Cultural Dream is a foundation to build upon… ignoring how big a difference the world of yesterday might look from the world of a year or two from now…

The Visionary Teacher of the Future openly faces many of the grand crises and conflicts of our world, and invites people into a courageous inquiry.  An example might be what the Pachamama folks are doing with the Awaken The Dreamer conversation.

I have a vision for creating courses/journeys/inquiries/adventures of visionary learning for those making the shift from Positionary Parents to Visionary Parents, from Positionary PeaceMakers to Visionary PeaceMakers from Positionary Power to Visionary Power, etc., etc.

But going beyond the Visionary Mind Shifts course, which was not the ultimate visionary learning environment, and not interactive at all, really… I envision us pioneering a Visionary Learning Environment (VLE) that I might use for the VisionForce Academy going forward.

Read more about terms like Visionary Learning Environment and VisionForce Academy here.

Read more about the current vision of the structure for this journey here.

OK...

If this isn't enough to interest you, that's fine. 

If you're ready, here we go.

I'm about to ask you to make a financial contribution to our ExploreForce adventure.  And I'm doing it without making any promises or guarantees.  If I haven't already provided lots of value to you through my free offerings and in other ways... or if you don't already trust my intention, then pass on this, OK?

If you, though, value this exploration, and wish to contribute both financially and with your brilliance, audacious questions, love and support, then, let's do this.

ExploreForce 

(c) Copyright 2011 VisionForce