Joseph McCormick on Heartland Security Radio

It’s Time for “Politics as Unusual”:
Beyond Left and Right, to Front and Center

“We need a transpartisan movement to help us overcome the partisan trance.”
-- Swami Beyondananda

It’s become abundantly clear over the past decade that the key missing ingredient in government of, by and for the people is – the people! Our guest this week, Joseph McCormick, head of the Transpartisan Alliance and convener of the Citizens Summit in Denver, February 11th through 15th is an expert in communicating beyond the left / right political divide. If you’re tired of politics as usual, and ready for politics as unusual, please tune in for a truly inspiring, enlightening and encouraging interview.

Joseph McCormick, co-founder of Reuniting America and the Transpartisan Alliance, seeks to bridge political divisions by helping to re-connect us -- in our civic practice -- to the unifying principles accepted by all Americans. From his experience of over a decade in Republican politics and through hours of dialogue with leaders, experts and average people about the state of our democratic republic, he recognizes the most destructive force in our country today is Americans taking sides against Americans. He is a former officer in the U.S. Army Rangers, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and has a degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University.

The show airs Tuesday, January 27th at 11 a.m. PCT, 2 p.m. EST, and again at 6 p.m. PCT, 9 p.m. EST on the World Puja Network.

Please visit the Heartland Radio page for links to January's shows that are now available for on-demand listening and downloading.

Heartland Security Radio

Greetings Heartland Community!

Deepest apologies for the temporary down time of the site - we had to change servers and take care of some end of the year and beginning of the new year business. Heartland Team and I have some great news and stories to share in the weeks to come and I hope you all have enjoyed the holidays these past few weeks.

For now we wanted to share with you the latest development for our community -

Introducing Heartland Security Radio

We are pleased to announce the debut of our new radio show, Heartland Security, heard every Tuesday 11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern and again at 6 pm Pacific / 9 pm Eastern onWorld Puja Network beginning Tuesday, January 6th. Listen live! (Easy registration required - it's free.) Or, if you miss the show, you can catch it any time in the World Puja Archives.

Each show will include some humorous and serious "uncommontary" from uncommonly wise allies, and interviews with those who are making a real difference in the domains of Heart (loving coherence, and spiritual connection), Land (green economy and sustainable abundance) and Security (respectful relations with humans, earth and all living things).

Our first guest is Dr. Bruce Lipton, who will help lay the foundation for the entire Heartland Security concept. If you're feeling hopeless, frustrated or disheartened about our current concurrent crises, this discussion will lift your spirits and offer paradigm-shattering evidence that these crises hold the seeds of inevitable evolutionary opportunity!

You can read more about upcoming programs here.
http://www.worldpuja.org/ heartland-security.php

Tell your friends, family, associates and anyone ready to shift their energy from "fixing" the caterpillar to building the butterfly.

Let's weave a web of mass construction together!

Heartwaves

Steve & the Heartland Team

Happy Holiday's

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Well it’s been an awesome autumn. (I’m always reluctant to say “great fall,” particularly after what happened to Humpty Dumpty.) Our nation and the world has taken an important step toward political climate change, and now the next important steps are up to us.

I appreciate your interest in and support of Heartland Security as we stand on the brink of exciting new times. First, on a personal level I am happy to report that Bruce Lipton and I are about to sign a publishing contract, and Spontaneous Evolution will be out in the middle of 2009. This has taken -- and is taking -- focused work at this time, so forgive me if I’ve been out of communication. It’s all good though, because this book stands as the foundation for the new story of “We’re all in it together.”

Upon looking carefully at the calendar, I noticed that our projected launch date of January 11th is going to be moved to mid-February, Presidents Day -- which we call Precedents Day, because of the new precedent we will be initiating (see below). We still plan to have a sample chapter -- along with the Founders Page -- up and out by January 11th - This will spur interest and build up momentum for the launch....and we will be celebrating the first "Interdependent Day" which is being initiated by the Interdependent Project - more later about this special event.

Speaking of Precedents Day, I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to be a prime organizer and a speaker at the Transpartisan Alliance Citizens Summit,
http://www.transpartisan.net/ February 11th-15th in Denver. This world-changing event seeks to bring together citizens from across the political spectrum to initiate a Citizens Alliance as an unofficial -- and yet hugely important -- fourth branch of government. Let me say this. I have been interested in politics ever since I was a youngster, and this is event and organization offers more promise for breakthrough than anything I have seen in my lifetime.

We will coincide our launch with this conference so as to “feed two birds with one scone.” And we will update you on details, including how you can become a delegate.

Another important development is that I will be launching a Heartland Security radio show hosted by the World Puja Network beginning in January. This will reach 98 countries, and offer a “voice” to projects and people who are weaving this web of mass construction. We will have more details on advertising, etc. later this month.

As Heartland Security takes shape, we are seeing it more and more as a “holistic playground” where those who recognize the interrelatedness of all the domains like spirituality, psychology, economy, politics, the environment are all part of one interwoven conversation, can learn about, support and adopt projects that are actually helping to “re-grow the Garden.” We see it not just as a place to talk about great ideas, but a vehicle and venue for participation in a great experiential experiment. Please feel free to offer ideas, particularly as to what you would like to have us focus on, and ways you would like to participate.

Thanks again for your support past, present and future.

May the “up-wising” continue, and may we re-grow the Garden together, and have a heaven of a time doing it.

Steve Bhaerman

A "Mandate" for Political Climate Change

A "Mandate" for Political Climate Change One Man, Two Dates The Man: Barack Obama The Dates: November 4, 2008, Election Day January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day "The Republicans' success is based on their ability to activate not just the base, but the basest of the base." -- Swami Beyondananda Last month, I caused a bit of a stir when I reprinted a Deepak Chopra piece suggesting the Sarah Palin phenomenon represented the shadow side of the evolutionary hope engendered by the Obama candidacy. I purposely sent it to everyone on my BeyondaNews list because I believe the choice we face in the coming weeks and months is so profound that even the "apolitical" need to be awakened. Several of my conservative readers took exception to Deepak's words and perspective. I also got a few emails suggesting that Obama is part of the same dysfunctional system, himself a tool of empire, so what difference will it make to vote for him? Since the crises we face are even more in our face than they were last month, and since the McCain-Palin campaign is resorting to fear-mongering and race-baiting in their last desperate attempt to win at any cost (as Swami says, "Who needs a program, when you can use programming?"), I am once again taking the liberty of sending this issue of Notes From the Trail out to my entire list. In an attempt to "go deeper than Deepak," I will seek to respectfully address some of what was perceived as insulting to conservatives. At the same time, I will highlight the evolutionary nature of the upcoming election, and how to address the ominous signs of a regime entrenching its dictatorial powers. Apologies in advance for a lengthy piece. As the old saying goes, I would have written something shorter, but I didn't have the time. G.O.P, R.I.P.? While on my tour last month, someone raised a challenging question. Since it seemed as if I was supporting Obama, she asked, what do I say to Republicans in my audience? The first thing that came to mind was, "I am so sorry for your loss." I wasn't necessarily talking about the Republicans losing the election this year. They can still win it by activating the base - fear, prejudice, arrogant ignorance, the basest instincts of the body politic. And of course, they can win it if they use their energy - what the Chinese call ch'i - to keep voters from going to the polls, or keep votes from being counted fairly. Ch'i ting, it is called. The sad loss I refer to goes far deeper than one election. The loss is, the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater has become the party of Bush, Cheney, McCain and Sarah Palin. The Republicans who ended slavery, started conservation, warned against the military industrial complex, and reminded us that free people don't need a police state to protect them, are all no doubt flipping in their crypts right now. So let's not mistake what my friend Caroline Casey calls the "toxic mimic" of conservatism for the real thing. At a time when there is plenty of heat and not enough light, it's important to acknowledge why thinking and caring Americans have voted Republican in the past: They support fiscal fitness and financial responsibility. They recognize the negative impact over-regulation and bureaucracy has had on small business owners. They appreciate business as a "bottom line" where people must show up and produce results daily, whereas so many social critics enjoy what a friend of mine used to call "the leisure of the theory class." They reject the habit of throwing money at social problems rather than calling for individual responsibility. (After all, as Swami says, "the leading cause of welfare mothers is farewell fathers.") They understand the need for a strong defense to protect our country. They are dismayed at unraveling social structures and disappearing moral values. They see the folly of perpetuating handicaps by "coddling" the underprivileged out of guilt rather than calling forth their highest abilities. They are concerned that criticism of America has become distorted into hatred of America, and that those who have given life and limb to defend this country have been disrespected. As Teddy Roosevelt, who emphasized conserving our natural resources, and Barry Goldwater, who emphasized conserving our Constitutional protections clearly demonstrated, conservatism has a higher octave. It was significant, however, that when a descendant of Teddy Roosevelt spoke to the 2000 Republican convention about environmentalism, he was laughed at, booed and otherwise disrespected. Even more significantly, the Bush Administration has perpetrated the greatest theft of individual liberties and Constitutional protection in American history. And in contrast to the clichéd "tax and spend Democrats," we have had eight years of "borrow and spend Republicans," who have come far closer to bankrupting America than any Democratic administration ever has. This "devolution" where Republicans became Banana Republicans seemingly determined to turn our prosperous and free country into just another banana republic, likely began with the disgraced Nixon Administration. But the "plumbers" Nixon employed had nothing on those who would plumb the depths of fear and distortion to make sure that the interests of the few would triumph over the good of the many. The politics of "activating the base" came into full "flower" when Ronald Reagan launched his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the town where three civil rights workers had been murdered just sixteen years earlier. Thanks to what was termed the "southern strategy" where the "Great Communicator" seemed to give a wink and nod to the white folks who allowed those murders to take place, our entire political discourse has gone south. Then came Lee Atwater, George Bush, Sr.'s campaign manager in 1988, with the Willie Horton ads which insinuated that Democratic candidate Dukakis, while governor of Massachusetts, was responsible for the furlough of a convicted felon who escaped and committed rape and assault. Atwater, incidentally, publicly apologized before his death from a brain tumor. But that didn't stop Karl Rove, and the young Rovian wannabes seeking to employ their machiavellian skills to toxify the body politic. You can see these people on Fox News (as you numerologists may know, and you Revelations revelers may not, in numerology F-O-X = 6-6-6), who simply keep on lying. Sad to say, but in perverse paradox the current Republican Party's greatest asset is their lie-ability. Even worse -- if that's possible -- they extend the lies by accusing their opponents of doing the same thing they've been doing. The big story on Newsmax, the conservative news service, is how Obama plans to steal the election.

We have been so inundated with lies -- under the cover of the pervasive, media-reinforced belief that "all politicians lie" -- that we the body politic seem to have lost our bearings and our discernment. We no longer know who is lying and who is telling the truth. It's easier to assume they're all lying and let it go at that. We no longer recognize functionality, a rare trait that has nearly disappeared from the political scene. But it is precisely that functionality that can and will get us from where we are now to where we need to go. Functionality: The Bridge From the Ideal to the Real Deal There is a certain "safety" in being an idealist. Up in the ivory tower of some perfected reality, one can imagine a better world and dream what it might be like to live there. On the positive side, there can be no transformation without first imagining it. The downside, however, is to be so enamored of how things could be that we miss the opportunity to build a reality bridge from here to there (or perhaps, more accurately, from there to here). Whether we tend toward spiritual idealism, economic idealism or political idealism, each of us must face the "messy" day-to-day reality of a world undergoing upheaval (not to mention, "downheaval"). Thanks to obsolete belief systems -- both religious and materialistic -- far too many of us dwell in one world or the other. Either we are "hopium addicts" wishing that some force outside ourselves would cause the world to conform to our dreams, or we are "cynical realists" who refuse to dream at all. Either polarity is a recipe for impotence. We now have the opportunity to take an evolutionary step forward, not to immediately inhabit a perfect world but merely to begin to build a better one. Think of it this way. Imagine you are having a serious health challenge. You are given two choices. First choice is to continue doing pretty much what you've been doing, facing the prospects of things getting worse before they get better -- and the possibility they might not get better at all. The other would be to change course in the direction of taking a small yet definite step towards health. Which would you choose? Hint # 1. A friend who is an ayurvedic physician once told me that the purpose of ayurvedic medicine is to reverse a downward trend in health before the patient hits bottom. Hint # 2. Swami Beyondananda has said, "I'd rather have positive change in small increments than negative change in large excrements." Those who insist on the "it needs to get worse before it gets better" approach to world affairs, should ask themselves if they would take that approach regarding their own personal health. If the answer is no, why would you wish this on your fellow Americans and the world? In my journey writing a book with Bruce Lipton on humanity's evolutionary destiny, I have been immersed in the ideal. I've been awed at the intelligence of nature and our cells. I've been able to envision both a political and economic system where we "embody" this wisdom through the understanding that we are each and all cells in the body of humanity. The upcoming book has a title: Spontaneous Evolution. It also has a subtitle: "Our Positive Future and How to Get There From Here." Given the real challenges we face as individuals, as communities, as a humanity and as a world, what a waste of time it would be to paint a compelling picture of the ideal destination, without offering the real deal pathways. The way we live into that healthier world is by making healthy choices, here and now, one choice at a time. Each healthy choice -- however small -- builds health, and increases the possibilities for health in our future. This works politically, as well as individually. Consider the "small" change we collectively made two years ago. By a relatively slim margin, the Democrats gained control of both Houses of Congress. While many progressives complain of lack of progress despite Democratic Party control, this slight shift to the left had two positive effects. First, it slowed the momentum toward the worst case scenarios. As one small blessing, the bombing of Iran that has been talked about and predicted for two years for some reason hasn't materialized. Could it be that this small change has provided at least a small check on unlimited power? The second change might be less visible and yet more significant. The collective "field" called the body politic of America shifted its weight toward a Democratic majority in Congress, and by doing so asserted its preference not to live under fascist rule. This collective unconscious decision in no way stopped the plans of those in power to establish totalitarianism as the only way to secure their own dominance. As we will see shortly, this is an undeniable tendency and choice that must be dealt with. But by making the collective choice to disempower the powerful abusers currently in power, an entirely new set of possibilities has been set in motion -- including the unlikely candidacy of Barack Obama. In my opinion, he was able to best frontrunner Hillary Clinton for one reason, and one reason alone: He is attuned with the evolutionary essence of the times.

Hillary spoke of "me," Obama of "we." In a recent speech, Obama reiterated the evolutionary credo Bruce Lipton and I extrapolated from the highly-successful, highly-functional cellular community beneath our skin: "We're all in it together." You might say, "So what? Talk is cheap." Maybe so, but talk determines how we think. As linguist and political theorist George Lakoff says in his excellent new book, The Political Mind, language reinforces the "mind fields" that determine collective belief and behavior. Lakoff maintains that when issues are woven together into a coherent "story" (as the Republicans have done over the past decade), each of the individual issues are reinforced and solidify into a political philosophy. The theme "we're all in it together" ties together all of the disparate progressive planks of environmentalism, health care, social justice, and protection of the nurturer rather than the predator. Now confirmed by science as the operating system for cells, organs, organisms and environments, it echoes the nugget of gold underneath every religious, spiritual and ethical system: Some version of the Golden Rule. While conservatives are rightly wary of those who would take advantage of a benevolent community (in much the same way our body maintains a strong immune system), the protection system must serve life, rather than the other way around. As an example, consider the egg. The shell protects the precious contents inside, and yet the shell must break if we are to have any chickens. Ultimately, life rules. Structure is secondary, and must yield to life moving forward. It serves life, and serves at the "pleasure" of life. The most recent regime, the culmination of 5,000 years of "lowest common dominator" domination, preserves structure above all else. Thus, the military becomes an end, not a means. As Lakoff -- again, brilliantly -- points out, "the war on terror" is a more benign name for "war never-ending." It is in institutionalizing war as a way of being that this Administration, and those following in its stealthy footsteps, take us down the inevitable track of totalitarian control. Perhaps this is why at least two notable conservatives, Chris Buckley (William F. Buckley's son) and Frank Schaeffer, one of the founders of the Religious Right, are supporting Obama. Are they deluded? "Traitors" to their cause? Read what they have to say, and then you decide. What they seem to recognize in Obama is a genuine conservative character trait, functionality. Even Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair's prickly commentator who has supported George Bush's war on radical Islam, has endorsed Obama, as has hippie-turned-Republican Dennis Hopper. Besides Deepak Chopra, dozens of other spiritual teachers and thought leaders have stepped out from behind the polite wall of impartiality and declared that Obama represents the next functional step in a livable world. Not one of these endorsements asserts that Barack Obama is some kind of messiah. Quite the opposite. Every one of the endorsements I've read is carefully qualified, because the intelligent understanding is that in this next phase of evolution, we the people must become the primary enlightened power. This "we the people" is not some self-serving mob nudging for a snack at the pork barrel trough, but rather represents the functional understanding that a world where "we're all in it together" is a better world for all. As a critical mass of us begin to understand, accept and live from the contention that we are each and all cells in the body of humanity, we recognize that just as a healthy body must have a healthy and coherent central voice, so the body of humanity must at times "speak as one." This is one of those times. Yes, we have a number of worthy candidates running on third, fourth and fifth party tickets who represent truth and integrity. None of them can or will win this time. Come January, either McCain-Palin or Barack Obama will take office. Which of these two is most likely to take us towards a field of healthy possibilities? You might rightly ask, "Isn't Barack Obama in bed with the likes of Zbigniew Brzezinski, and the same power structure George Bush is part of?" Yes and no. Paradoxically, part of being functional is being part of the empire. The empire exists. It has untold power over the masses. However, I believe that inside this empire -- as is true in every institution, from corporations to schools to the military -- there are healthy forces, and harmful forces. Were we to dismiss empire completely, then we blow up any bridge from here to anywhere else because we write off any allies we have on the "inside." As anyone familiar with the empire's formidable power will understand, this transformation cannot occur without functional forces everywhere stepping up to face the real problems we have with the full force of all our resources, intelligence and spiritual fortitude. What I refer to as "functionality" is not about forcing an unworkable system to work, but rather represents the evolutionary awareness we most desperately need. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "functional" means "... contributing to the development or maintenance of a larger whole." That larger whole in this case is the newly-emerging organism we call "humanity." If ever there were a time to put ideology aside and focus primarily on moving in a direction that provides new and healthy possibilities, this is it. Perhaps this is why avowed lifelong Republicans have shifted their support to Obama. And perhaps it is why those who believe Obama "isn't progressive enough" might considering doing the same.

Finally, if we are to live into this new organism called humanity, we might use this election as a practice to "throw our weight around." Again, let's be clear. Voting for Obama -- and even for a Democratic majority in Congress -- has very little to do with supporting the Democrats. The Democratic Party has shown itself no more deserving of our support than the Republicans have. However, context is everything. And if we define the context of this election as "A Mandate for Political Climate Change," then we shift the usual paradigm of the Democratic Party using us, to us using them -- as a vehicle to restore the power of we the people. An overwhelming, decisive landslide victory for Obama will tell America and the world that there is an appetite for something new. It indicates that we have the courage to move forward, and are willing to move past the fear-based tugs that take us backward. There are some exciting "transpartisan" projects on the near horizon that will facilitate communication across the "red-blue divide," and will coalesce a force of those willing to move past right and left to come front and center to face our real problems as "adults of God." Having a functional, solution-seeking regime in charge will only help. But there is one more very important thing to deal with, perhaps the most important thing of all. In order to truly impact the "inside-the-matrix" electoral politics, we must face and understand the "outside-the-matrix" forces influencing behind the scenes. These are the scary places that include election fraud (the real stuff, not the things ACORN is being accused of), the big payoff to the financial industry at our expense, and the very real threat of martial law in America. Yes, people tend to throw up a wall and say, "I don't want to go there." Well folks, it's too late. "There" has already come "here." Fortunately, the "awful truth" comes with a ready-made "awesome opportunity." Facing Down the Fear by Facing Up to Love When Franklin D. Roosevelt said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," he wasn't just whistling "God Bless America." Well before science discovered that a state of fear makes us less intelligent and more easily manipulated, FDR recognized that in times of crisis we need all our resources. In contrast, everything about the McCain-Palin campaign -- including the selection of Palin herself -- reeks of "stupidization", fear-mongering and heavy-handed manipulation. That is why a resounding vote of no confidence in the bankrupt and bankrupting Republican hegemony is the first step toward reinstating truth, justice and responsible freedom. However, as we stand on the threshold of this great potential victory, the hobgoblins of fear are everywhere. And what is even worse, these fears are grounded in reality. We have the twin Naomis -- Naomi Klein warning of us about "disaster capitalism" that simultaneously creates and profits from disaster, and Naomi Wolf alerting us to the dangers of a fascist infrastructure already in place just in case we get too riled up about what the other Naomi is talking about. As if to reinforce Wolf's dire warning, there are now reports that military brigades have been empowered to quell domestic unrest. In regards to what might happen on election Day, we have people like Mark Crispin Miller, who has been writing about election fraud since before the 2004 election. Miller has gone from perceived "crank" to visionary prophet, as others including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Greg Palast have offered startlingly disturbing evidence of electile dysfunction, and fortunately have issued a booklet on what you can do about it. And that doesn't even scratch the surface of other perpetrations, ranging from the recent billionaire bailout plan to the questionable official story of what happened on 9/11. And while there's small percentage of people who seem to live and thrive in the netherworld of dark doings, most of us run like crazy (or like "sane") from the shadow side of politics. Sometimes it takes the darkly comic form of an actual quote I heard a few years ago. When confronted with a documented perpetration by the Bush regime, one woman protested, "Well, it may be true, but I don't believe it." At a time when awakening is required, fear and denial are two self-imposed obstacles. Which brings up the question, how do we remain steadfast in our vision, mission and intention when the forces of darkness are mobilizing for one last big push? A powerful clue comes from anthropologist Angeles Arrien, who has worked with indigenous tribes across the globe. She relates her experience with one group, who typically share their dreams upon awakening each day. When the dream is one of good fortune, those present shout out their version of "amen": "That's a healing story!" When the dream related is a bad dream, the chorus is, "And that's a story that doesn't have to happen."

What a simple yet powerful acknowledgment of an awful truth in the context of awesome opportunity, using love, courage and intention to overcome fear. Consider how easily we can be manipulated or intimidated by some unspoken fear. Then consider how speaking it becomes the first step towards "overgrowing" it. The way we "face down" these toxic possibilities is by "facing up" together in a space of love and clarity: That's a story that doesn't have to happen There are those who are frustrated that the move for impeachment, the prosecution of the current administration for war crimes, an investigation of the inconsistencies in the official 9/11 story have barely moved forward. There is a good reason for this. The body politic does not yet have the container of love, compassion, health and sanity to "metabolize" these and other political toxins that have accumulated over centuries. Those of us who can simultaneously hold "the awful truth" and the "awesome opportunity" are the leaders of this new spiritual evolution that will help heal the past and design the future. We now have that mandate for political climate change, a change that recognizes we are all cells in the body of humanity. As candidate Barack Obama said earlier this week, "If we've learned anything from this financial crisis, it's that we're all connected -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young and old are all together, and we will rise or fall as one nation, as one people. That is why I am running for President." At a time where we've too sadly learned to mistrust our own judgment, maybe it's time we took the man at his word, and affirmed the "mandate." Actually, one man, two dates. First date is Election Day, November 4th. If all goes well on the first date, we the people get a second date, Inaugural Day on January 20th. It's about time we had a functional political relationship. Imagine...a President who IS the leader for we the people instead of they the corporations, and who can inspire the sane, healthy, and functional elements all across the political spectrum. Now that's a healing story!

A Special Bonus for Making it to the End of this Long Article. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, I know. It was a long article. So just for reading till the end, just for getting this far, we are making a special offer. Between now and October 31st, if you buy the new Spontaneous Evolution 5 CD set featuring Bruce Lipton and myself, we will pick up the shipping. Just write "Special" in field marked Promotional Code, and you'll save the $4.00 shipping. If you're an early bird thinking about Holiday gifts, this might be a way to save ... between now and Halloween. Please order here. https://bear.he.net/~wakeupl/epistore/

Department of Heartland Security Recommends....

"Wise USA"

To Help Bring About Political Climate Change

"Instead of giving our leaders a piece of our minds, maybe we should try giving them a mind of our peace instead" ~ Swami Beyondandanda

In these times of political polarization and economic distress, we are launching the Department of Heartland Security to promote health, coherence, sanity and wisdom in the body politic. Prior to our official launch on January 11, 2009 we will be highlighting projects and programs that offer healing and enlightenment in the domains of Heart, Land and Security:

In the first such endorsement in the Heart domain, we are happy to present WiseUSA '08, a worldwide teleclass, meditation and ceremony to mobilize millions of people to "participate in subtle activism ... to call forth wise leadership in America.." Co-sponsored by CommonPassion.org and a host of global collaborators, the project will use leading-edge internet technologies to link millions of people in meditation and prayer in the lead up to the U.S. election to "call on Americans to use their deepest wisdom as they consider and cast their votes for President this November."
According to the WiseUSA press release, "During the teleconferences and web-discussions, participants will learn about and apply 'subtle activism,' discuss what it means to live from a place of wisdom, and explore other ideas about what can be done to support the emergence of wisdom in American politics and daily life."

The program officially began on Wednesday, October 1st with a series of teleconferences and audio webcasts featuring spiritual teachers from around the world, and will culminate in a 13 day intensive program that runs from October 25th to November 6th. This interactive program will peak on November 2, 2008 in a Global Ceremony featuring meditation, prayer and music which will simultaneously bring together public gatherings in Washington D.C. San Jose, and other major cities. These locations will be linked by videoconference and the event will be broadcast live online to hundreds of groups and tens of thousands of individuals worldwide.

Here is the proposed focus for the meditation:

We, the people, the ancestors of our great, great grandchildren call forth the deepest wisdom and highest compassion from the heart and soul of America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community and the next seven generations. May wisdom prevail in the USA. May peace prevail on Earth.

I am happy to say that I will be participating as well, leading a one-hour teleclass on Heartland Security on Monday, October 27th from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. PCT. Other featured speakers include Marianne Williamson, Gabriel Cousens M.D., Alfredo Sfeir Younis, Dattatreya Siva Baba, David Spangler, Lynne Twist, Howard Martin, James O'Dea, Elizabeth Tobin, Arthur Collins, Joseph Giove, James Twyman, Corinne McLaughlin, Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian, Max Simon, and more. You can find out more by going here, or by contacting David Nicol -- dnicol@ciis.edu, 510-525-9516 / 510-299-5698, or Joseph Giove -- jgiove@commonpassion.org, 925 215 4017.

Do we have the power to initiate a true political climate change? Well, perhaps if we all blow in the same direction at the same time, we can stir the winds of change. It couldn't hurt to try. Let's give 'em a mind of our peace!

Remember, we are the leaders we have been waiting for ... and we may very well be the answer to our own prayers!

Heartfully yours,

Steve Bhaerman and the Heartland Matrix team.

PS If you like the Official Seal of Approval, you can find more playful and brilliant renderings at Brian Narelle's official cartooning website: http://www.narellecreative.net/

From the Trail...

Dear Friends

Greetings from the great northeast! Tonight I do a show in Erie, Pennsylvania -- industrial strength comedy, we're calling it -- then tomorrow an event for the Department of Peace Campaign in Kalamazoo, and Saturday with the transcendental meditators in Fairfield, Iowa.

Everywhere I've been so far, and with everyone I speak to about it, there is a strong sense of possibility and excitement about Heartland Security, and your own response and posted remarks have been heartening. I really appreciate your being a part of it at this early and all-important stage.

As more of us "take heart" -- and of course, "give heart" -- the heartening and the up-wising continues. In spite of the media distortions and "brainwashing machine stuck on spin" people are beginning to awaken from the Sarah Palin media trance, and are beginning to see her for who she is -- George W. Bush without the intellect. Meanwhile, even Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has expressed his misgivings about giving this miss the Vice Presidency, particularly with her being one 73-year-old heartbeat away from having her rapture-seeking finger on the button.

Of course, the evolutionary momentum is much more powerful than this election, and while I believe that an Obama Presidency would be an affirmation that the body politic is ready to take an evolutionary leap, it is much more up to us these days than it is to any leader. I will be making two announcements next week regarding two powerful partnerships we have made that will help bring our dreams closer to reality.

Meanwhile, please enjoy my mini e-book, A Course In Laughter. Laughter is one of the most heartening things we can do right now. I'd noticed in the past couple of weeks since the Republican convention that many of my readers were feeling a sense of frustration and despair about the temporary bounce McCain received after naming Palin. The tone of too many emails was fearful and cheerless. So ... we need to turn that around. Time to become cheerful and fearless!

Cheerful and fearless is what attracts people, and creates awakening and encouragement. We are facing a major evolutionary change. Everything that resists this change is up -- fear of the unknown, fear about our own ability to rise to the challenge, and of course all the doubt and fear that can be stirred by those who benefit from things staying as they are.

So ... here's a true story that I hope will set us on the right path, and with vigorous energy. Years ago, I was at an outdoor picnic. A group of us were enjoying a volleyball game. However, someone brought their Shelty -- a herding dog -- and this little dog was enjoying herding all the children on to our volleyball game. What was amusing the first couple of times soon became annoying. So, I got an idea. I told folks that the next time the dog chased the kids onto the court, we -- all of us volleyball players -- were to turn as one and chase the dog. That's exactly what we did. You should have seen that poor pup as the tables were turned big time. He kept looking back, as if to say, "Hey, wait a minute! This is wrong! I'm supposed to be chasing YOU!" But he got the message. Behavior extinguished.

That's where we -- those of us who are awakened to both the awful truth and the awesome opportunity -- are today. Our country has been overtaken by a toxic force. This is no time to resign ourselves in despair, but a time to step up, stand up, and speak up -- and as the REAL moral majority, chase these "bad dogs" back to the Dark Ages where they belong. And to those who despair that "everything is controlled by a small group of individuals" I say take that as great news. It means there's way, way more of us than there are of them.

Remember, cheerful and fearless -- it's contagious.

On with the up-wising, and may the unarmed forces be victorious.

Steve Bhaerman

Welcome to the Official Founding Day Celebration of the Department of Heartland Security!

HEARTLAND SECURITY

A Call for Political Climate Change

“The best antidote to global warming is global heartwarming.”

~ Swami Beyondananda

To paraphrase Tom Paine, these are soul-trying times. In this shrinking world that could use a good shrink, we see evidence daily that we’ve reached the limits of our current operating system. Whether we call this obsolete paradigm “lowest common dominator” or “might makes right” or “every cell for himself”, a critical mass of us are coming to realize that a new level of organization is called for. We also recognize that this new paradigm cannot be imposed from the top down, but must be realized and activated from the grassroots up.

Much of this growing awareness has been in recognizing the problems we face. This is good and necessary -- up to a point. My friend Kevin Danaher puts it this way. Imagine you are on the Titanic, and you’ve just hit the iceberg (not difficult to imagine in these times of global crisis). What do you do? Do you spend your time complaining to the captain and protesting that the iceberg has been hit? Do you pretend that all is well, and rearrange the proverbial deck chairs? Or ... as Kevin playfully suggests ... do you build a parallel “party lifeboat” and build a bridge for the other passengers to walk across to join the party?
Lifeboats, anyone?

Well, here is your chance to build the new ark, because we’re in for a spell of “weather.” To actually build this new ship, we must build a new “relation-ship” with all our relations. That means, before we can deal with planetary climate change, we need to create political climate change -- what Swami calls “global heartwarming.”

Welcome to the Department of Heartland Security.....While the name is an obvious play on the more ominous “homeland security”, it is a reminder that we find true security in the land of the heart. Meaning -- we’ve been inundated with enough beliefs and ideologies to make our heads spin. Indeed, much of what we think is true is merely distorted interpretations of age-old fears. It’s as if we’re being operated by remote by dead people. The good news is, when we descend from these thought-forms that separate us, and find communion in the land of the heart, we access a much, much larger truth. This is the truth that shall set us free.

The Law of 75

Now you may be thinking, well this is a splendid ideal, but what about the nitty-gritty real deal? Love is a great sentiment, but in practical reality how can it work? Here’s an example that led me to devise what I call “The Law of 75.”

Years ago, my friend Patricia Sun was giving a talk at a new age bookstore. Outside were four fundamentalist Christians picketing the store. “I’m going to go out and talk with them,” Patricia told the store owner.

“No, you can’t reason with those people,” the store owner told her. “Don’t waste your time.”

But Patricia went and did it anyway. Within minutes, three of the four had put down their picket signs and hugged her. “You’re saying just what Jesus said,” said one. The fourth protester, however, kept his vigil.

From there, I made up the Law of 75. Given the presence of authentic love, three quarters of us are susceptible. Isn’t it interesting that to modify the U.S. Constitution, the amendment must be approved by 3/4 of the states? There’s something about 75% consensus that goes way beyond a mere majority imposing their will on everyone else. It brings us closer to a foundational “agreement” about reality.

At a time when the dueling dualities of materialistic science and fundamentalist religion are engaged in a duel to the death, maybe there is a third and more functional way that can unite us around what is perhaps the most underutilized tool in our human tool chest -- the power of love. Again, this power is tangible and measurable. The folks at the HeartMath Institute have shown that our hearts tend to entrain with one another, just the way pendulums do. Dr. Leonard Laskow,

author of Healing With Love, has demonstrated that the feelings of love and acceptance can actually shrink cancer cells.

At this time of crisis, we have very little to lose and a world to gain. Think of it this way. Science tells us that we only use a very, very small percentage of our brains. Makes you wonder, what percentage of the love in our hearts do we use?

It’s Time to Declare a State of Emerge ‘n See

We have purposely chosen the date “9/11” for our pre-launch of Heartland Security so that we offer a powerful re-frame of the fear we’ve allowed to take hold and manipulate us over the past seven years. It’s not that there are no dangers in the world. Quite the opposite. However, the most effective way to face those dangers is the way our bodies’ own immune system does it -- by surrounding and isolating the “sociopathogens” and destroying as few healthy cells as possible.

Four months from today, on January 11, 2009, we are declaring a new day that will transform the state of emergency to a state of emerge ‘n see. On the date that represents our Oneness -- One One One -- we will declare our “interdependence.” We will take a cue from the highly-successful and highly-functional community of 50 trillion cells under our skin, emerge from fear and separation and see we are each and all cells in the body of humanity.

Unlike some totalitarian “new world order,” this interdependence is the key to our next level of freedom -- the freedom from individual and collective limiting programming, and the freedom for each of us to express fully what only each of us uniquely can. I am happy that Heartland Security will be teaming with the Interdependent Project to celebrate the first Interdependence Day.

On that day, Heartland Security will launch its full website -- designed to weave together this new and functional impulse towards spiritual coherence, sustainable economics, and human relations based on mutual respect. We will also be publishing the Heartland Security multimedia e-book to open a new conversation that will hopefully lead to a new operating system. The e-book will contain enlightening, inspiring and informative audio interviews with some of the leading luminaries in spiritual, economic, psychological and political thought.

Above all, Heartland Security is a community, and we invite you to join. Imagine ... a place where we can explore solutions that are working together, and then work together to implement these solutions, locally and globally. Between now and our launch date, we will offer weekly updates, polls, and an opportunity for you, your organization, your business to become a sponsor of Heartland Security. For a limited time, we are offering a special certificate for founding subscribers. And the cost of subscribing is -- zero. No cost.

If you’re ready to live into the future you’ve only dreamed about, and if you’re ready to weave your dream with the loving and functional dream being dreamed worldwide, here is your chance...

The evolution begins here and now.