Welcome!

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...to the Heartland Circle™ Journal. Chronicling the pulse of Heartland’s unique VisionHolder and Thought Leader network: current writings from Heartland, our VisionHolders, upcoming events, programs. Use the blog to 1-register for upcoming programs, such as the next VisionHolder Call (free), 2-listen to a past call (on the left), 3-check out our featured book (on the right).

Come gather round to learn, connect, express yourself and navigate the Heartland Circle™ Community. Join us on this journey of shared hearts and minds as we make our way together. You have the opportunity to fully participate in exploring ways to support, inspire, inform and interact with each other.

Claim your place at the fire, take your time, look around....

For an overview of the blog, use the 'ABOUT Heartland & this Blog" link (left column), and if you'd like help navigating this new format, check the 'How To' links (right column).

Please share your own musings in response to my posts or those of others... Let's use this space to ask the deeper questions & create the understandings that unleash the beauty and brilliance of this community!

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Mark Thompson

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Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matter
Spending time with Mark is like having a conversation about the really big issues of life with a dear friend while driving with the top down...like SUCCESS, love, passion and meaning along with making a buck and leaving an enduring legacy!!! Whew.

He's written a new book with Stewart Emery,of EST and Actualizations fame,and Jerry Poris, co-author with Jim Collins of the wildly famous Built to Last, about what makes for enduring success, how do you make for a sustainable life?

I've never seen a line up of endorsements of high profile global leaders for a book before. so whats up? seems he's hung the book around 3 core principles: Meaning - Passion - Action...

MEANING- making a difference for the sake of service, One thing that does last is love and meaning.

PASSION we do it despite what it gets done. a portfolio of passions.

ACTION- getting it all done!

What do you think? listen to the audio link to the left and weigh in on your definition of success in your life.

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Moral Intelligence

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Integrity - Responsibility - Compassion - Forgiveness
An amazing in-depth conversation with Fred Kiel, co-author Moral Intelligence. Moral intelligence as a distinct intelligence is new to the playing field and is unfolding to be a vast subject. Moral intelligence is our mental capacity to determine how universal human principles - like those embodied by the 'golden rule' - should be applied to our personal values, goals, and actions. "MI" focuses on four principles that are vital for sustained personal and organization success:
reflecting the head: Integrity - Responsibility
reflecting the heart: Compassion - Forgiveness.

• Why is this important in our work and lives? what are the implications?...
• New Directions from Fred and Doug - exciting new website...

More on Fred Kiel...

The big decisions that face us all globally are probably in the hands of the leaders of large business organizations.
-Integrity: if these leaders want a workforce that trust them, integrity must be present.
-Responsibility: they might also want a workforce that is inspired to take personal responsibility for themselves and, possibly, the larger world.
-Forgiveness: if you want a creative workforce, you must have forgiveness.
-Compassion: if you want to retain your workforce, you must have compassion.

There seem to be areas of the brain dedicated to moral reasoning: We are born to be moral. if parenting/support is good enough, people will grow up to have the natural capacity to be moral.

Questions discussed: How were the four universal principles chosen? What is the organizational impact of grounding the culture and leadership with the four universal principles? Is there any real evidence that “character based” businesses do better than ones that aren’t? (THE ANSWER IS YES!!)

http://www.moralcompass.com—online as of 9/15
2nd Book coming from Fred and Doug: "What CEOs Believe and the Impact on the Bottom Line"

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Margaret Lulic- Corporate Philosopher

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Our VisionHolder Interview with Margaret on Thursday was a unique window into the context and theory of Spiral Dynamic along with her applications in board and consulting work. Margaret took us through a brief yet potent "primer" on the various levels and colors of the spiral..here is what many of the caller had to say following the session. Listen to the Audio link to the right and let us know what you think....

"Her explanation of how to encourage everyone in a group to simultaneousy explore different perspectives as a collective, thus encouraging everyone to think in different paradigms and develop different perspectives, reminded me of a similar techniqe used in deBono's 6 Hats typology, and was a useful, practical strategy to remember and put to use."

"Two great take-aways: the idea of stacking in a unique and individul way, around centers of gravity, with the underlying notion of spiral movement; also the asking others where they are rather than judging and placing.  The discussion around diversity as well as the answer to how to bring people into the conversation without imposing empirical knowkedge of the structure.    Much to apply in how I convene, as well as how I communicate.  More dimensions to dialogue."

"I didn't know anything about spiral dynamics, so it was very interesting.  It seems to relate to the chakras and evolution of consciousness.    Use the information as another means of understanding the basis/origin of people's concerns, especially when they are distressed or in interpersonal conflict."

"Her extraordinarily lucid description of Spiral Dynamics and her examples of how she uses this framework in her work took my appreciation and interest to a much higher level."

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view

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“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading tothe most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone,...

and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you -- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls." - Edward Abbey

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The Great Remembering: An African Journey Home

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Last night I interviewed Craig, my Heartland partner and husband of 26 years, following his recent trip to Tanzania, Africa. The trip with 13 men over 50 years old, led by old friend Richard Leider, was a watershed journey into his emerging elderhood as well as surprise "inventure" into a deep remembering into his humanhood. Caig kicked off the session saying........

We’ve all had those moments of awakening or remembering, some fleeting as if from a dream, where we know and feel connected in a visceral sense to all things, human and otherwise. Then, most of us return to the “real world” where day-to-day life resumes. What if these moments were the reality in which we were born to live, and that what if these episodes are the great remembering of what it truly is to be human?

My recent trip to east Africa, the birthplace of humanity, was one such moment in time, when the journey to a far off place brought forward a deep remembering of innocence, and connection to all things.

Craig's connection to the land and the people who have inhabited and known the land for over 4000 years was ground-shaking for him because it brought him squarely to the question of being, remembering, connection.

What is it you wish to remember about who you are, why you are here, and to whom or what you belong?

Patricia Neal

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The Highest Goal /Let the Courage Begin!

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The focus of today's Member Campfire Call was The Highest Goal: The Secret that Sustains You in Every Moment, by Michael Ray. [All calls are 2nd Tuesday of each month]

Wow! what a juicy call today! Many thanks to Michael Ray for joining us. As we reflected on the questions: "What do you know to be your highest goal? How are you acting creatively and/or courageously to meet the challenges of our times?," what became apparent is the intentionality with which we all live.

Michael asked us to explore one of the exercises from the book: "The Most Meaningful Thing," that leads to discovering one or two words related to our highest goal. Some of the words spoken: connectedness - service - justice - action - love - communion - emergence – authentic being - trust – co-creation.

Courage/We are not alone...

We spoke of using these calls and other opportunities to remind us that we are not alone, that there are many powerful, wonderful visions in action, that our combined efforts create and support courage to take the next step, to keep going.

Michael closed with the following reflection: Our shared words of our calling, our passion, move us to exhaltation. Move us toward whatever is emerging. We’re doing it now, together. We are visions in action, in service, in love.

Thank you for joining us!

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Power In Numbers

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The Heartland home page states: "Experience the power of onemultiplied by the power of many" as an offer and invitation. Why is this so important? Excerpts from a newsletter I receive, called the Daily Om, explain eloquently why we must gather— either in person or virtually—to create an exponential effect.

"Like tiny ripples that merge to form great waves, combined human intent is worth more than the sum of its parts.

Alone, the light you emit is a wonderful healing tool, but when you join with others who share your intent to shine compassion and positive energy over the world, a powerful force is created.

Each person's light joins with every other, and through the joining all are strengthened. What matters is not technique or what religion or beliefs you hold, but intent.

As you gather together willing people, your individual intent will become a great and powerful wave, and you will see results in your fellow humans, in the news, and in your daily life."

-Patricia Neal

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Capitalism 3.0- Reinventing The Commons

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Peter Barnes, Entrepreneur for the Common Good

Our VisionHolder interview on Weds. with Peter Barnes, co-founder of the pioneering socially responsible long distance phone co., Working Assets, and author of the upcoming Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons and Who Owns the Sky? is at it again, this time proposing an “upgrade” to the dominant world economic order by introducing radical yet tried and true proven concepts evolved out of “common trust”. It's basically an system upgrade, call it Capitalism 3.0, where we don’t scrap the old world order but activate a parallel more human-centric system based on our common trust....you know, our parks system, the air and sky, water, libraries, arts and culture and on and on...you get it. Not private or government. We leave them alone. It's not about shutting down the machine, but offering a radical yet subtle shift to what we already have....

If you think of the economy as a huge spreadsheet, with each cell representing a producer, consumer or property owner, you can see that the behavior of the whole is driven by the algorithms, or mathematical instructions, in the cells. Our current operating system is dominated by three algorithms and one starting condition. The algorithms are: (1) maximize return to capital; (2) the price of nature equals zero; and (3) property income is distributed on a per share basis. The starting condition is: the top 5 percent of the people own more property shares than the remaining 95 percent.

What algorithms to elevate? I'd nominate four: (1) preserve common assets, such as gifts of nature, for future generations; (2) live off income from shared gifts, not principal; (3) distribute income from shared gifts on a one person, one share basis; and (4) the more the merrier.

More from Peter in this thought-provoking thought piece.

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Turning Your Worst Enemy Into Your Best Teacher

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Seeing conflict as a birthing process...

Deidre Combs has spent decades obsessing about conflict. From her early family days, being one of four sisters, to her 12-year stint at IBM, she's plumbed the depths of what conflict is all about. My one-hour interview with Deidre was one of the most intriguing ever. How does one see conflict as a birthing process? As a Minnesotan, like many other cultures, we're bred to avoid conflict at all costs—to move through life with stoic resolve. What the hell is so frightening about conflict?

On tonight's VisionHolder Conversation, Deidre wowed us with all sorts of stories of her childhood, her corporate life, her spiritual journey. ultimately, the wisdom of conflict is almost of a spiritual practice. There is something so simple about breathing, getting centered, being human. seeing your partner not as an adversary, but as a teacher. The art of holding paradox, and letting go of our positions and opinions.

Whoa, whoa — way easier said than done. when you're totally engaged in oppositional politics, you've just lost your job—what do you want to do?

According to Deidre, "We are all participating- the living being is alive to figure things out. We need this bouncing and pushing and prodding." Intriguing.

How do you resolve conflict? What learnings does it hold for you? Share your stories on how conflict has transformed your life — or not! Simply hit the "Comments" link below and give us your thoughts.

-Craig

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THE GREAT REMEMBERING

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A conversation-starting essay by Craig Neal

In1963 my first remembering came spontaneously at the civil rights march “on” Washington DC, in which Martin Luther King delivered his legendary I Have a Dream speech. Although transfixed by the moment as I stood swaying with the crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, it was the throngs of people I turned to during the speech that triggered my memory of a prior state, a remembering of the human condition as that of love in motion and therefore catalyzing my life’s purpose into motion.

We’ve all had those moments of awakening or remembering, some fleeting as if from a dream, where we know and feel connected in a visceral sense to all things, human and otherwise. Then, for most, we return to the “real world” where day to day life resumes.

What if these moments were the reality in which we were born to live, and that what if these episodes are the great remembering of what it truly is to be human? What if the Hopi elders are right when they say in their prophecy that we all are “the ones we have come to find”? What if you are the wonder and gift to the world you dream about in the sweet dreams of your solitude?

In spring of 2004 I was accepted as a writing fellow at a writers refuge to work on a book that had been brewing in me since starting the Thought Leader Gatherings (TLG)* in 1998. Many had asked me for the recipe for how we created the dynamic dialogue form used in the TLG meetings. The common take away of these “leadership development” sessions is a heightened sense of communion* with a diverse group of people based on conversations of living our lives as if we matter, integrating who we are with what we do.

Midway into the retreat, while writing about my experience at the 1963 march, I suddenly broke into sobs of joy and revelation, feeling waves of love and gratitude for that time, myself and a sense of complete integration with all things. The room glistened, my pulse quickened, I saw and felt from the core of my existence the interconnectedness of all things my “self” as an integral part of the whole matrix of life. A great remembering of who I REALLY am. Whew!

What came next was a flowing out of writing over the next several days of what is now the curriculum of The Art of Convening Trainings (AoC). Rather than a book, a living training in which I would engage people from all over the world, by telephone, in a conversation about what it means to remember our essential selves in  relationship to one another and the world into which we have been born.

Now 2 years and 21 groups into the AoC, this conversation has been and is being had with over 200. We ask to “listen ourselves and one another into being,” strengthening our internal and external listening muscles for the sometimes faint voice of our own awakened selves. We reveal to one another and ourselves our birthright of each human as complete and accomplished beings. This is a conversation of the Great Remembering.

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Last month I joined 13 men over 50 years old for an “inventure” journey/safari to Tanzania, trekking into 3 tribal lands as new elders, to meet and share with male elders of these tribes about what it means to hold a purpose and vision for our people and ourselves. Remembering together our humanness for a shared future.

On one of the evenings while visiting the Hadza, a hunter gatherer people, we assembled on a large rock with 10 Hadza elder men to hear their “creation story” of how the Hadza came into being on this land in the south Serengeti plains. Led by 94-year-old Kampala, they wove a story unbroken over tens of thousands of years of their people, the land, its inhabitants and, most importantly, the nature of their connectedness to all things.

Their lives are an continuous cycle of interrelated and interdependent relationships with the land, animals, the elements and humans. Indistinguishable and in rhythm. Their remembering is current and deep as an aquifer running swift and clean beneath the surface of our lives.

In their story we, too, were called to our essential selves, to remember our nature and purpose as humans.

Now sitting on a plane 40,000 feet over the Rockies, I wonder what shall call to us from the depth of our yearning our true selves?

What is it you wish to remember about who you are, why you are here, and to whom or what you belong?

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How to Add your Comments

Your comments are a rich source of interaction, and your vehicle to be 'present' here on the blog so we encourage you to comment as often as you like.

To do so, click the 'comments' link located under the post you would like to comment on. You will be required to give your name and email address, so we know who is speaking, and will have the opportunity to include the url of your website, if you desire. You might want to click the button that says 'Remember personal info', as that will save you having to fill in your information next time you want to comment.

Type your comment, just as you would in a regular word processing program. Any urls (web addresses) you include in your post will automatically be created as links, but you cannot use any other html coding in this box. All urls need to include http:// at the beginning.

When you have finished, click the 'preview' button to view your comment (if you wish), then click the 'post' button to publish it.

There! That was easy, wasn't it?

If you run into any trouble, or would like to share any wisdom you've gained about the commenting process, please do so below. If you'd like to contact us directly at Heartland, please call 952-925-5995.

How to Listen to an Audio File

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To listen to the most recent VisionHolder interview, click the arrow on the left side of the 'Hipcast' icon under 'VisionHolder Audio' in the left column. To stop the recording, click on the same button.

The number to the right on the icon indicates how many minutes and seconds of the audio file have passed. The VisionHolder interviews usually last one hour. The first few minutes are introduction; the last 15-20 minutes are spent sharing the audience's thoughts and responses to the interview.

Use the speaker controls on your computer to adjust the volume, if necessary.

If you have further questions about this topic, or helpful comments for others, please share them using the 'comments' field, below. You can also call us directly at Heartland: 612-920-3039.

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Help in Subscribing to this Blog's Feed

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The Heartland Circle RSS Feed:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/Circle

To make sure you don’t miss any new conversation around the Heartland Circle campfire, you can subscribe to this blog and have new content delivered directly to you, rather than having to go online & check the blog every day.

You do this through a (free or paid) News Reader (aka a News Aggregator), which automatically picks up news of any new campfire posts via what's called an RSS or Atom Feed. There are many different versions of News Readers, some of which are part of your browser itself, others accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. All allow you to display and subscribe to any blog or website with an RSS feed, including this one.

This sounds more complicated than it is. There are only two basic steps to subscribing:

1) Choose a News Reader. Download and install, or activate it according to instructions (more information on this below)
2) Use the News Reader to subscribe to the Heartland Circle blog using the RSS2 feed, above.

The trick is in choosing and setting up your news reader, and the choices depend on what will work best for your specific needs, so you’ll have to take this step yourself. Hopefully the information below will be of help, and we invite you to add your questions and any wisdom you've gleaned from your experience via the 'comments link below.

If you get stuck, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at the Heartland office and we’ll walk you through some of the choices: 952-925-5995.

More on News Readers:
As you might have surmised, there are many choices for news readers. As a rule, the paid versions will work best for you if aesthetics are important & you want to subscribe to more than one blog. If you just want to experiment, one of the free versions will do just fine. A web search will turn up many more (and there is a full directory at the bottom of the page), but here are some popular options:

For Windows:
* Newz Crawler (cost $24.95)
* FeedDemon (costs $29.95)
* Awasu (free & paid versions)

For Mac OS X:

* Newsfire (requires OSX10.4) $18.99
* NetNewsWire $24.95

Web-based (cross platform):

* Bloglines (free)
* NewsGator (free)

Through your browser (free):
(Be sure you have the latest version of these browsers downloaded)

Firefox -  Firefox’s “live bookmark” is a special type of bookmark that acts as a folder to contain the links in a feed. You can create a live bookmark by simply visiting a site with a feed, clicking on the live bookmark icon in the lower right of the Status Bar, and selecting the feed format you wish to use (we have options for RSS2 or Atom, see above).

Opera - If you have Opera's navigation bar enabled, a Newsfeed button will be displayed if there a newsfeed link is detected on the active page. Simply click the button to start a subscription.

Safari (comes bundled with Apple 0SX)- With Safari, you know right away if you’ve landed on a website that offers an RSS feed, thanks to a handy RSS icon. Click it and Safari automatically displays the feed. Then bookmark the RSS feed so you can return to it later. Safari even tells you when your bookmarked feeds are updated with new articles, so you get the latest news without repeatedly refreshing sites. And if you enjoy scanning the news from all your favorite sites at once, Safari lets you aggregate feeds easily. Create a folder of your frequently viewed RSS feeds from a single window, then browse everything in one cleanly formatted page

Full Directory of RSS-compatible readers

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Welcome!

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Heartland: Connecting Those Who Are Changing the World Through Vision in Action

Heartland is a global network, serving you and all those called to be social and organizational pioneers. Connect with others who, like you, are making a difference with your life and work by joining this community of "leaders", as defined by Margaret Wheatley: all those who are called to step forward and serve in these times.

Heartland offers dynamic online community services, publishing, and commerce opportunities in support of its global member base and a growing legion of daring new culturalists and leaders.

Experience the power of one multiplied by the power of many: participate in this blog by adding your comments to our notes, attend a Thought Leader Gathering, sign up for an Art of Convening TeleTraining series, or register for the next VisionHolder TeleConversation (click the links below for details!).

Attend and Engage: The Thought Leader Gatherings are held in Minneapolis, MN and the San Francisco Bay Area. These member-based, bi-monthly morning 'conversations' bring together leaders in corporate, non-profit and independent organizations, who are devoted to combining visionary and 'on the ground' discourse ensuring both breakthrough ideas and direct action.

Become a Convener or Hone your Art: The Art of Convening TeleTraining curriculum is designed to develop both the practical aspects of convening meetings, groups and gatherings, and the 'inner' qualities that help focus and hold attention and presence. This work is based on applying our Principles of Essential Conversation and Principles of Convening to your meetings, gatherings and events, & imbuing them with authenticity, heart and impact.

Be Inspired by our unique VisionHolder Calls: The Heartland VisionHolders are those among us leading by example, creating the new story through their lives and work. They are the architects, authors, and point people charting the course for an emerging positive future for business, society and our cultural institutions.

If you hold a vision for a new future unfolding, Heartland offers you connections, access and exposure. Join our vibrant community - come share your vision, join our conversations, and be in community with other seekers looking to step forward and stretch their minds.

We invite you to take your place in our circle...

I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love.
—Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957

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