How Do We Initiate Personal Transformation?
Personal change must precede social and global transformation. We must "be the change we wish to see in the world". But what can initiate that change, both in ourselves and in others? We cannot change others, but we can assist them in wanting to change. But how?
Traditionally, providing information (books, conferences, classes) has been viewed as a way to initiate change. But it is a long, slow initiation to change. First the person must be open to that information. Second, information is neutral until it is assimilated into a personality and becomes a motivating force.
Providing a personal, experiential contact with some aspect of wholeness, of interconnectedness, of oneness would be a much more powerful way to stimulate a desire for change. If we have experienced some sort of mystical or noetic insight or if we have sensed the distress of a loved one at a distance or had a pre-cognitive dream, our whole self - not just our mind - "shifts" in some way. We become more open to accepting of those experiences, in ourselves and in others.
Any suggestions on how to provide such experiences? What about with children, who may be more open to them anyway?
John
