Class Notes

When I was at Smith, there was a joke about the Seven Sisters colleges. Basically, it was, "A professor comes into the classroom and says, 'Good morning, girls'" (because in those days, they would have been likely to call us girls, or possibly "young ladies.") The joke was, how would the students from the various colleges respond? The punch line was that we Smithies would conscientiously write "Good morning, girls" in our notebooks. To this day, in any lecture, meeting or workshop situation, I take formal handwritten notes in an old-fashioned, modified outline style, sometimes complete with A's, B's, Roman numerals, indentations, etc. etc. I cannot not take notes.

So it is that, although I wasn't able to listen to all the interviews presented in Shift Network's Leadership Roundtable, I compiled over twenty pages of notes from the ones I did hear. The event was inspiring as all get-out. If I had to summarize, the theme was that there has never been a better moment for people to align with their true life purpose and lead from that "place."

I'm going to list the handful of messages that most spoke to me -- with the caveat that these discussions were so lively and thrilling that it was impossible even for me to keep up. Go to the authors' websites or books for more information or their direct words.

• (Riane Eisler, author, founder of the Center for Partnership Studies and Caring Economy Campaign) We need to re-define what is productive, caring for people and mother earth.
• (Patricia Albere, founder of the Evolutionary Collective) An evolutionary leader is someone bringing forth a future that wouldn't happen without them...do work that is yours to do.
• (Thomas Heubl, founder of the Academy of Inner Science) The more I'm in the present, the more the future speaks through me.
• (Marcia Wieder, founder of Dream University) Say no to what isn't yours to do. If someone else can do it, it may not be ours to do. Stop putting out fires...life gave me the perfect life/challenges so I can fulfill a sacred destiny.
• (Raj Sisodia, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism Inc.) Work should be meaningful. Some people are born, live and die with their music still inside them.
• (Andrew Harvey, founder of Institute for Sacred Activism) We are in an evolutionary crucible right now, for all of us to embody the divine.
• (KC Baker, founder of WomanSpeak) Unleashing the Brilliance of Women's Voices.

Clearly, these people are "my tribe." My other tribe are in England, singing choral evensong at cathedrals. The unlikely spot where those two circles intersect must be my place of power. That is all I know today.