background

A bit of background about myself - I am a non believer – I’d rather know for myself. I have spent more than 30 years of my life searching for the truth; I cannot tell you that I have found it, so elusive that it is, but at least I can say that I am not searching anymore. I know my basics - here they are. When people ask me where I am from I answer clearly: I am from here. When I am asked what the time is I answer the obvious: it is now. These two fundamental questions and answers define the way I conduct my life. I am always present wherever I am and agreeable with whatever is going on in this moment. I miss only the ones I am with and crave for nothing. The future is only alive and true in my dream of it now hence I relate to it as if it’s already happened, when it comes if it comes it will be just now - one everlasting, constantly unfolding now. Like me, you too are fully living in the here and now, simply because there is no other place and no other time that can be experienced. You may however be disagreeable with it and crave to be somewhere else, such as the non-existent past or future. When we internalize the fact that we are living in the here and now and that there is no other place or time it gives us a true sense of stability, a base to operate from. From such a base we can deal with the rapidly changing world around us. Being here and now is like standing on a surf board, catching wave after wave of the endless ebbs and tides in the sea of change. Not trying to resist it but rather being attentive, adaptive and flowing with it.

thinking out of the box

I speak to audiences worldwide usually in corporate environments and one of my favorite themes is ‘think out of the box’ - you can listen to a clip of it if you click HYPERLINK "http://www.ghinsberg.com"www.ghinsberg.com
I conclude that there is nothing boxy about the world; it is only the world we have created, the man-made world that is boxy - boxy homes, boxy cars, boxy offices, boxed food, boxed ideologies and nationalities, boxed needs and wants, fear to step out of the safety of the box, and when we die they put us in a box.

The box is an all-encompassing place, it is our creed, our religion and we are willing to defend it to our life. It is hard for us to accept that in fact we are all products of conditioned and manipulated environments, that we are detached from our true essence: we are free living beings, here to express ourselves and grow on the abundant planet earth. Instead we cling and won’t let go of what we were taught to believe and accept as truth.

If we could allow our true nature to surface our perception would dramatically change, after all wisdom is inherent while knowledge is something we learn.

In my opinion, my firm belief and in most part also my own experience is that we need to undo the learning, forget the knowledge or at least place it where it belongs and allow our innate wisdom to surface.

times of change and crisis

These times are challenging; the environments as we know them are rapidly dissolving, nothing stays put, great transitions are sweeping every aspect of our lives in an age of uncertainty and great anxiety. Moreover the recent global economic recession has found most of us unprepared, many people have lost vast amounts of money and with this their illusions of security. Once again we have come to realize that life is a dangerous place.

Adapting to rapidly changing times and environments under extreme stress is easy. Crisis management is also easy. It is the mundane daily grind that is really tough.

When adversity strikes, when everything suddenly changes the best possible strategy is not resisting but rather adapting. Adaptation is the very essence of survival and survival is something we do not need to learn - we are naturally very good at for that is what has brought us to this place in time and age. In times of ‘real’ crisis all our faculties are honed, the mind is crisp and sharp as a blade, no clouds of worries roam in our mind, no negative emotions hinder us. We take action, precisely and economically to maximize energy efficiency. A feeling of well-being spreads, a feeling of being in the right place at the right time - this is living.

In regular times on the other hand, we always find something to complain about, we do not appreciate and lack gratitude for the kindness of life; we are complacent and uninspired - mundane times are much tougher to handle than crisis because our true nature is buried under clouds of false perceptions. We are either cocky or we are insecure - we are afraid to shine. A ‘real’ crisis breaks the walls of our box and shakes us until our true colors show. So bless the crisis rather than curse.

If you’ve lost something, be it property, assets, money, position, your toys, remember these were never yours, for what is yours can never be taken from you. You can never be a victim if you live in the present moment fully engaged and ready for action. This is how nature operates - the past is gone - only this moment is real. The future is a blank canvas ready to print your level of awareness and translate it to life as it unfolds. The world is as you are, it is all open and up to you.

The times they are changing in an ever-increasing pace; before we know it a new phase shall descend upon us. We must have trust in the process and not get attached to anything but our ability to deal with the circumstances as they unfold. This ability is the art of living, this virtue the most essential for our survival, and we all possess it inherently, we don’t need to learn it and we don’t have to change, we don’t have to do anything contrived, all we have to do is trust life and trust ourselves for we too are life. When we are present, trusting and open to experiencing whatever life brings us, the adaptation occurs naturally. It is only when we are in the merciless grip of fear, paralyzed by uncertainty and disenchanted by worries of what is yet to come that we sever our deep connection to the flow of life, we fall off the eternal surfboard of being here and now, into an ocean of confusion and self doubt.


economic mad cow disease

The current global recession in my opinion is the economic equivalent of the Creutzfeld-Jacob disease aka mad cow disease. I feel the economic system is disgusted with itself, suffering from acute greed and poisoning, it collapsed into deep depression. Feeding cows to themselves is as unethical and disgusting as the conduct of the financial industry feeding itself money. When the captains at the helm are blinded by greed it is of no wonder all the ships shall sink. A system based on manipulation and speculation with a core creed of pure greed is so remote from the real needs of this world. The financial system is sick and it is purging. This process is healthy, it is a cleanse, a very necessary purification process, and yes it hurts, but hurts do not equal bad necessarily, many times hurt is very positive.

This crisis is not about lack of resources for nothing is lacking on this lush planet. There is no energy crisis and the crisis is not due to dwindling fossil fuels - I don’t buy that theory. Within the last couple of years we have suddenly been exposed to tremendous strategies and technologies for alternative energy that are ecologically friendly and I am positive that within a decade we will all be driving cars of non-fossil, efficient energy.

What we are experiencing now in my opinion is a major shift in consciousness of the entire planet. The turmoil in times like this is natural. Humanity is going through a major shift of values. Take our relationship with the environment - it seems the penny has dropped and we finally understand that our actions are detrimental to our own existence on this planet. It is now clear to most of us that we have to tread more gingerly and more respectfully and that global warming does not mean more days on the beach but rather it means melting polar caps, chaotic weather patterns and an uncertain future for generations to come. We understand now that we live in an ecosystem, that we need to be aware of the fragile environment and responsible in our conduct.

Another example is our relationship with technology; it has become part of who we are, these are digital times and we are all turning into digital natives. The IT evolution we are part of is many times greater than the industrial revolution. Technology pulls our evolution forward not in a linear line but rather at an exponential pace into a new era. The digital revolution has expanded our horizons, physical distances have become meaningless and our collective consciousness has become part of one throbbing, global pulse.

ecosystem

This crisis is an opportunity for all of us to adjust our values. We are moving into a new era of understanding and internalizing the concept of ecosystem – a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment (dictionary.com).

ecosystem is a living thing that contains inherent wisdom of itself.

ecosystem is dependent on the well being of whole of its components.

we are part of an ecosystem, each of us is important to the survival of the whole.

When observing an ecosystem one can discern this innate wisdom and its principles. The well-being of all is inherent to the system. Each species in the ecosystem carves a niche based on relative advantage. This type of specialization makes the species thrive and allows the entire system to prosper. If you look at the Amazon  rainforest ecosystem, the most densely populated place on earth, you’ll see that 50% of all living beings are concentrated in an area that is less than 4% of the earth, and all these species thrive, no one goes hungry and no one becomes extinct. There is enough food and enough energy. How can it be? It is hard for us to understand because we are trained to think that resources are scarce and about to run out - with that type of thought we conclude - if there is not enough - it better be mine not yours. This is the source of competition and the end of cooperation and in competition everything is accepted - in fact a prevalent corporate expression is ‘kill the competition’.

When we review issues such as social injustice, hunger stricken countries, political intolerance, oppression and abuse, conflict and war and ethnic and religious tensions leading to discrimination and terror, we understand that our ecosystem is sick. These issues and problems are not someone else’s problems - an ecosystem is a whole - you cannot have one part bleeding and the rest pretending everything is going well. It is about everything and everybody. This is a fact and we cannot longer avoid it. Each one of us is responsible for the whole, separation is based on false knowledge we have acquired and is not the reality of the world we live in.

I recently published a new book of insights titled ‘Laws of the Jungle - Jaguars Don’t Need Self-Help Books’. The book consists of nine universal laws, ecosystem laws, laws that nature operates by. In this book I assert that it is futile to go against these natural principles; they are monumental and overwhelming, try to resist them and you will be crushed. Flow with them and you are as invincible as life itself.

All my love and blessings

Yossi

Beloved friends,
What an amazing day to be alive. What an incredible day for America and for the world—the dawn of a new era for humanity and the planet. Over the last few months I had the privilege to serve the Campaign for Change to elect Barack Obama for President. During that time, I had the profound honour of meeting this great man and experiencing directly his loving, bright presence, deep passion and true commitment for meaningful change.
Millions and millions of people across America and around the world served the campaign, each one in their own way according to their ability. The hearts of millions were inspired by the values and integrity that Barack Obama represents, by the vision of oneness and hope that we can all live on the planet in harmony. This vision is grounded in the most fundamental truth that we are all connected as one people regardless of race, religion, country or background.
This simple truth resonated and inspired the beginning of a new movement based on core values that are common to all—a new movement that recognised that the core values that connect us are much deeper and real than the different opinions we might have, that appear to separate us. The power of so many inspired hearts connected in common vision and purpose gave birth to a new spirit of selflessness and service and allows this spirit to shine like never before.
Over the last 24 hours I received hundreds of emails, text messages and phone calls from friends from America and all over the world, each describing in their own way the tremendous upliftment, relief, happiness, and hope that we are ready to start a new chapter in the history of humanity. A chapter where we recognise our connectedness to the earth and therefore to each other, where we look for sustainable solutions that reflect our core values.  A chapter where peace, liberty and prosperity is available to all.
Yes we can!
I’m deeply grateful for the luck and privilege of serving the Campaign for Change. Over the last few months I met, worked with, and came to love people I would never have met otherwise. This campaign is living proof that different people working together and serving a common vision and purpose that resonates with their heart, can achieve anything.
Electing Barack Obama to be the President of the United States of America is like a miracle and to my mind the most important historical event of our lifetime. But this is only the beginning.
We all must draw inspiration from the result of this election so we continue to work together for a brighter day. Now is the time to show up, come together, and contribute—each one in their own way—towards meaningful change on the planet.
In Barack’s own words from his speech yesterday, ‘…This victory alone is not the change we seek, it is only the chance for us to make that change.’
Barack Obama is a rare transformational, inspiring leader—courageous, wise, compassionate, honest, intelligent, and maybe most important of all, humble. But as great as he is he will need the support, participation and engagement from all of us to facilitate meaningful, transformational change in the world.
Last month I had the luck, honour and privilege to meet, and spend some days with an Aboriginal elder at Uluru. His name is Bob Randall, respectfully called Uncle Bob. He is an embodiment of compassion, kindness and timeless wisdom. Uncle Bob speaks of ‘Kanyini’—which he describes as the principle of connectedness through caring and responsibility towards all things.
Now is the time to embrace this responsibility—as a privilege—in response to this transformational opportunity represented by Barack Obama’s victory.
Never before in modern history we had such an opportunity for a quantum shift represented so magnificently by the election of this amazing being.

It is for each one of us to look within his own heart and find your innermost calling, and offer it—no matter its form—to this vision of change. And in this calling, to stay connected and engaged in our commitment to honour our greatest human potential.
A meaningful change can only come through change in consciousness. It is up to each and every one of us to stay connected in the intention and vision for change through our presence and therefore our actions—small as they may appear to be. Treating each other and all things with kindness and respect and keeping the vision of oneness alive in the heart at all times will bring a change bigger and beyond our wildest imagination.
Yes we can!!!
That is the truth. And the time is NOW.

In deep gratitude and with much Love,
Bharat Mitra (Yoav Lev).

compassion in action - Steve and Josh Gardner 

This letter hereunder was sent to me by Steve Gardner my friend in Kansas City. He is asking for help. In my way i will help him, i hope you will too.

Here's a little story from the Talmud about asking and giving help. The great Rabbi Yehuda ha'Nasi was crossing the Galilean town of Tzipori one afternoon with his entourage of student scholars; they were heaving over him; collecting his words as if they were rare gems. Climbing the western hill towards the synagogue, oblivious to the bustle of daily street life they paid no attention to a peasant that was dragging a relentless calf when suddenly that calf broke free and charged straight at the Rabbi, grabbing him by the corner of his coat and pulling it as if to say: ‘Rabbi, don’t you see, they are leading me to the slaughter, help me’. The Rabbi looked down at the calf and without hesitance replied: ‘go, for this is the way of the world.’ Much suffering befell the entire city from that day on until the Rabbi understood his lesson and repented.  The place of compassion is higher than that of wisdom. Indeed a calf led to the slaughter is the way of the world, but not so if that calf grabbed you personally by your coat and asked for help. Here's Steve's letter:

We need your help.

I am sending this email out to raise awareness of a tragic, chronic, and lifelong disease we are facing with our 3 year old son, Joshua. A little over one year ago, Josh was diagnosed with Eosinophilic GastroIntestinal Disease (EGID), a very rare immune system disease. The short explanation is that we all have eosinophils in our body whose job is to attack parasites. In Josh's body, they attack all food as if it's a parasite. As you might imagine, there are a number of complications that come from having your esophagus, stomach and intestines in a perpetual war zone, of sorts. Josh was placed on a naso-gastric feeding tube July 28th. We have removed all food from his diet since then and he has been sustained by a formula that essentially breaks food down to the amino acid level so the body doesn't recognize it as food. 

Due to the complexities of this disease, we have transferred his care to a specialist in Denver who is one of only a handful of experts on EGID nationwide. We are returning there November 6th for the next surgery and to evaluate whether our 18 month old son, Timothy, who is exhibiting all the same symptoms, also has the disease. (Many of you have asked how we are doing and we do have a blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/myjosh.)  
 

The world we live in needs a new type of political and corporate leadership, working from a base of wisdom and timely core values. We need leaders that work towards the well being of all of us. Planetary leaders for a planetary ecosystem.  

Here is one such inspired leader, Mr. Nochi Danker of IDB Israel’s biggest holding company. When he ceased control of it in 2002 he first sat to write its credo of ten corporate goals to guide, inspire and set in motion. Amongst these first was the sound drive to return the highest yield to the shareholders; last was the determination to responsibly give back to society. Only one year later Mr. Danker called for a dramatic shareholder meeting in the cultural hall of ‘Qiryat Shmona’ a northern frontier town under the volcano of hizbulla wrath. Mr. Danker summoned the meeting for the purpose of moving the ten’s commitment to the front, second only to profitability.

Danker (54), started his career as a lawyer but was inclined to move to the more allowing and creative entrepreneurial realms of business, starting with ‘Ganden’, his own holding company. In 2002 while the israeli market was going through major setbacks and the geopolitical environments as unstable as ever, the opportunity to take over IDB cropped up. Before making the decision Mr. Danker travelled north to meet is friend, a famous rabbi known as ‘the rentgen’, (the x-ray), for his ability to pierce through the veils of the unknown. Mr. Danker was very straitforward; should i stay with my small company? bid for IDB or go to the Himalayas to meditate upon life? The rabbi said; the Himalayas can wait, go for IDB. So he did.   

Iconically handsome yet down to earth he is revered as a prodigy in his community. he turned IDB into a giant of diverse solid investments. Was it the rabbi again or his own astute senses to foresee the current financial crisis two years in advance and safely navigate IDB through the rough in a series of transaction not short of business genius.

In a rare interview to israel's largest daily ‘yediot hacharonot’ he was asked to give some advise and inspiration to young emerging entrepreneurs.
Here it is:

• -Dream for dreams are the driving force that move you forward.
• -Believe in yourself, otherwise how would others believe in you. 
• -Don’t walk alone you need a great team with you.
• -Integrity should never be compromised - always deliver on your word.
• -Lean on your tenacity and endurance.
• -Set your mind on the target and don’t allow anything to distract you.  
• -Be flexible and know to let go, discern changing market conditions, at times be wise enough to change the target.
• -know that you need luck to be successful.

don't procrastinate  --- cross-pollinate!

it is not over until it is over, there is a never place for despair, there is never a place to cash your chips either; ecosystems are dynamic and all inclusive by design, all of us are part of whatever is going on. here is my conspiracy theory there is no conspiracy at all.  aware, let the trust of your heart lead your way on our journey together.  

i believe our story writes itself as it unfolds; big visions, dreams and ideas rise in time searching for truth-worthy vehicles to fully express them in our world. in this way ideas, dreams and visions have us; and we operate best when whatever we do enhances the well being of the ecosystem, it is about all of us, all the time. 

The understanding of events is dynamic as well; different perspective can immediately change reality as it is now.

i have faith that evolution is inherent in nature and hence the results are always perfect; leading us towards an enlightened era of sharing abundance and freedom in peace. everything else is yet a pace in this direction.

Life can be only lived now. if we are going through what seems and feels as adversity personally and cooperatively, so be it, we can carry through.

there is a certain sense of intensity everywhere throughout the planet and no matter where we are and under what circumstances we feel it. ecosystem is about us all - this starts making sense to more and more of us.

 

Narayana Murphy started infosys with 6 friends and 215 dollars in their pockets

last week in Athens i had the great privilege to be an opening keynote for a infosys hosted conference. Infosys the legendary software giant of india started with 7 friends gathered in the leadership of N. R. Narayana Murphy. today Infosys is staggeringly employing over 100 thousand employees in 9 development centers in India and 30 offices worldwide. what does it take to make such journey possible? listen to what N. R. Narayana has to say on organizational dignity and vision for the workplace.

it was late night in Auckland, i was walking alone along the empty wharfs of the Viaduct harbor. the gloomy musts like me were yearning for some wind with its promise of action, anchored in their hankering for past glory of the America’s Cup. well, why pine for glory of days past? i pondered in my brooding mood, instead make it better now in your brilliant solitude. easier said than done. i walked my talk like a beaten dog. the restaurants on the other side of the docks were mostly empty and none were inviting, a rowdy bar was brimmed but that country music and beer drinking crowed were not the kind of action i was after, not tonight. behind a thick plastic shield waiters were folding their restaurant away, over one table though i noticed three figures that seemed leaning over a secret or was it a chocolate desert. i looked again; god, it was Chris Alcock and with him no others then Peter and Chris Chenoweth, what a great surprise, the night turned all right.

we were all part of the summit of  corenet global, an association for corporate real-estate. i had the privilege of being the opening keynote for the event, after being the closing keynote to their previous summit in melbourne the year before and in both places i met Chris Al-cock who works for DEGW a consulting firm integrating research, strategy and design. many things impressed me in Peter’s address on workplace and the generations; i never new the current generation following the baby-boomers, X, Y and N generations is named neo-millenials or digital natives. another thing i learned from Chris is the effectiveness of passive learning and active learning in terms of retention level. here are the findings he demonstrated:

Reading                                           - less then 7% retention.
Hearing                                           - between 7-20% retention.
Combining two or more media           - 20-30% retention.
Demonstration                                 - 30% retention.
Demonstration and discussion           - 50% retention.
Practice by doing                             - 65-80% retention.
Teaching others                               - 85% retention.  

 

this year i am going to miss the Tulsi harvest celebration in Azamgarh, India. my gorgeous sister in-love Jo is getting married in Bali, so there i will be. i officially changed the term ‘in-law’ and replaced it with the much more appropriate ‘in-love’ as in brother in-love, mother in-love etc, for love is much more binding for me than law.

back to Azamgarh, it sounds like a place from Tolkien's Middle Earth but in fact it is a small city of 2.5 million in Utra Prudish, India. Every year in november we gather there to celebrate the Tulsi harvest. more than a decade ago my friends Bharat and Bhavani Mitra have started an amazing project of transforming family farms back to their organic origins; freeing the farmers from their dependency on fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and the loans to buy these chemicals form the big corporations. the transformation is not short of a miracle; the birds returned to the villages and the smile to the farmers' face. want to see the smiles for yourself check this company out.

i recall last year on my way back from the harvest celebration i stopped for a few hours in the holy city of Benares aka Varanasi. i love seating on the ghats of the Ganga, sipping chai from a clay cup and watching the river flow and the human river flow to it. i had to catch a flight so i left midst a masterpiece sunset, nature’s art never stops amazing. i stopped a taxi and asked to be taken to the airport - madness sheer madness on the roads. i finally realized why in India they worship so many gods and deities - they are all needed!  the taxi driver a rock of calm a midst a storm, as it turned out, he’s a Shiva devotee. he washes in the Ganga every morning, he tells me, early before sunrise and then he meditates in the temple by the river. only then he will eat chapati with some dhal. (the staple flat bread and lentils). beside driving a taxi he volunteers two hours a day in a hospital.