My Commitment to Peace

By Annette Schafer, M.A.

I have recently completed a book: Transformational Leadership: Bringing Soul Into Organizations. My book takes a profound look at the state of our organizations, our lives, and life on this planet. It addresses the urgent need to transform our Western industrial world-view into a more holistic, life-affirming model before we come any closer to the abyss that we seem to be rapidly approaching. This book presents a synthesis of ancient wisdom, new scientific discoveries, consciousness theories, the mind/body connection, Jungian psychology, and modern management theory and practice in an amalgam that challenges our most deeply held cultural beliefs, while offering a unique perspective that will revitalize our lives, our organizations, and our world. The following is a synopsis of this transformational process: a step toward peace and global renewal.

Western industrialized civilization has been operating from a logical, mechanistic world-view since the time of Descartes in the Seventeenth Century, viewing the universe as a machine with parts that behave in predictable ways. We have managed to ignore the many anomalies that indicated that this view was not valid, but centuries of denial have obscured the 900 pound gorilla in the room. We have put aside the longings of soul that desperately want to play a role in our lives. In psychological terms we have embraced the logical, external, (psychological masculine) way of doing in the world, while totally ignoring the wisdom-based, internal, (psychological feminine) spiritual way of being in the world. We must bring about a balance between these masculine and feminine energies, elements that all males and females possess. What we do in the world must always be guided by the deep wisdom with which we all were born in order that we will be able to evolve as a species, and avoid ominous threats, such as nuclear war, that loom on the horizon.

As part of this transformative process we need to understand that all things in the universe are connected to each other through consciousness, and affect each other in ways we are just beginning to comprehend. I have compared the discoveries of quantum physicists with the spiritual experiences of the saints and mystics of various spiritual traditions that date back several thousand years. The similarities are remarkable. Aspects of what adepts have discovered at the highest levels of spiritual attainment have been observed in scientific experiments, beginning with the discovery of quantum mechanics in 1927. Among these discoveries is the knowledge that everything in the great web of the universe is connected to everything else: subject and object are inextricably intertwined; therefore, there is no such thing as objectivity. Such findings must radically change the way we interact with each other and with all life on this planet.

The mechanistic world-view that pervades modern industrial culture has lost its validity. In order to survive as a species or as a planet we must become more spiritual, cease operating solely from an ego-state, and begin to pay more attention to processes rather than to outcomes, because how we attain our goals is vastly more important than the goals we set for ourselves.

I suggest a different approach to life and work in this book: the way of Transformational Leadership, and show how this model will benefit both organizations and their members.

Those who adopt this model will be more fulfilled by their work, and will be freer to release their innate creativity for personal growth and development, as well as for the benefit of their fellow members, and the world at large.

To move the world from competition to cooperation, from domination to inter-dependence, from a “me first” to an “us together” mentality (the only mind-set from which peace can prevail) will require that a critical mass of men and women experience a change in global awareness. A Transformational Leader must also possess the authenticity and humility that come from regular spiritual practice, obeying the injunction to “know thyself” on a regular basis if they expect to do their best work in the world.

A true leader will not lead from an ego-state, but rather from a state of psycho-spiritual maturity, a way of being exemplified by one whose actions are guided hour by hour, day by day by the wisdom that lies within the deepest part of themselves. Having accessed this most sacred place we will discover who we truly are; who we were Divinely meant to be. We can garner our courage and live lives full of meaning and purpose, guiding our organizations (be they families, or multi-national corporations) and those who people them in the creation of practices, projects, products, and services that will truly bless the human community.

Annette Schafer earned a Bachelor’s degree in English with Major Honors from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Masters degree in Organization Develop-ment from Loyola University Chicago. In addition to a strong business background in Human Resource management, she has studied the work of Dr. Jean Houston and Human Potential, the work of Dr. Alberto Villoldo and shamanic practices, the work of Apollo Fourteen Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell and consciousness research, and Eastern and Western mystical traditions. She also participated in a week-long workshop at the renowned NTL Institute (formerly known as the National Training Laboratories), designed to increase the participants’ understanding of holistic human interaction skills.

In addition to a career in Human Resources, Annette also worked evenings as an Instructor teaching supervisory training courses for various industrial organizations, was an Adjunct Instructor of business courses at a University, and spent several years as a private Consultant to small organizations. Currently Annette is devoting her time to promoting the philosophy of Transformational Leadership.