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 By Stephen Dinan, founder and CEO of The Shift Network
We're just over halfway to raising an emergency $50,000 to give the Indigenous Summit of the Americas what it needs to meet in parallel with Panama's Summit of the Americas this week. Will you join over 455 other donors to help us reach our goal by Monday at noon Pacific? Click here please!
Today is Easter — a celebration of the resurrection and Christ consciousness!
In this edition of The Catalyst we are honoring this holy day by offering some fascinating articles and videos about the leading edge of the Christ Path, with authors Miranda Macpherson, Mirabai Starr, and Oscar Miro-Quesada, along with a special article from me about what I love about Jesus. We are also making an emergency appeal to help our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters with a historic Indigenous Summit of the Americas.
It may seem strange to celebrate the Christ path and at the same time make a call to help Indigenous Peoples, given that the Papal Bulls in the 1400s created the legal framework for the genocide of Indigenous Peoples around the world.
But actually, it’s a perfect way to walk the Christ path by doing our part to right a historical atrocity, which is the decimation of Indigenous cultures in the Americas. That is expressing the Christ light in deeds, not just words.
Ultimately, I believe the Christ path is not about a religion or a set of beliefs but ultimately it’s about practicing the social gospel — to embody our divinity in service to our society.
Given the history of abuse, massacres, dishonored agreements, and disease introduced into Indigenous Peoples, it is the least we can do to help their leaders today have a reasonable and honorable leadership gathering in parallel with the the heads of state, which is in jeopardy as of the last few days.
That to me, is part and parcel of putting Christ consciousness into sacred action.
The other key reason is that humanity is now called to wake up to our oneness as a global family and live in harmony with Mother Earth. That requires inspired action from a ground of oneness and sacred reverence. Indigenous Peoples have built the principle of oneness into their very way of life and are a voice for Mother Earth. We truly need their wisdom now more than ever.
So I believe it is time for us to do what was not done in the past — to honor their culture and their wisdom. That starts with financially supporting their Indigenous Summit of the Americas, which has faced a real crisis after the Panama government withdrew crucial aspects of their financial and political support.
This is why we are supporting Chief Phil Lane, Jr. and a congress of Indigenous leaders from across the Americas to participate fully in their Indigenous Summit of the Americas in Panama in parallel with the heads of state in the Summit of the Americas.
We must stop treating our Indigenous brothers and sisters without honor! Please, join us in standing with our Indigenous family! We created a campaign to raise $50,000 by April 8 and the Shift Network has committed $5,000 itself. PLEASE CLICK here to participate in this important unified action (and we’d really like to complete by noon tomorrow).
The video message below is from Chief Phil Lane, Jr. asking for our partnership. We also are sending Alison Marks, our Director of Summits, to Panama to support Chief Phil Lane, Jr. and the Indigenous elders at the summit. Alison previously worked with Indigenous People at the United Nations and she will be collecting stories to share in future telesummits, where we can report back to you.
This edition of The Catalyst was planned before this opportunity to assist our Indigenous brothers and sisters arose. In addition to profoundly beautiful articles by Miranda MacPherson, Mirabai Starr, and Oscar Miro-Quesada, our friend John Dear also shares an impassioned article about Christ and Nonviolence.
We are delighted to partner with John Dear during the Summer of Peace in co-sponsoring the upcoming Campaign Nonviolence National Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 6–9. It will include vigils at Los Alamos (the birthplace of the atomic bomb) to commemorate the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We encourage you to attend the conference if possible – click here to learn more.)
Our friend Vinit Allen shares a beautiful article about the upcoming Earth Day Summit — a free online celebration on April 22 featuring Chief Phil Lane, Jr., Barbara Marx Hubbard, Charles Eisenstein, Andrew Harvey and many others. To register free, click here.
Finally, our Featured Artists are Alexander & Madhu, two beautiful musicians who performed during Oscar Miro-Quesada’s recent retreat on our campus.
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 Emergency Funding for the Indigenous Summit of the Americas in Panama
Hereditary Chief Phil Lane, Jr. Ihanktonwan of the Dakota and Chickasaw Nation, has been requested by the Indigenous Leadership of Panama to be their representative to the North, the Eagle, to speak upon their behalf to secure the funds needed to fully manifest the Indigenous Summit of the Americas, April 9–10, 2015.
Toward that goal Brother Phil, as he likes to be called, invites you with his video message above to recognize the deep spiritual importance of this request. He stands with us all, as one human family, calling for the unification that has long been promised and longed for.
To support Chief Phil Lane, Jr. and our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters, click here.
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What I Love About Jesus
By Stephen Dinan
I honor Jesus for blazing the trail forward on this planet to demonstrate truly living in a divine way: connected to God, in service to those around you.
I have been humbled to contemplate the intense devotion and trust it took for Jesus to walk into his own crucifixion. I have wondered whether I would be able to bear that kind of cross in the moment of truth.
I honor what a powerful demonstration it was for how to be crucified by “enemies” but love them regardless, an embodiment of his core teaching around loving one’s enemy. “Forgive them father, for they know not what they do.” Amazing . . . [read more]
 The Mystery of Transformation: The Invitations of Easter and Passover
By Miranda Macpherson
‘Drink my wine
And you will become me,
And all that is hidden
You will see with your own eyes’
(Gospel of Thomas)
There is great richness in the teaching stories within the world’s wisdom traditions, even if we have moved beyond the need for conventional religion. Since our unconscious mind is not linear and unfolds like good wine with a great tale, there is much to meditate on in the stories of Passover and Easter. Both speak to the process of spiritual transformation, of liberation from bondage. How we open beyond our familiar ego identity and its contracted, fearful, controlling habits that can so easily run our life. They shimmer ancient secrets on how to land deeper in Grace . . . [read more]
 Washing His Feet With Her Hair
By Mirabai Starr
“The important thing is not to think much,
but to love much,
and so to do whatever best awakens you to love.”
(Teresa of Avila)
It is through the feminine mystics that I have come to know their Beloved, Christ.
I grew up in a secular Jewish household of intellectual artists. They acknowledged Jesus as one of our own tribe, yet carefully sidestepped any metaphysical implications in favor of his radical teachings on social justice. As a teenager, longing for something to address the burning in my heart, I drifted toward the Eastern Traditions, hooking up with my lifelong Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, cultivating a Buddhist sitting practice, and embracing Sufism — all of which continue to sustain me to this day . . . [read more]
 Living Resurrection Peace
By John Dear
For me, resurrection is everything. It’s the linchpin of Christianity, the key to nonviolence, the hope we hold dear, and the possibility of a new world of peace. In other words, with the resurrection of the nonviolent Jesus, anything is possible, even the abolition of war, poverty, nuclear weapons and environmental destruction" . . . [read more]
 Earth Day Summit 2015: Awakening a Sacred Relationship with the Earth
Vinit Allen
As we gather globally once again to celebrate Earth Day, we must ask ourselves, what else can we do that we haven't done before to catalyze change and support the sustainability of our beloved planet? This is exactly what our Earth Day Summit this year intends to focus on — the deeper, underlying aspects of our personal and collective evolution that can bring about the critical changes needed for the Earth, for humanity, and for all life on the planet . . . [read more]
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 A Luminous Re-Membering
By don Oscar Miro-Quesada
When we surrender the need to figure it all out and cultivate the ability to let it all in, then our earth walk becomes a sacred dance of healing service on the planet. More than the world needing saving, it needs loving.
I am Oscar Manuel Miro-Quesada Solevo and this is my story. It is a story told within the immediacy of the present moment, even as it recalls the past. It is a story about how I came to serve the earth by returning to the origins of a once-forgotten tradition. It is a story about how honoring these ancient wisdoms can awaken us all to the spiritual dimensions of life . . . [read more]
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7th Summit of the Americas — On April 10–11, 2015, the Presidents and Prime Ministers of all 36 Nation States in the Americas will gather in Panama for the 7th Summit of the Americas, the most significant gathering of political leadership in this hemisphere. This year Cuba will be attending the Summit of the Americas for the first time in the Summit’s history! To learn more, click here.
Indigenous Summit of the Americas — The 5th Indigenous Summit of the Americas is envisioned to take place on April 10–11, 2015 in conjunction with the 7th Summit of the Americas. The funding promised by the government of Panama was reduced and a crowdfunding campaign is under way to support Indigenous elders. To learn more, click here.
 New Film screenings of Awake: The Life of Yogananda are taking place in Theaters across the United States and Canada. To find a showing near you or to arrange for a screening, click here. (The filmmakers were interviewed in the Summer of Peace, the recording is available for free.)
 James O'Dea's New Book: The Shift Network is delighted to announce our lead peace faculty James O'Dea has published a new book: The Conscious Activist: Where Activism Meets Mysticism. The Conscious Activist is truly a masterpiece for our time as it describes the many rigorous initiations needed before the power of the activist can become one with the power of the mystic. To order your copy, click here.
Please join Global Wave 2015, Governments will be meeting at the UN from April 27–May 22 to discuss nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The Global Wave will start at a huge peace rally in New York on April 26, and then go around the world in 24 hours arriving back in New York on April 27 as the government conference begins. To learn how you can participate, click here.
The Alliance for Peacebuilding – 2015 Annual Conference – Peacebuilding and Democracy in a Turbulent World – May 13 to 15, 2015 – Washington, DC — The peacebuilding and governance/democracy communities recognize the need to work together. The conference will explore the links between these fields, and will help build bridges in both theory and practice to take on today’s most complex global crises. For more information - click here.
A Historic East-West Celebration — Fuji Declaration Launch Events — Tokyo – Copenhagen – Mt. Fuji – May 15–17, 2015: The Fuji Declaration is an international alliance of individuals and organizations who are united by a commitment to live and collaborate toward the advancement of a more harmonious and flourishing world. The Fuji Declaration is an invitation to people from all nations and walks of life to join in a commonality of purpose beyond borders. To learn more, click here. To sign the Fuji Declaration: click here.
 Building The New World Conference – Hosted by Radford University in Radford, Virginia May 28–31, 2015. BTNW is based on the “Wheel of Co-Creation” designed by Barbara Marx Hubbard. Barbara will open the conference and other evolutionary speakers include: Jerome Glenn, Grandmother Mona Polacca, Charles Eisenstein, Glen T. Martin Ph. D., Yuval Ron, Dot Maver, and Philip Hellmich. To learn more, click here.
Nibi Water Gathering – A Gathering of All Nations – June 4 and 5, 2015 – Ogimakamik Lodge of Leadership at Turtle Lodge – On the Shores of Lake Winnipeg - Sagkeeng First Nation, Manitoba, Canada. We are making an International Call to attend the Nibi Water Gathering at the Turtle lodge, on the Shores of Lake Winnipeg, one of our most endangered lakes, where the four rivers meet. For More Information, Please Click Here. Watch YouTube video on the Gathering Here.
Campaign Nonviolence National Conference – Santa Fe, New Mexico – August 6–9, 2015. Presentations, nonviolence workshop, and vigils at Los Alamos on the 70th anniversary of the nuclear age. Featured speakers include James Lawson, Erica Chenoweth, Roshi Joan Halifax, John Dear, Kathy Kelly, Lennox Yearwood, Jr, Kit Evans-Ford, Medea Benjamin, and Ken Butigan. To learn more, click here.
Praxis Peace Institute: Cuba — November 29 – December 6, 2015 — Praxis Peace Institute, in conjunction with Cuba Educational Travel has prepared a spectacular program for our travelers. Lecture and Discussions with Cuban economists, historians, and journalists at Havana University and the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy. Visit agricultural cooperatives, organicfarms, and meet locals in their homes, and much more. Details and to Register: click here.
 World Peace Library – Free Resource — Be sure to take advantage of the World Peace Library, a wide-ranging resource on peace newly compiled by the Shift Network: It contains more than 300 inspiring talks and mini-workshops from individuals such as Archbishop Tutu, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, James O'Dea, Karen Armstrong, Chief Phil Lane and many more. With neuroscientists and lamas, faith-based activists and political leaders, this Library offers something for all in their peacebuilding efforts. The Shift Network has made the World Peace Library a free resource for all and encourages its use to promote peace in your families, schools, and wider community.
1 Billion Acts of Peace — a global community of everyday people performing thoughtful actions that contribute to world peace. The Shift Network is delighted to join Peacejam Foundation, Google, Wells Fargo, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and many others have come together to create the "One Billion Acts of Peace" Campaign — an international global citizens' movement designed to tackle the most important problems facing our planet. To learn more, click here.
If you have an announcement to share, click here.
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2015
Catalyst: (#7, 4/5) (#6, 3/21) (#5, 3/15) (#4, 2/22) (#3, 2/8) (#2, 1/25) (#1, 1/11)
2014
Catalyst: (#26, 12/28) (#25, 12/14) (#24, 11/30) (#23, 11/16) (#22, 11/1) (#21, 10/19) (#20, 10/5) (#19, 9/21) (#18, 9/14) (#17, 9/01) (#16, 8/17) (#15, 8/3) (#14, 7/20) (#13, 7/4) (#12, 6/15) (#11, 6/1) (#10, 5/18) (#9, 5/4) (#8, 4/20) (#7, 4/6) (#6, 3/23) (#5, 3/9) (#4, 2/22) (#3, 2/8) (#2, 1/26) (#1, 1/12)
2013 Catalyst: (#22, 12/14) (#21, 11/30) (#20, 11/16) (#19, 11/3) (#18, 10/20) (#17, 10/6) (#16, 9/21) (#15, 9/8) (#14, 8/25) (#13, 8/4) (#12, 7/21), (#11, 7/7), (#10, 6/16) (#9, 6/2) (#8, 5/12) (#7, 4/28) (#6, 4/14) (#5, 3/24) (#4, 2/24) (#3, 2/9) (#2, 1/26) (#1, 1/13)
Birth 2012 Catalyst: (#15, 12/9) (#14, 12/1) (#13, 11/22) (#12, 11/10) (#11, 11/3) (#10, 10/20) (#9, 10/6) (#8, 9/16) (#7, 9/8) (#6, 8/25) (#5, 8/16) (#4, 8/4) (#3, 7/28) (#2, 7/21) (#1, 7/14)
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Invite your friends and allies to spread the word about Indigenous Summit of the Americas Campaign; and Write to the President of the Republic of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, via his Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie (lmhincapie@morimor.com) regarding your thoughts and feelings about the actions that have been taken with regards to the Indigenous Summit of the Americas and the Indigenous Peoples of Panama and the Americas. (Click here to learn more.)
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 How Medicinal Plants Can Fuel Your Spiritual Evolution:
Essential Insights that Unify Natural Medicine, Ecology & Spirituality — A Free Online Event With Plant Medicine Pioneer
David Crow, L.Ac.
Receive profound new insights and teachings for how to connect more deeply to the natural world and access wisdom
for health, well-being and personal transformation. Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 5:30pm Pacific
 3 Keys to Raising Happy, Conscious Children
(And 3 Things to Avoid at All Costs) — A Free Online Event for Parents, Grandparents & Beloved Allies
With Parenting Expert Shelly Lefkoe.
Learn insights that help you raise happier, healthier children who become mature, wise, and creatively engaged adults. And in the process, let go of the outdated beliefs that lead you to be less than your loving best
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 5:30pm Pacific
 The Evolutionary Goddess: Incarnating the Divine Feminine in Your Spiritual Life & Our World — With Renowned Spiritual Teachers
Sally Kempton and Andrew Harvey.
Have you wanted a distinctly feminine spiritual path that is embodied, juicy and fulfilling… and actually leads to the awakened life you desire?
New Live Training Starts Tuesday, April 14, 2015
 The Deeper Dating Immersion:
Accessing Your Core Gifts & Finding Lasting Love — A 10-week journey to rewire your attractions and deepen your capacity for intimacy with renowned psychotherapist and Deeper Dating author Ken Page., LCSW
Your dating journey can actually be fulfilling, authentic and fun AND bring you lasting, life-changing love when you utilize the transformational methods of Deeper Dating.
New Live Training Starts Thursday, April 16, 2015
More Upcoming Events: (all subject to change)
April
• Earth Day Summit
• Shelly Lefkoe 7-week course
• David Crow 7-week course
• Tim Kelley 7-week course
• Gay Hendricks 7-week course
• Miranda Macpherson 14-week course
• Terry Patten 8-month intensive
May
• Inspiring Woman Summit
• Politics of Love and Justice Summit
• Oscar Miro-Quesada 7-week course
• Margaret Paul 7-week course
• Robert Moss 7-week course
• Luisah Teish 8-week course
• Rabbi Michael Lerner & Cat Zavis 10-week course
• Andrew Harvey 9-month intensive
June
• Enneagram Global Summit
• Summer of Peace
• Stan Grof 7-week course
• Devaa Haley Mitchell 7-week course
• Sheva Carr 7-week course
• Enneagram 10-week course
• Tim Kelley 6-month intensive |
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Indigenous Summit of the Americas — Chief Phil Lane, Jr. and The Shift Network have created a campaign to raise emergency funding for the 5th Indigenous Summit of the Americas to take place on April 10–11, 2015, when the Presidents and Prime Ministers of all 36 Nation States in the Americas will gather in Panama for the 7th Summit of the Americas. Please join us in this historic campaign – click here. |
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Four Worlds International Institute for Human and Community Development was born out of the intense deliberations and prayers of a gathering of native elders and community leaders that was held on the Blood Indian Reservation on the high plains of Alberta in the last week of December 1982.
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Alexander & Madhu
By Eleanor Tara
I first encountered sacred activists Alexander & Madhu at Oscar Miro-Quesada's retreat in February, where they were offering their shamanic songs as part of the 5-day program, and I was immediately entranced. The musical pair are apprentices in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition.
What's so unique about them is that Alexander has a rich background in professional opera singing and Madhu is an extensively trained jazz musician, a rare combination for healing medicine music.
Their talent shines through on their debut album of ceremonial music, Nuna Kallpa, which they were inspired to release in time for the retreat.
In Quechua, the language of their tradition, Nuna means one's soul or essence, and Kallpa is spiritual power and strength. The album is aptly named for the transmission that comes through each of the six songs.
You can listen to the album and get a taste of what it was like to be at the retreat by clicking here.
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