Matthew’s Blog

As I transition my life this week, this quote seemed apropos.

Life isn’t about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain.

~unknown author

In the past two days I have just been amazed by talent.   Two remarkable dance performances and one  Montreal street guitarist.

The first dance came from Pilobolus who I was first introduced to several months ago the same way many others did – on Conan O’Brien show or on YouTube – Summer In the City – The shadow play performance.   Shadows of full busloads of people, Statue of Liberty, and even a bust of Conan.

Well, yesterday I was surfing TED for interesting green ideas when I saw their name and had to investigate.  This performance was mesmerizing.   I like dance, but I’ve never seen synergy like this before.  And I love that they were part of the TED conference because of course art belongs in the same category as business and technology.  It is all about innovation and maximizing the human potential and delighting in the world of possibility.  Take a look

Today I was amazed by a Swan Lake performance presented by the Great Chinese State Circus.   The intro is charming as four frogs delightfully romp/leap around the stage.  The swan dance then seems like any other performance I’ve seen and then I take note that she is dancing on top of someone.  At one point she is piroetting on his right deltoid.   AMAZING strength and fluidity.

[flash http://www.sonnyradio.com/swanlake_0001.swf]

Lastly, for now at least, on the same website that brought us the Swan Lake performance an incredible guitar tapping musical performance by Erik Mongrain, a Montreal street performer with a critically aclaimed album.

[flash http://www.sonnyradio.com/airtap.swf]

Wow what incredible and beautiful paradigm shifts.  Take artistic standards and their expectations rotate them 90 degrees literally and figuratively and discover a new art-form, a new style, a new awareness, a new thinking.

In researching (RED) I came across this excellent little film/story.

Filmmaker Armen Evrensel’s winning film from the (RED) Vision Showcase at the Vail Film Festival. Binty illustrates the (RED) themes: “Be a Good-Looking Samaritan” and “We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For.”

Binty – (RED) Vision Film Competition Winner

Perhaps Spiritual Cinema Circle will pick it up as one of their short films.

Three years ago at the Toronto Film Fest I saw a delightful film called Millions – A magically realism story as only a 7 year old can see it – about ethics, love, being human, and fortune in more ways than one. I just picked it up on dvd and remembered just how charming it was and realized I never posted the review of it.

Want a magical and lift your spirits movie? Rent or Buy Millions. This was one of my favorite movies of the Toronto Film Festival that year. “A heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles . . . a whole lot of money.” It is a charming story told from the perspective of Damian, a 7-year old boy, who uses imagination, fantasy and faith to make sense of his confusing world. When upon receiving a gift from the sky of a suitcase full of cash he and his practical 9 year old brother need to decide what to do with it. The catch, they have seven days before the money becomes worthless as the British pound sterling transitions to euros. This is not a predictable movie, perhaps the final outcome and moral but how they get there is full of unexpected twists, gotcha moments, originality, mysticism, and heartwarming spirit. A truly lovely film. The score is wonderful, the setting is lush and green, and the little actors are enchanting. You won’t regret it.

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3734372633/

PS Keep an eye out for some really cool halos.

Hi all,

Here’s something that’s been brewing in me for a while. I received a comment yesterday from someone that got me stirred up enough to write about it. (or maybe it was my inner god).

I hear all the time about goddess programs, goddess groups, awesome women groups, crone circles, wise women enclaves, goddess training, women empowerment groups, etc. Where are the male equivalents? Before anyone gets on the their high horse that those groups came out of the response to the overwhelming male dominated society – I grant that.

AND

As a child of progressive parents who raised my brother and I endogenously and to recognize that women are equal to men I have grown up to be a male feminist. My closest colleagues are women and have surrounded myself with awesome women role models.

That’s great AND

I feel like we’re missing something. Like the balance has been tipped too far the other way. For example when and why has it become acceptable to have national women’s networking groups but not acceptable to have nationwide male networking group? I think the historical argument was valid, but the world is changing, women are changing, men are changing, society is changing. Do women still need to learn about their own personal power and goddess withing? Absolutely! AND that is not the point of my comments here.

My point is, What about the men? What about the conscious men out there who see women as equal partners in life yet while being supportive of women they feel like they have lost their identity of being male, of being the gods (to use the same god/goddess metaphor, Even now as I am writing this I have a twinge of embarrassment in using that word, like I don’t have the rite to use it, but it is ok to use goddess). Are we not all gods and goddesses?

Where are the programs for gods AND goddesses?

Where are the programs for male energy ritual? rites of passage? The ones that celebrate the male spirit? male comradeship (outside of the inane sports metaphors)? The ones that explore what it means to be male in todays society and how to be the best men we can be? What would that look like? Instead of saying what is wrong with men – what is right about us? What is enviable? What is good? What is sacred? What is grounding? What is uplifting? in the male energy.

The Mankind project and its ilk are one variety of maleness training. They seem outdated. They seem to be outgrowths of the 60s&80s – go to the forest, chant, scream, cry and then return to your family and obligations. They seem to make men wrong to make them right. It is not an attractive option for me.

What is the creative, resourceful and whole approach?

I want more. I want a program that is evolved. I want a program that shares with me why I should be proud to be a man. I want a program that shares with me how together men and women will create a better place on earth. I want a place where it is ok to talk about and express and be with all of our emotions anger, love, empathy, wounds, delight, joy, ecstasy. With out being made wrong for doing so.

Comments welcome. Solicitations not! Discussion about coming together/partnering to talk about creating such a program may be of interest.

Feels great getting that out there.

Matthew Egan Rochte

Conscious Human
Conscious Man
Conscious Capitalist

me

http://www.MatthewRochte.com
http://www.MakingTheWorldRoundAgain.com
http://www.ConversationCircle.com

“When given a choice between kindness and being right, choose kindness.” Dr. Wayne Dyer

Back in October, when I was speaking at the Northland Bioneers Conference, I had the opportunity to listen to Paul Hawken (author of Ecology of Commerce). He humbled me and inspired me. Paul Hawken is an amazingly peaceful, exceedingly gentle, and powerful human presence. Listening to Paul was like sitting in the presence of the Dali Lama. The room was quiet and he had our wrapped attention.

He spoke of this movement that we are all a part of. How we have all been entrenched in our camps of “Social Justice”, “Environmentalism”, “Green”, “Orange”, “Brown”, etc. That this movement is so much larger than that. “There is no green movement without a black, brown and copper colored movement.” He said that the movement we are all in is one of ending suffering for all. That we must realize that we are all part of the same movement and that until we do we will be fragmented and ineffectual. However when we come together and the environmentalist feels the pain of the inner city youth and the when the inner city youth feels the pain of the forest being logged – then we’ll be united.

He followed this message with an equally powerful one.

” ‘There comes a time’ when this must stop. (evoking MLK’s classic phrase) We can not disparage, ridicule, or belittle others anymore.”
He was referring to the inner rivalries between the different groups within our movement. However, I found it land deeply and personally. For several years now I have taken the stand that sarcasm is sanction verbal violence and I don’t want it in my life. When I heard these words from Paul I was ashamed. I had been troubled by a letter I had written to a friend earlier that day and now I knew why. Most would never have noticed it and even the friend to whom I was writing hadn’t noticed it either. It is because it so prevalent pervasive in our society.

I had let sarcasm into the reply. The sarcasm was a way of belittling her, which was completely unnecessary other than to stroke my ego. I knew I was in trouble with myself and even toned it down so it was sweetly subtle, but deep down I wanted to be RIGHT. That was about me not her. In my kindness of a response I chose to be RIGHT too and thus negated the kindness.

Paul’s comments are embedded in my conscious mind.
So when I came across an email today
“When given a choice between kindness and being right, choose kindness.” Dr. Wayne Dyer

I knew I had to share it.

Yours in spirit and in friendship

I had a fantastic opportunity this weekend to share with people the work I have been noodling for about 10 years now about what is going on in the world and what is emerging. Its comes from a place of what I do best – integrating complex ideas and weave the common thread amongst them.

It is a speech about hope for business and all of us. I am looking for continued opportunities to present this material to a wider audience. Click on the title to go to the speech’s website.
Making the World Round Again
Speech/Presentation by Matthew Egan Rochte
While pessimism rules and hope appears scarce, a recent convergence of business, science, and spirituality is creating conscious capitalism and restoring hope to the future.

Presented at the Northland Bioneers Conference on Oct 21st 2006
Resource Sheet handed out at the Northland Bioneers Conference (pdf)
http://www.makingtheworldroundagain.com