Matthew’s Blog

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

Book Review – The Anatomy of Peace

What if conflicts in the world, personal, and work life all source from the same root cause? What if we systematically blind ourselves to that cause? And what if, as a result, we are unwittingly perpetuating the very problems that we believe we are trying to solve?

These are the questions that the Arbinger Institute answers in The Anatomy of Peace

I have been a raving fan of the Arbinger Institute’s work going on three three years now since I was shaken to the core by the work as I experienced my family, my brother in particular in a whole new light. A light I could no longer ignor. My work with the Arbinger material has been transformational for me, my clients, and their companies. So much so that Leadership & Self Deception (L&SD) became required reading for all of my clients.

This has created a slight dilemma since not all of my clients are business people. While those that are don’t always want to read “another” business book. Heck, even I put off reading the thing for nearly a year because I was a “leadership” coach, what did I need to learn about “leadership”? The short answer – EVERYTHING, anew.

So I was overjoyed when I learned that they released a new book last month. The Anatomy of Peace is a book that I can recommend to anyone. The language is different, the intended audience is different, but the heart of the matter is still solid as ever. This is a book for everyone & business people too. It takes the work much deeper than L&SD and applies it to life circumstances from family relationships to international conflicts. It is all based on true events and a real executive and the experiences at the Anasazi Foundation Arbinger’s partner in intervention.

The Anatomy of Peace is a prequel to Leadership & Self Deception. It is the story of Lou Herbert, the founder of Zagrum (the company in L&SD) and his journey to Camp Moriah (Anasazi) where he & his wife have taken their troubled son for an outdoors survival program to straighten him out and attend a two day seminar for the parents. We get to find out about what Lou’s transformation process was that began the journey of L&SD. The camp is lead by two unlikely leaders: Yusuf-al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each of whom lost their fathers at the hands of the other’s ethnic cousins. The Anatomy of Peace is about how they came together and now work at bringing peace to children and parents who are at war with each other.

This is a powerful book. In many respects it is like being a fly on the wall during part of an Arbinger program. Fans of L&SD will not be disappointed as there is a great deal of new material here. All the juicy stuff they’ve been learning since L&SD was released has been added to the mix. I love the new terminology of the heart at peace & the heart at war. This really puts a firm grip on the issue and takes it out of the logical mind. We can all relate to it. “In the box” and “out of the box” never really worked for me, it seems sterile. This wording touches my soul. The box analogy hasn’t been jettisoned though. It still has a place, especially when mapping out collusion and diagramming the process. They introduce a startling and powerful concept of boxes that we carry with us and how we all in one degree or another carry one or more of these: the I am better than box, the I must to be seen as box, the I am worse than box, and the I deserve box. I think I have visited all four of these in the past four years. How about you? This work applies to all of us. Who are you in relationship with your client? The world? Your spouse?

Matthew Rochte – Seasoned Coaches Coach, Executive Coach, & Coaching Pundit.
Matthew is about helping people be GREAT! To help is coach clients be great
they dive deep to explore the human functioning model, perceptions, business
practices, Arbinger work, SQ Spiritual Intelligence, & Coaching From Within.
He helps his business clients be great by applying the above and working
with their Spiritual Capital & relationships so they can be great.
Matthew is a 15year coaching veteran, serves on the ICF Ethics &
Standards Committee & is MCA’s 2005 Past President
http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.workingintentionally.com

© Copyright 2006 Matthew Rochte, used with permission

I saw the following message on a church I drive by frequently and it sums it all up.

Friendship doubles our happiness and divides our grief

My 2006 Mission has been and continues to be to build stronger and deeper friendship.

Go beyond the casual acquaintance and business network, but go deeper. Who are you? What is important to you? What’s happening in your life? How can we help each other outside our normal networking roles?

Be bold, build friendships - not networks!