My only son David was murdered during a burglary at his home last year and I virtually stopped living. You can not imagine the sheer disbelief and horror until you have lived through pain as terrible as this. I turned away from the Church and seriously questioned all my inner beliefs in a God who could allow this to happen to my beloved son. My son was born on Christmas Day so it’s very difficult to escape this time of year. I was given a copy of Dan Browns book and through- it was led to you and your experiments, for the first time since I lost my boy I actually have some hope for Mankind. I know God didn’t inflict all these terrible injuries….it was men.

….and so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this hope and sparked true interest you certainly have sown the seeds in what was surely a barren soil.
Sincerely,
Laraine Ward

So, we are basically a lost species at the moment. In these high times of stress, let’s just all be angry all the time and add to this energy, instead of thinking over our options and changing our mindset to something higher and helpful. Oh, it is just all so disappointing to me.

Edmund Burkes observation typifies much of the behaviours that these experiments highlight. The Groupthink dynamic can move strongly either way..Good or Bad. How many of the readers here have seen minor instances in organisations? Misguided leadership or domineering individuals directing things which many disagree with but dont speak up! A colleague who encountered this , often quipped ” Do I stay quiet and maybe look stupid, or speak up and prove that I am!!” Classic organisational behaviour.
This is the power of groups on the marginal. If the marginal are many , and sit on the fence ,the vaccuum gets filled . Stephen Covey in a Management book wrote that between stimulus and response is a space from which choice comes. Our identification of this space and the careful utilisation of this gift defines us as individuals. Our Listening and Thinking skills must be nurtured to see this .The trap is commonly sprung visible as ‘kneejerk ‘ responses , often sadly too predictible.
In the exercise of Individual Responsibility we all need to challenge ourselves.If we see ourselves as capable of making mistakes , very often repeating
past behaviours, we can rise above the norming behaviours, and bring our real contribution to the fore. Think and Speak.

Everyone requires approval, and what better way to receive approval than to become part of a group that recognises your efforts, no matter how twisted those efforts might be.

I recall interviewing a neo-nazi skin head, who clearly pointed out that many of their members were previously ostracised individuals who didn’t fit in with their local peer groups, so by simply shaving their head, wearing combat boots and committing violent acts against the neo-nazi’s perceived enemies, they were immediately welcomed and fostered as important members.

They were empowered by the violence as it gave them something they had never had before; acceptance.

We all want to belong to something greater than ourselves. This is the root of religious congregations too, whether your god is Jesus, Allah or Buddha.

And how many have suffered or died at the expense of these gods?

You end your blog with the sentence, “And that’s where your individual responsibility takes over,” and my argument is your individual responsibility should be the first thing you consider, not the last.

Write On!

As someone who experienced atrocities at the hands of my own parents, who appeared to be the most reasonable of people, I can tell you if “there’s an elephant in the room but no one’s admitting it” you can bet they’ve been telling themselves a lie or lies to avoid the uncomfortable truth.

Sometimes this process is so convoluted and the person so removed from their own heart’s intelligence, perhaps because they learned such self-deceptions from so many others, a lie may be believed. In the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes it was the innocent child who spoke the truth.

People who are completely driven or ruled by their fears, whether conscious or unconscious, are most easily duped into denial. A polarised Us vs Them mentality pours oil on the fires of such collusion. Heartfelt awareness at such times is exceptionally difficult, especially en masse. However, the intention of a heart-centred group of people to bring about a positive change can be just as powerful.

Let’s apply such power to creating heart-centred humanity. Let’s create an intention for the Copenhagen climate change summit to bring about a global healing for our Mother Earth and humanity as well.

with Love and Gratitude to you all.