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Zach
Bush: "My work is dedicated to the health
of humanity and the planet we call home. It is critical that our pursuit
of optimal health and longevity begin with an effort toward a collective
rise in consciousness such that we would begin to thrive within nature,
instead of fighting that nature that is life itself. My experience as
a physician specializing in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice
care with a focus on the microbiome as it relates to health, disease,
and food systems led me to found *Seraphic Group and the non-profit
Farmer’s Footprint to develop root-cause solutions for human and
ecological health."
Thomas
W Campbell:
“Love and love heals are not just
nice ideas, it is the fabric of our reality.”
Tomas
Björkman:
"We live in crappy times? No. We live on
the threshold to a new world. Let's give birth to it. Together."
Lead Article
Our business
schools have a blindspot that’s hindering a more co-operative
culture
by Gregory
Patmore, University of Sydney
Tranby
is an Indigenous adult education school in the inner-city Sydney suburb
of Glebe. Founded in 1957, its graduates include Eddie Mabo, who went
on to win the most significant land rights legal battle in Australian
history – overturning the fiction
of terra nullius.
What makes Tranby special is not just
being Australia’s oldest not-for-profit independent Indigenous education
provider. It is the type of education it provides – teaching the skills
needed to manage organisations and communities democratically.
It teaches co-operation, and the skills
to run co-operative organisations.
This makes it a rarity in business
education.
Tranby Aboriginal Co-Operative is
Australia’s oldest Indigenous adult dducation provider.Tranby,
CC
BY-NC-ND
Though co-operatives exist throughout
Australian society, making a hugely valuable economic contribution,
their distinctive nature and management requirements are largely ignored
by university business schools.
This neglect is costing us all.
Part of the social fabric
Australia has a rich history of communities
forming co-operatives to provide services where for-profit businesses
or the state have been unwilling or unable.
They run shops and schools, offer banking
and mortgage services, and provide housing and health services.
The first co-operative in Australia
is thought to be the Brisbane Co-operative Society, which set up a store
in
1859.
Over the next century came many agricultural
co-ops. In the 1950s and 1960s, co-workers and communities pooled funds
to form building societies and credit unions when banks were unwilling
to lend money.
When the northern Victorian town
of Sea Lake was left without a pub after one hotel shut and the other
burnt down, locals formed a co-operative to reopen and run the Royal
Hotel.Kerry
Anderson, CC
BY
Co-ops range in size from small neighbourhood
operations, such the Gymea
community preschool in Sydney to major enterprises such as Cooperative
Bulk Handling in Western Australia, which reported a $133
million surplus in 2021.
All up there are more than 1,700
in Australia. It’s possible you’re a member of one – or a closely aligned
“mutual” organisation (such as the NRMA or RACV). About eight
in ten Australians are, yet fewer than two in ten realise
it.
Improving co-operative education
This general lack of recognition is
reflected by the sector’s almost complete invisibility in educational
courses.
In 2016 a Senate
committee inquiry found neglect of co-operative and mutual
businesses in high-school and university courses was a clear impediment
for the sector.
It could easily be concluded this neglect
has also actively damaged the sector – notably through the 1980s and
1990s with “demutualisation”
of big member-owned organisations such as AMP and the St George Bank.
This effectively involved privatising
these organisations for the benefit of existing members, who got windfall
profits at the expense of future members.
Demutualisation was pushed by managers
and consultants educated in business, but not in the distinctive values
of co-operative
business.
They often regarded the co-operative
and mutual structure as less competitive than an investor-shareholder
model focused on maximising profits.
Subsequent developments have proven
how flawed these assumptions were. AMP,
for example, featured heavily among the wrongdoings exposed by the Hayne
royal commission into financial services. No co-operative or mutual
business did.
Levelling the playing field
The Senate inquiry report recommended
the federal government look to improve understanding of co-operatives
and mutual through secondary school curriculum. It also recommended
universities include topics on co-operatives in their business and law
programs.
In 2017 the University of Newcastle
established Australia’s first postgraduate program in co-operative management
and organisation.
But it axed
the program in 2020 due to pandemic-related cutbacks and
insufficient student numbers.
What’s needed are both specialist courses
and recognition within general business or law courses. You’d be hard
placed to find a business degree that gives co-operatives more than
fleeting attention.
The focus instead is on individual
entrepreneurship, investor-owned businesses and vague ideas of social
business.
Economic viability with social responsibility
The 2016 Senate inquiry report noted
co-operatives have an important economic role to play. They increase
competition in highly concentrated markets (such as banking). They provide
services in areas where investor-owned or state enterprises do not work.
It singled out Tranby
College as an excellent example of what can be achieved –
both for members and the broader community:
Evidence suggests the co-operative
model is ideal in delivering services in remote areas, such as Indigenous
communities, where issues can be complex and service provision through
the private sector is often not suitable or available.
As former United Nations secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon has
said, co-operatives show “it is possible to pursue both economic
viability and social responsibility”.
It is important students at all levels
be aware of what makes co-operative businesses different and valuable.
Hopefully the Albanese government will
not neglect them. They have a lot to offer communities and reinforce
democratic values.
Zach Bush, MD on The
Sovereign Journey Into the Self
by The
Fullest
"Today, we welcome
Zach Bush, MD, a renowned, multi-disciplinary physician of internal
medicine, endocrinology, hospice care, and an internationally recognized
educator on the microbiome to THE FULLEST. However, more than that,
he is a profound voice on the journey to self awareness, acceptance,
and sovereignty.
In this episode, we dive
into many emotional (yet comforting) themes including:
- The universal message
from patients who experienced a near death experience
- The importance of intuition
and sovereignty as a patient in a medical system
- The spiritual wisdom
that can be found in cells under a microscope
- His thoughts on sovereignty,
abortion, and Roe v. Wade
- Reframing “death”
as a way to truly embrace life
If you're trying to make
sense of the more existential aspects of life and death, listen closely
and we’re sure you’ll walk away with a full heart."
Zach
Bush, MD is a physician
specializing in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care. He
is an internationally recognized educator and thought leader on the
microbiome as it relates to health, disease, and food systems.
Dr. Zach founded Seraphic
Group, Inc. to develop root-cause solutions for human and planetary
health, extending from biotech to energy to information technology for
a multi-faceted approach to the challenges we face globally.
His work in for-profit
and nonprofit arenas is creating avenues for collaborative action for
all stakeholders in our global community for a regenerative future of
health for the planet and our children.
Inner
Development Goals
with
Tomas
Björkman, Jakob
Trollbäck, Caroline Stiernstedt Sahlborn & Leif Edvinsson.
Moderated by Mario de Vries.
Inner Development Goals (IDGs) is a non-profit organization for inner
development. We research, collect and communicate science-based skills
and qualities that help us to live purposeful, sustainable, and productive
lives.
The Inner Development Goals
framework is fundamental in the work to reach the Sustainable Development
Goals.
In 2015, the Sustainable Development
Goals gave us a comprehensive plan for a sustainable world by 2030. The
17 goals cover a wide range of issues that involve people with different
needs, values, and convictions. There is a vision of what needs to happen,
but progress along this vision has so far been disappointing. We lack
the inner capacity to deal with our increasingly complex environment and
challenges. Fortunately, modern research shows that the inner abilities
we now all need can be developed. This was the starting point for the
'Inner Development Goals' initiative.
IDG Cards
With
Moderator
Credits
Inner
Development Goals (IDGs)
The Inner Development Goals
is a not-for-profit and open-source initiative founded by the 29k Foundation,
Ekskäret Foundation, and The New Division. innerdevelopmentgoals.org
29k
is a non-profit organisation and community on a mission
to make personal growth available for everyone, for free. 29k.org
Tomas Björkman
Founder and Chair, Ekskäret Foundation
Stockholm, Sweden ekskaret.se tomas-bjorkman.com
Jakob Trollbäck Founder, The New Division
Founder, Inner Development Goals
Creator of the Communication Language for the SDGs
Stockholm, Sweden thenewdivision.world trollback.com
Caroline
Stiernstedt Sahlborn Partner, The Inner Foundation, Board
member Ekskäret Foundation, Inner Development Goals.
Stockholm, Sweden gro.nu/contact/caroline theinnerfoundation.org
Leif Edvinsson Professor emeritus and Brain of the
Year
Sweden
Moderator Mario de Vries
Media Specialist
The Netherlands gazooom.nl
This
article was first drafted as a reflective piece on the Russian-Ukrainian
war as it moved beyond Russian efforts to reinstate a Ukrainian leadership
loyal to Moscow (like Viktor Yanukovych) to be an outright war between
two equally persistent sides. This topic however gained even more currency
from Club
of Amsterdam Journal, July / August
2022, Issue 245,
where both Tony Walker's article "Has
Xi Jinping miscalculated in aligning himself with Vladimir Putin?"
and Hardy Schloer's and Chris Edwards' webcast "New
World Order" discuss matters very similar to that of
this article.
The war in Ukraine may
seem like an unexpected aggression by a hungry Putin in search for control.
This interpretation, supported by the hegemonial West, however risks
to be a dangerous simplifi-cation of things, since it is more likely
to be an early - albeit not first - step in a much larger global political
evolution.
Following the end of the Cold War 'the West' has ruled supreme on the
international political stage. China has indeed challenged the US in
economic terms, but officially remained silent politically. Their economic
ambitions have nevertheless had clear political trajectories for any
analyst to observe. Their large investments in Africa and their 'Belt
and Road Initiative' throughout the developing world is not simply a
matter of trade. It is also a matter of influence. China's effort to
set up 'Confucian Institutes' around the world also have socio-political
intentions, similar to those of bodies like the Ford and Fulbright Foundations,
the British Council and Institut d'Echanges Culturels avec la France.
And the Taiwan issue is not a guessing game. Beijing is not waiting
for Taiwan to join freely, but for China to become strong enough to
take Taiwan 'back' without problem. Around twenty years ago, in the
now since long discontinued periodical The Far Eastern Review, Beijing
spokespersons noted that Taiwan would be integrated within fifty years
or so. There is no reason to believe they do not retain that schedule.
US President Biden's recent statement that the US will defend Taiwan
militarily is not going to change that. And how many different presidents
will the US have in the next thirty years? The recent developments in
Hong Kong can also be seen as a test on which level of resistance Beijing
can come to face locally. China has thousands of years of experience
from quelling social uprisings - and they still end up with an absolute
majority of its population being enormously proud of being Chinese.
Russia, relegated to the back of the classroom by the collapse of the
Warsaw Pact and Comecon, has over the last ten years re-started its
involvement in international affairs, most obviously through its roles
in the Libyan and Syrian wars. Although Russia's role in Libya was not
crowned with success, their role in Syria certainly was - a war 'the
West' thought they could easily win through weapon deliveries and proxies.
Sadly enough, Russia's historical tactic of simply destroying contested
territory is now gaining traction in Ukraine. It can also be noted that
the only time the US contributed directly to a Russian military defeat
was in Afghanistan, where the US armed and trained the Mujahedeen to
fight against the then Soviet Union - an armed force that later developed
into the only military force to systematically attack US targets, both
around the world and on US soil. The latter being a totally unique incident
which shook USA even more than their traumatic loss in the Vietnam war.
Turkey is by some seen as the new kid on the block. Seen over a longer
period of time nothing could be less true. Turkey's predecessor the
Ottoman Empire had a history of significant regional influence, and
is probably the most influential Muslim country throughout history,
if one disregards the indirect economic influence Saudi Arabia had since
the post WW2 deal between them and the US, whereby the US undertook
to military protect Saudi Arabia in exchange for reliable oil supplies
from Saudi Arabia, that oil prices are set in US dollars, and for Saudi's
support for US foreign policy across the world - including abstaining
from opposing to the formation and support of Israel. Although Turkey
stayed backstage for very long following its imperial collapse during
WW1, even trying to join the western Christian community though NATO
and EU, it has more recently shown clear indications of renewed political
ambitions. Like Russia they were active in Libya, where they rendered
quite some success, and in Syria, where they are the only outside power
successfully opposing al-Assad's Russian and Iranian backed government.
Turkey also took an active role in the 2021 Armenian-Azerbaijan war
where, just like in Libya and Syria, Russia supported the opposite side,
hence bluntly reaffirming Turkey's role in the region. Its resistance
to Sweden's and Finland's NATO-applications also shows they are not
willing to be shoved into a corner by 'the West' - in spite of them
being members of the very same defense alliance. Turkey lifting its
veto against Sweden's and Finland's memberships was based on an agreement
that Sweden would lift its arms-embargo on Turkey, and that both Sweden
and Finland agreed to act against those organizations Turkey consider
terrorist organizations - including the Gülen movement. Immediately
after the agreement was signed, Turkey sent a list of 33 terrorists
that they wanted extradited. Since each NATO member state's parliament
have to rectify new members, Turkey still has an excellent upper hand.
If those on the list are not extradited, Turkey's parliament can refuse
to rectify their memberships, claiming non-compliance, once again staying
ahead of the pack. Turkey's modest but nevertheless notable efforts
to mediate in the Russian-Ukrainian war can also be seen as an indicator
of their ambition to once again play a role on the international stage.
So, why do I mention these three countries in combination? Because they
are all former empires with proud histories and once-upon-a-time far-reaching
influence in their respective regions. These histories are still deep-rooted
in their nations' DNA - and still capable of uniting their populations
in opposing foreign powers' dictates. All these three nations' leaders
are now ready to openly oppose western hegemony, considering the internal
socio-cultural rot of 'the West' as an indicator that time is now ripe
to challenge it. Just like all empires - including their own - came,
and will come, to a point where its 'best-before-date' is well surpassed,
its power-structures are obsolete, its systems are corrupt and its populations
dissatisfied, 'the West' is now at the end of the road, and its era
as the leader of the world is about to end. Xi, Putin and Erdogan are
not madmen. They represent their nations' ambitions to regain the status
they once had. And these ambitions will not end with the demise of these
individuals - albeit all three of them have in one way or another secured
life-time leadership roles. The unique thing is not these individual
countries' ambitions, but that they coincide in time. Even if these
leaders may have significant differences, and sometimes competing interests,
their main and joint ambition is to rid themselves of western hegemony.
One can see it as the perfect storm. The revival of three former empires
on a parallel, at first likely to support each other in their joint
opposition to western hegemony, later to compete for the spoils that
the fall of this western hegemony will offer them. This is not a matter
of three to five years. This is a matter of thirty to fifty years. Just
like UK is now an isolated island trailing its former colony USA in
all its doings, USA and EU will become victims of their own self-glorification,
complete lack of vision and severe political short-sightedness. How
this will pan out, and how it will affect the population of 'the West',
is far too early to guess. But that it would not happen one way or another
is a deceptive assumption. The Chinese Empire fell, the Russian Empire
fell, and the Ottoman Empire fell - just as the Roman and Mongolian
Empires once did. All empires eventually fall, to be replaced by new
forces. This is a lesson already learned. The lesson we still not learned
is how to see the fall coming.
All empires consider themselves eternal, until it is too late. 'The
West' is no exception. It may remain a bastion of its own values, but
its control over the non-West will subside, and eventually ebb out.
Saigon, June 30, 2022
Leif Thomas
Olsen
Leif is a former management- and management-training consultant turned
property investor. During this millennium he also dedicated around half
of his time to research on cross- / multicultural interaction, and its
socio-economic consequences. A Swede by birth he spent half his life
elsewhere and lived in South-East Asia since 1993. In 2005 he completed
a Master of Philosophy and a Master of International Relations.
Traditional NGOs tend to focus on a single
topic (e.g. the construction of wells, the running of orphanages, medical
aid, etc.) that they then roll out at various locations with similar
needs. While this approach often brings tangible short-term improvements
to people in the project area, it does not solve the underlying problems.
Smiling Gecko has adopted a holistic approach
aimed at improving the quality of life of an entire community through
cluster projects. This vision guided the organisation from its very
start in 2014, and Smiling Gecko has since created many jobs and apprenticeships
in agriculture, tourism and the catering industry, crafts, trade and
teaching. Until 2025, there are many more projects in the pipeline,
focusing on crafts and industrial production. As the cluster projects
are based on commercially viable business plans, they are closely interlinked
with the existing economy in the region. The individual projects are
to be self-financing in the long run. They are to generate sufficient
funds to run the local school and thus secure the education of the next
generation. Cluster projects thus create model rural communities that
operate as self-sustained entities and offer education and training
for gainful employment in proper jobs.
The cluster project model is of course
transferable to other regions, and will make a substantial contribution
to the sustainable growth of the Cambodian economy by 2050.
A “sand battery” is a high temperature thermal energy storage
that uses sand or sand-like materials as its storage medium. It stores
energy in sand as heat.
Its main purpose is to work as a high-power
and high-capacity reservoir for excess wind and solar energy. The energy
is stored as heat, which can be used to heat homes, or to provide hot
steam and high temperature process heat to industries that are often
fossil-fuel dependent.
As the world shifts towards higher and
higher renewables fraction in electricity production, the intermittent
nature of these energy sources cause challenges to energy networks.
The sand battery helps to ambitiously upscale renewables production
by ensuring there’s always a way to benefit from clean energy,
even if the surplus is massive.
The first commercial sand battery in the
world is in a town called Kankaanpää, Western Finland. It
is connected to a district heating network and heating residential and
commercial buildings such as family homes and the municipal swimming
pool. The district heating network is operated by an energy utility
called Vatajankoski.
To
break unhealthy habits, stop obsessing over willpower – two behavioral
scientists explain why routines matter more than conscious choices
by Asaf Mazar, University of Pennsylvania and Wendy Wood,
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Asaf Mazar
Wendy Wood
Many people attribute their coffee drinking to the need to feel more alert,
but research shows that habit is just as big a driver behind caffeine
consumption. Westend61/Getty
Images
If you’re like
many Americans, you probably start your day with a cup of
coffee – a morning latte, a shot of espresso or maybe a good ol’ drip
brew.
A common explanation among avid coffee drinkers is that we drink coffee
to wake ourselves up and alleviate fatigue.
But that story doesn’t completely hold up. After all, the amount of
caffeine in a cup of coffee can
vary wildly. Even when ordering the same type of coffee from
the same coffee shop, caffeine
levels can double from one drink to the next. And yet, we
coffee drinkers don’t seem to notice.
So what else might be driving us in our quest for that morning brew?
That’s one question we set out to answer in our recent research. The
answer has far-reaching implications for the way we approach major societal
challenges such as diet and climate change.
As behavioralscientists,
we’ve learned that people often repeat everyday behaviors out of habit.
If you regularly drink coffee, you likely do so automatically as part
of your habitual routine – not just out of tiredness.
But habit just doesn’t feel like a good explanation – it’s unsatisfying
to say that we do something just because it’s what we’re used to doing.
Instead, we concoct more compelling explanations, like saying we drink
coffee to ease our morning fog.
Habits are formed in specific environments that provide a cue, or trigger,
for the behavior.
Unpacking what lies behind habits
To test whether people underestimate the role that habit plays in their
life, we asked more than 100 coffee drinkers what they think drives
their coffee consumption. They estimated that tiredness was about twice
as important as habit in driving them to drink coffee. To benchmark
these assumptions against reality, we then tracked these people’s coffee
drinking and fatigue over the course of one week.
The actual results starkly diverged from our research participants’
explanations. Yes, they were somewhat more likely to drink coffee when
tired – as would be expected – but we found that habit was an equally
strong influence. In other words, people wildly overestimated the role
of tiredness and underestimated the role of habit. Habits, it seems,
aren’t considered much of an explanation.
We then replicated this finding in a second study with a behavior that
people might consider a “bad” habit – failing to help in response to
a stranger’s request. People still overlooked habit and assumed that
their reluctance to proffer help was due to their mood at the time.
The gap between the actual and perceived role of habit in our lives
matters. And this gap is key to understanding why people often struggle
to change repeated behaviors. If you believe that you drink coffee because
you are tired, then you might try to reduce coffee drinking by going
to bed early. But ultimately you’d be barking up the wrong tree – your
habit would still be there in the morning.
Why habits are surprisingly difficult to change
The reason that habits can be so difficult to overcome is that they
are not fully under our control. Of course, most of us can control a
single instance of a habit, such as by refusing a cup of coffee this
time or taking the time to offer directions to a lost tourist. We exert
willpower and just push through. But consistently reining in a habit
is fiendishly difficult.
To illustrate, imagine you had to avoid saying words that contain the
letter “I” for the next five seconds. Pretty simple, right? But now
imagine if you had to maintain this rule for a whole week. We habitually
use many words that contain “I.” Suddenly, the required 24/7 monitoring
turns this simple task into a far more onerous one.
We make a similar error when we try to control unwanted habits and
form new, desirable ones. Most of us can achieve this in the short run
– think about your enthusiasm when starting a new diet or workout regimen.
But we inevitably get distracted, tired or just plain busy. When that
happens, your old habit is still
there to guide your behavior, and you end up back where you
started. And if you fail to recognize the role of habit, then you’ll
keep overlooking better strategies that effectively target habits.
The flip side is also true: We don’t recognize the benefits of our
good habits. One study found that on days when people strongly intended
to exercise, those with weak and strong exercise habits got similar
amounts of physical activity. On days when intentions were weaker, however,
those with strong
habits were more active. Thus, strong habits keep behavior
on track even as intentions ebb and flow.
It’s not just willpower
American culture is partly responsible for the tendency to overlook
habits. Compared with residents of other developed nations, Americans
are more likely to say that they
control their success in life.
Accordingly, when asked what stops them from making healthy lifestyle
changes, Americans commonly cite a
lack of willpower. Granted, willpower is useful in the short
term, as we muster the motivation to, for example, sign up for a gym
membership or start a diet.
But research shows that, surprisingly, people who are more successful
at achieving long-term goals exert
– if anything – less willpower in their day-to-day lives.
This makes sense: As explained above, over time, willpower fades and
habits prevail.
If the answer isn’t willpower, then what is the key to controlling
habits?
Changing habits begins with the environments that support them. Research
shows that leveraging the cues that trigger habits in the first place
can be incredibly effective. For example, reducing the visibility of
cigarette packs in stores has
curbed cigarette purchases.
Another path to habit change involves friction: in other words, making
it difficult to act on undesirable habits and easy to act on desirable
ones. For example, one study found that recycling
increased after recycle bins were placed right next to trash
cans – which people were already using – versus just 12 feet away.
Effectively changing behavior starts with recognizing that a great
deal of behavior is habitual. Habits keep us repeating unwanted behaviors
but also desirable ones, even if just enjoying a good-tasting morning
brew.
Leaders
of today must possess potent powers for logic, reason, discernment and
strategic forecasting. Yet, they must also be empathic and therefore
embodied; grounded and therefore intuitive; present and therefore awake.
They must be skilled in mindfulness and deep listening, able to inspire
authentic engagement and collaboration, and possess a clear and wholehearted
sense of service, mission and purpose - restoring coherence where there
is fragmentation and unity where there is division. Nicholas Janni presents
this new and necessary leadership style as the Leader as Healer.
The book outlines both
a theoretical and practical map towards a new form of leadership, one
that embodies the 'skill, heart, and wisdom' that the current moment
demands. The pathway Janni describes is one of integration and restoration,
which is designed to reawaken the innate human capacities - physical
and emotional, individual and transpersonal - that were previously discarded
and forgotten during our perilous journey towards profit-maximization
and "infinite" economic growth. It offers a way to grow ourselves
as leaders and to heal our organizations.
Over the last
20 years Nicholas has gained an international reputation for his transformational
coaching and leadership development seminars. The clients he has served
include FedEx, Rolls Royce, Swiss Re, Centrica, Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries, Amdocs, Intel, Motorola, Microsoft, eBay and Lafarge, as
well as the UK Permanent Secretaries and several cabinet ministers.
He bridges the worlds of
creative, personal, spiritual and professional development in a uniquely
powerful, relevant and accessible way. In his first career Nicholas
was a theatre director. He taught acting at The Royal Academy of Dramatic
Art in London, and directed his own theatre company.
He has spent 30 years researching
the theory and the practice of ‘the zone’ of peak performance,
and studying multiple mind/body disciplines. In 1998 he became a Visiting
Fellow at the Cranfield School of Management, and in 2001 he left the
theatre to co-found the arts-based leadership development consultancy
Olivier Mythodrama. In 2013 he founded his own consultancy, CORE PRESENCE.
He was an Associate Fellow
at the University of Oxford Said Business School 2010–15, and currently
teaches regularly at the IMD Business School in Lausanne. He is based
partly in Israel, where he has worked with numerous corporate clients,
The Interdisciplinary Centre, Tel Aviv Recanati Business School and
various Israeli and Palestinian NGO’s.
Stephan
A Schwartz and Thomas W Campbell on Science, Consciousness, and a Better
World
When
two brilliant researchers with nearly a century of experience and experiments
between them, agree on the commonalities of their findings on consciousness,
a truly fascinating discussion follows!
In this interview, Stephan
Schwartz, interdisciplinary scholar, remote viewing research founder,
and one of the preeminent remote viewers in the world, and Tom Campbell,
physicist and consciousness researcher, each present their views on
how science and their discoveries on consciousness can help inspire
you to create a better world.
Scientist, futurist, award-winning
author of both fiction and nonfiction Stephan A. Schwartz is a Distinguished
Associated Scholar of the California Institute for Human Science, Distinguished
Consulting Faculty Saybrook, University, and a BIAL Foundation Fellow.
He is a columnist for the journal Explore, and editor of the daily web
publication Schwartzreport.net in both of which he covers trends that
are affecting the future. For over 40 years, as an experimentalist,
he has been studying the nature of consciousness. Schwartz is part of
the small group that founded modern Remote Viewing research and is the
principal researcher studying the use of Remote Viewing in anthropology
and archaeology.
In addition to his own
non-fiction books and novels, he is the author of more than 250 technical
reports, papers, academic book chapters, prefaces, and introductions,
and has made over a thousand presentations to universities, institutions,
and government agencies around the world. His work has been covered
worldwide by numerous magazines, newspapers, and television productions,
and he is the recipient of the Parapsychological Association Outstanding
Contribution Award, the U.S. Navy’s Certificate of Commendation,
OOOM Magazine's (Germany) 100 Most Inspiring People in the World Award,
and the 2018 Albert Nelson Marquis Award for Outstanding Contributions,
and is listed in multiple Who’s Who.
Stephan
A. Schwartz is an internationally
known researcher in the field of extraordinary human functioning. He
is the former Research Director of the Mobius Society, editor of Subtle
Energies, and a founder and past-president of the Society for the Anthropology
of Consciousness. His work has been widely reported in print and electronic
media, including programs such as NOVA.
Thomas
W. Campbell is the author of the My Big TOE trilogy that
“unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind
and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal”,
as well as shines a light on the common spiritual basis of the world’s
major religions, while placing belief, dogma, and creed into a bigger
picture.
What are synthetic fuels?
Synthetic fuels are liquid fuels that basically have the same properties
as fossil fuels but are produced artificially. They can be used in the
same way as fossil fuels are used all around the world.
There is a
lot of talk about renewable synthetic fuels recently. They are generally
seen as a technology that will play an important role to reach net zero
in the transportation sector. Terms like “biofuel”, “synfuel”,
and “e-fuel” are often used interchangeably. But there are
important differences between the various types of synthetic fuels regarding
their production, scalability, and sustainability. So let’s shed
light into the seemingly complicated world of synthetic fuels and learn
about the basics of synthetic fuel production. It’s not all that
complicated – we promise!
What are synthetic fuels?
Synthetic fuels are liquid
fuels that basically have the same properties as fossil fuels but are
produced artificially. They can be used in the same way as fossil fuels
are used all around the world. For example, it is possible to produce
synthetic jet fuel, diesel, or gasoline for conventional planes, ships,
trucks, and cars. The main difference between fossil and synthetic fuels
is how they are produced: fossil fuels are formed over millions of years
underground from organic matter that is turned into coal, natural gas,
or oil. Synthetic fuels are produced by mimicking these natural processes
using renewable resources.
How are renewable synthetic fuels produced?
To understand the production
of renewable synthetic fuels, you have to understand what fossil fuels
are made of: put simply, they are made of chains of the elements hydrogen
(H) and carbon (C). Or in other words, they consist of hundreds of different
hydrocarbon molecules.
The key to producing synthetic fuels is syngas, a mixture of hydrogen
(H) and carbon monoxide (CO). Think of syngas as a brick. Once you have
bricks, you can build any shape of house. Syngas is the universal brick
you need to produce any type of liquid hydrocarbon fuel, such as jet
fuel, diesel, or gasoline. Turning syngas into fuel is an established
industrial process that has been applied on a large scale for decades,
using coal and natural gas as feedstocks, which is of course not sustainable.
So that’s exactly where the challenge lies: producing syngas sustainably.
The production of syngas requires a large amount of energy. To produce
it in a sustainable way, this energy needs to come from a renewable
resource, such as biomass, solar, wind, or hydro.
What types of renewable synthetic fuels are there?
To date, three methods
for the production of renewable syngas, and consequently climate-friendly
synthetic fuels are known: biofuels, which are produced from biomass,
e-fuels, which are produced with renewable electricity, and solar fuels,
which are produced with solar heat. All three methods mainly go through
syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The syngas is subsequently
turned into liquid fuels via industrial gas-to-liquid processes. That’s
why these three methods are sometimes also referred to as “Biomass-to-Liquid”,
“Power-to-Liquid”, and “Sun-to-Liquid” respectively.
Biomass-to-Liquid produces
biofuels
While several processes exist to convert biomass into liquid fuels,
the most scalable and most versatile in terms of feedstock goes through
the gasification of biomass. More specifically, biomass is converted
at high temperatures into syngas. The heat input required to drive the
process is usually generated by burning a part of the biomass itself.
Feedstocks can be ad-hoc grown plants (i.e. energy crops such as sugar
cane or corn), waste biomass, or algae. Biofuels are the only type of
renewable synthetic fuels that are already available on the market in
small quantities. They are often criticized for competing with the food
industry for arable land, their water consumption, and their limited
scalability.
Power-to-Liquid produces
e-fuels
E-fuels are produced from renewable electricity, such as solar, wind,
or hydro power. The Power-to-Liquid process relies on a series of energy
conversion steps. First, renewable electricity is generated, which then
drives an electrolyzer that splits water in hydrogen and oxygen. Next,
the hydrogen is mixed with carbon dioxide and turned into syngas via
the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction – a process that is
conducted at high temperatures and driven with electricity. There are
several projects planned, but to date no industrial e-fuel plant exists,
which also means that e-fuels are not yet available on the market. E-fuels
can be produced with any type of renewable electricity, thus they could
theoretically be produced around the world. However, electricity storage
for continuous operation remains a challenge, which limits the application
to few regions with an extraordinarily cheap and continuous renewable
electricity supply or requires the integration of expensive battery
technology.
Sun-to-Liquid produces
solar fuels
Solar fuels are produced
from solar heat that drives a thermochemical reactor. In the reactor,
carbon dioxide and water are converted into syngas. Just like e-fuels,
solar fuels are not yet available on the market. Sunny regions offer
ideal conditions for the production of solar fuels, in particular deserts
and semi-arid regions with high solar radiation. The solar heat generated
during the day can be stored by inexpensive thermal energy storage to
enable round-the-clock production of fuels. Storage makes solar fuel
plants self-sufficient and independent from any grid, giving them the
potential to be scaled quickly and broadly.
Where can synthetic fuels be used?
Synthetic fuels are fully
compatible with the existing global fuel infrastructure. They can be
used in conventional internal combustion engines and jet engines, meaning
that regular cars, planes, and ships can be fueled up with synthetic
fuels without being changed or refitted. Furthermore, they can use the
established fuel infrastructure for storage and distribution.
Renewable synthetic fuels are generally seen as a solution to decarbonize
in particular those transportation sectors that cannot be electrified.
Long-distance transportation needs energy carriers with a very high
energy density and, therefore, will continue to rely on liquid fuels
as they contain 60 to 100 times more energy per mass than lithium-ion
batteries. For long-distance aviation, batteries are simply too heavy
and bulky. Therefore, the aviation industry counts on renewable synthetic
fuels – which they call Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) –
to reach net zero in the future.
Some
of the major companies in the global synthetic fuel market are Sasol,
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell, Phillips 66, ExxonMobil,
Petrochina, Reliance Industries Ltd., and Bosch
Sasol is a global chemicals
and energy company. We harness our knowledge and expertise to integrate
sophisticated technologies and processes into world-scale operating
facilities. We safely and sustainably source, produce and market a range
of high-quality products in 22 countries, creating value for stakeholders.
Our purpose “Innovating for a better world” compels us to
deliver on triple bottom line outcomes of People, Planet and Profit,
responsibly and always with the intent to be a force for good.
We have prioritised four
Sustainable Development Goals to ensure our business is environmentally,
socially and economically sustainable. We are a public company listed
on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa and the New York
Stock Exchange in the United States. We strive to deliver sustainable
and superior value to all our stakeholders.
Sasol’s Energy Business comprises the Southern African value chain
and is responsible for the management of its liquid fuels marketing
and sales channels through which the business provides various petroleum
products to consumers.
In addition, the business
manages the gas sourcing and marketing value chain in South Africa.
We are investing in low-carbon
activities by working with local and global partners and investing in
innovation and research to support South Africa in positioning itself
as a global producer of green hydrogen with our current natural endowments.
Our Energy Business has
a strong regional position across Southern Africa and is a customer
centric organisation that leverages our unique technologies and advantaged
assets to create value for our stakeholders.
We currently operate integrated
value chains with feedstock sourced from our Mining and Gas operating
segments and processed at our Secunda and Sasolburg Operations and Natref.
We also have associated
assets outside South Africa. These include the Pande-Temane Petroleum
Production Agreement (PPA) in Mozambique and ORYX GTL (gas to liquids)
in Qatar, a joint venture with Qatar Petroleum.
In recent times, there
has been a marked shift from use of conventional fossil fuels to new
and renewable sources of energy that are cleaner, safer and inexhaustible.
Against the backdrop of a widening gap between supply and demand, it
becomes imperative to diversify energy sources and explore alternative
ways to meet the country's energy need and sustain economic growth.
Growing environmental concerns also pose a serious challenge for energy
companies, underlying the urgency to usher in cleaner and sustainable
energy resources.
In the country's pursuit
of alternative sources of energy, IndianOil is focussing on CNG (compressed
natural gas), Autogas (LPG), ethanol blended petrol, bio-diesel, and
Hydrogen energy.
CNG
CNG is being marketed from
select IndianOil outlets in Mumbai and Delhi as a franchisee of Mahanagar
Gas Ltd., Mumbai, and Indraprastha Gas. Ltd., Delhi, respectively. As
on date, CNG is available at 13 IndianOil outlets each in Mumbai and
Delhi. As demand picks up, IndianOil will set up additional outlets.
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG)
Bio-gas is produced naturally
(through a process of anaerobic decomposition) from waste / bio-mass
sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud,
municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc. After purification,
it is compressed and called CBG, which has high methane content. Further,
Compressed Bio-Gas is exactly similar to the commercially available
natural gas in its composition and energy potential. With similar calorific
value and other properties similar to CNG, Compressed Bio-Gas can be
used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel. Given the abundance
of biomass in the country, Compressed Bio-Gas has the potential to replace
CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.
In a significant push that has the potential to boost availability of
more affordable transport fuels, better use of agricultural residue,
cattle dung and municipal solid waste as well as to provide an additional
revenue source to farmers, an innovative initiative titled SATAT (Sustainable
Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) has been kicked-off by
PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs, that is, IOC, BPC and HPC) inviting
Expression of Interest (EoI) from potential entrepreneurs to set up
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available CBG in
the market for use in automotive fuels. This developmental effort would
benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs.
Autogas (LPG)
AutoGas (LPG) is a clean,
high octane, abundant and eco-friendly fuel. It is obtained from natural
gas through fractionation and from crude oil through refining. It is
a mixture of petroleum gases like propane and butane. The higher energy
content in this fuel results in a 10% reduction of CO2 emission as compared
to MS. The use of LPG as an automotive fuel has become legal in India
with effect from April 24, 2000, albeit within the prescribed safety
terms and conditions. Hitherto, the thousands of LPG vehicles running
in various cities have been doing so illegally by using domestic LPG
cylinders, a very unsafe practice. Using domestic LPG cylinders in automobiles
is still illegal. The fuel is marketed by IndianOil under the brand
name 'AutoGas'. Indian Oil has setup 352 Auto LPG Dispensing Stations(as
on 01.11.19) covering 204 cities across India. AutoGas impacts greenhouse
emissions less than any other fossil fuel when measured through the
total fuel cycle. Conversion of petrol to AutoGas helps substantially
reduce air pollution caused by vehicular emissions The saving on account
of conversion to AutoGas in comparison to petrol is about 35-40%. Low
filling times and the 35-40% saving is a reason enough for a consumer
to convert his vehicle to AutoGas.
Ethanol-blended petrol
In the year 2003, a new
eco-friendly fuel popularly called 'Gasohol' was launched. This fuel
combines petrol with 5% ethanol obtained from the sugarcane molasses
available throughout the country. IndianOil's R&D centre has established
a feasibility of ethanol blending up to 10%, which is now gaining acceptance
of vehicle manufacturers. India has also signed a MOU with Brazil in
April 2002 for transfer of technology in blending ethanol with petrol
and diesel at higher properties.
Doping of ethanol with
petrol supplies extra oxygen for complete combustion, which reduces
carbon monoxide levels in auto emission and therefore, it is considered
more environment friendly as it lessens air pollution. For now, its
biggest advantage is for the macro economy. When fully implemented all
over the country, the programme can provide tangible benefits to our
economy on the energy front.
Based on successful completion
of the pilot project initiated by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas, Government of India and studies conducted by IndianOil R&D,
supply of 5% ethanol-blended petrol has been initiated in 10 States
and three Union Territories in the first phase, and will be further
extended to all parts of the country subsequently.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an alternative
fuel, having diesel like properties, synthesised by a simple chemical
reaction of alcohols with vegetable oils. It is commonly made from edible
oils like soyabean, rapeseed and palm oil in the world. However, non-edible
tree borne oil seeds of Jatropha and Karanjia are material of choice
for India. These trees are energy fixing, fast-growing and yield appreciable
quantity of seeds.
IndianOil R&D has perfected
a process to produce biodiesel from various non-edible oils, especially
from Jatropha and Karanjia. The biodiesel produced has been tested for
its properties and meets the stringent international standards. Extensive
field trials have been conducted using 5 and 10% bio-diesel blends in
collaboration with Indian Railways, Haryana Roadways, TATA, etc.
The R&D Centre is now
taking a number of initiatives for promotion of biodiesel in the country.
A state-of-the art quality control laboratory has been set up to check
the quality of biodiesel, as per ASTM/BIS specifications. IndianOil has
entered into an MOU with Indian Railways for plantation of Jatropha on
railway land. It is also setting up 10 biodiesel procurement centres.
A reduction of 10 to 15% in smoke density has been observed with the use
of biodiesel blends.
Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen holds the potential
to provide a clean and reliable source of energy that can be used in
a wide range of applications, including the transport sector. Besides
ensuring energy security to the nation, the environmental benefits of
using Hydrogen in a fuel cell vehicle could be significant.
IndianOil R&D in collaboration
with SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) and other vehicle
manufacturers, had undertaken extensive field validation exercises to
arrive at the optimal Hydrogen percentage to be spiked in CNG for deriving
maximum benefits in fuel economy and emissions reduction. Further, IndianOil
is also extensively working with heavy duty automakers to optimise the
catalyst recipe of three-way catalytic converters fitted on buses and
trucks to bring down the NOx levels within the permissible range of
the BS-VI emission limits when CNG is replaced with H-CNG.
Decarbonisation is one of the biggest challenges faced by aviation,
and the pathway to net-zero emissions will take innovation, collaboration
and legislation. Find out how Shell is continually working with its
industry partners to significantly scale sustainable aviation fuel.
Synthetic kerosene – the future of aviation?
As the aviation sector
seeks to decarbonise and reduce emissions, sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF) has a key role to play but requires bold action from airlines,
fuel providers, and policymakers in order to reach the necessary scale.
One challenge the industry faces is finding more ways to make SAF at
commercial scale using different feedstocks and processes. Therefore,
we are proud to share a breakthrough from Shell Aviation that shows
the feasibility of an innovative, lower-carbon pathway for making SAF.
In May 2020 Shell accepted
a BHAG
challenge (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), from the Ministry
of Infrastructure and Water Management to produce an amount of sustainable
synthetic kerosene beyond labatory scale at the Shell Technology Centre
Amsterdam.
What started with an innovative
industry challenge, ended with the world’s first flight using certified,
synthetic kerosene made from hydrogen and recycled carbon. Synthetic
fuel is not new, as we have been producing it for decades with the help
of fossil resources.
With nearly 150 years of
experience, we are well-positioned to help fulfill global energy needs.
We are a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company with
unique businesses in Refining, Midstream, Chemicals and Marketing and
Specialties.
Today, Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics
company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing
and Specialities businesses, the company processes, transports, stores
and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company's
master limited partnership (MLP), is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered
in Houston, Texas, Phillips 66 has 14,300 employees committed to safety
and operating excellence.
Our methanol to gasoline (MTG) process selectively converts
methanol to a single fungible liquid fuel and a small LPG stream. The
liquid product is conventional gasoline with very low sulphur and low
benzene, which can be sold as-is or blended with ethanol, methanol or
with petroleum refinery stocks. This minimizes offsite and logistic
complexity and investment for synthetic fuel distribution.
Methanol-to-gasoline chemistry
was discovered by ExxonMobil scientists in the 1970s. Over years of
extensive studies and pilot plant operations, ExxonMobil developed both
the fixed bed and fluid bed MTG processes. Compared to fixed bed MTG,
fluid bed MTG demonstrates overall advantages in CAPEX, OPEX, operation
reliability, steady product quality, carbon intensity, and more. Today,
Exxon Mobil is focusing on actively licensing fluid bed MTG over fixed
bed MTG. The unique MTG catalyst is the science that limits the synthesis
reactions to ~11 carbons, which is exactly the gasoline range.
PetroChina is one of the
major oil and gas producers and distributors in China, as well as a
significant player in the global oil and gas industry. We are engaged
in a wide range of activities related to oil, gas and new energy, and
sustainably provide energy and oil products for economic and social
development.
We strongly acknowledge that a good ecological environment is fundamental
for human beings to survive and remain healthy, and it is the most important
factor in terms of the well-being of the people and productivity. Caring
for life and protecting the environment to build a beautiful world with
harmony between human beings and nature have been integrated into our
work philosophy. We are always committed to the QHSE principle of "people-centered,
quality foremost, safety first, environment prioritized" to achieve
"zero defects, zero injuries and zero pollution" , to promote
economical production, cleaner production and safe production, and endeavor
to build PetroChina into a resource-conserving, environmentally friendly
and safety-conscious business.
Clean Energy
Natural Gas:
Natural gas is the Company's strategic, growing and value-added business,
which also serves as a bridge for the transition from fossil fuels to
clean energy. The vigorous development and utilization of natural gas
is a basic project that runs through the process of green and low-carbon
transition and development. We promote the development of conventional
gas and unconventional gases such as tight gas, shale gas and coal-bed
methane. In addition, we import natural gas through multiple channels
in order to form a diverse energy supply system. In 2020, we produced
119.52 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including domestic production
of 113.09 billion cubic meters, up 9.9% year-on-year. We increased imports
of pipeline gas and LNG, and sold 172.59 bcm of natural gas domestically,
which contributed to the optimization of China's energy mix and the
construction of a beautiful China.
We promote the comprehensive
utilization of natural gas in city gas, industrial fuels, natural gas
power generation, chemical feedstock and vehicle fuels. To meet the
demands of the 'coal-to-gas' users and maintain stable supply of resources,
we strengthen the demand-side management to ensure the users in seven
provinces/municipalities in northern China enjoy sufficient gas supply
for heating in the winter months.
New Energy and Alternative
Energy:
We take the development of new energy and alternative energy as new
driver for the development of green and low-carbon transition. In 2020,
we set up a new energy and new material business development leading
group, strengthened new energy development strategies and plans, and
continued to expand new energy businesses such as geothermal energy,
solar energy, bio-fuels, and charging (battery exchange) stations, especially
with great progress in the field of hydrogen energy.
Response to Climate
Change
At PetroChina, we support
the global goal of limiting global warming to less than 2°C by the
end of this century. To this end, we implement the "carbon peak,
carbon neutrality" goal proposed by the Chinese government, and
we strive to be the supplier of clean energy and the promoter of the
low-carbon transition of society, and share the practices of greenhouse
gas control with industry peers and all sectors of society.
We make vigorous efforts
in developing natural gas and planning for new energy and new materials,
with a view to meeting the needs of the society for clean and high-quality
energy and products. We continuously improve the carbon control system,
strengthen the carbon emission management, and actively participate
in the global oil and gas industry cooperation on responses to climate
change. We have issued the Methane Emission Control Action Plan to propose
a goal of reducing methane emission intensity by around 50% by 2025
from the 2019 level.
Reliance Industries Limited
is a Fortune 500 company and the largest private sector corporation
in India.
Our motto “Growth is Life” aptly captures the ever-evolving
spirit of Reliance. We have evolved from being a textiles and polyester
company to an integrated player across energy, materials, retail, entertainment
and digital services. In each of these areas, we are committed to innovation-led,
exponential growth. Our vision has pushed us to achieve global leadership
in many of our businesses.
Reliance's products and services portfolio touches almost all Indians
on a daily basis, across economic and social spectrums. We are now focussed
on building platforms that will herald the Fourth Industrial Revolution
and will create opportunities and avenues for India and all its citizens
to realise their true potential.
The RIL HSE vision embraces the concept of sustainable development focused
on environmental sustainability. We recognize that sustainable business
advantage occurs when we understand and address environmental issues
in our operations including development of products and their delivery.
RIL sites aspire to increase energy efficiency of production processes,
apply advanced technology to produce less waste and demand less energy,
reduce and eliminate flaring and venting of feed and product gases,
including volatile organic compounds. These are the first steps toward
environmental sustainability, focusing on operating processes that minimize
resource use and environmental waste.
Synthetic fuels can make
gasoline- and diesel-powered cars carbon-neutral, and thus make a significant
contribution to limiting global warming.
For climate targets to be achieved, CO2 emissions from traffic worldwide
will have to be reduced 50 percent over the next four decades, and by
at least 85 percent in the advanced economies.
After all, even if all
cars were to drive electrically one day, aircraft, ships, and even trucks
will still run mainly on fuel. Carbon-neutral combustion engines that
run on synthetic fuels are thus a very promising path to explore —
also for passenger cars.
2.8 gigatons of CO2 could be saved by 2050 with the use of synthetic
fuels.
Nick Jankel is CEO of Switch
On, a trailblazing transformation company that unlocks life-changing
and world-changing transformations in individuals, relationships, leaders,
and systems. Transform yourself and our world with Bio-Transformation
Theory®.
With 25+ years hard-won experience advising world-class blue chips,
scale-ups, and purposeful orgs on the front lines of disruption, Nick
is one of the world’s preeminent practitioners, keynote speakers,
and theorists of transformational leadership and breakthrough innovation.
He is the co-founder of leadership consultancy Switch On and transformative
sustainability agency FutureMakers; and the co-creator of Bio-Transformation®,
a theory and toolset for transformation built on the latest brain and
behavioral sciences.
Aside from his commitment
as a parent and partner, Nick supports execs and changemakers of all
kinds to transform themselves, their enterprises, and their systems
to forge — and not fail — the future. He has led 100+ disruptive
innovation projects (e.g. Microsoft, Diageo, Novartis, Genentech, BBC);
given 1000+ keynotes (e.g. Google, Pfizer, LEGO, No.10 Downing, Schroders);
and developed 100,000+ leaders (e.g. Nike, Intel, Unilever, Zalando,
HSBC, NHS). He is an expert in designing, delivering, guiding leadership
development and breakthrough innovation programmes that result in the
transformation of teams, business models, and cultures.
Nick studied at two unis
in the global Top 10: Medicine & Philosophy of Science at Cambridge
(Triple 1st) & Clinical Medicine at UCL. He has taught at Yale,
LBS & Oxford and co-authored a paper in the top 1% of citations.
A pioneer of purpose-led enterprise, he has taught impact entrepreneurs
on 4 continents; was a UK Ambassador for Entrepreneurship; and has advised
No.10 Downing St & the EU.
Described as a true polymath,
Nick’s life’s work has been to unfold Bio-Transformation®,
a rigorous method for unlocking change in individuals, organizations,
and systems as fast as humanly possible. It is woven from the latest
neuroscience, complexity theory, trauma-informed psychology & contemplative
science. It is the foundation of Switch On's Cell to System™ leadership
curriculum, innovation programs, and systemic change programs (e.g.
Oxfam, WWF, NHS, UKGBC).
Nick is a futurist and
thought leader on international news; in the FT, The Times, The Guardian;
and on 100+ podcasts. He has coached celebrities and addicts on global
TV shows (BBC, MTV). He is the author of a number of well-received books
on creativity, leadership, wisdom, and transformation, including Now
Lead The Change: Regenerate Our Crisis-Hit World By Mastering Transformational
Leadership (2020). As a wisdom teacher and philosopher, he has spoken
at Aspen Ideas Festival, TOA, SAND, Science of Consciousness, Economist,
SOCAP & SciFoo.
“When we react to
problems, as opposed to create with them, we get hooked into stress.
When we are under constant low-grade stress — and it’s estimated
that over 80 percent of us are all the time — this begins to
hurt us.
1 When
we are stressed, our nervous system tightens up and we lose our creativity.
Stress stops us learning, and if we aren’t learning, we aren’t
growing.
2 Stress, AKA fear, corrodes the curiosity and courage we need to
experiment with the new. It is almost impossible to play big in life,
if we are scared of looking like idiots, going bankrupt, or being
rejected. Stress kills creativity and kills us too. Whereas small
amounts of stress help us focus, engage, and learn, chronic or elevated
stress burns us out, literally as well as metaphorically. People who
live near airports and deal with the stress of giant airplanes roaring
above them have higher rates of cardiac arrest than those who don’t.
3 People who deal with a controlling or uncommunicative boss have
a 60 percent higher chance of developing coronary heart disease than
those who don’t.
4 Stress leads to tangible changes inside all the cells of the body.
Specific genes start to express proteins, which leads to inflammation;
and chronic inflammation is associated with killers such as heart
disease and cancer. Over time, stress reduces our ability to prevent
aging, heal wounds, fight infections, and even be successfully immunized.
5 Unmanaged stress, simply from having a sense of disempowerment at
work, can be more dangerous than smoking or high cholesterol.”
“Krisis, the ancient Greek word
from which the modern term is derived, doesn’t mean something
terrible. It means a ‘turning point,’ a moment for a major
decision. Across the other side of the planet, the Chinese developed
a word for ‘crisis’ that also brings with it a sense of
change. Their word contains two characters: One means ‘emergency’
and the other ‘opportunity.’ Within every crisis there is
something dangerous, which we can, and must, pay attention to. Yet,
after we have dealt with the most pressing issues, we get access to
an opportunity too. We can use any crisis as a turning point to find
more peace, purpose, and power inside us. Some wisdom traditions,
such as the Eleusinian Mysteries in Ancient Greece, even created artificial
crises for their adepts to ensure they got their money’s worth.
Few people want to engage in a transformational experience and not
come out with a change in attitude or a shift in consciousness! A
good crisis is the gateway to this. It serves as the incentive to
switch on. The great psychologist Carl Jung believed that even psychotic
crises could be deciphered as turning points for transformation and
change. So every crisis is asking you: Which way will you turn? Toward
the future or the past? Up onto the Breakthrough Curve or back into
your comfort zone”
Gregory Patmore
Asaf Mazar
Wendy Wood
