During the fifth session of our Deeptime Leadership Program, Learning Track Pods, Steve Martin explored how matrix and embeddedness can lead to deepening course participants’ allurements and passions in the midst of community. Steve shared the amazing online Padlet with a world map featuring our international ecosystems. We met in break-out groups to experience the richness of being together in community, share our project ideas, and receive feedback from others.

Summarizing our collective experience of the Principles of Matrix and Leadership, Steve wrote that he is increasingly aware of how profound the power of a Deeptime perspective is to bring people together. He notices how wonderful it is to be in a community that recognizes and values diversity and differentiation while interweaving connectedness, difference, and unity.

Jennifer and Steve have also been appreciating that activating our allurement has accelerated bringing forth insights that they were anticipating would come later in the course. They have also observed that creating a welcoming space for the contributions of each person, reinforced by ACQUITS and Emergent Dialogue, has supported the sense of collective belonging.

Following are some insightful contributions that Imogene Drummond felt enriched herself and the group during the Wednesday night session:

  • In her beautiful opening meditation, Margie Abbott quoted Brian Swimme saying: “The Universe is my body, my body is the universe.”
  • In thanking Margie for her meditation, Steve commented that it’s a paradox how the universe is one—with so many different perspectives and so many different ways of experiencing it—so the Universe is simultaneously one and a celebration of diversity.
  • Matt Cobb posed the question how do we awaken a Cosmic Consciousness to the destruction of the world—and shift from teaching to witnessing—to allow our interaction with the destructiveness in the world to guide us forward in a new way.
  • Ann Bone in Toronto is interested in the idea of helping people understand their true identity as an aspect of Earth. She recommended David Suzuki’s book “The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature,” which explores that we are water, air, energy, and fire–the four elements are us.
  • Sister of Mercy Patricia Powell, working with 7 other Australian nuns in Papua New Guinea mentioned the Vatican Council’s acknowledgement of the immanence of God. She feels there is a transformation taking place and changing the way we see ourselves, and the way we see the world. She also mentioned her Kenyan friend Cora, from the Rift Valley, and the indigenous roots of the human family which started there. Patricia recommended the film “Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey” about the origin of our global family tree in Africa.

Thanks to Margie Abbott and Haseena Patel

Great appreciation also goes to Margie for leading us in our opening meditation on Wednesday and creating spaces for emergence through Deeptime meditations. Deep gratitude also to Haseena for her opening meditation on Friday in interweaving our community together with love and a higher vision.

Diversity Video

In closing, Bernadette Bostwick shared a fabulous video in celebration of love and diversity called “Love Has No Labels.” Her son Justin was one of the art directors, and it’s been seen by over 60 million people. Thank you Bernadette and Justin for embracing the power of diversity and showing that love has no labels or boundaries! https://youtu.be/PnDgZuGIhHs