Four Keys For Thriving In Chaotic Times with Justine Willis Toms

Consciousness is changing for the better. Along with this leap in consciousness there is some amount of chaos. Justine Willis Toms presents four keys to finding and maintaining our true compass, our true direction in the midst of this great turning. She compares this time to that of a caterpillar inside the cocoon where it liquefies as imaginal cells begin to coalesce, soon to emerge as a butterfly. She suggests that “Each one of us are part of that collection of imaginal cells. We are the imaginal cells of the evolving human consciousness.” This is why we must not isolate ourselves. The first key is to get out into the corridors and rub shoulders with life. The second key is to stay curious because it is an antidote to fear. The third key is to remain optimistic because optimism is an antidote to worry. It is not a Pollyanna kind of optimism but a groundedness that keeps us from despair. Keeping this positive attitude helps us to remain in the game even though we may not know the outcome. As they say in AA, “don’t quit before the miracle happens.” And the fourth key is to gather with a circle of friends of the heart, people who support you in your fullness. Join Justine and be infected by her enthusiasm in this dynamic presentation. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Since 1973 Justine Willis Toms, Ph.D. (hon) has been exploring personal, social, and spiritual transformation through her work as an electronic journalist, editor, and writer. She is Cofounder, Executive Director, and host of New Dimensions Radio. She is a founding convener of the Millionth Circle Initiative and has been actively involved in circle work since 1980 including being a founding member of a mixed circle of men and women who have been meeting regularly since 1980. She has been meeting in a circle of women for over thirty years. She serves on the board of World Prayers (www.worldprayers.org) and Women’s Perspective (www.womensperspective.org). In June 2004, she was one of thirty people in the world invited to participate in the Synthesis Dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2011.

Her  books include:

• True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do (co-author Michael Toms) (Harmony Books 1999)
• Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World (Hampton Roads 2008)

To find out more about the work of Justine Willis Toms go to www.newdimensions.org.

Topics explored in this dialogue include:

• How the caterpillar becomes a butterfly
• How we are part of the collection of “imaginal cells” of the new consciousness
• Why we must not isolate in these threshold times
• How curiosity can be an antidote to fear
• Why we must keep working for what is right and good while holding the future loosely
• How optimism can be an antidote to worry
• Why we should go on a media fast
• What is the metaphor of the “Chinese Bamboo”
• How circles of “Friends of the Heart” help us to bring forth our inner genius

Host: Justine Willis Toms                   Interview Date: 6/29/2014                          Program Number: 3522

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