May 2013 Newsletter

May, 2013 Newsletter

How Conscious Business Will Heal Humanity and our Planet

John Montgonery wrote the book Great from the Start to show how to apply the business secrets of Silicon Valley to build a solid foundation. His talk will suggest the design of a new company as a conscious corporation. Why conscious?

  • First, to thrive a corporation must be awake to make conscious decisions with inspired people who are united by a common purpose and shared values.
  • Second, a corporation must be aware of all of its stakeholders' needs and the complexities of today's world. Without this awareness, the prevailing concept of the corporation existing solely to maximize profit for shareholders will limit its success.
  • Finally, because the law endows it with many of the rights of personhood, a corporation must be conscious to act appropriately as a responsible global citizen.

This will be an introduction to a new type of corporate structure, the Benefit Corporation. A corporate structure that considers more than the bottom line. Such a corporation recognizes that it must be active in all the aspects of the world it functions in.

Speaker's website.

TIME: Friday, 7:30 p.m., MAY 24, 2013
PLACE: Unity Community Church – Y.E.S. Hall, 3391 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
(doors open at 7 p.m.)

Speaker's Bio

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John Montgomery, is a corporate attorney, entrepreneur, executive coach and writer. He is the founder of Montgomery & Hansen, LLP, a Silicon Valley based corporate law firm and also the founder of Startworks, a technology incubator. He works primarily with high-potential entrepreneurial teams to help them translate their visions into successful companies.

John is a student of non-dual philosophical systems, neuroscience, developmental theory and organizational development. In 2010, he co-founded Chrysallis, a human development company that aims to change the human development paradigm and support healthy, full, productive lives for billions of people.

A TEDx lecture by John Montgomery.

Members get in FREE.
A $15 donation is asked of non-members at the door.
Students with ID, a $5 donation is asked.

AN FMBR TWO DAY WORKSHOP:

Self Healing, Creative Awareness, and the Subtle World
Mali Burgess, PhD

This workshop is an exploration of self-healing methods, processes of creative awareness, and the subtle world.

Self Healing combines focused awareness and deep relaxation with breath and gentle movement to release tension, heal chronic pain, and develop body awareness.

Exploring the subtle world will develop and deepen awareness of the dynamics of the subtle body, subtle senses, subtle fields, subtle realms, and the subtle world of nature.

Saturday & Sunday, May 25th & May 26th, 2013
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Los Altos Masonic Lodge, 146 Main St., Los Altos, CA
$140. members $160. non-members.

A SPECIAL TALK by
Dr. Eben Alexander, A Scientist and Physician

An Evening with Eben Alexander 
at Sofia University,
1069 E Meadow Circle, Palo Alto
(FMBR is a co-sponsor of this event.)

"Scientist and physician, Dr. Eben Alexander spent years honing his scientific world view, until a rare illness left him in a coma. Seven days later he awoke from a transcendental near-death experience with new insights documented in his book, s Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife. In his book, Dr. Alexander recounts his near death experience (NDE), its profound lessons, and the complete revision of everything he has come to believe about science, consciousness, spirituality, and the very nature of all existence.

"At the event, Dr. Alexander will meet with attendees at a VIP Reception, speak on his experiences, and sign copies of his book. "

Wednesday, June 19, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
at Sofia University, 1069 E Meadow Circle, Palo Alto(FMBR members pay only $30 per ticket, so bring your FMBR membership card with you.)

• Speaker's website

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Reimaging Corporations:
Bringing Conscious Awareness to Business

Judy Kitt, President, FMBR

Several months back, fellow FMBR board member, Mary Cummings, and I were sitting in a lecture given by Dawn Clark at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. The audience was very engaged as Dawn led us through various exercises and, over the course of the evening, the topic of success came up.  "What does success mean to you?", Dawn asked, and a lively conversation ensued.  One of the audience members that evening was Silicon Valley corporate attorney and author, John Montgomery.  He can speak with authority on success because he has helped a number of start-up companies reach their goals.

I have to be honest that I was a little surprised to meet John at Dawn Clark's talk.  I had fallen victim to an old stereotype:  that lawyers aren't the most spiritually aware people on the planet.  I should have known better, since I had been on the receiving end of "spiritual suspicion" years ago at an ISSSEEM (International Society for the Study of Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine) conference.  At the time, I was working at a large pharmaceutical company doing clinical research.  I was met with disbelief when I told people what I did for a living.  At the time, the terms "pharmaceutical research" and "subtle energy medicine" didn't really go together.  But times are changing quickly.  Many mainstream scientists today are interested in the new possibilities that are presented by findings in the realms of quantum physics.  And it's not just scientists who are interested.  As anyone who is paying attention to cutting edge research coming out of more and more labs these days will tell you, the terrain we find ourselves in is expanding rapidly.  The field of what's possible is opening up across all sectors of society, as we get glimpses of just how interrelated our reality is.  We are participating in the birth of a new way of thinking--one which will help us to navigate the challenges we face on the planet today.

As Mary, John and I spoke together after the talk, we found ourselves finishing each other's sentences.  We were on the same wavelength, talking about the movement to embrace principles traditionally considered as "feminine"--principles of nurturing, relatedness, stewardship, intuition and yes, love-- in every aspect of our society, including business.  It is happening as we speak, and John's work is helping to create the shift in the business world.

In his book, Great From the Start, John cites the latest research in neuroscience, neuro-leadership and social intelligence and applies those findings to the world of business.  Learning from the latest advances in cognitive development and consciousness research, he lays out a roadmap for entrepreneurs who are looking to create successful companies that are still for-profit entities, but will consider society and the environment in addition to profit in their decision making process.  These are called "Benefit Corporations",

In order to create a sustainable future, John posits that three simultaneous paradigm shifts are required:

  • That corporations exist  to provide a material positive impact on society and the environment as well as create profits,
  • That corporations are a complex ecosystem of multiple stakeholders, instead of a duality of management and stockholders, and
  • That successful leaders must develop traditional business aptitudes as well as cultivate more complex states of consciousness.

For example

A CEO of a company can use the awareness that we have "mirror neurons" that cause us to recognize others' behaviors and intuitively reproduce them in our own actions. Neurons in our individual brains can function to form a single system out of a group of people.   By actively cultivating higher levels of awareness, that CEO can help create coherence in the system that is the company and consciously create a corporate culture that is in alignment with the core values laid out in the company's charter.

Never been a more urgent need

As John states in the book, "There has never been a more urgent need for a better way of building businesses, because a truly sustainable economy requires an entirely new way of thinking about corporations." It is exciting to see the ways that John provides a framework for building conscious organizations based on some of the fundamental principles of neuroscience, companies that will help us meet the urgent demands of this century.

As John states in the book, "There has never been a more urgent need for a better way of building businesses, because a truly sustainable economy requires an entirely new way of thinking about corporations." It is exciting to see the ways that John provides a framework for building conscious organizations based on some of the fundamental principles of neuroscience, companies that will help us meet the urgent demands of this century.

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Would you like to author a guest editoral in the FMBR newsletter? If so, please submit a short (900-1200 word) article on a subject related to science and consciousness to webmaster@fmbr.org. 
Ken Morley, Director, FMBR

FMBR Is on Video

There are two ways to see the FMBR meetings on video. On USTREAM and Vimeo

1. At the time of the meeting we are broadcasting live video on Ustream.tv on the web. These recordings are of our meeting speakers and some of the short topics that often introduce the meetings proper. The videos are of medium quality as far as video but good quality on the audio side. We have all the meetings starting from Jan, 2012, except for Feb, May, and Aug (Jun we had no meeting). Anyone can watch these videos.

2. As our video editor (and videographer) Kurt Bohan finishes the video of each meeting, this more polished version is put online at the video service Vimeo. To view these videos you must be a member of FMBR ( if you get the FMBR newsletter, that does not indicate that you are a member, the annual donation for membership is only $50). Each video has a different password. If you are a current member you are invited to send an email or letter to FMBR requesting a list of the videos and the password for each.

UPCOMING FRIEND EVENTS

June 8: 1:30 pm San Jose Dowsers blog, San Jose: (Check later this month.)

MAY 16: 7:00 pm Smart Life Forum, Palo Alto: Tom Levy, MD speaks on
"Health Ailments and Vitamin C"

May 28, 2013: 7:30 pm South Bay IANDS Saratoga:

RAHM: Metaphysical Exploration Group, Novato: (check their website)

INFORMATION ABOUT THE
THE FOUNDATION FOR MIND-BEING RESEARCH

About a year ago, FMBR and its founder Bill Gough determined that it would be in the best interest of the organization to broaden its mission to encompass more than the knowledge and growth of the concept of mind-being. The broadened mission for FMBR can be stated as follows:

  • Our mission is to expand the context of scientific exploration to include our interconnectedness with each other and the universe.
  • Our purpose is to lead people to self-empowerment in order to create positive changes for themselves and the planet.
  • Our research programs will explore a more encompassing view of the nature of the universe -- one that includes both the physical and non-physical aspects.
  • Our educational programs will share this expanded world view with our membership and the community locally via the institute, and worldwide via the internet.
  • We create partnerships that foster innovative solutions for the challenges that are facing our world today.

To reflect this broader mission, the organization has adds three key areas of focus:

Education

  • Continue with monthly lectures and workshops to maintain and grow a local community of interested individuals.
  • Present courses on the learnings from the past 30 years and on the current state of the science of consciousness, providing evidence of our connectedness and the nature of our being
  • Create study and working groups to focus on relevant areas of interest

Science/Research

  • Presentation of scientific research at the forefront of consciousness/mind-being and environmental sustainability.
  • Foster scientific work on leading edge areas and foster collaborative efforts/joint meetings with key principals in the scientific fields of interest.
  • Develop high standards of credibility in all research activities and publications.

Societal/Global Values

  • We foster the world view that results from the understanding of our connectedness, that we are One world and One people.
  • We are and will be stewards for the sustainability of humanity and the planet.
  • We believe in the interconnectedness of life -- our individual and collective actions affect others as well as all of nature and the planet.

As part of its mission and inherent belief in the interconnectedness of all creation, FMBR adheres to the following principles:

  • Treat others with Dignity and Decency, regardless of race, gender, or physical appearance.
  • Do no harm -- to others, to society, to the earth, and to all the inhabitants of the earth including plants and animals.
  • Foster fairness and balance in all aspects of life -- for individuals, for society, for nations, and for economies.

Donations made to the Foundation are tax deductible. The Foundation is incorporated under the laws of the State of California and operates as a non-profit scientific research organization under IRS code 509(a)2 with tax exempt status under section 501(c)3. The organization was founded in 1980 and is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA.

Foundation for Mind-Being Research
P.O. Box 449, Los Altos, Ca 94023-0449

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