The idea that an individual can change the world is nothing new. Two remarks in particular catch my attention, the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world” and Mr. Albert Einstein, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” These wise maxims captivate me, excite me, because they’re pointing out instructions for making the vital yet subtle shift from uninvolved bystander to a personal change agent.

What is a personal change agent? Astrologist and author Rob Brezsny, in his book Pronoaic is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings, believes it is a person who “retrains themselves to see every problem as a gift designed to make them smarter, kinder, and more fully alive.”  You stop asking, “Why me?” and you start realizing you hold the ability, in every situation, to influence positive change. That change comes not through leviathan or saintly endeavors, but by making the choice, over and over again, to see yourself as inter-connected with everyone and everything, and thus responsible for helping to create the world you share. 

For example, I came home from a week’s spiritual retreat overflowing with love. After a few days, I noticed my husband easily giving me what I’d wanted for years- greater intimacy, without my asking. For a long time, I had firmly believed that if greater intimacy was going to happen, it was up to him.  No. By being loving, I affected powerful change for my entire family. Dr. Kathleen Hall, author of Alter Your Life and founder of The Stress Institute, says, “A change agent knows that love is a decision.”  If you act a certain way, you will become that way. That’s the secret of mega-change agents like Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela.

Sound daunting?  It doesn’t have to be.  “I ask clients for just one week to become aware of what feeds them and what saps their energy, “ advises Dr. Hall.  “Someone might notice that for years she’s woken up to a blaring alarm and nature sounds might be a better choice. At work, her co-worker asks, ‘Why are you in such a good mood?’  She tells her story and he starts thinking about changes he might make. The smallest changes will bring a response from the universe.”   

Small is beautiful and so is sharing your specific genius- it’s the key to having the fortitude to stick with change, because you’re better ready for people to resist your changes moves- change seems to scare people more than public speaking!  Brezsny says, “Everything I do has to be of service to other people and totally exciting for me.”  I see this magic synergy when my clients recognize that their unique gifts are also their most effective way to give to the world.

Karen Berg, director of Kabbalah Centres worldwide and author of God Wears Lipstick: Kabblalah for Women asks her students, “What are you doing for somebody else? The energy to create change only comes from sharing. Write down what you want to have change and then ask yourself, “What am I willing to give for this to happen?” You learn to ride the tricky edge between having a vision and being passionate about the change you want to see and at the same time, being of service to something greater than yourself, whether that is your family well-being or your community’s watershed.

A servant of change is creativity in motion.  Storyteller and intuitive Sonia Choquette find that this process calls for “an activation that comes from your spirit, not your ego mind.  The ego mind resists change at every level because it likes control but the spirit loves creativity.  The spirit wants to create.  A change agent is someone who is naturally aligned with her spirit and the desire to take any situation and create with it and make it better.”   This alignment requires the courage to face down your fears and biases, that parts of you that urges you to just take care of your own little interests and look out only for number one. 

For more information on changing the world, please download my latest podcast here. I explore this topic — and others — with Marney Makridakis, the creative genius behind Artella Words and Art, and puppetmaker extraordinaire Lani Gerity.

This episode also includes all kinds of new music, including the classic "Abandon" by Willow Pearson.

Don’t want to miss an episode? You can subscribe to the LoudenMouth Podcast through iTunes here.

If you are using an RSS feed, the new feed is available here.

Related posts:

1. Me Over the Bar and Can Art Save the World?
2. Art Can Save the World
3. Help for the Podcast Challenged
4. PodCast Time
5. LoudenClear Podcast #6 – The Shape of Your Soul