Dear friends
An Egyptian named Khalid Salaheldin attended a “Shapeshifting” weekend workshop I taught at Omega this past summer. On the morning of the second day, he announced to the entire class that he was an economic hit man who had just flown in from Dubai. He had not known why he had signed up for the workshop until that moment. Now, he said, he understood.
He and I had several discussions during breaks and then several weeks later I received the following email from him. Although Khalid describes me as the one who “collected a group of people” it is clear that his dream and the “Ethical Consciousness” label is for and about all of us. I share it with you in the hope that it will inspire you to – as he says – “bring to fruition” the dream of his great grandchildren.
Best wishes,
John
PS Khalid provides a brief bio at the end of his email – below.
Hi John,
Finally, I'm in a position to write you. I left the US, flew to Cairo, then came to Dubai exhausted by the long trip to the US and back home. I'm starting to get over the jet lag.
I want to thank you for the workshop and to share a story with you that came to me during one of my “journeys.” It is handed down to me from my great grandchildren...
A New Vision
They told me that a long time ago, in one of the year’s between 2010 and 2015, a man named John Perkins collected a group of people around him. He had prepared all his life for this moment. Some of those who joined him were financially powerful, some were wisdom-keepers, some were action-oriented, some were intellectuals, and some were politically influential. All of them were courageous. Unlike a lot of their neighbors, they had crossed the threshold and left fear behind. John and his group were like a pack of smart, strong and courageous wolves that attacked the giant behemoth. Their job was to tear it's flesh away -- so that it could replace the old stinking flesh with a more beautiful skin that radiated compassion.
They created a brand name: “Ethical Consciousness.” They lobbied for and received endorsements from many NGOs across the planet. They developed a set of criteria to govern how commercial enterprises should behave – in the areas of production, trade, resource consumption, profits, treatment of employees and customers, marketing, advertising, and other fields relating to environmental and social responsibility – and awarded the "Ethical Consciousness" endorsement to those enterprises that complied.
They worked with educational institutions in every city on the planet to inspire graduate departments to act as the auditing houses for the annual endorsement of the brand name. Graduate students everywhere learned about ethical approaches for managing organizations. At the same time they developed an awareness campaign for consumers, teaching them to buy only from ethical enterprises. People around the world took pride in wearing clothes and purchasing products that bore the “Ethical Consciousness” logo.
It was a planetary movement that transformed how business was done on every level. The mindset of people who were employees in the morning and parents in the evening changed. They were so proud of what they were doing in the morning that they were teaching their children in the evening about the "Ethical" way.
That's when my great grandchildren felt it was time for them to manifest into form and carry this work forth into their generation – and to share it with me and people in my generation.
It is a vision I hope others will help bring to fruition.
Khalid
Brief Bio: I am an Egyptian who worked for America global corporations from 1990 to 1998. I traveled throughout Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Because of my Arab background, I was responsible for opening subsidiaries in several Middle Eastern countries. Starting in 1995 I also headed up non-profit NGOs that were funded by those same corporations. These NGOs interfaced with government officials and local US commercial trade staffs with the specific goal of changing laws in ways that would benefit the corporations. I have lied, manipulated, and coerced – all under the general banner of “economic development” and “doing the right thing.” Now I truly do want to do the right thing. I want to teach others about what I know and in the process create a sustainable, just, and peaceful world. I am actively involved in developing programs for teaching teachers.
The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins
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