The Missing Conversation, Episode 83.

A billion changes will change the world. Every one of us is the one that’s important to make these small changes.

On this podcast, we will propose critical new strategies to address world issues including homelessness, immigration, amongst several others, and making a connection to how our individual psychology contributes and can help transform the dangers that we face. We will break from traditional thinking as we look at our challenges from a freer and more independent point of view. Your host, Robert Strock, has had 45 years of experience as a psychotherapist, author, and humanitarian, and has developed a unique approach to communication, contemplation, and inquiry, born from working on his own challenges.

I want to thank you so much for joining us again at The Missing Conversation where we do our really best to address the most pressing issues that the world’s facing and where we’re looking for the most practical, inspiring, and innovative ideas to support survival on our planet and enhance human opportunities for everyone. And I particularly wanna thank you if you’ve listened to the last couple of episodes because they’re unquestionably gonna create some feeling of guilt or inadequacy and to persevere beyond that and to see that the intention is not to create guilt or not to foster guilt in inadequacy, but to foster looking at the potential that you have that we all have. And today we’re gonna deeply explore how our conscious beliefs, that all men are created equal, is so grossly being violated with endless rationalizations, beliefs, actions, and attitudes. And what you can do in the smallest and largest of ways to move in this direction. And to realize that it’s not guilt and inadequacy that’s being fostered, it’s not grandiosity that’s being fostered. It’s small steps of wisdom that you can start. So before I go further into this, I’d like to introduce Dave, my dearest friend for 54 years—we’re changing it—and partner at The Global Bridge Foundation.

Robert, thank you. And as always, The Missing Conversation series and the wide and vast areas covered, including this particular series, touch me deeply and the wisdom imparted and the depth of each subject, important subject discussed, it just captures me. So thank you.

I so appreciate you joining me on every one of these. And it’s so helpful. So the world, using an expression from Abraham Lincoln and expanding on it, is clearly divided against itself. And when we look at that, when you look at that, you can say, well, duh. So it’s divided against itself. But the profound implications of being divided, rather than united, is the tragedy of all times, the tragedy of all times. And as we talked about in the last episode, we can be a downer and just say, well, I guess that’s just human nature. And as we said, then again, no, it’s not human nature. It is human conditioning. It is how we dominantly are, but we’re looking at moving in a direction, just a small change. It’s like imagine we’re a big ship and we only have to turn the wheel a little bit, a little bit.

(04:15)
We need to move toward cooperation. We need to move toward peace. We need to move toward understanding the dangers of nuclear weapons and find a way to make them not dangerous. We need to dedicate ourselves toward having international laws that foster peace and cooperations so we don’t kill ourselves. And the world is divided against itself and it needs to move toward unity. Now that’s obvious to everyone that’s listening. I know that I know it’s obvious to you, but what we’re looking at is what can you do to make the small steps that are coming from your wisdom, your heart, your common sense, your decency that you can make, and taking the time to explore that? The whole issue is your small steps not to get grandiose and not to just think, oh, I already understand that. And let it just stay in your head. The idea is to be an active participant as a brainstormer and a heart stormer.

(05:23)
Take a look and see are you open? And if you’re open, I can just make it very brief and we’ll make it very brief. If you’re closed, I wanna say, honestly admit you’re closed that you just already know it and you think that, oh, that knowing’s enough. And I ask you to open yourself up as you listen to the importance of every one of you making one small step on a regular basis. In this 21st century, it’s very likely going to be a life or death century for hundreds of millions of us. And it’s very likely, as I say that most of you will be in denial and will think, well that may be true. Versus it’s very likely to be true. And it’s very likely to be true that our kids and grandkids are gonna be living to a hundred years old and they’re gonna be victims.

(06:19)
And you very likely are protectors of your family. And it’s so important that you see protecting the family means protecting the bigger equality that is necessary for the most destitute parts of the world to be supported, to help themselves, to have opportunities to work so that terrorism is less likely, alienation is less likely, and unity is more likely what little steps, whether it’s conversations with friends, whether it’s not being skeptical and just keeping with your skepticism. That’s easy. I am, I guarantee you, as skeptical as you are of virtually everything my whole life, anyone that knows me well knows how much of a skeptic I am. And my mother gave it to me and I’m proud of it. And my skepticism, paradoxically, has led me to realize we’ll be dead. It’s allowed me to face reality. So I encourage you to be deeply skeptical and then challenge yourself of how can I use this skepticism not to be in denial?

(07:32)
And how can I face the reality that our whole planet is endangered? And what steps can I take? This reminds me of a session I had with a client and it was done in humor, but the humor had a deep truth to it. It was probably 98% true and 2% a joke. But we both laughed. And this client said to me, before I met you, I thought I was never gonna die. And with every client I see, almost every client I see I get to, we get to, look at death, we get to look at the finiteness of life to inspire us to go further into what we believe is saying, to what we believe is sensible. What we believe is inspiring or fulfilling. And this denial of death is the same denial that we’re projecting outwardly in the 21st century. Instead of it just being about our own death, it’s the death of the of the world.

(08:36)
And it’s so overwhelming that we keep it in the head or we don’t even keep it in the head. And so I want to be more informed and I also want to be more a part of the wave of the change that is utterly possible. Now, we talked a little bit in the last episode about artificial intelligence that as Einstein would say, is another level that we haven’t operated on before. And it gives us hope. We can program artificial intelligence to bring the bottom up. We can program artificial intelligence to say, what would it take psychologically to wake up the world leaders to the maximum degree possible? We can be a part of voting no matter where we are in the free world, to vote for people that are going to represent survival of the world. It’s gonna deal with global warming, it’s gonna deal with the dangers of nuclear war.

(09:44)
It’s going to create and foster international laws that are going to stop the Putin action in Ukraine in a much more immediate way, where the consequences are so stated and so committed that the movement is happening. Those are some of the small steps that are giant steps at the same time. But each of us need to work toward doing what we can, even if it’s on a completely different level. We are living in a self-hypnosis, believing that we are the center of the universe. And in a certain way it’s true. We’re acting as if it’s true. It’s, it’s like that old joke about shit: I can smell it, I can taste it, sure, glad I didn’t step in it. It’s like, it’s that joke that, oh, the world is very likely on the verge of either dying or being born in a way that fosters connection, that fosters using our intelligence and our wisdom through you.

(10:51)
Keep associating this with you. Don’t listen to me as if I’m someone important. Every one of us is the one that’s important to make these small changes. A billion changes will change the world. If a billion of us change our attitudes, we are so much more interconnected that it will be quantum leap. But we have to reach a billion of us that see, and I’m speaking metaphorically, I don’t know if it’s 2 billion or 500 million or 3 billion, but we need to reach a lot of us that want to change human conditioning, to have it be all, all of us are created equal and also that we are endangered and we have this great opportunity. And the idea here is absolutely not guilt, it’s inspiration, it’s vision, it’s facing reality. It’s intelligence. You have that. I believe you would not be listening to this podcast if you didn’t have the intelligence.

(11:56)
Now the key is, are you practically envisioning the next small steps while you’re listening to this? And after you’re listening to this, are you having conversations with your friends? Is this what’s becomes more and more interesting to you then just being entertained? I ask you to be really honest. How much do you believe. What, what percentage do you believe you’re caught in the hypnosis in your daily life? And then ask right after that, can I move 3%, 2%, 1%? Can I move on the line, on the continuum a little bit? Can I do that? Can I be inspired to do that? Do I feel motivated to do that? That’s all that matters. That’s what this whole series is about, is just moving the next step. If you get grandiose, you won’t move. If you get small, you will move. All of us need to realize that we matter and our small steps matter.

(12:58)
The lack of agreement in the world by the masses that we wanna move toward unity and take that next small step is keeping us frozen in our conditioning. To get out of the hypnosis, we need to say yes, I wanna take that next small step. Now conversations with friends about what’s your next small step could be groups all over the world or as I said earlier, having real low-income housing and real trades being given and taught to the poorest of the poor and the middle class and anyone that wants to do it is an alternative way of living, an alternative motivation that we haven’t had fed. So, the other purpose of these podcasts in this series is to feed the part of you that has this wisdom, that has this will, and this wish to take the next small step. Paradoxically, small is big and big doesn’t exist. If you get thinking really big, unless you’re in a position of great power, then you, you’ll be going nowhere. If you think small, then you’re thinking big. You need to understand that if you stay with this awareness inside yourself, it’s gonna matter. If you don’t apply it to yourself, it’s in the head. It’s not even worth listening. If you really care to look at the next small step, oh, a miracle is starting to happen.

I would love to hear some examples. I know I have some currently brewing in me of small steps. Uh, and I know it does feel overwhelming to me. All of these issues, the current one in the last day is, do I continue getting my scrips at Walgreens, knowing how they are handling issues around abortion medication and how that feels to me to treat women unequally, which again is the theme of this series is everybody is equal and that is part of it for me. Do I use my small economic contribution to their company as my small step or don’t I? And the same is true for fossil fuels. Can I afford to buy a vehicle that is going to be more or less either not using it or minimize using it and on and on and on it goes as far as preserving equality and as far as preserving our world.

So small steps would include joining groups like Indivisible, that is a national group that is attempting to stop the corrupt policies that have been instituted and the lies that have been followed by the Trump and the MAGA Republicans. That small step can be done by anybody. There’s, there’s a indivisible group in every county in the United States. Over a million people are part of of that community, all looking to have the world and the country be democratic. Anyone can do that. Anyone that has a computer can go to Google and ask, what is the foundation that’s nearest to me that I would most believe in? And you tell what your interest is. Google is your friend. Google will guide you locally if you are specific enough about what you care about in something that would make a difference. And you say, okay, I can volunteer one hour, one hour a week, one hour a month, whatever it is that you can do.

(16:41)
You can use Google as an endless resource. Starting a small group of your own of friends that are just gonna talk about what can we do that are small steps and what did we do from the last group supporting the foundation that is most dear to you in sending a dollar. Virtually everyone can do that. Voting, everyone can do that. Getting out to people who are not educated and educating yourself to how to educate the people that are either impoverished or don’t vote. Getting out there, because the majority of people that are not voting have wisdom cuz they’re suffering. And the more you can reach them, if each one of you can reach one person, our country would change and they would reach one person and they would reach one person and you’d carry that kind of inspiration. You sending a good vibe when you are at the teller at the market and they will have a better vibe when they go home or when you’re walking by the aisle. That matters.

(17:55)
Having a quality of caring or friendliness matters. It puts you in the frame of mind to do that. There are so many small steps that everyone is capable of. If any of you are not aware of the small steps that you are capable of, I ask you to write us at theglobalbridge.org and tell us a bit about you. And I promise you, we will respond to you and give you examples of small steps, shifts you can take. But if you have a computer, like I said, you know what to do. If you have a friend you know what you can talk about. If you’re by yourself, you know what you can think about. What are my small steps? You ask yourself the question. That’s the step, a step of asking yourself what the step is, is a step. So there is nobody on the planet that can’t take that small step.

(18:50)
Now it may be more disciplined to take care of your family so they’re in a better place to take care of someone else. And it may be just being more disciplined wherever you are, being more resourceful. People that are in survival struggles, how do I survive? Dwelling on that question. There is no one that doesn’t have that capacity. So as we’ve mentioned, the idea of protection is a completely different reality in the 21st century, protecting our children and grandchildren, protecting ourselves. We are not protecting ourselves. If you imagine yourself on a boat and you’re, you’re making sure you have a refrigerator and you have a bank account and you, your retirement’s taken care of, but the boat is sinking, that is the reality that we’re in. If you think you’re protecting your family by not protecting the world or not taking the next step, not going on the continuum, not bastardizing my words and making it as if it’s some grossly idealistic thing.

(19:53)
It’s the small step and it’s you that matters. And seeing that we’re all on this boat called planet earth and the planet earth has a big hole in it. The water’s just starting to leak, but it’s going to fill and the boat is gonna sink. If we don’t individually, if you don’t individually take the steps, again, not out of guilt, see if it makes sense to you. If it makes sense to you, then you’re gonna feel good about it. It’s wholesome, it’s good-natured. It’s the best part of you. If we look at the ideals of democracy, socialism, even communism for the whole world, they’re all philosophies that are based on taking care of the world. They’re all philosophies. I’m not saying any of them are being practiced cuz none of them are being practiced the way they’re meant to be practiced. But they’re all down deep visions of how, how the whole world can be taken care of.

(20:59)
Different visions, you know, obviously we, most of us identify with democracy, but communism is, is meant to take care of the whole. It just doesn’t. Democracy is meant to take care of the whole. It just doesn’t. So again, the key is what’s the next step? So much of any of our philosophies, whether it’s religion, psychology, politics, is based on fear rather than based on trust. And the best part of ourselves is based on trust. This is very important that you look inside and see, do I have a place inside me that can trust a next step, not trust the ultimate outcome. That’s way too far. Trust that the next step will feel good if I do one thing. And you might say, I’m afraid I don’t have enough so I need more money. I’m afraid I don’t have anything to give. So I don’t have the ability to talk or I don’t have the ability to vote, or I don’t have the ability to go on Google. Or, I trust that I have my brain, that I have some wisdom.

(22:10)
I have some—and this is really a big common sense as an inclusive—that we all have the potential to have this dignity, to have this urge for connection, community, love, compassion, the emphasis on sameness, rather than difference, the reduction or the elimination of war, pursuing peace. Now, none of us can do that on our own, but we can do it by our vibe improving. Again, think small. Don’t think big for your contribution. By thinking small, by thinking of next step, you’re alive and you’re on the team of moving toward healing our planets. Every vibration, every frequency, every, every good tone of voice matters. Every hour, every second of your life. Every thought matters. We all need to think small. A little bit of envisioning. Let yourself imagine that we really were gonna foster the poor having opportunities to grow food in the healthiest ways and that distribute it locally.

(23:32)
Imagine that we decided with a country that was an ally to share technology, that we generally were gonna keep private, that would improve their energy. Imagine that we were going to give free trade to more countries. Imagine that you cared about your tone of voice, moment to moment. Imagine you cared about your tone towards yourself. Imagine you didn’t measure yourself in your totality, you measured yourself from right where you are and moving an inch. For those that don’t know Buckminster Fuller, he devoted a major part of his life to what would it take for the whole world to survive if it was focused on survival and cooperation. And this was done 50 years ago, and he said no one was gonna listen for 50 years. And his whole world game was universities giving the information of natural resources and technology. And how long would it take for the whole world to live equal to the upper middle class of America.

(24:47)
If we focused on cooperation and intelligence sharing in people sharing, and it would take five years, we’d have obviously no defense departments, all the defense spending is all toward cooperation. There’s no threat of nuclear war anymore because the country’s agree on that and the ones that didn’t are isolated. And basically, of course there’s the risk that they’re going to just decide to kill everyone, but they know they’re dead. So there’s a very good chance if we came to the national agreement that this would happen. So leave with your inner thoughts matter, your tone matters, and all of these greater possibilities come out of the change of your individual thinking and your individual small acting and your individual toning to your neighbor, to your friends, to your lover, to your partner, to your kids, and you’re teaching them how to do it better and better. So I leave you with gratitude for hanging in through this whole episode and focusing on your small steps, being the big steps in understanding the enormous paradox that’s so needed in the 21st century.