author. speaker. motivator.
Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a leading authority in the areas of self-esteem, achievement motivation, and peak performance. [www.jackcanfield.com]
political powerhouse. media mogul. author.
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]
author. speaker. linchpin.
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]
yogi. philanthropist. dynamic teacher.
Krishna Kaur is the founder of YOGA for Youth, a program that takes yoga, meditation, and stimulating discussions on the philosophy of yoga to urban youth. [www.yogaforyouth.org]
producer. philanthropist. tv legend.
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]
race car driver. activist. carbon free girl.
Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and an environmental activist who uses her voice in the number one spectator sport in America as a catalyst for change. [www.leilanimunter.com]
Freedom Fighter. Philanthropist. Game Changer.
By going undercover to meet slaves and slaveholders, Kevin Bales exposed modern slavery's penetration into the global economy. He co-founded Free the Slaves, which has helped to liberate thousands of slaves. [www.freetheslaves.net]
mom. big dreamer. lady in red.
Sophie Chiche, lifebyme.com founder and curator, enjoys asking deep questions and living a life of meaning. Today she's launching Shape House, an urban sweat lodge, a place to melt away fears and fat. [www.shapehousela.com]
Writer. Entrepreneur. Daily Lover.
Entrepreneur and writer Mastin Kipp founded TheDailyLove.com, which merges pop culture with inspiration, and co-founded The Love Yourself Company, an apparel company that has started a global self-esteem movement. [www.TheDailyLove.com]
singer. musician. crier.
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]
archbishop. author. peaceful leader.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is Chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who address some of the world's most pressing problems. He works energetically for human-rights and in his ministry. [www.tutu.org]
author. ceo. humanitarian.
Zainab Salbi is the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a group dedicated to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. [www.womenforwomen.org]
speaker. psychotherapist. life embracer.
Despite his physical challenges, Sean Stephenson has taken a stand for a quality of life that has inspired millions of people around the world. He's a professional speaker, psychotherapist, and author. [www.timetostand.com]
yogi. meditator. teacher.
Kia Miller teaches Yoga at Yoga Works in Los Angeles, leads teacher trainings, and runs retreats and workshops on meditation, chakras, pranayam, and mantras, and other practices. [www.kiamiller.com]
creator. writer. idea geek.
Simon Mainwaring is an ex-Nike/Wieden creative, former Worldwide Creative Director at Motorola/Ogilvy, branding/advertising writer, author/speaker/blogger, Australian, idea geek. [www.simonmainwaring.com]
Strategist. Writer. Life Coach.
Shannon Bindler is a style editor, life coach, and the co-founder of Get Up Girl, an empowerment company that inspires women to shine. [www.getupgirl.com]
Designer. Art Director. Passionate Creator.
Grammy-nominated art director/designer/photographer Mathieu Bitton has designed over 450 CDs and movie posters. He's a renowned collector of and authority on black films and their soundtracks. [www.candytangerine.com]
Agent. Producer. Photography Enthusiast.
Opus Reps founder and agent-producer Jorge Perez travels the world producing photo shoots with great photographers and celebrities. He's also very involved with Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles. www.opusreps.com
consciousness
Craig Hamilton
teacher. scholar. spiritual evolutionary.
Craig Hamilton, founder of Integral Enlightenment, is a pioneer in the emerging field of evolutionary spirituality. He's a participant in the Synthesis Dialogues, a think tank presided over by the Dalai Lama. [www.integralenlightenment.com]
I derive my sense of meaning from awakening to a larger evolutionary context for human existence. Many of us are looking for personal meaning. I like to ask a bigger question: What’s the purpose of human life? We’re part of an unfolding evolutionary process that began with the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago and continues to unfold, in ever more glorious, diverse, complex, beautiful, harmonious, integrated manifestations.
About 35,000 years ago, one of the animals on Earth went through a dramatic mutation – the Big Bang of the human mind – when our self-reflective consciousness emerged. We became aware of ourselves and began to reflect on the question of meaning. That’s when people started painting on cave walls and putting flowers on the graves of the dead.
Now we’re at a point where significant numbers of us are starting to awaken and understand that we’re part of an evolutionary process. Like others, I’m realizing that I am the Big Bang. I am that creative explosion in motion. In essence, everything I am emerged out of it, and the deepest part of myself is that evolutionary impulse. We humans are the leading edge of the Big Bang, at least in this corner of the universe. We now have the ability to discern our trajectory – the direction of our evolution.
When we step back and look at the broad sweep, we see that evolution has been on a trajectory toward greater complexity, but also greater cooperation – from the first self-replicating molecule through the gradual development of increasingly complex partnerships in larger and larger circles of cooperation.
The Big Bang is alive in us and wants to go somewhere. Where it wants to go is toward greater and greater connectivity and cooperation and love.
I find meaning in my willingness to give myself over as a servant of this evolutionary process. I want all of my interactions to be expressions of higher and higher orders of harmony and integration and unity, bringing higher and higher manifestations of the good, the true, and the beautiful. That’s where our evolutionary impulse is trying to take us.
If I realize that I’m responding in a way that doesn’t feel in alignment with everything I just described, I take a step back and re-anchor in the deepest truth I know. I reflect deeply on the larger context. It’s hard to find much meaning when the context is just myself, but if I’m willing to stop and reflect, to ask myself What am I really doing here?, then I realize it’s not for me. None of it is for me. It’s all for conscious evolution.
– Craig Hamilton
Explore More Meaning
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woman champion. tribe gatherer. voice manifester.
Jodi Womack is the creator of No More Nylons, a company bringing women in business together to have vibrant and meaningful connections, turning "best possible scenarios" into everyday success. [www.nomorenylons.com]
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university founders. innovators. spiritual pioneers.
Dr. H. Ronald Hulnick and Dr. Mary R. Hulnick are, respectively, President and Chief Academic Officer of the University of Santa Monica. They are pioneers and innovators in the field of Spiritual Psychology. [www.universityofsantamonica.edu]
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designer. artisan. spirit elevator.
Calleen Cordero brings the Old World art of handmade artisan footwear and accessories back to the United States, elevating the spirit one sole at a time. [www.calleencordero.com]
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Producer. Entrepreneur. Idea Generator.
Donray Von is the CEO of Ready Set Go!, a producer of original content for film, television and online.
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author. humanitarian. speaker.
Cynthia Kersey is the author of best-selling books and is the Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation. [www.unstoppablefoundation.org]
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thrill seeker. mud pie maker. groover.
Jennifer Peek is the founder of Find Your New Groove, mentoring women entrepreneurs to design and build businesses that reflect their purpose, passion, and priorities while embracing a sense of adventure. [http://findyournewgroove.com]
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grounded artist. soulful voice. nana's girl.
Entertainment Tonight called singer/songwriter Alisha Zalkin "uplifting and inspiring." Her debut EP, March to a Different Beat, features soulful, piano-driven narratives combining her big-voiced inspirations and her multicultural family musical history. [www.alishazmusic.com]
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master storyteller. mythology scholar. mosaicist.
Michael Meade is a master storyteller, a scholar of mythology, and an author. He founded the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a network of artists, teachers, and activists fostering community. [www.mosaicvoices.org]
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