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SUNYATA NEWS

We live in a time-period of very significant problems. These problems affect all aspects of our life including our economy, our environment, and the well being of all who live in our communities.

The Sunyata Group believes that solutions must and can be found that are at least as big as the problems we face. We imagine human relationships where each individual and collective intention and action is a positive and effective manifestation of the common good.

We believe in the power of the cultivation of multiple intelligences, multiple perspectives, multiple perceptions, and multiple trace memories — to positively forward the evolution of human consciousness in addressing these problems. It is our hope that by collectively working at the edge of the evolution of human consciousness, we can emerge creative solutions and greater strength of purpose.

We believe that the new economy must be based on:

• “Community” as our central focus for addressing extinction-level and/or critical issues with regards to social justice, economic, environmental, and spiritual well-being.
• “Compassion” as the foundation for all of our relationships and our work together — we commit to the compassion practice of Hearing, Seeing, and Loving (H-S-L) our selves; each other; our groups, organizations, and communities; and our ecosystems.
• “Collective Action” as our means for efficiently, fairly, and effectively working together to address extinction-level and/or critical issues — and to discover and promote the value propositions of being in generative relationships with each other.
  
• “Net-Provider” as our “Green Economy” implementation strategy to move from a “Consumer” paradigm to an economic “Net Provider” of water, food, energy, infrastructure, wellness, information, human services, and compassionate human relationships.

We are only able to do this work by securing funding in the forms of non-profit donations, for-profit contracts and employment, and personal gift contributions.

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Our current focus is:

• “B-Town: How Burien Came Into Its Own”
  What does it take to have the health and resilience to rebound from an economic downturn by putting up art in an unfinished section of your Town Square and throwing a party?
  
  We have completed a half-hour documentary and a 5:00 trailer will soon be available on DVD. It provides a mosaic of stories that illustrate how the leadership and vision of different groups contribute to the well being of the whole.
  
  The documentary tells the City of Burien's story about what to pay attention to as we struggle to live well . . . right where we live!
  
  It’s a great story — and much needed right now! It is the story of a vision people had for their city and how they made it come true - how, even in hard times, they are still making it come true.
  
  Last year, Burien artists and city officials did something inspired. They created an Interim Art Space in a potential eyesore when the city center was at a standstill. That marked yet another evidence of the buoyancy and changeability of this place. Featured are artists; the Town Square developers and other business people; new arrivals; old timers, and the government officials that help make it all happen.
  
  The Burien stories fulfill and dramatically illustrate German Urban Planner Thomas Sieverts thesis that: Our choices matter; the landscape in which we live now is the result of countless choices; and that much of it now is an in-between space, neither urban nor rural, but a mingling of both.
  
  Through generous donations, we have completed the documentary and a “Trailer” Burien Video Trailer
  
  AND now we need $7500 to pay the people who've done the major work.
  
  Donors will receive a copy of the finished product and where possible, be credited in the video.
  
  Please Donate below using the "PayPal" online process "Make Donation" button, AND send an e-Mail to us Burien Video Project providing us with information regarding how you would like your name to appear in the film credits.
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
• “Cultivating Compassion in Times of Stress”
  In these times of tremendous peril on our planet — where people spend so little time outside of their social identity, and where communities are fragmented by the polarization of young and old, rich and poor, black and white, conservative and progressive, vegans and carnivores, etc. — it is essential that we connect, work together, and build community that serves everyone. To that end, we are wise to explore available methodologies that “bridge the gaps” (of conflict) — both within us as individuals (“Self”) and between us as collectives (“Other”). We have set out to identify and explore the: fundamental causes of conflict (intrapersonal and interpersonal); and the use of the practice of "Compassion" as an effective way to address the causes, manifestation, and the results of conflict. We are currently providing consulting services, workshops, and public speaking engagements that address this topic. For more information contact us at Sunyata Info and/or check-out Our Events Calendar.
  
  
• “An Integral Wellness Approach to Addressing Stress at . . . (home, work, school, etc.)”
  Stephen Covey has said that: “Between stimulus and response there lies a space, in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response, in those choices lie our growth and our happiness.” We understand this to mean that "wellness" is an inside-out process. In our work we have observed that human suffering cannot simply be addressed on an “outer” level. The key ingredient of health and wellness is addressing the “inner” causes, conditions, and responses to stress, and exploring the possibilities for responses and solutions that enhance individual and collective physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing. Therefore, fundamental to our approach to reducing stress and restoring a sense of wellbeing — is a practice of mindfulness and compassion. Accordingly, have set out to identify, explore, and document the effectiveness of our integral wellness approach to addressing stress at home, work, school, etc. We are currently providing consulting services, workshops, and public speaking engagements that address this topic. For more information contact us at Sunyata Info and/or check-out Our Events Calendar. Please consult our Our Programs & Services for program details.
  
  
• “Collective Leadership — The New Frontier”
  In the face of the many crises that have confronted us over the last few years — traditional models of leadership have proven to be inadequate for the tasks-at-hand. The confluence of crisis, social evolution, and technology suggests that new models of leadership are needed — and are indeed emerging. Our observation is that “Collective Leadership” is emerging as one of the new models of leadership. With “Collective Leadership”, there is a shared common understanding (belief agreement) about who is invited to participate (including self-selecting) in the domain of the “community” (“gift exchange); there are shared criteria for membership; there are shared highest aspirations, shared purpose, shared vision, shared mission, shared goals, shared measurable objectives, shared processes of interaction (“norms”), and shared “values” (and ethics codes) for determining and implementing strategies and tactics in the forms of “acceptable” behaviors, actions, and communications. We believe that the most effective and efficient manifestations of “Collective Leadership” are based on practices of compassion. We are focused on identifying and exploring the new frontier of “Collective Leadership”, paying particular attention to its basis in practices of compassion. We are currently providing consulting services, workshops, and public speaking engagements that address this topic. For more information contact us at Sunyata Info and/or check-out Our Events Calendar.
  
  
• “Green Economy Implementation Strategy”
  We live in a time of great peril and great opportunity. The evidence of peril is already visible with the many disasters that have stormed into our lives, communities, and our collective psyche. We can see this evidence simply by reflecting on some basic sustainability indicators — social justice (rise in prison populations; skewed prison population demographics; decreased civil rights, privacy rights, and justice; . . . ), economic prosperity (increased poverty levels; skewed poverty demographics; decreased access to healthcare; decreased levels of wellness; incidence of technological infrastructure failures, and industrial and transportation accidents. . . ), environmental sustainability (global climate change, tsunamis, hurricanes, droughts, famines . . . ), and spiritual grounding (pervasive ethics and morality scandals; incidents of war and hostility; increased rage, despair, and a sense of irrelevance and foreboding (extinction), . . . ). We have set out to identify and explore the: fundamental causes of our current crises; and an implementation strategy that addresses our situation in the context of manifesting a Green Economy. We are currently providing consulting services, workshops, and public speaking engagements that address this topic. For more information contact us at Sunyata Info and/or check-out Our Events Calendar. Also, check-out Blog: Mark R. Jones for a discussion of this topic.
  

We hope you will join us in this work . . .

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WELCOME MESSAGE

Welcome to the Sunyata Group "virtual commons" !

This website is an invitation to you to experience information and interactions that we hope will inspire you to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and skillful means for addressing the extinction-level issues, problems, and opportunities that confront us.

This is your opportunity to explore important issues and formulate creative solutions, that from your perspective, there is now a readiness for and a discernible benefit from compassionate, collaborative action.

The Sunyata Group works in the intersection of effectiveness (human relationships & information) and efficiency (process & technology) to optimize individual and organization value, performance, wellness, and contribution.

The Sunyata Group provides products and services in the areas of integral wellness, integral education, integral leadership, integral spirituality, and integral systems — to manifest generative and healthy individuals, organizations, and communities. It exercises business and political savvy to apply insights regarding green economy optimization services (GEOS) to: initiate, analyze, design, develop, support, and/or deliver programs, projects, consultations, services, and products to address extinction-level issues, high-leverage, and/or high-impact problems such as — global climate change, pandemics, basic healthcare and wellness, warfare, famine, obesity, potable water shortage, aging populations, energy crises, ecosystem degradation, pollution, etc.

The Sunyata Group is a Washington State registered corporation (EIN: 81-065-2688 | UBI: 602-409-328) that serves as the cooperative (co-op) management structure for the Sunyata organizations. The Sunyata Group consists of two 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations (Sunyata Association and Sunyata Foundation); two for-profit organizations (Sunyata Agency Inc. and Integral Wellness Services); and a group of partners and providers that serve as the primary consultants for the Sunyata Group (i.e., Integral Wellness Group).

The two 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations — Sunyata Association and Sunyata Foundation — optimize social and economic effectiveness and efficiency by providing “strategic thinking partners” to initiate, plan, participate in, respond to, deliver, follow-up, and/or fundraise for — not-for-profit public benefit educational programs, projects, workshops, community meetings, talks, consultations, services, and/or products to address extinction-level issues and solutions. They are tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The Sunyata Association is a 501(c)(3) Public Charity {EIN: 20-5938843}; and the Sunyata Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Private Foundation {EIN: 20-8040393}.

The two for-profit organizations — Sunyata Agency Inc. (SAI) and Integral Wellness Services (IWS) — optimize social and economic profit leveraging {IPO | LBO | M&A | etc.} by providing management, integration, operations, and wellness services to government and commercial organizations — serving as strategic thinking partners addressing performance optimization and audit issues; organizational leadership, policy, practice, systems, and delivery; and systems integration. Services include: operations and process optimization consultation and execution; research and informatics services; management coaching and mentoring; personal, organizational, and leadership development and transformation; and health and wellness consultation, and program design and execution.