A few mornings ago I was doing some reading for an upcoming course I will take.  As I turned the page, goose bumps broke out.  Goose bumps can indicate that I’m cold-freezing, or scared-terrified.  But that’s not all that can cause goose bumps.  As I turned this particular page, I read the words evolution of consciousness.  They were even italicized!

I was excited, thrilled, encouraged, and wanted to know more. Goose bumps!  It seems like the evolution of consciousness is part of what is so urgently needed to move us along… it’s why I keep working on myself, sharing my learnings, inviting you all along, and hoping we can help each other learn and evolve.  So it really jolted me when I read it on the page of a text book.

The MOOC (Massive, Open, On-line Course) I have registered for is called Transforming Business, Society, and Self.  One book we will be using is Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies.  Otto Scharmer. (If you’re interested, you can read an excerpt here.

Browsing the book, I learned that “…all so-called economic laws begin to melt and morph into something else the moment you begin to change the most important variable: the quality of awareness of the participants in a system. Who are these participants? They include leaders and change-makers in business, government, and civil society, as well as consumers, investors, and communities. They include you.”

And that means YOU, and ME, and all of us!  The book goes on, “…we show that the essence of this developmental path can be traced as an evolution of human consciousness.”  (That’s where the goosebumps came!) 

And, “The gist of this framework is simple: The quality of results produced by any system depends on the quality of awareness from which people in the system operate. …. The structure of awareness and attention determines the pathway along which a situation unfolds.”

I was hooked, enthralled, hopeful, and ….  Well, I’ll keep you posted as the course unfolds in the new year.  In the meantime, let’s keep doing our parts — our own personal work, and  joining together.

Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity.  BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, and growth.  Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume.  Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook