Occupy The Moment

The Occupy Wall Street movement has struck a chord with a large number of Americans who are dissatisfied with the growing inequality in wealth and opportunity in the United States. The current economic crisis is the outcome of 30 years of greed ushered in by the Reagan Revolution. So what should we do?

Occupy the Moment lays out a path to a new economy that is neither classically capitalist or socialist. Instead, it builds upon the environmental economics popularized in the 1970s by books like E.F. Schumacher's, Small is Beautiful and updates it to include the latest scientific research on consumer behavior.

Occupy the Moment also includes a series of fun exercises in mindfulness, a way of "being in the moment" that shows how to slow down, enjoy simple pleasures, and avoid materialism. By being more mindful, the 99% can change our culture from one that promotes greed to one that honors compassion.

"These are wise teachings and helpful practices."

Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

"Rick Heller provides a fresh perspective and a rallying point for the Occupiers. In Occupy the Moment, he calls for a better economy, not a bigger one, and he shows us how to make progress by first changing our own thinking and behavior. People around the world are opening their eyes and seeing that we're mired in an environmental and economic mess, and they're trying to figure out what to do next. Heller's contribution is a map for navigating out of the mess, and he's put it in our hands at just the right moment."

Robert Dietz, author of the upcoming book, Enough Is Enough and former executive director, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

To preview the book, go to the
Occupy the Moment page at Amazon.com
and click on the book cover where it says, "Look inside."

This book may be read on a Windows computer, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, or Kindle.

Free Apps

Here is the video I created of a walking meditation by Buddhist monks and nuns from Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village community. The walk through downtown streets of Boston went from the Occupy Boston encampment to Copley Square. Instructions for the walking meditation can be found in Meditation 1 in Occupy the Moment

Here is the video I did with Tim Kiely on mindful eating of chocolate. Instructions for mindful eating can be found in Meditation 3 in Occupy the Moment

Sample Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness is being open to your present environment right now. Meditation is a great preparation for mindfulness, but you can be mindful without meditating. Perhaps the best description of mindfulness, without ever using the word, is by Rachel Carson in her book, The Sense of Wonder:

Exploring nature with your child is largely a matter of becoming receptive to what lies all around you. It is learning again to use your eyes, ears, nostrils, and finger tips, opening up the disused channels of sensory impression. For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?"

One way to become mindful of a place, thing or sentient being is to follow Rachel Carson's suggestion and ask yourself, "What if I knew I would never see it again?" To bring this message "home," consider that many people are being forced to leave their homes because of foreclosure or eviction. What if that happened to you?

Pick one room in your home and try to notice everything, so the memory of it will be with you always. Notice decorative flourishes on the ceiling and window frames. Dust, cracks and stains are just more interesting details to note. Take it all in with nonjudgmental, loving attention.

What do you see that you haven't noticed for a long time? Do you see anything that you never noticed before? What lovely things do you take for granted?

Resources:

Seeing The Roses
This web site show how mindfulness can help us deal with the economic pressures that drive climate change. Videos teach both formal meditation and sensory mindfulness practices.

Juliet Schor
Boston College economist Juliet Schor has laid out an economic vision in her book, Plenitude, that deals with the economics and climate crises.

Center for a New American Dream
This organization seeks to recast the American Dream in less materialistic terms.

Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
Promotes the idea that affluent Western societies should seek to stablize their economies rather than continue to grow them in a way that is damaging to the environment.

New Economics Institute
This organization carries forth the vision of E. F. Schumacher