July 17-19, 2009 • Chicago Hilton • Chicago, Illinois
 Professional Members' Forum: July 20, 2009

Values and Spirituality

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Special Event

The One Decision: A Choice for Your Future

Do you want a great life? A life filled with more success, meaning, satisfaction, money, time, and energy? Many of us spend years seeking meaning in our lives, exploring numerous paths in our quest for real, lasting life satisfaction—we change careers, lose weight, attend seminars, buy bigger houses and fancier cars, or even get rid of it all. Yet in the end, we lead only partially successful or "better" lives. What if in the near future you could choose to live a life of purpose and meaning no matter what your financial circumstances, hectic schedule, business outlook or the state of your family? The answer lies not in what we are doing but in why we are doing it. In this inspiring talk, the speaker explains that there is One Decision you can make that will positively affect the entire fabric of your life—the love you experience, your worldly success, and your spiritual fulfillment.

Who should attend: All those interested in improving themselves and the entire fabric of their life.
What you’ll learn: The speaker uses her own life as an example as well as referencing historical figures and modern films to get her audience to understand the power behind making a One Decision. The examples and film clips help emphasize how a One Decision can guide someone to live a life where they are maximizing their potential, going for excellence, and are driven by purpose and meaning. The One Decision can be applied to work and relationships and has altered the fabric of countless people’s lives.
How this new knowledge can be applied: Participants will have the tools to turn their lives around to be more meaningful, fulfilling, and successful.

Judith Wright, lifestyles expert, best-selling author, corporate consultant, president, Wright Leadership Institute, Chicago, Illinois; has appeared on ABC, The Today Show, MSNBC, Good Morning America, and many other media outlets.

key words: values, decision making, spirituality
issue area: Values and Spirituality, Learning and Education, Business and Careers

The Futurist Implications of Emile Durkheim’s Sociological Method

The goals of this presentation are to (1) present the sociological method of preeminent sociologist Emile Durkheim and (2) explore the implications of this method for futurist inquiry. At the core of Durkheim’s sociological method is the indentification of conditions that are objective and external to individual wills. Durkheim conceptualizes normality and pathology relative to the society’s evolutionary position or location, and not in any universalistic sense. Thus, what is normal at Stage 1 of social evolution may very well be pathological at Stage 2. After discussing Durkheim’s method and his basic evolutionary framework, we turn our attention to futuristic implications. Specifically, does Durkheim provide us with any sense of guidance in the present evolutionary period? Would it be an extension of organic solidarity or perhaps an entirely new form of solidarity? What can possibly be done in the present to help facilitate movement toward the new state of normality and away from a pathological evolutionary state?

Who should attend: Anyone interested in the contributions of social science, particularly classical sociological theory, to futurology.
What you’ll learn: Durkheim’s sociological method, Durkheim’s sociological evolutionary theory and framework, and their implications for future studies.
How this new knowledge can be applied: Durkheim provided a systematic approach to the social world that is critical to organizational, community, and personal problem solving.

Anthony L. Haynor, associate professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey
Irene J. Dabrowski, associate professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, St. John’s University, New York, New York

key words: sociology, evolution, Emile Durkheim, business, leadership, values, spirituality
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Social and Cultural Trends, Futures Methodologies

Evening Keynote

The Soulful Evolution of Diversity and Identity.

This highly interactive session will explore past and current mind-sets dealing with cultural and identity differences and present future possibilities for an evolutionary leap to an elevated consciousness related to our cultural differences.

Two available human pathways at this pivotal point in our journey will be presented. One pathway continues with the old mind-sets and paradigms that have driven human behavior for millennia; and the other advances a new kind of evolved human, better suited to solve the identity challenges we face.

Using a variety of opinions from futurists, experts in academia, government, religion, science, and entertainment, the speaker presents his arguments in support of the path for change.

Who should attend: Human resources and human capital management leaders; community leaders; educators; diversity officers.
What you’ll learn: Participants will learn how discovery of transformational frameworks, concepts, and theory help practioners respond to emerging diversity professional issues with clarity and confidence. They will gain insights to identify transformational responses to the root causes of identity and diversity challenges within organizations and society at large, and they will gain a deeper understanding of the spiritual, emotional, and soulful implications of diversity and inclusion on individuals, organizations, and society at large.
How this new knowledge can be applied: Participants can apply insights from this session to their strategic discussions and decisions about diversity in their organizations and communities. In addition, they can better understand the level of personal commitment it will take in the future to resolve seemingly intractable cultural issues.

Mark Williams, founder of Identity Holdings, Inc and the Diversity Channel; former diversity consultant for Marriott International and the CIA;author; Bethesda, Maryland

key words: identity, humanity, spirituality
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Social and Cultural Trends

Space Travel and the Visionary Creation of New Spiritual Ideas

This presentation will explore avenues for future space exploration and the spiritual values and beliefs that might result from gradual planetary exodus. Specifically, this discussion will present visuals, extrapolations, and a global, scientifically based scenario transcendent of all contemporary religions.

Who should attend: Anyone interested in future space travel concomitant values.
 What you’ll learn: Possible spiritual values related to space travel and technology.
How this new knowledge can be applied: The knowledge provides insights into global goals for space exploration and how religions must respond to the new discoveries.

Jeffrey Collins, professor of science and technology, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia.

key words: space, beliefs, spirituality
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Technology and Science, Futures Methodologies

Leverage and Language for Creative Thinking

When it comes to creativity, what decade are you operating from? Since the 1950's views of creativity has shifted at least five times. This program highlights creativity research and changes in attitudes toward creativity over the decades; three main fears that prevent people from contributing fully when asked for new ideas, and introduces you to language that engages, inspires and empowers people to use their abilities make a difference..

Who should attend: Futurists, public and private sector leaders, consultants, human resources and organizational effectiveness professionals, and everyone interested in the scope and practice of leveraging language in creative thinking for business and personal growth.
What you’ll learn: Values associated with creativity, worldviews of creativity as fundamental belief systems, definition of creativity, relationship of creativity to innovation.
How this new knowledge can be applied: Attendees may use any portion of the session to enhance their practice, message delivery, and creative-thinking facilitation. They may also choose to embed practices that fuel their creative behavior and that of others.

Marci Segal, ms, creativity and change leadership, president, creativityland inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada; co founder of World Creativity and Innovation Week, April 5-21.

key words:  business, innovation theory, creativity theory
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Social and Cultural Trends, Learning and Education

Capitalizing Creatively on Complexity

Complexity Theory, originating from physics and positive psychology from the social sciences, will be discussed. If understood, merged, and integrated, it can have important impact on millions of Americans caught unexpectedly in the chaos and grief created by the death of certainty. The  40-year womb-to-tomb career, continuing unemployment, delayed retirement, tuition struggles, and diminished discretionary money will force us to create a pioneer approach a Yo-Yo Model (You’re On Your Own)—and to reexamine, release, and recycle former beliefs and expectations. 

Positive Psychology focuses on what is strong and the emotions of hope, compassion, and love. It supplements the fixing-what-is-wrong treatment of negative emotions—anger, sorrow, anxiety, shame, and guilt. Complexity Theory developed as scientists began to understand and predict hidden order behind chaos—the seemingly random behavior of nonlinear systems—irregular in the short run but predictable in the long run.

Who should attend: Those with complex career and psychological issues relating to the current chaos of rapid change.
 What you’ll learn: Attendees will (1) understand chaos as the first step for developing creative and innovative solutions for moving forward in our current complex world; (2) gain basic insights and information and techniques for melding the sciences of Complexity and Positive Psychology; and (3) build strategies and develop a language of strength by balancing the positive and the negative.
How this new knowledge can be applied: Insights gained from this integration can become the foundation for developing and implementing an effective and creative way to thrive on our frontier of constant change.

Helen Harkness, president and founder, Career Design Associates, Inc., Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas

key words:  mental health, careers
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Social and Cultural Trends, Business and Careers

Power, Responsibility, and Wisdom: Exploring the Issues at the Core of Ethical Decision Making and Leadership

The objective is simple: better decision making. The only issue is that there are so many different views over what we mean by better. At the core of all decision making is the need to balance power with responsibility as the vehicle for resolving the better question. In this session, we will explore why this is so difficult. It also argues that exploring the concept of Wisdom can provide invaluable insights into how to achieve the most effective balance between power and responsibility, which is central to what our values mean in practice, as well as how we incorporate ethics into our decision making.

Who should attend: Anyone interested in learning how to make better decisions.
What you’ll learn: How to make better decisions.
 How this new knowledge can be applied:  It is relevant to every decision we make in our organizations, as well as our personal lives.

Bruce Lloyd, emeritus professor of strategic management, London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom

key words:  wisdom, leadership
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Learning and Education

The Ethics of the Future

The quality of the future will depend on the future quality of human beings. Humanity faces a set of significant global challenges, including ecological deterioration, economic inequality, stress and information overload, and continued population growth. Various solutions—economic, ecological, political, and technological—have been proposed and implemented to address these problems. Yet, my central thesis is that the most effective and penetrating solution to most of these problems is the ethical evolution of humanity. Through the development of a core set of ethical character virtues as a central agenda for humanity worldwide, we can constructively address these problems. This solution makes perfect sense since most of today‘s global challenges are due to problems in character virtues. The quality of the future will pivot on improving the ethical quality of humans.

Who should attend: Social and cultural scientists, psychologists, philosophers, educators, and futurists interested in thinking about preferable futures.
What you’ll learn: An overview of the ethical dimension of key world problems and a philosophical and psychological system of ethical character virtues that would constructively address the problems of today. An ethically inspired vision and theory of a preferable future for humanity.
 How this new knowledge can be applied: The system of fundamental ethical character virtues can be applied individually or collectively to improve the quality and psychological and/or organizational well-being of all aspects of human life.

Tom Lombardo, professor, psychology and philosophy, Rio Salado College, Tempe, Arizona; co-founder, Center for Future Consciousness, Scottsdale, Arizona; author

key words:  culture, value, ethics
issue areas: Values and Spirituality, Learning and Education, Social and Cultural Trends

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
World Future Society Headquarters
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Web site: www.wfs.org.
Telephone: 800-989-8274 or 301-656-8274; fax: 301-951-0394