Perth: Couch Surfing and Changing My World
I am staying with a wonderful couple. One is a former chemical engineer and the other is a trainer and currently working in the child abuse area. I find traveling from house to house really refreshing as I gain insights into other worlds and takes on life.
My dear friend Rem described himself as being selfish in life and ambitious like other people in business mindsets. He had turnarounds in his own life. He mentioned Landmark as significant in reassessing his thinking and shifting from dong to being. He went onto become a coach, some sessions from 8.30 until 9 or 10 at night, very long days. He said they had an ethos of being on time. Once he was 5 minutes late having talked to a lady on the phone who was upset. He had two coaches talking to him for an hour. It had to do with integrity, I found that interesting.
He spoke of shifts in his life, one being a dear friend in Mexico, who he described as a soul mate. I really liked hearing a man speaking of a friend in such a way, so close they must be. These lovely people who come into your life and don’t leave. Anyway, I can’t remember the detail of the story, only that he flew to a small town in the Mexican desert. His marriage had broken up and he was lost at this time. He said he recalls lying on his bed spinning, it was his first out of body experience. He explained to me trying it again and apparently he was above his body floating around. He said he tried to get back in and the wrong leg went into the wrong leg, how amazing is that. Like putting on long johns. He finally got it right and went back in his body.
He said he had sensitivities to chemicals. So if he drinks coffees for example his body really reacts to it. I found it interesting he had been a chemical engineer. Apparently well respected in his profession and had been on the public speaking circuit. He has traveled so many countries as many business men had. He said he didn’t like Indian’s and interestingly he ended up challenging himself and going to India to offer service.
As part of his Landmark Education work he decided to offer service. He chose to go to India, a place he didn’t particularly like. He created a campaign called My Clean India and his slogan was ‘prosperity and beauty through community’. This is a project that continues today. You can get an insight to how it continues by visiting http://www.mycleanindia.com/
He arrived at a village, no plan just offering service. He didn’t offer money or anything else just his time and skills. He had many meetings with the Governor, officials and other villagers, they did a lot of talking. He said the people were used to rubbish around them, so they had to educate the people to clean up their place. Reminded me of Gandhi who also emphasized cleanliness. He had a picture of Gandhi and the words ‘to be the change you wish to see’. A man after my own heart.
He told me what really amazed him was when he went to a dinner at the end and found paper plates on the floor. He and his wife just quietly picked them up. The next year he was invited back and there was not one paper plate. That was the moment of real gratification. He said he ended up affecting 10 villages and affected between 200,000 to 500,000 people. He received much coverage in the media and this helped spread the word. This came just from him offering his services.
What I love about Rem is that all he wanted was to coach people in cleanliness but he explained he didn’t need to mention the words, he just showed them an opportunity to empower themselves. He was not interested in making a name for himself and spreading his identity, he just wanted to create a project that others could run for the greater good. I really love that about him, his humility and that sets a great example for others. It also provides a challenge are you doing it for you or for the greater good. If the latter you may be amazed at the assistance you receive.
The vision of My Clean India is as follows:
THE AIM
The Aim of My Clean India (MCI) is: To promote prosperity and beauty of the environment through community. Creating awareness that cleanliness is a proven path to prosperity. And this Aim is achieved by: Working with people and organisations to achieve mutually desired outcomes. In other words, MCI is about promoting community spirit to live and operate in harmony with the natural environment as a pathway to prosperity. It promotes and acknowledges people and groups who take initiatives consistent with its Aim. MCI initiates events and opportunities to advance its aim and for that may create partnerships and alliances with the underlying objective of simply advancing people and groups who take action. MCI is by that a network for resources such as money, equipment, ideas and services to flow to make things happen.
MCI ASSOCIATION
MCI is a not-for-profit association with its Memorandum defining its rules and principles. The underlying objective is to create collaborative networks throughout India with international links to produce outcomes. MCI comprises of professional initiators and facilitators who acknowledge those contributing to the beauty of the environment. It recognises leadership and those that take action. MCI relies on support through sponsorship and advertising and welcomes government funding within a framework of transparency and integrity. In the end, MCI is just a partner who promotes cleanliness and a beautiful, healthy and prosperous environment.
WHAT WE DO
MCI offers pathways for the community to achieve its ambitions acknowledging that cleanliness is a symptom of community attitude and its perception of opportunity for taking action without relying on others. Community leadership is therefore a key target for MCI. Broadly MCI can be described as a group of facilitators, or more simply, just people who help and acknowledge others taking action. The following table summarises what we do.
Seek and support leaders in the community to promote and apply the Aim
Collaborate with community groups, such as schools, institutions, businesses, associations and local and state governments, to generate ideas and advance its Aim.
Create, support and promote activities and events that advance the Aim.
Acknowledge publicly individuals and groups that advance the Aim.
Encourage sponsorship of its activities.
Acknowledge and encourage membership of the Clean Up the World organisation.
Create and support other initiatives that promote its aim of prosperity and beauty of the environment through community.
WHAT MCI OFFERS
As a not-for-profit association, and without any agenda for itself other than benefits for the community, MCI has unique and influential freedoms to empower others to create actions and the conditions for their acknowledgement. As a networked resource MCI offers:
• Sponsorship
• Acknowledgement
• Media communications
• Speakers for schools and groups.
• Public events and activities
• Expert services for practical solutions
• Products
• Networking
By that MCI attracts:
• Facilitators, Team Leaders and Regional Units
• Closer liaison with local civic administration, associations and groups to attract mutually advantageous help.
• Resources such as posters, fliers, videos and electronic promotions, contact lists, including of the Media.
• Support for events.
Opportunities for sponsorship
• Acknowledgment Certificate
• Prizes and awards for students and others that contribute to MCI Aims.
• Plaques for meritorious contributions to the environment.
• Publicity, such as videos, posters, fliers and other media
• Litter bins
• Posters
• Events eg September’s Clean Up the World day
• My Clean India website.
• T Shirts, caps, buttons
• Banners
• Videos, training programs and other electronic media.
Sources of sponsorship funding could include:
• Businesses, especially those with an environmental interest.
• Business associations
• Government agencies
• Media
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Acknowledgement not only motivates, it inspires others into action. MCI has unique and powerful opportunities to acknowledge those that contribute to its aim of a clean and beautiful environment. There are many applications for sponsorship funding with acknowledgement including:
• Acknowledgement Certificates.
• Prizes (eg poster and art competitions) provided by sponsors
• Events (eg September’s Clean Up the World day).
• My Clean India website.
• T Shirts, caps, buttons.