REGENERATION & THE SURPRISING MAGIC IN LIFE

A mountain goat and an ancient medicine man gave me entry into the world of magic and the power of Regeneration.

My wife was driving our Previa minivan up the steep mountains of the beautiful Going-to-the-Sun Highway leading into Canada. We, and our two teenage kids, were on a five-week driving and camping adventure through the upper states, across Canada, and back to our home in San Francisco.

I was sitting in the front passenger seat nearest the side of the mountain as we approached the summit. Suddenly, a large mountain goat appeared on the steep rocks not more than twelve feet from my open window.

I stared into his eyes, eyes so mesmerizing they sent a chill down my spine. He didn’t move; he just kept staring at me. I felt something mysterious in that moment I couldn’t explain, but it seemed important.

Later, in the middle of the night, while my wife and kids were sleeping soundly in a large room we shared in an old Canadian hotel, I was visited by the image of what appeared to be an ancient Medicine Man. I only saw him from the waist up…I learned later that this is how such visitations often appear.

Without words, he communicated this to me… “I saw you on the mountain today. I was the mountain goat. The Earth needs you, but first you must understand there is more magic in this life than you know.”

He then showed me scenes of our family adventures over the coming days…scenes of joy and fear while canoeing on a mountain lake with my son, of my daughter on a runaway horse, and a bear I will encounter on Mt. Shasta on our trip back to San Francisco.

He also told me to look at my wife sleeping next to me.

When I looked down, she had shape-shifted into a full-length, fur-covered coyote, the Trickster in native American folklore. I just about jumped out of my skin, but then she quickly changed again into herself.

Later, I read about the symbolism of the trickster coyote, and it fits well with my wonderful relationship with my wife (43 years of marriage is a good longitudinal study).

Finally, my visitor told me to commit to stewarding the Earth (I had done a little good work on environmental/social stuff, but not enough to write about here).

I communicated I would if all the scenes of the future he showed me came to be…which they all did, including the bear of Mt. Shasta (Don’t ask me why I felt I had to bargain to do what I was asked to do).

Now, you could say this was just a dream, but I don’t think so. It was as real as anything I have encountered in this life.

Also, that night I immediately awakened my wife and described the whole visitation, including the future scenes, exactly as they were shown to me. She’ll vouch that all that was predicted came true in the coming days.

I kept my promise. I shifted our marketing and strategy consulting company to do more work with environmental organizations, including co-founding and helping lead several regenerative non-profits, and bringing regenerative thinking to the business world.

Through our work with the award-winning The Garden Project for many years (we provided them with office space for five years), we learned how regenerative farming could help former prisoners learn, personally transform, and earn by growing quality, soil-rich organic vegetables and fruit that were sold to the best restaurants in San Francisco. The result was that the recidivism rate of Garden Project ex-prisoners was cut by half.

Our co-founded New Voice of Business (non-profit) helped pass major environmental legislation in California and reframed how businesses can apply whole systems/regenerative thinking to running their businesses in a way that creates value and enriches life. Much of that thinking now lives in the global organization NOW Partners.

Another story—several years ago, we were fortunate to take part in a multi-day regenerative planning gathering in Santa Fe. The project host, Regenesis Institute, had us work on the beginning plan for a Regenerative Eco-tourist Resort in Mexico. It became the famously beautiful Playa Viva. It not only introduces tourists to Regeneration, but it also teaches students from around the world the art and craft of Regeneration, environmental and social regeneration. Read about it in our blog. A Story of Transformation — Self and The World

Since that early pivot time in our business, we have introduced many major and smaller businesses to what we call Regenerative Evolution, essential to long-term, full potential enterprise thriving (This is described in Key #15 in our book FUTURE SHAPING: 15 KEYS TO STANDOUT SUCCESS). These businesses are now designing their own ways to steward the Earth, benefit their people, and create brand/business value in a way that enriches life.

It took a major wakeup call with a mountain goat and an ancient Medicine Man to finally open me to the unexpected magic in this world and in the magic of people practicing Regeneration.

Now that I have learned through a surprising, non-ordinary experience that the world is more magical than I had ever imagined before, does that mean I am always consistent in my dedication to Regeneration?

Of course not. I am human and many times hypocritical in how I live and work. But as our friend Hunter Lovins, famous for her work in environmental/world social change, told me one night while sharing a bottle of Talisker Scotch with friends...” All change begins with hypocrisy”.

I might add… “So, embrace your natural hypocrisy and get on with living a life of contribution, a life filled with magic.”

I’d love to hear about your journey to discovering magic and the power of Regeneration.

Article by: Dan Beam, CEO of BEAM, Inc.

Illustration by: Drew Beam, CCO/Partner of BEAM, Inc.