Oneness is Abundance

L.A.-based community activist Orland Bishop explains how the American economic system that assigns value to competition and scarcity of resources undermines oneness, which is inherently relational and abundant. Although the capitalist system as a whole resists investing in human development, people can create new systems that reinforce each individual's value instead of encouraging struggle and competition by making alternative agreements based on collective inspiration.

Orland Bishop
Orland Bishop is the founder and director of ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation in Los Angeles, where he has pioneered approaches to urban truces and mentoring at-risk youth that combine new ideas with traditional ways of knowledge. ShadeTree serves as an intentional community of mentors, elders, teachers, artists, healers and advocates for the healthy development of children and youth. Orland's work in healing and human development is framed by an extensive study of medicine, naturopathy, psychology and indigenous cosmologies, primarily those of South and West Africa. Full bio and links »
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karenryce's picture
20 weeks 19 hours ago
Karen Ryce

My work is to help people realize that much of what you are speaking about needs to be changed for our children, even for our infants. Let the power of agreement start for our children as soon as they need and want to prticipate in agreements. Let every interaction with children be one of agreement, mutual agreement. This is my major contribution to global oneness, to harmony. I call it the Power of Respect, and I teach people how to do it. And it makes a tremendous difference. I am so eager for people to make respect their foundation when relating to children.

panderson80's picture
1 year 29 weeks ago
Piper Anderson

I was so inspired listening to him speak. I immediately wanted to share this with everyone around me. I love that he talked about the power of agreement. That as people if we decide to make alternative agreements about how we produce and exchange resources then we increase the potential for transforming the dominate system. This is a powerful way of thinking of abundance and liberation.

maggymac's picture
2 years 12 weeks ago
Margaret McDonald

This is beautiful, what a great guy! I love the point he makes about how we live in a society that promotes scarcity in order to maintain the structure of power. We really do need to think a lot more about all the abundance we have in the world. I mean, we have everything we need, don't we?

Oh, and I love his quote at the end: "We are not thinking of revolution anymore as violence. We are thinking of revolution as a power of agreement." Great video.