The Baby Boomer News does present the following, insightful article, with the hope, boomers are reacquainted, with an often overlooked concept.

Whatever happened to the Human Potential Movement? The impetus seemed to be beatniks that brought Zen back from Japan, encounter groups at Esalen, and the mind-blowing new perspectives induced by acid trips. Largely California based, it never seemed to root in other parts of the country. The intention of the Human Potential Movement wasn’t to “take root” anyway. It must have been a label slapped on by some reporter. The Human Potential Movement was a Ken Kesey kind of “happening”, rather than a planned invasion. It pervaded the ethos of this country and shaped our spiritual life.

The apparent objection to the Human Potential movement was the self-absorbed nature of it. People would mutter under their breath, “They’re contemplating their navel.”

Interestingly, certain gurus spoke to this very issue. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explained that meditation helps you clean inside, a physiological and psychological Roto-Rooter job you might say; that as you get clearer inside, you make wiser, more compassionate choices in the outer world. From his Hindu point of view, he wanted to steer away from telling people how to live their life. In fact, when eager students where pushing Maharishi to comment on what they should eat (expecting brown rice to be the answer), Maharishi refused to be cornered. With his wry sense of humor, he answered, “Eat what your mother gives you, and don’t eat poison.”

While the traditions of the East are primarily oriented inwardly, the West has a decidedly external orientation. In our lifetime, with the integration of Buddhist and Hindu practices, we are seeing the beginning of the marriage of and merging of the values of East and West. We are witnessing a Spiritual Revival. Especially and September 11th, people crave institutions or rituals that give life meaning and purpose, that provide a compass in the storm.

William Strauss and Neil Howe in Generations: the History of America’s Future, 1584-2069 examine the cycles in American history. They call the Baby Boom generation the Idealists: we came of age during a Spiritual Crisis, as did an earlier incarnation of Idealists---the Transcendentalists and the Suffragettes.

Our job is not just to “contemplate our navels”, though that spiritual quest is part of our collective calling. The second half of our generation’s job is to apply those spiritual values in the outer world. Our motto, if anything, is “make a difference.” Civil rights, Vietnam, women’s rights, Cesar Chavez, gay rights----one movement has rippled into another. These Human Liberation movements are the outward expression of the Human Potential movement. As marching, shouting advocates for social change, we have devoted our lives to assure that the potential of all humans is realized.

Or have we? There’s a whole world out there! We have rabble roused on the home front and neglected 7/8’s of the world. We now have the technology to better connect with all parts of the world. We have tremendous experience, not just as provocateurs and change agents, but as nurses, teachers, doctors, physical therapists, social workers, engineers, computer programmers, small business owners, carpenters, bankers, journalists, welders, farmers, pilots, pharmacists, environmentalists, women’s center directors, and dog catchers. The world desperately needs such experience and skills. I am not advocating that you take a job from anyone in nations where the unemployment rate is 50%, or arrogantly and ethnocentrically tread where you are not wanted. It takes some savvy to figure out the balance, but you’ve got that savvy, right?

The human potential movement can come full circle now. Human potential is realized in human connection. In touching someone else’s life you enrich your own. In India, they speak of the layers of enlightenment. Like in Alcoholics Anonymous, the final stages involve helping others. Sarvodaya, the final stage of enlightenment, acknowledges that you are an integral part of the whole: you cannot be fully realized until all of humankind is. No small task, but one full of joy. As you approach retirement, do you have more time and want to serve abroad? Service is “gourmet travel” rather than fast food: it is a richer experience, a deeper connection. What is your calling? What do you feel called to do? Make a difference.

by Ann McLaughlin