I have a very unusual story of inspiration and transformation to share with you. About three weeks ago, a good friend and fellow interpreter left a phone message asking if I was interested in doing a short interpreting assignment with him in Indonesia. We would be interpreting at a two-day safety training for offshore oil rig workers in the port city of Balikpapan on the east side of the island of Borneo.

Because I've been intensely focused on the powerful inspiration and transformation work through the websites in which I'm involved, I hadn't done any interpreting work in two years. Upon receiving this invitation, I wasn't sure I wanted to take the work. The $800/day pay rate certainly had an appeal, especially as I've earned virtually nothing in the past two years. A trip to Indonesia and the opportunity to keep up on my Indonesian language skills would also be a plus. Yet I also had a long list of exciting things waiting to be done on the websites I manage. And I was not sure that working for an oil company—even if it was a safety training—was in alignment with my deep commitment to transformation.

I was about to call my friend to decline his offer, but as I reached to pick up the phone, something inside me said wait a minute. So I put the phone down, opened to divine guidance, and checked in deeply with myself. Setting aside all money and Internet work considerations, I asked myself "do I really want to go?" A voice from within gave a clear yes. I realized that I have missed the wonderful people and culture of Indonesia, and I love working as an interpreter. This would actually be a wonderful chance both to take a short break from the Internet work, and to get back into interpreting and the Indonesian culture just for these few days.

By the time I found myself on the plane back home, I was amazed at what I had experienced on this brief trip. The training was one of the best I've ever seen. Two wonderful instructors taught these oil rig workers simple, yet very empowering communication skills which they practiced on the spot with their co-workers. Rank and even racial issues between the Indonesians and their European supervisors were addressed directly, so that everyone felt inspired to communicate more openly and freely for the safety of all involved. Slides and videos were also shown demonstrating the deep commitment of the oil companies to safety. The number of deaths and injuries in the high risk work of the oil industry have declined dramatically in the last 30 years thanks to a decision in the industry to make safety a top priority.

Yet the most exciting part of the trip came after the class was over during dinner with warm-hearted David, one of the two excellent instructors for the class. When David asked what I do when I'm not interpreting, I mentioned that I was involved in transformation work on the Internet. His eyes immediately lit up as he excitedly told me that in recent years, transformation has become the main focus of his life and even of some of the trainings he leads.

David and I then engaged in a very exciting, inspiring conversation where, among other things, I told him about all of the amazing connections I've made through my Internet work, and about the deeply committed group of transformation workers who have come together to build a better world. David, in turn, told me about transformational books he's read, highly inspirational workshops he's taken, and a powerful leader in the field of transformation by the name of Lance Secretan (http://www.secretan.com).

I had not heard about Secretan, but after a exploring his work on the Internet, I was highly impressed and plan to order a book of his. Most amazing was that Secretan, who has worked closely with some of the top transformation workers on the planet, has set aside time to work with the oil industry on promoting transformative work practices around the world, which is how David got to know him!

David works full time training oil industry employees around the globe—both the front line oil rig workers and the staff and executives. He had a sparkle in his eye as he told me about trainings he's led where by the end of the class, some of these macho oil rig workers for the first time ever would actually hug and express sincere appreciations to each other. He had no doubt that transformation was gradually spreading throughout the oil industry, and he was thrilled to be a part of it.

David and I could have talked all night, but as we had to pack for our respective trips home, we settled for exchanging emails and phone numbers. We are excited to have met each other and feel further inspired to carry forward the powerful work of personal and global transformation. We've already exchanged a few inspiring emails since then.

As another amazing example of transformation popping up all over, I invite you to type "transformation" into Google and scan the top ten. I could hardly believe my eyes when I found the U.S. Department of Defense listed there! And on the Yahoo! search engine, the DOD website is ranked number two of 48 million entries listed. Clicking on the link and then going to their About Us page listed in the right column, I found this:

"This site provides information to the American people and military service members about the policies and programs regarding the Defense Department's transformation initiative. Transformation is foremost a continuing process that does not have an end point. Transformation is meant to deal with the co-evolution of concepts, processes, organizations and technology. Change in any one of these areas necessitates change in all. Most of the ongoing transformational process is cultural, thus, people are necessary for changing the ways the military operates. Commanders cannot be threatened when subordinates have new ideas, but rather need to encourage new ideas."

What a thrill to read this on the website of the U.S. Department of Defense! I also know through an inside source that even some very high level officials at the Pentagon have participated in major transformation training through Landmark Education.

Many of us, myself included, carry negative judgments about the oil industry, big business, government, and the military. And yes, we certainly do want to work to change the deep-rooted greed and manipulation that are clearly a part of all of these. Yet let us not forget that transformation can and is happening anywhere and everywhere. This short, inspiring trip to Indonesia and the Department of Defense website showed me in a most pleasantly surprising way how the oil industry and military are transforming. Inspiration and transformation are seeping into all aspects of life in our world!

Most of you know that I am deeply involved not only in spreading inspiration and transformation in our world, but also in revealing major cover-ups of which few people are aware. I am working with an incredible network of transformation workers to inform concerned citizens of what we've found and to build a critical mass of people committed to strengthening democracy and building a brighter future. The amount of secrecy, greed, and corruption that we've uncovered and which is being hidden from public view is staggering. Yet the amount of transformation, empowerment, and love breaking out all over the planet is equally staggering! Almost every day I learn about amazing new individuals, groups, workshops, or websites deeply dedicated to transformation through love and cooperation. What an exciting time it is to be alive!

I want to thank each and every one of you for caring enough to be a part of this email list, which is all about inspiration and education for the purpose of deep transformation. I have no doubt that by simply choosing to face our fears and be the very best that we can be, every one of us can make a difference. Every one of us has a profound impact on our world. And when we all come together, our combined intentions and efforts become a wave of inspiration sweeping the planet and causing transformation to seep into every nook and cranny in this world. Thank you for being who you are and for being a part of this wonderful transformation team. May we all remember the tremendous support that is available to each of us from all members of the transformation team as we play our part in building a brighter future.

With much love, joy, and warmest wishes,
Fred Burks

Special Note: We recieved about $750 in donations from the appeal I sent out a couple weeks ago. Thank you very much to each of you who felt that our work is worth contributing some of your hard-earned money. This is far from enough to hire any regular help, but three generous individuals also offered to volunteer some time, so I'm hopeful we'll be able to implement at least a few more of the many great ideas we have.

Final Note: As another example of transformation spreading, the powerfully transformative 9/11 video "Loose Change" is now ranked the fourth most popular video on Google. See: http://video.google.com/videoranking. And for those of you who consider yourselves spiritual activists, check out the upcoming Washington, D.C. conference on spiritual activism at http://www.tikkun.org/community/spiritual_activism_conference. And if you have time, enjoy these three short (five minutes or less) clips and trailers to empowering movies coming up:

http://www.truemajority.org/oreos - Ben & Jerry's founder uses oreo economics on military budget
http://www.freedomtofascism.com - Freedom to Fascism (I don't like the title, but some good info)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUiP6dqPynE - An Inconvenient Truth (global warming)

You take care and have a most awesome, transformative day!