On a personal level I had an experience similar to that described by one of the astronauts seeing the awesome beauty of the Earth for the first time from a distance. He described himself as a “sensing mechanism for humanity.” In this case I was humanity’s sensing mechanism on the Earth, experiencing our beauty up close. I experienced the depth of our common humanity and our wondrous diversity. Our ability to rise beyond that which separates us and find ways to cooperate. Our courage to risk believing, in the face of evidence to the contrary, that we can create a better world. I also came to the belief that yes, anything is possible!

What had inspired the world to act in this way? And did it change in any demonstrable way? An important place to look is where it started: the titanic death grip between the United States and Soviet Union of mutually assured destruction as their best chance for survival. A story will illustrate the mysterious effects of the fire on a few of the mortals playing out the great drama of the time.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, had been reluctant to participate, thinking this was all a waste of time. But when the groundswell of political support had grown to include Presidents’ Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan of the United States, and Li Xiannan of China, she finally accepted the invitation to participate. Children from each of the major ethnic groups in London were invited to 10 Downing Street for a short candle lighting ceremony.

The flame was carried in by a runner and each child was offered a candle to light from the torch. One by one, as they lit their candle, each child became transfixed. They could barely move. It was as if the fire had taken on the collective presence and sentiments of all those people who had transported and witnessed it. The entire room was transformed. What had been planned as a simple 10-minute ceremony evolved into a two-hour tour. She told them of the many tales and important decisions that had transpired in those chambers. How it was so important that we had opportunities like this and they should use this flame to inspire others in their communities. The powerful presence of the fire had touched the “iron lady”, allowing her momentarily to shed her armor.

A few weeks later, she was to be the first Western political leader to meet with Gorbachev. Her assignment was to determine if he could be trusted and the world could be brought back from the precipice. Knowing that the flame was coming to Moscow, she shared her candle lighting experience with one of the meeting organizers. When she arrived for her historic meeting, she was invited to participate with Gorbachev in a similar candle lighting ceremony in the Kremlin with Soviet children representing the country’s many ethnic groups. The flame once again created a similar transformation allowing these two cold warriors to relate to one another from another vantage point. The distrust softened in both of them, allowing for intelligence to transcend political posturing. Her communication to the world after their meeting was, “We can do business with him.”

Another example of the alchemical power of the fire and dream occurred when it penetrated what was then called the “iron curtain.” When the flame arrived in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, it released an intense emotion amongst the hundreds of thousands of participants. It was palpable. It was like they were smelling for the first time in their life a fragrance in the air. What had been an airtight container was now being permeated with the freshness of new ideas. They were breathing in what free will could achieve. They were breathing in common cause with the world community. They were breathing in hope and possibility for their lives.

So did the fire and the dream cause a demonstrable change in the world? Thousands of people around the world with whom I have shared the video documenting the story have weighed in with their opinions. Some said it helped catalyze the shift in thinking from division to cooperation the world was desperately trying to achieve. Some said it created a powerful sense of hope and possibility that empowered many to invent new solutions. Some said it created the non sequitur needed to allow the two super powers to find new footing in their relationship. Some said it empowered the thought leaders in Eastern Europe with hope and new ideas so that the velvet revolution could occur, culminating with the symbolic tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Some said all this would have happened anyway.

Ultimately no one will ever really know if the fire’s influence on the hearts and minds of the many around the world translated into these events. What is certain is that the world poised on the precipice of nuclear war somehow miraculously survived. That people under communist oppression miraculously rose up and with minimal bloodshed threw off their bondage. Were these signs of the Great Turning foretold by Grandmother Caroline?

What is the legacy of the fire and the dream? While there are many aspects that affect people, one universally emerges every time I tell it: the simple fact that this seemingly impossible dream for our world overcame the immense odds against it and actually happened. If this could happen, why not other acts of transformation? The story fuels the fire within to act for profound transformative change for our world.

One such example was told to me by a Dutch delegate who participated in the evolution of the European Economic Community from a trade organization into the politically and economically integrated European Union. During one of their crucial meetings, its opponents had enumerated the reasons why this level of cooperation could never be achieved. They said: “We will lose our individuality and unique cultures. We will have to depend on others who may not be economically and politically reliable. There is just no way we will be able to put aside all our past history and animosity.” When the arguments had been laid out, it was obvious there was no rational counter argument to these fears. A fundamental leap of faith was required that could not be made with logic. A continent was being asked to trust that something better could work in spite of prior experiences to the contrary.

It was at this moment that a leading advocate for the European Union reminded everyone about the story of the flame. He stated: “They too faced immense resistances that seemed impossible to overcome. Yet they overcame these formidable obstacles and birthed an experience of cooperation unprecedented in modern history. That given the opportunity, people were willing to see the world differently and transcend their historic differences.”

The delegates realized that a moment had come for their countries to trust without proof. They could not get to their next level of evolution without it. The story of the fire helped build a safety net of trust in their fellow human beings and the possibility of profound transformation. The advocates for the European Union prevailed. It did come into existence and while cooperation is not easy, they are making it work.

There are many stories large and small of how the world coming together for 86 days to receive the light has provided trust where transformation was needed. I was inspired to tell the full story of the fire and the dream because we are once again facing a time of great separation and fear in our world. I have learned when the world contracts it creates great pressure for expansion. The small opening I observed in 1983 is once again in the global psyche beckoning us to step into it. It is my fervent hope that this story will strengthen the courage and confidence of many to step into this opening. If enough of us make this choice, the Great Turning described in the Hopi prophesy, is inevitable.

Conclusion

The small opening I observed in 1983 is once again in the global psyche beckoning us to step into it. It is my fervent hope that this story will strengthen the courage and confidence of many to step into this opening. If enough of us make this choice, the great turning toward peace on earth described in the Hopi prophesy, is inevitable.

So where to begin? I offer seven actions that have the potency, if done by enough people, to further this great turning. They all operate from the empowerment premise that it is us who must create the world we want, stated so well in the phrase, “when the people lead, the leaders will follow.” They carry into present time themes and strategies that allowed the world to respond so powerfully to the First Earth Run. They are created as a menu of choice, with some quite simple and others requiring more commitment. And each invites us to carry on the ancient Hopi tradition of the Dream Keeper – one who stewards the profound belief that humanity can live in harmony with each other and the earth.