We all know the power of bad rumors. Gossip is one of the ways bad rumors get started. Innuendo and half truths are two other common ways. But not only can bad rumors be started easily; good rumors can as well. In her book Unconditional Love and Forgiveness, Dr. Edith Stauffer tells the true story of a golf pro she names Jack. Now Jack had started working several years before at a private golf club while the owner was still alive. After the owner died, however, his daughter inherited the club and knew nothing about the business--or golf. She and Jack were constantly at odds. She would come into the pro shop and change orders that Jack had made for needed merchandise or change things around on his desk or do something else that was totally inappropriate. He was finally ready to quit, even though the pay was excellent and he had no other job.

At that point, he came to Edith for counseling. Edith challenged him to begin making some changes as a last resort. She asked if there was anything this woman did that was helpful. Jack quickly replied that she was great in the coffee shop. She knew everyone's names and managed the food for tournaments really well. She also kept up with the goings on of everyone who golfed there. Jack appreciated that. It was helpful. Jack was then asked if he would begin talking to others about her abilities--one thing at a time--for 5 days. He agreed and when he returned the following week for his appointment, he was beaming. The woman had come to him at the end of the week and said, "Jack, I'd like for you to manage the pro shop because I don't really know anything about it. If you do that, I'll manage the coffee shop and catering." The atmosphere changed completely. Golfers soon noticed it, other staff members noticed it and two years later the changes were still present. Business boomed. It was not a lot of effort, but enough that it changed Jack's work situation significantly.

This may seem too simple for those who have yet to experience it. However, I've personally been involved in changing the atmosphere in families, classrooms, organizations, and even a city using this method. Starting good rumors begins with a basic decision to make positive changes in a particular situation. It needs to be a conscious commitment to do things differently. In one organization, a friend and I were determined to bring back a sense of fun which we had before several members had moved away. We kept that commitment. The first meeting was very hard. She and I were the only ones laughing. Everyone else looked at us as if we had lost our minds. No matter, we kept at it. By the next meeting a few others began smiling. By the fourth or fifth meeting, nearly half of the members were laughing at the little things that happen when a group of women gather together. The next step is another decision: to put some effort into making the changes--it takes conscious attention to doing it. And it needs to be done without talking to anyone else about what you are doing. Listing the truthful positive qualities of the situation to be changed can be surprising. When a situation needs changing, it often seems as though there are no positive qualities--until we start thinking of them. Once you have a list, you can start good rumors. You can say something truthful to one person. Then to another person--perhaps one a day. If they argue with you, just say, "this is the way I see it," and change the subject. Keep it up so long as you need to in order to change the situation.

Dr. Roberto Assagioli told a group in 1973 about the story of how he encouraged a nurse in Switzerland to change the atmosphere in a chaotic hospital delivery room through using the transpersonal quality of "calm." The nurse first meditated on the word, "calm." She then printed out the word on individual cards in various shapes and colors and posted them around the nurses' station and the delivery room. It was so chaotic that no one really asked her about them. But within six weeks, the staff and patients noticed a definite calmness in the delivery room. Dr. Assagioli didn't call it "starting good rumors," but the effect was the same. Of course, the nurse was most grateful to him as her own anxiety and stress level dropped as a result of her actions. These are only two examples out of many of how a simple decision and some relatively small actions can have BIG results. Any ideas about spreading good rumors regarding psychosynthesis?