Rennie Davis, From Chicago 7 to Venture Capitalist to Grand Canyon Visionary
Though Rennie Davis is best known for his gutsy political activism in the late 60s, he hasn’t exactly been standing still since.
Author, venture capitalist, self-awareness lecturer, Davis has appeared on Larry King Live, Barbara Walters, Phil Donahue, VH1, CNN, and many other network programs. He has consulted and developed business strategies for Fortune 500 companies and is the founder of Ventures for Humanity, a technology development and venture capital company working providing resources to commercialize breakthrough technologies.
In the 90s, Davis spent four years on “sabbatical” from business in remote deserts and valleys. He emerged from the yawning recesses of the Grand Canyon with a deeper insight into the human condition and workings of nature and a revolutionary new message—perhaps “evolutionary” is a better term: a political or social change strategy that he says builds upon the “long progressive march for human freedom throughout history.”
He believes that this new vision is as earth-shattering and radical a quantum shift in collective consciousness as when the earth went from flat to round. Recently invited by a number of Native American leaders to share his revelations in conjunction with other forward-thinking people, Davis tells me a tour is in the works possibly for the fall.
Author, venture capitalist, self-awareness lecturer, Davis has appeared on Larry King Live, Barbara Walters, Phil Donahue, VH1, CNN, and many other network programs. He has consulted and developed business strategies for Fortune 500 companies and is the founder of Ventures for Humanity, a technology development and venture capital company working providing resources to commercialize breakthrough technologies.
In the 90s, Davis spent four years on “sabbatical” from business in remote deserts and valleys. He emerged from the yawning recesses of the Grand Canyon with a deeper insight into the human condition and workings of nature and a revolutionary new message—perhaps “evolutionary” is a better term: a political or social change strategy that he says builds upon the “long progressive march for human freedom throughout history.”
He believes that this new vision is as earth-shattering and radical a quantum shift in collective consciousness as when the earth went from flat to round. Recently invited by a number of Native American leaders to share his revelations in conjunction with other forward-thinking people, Davis tells me a tour is in the works possibly for the fall.
In a phone interview, I ask Davis, “Let’s start at the top. Why are you coming to Iowa?”
“I’m coming to do a public presentation followed by a workshop,” he says. “The focus of the first is basically an assessment of the world situation, a very deep understanding of the time in which we live. My argument is that this is not just another generation passing through but that very specific things are coming to pass, things that have been predicted by the Hopis and other Native American legends. . . .
“If you were to do a survey of what causes misery on earth, it would tend to fall into three broad categories. One, we can call systems: the economy, AIDS, terrorism—things that are ‘system’ in nature. The second would be a list of everybody to blame: Bush is the cause of my misery, my ex-wife, my boss. The third would be things that come utterly out of left field: a tornado through town, a tsunami, events that are not in our apparent control.
“What this huge list would have in common—something everybody would agree with—is that the cause of misery are things outside ‘myself’. But the cause of our misery is absolutely, positively not at all what we believe it to be. This is not a new view. Certainly saints and philosophers in every generation have basically argued if you want to change the world, you have to change yourself.
“. . . For the first time, there’s a predisposition among a large number of people that you can re-script the world by changing your own belief system; a critical mass of humanity wanting to believe you can recreate the world by changing your own belief system—even if you don’t understand why.
“And the shift is huge, starting with the political process. . . .What I’m suggesting is that every time you blame, you turn your power over, and that the real understanding of blame on any level is a disempowering act—when in fact you’re creating the whole thing, including the misery that comes at you from the weather. If there is fear as a dominant human reality, the fear is within ourself. It’s not an objective thing, it all comes from within.”
Davis’s vision rests upon a grand unification theory of personal empowerment that calls for the laying aside of all vestiges of blame and shame. It directly challenges the “we-and-they” victim-based finger-pointing political model’s old school separation theology, if you will.
“I’m coming to do a public presentation followed by a workshop,” he says. “The focus of the first is basically an assessment of the world situation, a very deep understanding of the time in which we live. My argument is that this is not just another generation passing through but that very specific things are coming to pass, things that have been predicted by the Hopis and other Native American legends. . . .
“If you were to do a survey of what causes misery on earth, it would tend to fall into three broad categories. One, we can call systems: the economy, AIDS, terrorism—things that are ‘system’ in nature. The second would be a list of everybody to blame: Bush is the cause of my misery, my ex-wife, my boss. The third would be things that come utterly out of left field: a tornado through town, a tsunami, events that are not in our apparent control.
“What this huge list would have in common—something everybody would agree with—is that the cause of misery are things outside ‘myself’. But the cause of our misery is absolutely, positively not at all what we believe it to be. This is not a new view. Certainly saints and philosophers in every generation have basically argued if you want to change the world, you have to change yourself.
“. . . For the first time, there’s a predisposition among a large number of people that you can re-script the world by changing your own belief system; a critical mass of humanity wanting to believe you can recreate the world by changing your own belief system—even if you don’t understand why.
“And the shift is huge, starting with the political process. . . .What I’m suggesting is that every time you blame, you turn your power over, and that the real understanding of blame on any level is a disempowering act—when in fact you’re creating the whole thing, including the misery that comes at you from the weather. If there is fear as a dominant human reality, the fear is within ourself. It’s not an objective thing, it all comes from within.”
Davis’s vision rests upon a grand unification theory of personal empowerment that calls for the laying aside of all vestiges of blame and shame. It directly challenges the “we-and-they” victim-based finger-pointing political model’s old school separation theology, if you will.
When I ask if this represents a fundamental break with his activist past or if it’s ultimately a wider reckoning, he says he’s not sure. One thing’s for sure though: the man is a delight to talk with—articulate, affable, inspired, expansive.
“Evolution is self-selecting. You’re basically choosing your course every step of the way, but in addition to that, there are gifts that belong to us should we choose them. What I’m doing is giving a precise rundown of what those gifts are that we can claim whenever we’re ready to do so. So you can, in a sense, see your future, which is quite magnificent, and it will become your future with a certain degree of let-go and openness.
“The process for me is to build a series of communities across the country that are attempting to open an age of discovery, unlock the creative genius of the human race, create options where it appears no options exist, and embrace a series of breakthrough discoveries that are now present in the world.”
“Evolution is self-selecting. You’re basically choosing your course every step of the way, but in addition to that, there are gifts that belong to us should we choose them. What I’m doing is giving a precise rundown of what those gifts are that we can claim whenever we’re ready to do so. So you can, in a sense, see your future, which is quite magnificent, and it will become your future with a certain degree of let-go and openness.
“The process for me is to build a series of communities across the country that are attempting to open an age of discovery, unlock the creative genius of the human race, create options where it appears no options exist, and embrace a series of breakthrough discoveries that are now present in the world.”
Ain't about "we and they". It's about "me".
What an asshole!
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