With all the exciting news reports coming out of BlogHer business, it's been hard to concentrate on any other type of news the last few days. But one thing caught my eye.
Ageless Marketing, a blog by David Wolfe, ran an article on Ego Transcendence. Wolfe quoted Jonas Salk, saying

Ego values, which fuel the competitive spirit in men, have been a driving force behind humankind’s cultural and technological progress over the millennia. However, said Salk, the future of humankind now depends more on cooperation than on competition. The time has come in the name of human survival, he said, for a cultural shift toward being values.

Ageless Marketing points out that

On an individual basis, ego transcendence is the mark of those existing in an advanced state of psychological maturity. In fact, one of the items on Carl Jung’s Seven Tasks of Aging whose accomplishment leads to a regret-free, peaceful and joyous old age was “letting go of the ego.”

Wolfe approached ego transcendence from the perspective of elders. I think a case can be made that the female perspective on life already demonstrates ego transcendence. Women of all ages traditionally exhibit qualities of "being values" rather than "ego values." Such "being values" include intuition, feeling, subjective, reality (vs. morality) differentation, cooperation, influence (vs. power) and win-win. There are men like David Wolfe who operate from this base, too. Men have more to overcome on the ego value side in order to reach the being values, but many are making the shift. You can see the entire list and comparisons of the two value systems at Ageless Marketing.

Ageless Marketing itself provided a link to The Elder Storytelling Place. This a blog run by Ronni Bennett under the umbrella of her Time Goes By blog. The Elder Storytelling Place gives elders free rein to tell whatever stories they want.

The lead story yesterday illustrates this idea of ego values vs. being values. It is The Beast Within by Nikki Stern of 1 Woman’s Vu. As Nikki wonders whether we all have a beast within (let's call this beast "ego value"), she comments on watching TV,

Lewis Black is one ticked-off dude. I recently watched his HBO special. His style is all about rant; he twitches on stage. He sets up brilliantly, he begins calmly enough with remarks about a news item or issue but then as his frustration grows over some idiocy or other, he begins to tremble, as if he’s got stage one Tourette’s syndrome.

She points out that she is a natural at avoiding the raise voice, but admits,

And yet — I too feel like exploding at times. I do. There are so many things that make me crazy: ignorance, hypocrisy, cruelty to women, children and animals, over-paid know-nothings, off-key singing - aargh.

But when Nikki feels like exploding, she doesn't start a war or go on a killing spree. She questions the possiblity of a mad beast within, but she doesn't act on it.

She's my quintessential woman. Today's archtype. She blogs. She writes. She makes change with influence rather than power.

If it's true, as I quoted above, the time has come in the name of human survival for a cultural shift toward being values then the leading edge of the cultural shift can be found largely in women.

It's Ronni Bennett, at Time Goes By, dragging ageist discrimation into the public awareness one post at a time.

It's Britt Bravo, at Have Fun * Do Good showing us how doing good can improve our own well-being (those "being values" again).

It's Beth Kanter, at Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, who helps nonprofits all over the world develop being values.

It's Sarah, at Earth Loving Tech, who parades an array of earth loving ideas through her blog.

It's Mary Hunt, at In Women We Trust or it's Big Green Purse, where influence in the form of product choices to lead a cultural shift.

It's World Changing where a diversity of enlightened men and women keep you informed about ways the world is or could be changing toward sustainability.

It's Rachelle Mee-Chapman aka Magpie Girl or Mata H who demystify religion and spirituality.

It's YOU, telling the truth as you see it on your blog. It's you sharing stories based in "being values" rather than "ego values." You add momentum to a cultural shift when you write about the being values. We are connected technologically to worldwide community of people who would never have known or communicated with each other before. This community shares and spreads the being values.