Paul was with us in spirit

For those moments when you don't have access to the DVD and when you want to be reminded of your importance, click on this. "What you are creating is completely unknown, it is every where, there is no center....this is the first time on earth that a powerful new, non ideological movement has arisen.....Pachamama talking back.......It is up to us to decide who we want to be"

http://www.blessedunrest.com/video.html

Workgroup Notes: ATD and Shamanism

Notes from the Open Source workgroup: Saturday, June 18

Can Shamanism/Condor practices enhance our ability to do the work of the symposium? Can our dreams guide us, and if so, how could we engage with these areas?

Cindy Dixon

Tuck Taylor, Vicki Peck and Cindy Dixon combined topics for a group conversation. Tuck started the conversation by talking about the Achuar practice of rising early each day to examine dreams experienced by individuals as a means for making decisions and planning their lives. Leslie Whiting, who has been to Ecuador, described being with the Achuar as they went through their daily ritual. Arising at 4:00 AM, tribe members would come together and drink a special tea which is part of a daily purification ritual. The community dreams are collected in conversations, and this information is used by tribal elders as they consider group actions.

Noelle Poncelet joined our group early on. She and her husband, Claude, teach shamanism workshops, and have been involved in this subject area for many years, including travels all over the world researching indigenous shamanic practices. Her answer to the general question we’d posed, about whether it would be valuable to our work with the symposium for us to learn and engage these practices, was an emphatic “yes”.

Noelle answered our first question, “What is a shaman?” A shaman uses his/her experience to empower individuals to seek and trust the spiritual guidance available to all of us. Spirit is everywhere. Everything is alive. Shamanism completely honors and values the body as a source of connection. Noelle believes that shamanism can help open the door for us to explore topics relating to our work, including the spirit of social justice.

She talked about the “Miracle Cure” exercise, which is included in the facilitator notes for the symposium. In this meditation, you go to sleep and have a dream in which you find that every problem that we are facing has been solved. Upon waking, when you find that this transformation has taken place, ask yourself what you notice first. This simple visualization can be profoundly impactful.

From the group’s input, it was clear that this connection to spirit can be exercised in numerous ways – Trish Sharpe uses tantric dance, which she demonstrated during the Talent Show that evening, to achieve deep connection and heightened consciousness. Whether shamanism incorporates the use of meditation, plant medicines, drumming or other means depends on the intent of the leader and context of the journey process.

Noelle made a remarkable offer to all of us who are symposium facilitators: She and Claude would provide a 2-3 day workshop, tuition free, to anyone so inclined. Her only request was that she not be involved in any of the organizational details. Susan Burns, who also contributed her experience to the group, is with IONS and we talked about having the workshop take place at the IONS conference center. She believes she would help us make the arrangements and keep the costs low.

As a starting point, Noelle suggested books by Sandra Ingerman, specially mentioning “The Beginner’s Guide to Shamanic Journeying” as an excellent preparation book. http://www.shamanicvisions.com/ingerman_folder/04books.html. Several people in the group know others who conduct explorations of this nature – Julie Earl (juliaearl@mindspring.com), Vinit Allen (vinit7@yahoo.com), and Azlan White (azlanwhite@yahoo.com) have references they could share.

We began a list of folks who are interested in the workshop with Noelle and Claude Poncelet. I will enter these in a database, and anyone else who wants to get on the list can contact me (cindy.dixon@charter.net) and I’ll take care of it. I’ll begin by emailing the people I have on the list to see if we can establish a planning committee for a workshop.

Workgroup Notes: College Symposium

Notes for college symposium

Ruth Pittard

Use two 30hr segments with a mandala exercise after the first segment and with Council of All Beings in the second
Feeding the hunger for meaning exercise needed
Personal contact as much as possible, especially in assumptions and connection
More interactive
Too canned
Use other students in minor parts or hand out parts to students
Use students wherever possible
Places that are using the symposium: Boston Architectural College and Fairley Dickinson (Institute for Sustainability….)
Use questions for Soc. Justice and Spiritual awakening:
What do you think are the issues of ___________that are affection you today. (2 min. to think, 5 min. with group, then 10 min. to harvest and report)
Important places for resources: Youth Action Team, NJ Heps, Urban Center at U. Mich
Develop a fact sheet for the handout
Use college students to work with high school, high school to work with middle school and all the above to work with elementary school.
Discover some exercises from the John Seed (?) program
Active program for training college students to participate
Use Orientation programs, faculty and film departments
Use summer camps for large groups
Use dramatically different and innovative methods and social technologies
Concentrate on cutting through the despair: cut the where are we section substantially
Set up conference calls for developing the symposium.

Vickie Peck vpeck@nm.net
Larry Dean Larrydean214@earthlink.net
Azlan White Azlan11@mac.com
Bill Grover wggrover@aol.com
Gary Topper gbtopper@comcast.net
John Meade john@johnmeade.net
Bill Russell No email
Mo Drakeford modrake@yahoo.com
Syd
Ruth
Mike

Workgroup Notes: ATD and Social Justice

How Can We Strengthen The Social Justice Theme of the Symposium?

Brook Jordan and Margaret Love

Creating an experiential exercise for participants to face subjugation and subordination.

• Draw upon such people as Sharif Abdullah and others for exercise suggestions.

• Possible ideas could include: Examining world inequality by having people draw card’s which would place them in a region or country in the world. According to each region or country at lunch people would be served a certain amount of food depending on the poverty level. After the exercise is over, an open dialogue could be set up so that people could talk about their experience at eating at the table with the tablecloth and abundance of food or on the ground with a bowl of rice. It is important to choose issues that are woven throughout all three areas we are examining.

Examine the history of Colonialism. This could include how systems of injustice/inequality came to be? Tell the story of oppression and the stories of people who took a stand for social justice.

Incorporate the Matrix of domination/interlocking systems.

• Gender, sexual orientation, race, class, citizenship.

• Could include a few statistics such as 1 out of every 3 women world wide are sexually assaulted/abused.

• Could draw from the Hunger project for statistics as well as David Korten’s material on racism and how that ties into economic and political control.

Should there be more stories then statistics to get a strong message across? We need statistics to back up our stories but how many and which ones make a real impact?

We can strengthen the social justice theme by showing clearer links between the three areas of environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice.

• Could add Paul Hawken's quote about environmentalists getting on the social justice bus because in fact there is only one bus.

• Facilitators could bring in examples of local issues to get a stronger message across to their surrounding communities.

How radical are we willing to go? How much discomfort are we willing to create?

How do we shift power and privilege from being more and more concentrated in the hands of so few to many?

Should there be an advanced symposium for people who are ready and willing to delve deeper into questions concerning environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice?

Create a stronger emphasis on unexamined assumptions.

• White supremacy, which is a concept of whiteness, created by the white, elite.

• ‘I deserve it’=Entitlement

Emerging the dream portion needs examples such as the writing of the new constitution in Ecuador or the Hunger Project.

Adopt to our audiences but don’t treat the audience as homogenous. Always remember to incorporate/account for the diversity in the audience.

Do our homework and get educated about all three areas of inquiry.

Set up a better book list on line.

Workgroup Notes: ATD in Politics and Government

Notes from Open Space session on Sunday, June 17, 2007 on the subject of:

How do we take the ATD Symposium into politics and governments? – and should we?
Also, we addressed somewhat how to generally take ATD to others, “beyond the choir.”

Convened by Chris LeBreton

Others attending: Syd F., Azlan, Mary Ellen F., Vickie Peak, Adriana Farkouh, Sheri Herndon, Larry Dean, Linda Delair, Bruce Thompson, Tuck Taylor

It may be good to remake a version of ATD for govt., as people are doing for business. Would like to follow pattern, as Thomas Berry says, we must meet people where they are; match the language and the way we present to their world. We ought to communicate we are all losing…the challenge is to awaken politics to the possibility of everybody winning. Bill Twist is showing us ways that governments are able to work with us and support the vision. (Vickie)
Whatever state people are in, we want to package the material compellingly. So people want to agree Awaken/move people with connections. (Adriana)
Approach the grassroots, local levels first. Everything is political and where we have the most influence is at local levels. (Azlan)
Create teams to get to world leaders.
Think we have opportunities with mega-churches.
Share with each other our “best practices” (what works, templates to try and give feedback on, in different locations). Start with city council, share successes and evidence of interest in the wider community with them; so that at least one person “gets it.” Here’s an untapped resource: Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sr. & family, Sheri has an uncle who works very closely with them. Van Jones may want to be part of making introduction to them, building a platform, plus getting fuel to be stepping up the social justice agenda.
How to use email and internet best? –Yahoo is not enough. -Sheri H.
We have allies in all levels of govt already; local, county, state, national, esp. in U.S. the EPA. Want to echo that I think it’s best to start at the local level first. Have 1-on-1 conversations, plan a symposium if they are interested but start with a small group so they feel connected easily. Check your assumptions at the door about what they know or how they are going to be. I don’t think we have to remake a special government oriented ATD. (SydF.)
Marin County focus sessions have happened. Mayor also president of the US initiative for Green Cities and the ICLEI initiative for climate. Show them things that work.
Important how we show up: We look at the script in ATDs; the people look at us.
Politicians are afraid to lead, afraid to be first.
Staff of local and state elected representatives however, are really powerful in the policy proposal and bill-writing process. They do research and writing, advise the officialsare more open to talk with people and can influence policy.
In political parties, there are feelings of powerlessness and desperation. Meetings contentious and adversarial. We can help them come together and help them see win/win solutions to help us all. (Tuck)
We have examples of some officials having attended ATDs and who were very positively affected.
Drop perfectionism. Just reach out.
Chris talked about different hats he has worn in political (electoral) arena and as a civil servant. There is more openness and spirit of serving the public in the civil service.
Keep non-partisan. ALSO: Think globally and locally, not just the over-media hyped national level of politics.
We can still take stands, and not be positional/political.
Whatever political position or issue or bill people want to discuss, discuss it NOT in the ATD itself, but in breaks or outside of them, and test its value against the 3 objectives of the ATD: does it contribute to an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just. Look through this lens when asked to respond to issues.
In the US anyway, there is value is George Lakoff’s work, Don’t Think of an Elephant. It’s about Republicans and Democrats (though they’re not the only parties, they are so massively controlling the US political mind)
There are internalized assumptions that everyone deserves what they get. Help show, with compassion, that this assumption and others are not factual, that there are institutional barriers to change unless we can transform our institutions.
Create a draw around aligning with tripartite objective. In any country, we can seek alignment of political parties and/or create whole new political parties with these shares values and understandings.

Workgroup Notes: Collaborating with Large Organizations

Open Space Notes( 6/16/07 DRAFT): EXPENDING THE SYPOSIUM’S REACH THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH LARGE ORGANIZATIONS; Mark Dubois

Participants included:
Alexandra Rebecca Hubbell
Annemarie Korp: ackorp@cox.net
Chris (from UK)
Jeremy Johnson
Julia Earl: juliaearl@mindspring.com
Karen Flittie: Karen@suggarts.com
Kay Sandberg: kay@soulofmoney.org
Leslie: Leslieinsc@cox.net
Mark Dubois (CONVERSATION LEADER);
Rocio
Tony
Vinit Allen

Examples of groups incorporating symposiums this year (in addition to am list):

Family Nature Summit
National Wildlife Fund youth summer camp (three facilitators)
Voluntours

Goals/Intentions This Year (Mark)
1. Three examples of programs in each sector of the mission (environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment, and social justice organizations
2. Symposiums by end of the year for national environmental, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment leaders (Washing, DC)
3. Help organizations be more effective with their goals.

Ideas
1. The importance of follow through with organizations as well as individuals after the symposium
2. Map our respective networks when we work with other organizations to enroll others and look for synergies
3. Be part of others’ fundraisers—for example, the Center for Attitudinal Healing (Marin County, California), local churches (Unity churches have had symposiums in many locations and may become collaborators as a national body), and spiritual centers (Spirit Rock, Marin County, CA)
4. Establish a relationship with the Skoll Foundation in Palo Alto, CA, with the intent of doing a symposium as part of their annual forum in the UK for social profits
5. Consider how to market symposium; the best tool to date: latest video in DVD format and also on www.pachamama.org; show the first or the last six minutes
6. Enroll other organizations to host and invite all their members; in one example, there were 15 co-hosting organizations, yielding 150 participants
7. Be creative in looking for groups of people with aligned values—for example, churches, spiritual centers (ex. co-housing groups (ex., Northwest intentional community)
8. We’re open to and encourage groups to make the content their own; for example, Code Pink is the farthest along, customizing the symposium to their members;
9. When such a customized version is done, ATD asks that the groups report the number of participants and how specifically they changed the content for their members
10. Incorporate music into the symposium—done at one Unity Church, for example
11. Have a conversation with Al Gore’s group (Mark to follow up with Jon re: status) perhaps through the Skoll Foundation or Participant Productions, Jeff Skoll’s production company in L.A, which produced and co-funded the funding for “An Inconvenient Truth”, and/or the producers.
12. Approach Rotary International, a global organization with a tradition of giving generously to social issues
13. Create more alliances with social justice organization with the help of allied organizations like Van Jones’ Ella Baker Center (Oakland, CA)
14. A symposium is planned in July in Boulder, Co with local groups, one of which will have a half-day program with Lynne Twist before the symposium
15. Explore how to tap into Paul Hawken’s www.wiserearth.org database of over one hundred thousand social profit organizations worldwide.

QUESTION: What organization do you love and are already a part of? Reach out to theme re: symposium sponsoring; get them inspired and help create a foundation for future collaboration. For example:

1. Save the Redwoods League
2. Burning Man (this year’s theme is ‘green’)
3. Circle of Life
4. Integral Transformational Practice/ITP
5. Global Exchange
6. Sierra Club
7. Audobon Society
8. Royal Bird Society (England)
9. Newfield Network of coaches (Chile and US)
10. Global Fund for Women
11. Church of Religious Science (Northern and Southern California; elsewhere?)
12. Agape/ Rev. Michael Beckwith (Southern Cal.)
13. Rotary Clubs
14. World Café Dialogue groups

Mark will put out a list through The Pachamama Alliance website, in addition to our posting of this on the Global Gathering blog.

Workgroup Notes: ATD and the Internet

TOPIC: How the Internet can help facilitators create, organize, track, and follow up on symposiums, and how the internet can support participants in getting into action and connecting locally. Also: how to leverage web 2.0 technology to help symposiums happen and get people into action.

Convened by Dave Ergo

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Have a space for blogs, etc. organized by area -- ways of connecting after symposium. People would meet face to face. Each symposium could have its own blog space, that also fits into region. Have a place for blogs for facilitators only.

Daily tips, monthly information sheets.

Develop a solid event posting site. Requests for having symposiums have automatic responses or are somehow flagged for follow up by region.

Have a place to talk about issues -- problems with composting, recycling plastic, etc. Conversation on how to stay awake.

Have a place to share other resources.

Community group coordinators -- central place to keep and maintain lists of contacts and people who want to support

Have a well documented privacy policy that is conservative (feels safer to participate).

On the website: have an easier to use master calendar of events that can be "drilled down" by country, state, county, etc. Use graphic image of maps to define regions, and show where symposiums, facilitator teams, etc. are vs. big problem with WiserEarth: can only search for events/organizations by city (too small) or state (too large); need something in between, like county sizes). Organize symposium lists by region. Regions are clearly defined, and defined by the users themselves (Centrally stored, but self-organized, not centrally managed).

Replace yahoo groups with our own (or another) listserv system.

Have a single place for all this information, systematic gathering of data. Have a place where we can put *local* resources, organizations, articles, etc (perhaps team up with WiserEarth). Anyone can post (have checks & balances for flagging inappropriate content).

Want to be able to ask for help in putting on my events using this system (I need another presenter, AV help, a venue, etc.)

Have something that automatically messages to me regarding new symposiums, events, etc. in the regions I'm interested in (could be more than one region). Allow me to identify what kinds of messages I want to be included on (e.g. tell me about events, but don't send me discussion emails, etc.)

Symposium participants: have place where I can put name of someone I meet who's interested in symposiums, and automatically notifies them when one comes up in their area. Have system automatically send emails: before event, after event, ongoing. Automatically create follow up emails, surveys, send messages to no-shows, encouraging them to sign up again, etc. Track and have automated follow up on "pathways to participation" cards. Have directions available on screen, have connection to public transit systems when possible.

Create ability for groups to cluster on the web. E.g. there's a group in SF, one in San Jose; I want to create a Peninsula group between these two cities. Needs to change dynamically as more people become involved. Not telling people what to do, but giving them clear ideas on what needs doing, and finding their passion (e.g. local pollution hotspots website -- shows actions that are needed locally). Have Ruel's "three columns exercise" on line, to help them find their passion.

Concern: there are many websites and discussion groups that don't seem to go anywhere; find out which ones are successful and imitate those, learn from the failures. See what social network technologies are out there (You Tube, Tribe, Facebook, MySpace, Second Life), which ones work. Ability to analyze activity of participants, to "map" the social network. Track facilitator/participant activities. Award them for effort, use to motivate.

Concern: email overload. I'm deleting all email but MoveOn, just too much to track. Don't add to the burden, somehow give me something different.

Have interest areas participants can sign up for (health care professionals, post-carbon efforts, etc.). Self identify and organize? Balance between WiserEarth (categories already created) vs. a completely clean slate (anarchy, ineffectiveness).

Resources: Include personal sustainability planner -- integrated with Bill Russell's website and Jon Syme's book. Include ability to post good web sites; create something like Amazon's top ten books -- "the top ten sustainability websites." Integrate with WiserEarth somehow. How use web to serve participants in getting into action. Inspiring stories link. You tube videos. Downloadable material for helping to start a local meeting, start local conversation, an outline/template for a 30 minute talk to schools, rotary clubs, business, etc.

For facilitators only: have online list of participants, including name, email, phone, confirmation status, town, ridesharing preferences. Automatic email reminders, with responses required in email (click here to verify). Easily sorted, printed, useable by facilitator. Sort by name, Print out registration list for day of event (with spaces for walk ins), print out name badges. Also: place that tracks who else is facilitating (AV, hosting, presenting). Allow me to ask all facilitators everywhere if I have a question. Indicate who is willing to travel, who is willing to host guests in their area.

Very important: Simple, make it very easy to use, zero training required. Shouldn't require yahoo account.

Include those, who by choice or circumstance, do not have email or internet access. Other countries, poorer communities, voluntary simplicity adherents. Don't necessarily expect them to find a way. Can we use cell phone technology (more ubiquitous than computers?). Related: how support facilitators with limited finances and other resources.

Have system be able to really help pull together participants after the symposium: allow them to communicate with each other, with ohters in the area, set up follow up events.

Have counters, track metrics of who's active and who isn't. So we know who's been to what part of website (but why?

Remember Van Jones' thought: we're not going to do this by clicking a mouse. Website needs to help people meet face to face, to get into action.