Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Prues on July 20, 2012 at 3:56pm

In response to the question: 'Is it our shadow that has brought us to being change agents in our lives today?' In my own case, the qualified 'yes' response must be augmented by mentioning how the stumbling upon the notion of World 5.0 has empassioned me to be who I am and what I am about these days...

http://world5.org

The Declaration tab in the upper right corner takes you to a video on the topic.

Also, you can download the book, "World 5.0 - Healing Our Selves, Our Earth and Our Life Together" from the website for free.

peace and love
jim

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 20, 2012 at 4:00pm

Check this out: "God Is in the Neurons."

22 minute documentary on how neurons function,  (h/t Mel G)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 20, 2012 at 5:04pm

Closing inspiration from the GroupWorks card deck:

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 20, 2012 at 6:04pm

Is mixing metaphors like "crossing the streams," Sea?

As for mothers, that metaphor was quite powerfully present on the call too.  I was talking about Harvey Austin's sculpture of "woman giving birth to the world," pictured below.  He and I were talking Wednesday as I was driving home from the DIY Economy retreat in Asheville and he reminded me of Barbara Marx Hubbard's metaphor for what might be happening on the planet right now...

What if humanity collectively is like a pregnant 15 year old girl, BMH, asks?  Imagine that she got knocked up by a guy who has left her all alone, and that she never had sex-ed so she doesn't know what's going on.  And now the labor pains are beginning.  She would probably think she was dying!  And indeed she might die, if she is not strong or lucky enough.  It would help if she had a midwife too, huh?  BMH suggests that those of us who see the possibility of something amazing being born out of the chaos and crises of this moment in history must rise to the challenge of being midwifes to the new world (and also hospicing the old one!) on behalf of all humanity and the planet.

So I tell this story in our final breakout on today's call, and Jim Prues tells us that--guess what!-- not long before he married his wife ten years ago, her fifteen year old daughter came to them complaining of stomach pains she could not explain.  The baby was born prematurely, but all turned out OK and now he has a ten year old grand-daughter who is the joy of is life!!!

I'd love for you to join our calls, Sea!  It's great to have your steady presence here online too, of course.  And, look what you're missing.  Not to mention that we are missing the brilliance you might offer to the group.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jitendra Darling on July 20, 2012 at 7:04pm

Hi Sea,

Look in the upper right hand column on this page and you'll see

Weekly Cafe Calls

Below are the times for these calls that occur weekly.  You can also call in using Skype for a couple cents per minute.

Peace!

Jitendra

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jitendra Darling on July 20, 2012 at 7:12pm

The crux of this call was to explore all manner of shadow.  The upshot is that shadow is not to be demonized or resisted but appreciated as an integral dimension to what creates beauty.  Can you imagine any image in nature without shading and shadows?  It would quickly become exhausting—and boring— trying to gauge depth without contrast. 

There were actually many layers to the conversation. Hope you'll join us some time.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jim Prues on July 20, 2012 at 10:38pm

As a videographer, I mess with light all the time. In life I'm readily looking to see how stuff is lit. If there were no darkness, no shadows, we would be lost in the undefined brilliance. 

C.A., I don't know about the particular shadows OWS should embrace, but I know our task is connecting, in this case connecting the darkness with the light. Life is Tao, entangled opposites. These days perhaps the only chore more important than connecting is breathing - not only does it keep us alive, it connects us with ourselves, the most important connection of all!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Hazard on July 21, 2012 at 4:44pm

Ach again I missed a call that I think is asking a vital question! I shy away from conference calls because they feel overwhelming to me, but I really appreciate the kinds of questions that are being addressed here. Self examination is essential to the growth and sustainability of both the individual and the group. I often take suggestions from here and other sources who are doing the same to foster discussion among my own local Occupiers and activists. 

The Shadow archetype is a brilliant catalyst for exploration and a wonderful challenge to our western dualistic world view. 

Maybe one of these days I'll actually get in on a call, in the meantime I always enjoy reading the responses here.

Peace,

Jenny

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 25, 2012 at 5:20pm

Jenny: I appreciate your candor about shying away from conference calls.  We strive to make ours welcoming and hospitable. Can I ask what aspects of calls you find overwhelming?  And perhaps invite you to join us and give it another shot?!  We'd love to hear your voice!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 27, 2012 at 10:45am

Funny, C.A.  Your assertions that ""we can't see through the eyes of women" and we "haven't been able to break through patriarchy" in our conversations here at the Cafe, and the suggestion that "no one has offered an alternative to my idea to achieve that through a Women's Council" all strike me as patriarchal in their mix of absolute judgment and insistence on your own perspective being the one we all should follow!

Please don't take this the wrong way.  I LOVE your contributions to our community and value your perspectives greatly.  Not to mention that I'm still holding out hope that Detoxit will save the world!  Still, I would never presume to have the ability to grasp all that is moving here or what other participants are or are not capable of.

As for the suggestion that we build our own women's council, I think we best leave that to the women to decide, no?!  And we have already been engaged in dialogue around the idea of ending/transcending patriarchy for some time.  For me, these have been wonderful conversations.  

I know you have been active in these conversations online, but that has been only half the dialogue.  Have you listened, for example, to the podcast of our Occupy Patriarchy Vital Conversation from 6/25?  And is there some specific framing you want to suggest for moving this conversation forward that does not rely on urging other people to do something?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 28, 2012 at 9:14am

Behind the specific focus on "patriarchy," C.A., I am hearing a desire from to "get something done" together.  That resonates with me more than your framing about "women's studies theory."  What I also hear is the sense on your part that someone else "owns the room" here, which recalls this quote from Peter Block about Ownership that I posted to our thread for last week's Vital Conversation:

Accountability is the willingness to acknowledge that we have participated in creating, through commission or omission, the conditions that we wish to see changed. Without this capacity to see ourselves as cause, our efforts become either coercive or wishfully dependent on the transformation of others.

Community will be created the moment we decide to act as creators of what it can become. This is the stance of ownership, which is available to us every moment on every issue, even world peace, the overdependence on fossil fuel consumption, and the fact that our teenagers are slightly self-centered.

This requires us to believe in the possibility that this organization, this neighborhood, this community is mine or ours to create. This will occur when we are willing to answer the essential question, “How have I contributed to creating the current reality?” Confusion, blame, and waiting for someone else to change are defenses against ownership and personal power. This core question, when answered, is central to how the community is transformed.

For my part, I am interested in seeing at least two things emerge as "the job" of this community collectively (if others want to support something else, that's fine too!):

1. Create a space where "link leaders" can flourish
2. Engage in a series of regular "deep dive" appreciative inquiries that create forward movement in the area being examined. For example, ways to further catalyze the emergence of "New Economy" structures by connecting energy from Occupy with other organizations and initiatives that seek to create alternative economic structures.

We are also discussing the idea of offering training and/or support for collaborative innovation on specific projects brought forth by the community.  Both these things would be provided in return for financial compensation.

How we do this is as important to me as the doing.  I think we're doing pretty well in the regard so far, although the relevance of the Ownership questions suggests that we have work to do in terms of creating a space where community members feel fully empowered, rather than guests in someone else's establishment.