Oct 3 'Okay, I get it. Now what?' Event Notes
I have been asked to share the notes of this event - thank goodness I took some! For those that don't know, this was an event that followed the 'Gathering Storm' event that was held at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship on Oct. 1st.
We had 11 people attending. The format was such that those attending determined what we would talk about. We brainstormed our burning questions, put them on a white board, grouped them according to similarity and dove in.
The questions on the white board were:
1. How to break our (personal and cultural) oil addiction and what tools/models are available?
2. What helps people feel 'secure and safe'? [we were reminded that during extremely stressful times, people tend to adjust the priorities of their values and this one tends to float to the top.]
3. Who is Fertile Ground? [there was a group of people sitting together on Oct 1 that seemed to be together and had similar questions and concerns - people wanted to know who they were - you can go to fertileground1.ning.com to find that group]
4. How to attract and include college students? elders? young families? [you could also include here....the homeless, anyone without priveledge, I guess]
5. How can we make a conscious, positive mindful shift toward the world we want to create (and soon!)? How can we wake up?
6. How to do awareness raising that reaches more widely? How do we get the attention of the masses? How to make real connections with more people - listen and meet people where they are? [several people felt that those attending were really ready for more action rather than more information.]
As this was a disussion, you will notice my notes are a bit jumping all over the place. I hope you will find them useful...although not really linear at all.
With regards to the first couple of questions - we wanted to be clear that we really don't want to 'sustain' what is....that is destructive. Let's pay attention to where we are building life!
Other comments that made it to my notes - decrease or eliminate judgement of ourselves and others [we are all in this together and we all have a part to play]; listen to the vocabulary others are using, take the time to understand their meaning to that person, and then adopt those words when talking with them about sensitive issues - meet them where they are.
Attract people to the movement rather than promote it.
There was plenty of broken hearts in the room about the state of the world. "I must keep working hard at keeping it open - hearts get broken...perhaps wide open!....leading to the possibility of living with our hearts more open...not necessarily a bad thing!
Non-violent communication skills was talked about as being one of the most valuable tools we could incorporate into our lives.
Many of us were fearful of potential violence. This was a real motivation to get to know the neighbors, start a Transition Initiative and get as many people as possible to understand the need to 'out there' with the message - it is better to be prepared than to be shocked into change. Very important to share our new cultural values - get and keep the conversations going. Community is a safety net - kind of like flood insurance or a 401K.
Someone suggested a link to the Center for Science in the Public Interest [CSPI.org]
Michael Pollin is coming to WWU in January - I saw a poster at Village Books later and I believe he will be here on the 14th but you better check.
There was a suggestion for an Open Space Day with high school students, administrators and staff to bring this topic into the high schools.
Stop the -isms and labels that scare or cause pre-judgement...just do the work. People will recognize the value and participate.
Bridging between activist and action is through the heart.
There is a group called 'Common Security Club' - find Linda Fels on this website and ask her about it if you want to know more.
There was a suggestion to have a Transition Whatcom table at the Farmer's Market.
There was a book recommended: Eco-Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
Some people needed more - more more more! some were more inspired after the discussion group than after the Oct 1 event. More open process was wanted - like what we were doing. Some wanted to see the process of unfolding a new culture to be done a different way - open process, empowered participants, .... What can we do together that we can't do alone? Where are we stuck?
One person's vision was to have a Post Transition Fair - it reminded me of what we are thinking the Great Unleashing (March 13/14, 2010) might be like!
Idea - lobby apartment and condo building owners to be open to converting green space into gardens for the residents.
Idea - start a 'Chinook' center like the one on Whidbey Island.
A few people in the room have begun dedicating their lives to this work and are truly looking for ways to be most effective.
We had a reminder that one of the most effective thing we all can do, beyond building resilience for your own family, is to start a Transition Initiative in your neighborhood. There will be a 3 hour workshop on this Oct 18th from 1-4pm (see the events tab).
I hope that was helpful and not too choppy.
We had 11 people attending. The format was such that those attending determined what we would talk about. We brainstormed our burning questions, put them on a white board, grouped them according to similarity and dove in.
The questions on the white board were:
1. How to break our (personal and cultural) oil addiction and what tools/models are available?
2. What helps people feel 'secure and safe'? [we were reminded that during extremely stressful times, people tend to adjust the priorities of their values and this one tends to float to the top.]
3. Who is Fertile Ground? [there was a group of people sitting together on Oct 1 that seemed to be together and had similar questions and concerns - people wanted to know who they were - you can go to fertileground1.ning.com to find that group]
4. How to attract and include college students? elders? young families? [you could also include here....the homeless, anyone without priveledge, I guess]
5. How can we make a conscious, positive mindful shift toward the world we want to create (and soon!)? How can we wake up?
6. How to do awareness raising that reaches more widely? How do we get the attention of the masses? How to make real connections with more people - listen and meet people where they are? [several people felt that those attending were really ready for more action rather than more information.]
As this was a disussion, you will notice my notes are a bit jumping all over the place. I hope you will find them useful...although not really linear at all.
With regards to the first couple of questions - we wanted to be clear that we really don't want to 'sustain' what is....that is destructive. Let's pay attention to where we are building life!
Other comments that made it to my notes - decrease or eliminate judgement of ourselves and others [we are all in this together and we all have a part to play]; listen to the vocabulary others are using, take the time to understand their meaning to that person, and then adopt those words when talking with them about sensitive issues - meet them where they are.
Attract people to the movement rather than promote it.
There was plenty of broken hearts in the room about the state of the world. "I must keep working hard at keeping it open - hearts get broken...perhaps wide open!....leading to the possibility of living with our hearts more open...not necessarily a bad thing!
Non-violent communication skills was talked about as being one of the most valuable tools we could incorporate into our lives.
Many of us were fearful of potential violence. This was a real motivation to get to know the neighbors, start a Transition Initiative and get as many people as possible to understand the need to 'out there' with the message - it is better to be prepared than to be shocked into change. Very important to share our new cultural values - get and keep the conversations going. Community is a safety net - kind of like flood insurance or a 401K.
Someone suggested a link to the Center for Science in the Public Interest [CSPI.org]
Michael Pollin is coming to WWU in January - I saw a poster at Village Books later and I believe he will be here on the 14th but you better check.
There was a suggestion for an Open Space Day with high school students, administrators and staff to bring this topic into the high schools.
Stop the -isms and labels that scare or cause pre-judgement...just do the work. People will recognize the value and participate.
Bridging between activist and action is through the heart.
There is a group called 'Common Security Club' - find Linda Fels on this website and ask her about it if you want to know more.
There was a suggestion to have a Transition Whatcom table at the Farmer's Market.
There was a book recommended: Eco-Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
Some people needed more - more more more! some were more inspired after the discussion group than after the Oct 1 event. More open process was wanted - like what we were doing. Some wanted to see the process of unfolding a new culture to be done a different way - open process, empowered participants, .... What can we do together that we can't do alone? Where are we stuck?
One person's vision was to have a Post Transition Fair - it reminded me of what we are thinking the Great Unleashing (March 13/14, 2010) might be like!
Idea - lobby apartment and condo building owners to be open to converting green space into gardens for the residents.
Idea - start a 'Chinook' center like the one on Whidbey Island.
A few people in the room have begun dedicating their lives to this work and are truly looking for ways to be most effective.
We had a reminder that one of the most effective thing we all can do, beyond building resilience for your own family, is to start a Transition Initiative in your neighborhood. There will be a 3 hour workshop on this Oct 18th from 1-4pm (see the events tab).
I hope that was helpful and not too choppy.
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