owl photos by Chris Roth (thanks to Tree for the link) Thirty Thoughts in Thirty Minutes: Cassandra/Beth records the twitter-like results of thinking intentionally for thirty minutes. My favourite: “Have I done them justice, these gentle souls who taught me to think and look at a world slowly passing?” I’m going to try this exercise, but I have a suspicion that my thirty most significant thoughts will all be questions. Joe Bageant’s Cathexis: This cathexis, “the ground zero psychic and emotional attachment to the world that cannot be argued, is beyond ideological challenge because it is called into existence affectively.” Joe explains to three graduating university classes why the artificial media-generated hologram in which we in affluent nations live, inculcated in a now-global “cult of radical consumerism”, precludes such attachment to what is really going on, and why the powers that be want to keep us all in that hologram. Excerpt: Then just let the world happen to you, like they do in the so-called “passive societies,” instead of trying to happen to it in typical Western fashion. Not trying to “improve” things. Maybe practice milpa agriculture with Mayans on the Guatemalan border, watching corn grow for three months. Fish in a lonely dugout, sun-up to sun-down, in the dying reefs of the Caribbean, with only a meal or two of fish as your reward. Do such things for a month or two.
First you will experience boredom, then comes an internal psychic violence and anger, much like the experience of zazen, or sitting meditation, as the layers of your mind conditioning peel away. Don’t quit, keep at it, endure it, to the end. And when you return you will find that deeply experiencing a non-conditioned reality changes things forever. What you have experienced will animate whatever intellectual life you have developed. Or negate much of it. But in serious, intelligent people, experiencing non-manufactured reality usually gives lifelong meaning and insight to the work. You will have experienced the eternal verities of the world and mankind at ground zero. And you will find that the healthy social structures our well intentioned Western minds seek are already inherent in the psyche of mankind, but imprisoned. And the startling realization that you and I are the unknowing captors. The Foundations of Collaborative Work: Chris C and Amy have co-developed four “source patterns” that guide effective collaboration (parenthetical commentary is mine):
Rules for Effective Teleconferencing: Nancy updates her own list of teleconferencing hints, to include three from Jessica Lipnack:
Nancy’s own list contains some gems like these:
Self-Promotion Department: Creating a Natural Economy: Alternet has published my Open Letter to Workers on the need to create a new bottom-up, responsible, sustainable, community-based economy.
What is a Natural Enterprise?: The video of my presentation at Green Enterprise Toronto is now up.
100 Best Blogs For Those Who Want to Change the World: Aw shucks, I’m on the list.
Another Nobel Economist Says Obama Bailout Doomed: This time it’s Joe Stiglitz saying nationalization would be better. And the G20 summit will fail too. Just For Fun: Both Hands — Ani DiFranco — “I’m drawing the story of how hard we tried.”
Too Cool to Fall in Love — Jill Sobule — a cute catchy tune from 1990 with a terrible video; rumour has it the studio insisted the video make it out to be a song about a male love-interest, when it wasn’t (fans can download a full 90-minute concert from her website)
Thoughts for the Week: From Christopher Morley: “If we discovered that we had only 5 minutes left to say what we wanted to say, every telephone booth in the world would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.” (thanks to Siona for the link)
From Naomi Shihab Nye (thanks to Patti for the link): KINDNESS
Before you know what kindness really is Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, |
Dave, are the slides for the Green Enterprise Toronto presentation available? Thanks…
OMG: Dave, your blog is astounding, hitting the center of my heart. For instance your hint to the patterns of collaborative work or everything related to natural enterprises – exactly where I am standing. Thanks!