Eco April Alignment

Full Circle Afternoon Reflection - We returned to the whole group and shared some of what was bubbling up and some reflections.

Dean - sensing in the conversations a unifying theme is to think about our children and our grandchildren and how all the spiritual environments, health and other imaginings are unified in our grandchildren. And they will only have what we hand off to them.

Phil - I remember an event that Peggy Holman was a part of, the practice of peace, and I think we have the same opportunity here. Here it is January and the event is in April and it will have lasting impacts. The opportunity to capture the story that is happening then.

Derek - this group can influence the other groups and events and can do something different than we did for green October.

Jon - I want to recognize how hard this is and it's a tough question. Asking everyone to put their own thing aside, then I'm not really sure where to go then. We had a session about this. We did this October event…and we came up with the term Eco-April Alignment and it was useful and I'm not attached to it. So in one of our sessions something else emerged. So I will let someone else speak to that. The challenge we had for Green October….if whatever we come up with and someone doesn't want to play, then that will be sad. If there ever was a moment of what we're wanting to communicate to the rest of the world…this is it.

Mark - it was at your home that I first saw something that encapsulates something we're all doing together, it was the film trailer THE SHIFT. This would be an appropriate moment for everyone to see it. What we are doing right now, it's the biggest movement in human history. It's hard to name it. Let's add that….so it might inspire people…the shiftmovie.com.

Jon - we've heard that message a lot this year. Paul Hawken's new book Blessed Unrest, Al Gorel mentioning the movement. It's a wise-up.

Barbara - [speaking about the session they had around the name for the event] we were all saying why different things didn't work and Jon said let's just step out of the way and we stopped, centered and we asked for the spirit that created this synchronicity of events….and the one thing we don't want to do is to turn off people who would want to be a part of this event who want to be a part of the change that we're all envisioning. So after we took that moment to ask for the spirit to help us step out of the way. So we brainstormed:

What thematically was happening? We didn't want to use any words that people would not take offense and we've created enough mystery that they would say what's happening.

Jon - April 2008 Seattle…it's the 15th annual world rhythm festival, shake it up. Not eco-april.

Some people like alignment.

Brief discussion about name.

See: http://www.wiserearth.org/forum/view/9e95b4ae805810387e9eb748bdd56774/group/ecoapril for the notes from that session.

Michelle - we are the petals of the flower of compassion….I want to thank everyone for being here and notice the center of the circle which is about mother earth and we have rhythm instruments and that means we've moved to song. And we each have a soul song to sing. And we have a song to sing together…

Patricia - there's a core imbalance…all the solutions we're trying to do, if we don't deal with the core issue. I described the core issue as it has symptoms and we can put time money and energy into each of the symptoms and unless the core issue is reframed, the inverse self-image into the affirmative sacred self image, we will be in pseudo community. So the core issue, I heard these terms in 2000 in France when I stayed with a woman from Argentina for 5 days: world access alignment and planetary activation. Those two phrases are what I'm recognizing coming to fruition and coming today. Everyone who has a gift to give. When the earth is aligning to the central sun, the heart of the central sun… it's very esoteric, and planetary activation is what the creator informs the soul, the true self, the light being, and you make a distinction between trickster mind and sacred self intellect. It's the misuse of the intellect that has created the misunderstanding because we've been using the intellect of the trickster…so you have to correct the core issue. Core issue is out of balance condition is, there are perpetrators, victims…predator and compassion / healing. There's a doing and being sound. We need to heal instead of polarizing and blaming instead of setting up another conflict of blame.

If you correct that core issue….win lose is no win, you can't reform it. It's morally, ethically wrong…so you can't reform it, you have to reframe it into win win. In leadership, decision-making, economics….we could have it go the inverse way.

If you don't do that reframe to the economic system it's pseudo community…..so that means you are the ones right now this moment saying if I'm the change I want to see, then I need to do the reframing, take your dollar and call it back from the war and say we're using it for the work here.

I'm just saying values clarification will get you to the place where you can say yes and no to things…if you are saying yes and no to the same thing, then you are giving a clear message to the next generation…

Rebecca - I second Patricia. We also have to acknowledge, that there is darkness in our society and we're talking about these events as light events and they are indeed, we will be dealing with a great deal of light, but that will bring the greater discrepancies of darkness. We need concrete congruent action. We have to acknowledge our complicity and ask for forgiveness. Repentance is a part of healing. And we have to pull the plug that has kept people oppressed for many generations. We must do…

Peggy - from the spirit of action, let's focus us back on the question, what are you learning what was happening as people set their own agendas aside, what are you noticing….

Juanita - basically if we just get rid of our prejudices we have much more powerful voice and we'll reach a larger group of people. It's a venn diagram….with our whole collective events. We have a lot of power.

Michelle - We all have a dream, build it and they will come. Healing the wounds of separation. And not seeing a them and us and they. The world outside is just a reflection of the inner. We can illuminate the darkness. Healing the wounds within ourselves.

Phil - the paradigm I'm leaving behind and it's the paradigm that I and a few people can make a big impact on the world. S to guard against burnout, in order to take steps forward, I will not take steps that do not cut across numerous organizations…..so we don't have the burden to carry these things forward

Cheryl - this is spirited work. There's no mistake or accident that I'm here and I'm hearing what I need to be hearing. Sometimes the language is different. In the evolution of the learning, that's making me wiser. I'm here because my best friend who lived in my neighborhood was Jon's sister in law. The journey is such that we're all here in this space sharing our knowledge but I'm most excited about what we're nurturing here.

Eva - what I learned today is that people are actually doing something. It's good to see another teenager who cares…oh and another 17 year old. It's good to see the teenagers out here. I also learned today that several people will disagree, I had fun and hope to do this again.

Jon - I see a thread emerging. I knew I'd be here one day but yesterday I didn't know it would be today. It's the next generation. I've heard that mentioned here. Grandchildren. I also told Peggy the thing about collaboration. It's a lot like teenage sex, everyone's talking about it, and those doing it are having a hard time doing it. It's tough to do this work.

We're kind of unfolding to refold. The cultural, economic, political, so they can be refolded back together with a new set of values. Values clarification. We need some expression, some affirmative statement. It is about healing, compassion, wisdom. Something there….

Name?

Name - Seattle Shift
30 days to shift the world….

Rebecca - what would encompass everything people are doing?

Barbara - There really isn't any language that can define these events and each one is unique in itself…to use a generic term doesn't do justice to them. So we want to release energy with the words rather than define this converging event is the most exciting potential. Finding language that creates energy….find words that serve the energy

John - think of how we are this morning and what we've done here today, we've changed…how can we share what we've learned here today with others. Recognize the connections. We must recognize the people behind each of us. How will we share this with people behind us.

Dee Dickinson is on the organizing committee, this is to begin a global movement here in Seattle. It's not going to be changed over night and it's going to take all of us…if we can come out of today that we can all use for people we talk with after today.

Peggy check in - do we want to break into action groups or stay in the larger circle.

Brainstorming around name again.

Rebecca - April 2008 Seattle making IT happen….

Brad - it's three layers, it's a brand like eco april…I think April 2008 Seattle is kind of boring.

Then there's the tag line
And the principles…

Tag line needs to be a call to action or an invitation, it can't just be a statement. Regarding the website. Do we want to put a 2008 there?

I hear branding and a theme song, we can change the world. Some catchy theme song.

One caution: this is already happening. This shift is already occurring we don't want to put ourselves in the position that in one month we changed the world, but we can put a spotlight and the amazing people who are coming and turn it into a seminal point. I hope we can try to reach those who are not like us. What about all the people who are accepting what corporate America is giving to them. They are the vast majority of people who are consuming and voting their dollars.

Battle in Seattle is an interesting model. Getting in touch with the film community and doing a documentary about this whole month and do a blockbuster

Shifting in seattle
Shiftless in Seattle

Michelle - I agree with Dean. I kept hearing what Patricia was saying, love's currency. And energy and intention creates powerful actions. We are taking time out and seeing what has changed the world already, and the Dalai Lama….

Love's currency…this might get some heads to turn.

Seattle: love's currency
Seattlites aligning - love's currency

Derek - great opportunity to understand what currency is, cause it's not money….

Three hands:
Cheryl, viki, Barbara, Raffi

Cheryl - the struggle over the last year and a half to bring the Nexus for Change together has been a real journey. We're gathering for change. But ultimately there's two things, it's definitely a call to action to save our children's future. It's compassion in action.

Compassion in action…

Viki - I'd like to have the branding to reflect some kind of statement of values and values do motivate people. As much as I want to be inclusive and call people to it, what are we standing for. I would like to think we'd be reaching out way beyond Seattle, the bioregion….conscious around choice of the word Seattle.

Raffi - to build on what Viki said, one of the themes I've been hearing is resources to sustain people who are already doing the work. One wish I heard around an outcome out of Eco April: as a result, we would stop thinking of the resources we use in terms of money, but think of how resources are a value to us. That might frame what the April events might be called.

Some of these conversations could be happening in smaller circles that we can bring back…

Dan - I'd like to remind everyone here that we are the choir. The choir is not the best place to determine how to reach beyond the choir. Barbara is providing a lot of value to us in reaching beyond. When branding is effective, it's never done in large groups, let's listen to those people who have the experience…

Al - When I said we can save the world, this 50 people represents 50,000 who will take ownership in doing something….they will be part of the creation….we can change the world.

We're calling into being our collective soul
So that our many storied world can find its way
And each of us can find our place.

It's not about all of us having to agree on the one, it's about all of us bringing the distinct gifts and talents and skills in a way that we can be different and connected. We are a differentiated whole.