Gardeners of Peace

Starting our Walking Journey

2008-12-16T19:12:00.000-05:00

Dear Gardeners, and Friends of the Gardeners,

How are you all doing?

As we are about to enter the winter season in the northern hemisphere, it appears that new activity is about to sprout – an undercurrent of weeding and seeding that will bear fruits in the spring of our lives.

Several of us gathered virtually this past Saturday and decided to start “walking” – start walking the Presence Process, a guided journey into self initiated by Michael Brown.

http://tiny.cc/q8lAh for a link to Amazon

It will take us eleven weeks –or eleven chapters of the book– to walk this process and we have formed groups of 2-3 walkers to make this process more intimate and easier to manage, from a logistical perspective.

Although it is up to each group to decide about their meeting patterns, it is very likely that each of them will gather once a week to reflect and share on what happened during that specific time.

Please feel free to join one of these groups; now would be a good time as most of us are planning to start walking on Sunday, December 21, which is the winter solstice.

Should you want to commence the journey at a later date, feel free to contact us and we will put you in touch with others who might be interested.

Wishing you a very nourishing winter season, and a beautiful 2009 filled with wonder and peace!

Gilles & Lenore

The Presence Process - Invitation to Walk!

2008-12-16T19:02:00.002-05:00

Sent November 14, 2008

Dear Gardeners, Friends and Friends of the Gardeners,

This is Gilles writing from the Garden State, with a unique kind of “gardening offer” today.

During the course of a recent Art of Hosting gathering, Tenneson and Teresa mentioned to me a book called The Presence Process – a book that leads us into a Healing Journey into Present Moment Awareness.

I bought the book upon my return and what I discovered in the first few pages made me want to enter this rejuvenating process, which takes eleven weeks to complete.

While talking to Lenore, I found out that she already bought the book, but didn’t have a chance to start walking the process.

We would like to “start walking together” early December, meaning that we would connect periodically to discuss our progress and struggles along this self-exploratory path.

We would like to invite each and every one of you to join us.

Please find attached a short excerpt of the book, which defines ‘present moment awareness.’ As well as a link to amazon.com where you will find additional comments.

http://tiny.cc/q8lAh

Depending on the number of ‘walkers,’ we will decide how to get together.

Happy Gardening!

Gilles & Lenore

Gardeners of Peace phone council 28 September 2008

2008-10-17T20:43:00.000-04:00

Present: Judy Wallace, Jackie Wasilewski, Gilles Asselin, Jennifer Jones

Judy: Equinox last Monday - now entering fall. Flowers now starting to fade. Seems imperfect - holding space for cycles and their imperfect beauty.

Moments of silence

Question: As you join this circle today, what are you noticing about cycles in your life, in your garden, and in your inner garden?

Gilles: Funny anecdote about animals visiting the garden. Groundhog visiting, resting under the shed in the neighbor’s garden. We visited Longwood Gardens, 30 miles south of Philadelphia. The gardener at the Gardens told us that groundhog is worse animal for gardens as he eats everything. Groundhog inside our vegetable garden the other day, holding a tomato in his mouth. Interesting coincidence as person from Longwood Gardens had mentioned groundhogs. Cycles of the seasons here are pretty regular. Indian summers. Inner gardening is more of a spiral for me - an unfolding.

Jackie: Issue of cycles - transition from Japan to New Mexico - and also retiring - now post-professional life. Entering the fall of my life. My fall garden in NM has its own spectacular beauty. We've had more rain here than usual and so the blooming of the late summer flowers has been spectacular. High elevation here - snow in wintertime - high desert. Flowers in the desert don't come on a regular basis. Dormancy. Decrease of the life force. Idea of imperfect cycles - is there such a thing as an imperfect cycle? Christianity has tried to eradicate death - which is part of life. Navaho weavers - always make a mistake - so that the creator doesn't get caught in their own creation. Perfection is somehow static. Gardening - you have to cope with constant change. Inuit have always lived on the ice - which changes - similar to plate tectonics in geology - whereas on ice - these changes repeat themselves every year and there's a process of constant change. Field beyond wrong doing and right doing. Book about forgiveness - the giving up of all possibility of an alternative PAST.

Jennifer: Spring Equinox, and full moon. Now new moon tomorrow and fall Equinox.
Interesting time for me. Axladitsa in Greece. co-hosing Pioneers of Change 10th anniversary gathering. 5 hours drive from Athens. Teaching sound and voice tomorrow. Conscious of chest infection. Changes going on around me to do with my own path and cycles. Everything called into question for me. Teaching others how to breathe and make sounds and my own - I am having trouble with. Hope my voice will hold up. The Field - Rumi - myself and questioning. Shock that other people see me differently than I see myself. Shock that I have seen myself. Not very positive about myself. Cycles. Autumn - preparing for winter, everything dying down, readying for the hibernation period. I am winding down and hoping I will come out before spring. Pagan calendar - Equinox the middle of fall. Nov. is the first of winter.

Judy: Appreciation of such a rich garden as our beginning. Groundhog digs up the garden - nature - how we're all in this dance together. Not always appreciating one another. I noticed moving into the fall inside me - going inside more than usual. That's also the cycle of the earth - the phases of the seasons and the transition from the light and the brilliance, as we move deep into the dark and fertile place of the womb - see what we will recreate - it's the dying of the old. I see a larger system dying - in our dying throes - and we don't quite see how that will happen. Something is shifting on a very large scale. Nature is always changing - I think what caused me to put the Rumi quote in, I feel that we are meeting in a “field” - we come together to create together, to create a new way of coming and being together - of speaking and holding space - the “field” is beyond all of that. A place of beauty in all of its messiness and imperfection. A lot brewing inside. It brings me to a place of reflection as to how I want to be present for this call.

Jackie: 10,000 thoughts - idea of creating a place of beauty - in my time in Japan there was a philosophy professor - Scottish - and his family had been engaged in spiritual practice in Scotland SINCE CELTIC TIMES. The centre of philosophical activity IN THE WEST HAS BEEN EPISTEMOLOGY, OR WHAT IS TRUTH BUT in Japan it HAS been aesthetics, OR WHAT IS BEAUTY, PARTICULARLY WHAT IS A BEAUTIFUL SOCIETY, WHICH IN JAPAN MEANS A HARMONIOUS SOCIETY. Navaho in getting centred will see beauty all around. Present system which seems to be falling apart - Mayan predictions about the world falling apart - and we just don't get it. In NM when the rains don't come, it means that the people are not in harmony. It's up to us - there's an enemy but the enemy is us - it's up to us to create that place of beauty. It's a creative process.

Judy: I really resonate with that and I do think that the piece about it's up to us - how do we learn to create relationship together to solve complex problems - different ways of conducting dialogue. We work in cross-cultural work to be a bridge to bring people together. Book on Japanese philosophy - Wabi-Sabi - value imperfection - notice the opening that imperfection creates.

Jackie: In Japanese aesthetics things are not symmetrical.

Jennifer: Conscious of big changes going on. Chaos we are experiencing. Things out of control. AoH thread. Noticing where are we going. Not knowing, what can we do to create something better? Astrologically some pretty hefty stuff going on - Pluto in Capricorn for the next 10 years - death and transformation and death and money. Restructuring. Out of my control what is happening. Just allow. Noticing that we have no control.

Gilles: it's raining hard - and I'm enjoying it. I'm facing the window and looking at a tree outside the house - and the leaves are still green so it doesn't feel like fall here. But things are beginning to die. If we want to rejuvenate, we need to let old patterns die off. Fall is an important part as it allows us to welcome what comes next.

Jackie: Reminds me of a quotation BY E. L. DOCTOROW about writing a novel – IT IS LIKE DRIVING AT NIGHT with headlights - you can only see what you can see in the headlights, BUT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THE WHOLE JOURNEY THAT WAY.

Judy: Another question: What is the relationship of imperfection to nature, to cycles, to beauty, to life, and how do you experience that?

Jackie: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and maybe Imperfection IS too. As we're beginning to understand in the larger economic situation - WE NEED TO allow things to die. Wolves are considered to be imperfect for sheep and grazing animals. You only need to worry about a wolf when he or she is hungry. When you lose the ability to notice, maybe you're not able to contribute any more. It's like an actor - you need to know when to go offstage. We've been trying to allow everyone to stay on stage all the time and it's not balanced.

Gilles: Morning Glory - some are still open even though it's getting late for them. And the zucchini have bloomed but no zucchini fruits. White butterflies around too - something I usually only notice in the summer - things seem to be different from normal. How much are human beings responsible for these imperfections? We need to stop damaging the world.

Judy: A couple of thoughts came to me - Jackie talked about balance and things being out of balance - and Gilles talked about the amount of rain. There are also the bees which have declined badly. Some say that is why the vegetables have not produced. Being out of balance - maybe something new is emerging. Sign of Libra – trying to come into balance, equilibrium, and harmony.

Jennifer: My sense about this - certainly imperfection in the world and the things we are doing to the planet that are not good; but also something bigger than that. Hard to find the words. Planet going through some evolution - maybe it is due to our behavior - but something else. An intelligence to our planet. Feels as if something is happening - a new order emerging. Feels really definite - the weather, the bees, the zucchinis. Open to possibility that something good is emerging and old ways - death and transformation - spiritual and physical. There is a perfection that we don't recognize. We will find a way of coming through.

Judy: In all of this uncertainty and imperfection and cycles and balance or imbalance. What do we think our role is now? What is it that we might be or do or be present in this time of death and transformation?

Jackie: This speaks to the original reason to why I was interested in this group - when I first heard about this from Gilles it made me think of Voltaire and tending one's garden - in the midst of turbulence it's something you can always do. Links also to doing what needs to be done - in the space illuminated by the headlights - this also connects to Paul Hawkins' book - Blessed Unrest - he developed the first organic supermarket chain in the US. He now HAS A CATALOGUE THAT SELLS all the things you need for a sustainable life. He was saving all the business cards HE WAS GIVEN WHEN HE SPOKE IN DIFFERENT PLACES and realised THESE CARDS CONSTITUTED a network of people. OUT OF THESE HE BEGAN TO CREATE THREE WEBSITES: WISEREARTH.ORG, WISERGOVERNMENT.ORG AND WISERBUSINESS.ORG. Subtitle of book is “the biggest social movement in human history that nobody saw coming.” Change is a little dicey.

Gilles: Different ways and levels - my role, my responsibility is to evolve and I need to continue on my own path, being willing to move forward and onwards. I will meet the people I need to meet and do the things which I need to do.

Jennifer: Change is dicey. Change is the only constant. Challenging for all of us. Question of noticing change. When it begins to tear apart our lives and the planetary system. Scary for me and others. What can we be or do in this time of death and transformation? It's about staying present and conscious. Not allowing myself to be pushed around by media and telling us how to think. Believe that we will emerge in a more conscious way - slowly but we are becoming more conscious. Creating balance on the planet. Remaining present and open to what can emerge.

Judy: I really resonate to a lot of what you all said - being present to our own evolution as individuals and being present to the whole. In this time of uncertainty and chaos and not knowing what's going to happen, we probably have a capacity to be present without energising fear and panic. Putting one foot in front of the other and bringing the gifts that we have into the world - and being present in more of these circles and conversations. Energetically it makes new ripples in consciousness and maybe we can send a more present and calming effect into the field where we all live. We are probably each moving into that each day - what are my next steps, what am I meant to be now? What shows us and going there - there was a women's gathering in Boston which Meg Wheatley held - start anywhere and follow it wherever it goes. We are conscious enough that we can do that in a meaningful way - we don't necessarily know what's on the other side but it's about whatever needs to be done is called for now.

Jackie: Elderly friend of mine - Polish Jew - walked out of Poland four days after the Germans moved in - and later ended up in New York. She went to Japan 56 years later – students were asking her if she had one thing to say. “Actually life is quite simple - you make a move and either you survive or you don't. There's little to worry about.”

Judy: Closing thoughts - what themes have emerged in our collective garden?

Jackie: Incredible richness which can emerge when you create this kind of space.

Gilles: The rain has stopped. Leaves are still wet. A lot of responsibility is emerging in this call. Very healthy time - more and more people will come to that awakening. We are the ones. Much more power coming from society. Sign of hope - many of us are looking in the right direction. Many more are finally coming to terms with the idea that it's up to us to do something if we want this world to evolve in the right direction.

Jennifer: very appreciative of this space. Sacred space we create. Amazing technology allowing us to connect. Going away tomorrow – I was unsure whether to join tonight, but spellbound by the call and didn't leave early. Also believe there is great hope. There are those of us consciously moving to a better place - in relationship to one another. The “me” and the “we”. Individual and collective. Different expressions of the One. Where does the “me” end and the “we” begin? And maybe it doesn't matter.

Judy: Quite a question - I've been holding that – the “me” and “we” and consciousness which is emerging through us - we all become present and each contributes quite a bit to who we are and yet it’s a collective space - the field Rumi talks about. I don't know where the intersection of me and we is, but as long as we keep that open and as long as we continue to seek to evolve, there is hope. I so appreciate each of us being here. It's a small group but maybe we've been in a deeper place as a result.

Jackie: This has been a fantastic first participation.

Judy: Great appreciation to you all - maybe as we move forward with our lives we will carry part of this with us.

July 27 Phone Council Meeting

2008-07-22T02:10:00.005-04:00

For me the metaphor of a garden is a powerful attraction. I have said that my physical garden -- my yard -- is not necessarily groomed well. At the same time it does represent me -- the side of me that is a little untamed, spontaneous, sprouting ideas that don't seem to fit.

When I walk past the gardens of my neighbors, I see all those same differences in their gardens. Some neat and well maintained, others a bit unkempt but interesting none the less. Some people plant wild flowers and let them grow in their own way. Others plant neat rows of hostas. All of these gardens say something about their gardeners -- about the values they possess and carry on.

When I lived in Indonesia, I studied art and culture of Bali. It struck me that in Balinese art no space is left untouched in a canvas. It is busy with images that reflect the realities of life in Bali. There is lush vegetation everywhere and people are always out and seen on the streets and in the villages. Their gardens are rice fields, forests, and orchids that bloom. In the front of their houses, offerings are made daily to the gods.

At the last meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about our metaphor – our physical gardens, our spiritual gardens. What do those gardens look like? What do they represent about us, about our values and beliefs. We often talk about the necessity of weeding, but some gardens weeds are another gardens flowers. It seems like such a huge subject in a simple disguise.

In the above quote by Basho, the chestnut represents that which is holy in Japanese literature – so, I thought perhaps that is it. Often what we value is around us and beautiful, but we fail to notice its presence in our lives. As each of us has a different garden, with vastly different plants – so too are the differences in our values and beliefs – our spiritual path.

These are my thoughts. I hope the phone council meeting on the 22nd of June is a good one. I definitely am looking forward to the conversation that evolves.

Dancing: A universal language that connects people

2008-06-24T01:44:00.003-04:00

Phone Council June 22nd Invitation

2008-06-21T00:15:00.002-04:00

If you are in the garden, I will dress myself in leaves…I will present myself with all the laughters I can muster. And if you are angry I will come, calm and steady, with some small and easy story.

Mary Oliver, Rhapsody

Please join us for the June phone council of the Gardeners of Peace

Sunday, June 22, 3:30 – 5:00pm EDT
(We are meeting on the 4th Sunday of each month)

We invite the space and quiet for reflection.

Here is one question to consider for our time together:

Who is someone who taught you how to garden well, literally or metaphorically? What story might you tell that would illuminate the wisdom of his or her gifts?

Tel: (712) 432-1100 Access Code: 497860#

Please feel free to arrive 10 minutes early and join us in silence

RSVP: holly@ourellipses.com

story practice as healing/gardening

2008-05-18T14:27:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,

I feel deeply grateful for the abandonment stories and questions you have shared here. It is validating for me, even comforting to give voice to this part of gardening.

Michele how you have offered your and your mother's story especially (through our email chain) affected me, reading it as I prepared to go on retreat both made me feel less alone and allowed for more of those shadow questions to come out and be seen.

As I drove down through the heart of Florida, in the northeastern Atlantic side of the state, down to the southwestern coast, I think I cried about 4 of the 5 hours of the drive, in touch with a deep and much larger than personal abandonment story. It felt true to the land herself, to the old cultures of Florida, to these strange and beautiful migrations in body and or in spirit we make in trying to connect with each other.

It is an interesting place I find myself lately. Asking for our abandonment stories to come out, to be seen, not so much so that we may wallow in our wounds and salve each other with surface compassions, but so that the secretness or the perception of isolation of these stories can meet the light, can meet each other's.

Perhaps that is what has pained me when I visit that little abandoned garden and like places, not that the abandonment has happened to whatever degree, but more that the story was is not being tended to? I don't know what to do sometimes with what I kinesthetically 'hear.' And I do believe that hearing such stories together releases something powerful of the pattern....

As I continue to ponder Gilles' and Terry's new questions -- "How do we beautify and nurture ourselves?" and "Do we have to abandon what contaminates our lives...?" -- both today are bringing me back to the healing work of storytelling and storycatching (as Christina Baldwin names it).

Listening and gently questioning the stories we tell ourselves in our inner gardening (I am not financially secure; I will be abandoned) as well as those we share and cultivate outwardly seems a critical stepping stone for our own paths and the paths in which we work to come together on.

Perhaps that is at the core of what I appreciate about the simplicity of our virtual circle calls for that reason.

I would say to Terry's question that stories of what contaminates our lives can be a great lever for not abandoning what contaminates us by inviting that shadow or toxin to be seen, heard, and come to be loved different, and this yet allows for new creation to emerge more intentionally....and so in this way story practice is one way in which we may beautify and nurture ourselves.

My time with the Art of Hosting retreat in Tampa, of which Tenneson was a part as well, confirmed the power of this for me. In releasing some of the stories I had carried, stories of Florida violences not my own that I feared had gone un-listened to, and in hearing others' stories that paralleled or coalesced with my own curious journeying was/is healing practice.

And this practice is what I am growing into as a shape for my being and doing in the world....which is fascinating because as a 'creative writer' and 'professor' I have a good deal of training in many methodologies of this and I am delighted to be letting go of making room for these practices we and like circles are discovering!

Much gratitude,
you all will be in my thoughts next Sunday though I will not be able to join the call
With heart,
Holly

How do we beautify and nurture ourselves?

2008-05-11T19:49:00.002-04:00

Lovely Gardeners,

How is everyone doing?

In response to Holly’s post and inquiry, I would like to make a separate entry and introduce a new theme.

Through Holly’s post, discussions I had with Lenore and Lucy, and exchange with a friend of mine in Scotland, a new theme, a new pattern of inquiry emerged in my life:

And this pattern is,

“How do we beautify and nurture ourselves?"

So that, by ripple effect, we can help others do the same – taking care of the abandoned portions of their gardens.

In terms of the tangible aspect of beautifying, my friend Maggie sent me a website link:

Guerilla Gardening

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

This site is about people taking initiatives in their neighborhoods to ‘beautify’ a piece of land, the corner of their streets, or a park they walk through regularly. It seems to be a UK-based website but you’ll find pictures of ‘beautified gardens’ in Germany, the US and Canada – and will be amazed at the changes (they show pictures before and after the beautification).

So, then, how do we do the same in our lives? How do we beautify and nurture the garden within? This is indeed a beautiful ‘gardening inquiry.’

I don’t have any straight answer but can certainly share my own experience, having evolved and grown in a fairly hierarchical (religious) organization where I donated a good amount of time and money for the past twenty years. I am somewhat detached of this organization now, although I am still pursuing the spiritual practice that came with the organization.

At times, without this firm ground (a structure that gives you answers when you need them – you go for guidance with ‘seniors’ whenever you need it), I feel a bit like walking in water, not really knowing where the bottom is. And I am in a state of inquiry about what will come out of this new phase, out of this muddy water, a bit unsettled as I am. But aren’t we all looking for some sort, or some amount, of certainty in our lives?

Abandonment comes and goes in many ways, in many forms. One way I can relate to abandonment is through my fear of “not having enough money.” Will I become abandoned if I don’t have money? It was -and still is- huge in my mother, to the point that she never borrowed any money, and will never do. Her savings account is her psychological security blanket. In some ways, it also serves as the mother she lost 26 years ago.

I have been aware of that same fear in me for a long time and have worked on it, successfully, through my spiritual practice, to the point that I am now learning about the opposite challenge: non-possession, and how one “cleanses herself/himself” through non-possession.

Non-possession sounds like a weird idea in the world in which we live today, where many “have made the modern materialistic craze their goal.” (in Gandhi’s words).

A few paragraphs of Gandhi’s speeches have caught my attention lately (in the Chapter: The Gospel of Non-Possession).

“It is open to the world to laugh at my dispossessing myself of all property. For me, dispossession has been a positive gain. I would like people to compete with me in my contentment. It is the richest treasure I own. Hence it is perhaps right to say that, though I preach poverty, I am a rich man!”

“Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication, but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants. This alone promotes real happiness and contentment, and increases the capacity for service.”

“The highest fulfillment of religion requires a giving up of all possession. Having ascertained the law of our being, we must set about reducing it to practice to the extent of our capacity and no further. That is the middle way.”

“Everyone has a right and should desire to live 125 years while performing service without an eye on result. Such life must be wholly and solely dedicated to service. Renunciation made for the sake of such service in an ineffable joy of which none can deprive one, because that nectar springs from within and sustains life. In this, there is no room for worry or impatience.”

Where does all of this take me in terms of beautifying my own garden? Honestly, I don’t know, and this is a bit of my gardening path that I wanted to share with you today on Mothers’ Day; a day of nurturance, beauty and appreciation.

The only thing I know for sure, is that there is a cosmic pattern in the way we garden ourselves, meaning that these ‘abandonment’ occurrences and this ‘beautifying’ theme did not magically coalesce into my consciousness today to create what I am writing. They were meant to happen and there are here for a reason.

Could this reason be our own evolution – our evolution as a species?

Love from the Garden Sate!

Gilles

abandoned garden

2008-04-21T19:51:00.004-04:00

Below are images of an abandoned garden I have been walking to of late. The old Florida mid-rise in the background is where I live. I walk through the neighborhood on my side of the river, cross a drawbridge (just to the left of the photograph frame) and through the neighborhood on the opposite bank to an open lot whose former house has been leveled.

Walking there has been emotional on many days; sitting in a space not my own and untended has allowed a lot of shadow and even pain to emerge in me. This has resonance to some of what has been surfacing that I have not voiced on our calls and in receiving the invitations sometimes.

I want to share with the group some of that experience, and know I will benefit from like-minded 'gardeners' on this process; yet I thought first, instead of just hurling out my story, MY etc., I would like to hear your thoughts and reactions to viewing these images.

(My apologies for the over-exposure in the middle image; my Photoshop program has been corrupted somehow and I am awaiting a replacement version.)

What do you see?

What do you sense in this place?

Does it activate a desire?

How do you imagine you would feel standing there by the river in the brick frame, on the sandy Florida soil, between the loose weeds, in the sun?

abandoned garden along Ortega River, a large tributary off the St. Johns River, one of the few rivers that travels south-north

Phone Council Podcast - March 30, 2008

2008-04-10T15:09:00.004-04:00

Please click here to listen to the March 30 Phone Council podcast.

If you have any difficulty downloading the file, right-click on "here" and select "save link as..."

Many thanks to everyone who participated and to those of you who made this podcast possible.

Happy Spring!

2008-03-20T18:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Spring to all of you Gardeners - in the northern hemisphere!

This is indeed a very meaningful time of the year; a time full of promises and potential for creation.

As Judy said the other day, "the seeds of peace are awakening."

Happy gardening!

Gilles

Gardeners February 17 phone council harvest

2008-03-20T17:56:00.002-04:00

Opened 10 minutes early for silence
Piano music of Michael Jones – Touch – in the background

Gardeners:

Tenneson
Holly
Lenore
Judy
Junahli
Sheri
Laurel
Elizabeth
Gilles

Introduction Ten with Meg Wheatley quote:
“Who we are together is always different and more than who we are alone.”

Reading Jan 13 phone council quote:

“Human beings need and want to be in authentic connection with each other. It helps all of us to respond to the challenges and opportunities of our times – in self, team, community, and society.”

Purpose of Gardeners
Seeds of peace planted deeply in the heart – in everyone’s heart.
Mentioned letter from Gardener the night before + Gilles’ response
Acknowledged Terry from Paris and Peter from Sydney

Introduction: Candle, talking piece (bracelet of wooden beads from many circles) and some guidelines for speaking on the call
-listen with attention
-speak with intention
-tend to the well-being of the group

Planning of the council:
-15 minute check-in: What gardening is alive in you?
- 30-45 minutes: pop corn questions (3 questions from the invitation) and what’s next
-10 minutes: closing space

Guardian: Explains her role as the guardian to be in this virtual room, to notice the natural shifts, to ring the pottery bell.

Check-in: What gardening is alive in you?

Inner gardening practice alive on a sunny afternoon in Utah viewing through the window the snow-covered school yard
Religious practice of the family – energy was off
My daughter left behind that morning on the way to church – but it is a walkable distance
Need to reground today after experiencing some scattered energy
Walked around the house with bells, put Michael’s music on and sat on the floor
Shift of energy, from grumpy to more harmonious - “I am ready to listen” space.
Easy to get lost in ‘bad’ energy – simple breathing and steps that reground, shift the pattern, reach emptiness and openness

First time on the call - exceptional place today: yoga in the morning and massage in the afternoon, feels spoiled
Anticipation re continuation of the day: “I have a body”
Gardening – body centered. Bring from within to without.
Spread from self to trickle outwards.
Gardeners’ concept: small and large ways for ourselves and others
Job – few gardeners in the area: my job is art and healing practice
Offer the earth, painter, educator – focus into that practice
Group connections and tendrils around the globe are important – all attached with gardening
As the blossom popping up out of the pavement, how do we continue to find the soil?

Relate to the metaphor: “Blossoming out of the pavement”
Living in Florida, 3rd floor balcony apartment
Creek below, river, low tide, mud and even smell
Gardening: grieving other people’s sediments. Is this a healthy practice?
I have not dealt with sediments, and I wonder
Feel in tune with these layers of mud that have been left around.
Coming into that place – not only me – my space
Listen and not get stuck in the mud

In Burlington, Ontario
At my desk; freezing rain
15 morning doves outside: sense of the feminine, eternity, peace
Monday – family day – holiday in Canada
Am on my own today, getting a breather from one another
Attracted to the call. I feel more like myself in community.
Our garden – women’s leadership circle.
Building on Christina and Meg’s authenticity and richness of conversation.
Gardening very alive in me.
What am I going to get out of this council?
Feel more like myself – this type of community, even a virtual community
Love the talking piece – tool; it’s enormous, allows you to speak from the heart

Will I think of what to say or allow the flow to carry me?
Found it in the previous contribution.
Where I want to go (in my life) – sense of direction
Body of water near me – tide ½ way up; lots of ducks
Alive in me: desire for human connection, authenticity
Words can mean so much
Went to the Shambhala Institute (Halifax) 3 years ago (July 05) and enjoyed the rich diversity of the Global Village Square – 80 people all together, maybe 3-4 US Americans
Felt lonely back home – didn’t want to leave the room
Opened a portal, inner calling to look within and then to connect with those around the world to bring meaning and hope to others. Not something we do alone.
Zig zag path: never losing sight of my inner calling

More Check-ins Limit to one minute (Ten instruction)

In Santa Fe
Wonderful morning. Intense times.
Buddha Belly plant – seed pods bursting, 1 pod each night. Germinate during the day.
Friend from Madagascar – gave me the plant for my birthday
Waiting for the right moment to germinate – it is growing
Today is the right day – germination – turn around
Inner gardening inspiration – risk – circles - new ventures – I have my own

Gardening alive in me – part of who I am – sense of Collective Self
Emergence: reconnection to the sacred
Exploring the sacred feminine and wholeness of knowing
Interested in astrology – exploring that part of my inner garden again

Not well for the past 10 days.
Something is alive in my body. Is there a message that I need to listen to?
Much travel – Asia, France for the past two months
Now home and need to slow down
I am listening to that message

In New York city
Gardening and nurturing go together
Peace is nurturing me and I am nurturing peace – sense of mutual relationships – needs to nurture it

Essence of the conversation – looking into the questions from the invitation and also what’s next

What comes into the room – energy
Extension of stories shared so far; lots of beauty in sharing stories

What is possible with the Gardeners?
What wants to be born?
What are the connections with others? With other groups?
Why not another group?
What shape might want to be born here?
What is your thinking, what are your desires?

Need to back up
First time phone council for me
Am curious
- who wants to be with this community?
- people who are working / gardening?
I want to be with like-spirited people where inner gardening is a priority
Am not sure others can’t connect as well
True for others who are also first timers on the call
Community of people who have like-minded hearts
See where that thread goes

Is it about being or doing?
Idea of a circle, virtual circle – sitting around together – it’s about ‘being’
Then perhaps we each are active locally
With this group, hear the bell, check into the group’s energy.
Check in with other groups for local activities in Santa Fe
Gardening activities have a ‘being’ part and a face-to-face part
Maybe I could express inner and outer gardening with the green sustainable school garden.

I am noticing how my body feels being here.
My body feels different when my family goes to church – feel that maybe I should be with them. Feels so obligatory
I want to feel a different spirit this morning
Different kind of breathing, inner peace, inner gardening. It feels great.
Church transition story for me – inner peace
Gardeners of Peace: it is about a call, an energy that you are invited to, know it is there.
In person gathering: January was too early so shifted into phone council format.
Need to listen to people’s feelings and words
In the now / value – “where you are”

Obliged to go to church as a child (grew up in Ohio)
Looking forward to this call – to coming together
It feels a bit like going to church, a new form of church
Respectful ways of listening – of communicating
Deep questions for reflect on – this is the ‘being’ part
Exploration together
Would value the opportunity to get together and
Also value the very present and silent space of these calls.

Yoga as worship – substitute for church
Thought for this group: phone call
Image of beads and phone call – can join from anywhere
Different ways to start the germination / seeds
Scatter and see which land or plant correctly with many in one place. Graft one strong plant to another existing plant.
We can plant in a different number of holes – same intention in different places
Each gardener has different skills
Would like to see the group stay expansive

Seed in a pot this morning – needs the right conditions
No demand that we show up the same way
We show up the way we are – abundant blessings, gifts
Stay open, not judge it to be this or that
Fertilizer
Spaciousness in our lives, both being and doing
Landscaping work too

How do people relate to church, if not Christian? – do we have any non-Christians here?

Yes, Jewish

Yes, Buddhist

This reminds me of the Buddhist concept of human revolution – revolutionizing oneself from within
Want to talk about Being and Doing
Being: Tending self and earth as gardens

Read from previous invitation:
“Human beings need and want to be in authentic connection with each other.
It helps all of us to respond to the challenges and opportunities of our times – in self, team, community, and society.”

We need to be in “authentic connection” with our selves as well
To come into connection with others means to be in connection with oneself
Experience searching the Hollyhock website – trying to find out about a workshop
Christina Baldwin circle practicum (first possibility)
Also Donald Walsh and Conversations with God (second possibility)
Then Maria and Sarah and community in Greece – Axladitsa (yet another possibility)
I finally realized that I kept looking outside (for a workshop of some sort), not realizing the answers are within
Talk to others and then tend my own garden.
Balance connection with others and connection to self
Doing – getting together still a possibility
Sufi retreat center in New York state (in New Lebanon)
Also could come together locally and harvest locally and then share with larger group.
There are several people in Mass. and several in New Jersey.
See what seeds germinate

What’s next? What is being created?

We are different people in different ways
I need to understand what the Gardeners are before thinking about what is next.
Do I want to do this? This is when I feel most myself.
This is what church could be.
That is what people are connecting to.
Sacred space, sanctuary, people aren’t going to find that elsewhere.
Connection to the “sacred space” – outer vs. inner
Is it a new expression of what ‘church wants to be’?

What is it? What is next?
Typical questions I find in circles.
Culture-bound Western reaction: we are ‘doing’ beings
We need action, activity
Is it doing or being? I can’t decide?

Being – doing
Sensing a new way of being active, of being alive
Holding space / grace into the circle, the silence, stillness, presence
Still feel very active, very alive
Learning to be active in a different, new way
Would like to do these kinds of conversations / calls more

What wants to be next is more of this
Space where people feel nurtured, appreciated, can be anywhere
Spiritual church
A way of coming in and out of space / place
Ducks coming and going – similar ways of coming in and out of ourselves
Part of the beauty of what it is

One of the questions in the invitation has a “what’s next?” feel.
I feel myself clamp up a bit.
Need meaning, this circle is a practice in the ‘now’
I like the question of what it means to ‘do’ or to ‘be.’
Delighted by the call. Not too much in my head
There are people I know / people I don’t know
I like what I hear and how I am feeling.
Very much feeling the joy of the moment of ‘now’
Shift in pattern in my own body.
Meg Wheatley’s quote:
“Who we are together is always different and more than who we are alone.”
At energetic level and doing level, sensing energetics.
What are the outcomes? Deliberate outcomes?
Energy of friendship, of being together, of what’s in the middle is the strongest takeaway.
Periodic calls to drop into.
Come back with some good questions.

Metaphor of pearl divers
Usually in pairs, rope around the waist, one counts breaths, the other searches for the treasure.
Rope connection gives trust.
Opportunities when we explore together.
Know someone else is there.
Explore, take turns.
On the call we can be there for each other.

Definition of Gardeners?
Are we struggling to define who we are – it’s elusive
Open space that is evolving
“What’s next?” is maybe “What’s now?”

Closing Space

What’s now? Any voice, any image coming to mind?

Image of the ground in winter
The soil, we can’t see what’s alive in there,
But we hope vegetables will grow down the road.
What’s now? Keep nurturing, keep nurturing

Ducks in their school together
Together – in and out, up and down.
Now – continue collectively, in and out

Can we use peace as a verb? Can you please peace?

Happy to join
Feeling of peace

Feeling stretched – piece of glass
Graft – raw edge not fully connected
Feeling in touch, connected

Yearning – yearning for authentic connection
Peace – peace is a way to respond to the yearning for authentic connection

Here / now: two cats purring and cleaning one another.
Picture for peace – connection

Holds the beads
I have a sense of appreciation for having learned and felt a lot, for being at peace.
I have a sense of welcoming the next part in the day and to share some of this with the gang.

Sacred space – grateful – Presence

Closed with silence and Michael Jones piano

Harvest -- January 13, 2008 Conference Call

2008-02-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

February 1, 2008
As harvested by Lenore. See below. Or download at: http://www.box.net/shared/a6d7bzq4gw

Harvesting Notes –
Gardeners of Peace Phone Council –
01.13.08

“How can we tap into the collective power of our hearts and become aware of our ‘real’ place in the world?”

“Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being, the seed of your own destiny.”

The council was opened with a check in as to what brought people to the call and GoP:

- I am attracted to, in a simple way, the connection to the heart and soul
- Quote from Marcel Proust: “If a little dreaming is dangerous, then the cure is to dream more.”
- Dare to dream a little- wondered how this process would work out as we are usually problem solving groups. What else could the world be? What else is possible for us?
- I came to the call through a friend. I am a landscape architect, theatre before that. I help people create landscapes – am very spiritual. We are all changed by our conversations. I am familiar with circle work. The Native Americans (here in Southwest) use the talking piece as a ‘listening piece’- The speaker is being listened aloud.
- I am pleased to be on this call; am an Art of Hosting practitioner, interested in the power of place, and ‘breathing’ places.
- Congratulations (to GoP) for what you are doing. I am impressed by what you are doing to help others gather. What really made me think I would like to join is how positive you are- and how you hope for a positive world. In Rwanda, where I come from, this is lacking. It is vital to be with people who are positive. Important experiences in my life and heart have been when someone has told me that I helped inspire them- because I told her that we all have a mission in life and a reason we are here.
- Consistent theme in my life has been to listen with each other- the collective process/co-creation, where the unimaginable can come together. The edge- of not knowing. What will happen when we speak- this an edge for me. The garden is about seeds and flourishing; to dream together the most imaginable. I want to join more and more groups like this to participate in this collective process- that is emerging through us.
- When I received the invitation I was drawn to the call and message. I am not a gardener, but spiritual and want to create more peace in myself and in the worlds. Trying to get touch with my higher self and spiritual self. It’s always good to be with other positive people to help me/us hold the vision. The last few years I have been drawn from working with technology to working with people who are spiritual, healers, life coaching- still trying to get my mission in life and am getting there. I think this group will help me move forward.
- Thank you for inviting me to this collective group- a pleasure to listen and learn and to help.
- It’s great to be here- I agree with what has been spoken thus far. To be honest, one of my main interests is with a group I am involved with- Spiritual Progressives. There seems to be a lot of connection between the 2 groups. The interest is in dialoging about peace in the world. Drawn to our values, compassion, seeing the sacred in everyone on the planet. If you start with these values as opposed to political stands that can be divisive, you can share more with others- with their values. Spiritual progressives are helping me to develop my own inner energy (www.spiritualprogressives.org).
- I joined late and heard the last 4 speakers; I am drawn to the GoP (Gardeners of Peace) because I am in an important transition in my life after years of working without an inner sense of peace. I want to understand how I can contribute to the exchange here.
- I have been on a spiritual path – a meaningful one. I would like to share a story: I traveled to Singapore a few weeks ago. On the flights out and back, we had similar experiences related to rules and authority. This is not a coincidence as I have been trying to “fight” rules and authority in my life. The airport security in Tokyo would not allow us to bring duty free liquor bought in Newark, NJ (bringing to family in the east). Although we talked to them (security), they said there was nothing they could do. My wife even talked to the boss - who thanked her for her ‘understanding’ and then kept the bottle. We experienced ‘facing a wall’. On the way back, transiting in Beijing, we were late (sort of) in checking back in and found that our seats had been given away. We were seated very far apart (after having had reservations- and traveling a long distance). The person at the checkout counter was Chinese and my wife spoke with her. She wouldn’t hear her about our being late. It made me think about how rules are directing our lives and as such, I see the Gardeners able to co-create their own organic (non-rule abiding) structure- to me, this experience reflects on how much progress the world needs to make to listen to itself - not just blindly listening to a so-called ‘higher authority.’

The question was spoken about the ‘power of our collective hearts’:

-When we move into our hearts we are more in a dreaming place- we can move into a deeper place- we don’t’ know what will happen but that is part of the collective power of our hearts.
- I had no idea what to expect when I came to this call- everyone who has spoken has added some richness for me. The question of our collective hearts- if others can be as open as those on this call- it’s a beginning. It begins with love and eventually pours in and out of the group. I dream of this as a way of life for everyone- the fertilization of our soul- we are not centered- we are disconnected. I am not sure what I can contribute but something will come to me – and add richness to my soul and to this.
- I have had a lot living in me from my last week’s hosting experience. When I began to work with the group (educational admistrators), I began to talk about the open heart and moving into the open heart. The hosting team wanted to go into this space, not afraid. But they worried that their 20-30 colleagues would say this is ‘soft and flaky’. They warned us to be careful- “people are not going to go for this”. Over the next few days, the open heartedness expanded. The simple question was asked: “What is the passion and heart that brought people into the room?” This created space for engagement- the pace can work with them and work with us. At the end of the time, people were in tears- expressions of shock that they would be so open hearted after so long of not doing this. Sometimes it’s the very simple things that have impact.
- I can see why my friend referred me to this group- I hear the story ‘what is the thread that you carry no matter what you do?’ And what are the seeds? Seeds have seed coats- the shedding of the coat is an ‘aggressive’ process- it experiences fire, ice, and then shed. When we are working at our own lives, and reach something difficult. It’s not just opening our hearts to other people- if you were to think about a seed or a thread- what is the thread that you carry?
- Thoughts about the ‘collective’ come to me. I think about the earth ripples – not just the people on the call, but more ripples- the more we are opening our hearts- the more others will. Gardeners of Peace appear to me today as a community to ‘be’ rather than a group to ‘do’ (the GoP). It’s a question of the world- being a garden in the world.
- What came to my mind regarding collective power of our hearts – was the most connected I feel to others is when I am intentional. I have done Reiki- and I can send something into this group- what I heard in the beginning was that everyone is at a different place of wanting to transform. Reiki helps others transform into what other ways they would like to be. Sending Reiki – is power from the heart.
- The GoP – are about ‘being’ not ‘doing’. It is a container, a vessel, not rigid, but porous.
- The last few speakers have talked about ‘being’ in our individual and collective capacities. At first I thought “that’s not very much”- but then I realize it is a big deal. “We need to be the peace we want to see in the world.”
- I would like to ask the question: - (Gilles): We would like to get together every month for a phone council. We would like to get together in person in the Spring. Is this of interest to everyone?
- I feel good energy about coming to a monthly meeting. I have a commitment in March, not sure where I will be- but will be open to this.
- It would be great to meet once a month. The in-person meeting would be great, but not sure able to do it- but will do the call.
- I would welcome a call at least once or twice a month – to build the field between us and among us and face to face would be great to plan so that as many people as possible could come.
- A monthly call would be great- and if possible hold a local face to face gathering for those able to come.
- We have expanded the potential here.
- I continue to carry strong feelings of what the purpose of such a gathering would be- relationship building? I’d like to call in the energetic purpose and possibility.

As we close here- a last breath – if you could share one word:
- Beauty
- Momentum
- Gratitude for the space of dreams
- Breathe- if you inhale and exhale there is space in between
- Appreciation for fellow Gardeners
- Positive intention
- Gratitude and inspiration
- Peace we want to be in the world
- Joy

Gilles- in closing: I would like to share a quote from the Findhorn community in Scotland:

“Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being, the seed of your own destiny.”

Gilles' Gardening story

2007-12-29T07:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Fellow Gardeners, dear Traveling Companions,

It is a few days after Christmas on this side of the world and I feel the need to write and tell you a little bit of my story. To write in order to weave a little bit more of community amongst us human beings.

Homo sapiens are ‘animals of belonging’, aren’t we?

Together with my extended family, I’ve enjoyed last night one of my spiciest dishes in a long, long time: prawn curry.

Has my life been that spicy lately? Maybe yes, maybe no—as it’s essentially a question of how you look at the coin which is spinning, and which side you look at. There’s always a more meaningful side, after all, and it helps me, here in this down-vacation-time, to reflect on where I have been, and where I might go on this intriguing path I call ‘life’s mystery.’

The most meaningful and most spiritual event of the fall was by far our Art of Hosting gathering at the Kirkridge retreat center near Bangor, Pennsylvania. It was a delightful time, full of sharing and laughing, and more sharing and communing. Things happened in the circle of life that we formed amongst the thirty-two of us, and it was no exception for me, this time again. My life was changed by the circle in ways that are difficult to capture with words.

I entered the circle that Friday morning by sharing my ‘mourning of my religious identity.’ Why did I coin my introduction that way? I am not so sure, but the only thing I know is that it came from a place deep within. A place that the circle invites you to.

For more than a year, I have questioned the religious organization that had been sustaining my faith for twenty years. I no longer recognized myself in this organization, and particularly in the heavy and rigid top-down structure that allows guidelines to get spread and reach the general membership. I felt somewhat stuck and constricted in the middle of this lifeless hierarchy, having to gobble up things from above, and conveying directives and instructions in which I had absolutely no say. I was longing for buy-in, for a sense of empowerment, but the ideas I brought forward and the challenging questions I asked, up to the very top of the organization, were at best acknowledged but not heard. The hierarchy was counting on me to spread the “message of our faith” and increase membership in our area. I felt like a little foot soldier, devoid of power, when all that I wanted was to be a “general of life,” for the purpose of creating more life—not numbers.

It is with this frame of questioning that I entered the circle in Kirkridge, not realizing that I was openly sharing the situation that would set me free a few hours later.

The response came crystal clear, and did I say, with lightening speed? Possibly out that walk I took on Saturday afternoon down to the megalith park where I walked the labyrinth, or out of the supportive wisdom of the group itself; or again out of the surrounding peer leadership which is my way of addressing the world and its burning questions.

Words are not in order when you listen to the wisdom of your heart. The response was there, having surfaced from the pores of my heart into consciousness. I was going to resign my leadership position – this was not a way out, it was going to be a way into – a way into freedom, with a door wide open to the remaining questions of my life’s mission. I was going to set me free. There was no way back.

On Sunday morning, while attending Tenneson’s workshop, I even surprised myself. I was already into ‘wise action,’ having happily moved past ‘wise decision.’ It’s amazing how fast your life moves once you make the right decision—the decision that empowers your very life.

This warm winter break, in the humidity of south-east Asia, is the perfect place to read and reflect on the wide open space that lies before me now, six months into the Gardeners of Peace initiative that I willingly and heartily offered.

A quote I found in Christina Baldwin’s book (Storycatcher) prompted me to open my life to you tonight, as the world is in dire need of ‘connecting and reconnecting’ the social tissues that have been damaged by decades of neglect and abuse—abuse of the human heart, and betrayal of human trust—, leaving us with nothing solid institutionally-speaking to believe in, except, humanly-speaking, ourselves and the collective power of our hearts to make things happen.

“Story is a search for community. As we tell each other who we really are, we find the people with whom we really belong. Story brings us home.”

This sharing of mine is indeed an attempt to answer the questions that drive me, as I see it, from the future into the present:

“Who am I am, and what is my mission in this world?”

These are the questions that several forms of organized religions have tried to answer for me, and these are the questions that arise a little louder amidst this newly found freedom.

This is my story, simply told, and this is my version of being a Gardener of Peace.

So, what is your story?

Would you be willing to share it with me?

Would you be willing to share it with others, so that together we can build a community—“a community,” as Thich Nhat Hanh envisions, “practicing understanding and loving kindness; a community practicing mindful living.”

And a few final words of inspiration....

“We are all meant to shine, as children do. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela

Wintering and Sensing in the Garden

2007-12-24T00:07:00.000-05:00

Hello Gardeners,

Checking back in since our first call as a virtual group, in September. There have been a few smaller, in person gatherings for "Gardeners" and for those in exploration. We continued to consider and share what "gardening" means to us- metaphorically and literally. Out of these and other conversations amongst Gilles, Tenneson and Lenore, the following question emerged:

What else is possible if we come together as Gardeners of inner peace and earth peace?

For those of you who were on our first call, or have contacted Gilles (Gilles Asselin : gilles@sococo.com), with interest, you have recently received an invitation for the second virtual gardening call on Sunday, January 13th, at 1pm, EST. If you have not received this invitation, please contact either Gilles or myself (lenore@lenoremewton.com) and we will send you the conference call information.

As we move into the winter, (especially in the snowbound, hibernating areas) with all her varied weather environments depending on your location, this is often a deeper time of reflection. For myself, in North Amercian Northeast, the snow and cold invite me to 'huddle' within and listen for any different quality to my sensing of inner wisdom. The journey of paying attention to and making room internally for wisdom to emerge has been new for me over the past year and a half. Although often thinking and seeing myself as a reflective, inituitive person, I have found new levels of learning and greater trust in the non-analytical. I have found myself 'following' where I go, what entices and calls to me, be this conversations, opportunities, or activities. It's been quite amazing to me to really practice the phrase "let your wisdom be your guide". I have just begun to tap into my own potential, without judgement, and enjoy the playfulness of not 'needing to know' . I have come to love the questions in life more than the answers- which I so readily peeled off in the past. I am consciously aware of allowing this winter period of time as a resting place, but one where growth deepens (as the seedlings do over the winter, getting ready for Spring).

Our upcoming call, this blog, and other potential face to face gatherings, are opportunities to think and sense aloud with others or within. We invite you to use them freely for spaces of reflection during your winter of questions.

I look forward to being together on Jan. 13th.

Gardening with 12 Year Olds

2007-12-14T19:19:00.000-05:00

My daughter Zoe is 12. She is my oldest, a delightful, spirited 7th Grader. Whenever I introduce Zoe in work settings, I also reference her as an old soul. She is an incredible being and daughter (yes, some dad bias included).

Today I was at home when she arrived from school. I was just finishing a wonderful, generative call with Gilles and Lenore about a January phone council and a pending spring Art of Hosting event / Art of Gardening. I sat on the couch with Zoe to share a bit. I told her this was a group of people that want to help each other and many more by creating inner peace through such things as meditation, prayer, silence, writing, walks, etc. At least this was one version of gardening inner peace that I felt she would relate to. And then I shared that we are people who believe the world can be more peaceful when we come together, earth peace, even with our simple acts.

When I can share what I'm doing with my daughter, with such joy, and invitation -- I'm simply happy. I imagine a time when she might awaken more to such notions and say, "ah, that's what Dad was talking about / rambling on about." :)

I'm excited, and listening for, and welcoming of this beautiful creation, Gardeners of Peace.

Humanity in action

2007-10-29T18:58:00.000-04:00

Children International, an organization that assists poor children all over the world, has recently opened a new center in Zambia. They invited the Vice President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, to say a few words during the inauguration ceremony.

To me, this is true humanity in action – sharing what we have with other human beings we may never see, not expecting anything in return – and this action is well aligned with the idea and mission of being a Gardener of Peace, connecting at the most basic level: human beingness - heart to heart. We need more “humanity in action” to make this world the place it ought to be for all of us.

Here are Rupiah’s words:

“The burden of poverty has put an enormous strain on the government’s limited resources to assist the vulnerable children. These, coupled with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other reasons, have resulted in very sad scenarios where some children are wasting their lives away at street corners begging for alms and abusing drugs in an effort to alleviate the pain of living in the streets.

Government therefore feels reassured that in spite of this, there are cooperating partners like Children International willing to supplement the government’s efforts to ease the burden and help improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable people in our society, the children.

I’m informed that this center will cater at least 5,000 children within Chibolya, providing them with free health and educational assistance. I’m also informed that the center has an outpatient clinic with one full-time doctor and one full-time nurse, a dental clinic and a pharmacy.

I wish to place on record the government’s gratitude to Children International for making a real difference in the lives of children who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to go to school or have at least one decent meal a day. The people of Zambia shall forever remain grateful for this very rare demonstration of love and care for humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen, the funds Children International uses come from ordinary people.

Let us ask ourselves, have we ever thought of doing what these people have come to do here from a long way…who have no relationship other than that they are human beings like ourselves? How many of us have so many clothes in our houses, have so many things that we don’t need, that we’ve spent and we don’t even have space for them, but we’re just piling them up in the houses or in the garages or in the kitchens? Have we ever thought that we also can make a difference to our children?

I would like myself to see a situation where we emulate these brothers and sisters. I believe if Zambians could make generous donations to organizations such as Children International-Zambia to further their work, we would be able to achieve a lot more. Let me promise in front of you all here that Children International, as an organization, has the doors of my office and my home open for them at all times.

Happiness

2007-10-26T19:45:00.001-04:00

Thank you Brian for pointing me there....

In his book, “Authentic Happiness,” Martin Seligman condenses what it takes to be happy to a very simple statement.

Discover your strengths and use them often.

(If you want to discover your strengths, you can do so with the strengths assessment test)

Want a truly meaningful life?

Discover your strengths, use them often, and give them to something bigger than yourself.

And, if you are curious about my "signature strenghts", they are:

1. Appreciation of beauty and excellence
I notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

2. Creativity, ingenuity, and originality
It's important to me to think of new ways to do things. I'm never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible

3. Love of learning
I love learning new things. I have always loved reading, and take every opportunity to learn

4. Curiosity and interest in the world
I'm curious about everything, always asking questions, and you find most subjects and topics fascinating. I like exploration and discovery.

5. Leadership
I excel at the tasks of leadership: encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by making everyone feel included. I do a good job organizing activities and seeing that they happen.

Blogged with Flock

Family gardening in a local playground

2007-10-21T10:32:00.000-04:00

I was out with my family this afternoon. We all went to the local playground, in our district in Paris.

Alexia, my older daughter, is going to be 9 next month and Flora is 6. I could not believe how much they have grown and how much "cultivation" that has yet to come.

I remember when they were both babies and we would go to the same playground. From crawling to toddling, walking to running, they are blossoming into two beautiful young ladies. I must admit that now my only concern is that my wife and I guide them as best as we could in such an uncertain world. It scares the hell out of me.

I am still working on my own path in life. So many questions come to my mind as I look inward and then outward. Will I be capable of guiding them, even though I am unsure if I can guide myself?

Any comments would be appreciated. (For those of you who are new to Blogger, click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of this entry.)

Terry

Collaboration Ecology - The Challenge of the 21st Century

2007-10-21T10:18:00.000-04:00

What is collaboration?

Collaboration, as we understand it, is a process whereby two or more parties work together closely to achieve mutual beneficial outcomes.
Collaboration is easily confused with but greatly differs from cooperation. When people, organizations or companies cooperate there is really no need to jointly develop shared understandings and trust; in cooperation it is enough that participants, for instance, simply execute instructions willingly or do what they agreed upon previously. Also in cooperation the desired outcome is relatively clear, whereas in collaboration it is mostly unpredictable although all partners in the collaborative effort are certain that what will be realized far outweighs what could be produced individually or in mere cooperation.
Clearly collaboration is a much more complex and demanding process than cooperation, and this also because it relies heavily on trust and a joint commitment to shared understandings or values.

It is equally important to differentiate what in this article is understood as collaboration from what is seen as such in the Internet. If you google collaboration you will get around 167 million documents to choose from. Skimming the first 100 or so it seems obvious that collaboration is generally regarded as “the sum of all logical and target group oriented workflows in and between companies” to cite one document. The ‘net is full of so called collaboration-software and tools. But it is very clear that what is regarded as collaboration is what we covered above as being cooperation, “working together on something”, where it could simply be enough to execute instructions willingly.

In this article by collaboration we mean a process where two or more people and/or organisations work together by jointly developing shared understandings and building enough trust to share knowledge, processes and activities in alignment with common values, intentions and/or goals or a vision which is typically creative/innovative in nature.

Collaboration and competition

The dominant collective culture in most parts of the world today, and particularly in the United States, is a star culture in which “the winner takes it all; the loser has to fall” (Abba). In today’s economic world business leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, brokers, financiers etc, are typically portrayed as a star, even though the accomplishment and profit of any organisation or business is obviously created by everybody engaged in it. Promoting a business leader as a star may produce a momentary marketing advantage, but – as will become obvious in this article – collaboration creates a much greater and most of all sustainable business value, and more than that produces social coherence and community: collaboration produces wealth in every respect. The star culture and its incessant competition might create individual fortunes but it does so by creating many losers in its wake, our planetary environment obviously being one of them. The star culture is driven by and drives the sense of isolation and disconnectedness from a larger whole by mythologizing the individual and his or her achievements – which are seen as the result of competing well. This is most likely a major obstacle to be surmounted if we want a sustainable future for a flourishing planet and an open society. Contrary to the myths our star culture perpetuate, people working in collaboration achieve far greater and sustainable successes than individuals, even if we narrow down the meaning of success to be solely economic.

But even so, a collaborative culture doesn’t oppose competition and the star culture, it just surpasses it in every respect except ego-gratification. Collaboration is a major step beyond egotism, nepotism, feudalism and any vertical leadership structure – not to mention bureaucracy and adolescent’s games. All of these are rooted in pyramidal systems where the many carry and enrich those on the next, narrower level and compete to become one of them. People and organisations having chosen a collaborative culture do recognize, and even honour the fact that competition has its historical mission to play in society and the development of individuals and organisations.
Star culture and competition belongs to an era or developmental stage where humanity is convinced that there is not enough for everybody, where resources, due to a lack of knowledge and know-how, are thought to be limited. In the epoch we are embarking upon – often and appropriately called the knowledge-society[1] – it is obvious that we will be doing more and more with less and less, exponentially so.
In this new century knowledge has become the main resource helping us to achieve the very exponential growth we face today, which could, for instance, very easily lead to a situation where in 10-20 years with the intelligent use of one drop of oil we are doing what we need a whole barrel full for today. We have entered the epoch in which collaborative systems and structures evolve other, far better ways to create excellence and incentives to foster better ideas, policies, workflows and practises then are possible through competition and star cultures.
So there is really no need to oppose competition at all; we are surpassing it in every respect.

Collaboration, being based on this and similar insights and more than this: on deep humane qualities and behaviours, will inevitably replace competitive capitalism and its unhealthy – for the planet and social fabric – culture.
It is obvious for instance, that there is much more know-how about important matters outside any business or organisation than there can possibly be inside of it. Since in competitive culture knowledge is regarded and treated as power it is made scarce, and is, whatever the market may be, heavily protected against the competition. Therefore it is very difficult to ‘harvest’ this knowledge from other individuals or organisations on the market. One has to spend considerable resources to obtain it. In a collaborative system knowledge is shared freely and whatever the benefits are further down the line all participants trust that these are shared equitably between all contributors. The value of knowledge that is common to collaborators – know-how about processes, resources, practises, for instance – is exponentially higher than the value of the very same knowledge available to competing individuals or organisations. This is the main reason why collaborative enterprises, businesses and organisations have the evolutionary edge in a heavily competitive global system, and this is also a major cause for optimism in spite of the grave dangers humanity is presently facing. The day is not far when the collaborative culture that is emerging presently has gained enough momentum to replace the competitive and authoritarian structures where these are not as effective as the collaborative ones – most probably in relatively open and liberal societies first[2].

Learning collaboration

Collaboration that creates and applies knowledge for the purpose of social and commercial enterprise is very sophisticated behaviour. Apart from subject matter expertise, skills, competence and experience – which are basic to competitive endeavours as well – collaboration requires shared understandings and values, trust among individuals and organizations, and the efficient, full sharing of ideas, information, practises and processes. It rests upon the participants’ alignment with common intentions and works towards realizing a common goal or vision which is typically creative or innovative in nature.

As much as it is true that the process of collaborative innovation and creation – here regarded also as a novel form of entrepreneurship – can be learned only through experience, it is also true that there are environments that greatly enhance the learning of collaboration. As a complex[3], and because of the required trust, potentially fragile process it needs a safe surrounding to germinate. And as it is basically embarked upon by people who have matured sufficiently beyond competition and personal stardom (egotism), and who have understood that collaboration requires equal respect of all for all, it is a voluntary, self-managing process that can only be encouraged and facilitated – there will most likely never be standardized practices beyond the creation of an ecology that fosters collaboration.
An ecology of patience also, as collaboration only works when the process adopts a pace of development that is comfortable for all participants – it is important that there is enough space for the necessary behaviours and procedures to be internalized individually and across organizations.

Creating a collaboration ecology starts with rediscovering or creating common ground: shared experiences and/or values, intentions, visions. The environment in which it develops easily is one of being attentive and open-mindedly present to other collaborators, giving authentic feedback and ‘being yourself’ and expecting the others to likewise be; a willingness to accept differences in perspective, perception and opinion. This is relatively easy once a deep mutual understanding of ‘our commonality of intention, vision and value’ has taken root.
Moreover for an ecology of collaboration to support organizations it is prerequisite that these organisations practise collaboration internally; this being analogue to the aforementioned psychological outlooks and behaviours participants must be fluent in to participate in an effective collaboration.
Collaboration flourishes in an environment of shared core values that are – beknown to all – practiced on a day to day basis.

Further qualities that cultivate collaboration are the wish to learn from each other, a stance that could be called ‘mutual apprenticeship’; being respectful and appreciative of all, being responsive to non-verbal communication and emotions; being explicit and clear. There are many further helpful qualities but from this short list it is obvious that all behaviour that makes relationships flourish is advantageous when it comes to creating the right environment for effective collaboration.

From all of this it is evident that the ability to collaborate requires ongoing investments in intangible assets over extensive periods of time. The personal and organisational qualities mentioned are important for trust-building which is the major ingredient of effective and successful collaboration.
To develop collaborative capabilities one might also need to learn new values and behaviours and let go of old habits. Only organisations that already engage in a culture of collaboration internally are sufficiently prepared for the challenges this type of investment poses; an investment in people and their creativity and inventiveness involving unpredictable outcomes; an investment in building trust from the ground up.
Embarking upon a self-generating and self-managing process, there is no formal means of economically measuring these intangible assets, and that might be something that share- and stakeholders might have a hard time to stick with for the required time to come to fruition. However, the results of collaboration are definitely measurable as they demonstrate reduced risks, faster performance and greater or new sources of revenues. And all the while from the point of view of those who practice collaboration the practical value in the day to day process is very clear.

Barriers to collaboration

Optimum collaboration is co-created by caring participants who hold the contributions of their peers in high regard and are concerned with their equitable treatment. A main barrier therefore may be the difficulty between parties having diverse viewpoints in achieving agreement which is an impediment to effective but basically distributed decision-making. Even if collaboration participants manage to agree they might be caught up in a cultural boundary that is not recognized and are therefore agreeing from a different perspective. Apart from the already mentioned deep mutual understanding a consciously cultivated culture of mutual appreciation can very well steer around this boundary and regard different viewpoints as an enriching experience and helpful tool in embracing a situation as a whole.

Hierarchy as it is usually understood – rank or job title are crucial and power/decision-making flows from the top down – is another major barrier to collaboration. In organizational cultures that emphasize hierarchy, people feel compelled to go through channels. This prevents front-line people from contributing to decisions and makes it difficult or even impossible for leaders to get real-time, unfiltered information from the field. The different levels of the hierarchy are essentially desynchronised and the natural flow of information and social energy is greatly impeded. In these hierarchies knowledge is often privileged and not easily available to everybody; instead of serving a greater whole, or a common goal or vision people are serving their superiors. In these cultures qualifications are person-centred and not issue- and intention-centred thus making it hard for a lower ranked person who may be much more qualified for a task than her or his superior to take a lead where this would be necessary in real collaboration. A culture of mutual apprenticeship can help change this situation. But, as has been said before, real collaboration can only occur between organisations that already collaborate internally in which case the hierarchies will already be flat and decisions are basically made by consent.[4] Smart organizations encourage collaboration across levels, functions, business units and regions.

These are two major impediments to collaboration. There are minor ones which have to do with what could be called ‘bad habits‘ – leftovers from the competitive star culture; for instance the "stranger danger" where people are reluctant to share with others unknown to them, or "information hoarding” where they do not want to share knowledge for fear of losing power; the "needle in a haystack" syndrome where people, believing that the problem may have already been solved by others spend much time and energy looking for it, or the contrary “not invented by us” disorder which shuns previously performed research or knowledge that was not originally developed within the group. As the art of collaboration develops – for an art it truly is – and more collaboration ecologies are flourishing a more comprehensive map of barriers will become available that will help community gardeners and collaboration ecologists alike to steer free of these obstacles.

Collaborative Capitalism

Collaborative efforts can have many objectives. In the context of entrepreneurial and business collaborations it means collaboration for the co-creation of financially robust, ethically sound and even-handed market systems; systems that will most likely produce sustainable products and services of high innovative value and great quality. This objective is achieved through jointly generated ideas emerging from the sharing of information and knowledge in an atmosphere of trust and mutual support and apprenticeship, and by co-creating ways and means to turn these ideas into actions that are relevant to all participants.
The role of the new art and science of Collaboration Ecology and Community Gardening is the co-creation of on- and off-line environments that make it very likely and attractive for “the willing” to bravely embark on the journey of collaborative entrepreneurship. It is creating the space for and identifying the knowledge, possibilities, needs and resources that align themselves around values, intentions and understandings, constellating and being constellated by the communities of practise using these spaces; creating a place where dialogue, mutual apprenticeship and trustful enterprises are inevitably emerging to create the collaborative culture of what could be called Sustainable Commerce and Wholesome Economy.

Collaborative capitalism is one of the many forms the sharing culture takes that has taken root amidst the ruins of an overly greedy, individualized and competitive capitalism. Yet it would be a mistake to see this new culture as a hippie-like ‘feel-good’ culture without bite, without an eye for brilliance, performance, efficiency and the strong desire to create, innovate and struggle towards ever improving situations, products, services, procedures and the like.
Collaborative capitalism is all about creating wealth, real wealth for humanity and the planet – and it is not opposed to people becoming rich on the way there! Only is the wealth not solely or even primarily economic; the wealth is related much more to “the good life”, a life worth living in a sustainable surrounding that’s not regarded solely as resource that can be stripped of it’s assets to enrich individuals but as a ‘partner’ whose well-being is important, and who then is more than willing to share.
The game we play in collaborative capitalism is win-win-win-win: I win, you win, society wins and nature wins. It is a game worth playing.

Contact: Mushin@thelivingfield.com

[1] Transposing this onto a level of development of an individual or organisation this can also be regarded as the realisation that one is a global citizen in a pluralistic and open system of systems or society.

[2] In less developed parts of the world where liberal and democratic societies have not yet developed well there might be a healthy competitive phase necessary – where cooperation plays an important role – before the possibilities of real collaboration can be pursued.

[3] The process of collaboration is only complex when regarded through analytical and linear lenses. When regarded from within a collaborating entity it is a naturally unfolding emergent dynamic system which is often better regarded as a work of art – ‘practical beauty’ is a term that comes to mind; a beauty that is easily seen in a natural landscape or ecology.

[4] This doesn’t mean that there can’t be rank-hierarchical departments or teams in a collaborative organisation. We do acknowledge that people are centred on different developmental levels and might feel most comfortable in a position where they are “simply following instructions”. It is important to remember that these are not ideological or doctrinal statements about hierarchy but are oriented towards encouraging people and organisations towards greater collaboration across all possible demarcation lines.