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NCN GROUP CHANNEL-VOLUME One, NUMBER Two
MAY 1997
"Electronics makes us more tribal at the same time as it globalises
us. We need to 'Think Locally, Act Globally'." John Naisbitt, Master
Social Forecaster, Author of Megatrends, Global Paradox.
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This month we focus on beginnings-how groups got their start. Each article
has been contributed by a group leader who had a vision, and put it into
action.
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SPIRITECH UK-JEREMY GLUCK
Three years ago, in the midst of a profound spiritual crisis, remonstrating
with myself over the apparent failure of my third novel, THE LOVE GUN - a
dark meditation on spiritual fascism and revolution by tehnological means -
and prey to serial depression, I began to implore the Divine for a new
vision that validated, vindicated and made use in service of my years of
work- as a writer and artist - and study into spirituality and technology.
A day after attending a workshop in London, where I experienced for the
first time the wonders of cyberspace, the word "spiritech" came to me and,
in meditation, these two basic propositions:- "Our reality is God's
virtuality."- "Consciousness is a virtual system."
Over the next two years I studied the spirituality-technological
interface, gradually creating a conceptual foundation for SPIRITECH, an
organisation to be dedicated to making accessible to the greatest number
of people possible the significance and implications of the relationship,
both conceptually and practically, both materially and spiritually, between
spirituality and technology.
In October 1996 SPIRITECH went on-line for the first time, and in
cyberspace has truly found its home and community. I fund the project
myself, but am seeking funding at a number of levels...SPIRITECH will
become a fully-functional business and service vehicle. I operate at the
moment out of my home, and it is a testament to the power of cyberspace
that so much can be accomplished by one man with the technological
equivalent of forty acres and a mule! :-)
The support and enthusiasm for SPIRITECH I have found in cyberspace has
made rapid, very fulfilling progress and possibility and now, with help of
a small, committed team communicating by e-mail, my vision for SPIRITECH is
being manifested. There is a core group of four at present:
REGIS DEHOUX - Researcher & Programmer
ZHENMING "PHILIP" ZHAI - Researcher on VR
DR MARLA LaRUE: Head THE INTERNET MINISTRY
....These other three are located in North America..I am geographically in
the UK...
Already, research projects are being outlined, including VR systems, and
Kirlian photography by computer, and training programmes developed, such as
training programmes for management that express the SPIRITECH vision, and
more...
As part of the NEW CIVILISATION NETWORK (one of SPIRITECH's first
postings was an e-interview with Flemming Funch) and similar initiatives,
SPIRITECH aspires to network its vision and practical applications of same
widely both on- and offline. Numerous strands being pursued and
progressed, including exposure online via a chat forum, and e-newsletter.
The newsletter is bi-monthly, and Channel readers can get it by 1. Sending
an e-mail to: MGM@megd.com 2. In "subject" and body of Email message
area type "info" [without the quotations marks].
In mid-April SPIRITECH UK was featured in the UK on the
nationally-networked
TV Internet magazine CYBER CAFƒ This is the first time in this country
that I am aware of that the subject of the spirituality-technolgical
interface has been given explicit exposure.
We welcome dialogue and contributions at any level...
SPIRITECH UK: http://www.geocities.com/~spiritechuk
SPIRITEXTS: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/6576
SPIRITECH RESEARCH: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/6447
SPIRITECH UK Chat at Many Paths:
http://www.net-quest.com/~gdotao Thurs. 10PM GMT.
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NEIGHBORCARE: MAGGIE STEINCHRON DAVIS
I'm pleased to tell the story of the co-founding and maintaining of
Neighborcare: a volunteer-run, unlicensed, joyful band of neighbors on the
Blue Hill, Maine peninsula offering free-of-charge, health-related service
to ill, dying or injured neighbors in their efforts to heal themselves to
their fullest capacity.
In late summer,1995, I saw a tiny article in an obscure newsletter
telling
of a place called the Human Service Alliance. As well as other health care
opportunities, HSA maintains a free-of-charge, volunteer-run, unlicensed
center for the terminally ill. I was touched by what I read of the group's
self-reliance and spirit, which seemed so in tune with the publishing and
writing I was doing to celebrate an all-embracing kinship vision. I sent
down, as gifts, two of the books I'd written which reflect this vision. HSA
sent me a video PBS had made, featuring their project. "C'mon down!" they
said. In a few weeks I was headed from my cabin in the woods to Winston
Salem, North Carolina for a fourteen day, 60hr/wk, volunteer vacation.
I went so far away to volunteer because my hunch was I'd be
bringing back home a vital spark of what I experienced in North Carolina.
Before I left,
I asked a co-worker to mail out, while I was away, an invitation to a
gathering at the concert cafe my husband and I had opened years before and
he was still running. In the letter, I explained where I was going,
explained I didn't know what I'd discover in North Carolina but that I
thought what I'd be finding there would be good for the peninsula. I said
if people wanted to hear about the trip they should come for a potluck
supper at the cafe--and I named the day.
Back in Blue Hill on a cold and snowy, early-fall night after I
returned, over sixty people showed up at the potluck supper. In the bedroom
above our cafe I ran the PBS video several times so everyone had a chance
to see it. Downstairs I spoke about my experience in North Carolina. One
month later
several of us began to meet weekly--and have continued to meet weekly--to
see what we could best do for our neighbors in our
somewhat rural "neighborhood."
In North Carolina I had been inspired to two visions. 1) that a
group of
us at home would create a place for the terminally ill located centrally
located on the peninsula and/or 2)that neighborhoods of volunteers would
begin enhancing the neighboring already in place in each of our peninsula
towns. (The third vision would come later . .)
I knew ours would be a group project, if it materialized. I also
knew that my only attachment as to how this project would take form was
that it must
be volunteer run, free-of-charge, unlicensed and as free from negativity as
possible.
During our meetings, we talked and, as we talked, felt a shape forming
oh-so-slowly, for our group. (An important part of the process was
forgiving ourselves and each other for thinking much of the time that we
didn't know what we were doing! What we did know was that we felt inspired.
Down in North Carolina HSA people were holding us positively in their
thoughts. I know that helped!) Let me say that from day one, no matter who
has participated in on our sessions, the meetings have been infused with
joy and laughter--even when challenges arose and snarled at us. Also, until
this moment, meetings have lasted not one moment longer than two hours.
What we didn't want to do was impose our own notion of good on our
peninsula, or duplicate efforts already in place. So we invited Hospice,
hospital, home health care people and more to come to sit with us and
express their own vision as to what they thought was lacking. From these
meetings, amidst great initial shifts in board membership, Neighborcare was
born. (Actually, we didn't call ourselves a board for a long while, so
resistant were some to still another commitment in their already busy
lives.) We made sure to begin/keep up volunteering, on our own, in the
community, while our formative meetings continued. We didn't want to be
all talk and no do.
The name Neighborcare arose naturally from our time together. Much
later
when we were bringing out our brochure, we discussed whether to trademark
the name and decided, instead, to encourage other groups to use their own
names that had meaning for them. We decided if someone "used our name in
vain," we'd face that with as much integrity as we could muster.
We were careful not to publicize ourselves too much until we had a
base of volunteers willing to work in the twelve or so peninsula home towns
or
neighboring towns. (As of now, our numbers have grown to seventy-five, and
there are seven on our board.) We knew what could happen if we took on
person after person and then couldn't serve them. How cruel that would be,
we realized. We knew that our visits were the highlight of many a person's
day or week. I did speak on community radio several times and set up
meetings in many peninsula towns so people could get a feel of what we were
about.
During meetings, in addition to discussing, with respect, the people we
were serving, we spent much time talking about what constituted a
health-related case. We knew that every situation could be health related
if we stretched our interpretation far enough. We also knew, with great
support for this from HSA, that we must be purposeful and focused, or else
scattered to the winds. What happened over time is that we have chosen in
a purposeful and focused way to be far ranging, rather than being so by
default. Still it is our greatest hope that we achieve a
caregiver/caregetter balance that allows each person to serve and be served
well.
Our ideal is to not only respond to--but to be on the lookout for-those
who could use and might want our help. We serve joyfully and welcome anyone
of any age, religion , sex, race, culture, sexual orientation, or financial
circumstance to serve with us. We also welcome volunteers of every level of
ability, including individuals who are housebound,
bedridden and/or physically incapacitated. We invite family members to
volunteer together. This sometimes is ideal for single mothers/fathers who
cannot leave their children.
Our services include respite care, one-to-one informational support
(eg.
people who have experienced Alzheimer's in their family offer support to
those who are currently faced with this challenge), pet care, plant care,
errands, taxi service, "alternative" healing skills, mediation services,
letter-writing, advocacy, hands-on care as supplement to hospice and
home health nursing care, and more.
What fuels our spirit is our understanding that the smallest deed done well
has positive effect, not only in our own neighborhoods, but in the world
beyond. We nourish in ourselves and in each other attitudes of abundance,
compassion, trust, self-responsibility, fearlessness and gratitude. At the
same time we leave attitudes of worry, self-doubt,
blame, fear, resentment, pettiness, and the like, to wither from lack of
our attention. Before and after our board meetings, we sit in circle
and--though we are not associated with any designated religious group--ask
for the well being of those who we name in circle, and all
others as well who could benefit--if this would be for good. Whoever visits
our meetings sits with us. At the heart of our work is an extended-family
ideal that is boundless. We know that as we serve, we also are served
beyond measure.
When asked about legalities, we answer that we are neighbors who neither
need nor want contracts and releases. It's not that we're casual about such
matters--we know if someone injures himself or herself while in our care a
relative who has no relationship with Neighborcare easily could decide to
sue us. If such a situation arises we will meet it with as much integrity
as possible.
With regards to funding, for now we don't seek corporate or foundation
funding and are not applying for 501c3 status. Every board meeting we put
in an envelope what we can--sometimes it's nothing, another time maybe two
dollars or a fifty. And, gratefully, we accept additional donations of
money, services, etc., from others who celebrate our efforts. A local
printer was glad to print our brochure and inserts for free. Within the
first two weeks after we began meeting--when we still were without a name,
a friend offered ten acres of beautiful land for our center for the
terminally ill, if that was our choice of focus. Only "if you are really
serious," he cautioned. We are serious, and happily so! It's a myth that
people will contribute only when they can deduct contributions from their
income taxes.
More often now, we gather together as volunteers, to see an inspiring
documentary, to brainstorm, to share a meal together, to hear speakers talk
on subjects we believe will help enable us to be of better service. These
meetings are open to all who serve, whether or not they belong to
Neighborcare. There will be workshops on caregiving--not only practical
tips, but what it means to see deeply enough to care well. We offer a Blue
Hill residential community for older people theme suppers that help to
bring them together. We visualize "cook-ins" so that no one will have to go
hungry in wintertime if they run out of food stamps.
As members of Neighborcare, we rejoice in the individual gifts and talents
of Neighborcare volunteers and accept volunteers' offerings of time of
service, no matter how great or how small these may be. Certainly, our
lives breathe as we do, expanding and contracting. Sometimes people are
able to give more, sometimes less. Why should we be
any less kind and accepting with each other than we are with the people we
reach out to serve.
Earlier I mentioned a third vision regarding Neighborcare. It's this: that
in a few years Neighborcare will be a household word on this peninsula. In
each home will be lists of people to call for every kind of free-of-charge
service. In this sense, our greatest wish is to be obsolete, each wondrous
step along the way bounded only by the the limits
of our imagination.
We are only a year and a half old, and toddlers in this work. Do get in
touch, though, if you have questions about what we've been up to so far.
You should know that we gladly assist individuals/groups inspired by our
work in creating their own volunteer-run, free-of-charge-to-all, unlicensed
neighborhood projects, whether or not these projects are health-related.
We'd be happy to hear from you! And let us hear what your experiences are
with similar projects.
Maggie Steincrohn Davis, co-founder, Neighborcare
maggie@downeast.net
http://www.downeast.net/com/heartsong
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LIBERTY SCHOOL--A Democratic Learning Community--How to Start One?
Arnold Greenberg
We are in the process of starting Liberty School--A Democratic
Learning Community for grades 9-12 that will prepare our students for the
21st Century. We believe the best preparation for a democratic society is
a school that operates on those principles, that involves students in every
aspect of running the school. Most schools are dictatorships that teach
about democracy but do not practice it. Liberty School offers young people
the opportunity to develop their own educational program, to choose how
they will spend their time. We offer a diverse and innovative educational
program that is challenging and rigorous but based on the interests and
concerns of the students. We are committed to providing an education that
develops in our students the necessary skills and knowledge to be actively
inquiring people, where substantial and meaningful insights are explored
and exchanged and where a full appreciation of diverse thoughts and
perspectives are fostered by honestly dealing with real questions problems.
The school is based on the following assumptions: that education must
be seen as part of life and not merely as a preparation for life. Learning
as an experience is worthwhile in and of itself. Education is best in a
cooperative rather than competitive environment. Education that engages the
student fully and encourages hands-on experience is the most efficient
vehicle for real understanding. An education that emphasizes how to think
rather than what to think is a fundamental ingredient in helping people
become true learners.
As Emerson said, "The secret of education lies in respecting the
pupil." Our school is based on trust and the belief that young people want
to learn and will devote tremendous amounts of energy when the work is
meaningful to them. Our school library is internet based and emphasizes
critical and creative thinking as part of the pursuit of information. Two
questions are central to our school. What does it mean to be an educated
person as we enter the 21st Century? And, what does it mean to be human?
What are the human qualities we want our graduates to have when they
graduate? We ask students what are the skills they believe they will need
in order to survive? These become issues and help create the curriculum.
How does one go about starting a school like this? The most
important ingredient is committment to being on the side of the students.
Helping young people learn to determine their own goals rather than
predetermined goals set by the state. Helping young people learn to
regulate their own time and become independent as well as collaborative
learners. It's important to remember that democracy is very inefficient
and it may be that one or two people with a common vision have to work to
get the school off the ground. The school community may have to evolve
towards a democracy once the school gets closer to opening. As Churchill
said, "Democracy is the worst form of government there is with the
exception of all the others." Having a common vision of the school is
essential otherwise it becomes a tug of war with opposing or different
visions.
Getting a site and a building that meets the health and fire
code requirements is essential. Being located in a place that is accessible
to libraries, and other facilities that teachers and students may want
utilize is important. The atmosphere of the school, the light, the warmth,
the feeling of the building is important. Unless you can find a building
that is a former school, it may be less expensive to build than to renovate
an existing building to meet state requirements. More and more schools,
however, are operating without buildings and using the internet and e-mail
to communicate with one another and then meeting when they need to in homes
or cafes. Certainly, schools as we know them are on the way to becoming
obsolete, but there is still value in having a place that a learning
community can call their own.
The most important ingredient is the teaching staff. I like to
think of teachers as older students or more experienced learners. Passion
for learning and for the subjects they teach is more important than
credentials. The ability to listen, to ask significant questions and help
students learn to ask questions is important. Liberty School is question
oriented, rather than answer oriented. Helping students learn to ask the
questions about a topic that truly interest them is important. "What do I
need to know to understand the American Revolution?" "What do I want to
know about the food I eat?" The hard questions we asked when we were three
and four like, "Why is the sky blue?" Common sense and research both tell
us that we learn best when we are interested in the subject.
The other most important consideration is decent salaries and
benefits for teachers. 95% of all alternative schools that start fail after
18 months because teachers cannot afford to stay at the school. The
demands on teachers leads to burn-out because they are working so hard and
are not able to survive on low salaries. Investing in teachers that will
stay and grow with the school is essential. The benefits of teaching in a
school that gives academic freedom and allows for creativity is of
tremendous value to teachers, but the fact is, they should not be
subsidizing the school.
The more schools that challenge the traditional approach the
better. I am willing to share any ideas and experience I have. Liberty
School is my third school. I also have a book, "Adventures on Arnold's
Island--Four Essays on Education" that has a fuller account of starting a
school. If you would like information about the book or would like to
respond to what I've just written, I can be reached at grnbrg@downeast.net.
You can check out my book at http://www/downeast.net/com/arnold/
Arnold Greenberg
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CAROL BROUILLET
I believe visions come first and actions follow, although I've had more
visions in the course of my work which have led to more activities. In 1992
I saw a film, JFK, which disturbed me and sent me to the library to start
doing research on the CIA.
What I discovered prompted me to become an activist. I began by going
to meetings, distributing Noam Chomsky books. In the process, I began
learning about a range of issues and how tied together they all were. Since
I had a background in public relations, I realized that the media was a
major problem and began learning about the alternative media. In 1994, I
attended the Z Media Institute(www.lol.shareworld.com) which gives courses
on a wide range of issues, as well as how to organize and form co-operative
institutes. At about the same time a handful of people got together, by
virtue of Norman Solomon (author of Unreliable Sources-A Guide to Detecting
Bias in the Media, as well as Through the Media Looking Glass, and
Adventures in Medialand), he had the idea of creating a national, daily,
radio program which would give "the news behind the news"- express the
facts, opinions, feelings of those who are denied access to mainstream
media. Between 6 people, we managed to raise $16,000. and within six months
started producing a 1/2 hour weekly program called "Making Contact." We are
now two and a half years old. We rely on a lot of volunteer work,
networking, and have begun to get grants from Foundations and have 2 paid
staff. We're now on 106 stations. Our website is
http://www.igc.org/MakingContact
My real passion has been on changing the world monetary system.
Paul Swann recently posted my paper Reinventing Money, Restoring the Earth,
Reweaving the Web of Life on the discussion list. This idea has been so
radical, that I've promoted different consciousness raising tools to simply
raise this issue. I've distributed a couple cases of Tom Greco's book New
Money for Healthy Communities, hundreds of copies of Paul Glover's articles
about Ithaca Hours. Then I found out about the film- Who's Counting?
Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics which really lays the
foundation for the need for systemic change. I showed the film at various
conferences and
when it played locally in Berkeley, California, I arranged for the
director, Terre Nash, to come out and help publicize it. At this point in
time, I was contacted by a "In Context" study group who also loved the
film. A group of us, plus Terre Nash, had a gathering before the premier,
and basically the "Who's Counting? Project" was born out of that meeting.
We passed out
flyers at the premier, gathered names and addresses, developed study
materials for the film, created a website, and hope to nurture an
alternative economic movement. Our website is
http://home.earthlink.net/~mediatorken.
As a result of my activities, I have become a spokesperson for
community currencies and recently, at the International Forum on
Globalization's Teach In in Berkeley, we gave a workshop on Creating
Community Currencies, it was very well attended and over 200 people signed
up who were interested in starting local currencies. There have been 2 more
meetings in Berkeley, one is scheduled for San Francisco Thursday, May
22nd, and there is enough interest that I think I'll be able to launch a
local currency in my hometown, Palo Alto. Yes! The Journal of Positive Futures
just came out with a great issue on Money which I've been promoting (I'm
in the T-shirt on page one). My energies are also geared towards The Other
Economic Summit in Denver, June 20-22,
http:pender.ee.upenn.edu/~rabii/toes/ where I'll be speaking and we'll be
doing a workshop on creating community currencies. I've also been working
closely with the E.F.Schumacher Society and we'll be doing a workshop at
their upcoming Decentralist Conference June 27-29 in Williamstown, MA
http://members.aol.com/efssociety. I've also been working with the
Bioneers- Practical Solutions for Restoring the Earth, who share, I believe
an indigenous worldview, along with a comprehensive analysis of the world's
problems, and provides a space for visionaries to speak, and network. They
hold an annual conference in San Francisco in October
http://www.bioneers.org/.
I may have overdone it a bit by becoming involved with so many different
organizations, and it is a constant challenge for me to balance my life (I
do have three small children) with my activism, but ultimately I think
balance is what the world needs- to recognize the spiritual, mental,
physical, emotional dimensions. I try to bring what I've learned from my
spiritual friends to the political movement and to help ground the New Age
movement in political reality, and to nurture the new organizations and
coalitions actively trying to create the new models for the new
civilization which is being born at this time. It's fun!
Carol Brouillet, cbrouillet@igc.apc.org
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The NCN Group Channel is an electronic publication of the New Civilization
Network. Publisher, Flemming Funch <ffunch@newciv.org>, Editor, Trudy W.
Schuett <dsrtlite@primenet.com>
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