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<DIV>Thank you, Dick, for this witness. There's so much going on under the
surface that will one of these days will blossom like the big bang and
create newness once again. So glad you're well and still engaged in good
work.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Love and blessings,</DIV>
<DIV>Jann McGuire</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 12/10/2012 2:02:24 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
dick_alton@hotmail.com writes:</DIV>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Burning
Man</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Celebrating my
71<SUP>st</SUP> birthday this December. You would think after all these years
I would have learned a few things and, more important, be a lot wiser. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Not sure. I guess one thing I have
learned is that there is a lot of wisdom out there in this great old world.
And to act on this insight I try to collect wisdom and jot them down in my
yearly calendar… I am not sure it makes me wise.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">One example is my daughters
going to Burning Man (gathering of old and new hippies as one friend explained
to me to smoke a lot of pot). Well my daughters Christina and Kay had not told
me about this last part so I immediately went and googled Burning Man. And
upped popped the Burning Man principles: <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">There is no default world; Expect more
from strangers; Form your own camp; Be part of the</B> <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">generosity economy and Embrace
impermanence.</B> I wrote Christina- the older daughter- what is this all
about? She says, “you know this is like what we learned with ICA, you know the
other world” Now that caught my attention.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The one principle I was most
fascinated with was the one about <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">‘Expect</B> <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">more from strangers”.</B> It seems
Burning Man believes that people are scarred of other people, and it is their
job not to be scarred. They also recommend “go in for a hug”- that seems a
little too scary for me. Most people it appears are trying to project their
appearance of normalcy instead of celebrating their wonderful weirdness. The
key seems to be able to say “yes” to the strangeness of strangers. Your job
appears to be to expect people to be interesting.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Also you have a right to approach any
random person and have an interesting interaction.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">So I now have these 5
principals in my calendar book. I usually try to read through these wisdom
notes regularly and try to be mindful of them through the day. ‘Expecting more
from strangers” went with me to the ICA Nepal Conference. The second day there
I tried to walk from the ICA Nepal office back to my Hotel. A course, I got
lost. I had a map but it did not seem very helpful. And then I noticed a man
walking near me who also had his map out with a great big backpack like he had
been trekking. Finally, I walked over to him and asked, “have you found where
we are?. Nope, but I think I am close” We finally figured out where we were
with the help of a policeman and we started walking together. Where are you
from?: Egypt. What do you do?: I am the Egyptian consular at the Egyptian
Embassy in New Delhi and come regularly to Nepal to trek. He asked me some
questions and I told him about our El Bayad work and that I had coached
baseball in Maadi (suburbs of Cairo). And then I asked him about the new
government in Egypt. He spent about 15 minutes trying to explain the situation
in Egypt and what he thought the future looked like. I was just startled that
this just totally out of the blue interaction had produced such an amazing
interaction.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">And then there was the actual
Nepal Conference. What a way to just maximize such weird connections?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And is not that finally what community
is all about? I guess that is what Burning Man means by <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Form your camp. </B>Burning Man’s
philosophy seems to suggest that these camps are about making an impact
together. They are not just for hanging out together, but camps are where
people are about something that contributes to the larger community..this is
what gives camps meaning. These camps seem to leads us to the <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">generosity economy</B>; this has to do
with someone who always gives to others as a way of life. Burning Man sees the
transformative feature of their faith is the ‘gifting’ economy. Notice how it
makes your life better to give. In fact, giving away can become a way of life
for you and your people.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The last principle is <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">embracing impermanence</B> which is
really up in your face at 71 years old. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am going to put that one in my 2013
monthly planner for my brood screen for the year. I know I have to embrace it…
I am sure it will embrace me. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Bet you that these principles
came from smoking too much pot. Probably, the same pot the Other World came
from.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Dick Alton, just back from
hanging out with Bill McKibben and 350.org working to divest my oil
stocks…</SPAN></P>
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<BR><BR>Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302
T:1.773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out
hold you back Babe Ruth
</DIV>=<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Dialogue
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