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Fwd: GMCA Sept.15
by David Zahrt via OE 23 Sep '14

23 Sep '14

*MON SEP 15* *Good Shepherd U. U. Church, Elkhart to Mennonite College, Goshen, IN* I had a good night’s sleep and the weather forecast said Mon. would be sunny. Before we finished breakfast it clouded over and began to sprinkle. I asked Doug if he had any passengers in the Gear truck and he said “No”. I told him that I would help him pack up and put my bike in the truck. He said “OK”. So I made the trip without getting a shower! The Mennonite College has many facilities. I went to the giant auditorium that joins the kitchen. The guest WiFi hooked up to my laptop automatically. I saw a CVS store as we were approaching the college. So later I bicycled to CVS and got my flu shot. The nurse asked if I wanted my pneumonia shot too. I said “Yes”. Maybe I should have said “No”. The only affect I’ve had is 2 sore arms. The college allowed us to camp out in the basement after preschool finished. The Mennonites provided the potluck dinner. They sang the mealtime blessing—they’re like a chorus! It was the biggest gathering we’ve had (at least 200 people). And it was clear that they welcomed us. After the meal we adjourned to another part of the auditorium and there were a series of presentations, including some from the Marchers. The chair invited those who wanted to March to meet in one corner, and those who wanted to go to NYC for the Peoples Climate March to meet in another corner, and those who wanted to provide ongoing support of the March to meet in another corner. I am going to NYC so joined that group. We got details on upcoming events. To end the meeting our hosts sang their version of the Doxology; yet another chorus. -- Peace, David

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1st Imaginal Education Video Conversation begins in Sydney!
by steve har via OE 23 Sep '14

23 Sep '14

Hello Imaginal Education GARA Working Group and others Robyn Hutchinson just began showing the video and having a Skype conference There are people on the call from Japan, Nepal, Singapore and India. People have access to the video of James Addington and Seva Gandhi interview talking about the the educational components of the Chicago oriented action based learning in neighborhood communities You will be able to see a similar program in North Central and South America beginning 1pm CDT Chicago (1300 hours) You will be able to see the program live and recorded on YouTube on your web browser at this location: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101302036486582034870/posts Please join us! -- Steve Harrington

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Historical Records Team Collegium-Global Archives Research Assembly
by Lynda Cock via OE 23 Sep '14

23 Sep '14

Yeah for the Historical Records Team! Delightful basement video starring Beret and Paul in the depths of the Green Rise Building at 4750 N. Sheridan where the great storehouse of files of our work with ICA reside, and Part II, Beret¹s intro to the work of Historical Records Team this week. If you haven¹t seen these, go to https://www.youtube.com/user/icaresearchaccess. Blessings on the memory of those who gave so much of their time in beginning this work. I think of Betty Pesek, Audrey Ayres, Lyn Mathews Edwards, David McClesky, who spent much time as the Archive Angels and the Golden Pathways project a number of years ago. I¹m sure there were lots of others. Who were other names that need to be celebrated as this work continues? Thank you to all gathered in Chicago for pioneering and sharing in this virtual research assembly. Lynda Cock, Greensboro, NC From: Beret Griffith via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Reply-To: Beret Griffith <beretgriffith(a)gmail.com> Date: Sunday, September 21, 2014 at 10:02 PM To: "O:E List" <OE(a)wedgeblade.net>, Dialogue List <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Gordon Harper <gharper(a)gmail.com>, Frank Knutson <frankknutson2(a)gmail.com>, Sally Fenton <fentonaj40(a)gmail.com>, Steve Harrington <stevehar11201(a)gmail.com>, Beret Griffith <beretgriffith(a)gmail.com>, Christina Wolf <christinawolf68(a)gmail.com>, Rosemary Albright <ralbright.6400(a)gmail.com>, Wendell Refior <wendellrefior(a)gmail.com>, Marge Philbrook <margephilbrook(a)gmail.com>, James Wiegel <jfwiegel(a)gmail.com>, Fara Taylor <wb2m2t(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Dialogue] Historical Records Team Collegium The Historical Records Team has two exciting announcements to make tomorrow morning at the Historical Records Team Collegium, Monday, September 22, 2014. Tune in for a peek into life at the ICA Global Archives, ICA GreenRise, Chicago, Illinois, USA.. Find out how you can access the ICA Global Archives holdings and documents currently on-line. We will be providing links that were only dreamed possible when work in the archives began many years ago. You will be among the first people to experience this transparency, which we hope will give you the confidence and courage to dive into your personal documents, artifacts, slides, photographs, old audio tapes, films, decor, graphics to decide what is worth preserving for the Future of the Archives. We are prepared to provide support to individuals and ICA offices around the world needing assistance. Beret Griffith for the current Historical Records Team Marge Philbrook, Jean Long, Frank Knutson, Christina Wolf and Wendell Refior of the Tech Team for providing technical support Please contact me at beretgriffith(a)gmail.com to let us know if you are interested in working with the Global Archives Team _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Fwd: GMCA 9/14
by David Zahrt via OE 23 Sep '14

23 Sep '14

*SUN SEP 14* *Good Shepherd Montessori School, South Bend to Unitarian Universalist Church, Elkhart, IN* I went to breakfast and had my yogurt and granola—I miss my own home-made, sun-dried granola. One of the things the March has added to my diet is almonds. There is almond milk at breakfast, and almond butter for lunch sandwiches. Somewhere I remember hearing/reading that almonds are good for you HDLs. I don’t know what my HDL is now but I remember the last test I had showed it as 35: that’s marginal. I usually have 2 checkups a year. I had one in February. I’ll have one when I get back to Carson. Circle-up was scheduled for 7:15am. It still hadn’t happened by 7:45am so I left on my bike. I found the March route more complicated then necessary and took Jefferson Blvd east until I reached Elkhart. Then I stopped and inquired at a MacDonald's about the best route to the church. The church was graciously hospitable. I arrived just after the morning service had been completed. They offered me coffee or tea. A small group gathered to go out for lunch. They invited me to go with them. I thanked them and declined indicating I'd packed my lunch. In the afternoon the pastor let us use her office and her computer. There were two places inside where we were allowed to stay: the auditorium and the Kids House. I chose the latter. A greet and welcome get-together was scheduled at 4pm. Kat conducted the conversation. There were probably as many local residents as there were Marchers. She had a series of questions and circled around the group encouraging everyone to answer the questions. The closing question was “What can you do to help turn the Climate Crisis around?”. There were a lot of interesting answers. At 6pm a potluck dinner was served in the kitchen. Most of the dishes were brought in by the local residents. At 8pm we called it an evening. -- Peace, David

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Anyone remember any of these Education Structure Events - or know some new ones?
by steve har via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

Several people in the Imaginal Education Working Group are asking about Educational Structures ICA has had contact with in the past We did a "Find" in the GAP online database and found this data Did you work with any of these educational institutions? Are there any you've worked with that are not on the list? Here is the list displayed in a google spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MIDSOx8sSM53G8zoQr90UP-DZdCwN7icnOy… Can you help us "crowd source" the list and create more complete information? Thanks! -- Steve, a communicator for the Imaginal Education Research Working Group

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Gandhi anecdote
by via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

Mahatma Gandhi A lovely little anecdote, about one of life's more interesting characters. When Mahatma Gandhi was studying law at the University College of London, a white professor, whose last name was Peters, disliked him intensely and always displayed prejudice and animosity towards him. Also, because Gandhi never lowered his head when addressing him as he expected, there were always "arguments" and confrontations. One day, Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University, and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to the professor. The professor said, "Mr Gandhi, you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat." Gandhi looked at him as a parent would a rude child and calmly replied, "You do not worry professor. I'll fly away," and he went and sat at another table. Mr. Peters, reddened with rage, decided to take revenge on the next test paper, but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions. Mr. Peters, unhappy and frustrated, asked him the following question. "Mr Gandhi, if you were walking down the street and found a package, and within was a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money, which one would you take?" Without hesitating, Gandhi responded, "The one with the money, of course." Mr. Peters, smiling sarcastically said, "I, in your place, would have taken the wisdom." Gandhi shrugged indifferently and responded, "Each one takes what he doesn't have." Mr. Peters, by this time was fit to be tied. So great was his anger that he wrote on Gandhi's exam sheet the word "idiot" and gave it to Gandhi. Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down at his desk, trying very hard to remain calm while he contemplated his next move. A few minutes later, Gandhi got up, went to the professor and said to him in a dignified but sarcastically polite tone, "Mr. Peters, you autographed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade."

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Jaime for the 29th in ST
by via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

The power of Babel At the neighborhood bar where I hang out on weekends to beavailable to those who wish to practice their englisCHe, I often ran into foreign students who come to improvetheir Chinese and imbibe on the "cocktail" ambience. I engage them in conversation hoping toconvince them to reciprocate to their counterparts by enticing them to practicetheir English, too. I met a couple of Jamaicans. One grew up in Nigeria. His father was from Cameroon. They were happyto meet someone who knew where the Blue Mountains were, and conversant of the differencebetween Yoruba and Hausa. Last week, I recognized an Indo-Aryan from the Indus Valley,so I asked where he was from. Sureenough, his Mom is Indian and his Dad, Pakistani. "But I had only been to India once,never to Pakistan,' he claimed. "Iwas born in Nigeria near Abuja and grew up in Zimbabwe's Harare," he added. I went beyond my hour-long normal stayin the bar conversing with the dude about South Asians scattered around the worldby the British Empire! All were the foreigners were multilingual. John McWhorter wrote The Power of Babel on languages, which I have yet to read (a copy sitsin SF for me), but I do have a copy of David Crystal's Encyclopedia of Language, 3rd Edition. I keep an eye on language as a cross-culturetool. McWhorter claims there are more than 6,000 living languagesspoken across the planet, and Crystal lists 1,000 of them (of those spoken bymore than 100,000). I am not versedenough on the main thrust of linguistics to line up one side or the other onMIT Noam Chomsky’s notion that "we possess a neural mechanism calibratedto produce basic sentences" but the Fula language of Africa recognizes 16genders and a tongue in Australia has only 3 verbs, so languages do not developout towards rational evolutionary lines. It is, nevertheless, comforting to know that 95 percent of the worldspeak one of the top-20 of the 6,000-some planetary gab. Our concern is a bit more mundane. Or, more poetic if we recall Juliet saying toRomeo from Shakespeare's pen: "What'sin a name? That which we call a rose by any other name wouldsmell as sweet." That oft-quotedline is now contradicted by research that shows humans do have apreference on letters and phonemes, preferring that which is closest to theirname, or, as in the case of the Sino cultures, that which sounds like somethingdesirable like "happiness" and "long life. The Biblical tower of Babel (babel, Hebrew verb "to confuse") downsized humanity'sarrogance in building itself a stairway to heaven. Providence saw it wise to confuse unilingualhumanity into a multi-linguistic cacophony. McWhorter turns the classic condemnation of Babel as a symbol of human pride into a celebration of humanity'slife force. Worldwide language developedin many directions. McWhorter usesCreoles as markers. (Louisiana's creole,to me, subjugated French out of its flower-scented Frenchy-ness in its culturalimperialism over its colony!) France suggests that instead of calling ISIL the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, wecould use the Arabic al-Dawla al-Islamiyaal-Iraq al-Sham in its loose acronym, Daesh! Acronymsare rare in the Arabic world with the exception of Palestine's Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawamah al-'iSlamiyya),but Da'esh is commonly used byanti-IS forces loyal to Syria's al-Assad to counter rebels and eliminate referenceto the words Islamic and State, inculcate defiance and disrespectthrough the negative undertones of Arabic words (daes, one who crushes something underfoot, or, dahes, one who sows discord). We know what happens to dreaded names in the long run. They get domesticated and appropriated so that"Niggah" on the Westside of Chicago is now an address of endearmentrather than the pejorative it was originally coined to be. Da'esh Iam sure will find the same fate, in the same way as the f-word and sh*t are now tamed for home consumption. Still, words cut deeper than bullets, and there might bewisdom in staying at the level of rhetorical confrontations rather than revvingup those tanks straight from Moscow to Crimea via Kiev, a practice Ukraine wasfamiliar with in the days of Khrushchev, now recklessly bandied about byVladimir when he feels folksy! It was a long way from the tower of Babylon to the power ofBabel and though we might have finally learned our lesson on the strength of powwow,it may have come too late. We are nowtold that the isotopes out of Fukushima reactor deliberately made isodopes outof all of us. The radioactivity is moretoxic than reported, dude, so be prepared to radically evolve! Mr. Obama was one out of three who voted against the IraqWar in the US Congress, but is now gung-ho to wipe out the IS not only in Iraqbut also in Syria without al-Assad's permission. At least, that's true at the talk level. So, let's just keep talking a bitlonger. That way, the "power"of Babel does not get confused with the "powder". Cute, neh?

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Jaime for Friday in ST, September 26
by via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

China's comeback kids China faces a spirit issue. It's goals since 1978 when Deng Xiaoping left ideology for a guided freemarket economy, clearly accepting that some folks will get rich before others, hasbeen attained. In just over 30 years, advancesin science and technology fueled industrialization, along with a judicious nursingof its military might, leaving China on top of the development heap while gropingfor its soul. Development in the global race is on to increase GDP percapita at a pace to fuel a consumption-production system at the expense of natureand people. This purely economicdefinition is doing much harm to the world's natural systems and the ever-continuingcreation of a democratic rather than a consumer culture. China's soul hit a vacuum groping for rolemodels. Today, the comeback candidates are Christ, Mao, and theBuddha. The Chinese who sees comfort in the Christ has the undergroundhouse churches that attract devotion because they defy authority, anunderstandable reaction. Pastor poundedpulpits trained to wear evangelical enthusiasm up their sleeves are zealously tiedto the emotional allure of a cultic "savior" that takes away the "sinsof the world" through communal fellowship that gathers adherents warmheartedly. The communal comfort in Christianity fits into the Confucianethos of family and the ethics that comes along. Its metaphors and belief-nets remain in the regallanguage of a redeemer under a defunct three-story universe, a "belief"in a heaven in the sky, and a penal colony under; it appeals to the elderly'ssuperstition but the secular and scientific young, at best, say,"huh?" Mao is a tolerated Uncle whose centralized dictates belongto, by his own measure, the 30 percent of his mistakes, but his dialectics alignswith the 70 percent that was right. It definedthe conflict then prevailing between elite and worker, urban and rural, learnedand the hoi polloi, though hardlyfits in the current harmonizing and collaborative thrust of the "reformand opening up" era. The contradiction metaphor got the Chinese mind around thereality of differing perspectives, and Mao would have been regarded an undisputedstatesman had he allowed his "a thousand flowers bloom" evolve into vive le difference rather than thedivisive and humiliating confrontational deterioration of the CulturalRevolution. Ironically, Mao represents recognition of the virtue ofindividual genius before it is straight jacketed into the commune. The assertive selfhood he exhibited is dubbedas a personality cult by the west, gobbled up by prejudiced contra Sino, butrevered from a distance as his name is invoked, though without bothering withthe details. The halls of academia quicklydiscard the mention of his name. Which brings us to the Buddha. If Jesus belongs to the Ptolemaic cosmologyof pre-Nikolaj Kopernik, and Mao brought down the elitist pretensions of the illuminati of academy into realisticlevels, ushered into Sino-consciousness Marx's dialectic and socialism withChinese characteristics, its contradiction understood from a deeply communalview and cooperative perspective before it is the social conflict to resolvelayered social stratification, the saffron Buddha saunters with a Mona Lisaenigmatic smile. Buddhists skew Christiantheistic escapism and Mao's dichotomy between decadent and progressive forces,favors a psychology of a mind-full self. Buddhists meditate not to escape from any situation, or thechallenges of any given location, but to engage in the depths of the bottomlessabyss of understanding one's consciousness. This lends itself to the Sino orientationof rootedness in space rather than the Euro-journey in time. The Buddhists, however, tend to be abstract intheir mindfulness against the practical activism that is a demand of cognition. Pope Francis willingness to dialogue with China's officiallysanctioned Christian Church might be at the root of the recent pronouncementthat Beijing will not shy away from creating its own Christianity with its own "Chinesecharacteristics", similar to its socialist economics and communal politicsof reform and opening up. Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius) is not being dismissed. His ethos will be around awhile but making a comebackkid out of Jesus, Mao Zedong, or the Buddha is a backward step as eachtradition inadequately encompasses China's broiling spiritual hunger. Since 1968, we minded exploited and battered mother earth, cognizantof her gracious support of the human specie. We segued into a secular spirituality without the hocus-pocus of theismthough not a surrendered devotion to "all there is". It was rather a decision to be free, to makechoices, and own up to one's decisions. Wetook to the ancient art of mindfulness and plumbed the depths of engagement inhuman affairs, like the recent Peoples Climate Change March, allowing motherearth's wellbeing a fighting chance. In the care of Mother Earth will China finds its soul. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Jaime for ST September 24
by via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

Truth and Lying My brother once referred to one of my columns on our motheras a "pack of lies". We werenot at the time in the best of terms so I dismissed his comments as expressinghidden hostilities until another brother essentially said the same thing. Conversantwith the wisdom of the Brad Blanton's RadicalHonesty that sees all humans trained to lie, or, the popular spiritedatheist Sam Harris' write-up on Lying,that came as a wake-up call on the level of knowledge I thought I was verycareful about in my writings. I tried to understand the import of words I used. "Lies" in my vocab results fromattempts to deceive but there I do use metaphors. Perhaps, I just use too much of it! Not a conscious liar nor deceiver, I am, however,clear that my brothers have seen something that I don't. (Would be helpful if they go into details!) An additional possible view is that my brothers do not see "truth"from what might be fuzzy facts of metaphors, analogies and similes. In the spectrum of knowledge, I classify fourtypes of knowing (like all typology, this serves the mind more than clarity onknowledge): the indicative (fact), subjunctive (sentiment), cognitive(discursive), and imperative (deed). Theadage "Truth is in the pudding" reflects the understanding that it isthe deed that is the done deal. The worldwide network of the Institute of Cultural uses theO.R.I.D. formula in imaginal education. In their technology of participation, the letters stand for:O=objective, R=reflective, I=interpretive, and D=decisional. There is nothing esoteric about this scheme, followingstimuli that the brainstem receives as sense experience is registered, withemotional expressions processed in the middle brain, cognitive functions on theouter brain, and the whole cranium along with the heart, bile, kidney, stomach,liver and gut colloquially determining the course of action. Science introduced quantifiable terms at the objectivelevel, measureable within a spectrum. Collegesare organized according to disciplines to determine specific fields ofknowledge. The widely used metaphor isthat of sight: tell me what you see, draw me a picture. The sense experiences of touch (skin), sound(ear), smell (nose), and taste (mouth) are the other proper subjects ofscience. Dominant biology and ecology aresensual, cuisine is a universally popular folk art, scents are on the firstfloor of department stores. Internal responses are of two kinds: the emotional andintellectual. They are not verifiablebut can be shared. For sure, one can usesuch terms as real or authentic, but those are judgments of the onlooker. "I know how you feel" is empathy,not accurate sense knowledge. Psychologyis our science on interpersonal and human relations, with the other side of thecoin sociology, the development, structure, and functioning of society. Symbol, picture, image, and emblem used in simile, allegory,idiom and parable express emotions. Intensity of passion measures the quality of response. Looking at how others respond, identifyingsimilarities and contrasts, likeness and dissonance, parallels andcontradictions and discussing the same with others in words, numbers andgestures, constitute the activity of comparing and arriving at social significanceand meaning. When EU used "sanctions as strategy" to pressureRussia, a means at a negotiating advantage, Russia came back to suggest that itwill take first strike a Russian option, including the nuclear one. I amhopeful the rhetoric stays at the level of verbal threat without proceeding tothe scary level of behavior. George II Bush sent troops to Iraq on the notion that preemptivemilitary offense is the best defense of national security post-911. Obama sets his cross sights on the renegadeIslamic State and, not surprisingly, receives the same criticism he levelsagainst Russia of violating sovereign integrity sans consent of the sitting executive when he leers at Syria! Ethics point to behavior where consensus is possible. Two service providers for the autism communityhave one saying, "vaccines saved a lot of lives" and the other,"vaccines can cause inflammation of the brain." I see them both as being defensiblytruthful. Consensus is not in facts,psychological affirmations, and sociological verities, though sharing can leadto it. It is in conduct that consensusis possible. The question is not whether we sense, feel, or think similarly;the issue is whether we are headed in the same direction, behave in tandem. If a question asks for a "yes", or"no" answer, it is a question of what to do and how to act, ratherthan an agreement on feelings and meanings. My brothers and I might differ, and may not see similar truths from thesame metaphors but it does not mean anyone is lying! I often want to scream at friends who empathetically say,"I understand", when they possibly couldn't, but folks do expressdifferent perspectives and views, and for that, I am grateful.

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GARA Imaginal Education Research Working Group Announcement
by steve har via OE 22 Sep '14

22 Sep '14

The Imaginal Education working group communicators have just sent out a start-up document with our 1st research focus. You can still register and join the the Imaginal Education Research Working Group. Please Ask ----GARA Imaginal Education Working Group Agenda--- MONDAY Sep 22 we will focus on the project work of a master educator TUESDAY Sep 23 we will Broadcast live on YouTube a conversation about the collaborative learning environment created in ICA-USA's ABCD Share-Fair Project (The expected LIVE BROADCAST TIME IS TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23 AT 1PM CDT USA (1300 hours Chicago - we will post an announcement) Through out the week we will be sharing "Research Postcards" of Imaginal Education related work at the Imaginal Eduction http://wedgeblade.net/wordpress/imaginaleducation/blog/ ICA Research G+ Page https://www.youtube.com/user/icaresearchaccess/feed -- Steve Harrington

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