Monday, August 22, 2005
Harvest Time!
Yes, it's that time of the year again: Harvest Time! There are many symbolic and spiritual ways of explaining how and why this time of the year is so full of abundant activity for so many of us. For me though, as usual, the Wheel of the Year provides an excellent narrative of the comings and goings of the seasons.
At the Summer Solstice, a.k.a. Midsummer, a.k.a Litha, the sun reached the peak of its yearly cycle. On the longest day of the year, the sun shone brightly on our lives and our most important life projects, giving them that last bit of light that they needed to come to fruition.
Now, the Harvest has begun. At Lughnasadh, a.k.a. Lammas, the fruits of our labor have ripened and are ready to harvest. This is the first of three harvests, and the bulk of the crop is still yet to come. But especially for those of us living in university towns, the sudden influx of a new and returning crop of students fills our lives with the abundant energy of the harvest.
In my own life, one of the biggest manifestations of the new harvest has been my move to a new home. On August 1, I moved into a two-bedroom house with an acquaintence who I knew from the Student Environmental Center and other community organizations. This time in my life has been so hectic that at times I thought I couldn't bear it! Moving, unpacking, working extra hours, and trying in vain to work on other aspects of my life often left me exhausted and exasperated.
But now, especially after a wonderful housewarming party attended by over a dozen friends and loved ones, I feel like I've completed the first harvest and am gearing up for the second. This year's first harvest was a time for taking all of the personal process work I've done over the past months and creating a new foundation for my life -- not just a new location, but also a new grounding in this life that is free of some of the illusions and sufferings of the past. I'm reminded of a blog entry I made long ago about the Six Millions Dollar Treesong! Better, stronger, faster... and to throw in a bit of Superman here... able to release pernicious attachments in a single bound!
So, that was the first harvest. Now, the second harvest will involve more of my professional and public life -- my website, my writing, my public speaking, my community involvement.
The biggest news of the day for treesong.org is that the website will be undergoing a major overhaul! I haven't worked out all of the details yet, but I've decided to use freeware "content management software" for most if not all aspects of treesong.org in the very near future. It's been fun tinkering with my own unique PHP code, but this software will enable me to do much more updating more quickly using web-based interfaces rather than direct editing of any code. I'll probably still tinker with the code of these new softwares, and I'll definitely still tinker with the styles to create a new incarnation of treesong.org's unique look and feel. However, this major update will allow this site to do more of what it's already doing in a more tidy and current manner.
And guess what? The future treesong.org will be more interactive, meaning that YOU will have more ability to respond to the content here and even generate your own!
Needless to say, I've got a lot of work to do. And that's just the web-related stuff! The bulk of my "second harvest work" isn't related to my website at all. It's related to my shifting relationship with my work life at the Co-op, my career as an author, and my involvement in the community. Stayed tuned for more news as it develops -- and don't be surprised if you see a whole new layout here soon!
2 comments
At the Summer Solstice, a.k.a. Midsummer, a.k.a Litha, the sun reached the peak of its yearly cycle. On the longest day of the year, the sun shone brightly on our lives and our most important life projects, giving them that last bit of light that they needed to come to fruition.
Now, the Harvest has begun. At Lughnasadh, a.k.a. Lammas, the fruits of our labor have ripened and are ready to harvest. This is the first of three harvests, and the bulk of the crop is still yet to come. But especially for those of us living in university towns, the sudden influx of a new and returning crop of students fills our lives with the abundant energy of the harvest.
In my own life, one of the biggest manifestations of the new harvest has been my move to a new home. On August 1, I moved into a two-bedroom house with an acquaintence who I knew from the Student Environmental Center and other community organizations. This time in my life has been so hectic that at times I thought I couldn't bear it! Moving, unpacking, working extra hours, and trying in vain to work on other aspects of my life often left me exhausted and exasperated.
But now, especially after a wonderful housewarming party attended by over a dozen friends and loved ones, I feel like I've completed the first harvest and am gearing up for the second. This year's first harvest was a time for taking all of the personal process work I've done over the past months and creating a new foundation for my life -- not just a new location, but also a new grounding in this life that is free of some of the illusions and sufferings of the past. I'm reminded of a blog entry I made long ago about the Six Millions Dollar Treesong! Better, stronger, faster... and to throw in a bit of Superman here... able to release pernicious attachments in a single bound!
So, that was the first harvest. Now, the second harvest will involve more of my professional and public life -- my website, my writing, my public speaking, my community involvement.
The biggest news of the day for treesong.org is that the website will be undergoing a major overhaul! I haven't worked out all of the details yet, but I've decided to use freeware "content management software" for most if not all aspects of treesong.org in the very near future. It's been fun tinkering with my own unique PHP code, but this software will enable me to do much more updating more quickly using web-based interfaces rather than direct editing of any code. I'll probably still tinker with the code of these new softwares, and I'll definitely still tinker with the styles to create a new incarnation of treesong.org's unique look and feel. However, this major update will allow this site to do more of what it's already doing in a more tidy and current manner.
And guess what? The future treesong.org will be more interactive, meaning that YOU will have more ability to respond to the content here and even generate your own!
Needless to say, I've got a lot of work to do. And that's just the web-related stuff! The bulk of my "second harvest work" isn't related to my website at all. It's related to my shifting relationship with my work life at the Co-op, my career as an author, and my involvement in the community. Stayed tuned for more news as it develops -- and don't be surprised if you see a whole new layout here soon!
2 comments
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Gettin' Wikid!
As you may have already noticed, I've started playing around with the development of several new wikis on several of the sites that I run. What is a wiki, you ask? Basically, it's a website that can be easily edited by many people collectively. For more information, visit the Wikipedia article on the subject.
Here are the wikis that I'm currently working on:
1. Revolution of One. The Revolution of One now has its own domain name and website! My book is of course still my own personal creative project, but this site is a public resource that will be co-edited by all people interested in the Revolution of One.
2. The Ultima Society. This is a new online [and possibly offline] community that I am trying to create for Ultima enthusiasts. The site itself describes every aspect of Ultima.
3. Living Tapestry Tradition. This is the spiritual tradition that my Coven belongs to.
Once I've had some more practice with these, I plan on converting at least part of treesong.org into some type of wiki format. That way, you, the guest of treesong.org, will be able to contribute new information about your favorite topics here.
There's plenty of other news in my life too -- the upcoming move back to Oak Street, the Co-op's planned move, etc. But I will talk about those later, when it's not a few minutes until opening time at the Co-op... :)
0 comments
Here are the wikis that I'm currently working on:
1. Revolution of One. The Revolution of One now has its own domain name and website! My book is of course still my own personal creative project, but this site is a public resource that will be co-edited by all people interested in the Revolution of One.
2. The Ultima Society. This is a new online [and possibly offline] community that I am trying to create for Ultima enthusiasts. The site itself describes every aspect of Ultima.
3. Living Tapestry Tradition. This is the spiritual tradition that my Coven belongs to.
Once I've had some more practice with these, I plan on converting at least part of treesong.org into some type of wiki format. That way, you, the guest of treesong.org, will be able to contribute new information about your favorite topics here.
There's plenty of other news in my life too -- the upcoming move back to Oak Street, the Co-op's planned move, etc. But I will talk about those later, when it's not a few minutes until opening time at the Co-op... :)
0 comments
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Personal News; Zapatista News
I've actually got a lot going on in my life right now:
* I'm moving to a new house on or near August 1;
* the Co-op is moving in January;
* I'm getting settled into a new computer;
* I'm trying to stretch/strengthen my lower back;
* I'm responding to the news of a B12 deficiency;
* I'm gradually transferring UltimaSociety.org, my new revolutionofone.info, and possibly part or all of treesong.org to Wiki format;
* AND, as usual, I'm trying to figure out a whole host of situations and challenges both personal and political, some of which I can't get into right now .
So... yeah. Even though it doesn't seem like it sometimes on a day-to-day level, this is a very busy time in my life! But rather than get into all of that any further, I'd like to share with you some very important Zapatista news.
The Zapatistas have released their latest important communication:
SEXTA DECLARACIÓN DE LA SELVA LACANDONA [Español]
Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona [English]
It's a long document, divided into three long web pages, but it's well worth the read. Even if you don't know much about the Zapatistas, this is a good read, because it's written in direct language and offers quite a bit of explanation to those who are unfamiliar with the struggle.
Later, I may try to formulate a more eloquent response to the Sixth Declaration. But in the meantime, I'm starting to fall asleep at the keyboard... :) So let me just express my solidarity with the Zapatistas and the international struggle for democracy, liberty, justice, etc. that they embody. Once again, their revolutionary efforts are a gift both to the people of Mexico and the people of the world...
If you have any responses, please feel free to contact me. And if you want more info on the Zapatistas, you can find plenty on the Internet and in a few key books and other publications. And if you want to know how all of this relates to Revolution of One, I'll be glad to talk to you about it sometime... :)
0 comments
* I'm moving to a new house on or near August 1;
* the Co-op is moving in January;
* I'm getting settled into a new computer;
* I'm trying to stretch/strengthen my lower back;
* I'm responding to the news of a B12 deficiency;
* I'm gradually transferring UltimaSociety.org, my new revolutionofone.info, and possibly part or all of treesong.org to Wiki format;
* AND, as usual, I'm trying to figure out a whole host of situations and challenges both personal and political, some of which I can't get into right now .
So... yeah. Even though it doesn't seem like it sometimes on a day-to-day level, this is a very busy time in my life! But rather than get into all of that any further, I'd like to share with you some very important Zapatista news.
The Zapatistas have released their latest important communication:
SEXTA DECLARACIÓN DE LA SELVA LACANDONA [Español]
Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona [English]
It's a long document, divided into three long web pages, but it's well worth the read. Even if you don't know much about the Zapatistas, this is a good read, because it's written in direct language and offers quite a bit of explanation to those who are unfamiliar with the struggle.
Later, I may try to formulate a more eloquent response to the Sixth Declaration. But in the meantime, I'm starting to fall asleep at the keyboard... :) So let me just express my solidarity with the Zapatistas and the international struggle for democracy, liberty, justice, etc. that they embody. Once again, their revolutionary efforts are a gift both to the people of Mexico and the people of the world...
If you have any responses, please feel free to contact me. And if you want more info on the Zapatistas, you can find plenty on the Internet and in a few key books and other publications. And if you want to know how all of this relates to Revolution of One, I'll be glad to talk to you about it sometime... :)
0 comments
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Revolution of One in Southern Indiana
On June 10 through 14, I spent five days enjoying the great outdoors and fomenting revolution in Southern Indiana. I would like to share with you a few highlights of my time there, taken from a mix of email sent to loved ones and more recent reflections as I write this entry.
It was such a good weekend with so much to talk about that I hardly know where to begin!
My friend Hope picked me up on Friday afternoon, and we headed out to Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary. It was really good to spend some quality time with such a good friend! Somewhere between the workshops, the travelling, activities at Lothlorien, and so on, we managed to have some good conversations and catch up on how life's been going for both of us. I enjoyed getting to see the campsite and the tipi that Hope is living at/in for the summer, and I slept in a geodesic dome across from her tipi for the entire stay at Lothlorien. I also enjoyed seeing her three year old son Phoenix again! He was quite a handful sometimes after spending a few days in town without his mother and his usual boundaries. But it was worth every bit of whining and fussing to catch another glimpse of this little boy slowly growing into a big boy. Before you know it, he'll be more mature than most adults!
The first workshop on this stop of the Tour was hosted by Boxcar Books in Bloomington, IN. It was a wonderful experience! It started out in a funny way though. When I first walked into the store, the person behind the counter didn't know that there was an event that night! We couldn't get in touch with my contact at Boxcar who had booked the event for me, but luckily it was on their events calendar, and a copy of my flyer was on the door. So, one of their workers set up some chairs and we got started with the workshop. There were only half a dozen people, but we had a very positive and creative discussion together, so that was more important to me than a large turnout. [It's all about quality, not quantity, eh?] I sold and authographed a couple of books, and I also spoke one on one with one of the participants for a while before saying goodbye.
Then, the second workshop of the weekend was hosted at Lothlorien. For some reason, the group discussion didn't seem to come together as personally and smoothly as it did at Boxcar, which is almost the opposite of what I was expecting. But we did have some good discussion, and I feel like I made a few excellent connections with people who share in these sorts of visions for revolutionary transformation.
Then, there was Lothlorien's Council meeting. Once a month, the Council [similar to a Board of Directors] meets to talk about all of the details of keeping Lothlorien in operation. Since I'm not involved in any of their projects and have only been there at all on a handful of occassions, this was mostly just a quiet time for me to eat some snack food and contemplate the nature of group dynamics. But they did cover some important ground, including the reports from their famous annual Elf Fest and a discussion of extra funding for completing the building of the "Thunderdome." I'm very excited by the prospect of watching this construction project come to completion after several years in development. I was also happy to participate in their volunteer work day [Earth Stewardship Weekend] by spending a few hours scrubbing and prepping metal hubs that will be used in the Thunderdome.
Then, there was my trip to Bloomingfoods, the food co-op in Bloomington. All that I can say is cool beans! I guess I'm becoming a "co-op geek," because it's fun and exciting for me to visit other co-ops [or even other grocery stores] and look at how they operate. It gave me a lot of food for thought [ha, ha] for the coming move to a new location that our own Co-op here in Carbondale is about to pursue.
Finally, one of the biggest things of all on this trip was the opportunity to spend time in the woods. My friend Hope and I didn't end up going for any of our planned hikes into "Faerie" -- a place that is the majestic magical majority of the Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary, where the land is left wild in the hands of the Fae without any campsites or structures. But even without a trip into Faerie, it was wonderful to be outdoors. Just spending four or five days at our campsite, sleeping closer to the Earth, walking along the paths in Lothlorien, talking with friends about "real stuff" like our connection to each other and the Earth, staying up late on the last night to stand by the campfire experiencing in the wind and the rain in the trees, and so on, was a wonderful experience. Some day, I intend to live in a community where this sort of experience is an everyday occurence. But in the meantime, it was good to spend a few days catching a tiny peek of what awaits me.
So, there you have it! The only real down side to the entire trip was having to leave behind the workshops, the unstructured time, the forest experiences, and the quality time with my friend Hope in order to return to "The Big City" of Carbondale, Illinois. It's as though I'm back in the Matrix now -- and I worry sometimes that I'll never find my way out. But, I'm growing much more emotionally balanced in my old age, and I don't swing as easily into despair as I used to. After the initial shock of the transition wore off, I returned to my center and found the peace that I'm experiencing more and more of these days. I'm genuinely happy to return to some of the people and projects that surround me in the here and now. And as I think about what wonderful prospects await me in the coming days, my heart is mostly filled with a very positive warm-and-fuzzy feeling rather than the angst and despair that used to overwhelm me whenever something that I desired wasn't possible right away.
Speaking of those prospects, there is a great deal on the horizon!
First of all, I would like to keep on keepin' on with this Revolution of One Tour. I still have my goal of making it to Urbana, St. Louis, and Chicago for more Revolution of One events. Also, I intend to organize further Revolution of One events in Carbondale, including one at the second annual Heartland Bioneers conference. Finally, I would like to continue the development of the Revolution of One's online presence, through continued sales to distributors such as Nature's First Law and renovation of my Lulu Storefront and Revolution of One site and forums. You can look forward to new versions of my Revolution of One packet and new revolutionary information on both of these sites soon!
Beyond the Revolution of One project, I'm also working on other writing projects. The first and foremost of these is my first novel, Gaia's Orphans, due to be released in Fall 2005. This work of speculative fiction follows the journey of one man through the heart of the post-apocalyptic Chicagoland area, making his way through hoardes of undead creatures in search of the answers that will spark the rebirth of humanity -- or lead to its final destruction. Stay tuned to this website and my Lulu Storefront for more news as it develops. Also, I'm considering publishing a series of essays for free or cheap download. I have a few topics in mind, but if there are any subjects that you're just dying to hear from me about, then feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do. Even if I don't write an essay about it, you'll almost certainly get a response from me, and you may end up inspiring my next blog entry!
Finally, in addition to all of my writing, I do have a life away from this blessed radiation-spewing computer! There will be big news this harvest season as I move to a new house on the other side of town, prepare for the big move at the Neighborhood Co-op, continue my participation in the Big Muddy IMC, and look forward to the next steps in a certain Project X that I've mentioned before on my website and probably in this blog. Yes, there's a lot going on right now... not the least of which is doing some "summer cleaning" to prepare for this move to a new house... :) I've been meaning to go through those old papers anyway...
So now, just a few days after a lovely Solstice, it's time for me to start harvesting what has been growing in my life since the harvests of last year. Wish me luck, and may you find the same in your own journey...
0 comments
It was such a good weekend with so much to talk about that I hardly know where to begin!
My friend Hope picked me up on Friday afternoon, and we headed out to Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary. It was really good to spend some quality time with such a good friend! Somewhere between the workshops, the travelling, activities at Lothlorien, and so on, we managed to have some good conversations and catch up on how life's been going for both of us. I enjoyed getting to see the campsite and the tipi that Hope is living at/in for the summer, and I slept in a geodesic dome across from her tipi for the entire stay at Lothlorien. I also enjoyed seeing her three year old son Phoenix again! He was quite a handful sometimes after spending a few days in town without his mother and his usual boundaries. But it was worth every bit of whining and fussing to catch another glimpse of this little boy slowly growing into a big boy. Before you know it, he'll be more mature than most adults!
The first workshop on this stop of the Tour was hosted by Boxcar Books in Bloomington, IN. It was a wonderful experience! It started out in a funny way though. When I first walked into the store, the person behind the counter didn't know that there was an event that night! We couldn't get in touch with my contact at Boxcar who had booked the event for me, but luckily it was on their events calendar, and a copy of my flyer was on the door. So, one of their workers set up some chairs and we got started with the workshop. There were only half a dozen people, but we had a very positive and creative discussion together, so that was more important to me than a large turnout. [It's all about quality, not quantity, eh?] I sold and authographed a couple of books, and I also spoke one on one with one of the participants for a while before saying goodbye.
Then, the second workshop of the weekend was hosted at Lothlorien. For some reason, the group discussion didn't seem to come together as personally and smoothly as it did at Boxcar, which is almost the opposite of what I was expecting. But we did have some good discussion, and I feel like I made a few excellent connections with people who share in these sorts of visions for revolutionary transformation.
Then, there was Lothlorien's Council meeting. Once a month, the Council [similar to a Board of Directors] meets to talk about all of the details of keeping Lothlorien in operation. Since I'm not involved in any of their projects and have only been there at all on a handful of occassions, this was mostly just a quiet time for me to eat some snack food and contemplate the nature of group dynamics. But they did cover some important ground, including the reports from their famous annual Elf Fest and a discussion of extra funding for completing the building of the "Thunderdome." I'm very excited by the prospect of watching this construction project come to completion after several years in development. I was also happy to participate in their volunteer work day [Earth Stewardship Weekend] by spending a few hours scrubbing and prepping metal hubs that will be used in the Thunderdome.
Then, there was my trip to Bloomingfoods, the food co-op in Bloomington. All that I can say is cool beans! I guess I'm becoming a "co-op geek," because it's fun and exciting for me to visit other co-ops [or even other grocery stores] and look at how they operate. It gave me a lot of food for thought [ha, ha] for the coming move to a new location that our own Co-op here in Carbondale is about to pursue.
Finally, one of the biggest things of all on this trip was the opportunity to spend time in the woods. My friend Hope and I didn't end up going for any of our planned hikes into "Faerie" -- a place that is the majestic magical majority of the Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary, where the land is left wild in the hands of the Fae without any campsites or structures. But even without a trip into Faerie, it was wonderful to be outdoors. Just spending four or five days at our campsite, sleeping closer to the Earth, walking along the paths in Lothlorien, talking with friends about "real stuff" like our connection to each other and the Earth, staying up late on the last night to stand by the campfire experiencing in the wind and the rain in the trees, and so on, was a wonderful experience. Some day, I intend to live in a community where this sort of experience is an everyday occurence. But in the meantime, it was good to spend a few days catching a tiny peek of what awaits me.
So, there you have it! The only real down side to the entire trip was having to leave behind the workshops, the unstructured time, the forest experiences, and the quality time with my friend Hope in order to return to "The Big City" of Carbondale, Illinois. It's as though I'm back in the Matrix now -- and I worry sometimes that I'll never find my way out. But, I'm growing much more emotionally balanced in my old age, and I don't swing as easily into despair as I used to. After the initial shock of the transition wore off, I returned to my center and found the peace that I'm experiencing more and more of these days. I'm genuinely happy to return to some of the people and projects that surround me in the here and now. And as I think about what wonderful prospects await me in the coming days, my heart is mostly filled with a very positive warm-and-fuzzy feeling rather than the angst and despair that used to overwhelm me whenever something that I desired wasn't possible right away.
Speaking of those prospects, there is a great deal on the horizon!
First of all, I would like to keep on keepin' on with this Revolution of One Tour. I still have my goal of making it to Urbana, St. Louis, and Chicago for more Revolution of One events. Also, I intend to organize further Revolution of One events in Carbondale, including one at the second annual Heartland Bioneers conference. Finally, I would like to continue the development of the Revolution of One's online presence, through continued sales to distributors such as Nature's First Law and renovation of my Lulu Storefront and Revolution of One site and forums. You can look forward to new versions of my Revolution of One packet and new revolutionary information on both of these sites soon!
Beyond the Revolution of One project, I'm also working on other writing projects. The first and foremost of these is my first novel, Gaia's Orphans, due to be released in Fall 2005. This work of speculative fiction follows the journey of one man through the heart of the post-apocalyptic Chicagoland area, making his way through hoardes of undead creatures in search of the answers that will spark the rebirth of humanity -- or lead to its final destruction. Stay tuned to this website and my Lulu Storefront for more news as it develops. Also, I'm considering publishing a series of essays for free or cheap download. I have a few topics in mind, but if there are any subjects that you're just dying to hear from me about, then feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do. Even if I don't write an essay about it, you'll almost certainly get a response from me, and you may end up inspiring my next blog entry!
Finally, in addition to all of my writing, I do have a life away from this blessed radiation-spewing computer! There will be big news this harvest season as I move to a new house on the other side of town, prepare for the big move at the Neighborhood Co-op, continue my participation in the Big Muddy IMC, and look forward to the next steps in a certain Project X that I've mentioned before on my website and probably in this blog. Yes, there's a lot going on right now... not the least of which is doing some "summer cleaning" to prepare for this move to a new house... :) I've been meaning to go through those old papers anyway...
So now, just a few days after a lovely Solstice, it's time for me to start harvesting what has been growing in my life since the harvests of last year. Wish me luck, and may you find the same in your own journey...
0 comments
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Save the Shawnee!!!
As you may or may not know, the Shawnee National Forest holds a very special place in my heart. I usually use this blog to share personal experiences rather than calls to action -- but now is a time for action. Now is the time to act if we want our voices to be heard in deciding the future of the Shawnee. Even if you don't live in Southern Illinois, this is a National Forest, so read on!
Heartwood, a wonderful ecological defense organization, has set up the following website to provide you with a way to take action on what I'm about to talk about:
http://www.heartwood.org/alerts.php?id=34
All forests and other natural areas are precious to me. The Shawnee, though, is the living ecosystem that almost certainly defines the bioregion that I have chosen to call my home. It's the first place where I had a direct and personal encounter with anything even approaching wilderness, and it's the place where I first felt that the Earth was a divine living home rather than a lifeless stage for the unfolding of human dramas. It's the place where I found myself, and a place where I found the strength and inspiration to devote my life to an Earth-centered spiritual path that at times includes service in the defense of the health and integrity of our living ecosystems.
Beyond my personal reverence for this place, the Shawnee is a national -- and international! -- treasure. It's home to many plant and animal species and natural areas that make it a place of historic ecological importance. It stands at a unique social, ecological, and geographical confluence in the Heartland of our wondrous continent. From its lowest wetlands to its highest ridges, the Shawnee is a wonder of the natural world, breathtaking and irreplaceable even in its current state of widespread fragmentation.
And as we speak, the fate of this Forest is in our hands!
The Draft Plan for the Shawnee National Forest and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement have been released for public comment. While some aspects are to be commended, such as the prohibition of all off-road vehicles, the plan still leaves much to be desired. Therefore, I urge you to sign a petition and/or send a letter concerning the future of the Shawnee National Forest.
I know that it can be difficult sorting through bureaucratic jargon, and much of the Draft Plan is encoded in such jargon. However, members of the Student Environmental Center and Southern Sustainability, and more recently Heartwood, have forwarded me a petition and talking points for a letter, both of which were sent their way by long-time active members of the regional environmental community. I've read through as much of the Draft Plan as I could, and their suggestions all sound very reasonable and often very urgent.
Do we really need commercial timber harvests and oil, gas, and mineral leasing on the Shawnee? I don't think so. Should we really reject wilderness designation for the ecologically precious proposed wilderness areas? I don't think so. Can we in good conscience fail to enforce and improve the already existing protections for Lusk Creek and other high quality streams and natural areas in the Shawnee? I don't think so. Yet as the Draft Plan stands, these fates and more would befall the Shawnee.
This is where you come in.
The Shawnee is a National Forest, so anyone in the U.S. can comment on this plan. I know that it can be boring, loathesome, and sometimes intimidating to grovel to public officials and federal organizations for help in protecting our living ecosystems. But in this case, your comments may significantly influence the Forest Service response on these issues, and thus change the course of history for this wonderful forest.
So please, if you take one action to defend the Earth today, take some form of action to help shape the future of the Shawnee National Forest. Write a letter; send in a petiton; tell all of your friends about how they can help to protect this amazing natural landmark. Just do whatever it takes to let the world know that you care. You'll be glad that you did!
Once again, here's the link to the Heartwood page on the subject:
http://www.heartwood.org/alerts.php?id=34
Some day, all of the world may be recognized as our living ecological home, worthy of the utmost respect and protection. Maybe then, all human infrastructure will be informed by the lessons of permaculture and bioregionalism, and people like you and I can take a nap or tend to the garden instead of writing letters and signing petitions. But until that day, it's up to you and I to take whatever actions are necessary to insure that our remaining pockets of wilderness and natural areas don't fall to the ax and axle of our ailing human societies.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for caring!
When you finish THAT letter... the lands and people of Appalachia could still use your help too in the effort to end mountaintop removal mining:
http://appvoices.org/
But then, once you take a look at that, seriously -- go out and enjoy the sunshine... you've been staring at this computer too long... :) Enjoy the sunshine, and I hope to see you at one of the stops on my Revolution of One Tour!
0 comments
Heartwood, a wonderful ecological defense organization, has set up the following website to provide you with a way to take action on what I'm about to talk about:
http://www.heartwood.org/alerts.php?id=34
All forests and other natural areas are precious to me. The Shawnee, though, is the living ecosystem that almost certainly defines the bioregion that I have chosen to call my home. It's the first place where I had a direct and personal encounter with anything even approaching wilderness, and it's the place where I first felt that the Earth was a divine living home rather than a lifeless stage for the unfolding of human dramas. It's the place where I found myself, and a place where I found the strength and inspiration to devote my life to an Earth-centered spiritual path that at times includes service in the defense of the health and integrity of our living ecosystems.
Beyond my personal reverence for this place, the Shawnee is a national -- and international! -- treasure. It's home to many plant and animal species and natural areas that make it a place of historic ecological importance. It stands at a unique social, ecological, and geographical confluence in the Heartland of our wondrous continent. From its lowest wetlands to its highest ridges, the Shawnee is a wonder of the natural world, breathtaking and irreplaceable even in its current state of widespread fragmentation.
And as we speak, the fate of this Forest is in our hands!
The Draft Plan for the Shawnee National Forest and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement have been released for public comment. While some aspects are to be commended, such as the prohibition of all off-road vehicles, the plan still leaves much to be desired. Therefore, I urge you to sign a petition and/or send a letter concerning the future of the Shawnee National Forest.
I know that it can be difficult sorting through bureaucratic jargon, and much of the Draft Plan is encoded in such jargon. However, members of the Student Environmental Center and Southern Sustainability, and more recently Heartwood, have forwarded me a petition and talking points for a letter, both of which were sent their way by long-time active members of the regional environmental community. I've read through as much of the Draft Plan as I could, and their suggestions all sound very reasonable and often very urgent.
Do we really need commercial timber harvests and oil, gas, and mineral leasing on the Shawnee? I don't think so. Should we really reject wilderness designation for the ecologically precious proposed wilderness areas? I don't think so. Can we in good conscience fail to enforce and improve the already existing protections for Lusk Creek and other high quality streams and natural areas in the Shawnee? I don't think so. Yet as the Draft Plan stands, these fates and more would befall the Shawnee.
This is where you come in.
The Shawnee is a National Forest, so anyone in the U.S. can comment on this plan. I know that it can be boring, loathesome, and sometimes intimidating to grovel to public officials and federal organizations for help in protecting our living ecosystems. But in this case, your comments may significantly influence the Forest Service response on these issues, and thus change the course of history for this wonderful forest.
So please, if you take one action to defend the Earth today, take some form of action to help shape the future of the Shawnee National Forest. Write a letter; send in a petiton; tell all of your friends about how they can help to protect this amazing natural landmark. Just do whatever it takes to let the world know that you care. You'll be glad that you did!
Once again, here's the link to the Heartwood page on the subject:
http://www.heartwood.org/alerts.php?id=34
Some day, all of the world may be recognized as our living ecological home, worthy of the utmost respect and protection. Maybe then, all human infrastructure will be informed by the lessons of permaculture and bioregionalism, and people like you and I can take a nap or tend to the garden instead of writing letters and signing petitions. But until that day, it's up to you and I to take whatever actions are necessary to insure that our remaining pockets of wilderness and natural areas don't fall to the ax and axle of our ailing human societies.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for caring!
When you finish THAT letter... the lands and people of Appalachia could still use your help too in the effort to end mountaintop removal mining:
http://appvoices.org/
But then, once you take a look at that, seriously -- go out and enjoy the sunshine... you've been staring at this computer too long... :) Enjoy the sunshine, and I hope to see you at one of the stops on my Revolution of One Tour!
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Monday, March 28, 2005
Revolution of One Tour
I've mentioned this idea before, but now I've made the official announcement. The Revolution of One Tour is coming!
This tour will make several stops throughout Illinois, southern Indiana, southeast Missouri, and possibly other locations in the region. It will offer lectures, workshops, book signings, and other events to share the information and inspiration of the Revolution of One with people throughout "the Heartland." I've been slow to get the planning for this Tour started, in part because the book sales have slowed down to a trickle. But now is not the time for more waiting -- now is the time for action! Now is the time to reach out into the world with my positive ideas and do everything that I can to share my inspiration!
I don't think that the Tour will be fully real to me until I actually hit the road, but I'm already excited. It's been a few years since I've done any extensive travelling, and if I reach most or all of the planned locations in a single multi-stop trip, it'll be the most places that I've visited in a row in any of my travels. I just saw the Motorcycle Diaries, so sometimes I think that it'd be fun and romantic to take this tour on the back of a motorcycle, discovering the communities of the Heartland on a youthful journey of personal growth and revolution. But I don't have a motorcycle, and it'll be quite some time before I can save up for that electric motorcycle and solar panel charger combo I've been dreaming of. So, it looks like Greyhound will be my tour guide for most of this journey.
I feel like this Tour will be the culmination of eight years of physical and spiritual journeying. Over the past eight years, I've travelled to San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Virginia, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont, Amsterdam, Munich, Dachau, Paris, Miami, and beyond, always with some lesson to be learned, some experience to be gained from the journey. I've learned how to be a political activist; I've learned how to be an ecological advocate; I've learned how to be a spiritual healer; I've learned how to reclaim my humanity and recognize the humanity in those around me. In essence, I have been reborn, and I have discovered many bits of information and inspiration along the way that I feel compelled to share with the rest of the world.
Sometimes, I get very dark and disillusioned -- not nearly as much as I used to, but still enough that many people who know me for my inspiration and enthusiasm would be surprised to discover how much the traumas of the world can still shake me. Sometimes, I look around myself, and wonder why I try at all, when there is so much inertia in support of a status quo that destroys the human spirit and lays waste to the entire face of the Earth. But then I remember my moments of insight and transformation on these spiritual journeys, and I remember all of the people I've met along the way, both on the road and here in Carbondale at the heart of all of this journeying. And somehow, even though my outside circumstances haven't changed, something inside of me fills with hope.
Yes, there's a lot of suffering and oppression in the world, and I don't claim to know how we can "fix" it all. But the idea of a Revolution of One sums up so much of what I've learned along the way. Even if we're surrounded by death and destruction, each of us can be that one light on the darkest night of winter, that one seed of peace in the ashes of a thousand wars, that one drop of hope in the desert of the real. And even if we don't understand fully how our actions contribute to the creation of a healed and liberated planet, we just have to trust that as long as we embrace the love and understanding upwelling inside of us, we will all find our way home together.
One light is often met by another, and is seen all the more clearly in the darkest of nights. One seed is often planted among others, and together can be the pioneers in the ecological succession from barren wasteland to fertile climax rainforest. One drop of water in the desert can pool together with others, and the oasis that they nourish can spread across the scorched sands one inch at a time. In this way, each of us as an individual Revolution of One can come together with many others to form a community Revolution of One. Ultimately, the people of each bioregion can stand together in a Revolution of One. When this happens, the world will never be the same -- and it all starts with you, and me, and our neighbors down the street, each making the simple choice that today will be the day when everything starts to change for the better.
So are you pumped yet for the Revolution of One Tour? I know that I am! We're still looking for confirmed bookings in Bloomington, Indiana; Carbondale, Illinois; Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary [Needmore, Indiana]; St. Louis, Missouri; and anywhere else that is longing for an earth conscious revolution of the heart. If you live in one of these communities, or any other in our general region, and you would like to help bring the Revolution of One Tour to your town, then please contact me. Otherwise, stay tuned to this site for more information, and I look forward to seeing you soon!
0 comments
This tour will make several stops throughout Illinois, southern Indiana, southeast Missouri, and possibly other locations in the region. It will offer lectures, workshops, book signings, and other events to share the information and inspiration of the Revolution of One with people throughout "the Heartland." I've been slow to get the planning for this Tour started, in part because the book sales have slowed down to a trickle. But now is not the time for more waiting -- now is the time for action! Now is the time to reach out into the world with my positive ideas and do everything that I can to share my inspiration!
I don't think that the Tour will be fully real to me until I actually hit the road, but I'm already excited. It's been a few years since I've done any extensive travelling, and if I reach most or all of the planned locations in a single multi-stop trip, it'll be the most places that I've visited in a row in any of my travels. I just saw the Motorcycle Diaries, so sometimes I think that it'd be fun and romantic to take this tour on the back of a motorcycle, discovering the communities of the Heartland on a youthful journey of personal growth and revolution. But I don't have a motorcycle, and it'll be quite some time before I can save up for that electric motorcycle and solar panel charger combo I've been dreaming of. So, it looks like Greyhound will be my tour guide for most of this journey.
I feel like this Tour will be the culmination of eight years of physical and spiritual journeying. Over the past eight years, I've travelled to San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Virginia, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont, Amsterdam, Munich, Dachau, Paris, Miami, and beyond, always with some lesson to be learned, some experience to be gained from the journey. I've learned how to be a political activist; I've learned how to be an ecological advocate; I've learned how to be a spiritual healer; I've learned how to reclaim my humanity and recognize the humanity in those around me. In essence, I have been reborn, and I have discovered many bits of information and inspiration along the way that I feel compelled to share with the rest of the world.
Sometimes, I get very dark and disillusioned -- not nearly as much as I used to, but still enough that many people who know me for my inspiration and enthusiasm would be surprised to discover how much the traumas of the world can still shake me. Sometimes, I look around myself, and wonder why I try at all, when there is so much inertia in support of a status quo that destroys the human spirit and lays waste to the entire face of the Earth. But then I remember my moments of insight and transformation on these spiritual journeys, and I remember all of the people I've met along the way, both on the road and here in Carbondale at the heart of all of this journeying. And somehow, even though my outside circumstances haven't changed, something inside of me fills with hope.
Yes, there's a lot of suffering and oppression in the world, and I don't claim to know how we can "fix" it all. But the idea of a Revolution of One sums up so much of what I've learned along the way. Even if we're surrounded by death and destruction, each of us can be that one light on the darkest night of winter, that one seed of peace in the ashes of a thousand wars, that one drop of hope in the desert of the real. And even if we don't understand fully how our actions contribute to the creation of a healed and liberated planet, we just have to trust that as long as we embrace the love and understanding upwelling inside of us, we will all find our way home together.
One light is often met by another, and is seen all the more clearly in the darkest of nights. One seed is often planted among others, and together can be the pioneers in the ecological succession from barren wasteland to fertile climax rainforest. One drop of water in the desert can pool together with others, and the oasis that they nourish can spread across the scorched sands one inch at a time. In this way, each of us as an individual Revolution of One can come together with many others to form a community Revolution of One. Ultimately, the people of each bioregion can stand together in a Revolution of One. When this happens, the world will never be the same -- and it all starts with you, and me, and our neighbors down the street, each making the simple choice that today will be the day when everything starts to change for the better.
So are you pumped yet for the Revolution of One Tour? I know that I am! We're still looking for confirmed bookings in Bloomington, Indiana; Carbondale, Illinois; Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary [Needmore, Indiana]; St. Louis, Missouri; and anywhere else that is longing for an earth conscious revolution of the heart. If you live in one of these communities, or any other in our general region, and you would like to help bring the Revolution of One Tour to your town, then please contact me. Otherwise, stay tuned to this site for more information, and I look forward to seeing you soon!
0 comments
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Weltanschauungskrieg in the Heartscape
Weltanschauungskrieg is a German word that means "Worldview Warfare." It was used to describe the Nazi strategy of understanding warfare (and life) as a struggle to conquer hearts and minds. Heartscape is a word that has been used symbolically and poetically by many people. For me, it's a literal term for the landscape of our hearts -- our hopes, our dreams, our poems and songs, our deepest feelings, our closest relationships, our greatest humanity, and so on.
Sometimes, I feel like the known history of humanity has been a history of escalating Weltanschauungskrieg in the Heartscape.
From the Roman Empire onward, this dawning Weltanschauungskrieg (WSK) grows bit by bit more intentional and organized. But in my mind, the real turning point comes in the 19th and 20th Centuries, when the ancient art of WSK is refined into a psychological and social science. Instead of using material weapons to expand a worldview of dominance, the worldview itself becomes the weapon of choice to maintain that dominance.
This brings us to the 21st century.
Sometimes, I turn on my TV to watch the Simpsons, That 70's Show, and yes, even that hit action series, 24. Every moment that this little black box buzzes in my living room, I can feel the WSK pushing on my consciousness. This is especially true for 24, and even more especially true for the corporate commercials. Every word is a bullet; every song is a grenade; every image is a bunker buster. On those rare occassions when I seek out Fox News or other direct fascist propaganda, the psychonoetic assault intensifies exponentially, to the point where I can physically feel each word, each note, each image smashing into my flesh. Soon, every cell in my body is resonating with the whispered words of this multimedia blitzkrieg:
...Action. Fun action. Terrifying action. Sexy action. Take action. Buy into the action. Buy these clothes to dance in the streets. Buy this car to play in the woods. Buy these soldiers to fight for these cars. Buy the flag when the soliders die. Buy, buy, buy more soldiers, buy more flags to cover invisible caskets, invisible bullets, invisible bombs. Buy elections to buy the soldiers. Buy Direct TV to forget about elections. I buy, therefore buy-am...
Is this really what we should be bombarding our consciousness with? I wish that it were only confined to the TV, but the entire physical, social, and economic infrastructure of our society is set up as an extension of the dominant worldviews that keep The Few in power, The Many powerless, and The All in a life of maximized profit and minimized meaning. Only small pockets and thin networks of counter-culture and counter-strategy remain, barely able to hold back the burning tides of the blitzkrieg, much less offer any sort of proactive positive strategy of their own.
In some ways, we in the United States are the most protected people in history. The chief task that our rulers lay out for us is to consume endlessly in an escalating orgy of fun and excitement. American WSK -- both in its psycho-social sophistication, and in its military backup -- is the most powerful WSK that has ever existed on the planet, and its continued expansion promises us greater wealth, greater popularity, greater security, greater FUN.
So, it seems to protect us above all others. And yet...
And yet... even aside from its faltering inability to truly protect us... we are not as protected as we seem. Why? Because it is we who are its first targets. It is we who are endlessly assaulted into submission by the blitzkrieg on our Heartscapes just to maintain the Empire. The American WSK that is sweeping over the globe as we speak was perfected first at home, and the greatest innovation in psychosocial control still arises here, in a Heartscape so dominated by this worldview that it knows no past, no future, no broader world outside of its carefully crafted cultural bubble.
Welcome to Weltanschauungskrieg in the Heartscape of America. Do you feel free yet?
And yet... there is still hope.
Somehow, I always come back to a place of hope. If I felt that the human heart had been fully conquered, and the human spirit fully chased from its physical vessel, then I would just give up on trying to make a difference. And sometimes, I'm about ready to give up. But then... I pause... I take a deep breath... and I look around myself...
...I search with my heart through the fluorescent haze of an entire reality designed to induce dreamless submission...
...I find the kinship of many kindred spirits, their hearts torn and tattered like my own, at times unsure which threads of their own fabric are real, quietly huddling together in stolen moments of deep resonance while the Weltanschauungskrieg marches on around us...
...I find sparks of humanity, ecology, ingenuity, authenticity, growing up through the cracks of pop culture like dandelions in a parking lot, sending runners across the barren land, springing up whole networks of independent communication, radical uprising, free thinking, free feeling, ecological living, intentional community...
...and even though the Weltanschauungskrieg is bigger, and louder, and faster, and shinier, and maybe even tougher, I just know that these little green plants peeking through the cracks are here for a reason. We are the sprouting seeds of resistance -- and even though it seems impossible at times, our roots and vines will soon weave across the face of this nation and this planet, overgrowing societies that used the sophisticated tools of the 21st century as just another big club to swing around in service of the paranoid and self-serving whims of their reptillian brains.
Well, on that note, I think that I've had just about enough blogging for one day. Away with the oil-chugging dinosaurs and hooray for the greeny rainbowy revolutionaries! Time to rest up for another day at work and another effort to exorcise the remains of a bronchial uberbug that our society of sickness has graciously passed onto me... you know, I tried to tell my bronchial tubes that someone who was warning society about the dangers of antibiotic abuse years ago should be immune to all antibiotic uberbugs. But so far, I've had mixed results... I'll let you know how it goes.
0 comments
Sometimes, I feel like the known history of humanity has been a history of escalating Weltanschauungskrieg in the Heartscape.
From the Roman Empire onward, this dawning Weltanschauungskrieg (WSK) grows bit by bit more intentional and organized. But in my mind, the real turning point comes in the 19th and 20th Centuries, when the ancient art of WSK is refined into a psychological and social science. Instead of using material weapons to expand a worldview of dominance, the worldview itself becomes the weapon of choice to maintain that dominance.
This brings us to the 21st century.
Sometimes, I turn on my TV to watch the Simpsons, That 70's Show, and yes, even that hit action series, 24. Every moment that this little black box buzzes in my living room, I can feel the WSK pushing on my consciousness. This is especially true for 24, and even more especially true for the corporate commercials. Every word is a bullet; every song is a grenade; every image is a bunker buster. On those rare occassions when I seek out Fox News or other direct fascist propaganda, the psychonoetic assault intensifies exponentially, to the point where I can physically feel each word, each note, each image smashing into my flesh. Soon, every cell in my body is resonating with the whispered words of this multimedia blitzkrieg:
...Action. Fun action. Terrifying action. Sexy action. Take action. Buy into the action. Buy these clothes to dance in the streets. Buy this car to play in the woods. Buy these soldiers to fight for these cars. Buy the flag when the soliders die. Buy, buy, buy more soldiers, buy more flags to cover invisible caskets, invisible bullets, invisible bombs. Buy elections to buy the soldiers. Buy Direct TV to forget about elections. I buy, therefore buy-am...
Is this really what we should be bombarding our consciousness with? I wish that it were only confined to the TV, but the entire physical, social, and economic infrastructure of our society is set up as an extension of the dominant worldviews that keep The Few in power, The Many powerless, and The All in a life of maximized profit and minimized meaning. Only small pockets and thin networks of counter-culture and counter-strategy remain, barely able to hold back the burning tides of the blitzkrieg, much less offer any sort of proactive positive strategy of their own.
In some ways, we in the United States are the most protected people in history. The chief task that our rulers lay out for us is to consume endlessly in an escalating orgy of fun and excitement. American WSK -- both in its psycho-social sophistication, and in its military backup -- is the most powerful WSK that has ever existed on the planet, and its continued expansion promises us greater wealth, greater popularity, greater security, greater FUN.
So, it seems to protect us above all others. And yet...
And yet... even aside from its faltering inability to truly protect us... we are not as protected as we seem. Why? Because it is we who are its first targets. It is we who are endlessly assaulted into submission by the blitzkrieg on our Heartscapes just to maintain the Empire. The American WSK that is sweeping over the globe as we speak was perfected first at home, and the greatest innovation in psychosocial control still arises here, in a Heartscape so dominated by this worldview that it knows no past, no future, no broader world outside of its carefully crafted cultural bubble.
Welcome to Weltanschauungskrieg in the Heartscape of America. Do you feel free yet?
And yet... there is still hope.
Somehow, I always come back to a place of hope. If I felt that the human heart had been fully conquered, and the human spirit fully chased from its physical vessel, then I would just give up on trying to make a difference. And sometimes, I'm about ready to give up. But then... I pause... I take a deep breath... and I look around myself...
...I search with my heart through the fluorescent haze of an entire reality designed to induce dreamless submission...
...I find the kinship of many kindred spirits, their hearts torn and tattered like my own, at times unsure which threads of their own fabric are real, quietly huddling together in stolen moments of deep resonance while the Weltanschauungskrieg marches on around us...
...I find sparks of humanity, ecology, ingenuity, authenticity, growing up through the cracks of pop culture like dandelions in a parking lot, sending runners across the barren land, springing up whole networks of independent communication, radical uprising, free thinking, free feeling, ecological living, intentional community...
...and even though the Weltanschauungskrieg is bigger, and louder, and faster, and shinier, and maybe even tougher, I just know that these little green plants peeking through the cracks are here for a reason. We are the sprouting seeds of resistance -- and even though it seems impossible at times, our roots and vines will soon weave across the face of this nation and this planet, overgrowing societies that used the sophisticated tools of the 21st century as just another big club to swing around in service of the paranoid and self-serving whims of their reptillian brains.
Well, on that note, I think that I've had just about enough blogging for one day. Away with the oil-chugging dinosaurs and hooray for the greeny rainbowy revolutionaries! Time to rest up for another day at work and another effort to exorcise the remains of a bronchial uberbug that our society of sickness has graciously passed onto me... you know, I tried to tell my bronchial tubes that someone who was warning society about the dangers of antibiotic abuse years ago should be immune to all antibiotic uberbugs. But so far, I've had mixed results... I'll let you know how it goes.
0 comments
