Mendrs Challenge

 

Mendrs Manifesto and Road Tour Challenge
check it out. We could do it here.

MENDRS

* MAKING MENDING VISIBLE * MAKING MENDING POLITICAL * MAKING MORE MENDERS

USA Education System - the Trap

Update: Saturday (1/19/13) i learned a lot.

And now i see why the academic model, even as revised by Antioch, will not lead us to the inclusive, vibrant, abundant future.

Building the Bridge as You Walk on It, was one book we discussed in the class i was invited to attend at the Seattle campus of Antioch University. I resonated with this title, as it spoke to how i work. But the discussion was on all the problems that stop us, students brought up their reasons for not going forward, their rational excuses- all the stuff that stops chi. (the energy of i can, thanx David Dorian Ross and PBS this AM) True, empathy was handed around liberally but baby steps, writing ideas down, going slow and careful or just plain stalling doesn't work for me.

The book suggests eight practices of transformation and wow, ok- no- there are a million ways to access transformation so ..is this not a product of system itself, where the logical, linear, rational, head learning approach is maintained because it's a product of said educational construct?  

So even as this was a doctorate level class in Leadership and Transformation, i felt it was a revisit not a step forward. When we broke into groups, i was frustrated by the learning gap i encountered.  i tried to expose the principles of belief and system limits, the new possibilities that arrive when you see through new windows and/or choose from the heart/mind space. They asked for evidence. 

So i tried to share fashionRIP experiences, how the "doing" opened the door and the magick of that vision manifested. I tried to explain how fashionRIP is my alter ego for public experiments with the conscious approach to energy, empowerment and change.

So even as yes, i see the wall many are facing, please, step back, turn left and walk 100 yards and voila the wall ends. You do not need permission, in fact you probably will not get it if you ask!

It is amazing how quickly that turns into a wall discussion, all the bricks, cement, the height...all the reasons one is stuck are true but again "not the point."

Break:

Then another class rich with theory, supported by data compilers (facts culled from the past to superimpose on the future, how wrong is this?)  was interesting.  However, when challenged by the idea of western agenda, the profs (team teaching -one man, one woman -nice) were at a loss. This broke the conversation open and two other women chimed in to challenge the "accepted" dogma. Great!

To be fair, the Antioch shared learning approach (much like Evergreen) differs from the usual university model. This was pointed out during the orientation briefing. Most universities are highly competitive organizations. professors are set into pecking order constructs where individual "kings" rule discipline silos. So principles of monarchy are guiding our democracy..really.

Well i can see that learning about co-operative constructs in this situation would be a hoot, for if process and event don't synch then the dichotomy is akin to hypocricy ..and just no.

I credit Antioch with having at least seen some of the problem, though they appeared unable to really question the sanctity of western manmade "reality." AKA they were still there to help plug workers into the system, either because they trust the system or they fear the consequences or both.  

(So what bridge are we building as a culture..when we agree to see walls while being taught not to see them?)

I also found it disconcerting that these profs were not willing to discuss more than a subject/object perspective. The theory for the next level was put off for the next seminar session several weeks away.  (I am hoping/guessing that will be on the the integrated vision or perspective, which when expanded, really gets exciting)

So i am ever more grateful i had the temerity, the gut instinct to veer off the path of the "smart kid" accelerated advance to UW classes that Rainier Beach pushed. Seems the trap of the  academic institution feeds your head as insidiously as the trap of the economic Oz.  

The best part of this experience was that I met a gutsy outspoken, artist poet from Tunisia who wants to work with local talent and the new story hub!! 

And this is how the bridge is built!

bridge my Uncle Nick built in Gig Harbor,

he also did the head-less critter in last post.

Leadership Development at Antioch

 

We are not Newtonian isolated, solitary, mechanistic things

 

we are organic beings of light, we are energy in a co evolutionary process with the whole of the planet

I am thinking of how to get my Phd. or Masters while creating a process toward generative systems, experimenting with the challenges of cooperative, collaborative , flattened hierarchical systems and developing dynamic new stories to reset the course.

As i no longer trust "our way of life," our sanity or our raison d'etre; i need to work on a way to build trust at the local level.

In a world orchestrated by energy and consciousness, it makes sense to realize that the living planet is "us" just as the "light in me recognizes the light in you." (Namaste) We are in a co-evolutionary process that is a most wonderful gift. Destroying the planet to fulfill the needs of an insecure or overinflated cultural ego is madness and disses g*d/nature/spirit/self.

I think we can grow up and accept the responsibility for the damage we have done- we are truly all in this together. We can awaken to our greater possibilities, to our unique potentials, if we believe we can!! Simple evolutionary stuff here.

So, hey Antioch let's make a deal. The Leadership Development path is their headline, calling them out to be leaders for active change is fair.

 

 

  It appears that somewhere along the way,

 we  lost our heads/hearts/minds (almost!!)

 

So as I am seeking alliances to build a design hub, a magnetic center to attract and develop the new stories by being one, I and my elephants are ready to enter the rooms of Antioch. (Just saw "Atomic States of America" and their are enough elephants in that documentary alone to fill the place!)

WaterRIP the Niads

 

These are stills of the video shoot last week. Thanks to Kim, Rhoia, Natasha, JoAnne and David for the water niad come to life story. I am eager to start the edit. Though i have a new program with it's inherent learning curve so may take me awhile.

There is a saying here..the simple "if its worth doing, it's worth doing well" and the more heroic

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and shrinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can. ~ Sydney Smith"

Ok this is over the top for the task at hand, yet i like the attitude and it suits the whole of fashionRIP. On the path with faith and ever widening knowledge this is how to play in unified fields.