If you have any love for the following, you'll have a blast experimenting with solar cooking: meeting neighbors, science, interesting conversation, living lightly on the planet, arts and crafts, engineering, thermodynamics, cooking and baking, cutting edge technology, common sense, saving energy, survival skills... the list goes on.
I love putting something out to cook in my solar oven and doing other things within earshot or with it in view. I notice people noticing, or I notice neighbors not noticing, and I have an innocent excuse to strike up conversation: check on my food that's cooking thanks to the sunshine!
"Would you like to see my dinner in progress?"
"Woah, check out this thermometer!"
"Your dog is curious about my ______ dish. Come look!"
Next thing you know, we're talking about alternative energy efforts they're making or considering, or about little changes they've made to live lightly, sometimes diet is the topic, other times its engineering and science. No matter what, it's much more fun and engaging to share an experience than to talk about ourselves, in my experience. I love solar cooking! ...and it's yummy too.
It's one way to meet neighbors on purpose.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Longing and BElonging
I asked myself the following question one day, and I have felt like I belong ever since: "In a perfect world, in which everyone's needs are met, and we all know how to stay that way, where do I live?"
...I imagined myself stirring, waking from sleep in a new place. I asked myself: what does it smell like here? how does the light on my eyelids feel? what's the temperature like? how do the sheets feel on my skin? as I get out of bed, what does the floor feel like beneath my feet? what size and shape is the room? what other activities take place in this room? where is my desk/creation station? what communication tools are present? ...and I just noticed the wordless answers - the sense of the space...
Next, I asked myself: when I open my bedroom door, how does the doorknob feel in my hand? what does my door communicate to the outside? what is just outside my door? who is there? how does our connection feel? what is just down the path? what do I do there?
...I simply soaked in the sensations that came to mind. For me, this involved coaching myself "just go with the image, it's just a dream, no need to stop, just finish the exercise" ...and I am soh. glad. I. did!
I knew from then on what kind of neighbor I longed-to-be, and being-the-longing, I found myself becoming... a neighbor on purpose!
...I imagined myself stirring, waking from sleep in a new place. I asked myself: what does it smell like here? how does the light on my eyelids feel? what's the temperature like? how do the sheets feel on my skin? as I get out of bed, what does the floor feel like beneath my feet? what size and shape is the room? what other activities take place in this room? where is my desk/creation station? what communication tools are present? ...and I just noticed the wordless answers - the sense of the space...
Next, I asked myself: when I open my bedroom door, how does the doorknob feel in my hand? what does my door communicate to the outside? what is just outside my door? who is there? how does our connection feel? what is just down the path? what do I do there?
...I simply soaked in the sensations that came to mind. For me, this involved coaching myself "just go with the image, it's just a dream, no need to stop, just finish the exercise" ...and I am soh. glad. I. did!
I knew from then on what kind of neighbor I longed-to-be, and being-the-longing, I found myself becoming... a neighbor on purpose!
turning to one another
Margaret Wheatley wrote a wonderful book that liberated me from some important cart-before-the-horse thinking. When I started reading 'turning to one another', I immediately felt a deep sense of trust in this author.
I soon found myself scanning the appendices for what schools of thought and conversation formats she appreciated enough to mention there. I feasted on the list: some were familiar, some new. I felt my energy go 'high' out of my desired range and the accompanying thoughts were:
"I must study all of these! I love this! A comprehensive list of the Great Conversation Formats! Yay! ...and... oh no... that would take years... I feel so ignorant... Well, I will always be a beginner, and having a 'beginner's mind' is good..."
I read on and discovered that this wise woman recommends that we Just Do It: Just turn to one another! The title of the book is even devoid of capitalization, as if to say: "this is not a Method, separate from you. this is what humans DO." I feel relieved of some kind of tension I never knew I held. I promptly started sharing my Neighbors On Purpose project with neighbors, and haven't looked back. I have access to more intuition, and feel more rapport with others thanks to this book. I feel I gave myself permission to move forward, to be a neighbor now, freestyle, feeling on purpose.
I soon found myself scanning the appendices for what schools of thought and conversation formats she appreciated enough to mention there. I feasted on the list: some were familiar, some new. I felt my energy go 'high' out of my desired range and the accompanying thoughts were:
"I must study all of these! I love this! A comprehensive list of the Great Conversation Formats! Yay! ...and... oh no... that would take years... I feel so ignorant... Well, I will always be a beginner, and having a 'beginner's mind' is good..."
I read on and discovered that this wise woman recommends that we Just Do It: Just turn to one another! The title of the book is even devoid of capitalization, as if to say: "this is not a Method, separate from you. this is what humans DO." I feel relieved of some kind of tension I never knew I held. I promptly started sharing my Neighbors On Purpose project with neighbors, and haven't looked back. I have access to more intuition, and feel more rapport with others thanks to this book. I feel I gave myself permission to move forward, to be a neighbor now, freestyle, feeling on purpose.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Transition Handbook, Transition Movement 2
I changed an old post from another blog I used to have now that I have more perspective. This is dated around the time I was speed-reading the book, and the insights that ensued invited a deeper level of my being to become conscious, confident, and loved. I quit a job I loved, so I could more fully embody the wisdom this book aroused in me: wisdom about myself, and about my role in the context of my neighborhood.
If you plan on reading this book, please don't read it alone. Regardless, also, please read the 3 segments in the following order, so your brain doesn't make you top-heavy: Hands, Heart, Head.
Though it's a great thing he did, and I'm very very happy with the book that became my Bible for a year or more, I was never completely satisfied with the causal orientation of it (peak oil, living without oil) (...in fact, noticing the feelings of guilt that came up for me regarding CO2 while reading this book helped me to see the false motivations my environmentalism had been partially based in in the past and let that go.)
Frankly, I was happy at reading the (then) news (to me) of peak oil, since it would cause everyone to be an environmentalist... the thought of which brought me to consider the following issue I find to be both an effect and a cause of environmentally unwise behavior: loneliness (perpetuated by goals to unite too many people to remedy loneliness in one way or another, and frustration to the point of self-isolation).
I think the author has a good point: through collaboration on a local basis, on a manageable scale, guided by common vision, we can transcend the all of issues arising from peak oil and climate chaos without exacerbating either of the 2 aspects... AND I think there is a third aspect... an aspect of human perception very easily exacerbated in cultures where the issue is under-recognized already, an aspect of sustainability that is equally pivotal: the balance of living in both privacy & isolation, uniqueness & loneliness, empowerment & restraint, an image of humanity & a role in the whole, survival & spiritual transcendence, Response-ability & Trust.
I commit to being inspired by the Transition Movement, and embracing it as a wake-up call to my role as an invitation to healthy interdependence on the scale that I can affect, in the realm that I am naturally talented, with an eye for authentic and deep sustainability. I'm not a scientist (anymore). I shouldn't talk about science. I'm a social being. I'll be a neighbor on purpose.
Of course my efforts are part of the global transition, and I am in the 'heart and soul' area described as necessary for a good transition... I just don't want to call it that, and I don't have to wait for someone to host alarming movies in my neighborhood to have the same positive effect. I believe that when my life is a party boat, and more and more people get on it, and they inspire more, and learn how to invite more... there's no need to tell the last few they're on the Titanic. When it's just them, they're bound to get together and find community of some kind... and we'll just keep inviting them to the party... or rescue them out of the water later.
If you plan on reading this book, please don't read it alone. Regardless, also, please read the 3 segments in the following order, so your brain doesn't make you top-heavy: Hands, Heart, Head.
Though it's a great thing he did, and I'm very very happy with the book that became my Bible for a year or more, I was never completely satisfied with the causal orientation of it (peak oil, living without oil) (...in fact, noticing the feelings of guilt that came up for me regarding CO2 while reading this book helped me to see the false motivations my environmentalism had been partially based in in the past and let that go.)
Frankly, I was happy at reading the (then) news (to me) of peak oil, since it would cause everyone to be an environmentalist... the thought of which brought me to consider the following issue I find to be both an effect and a cause of environmentally unwise behavior: loneliness (perpetuated by goals to unite too many people to remedy loneliness in one way or another, and frustration to the point of self-isolation).
I think the author has a good point: through collaboration on a local basis, on a manageable scale, guided by common vision, we can transcend the all of issues arising from peak oil and climate chaos without exacerbating either of the 2 aspects... AND I think there is a third aspect... an aspect of human perception very easily exacerbated in cultures where the issue is under-recognized already, an aspect of sustainability that is equally pivotal: the balance of living in both privacy & isolation, uniqueness & loneliness, empowerment & restraint, an image of humanity & a role in the whole, survival & spiritual transcendence, Response-ability & Trust.
I commit to being inspired by the Transition Movement, and embracing it as a wake-up call to my role as an invitation to healthy interdependence on the scale that I can affect, in the realm that I am naturally talented, with an eye for authentic and deep sustainability. I'm not a scientist (anymore). I shouldn't talk about science. I'm a social being. I'll be a neighbor on purpose.
Of course my efforts are part of the global transition, and I am in the 'heart and soul' area described as necessary for a good transition... I just don't want to call it that, and I don't have to wait for someone to host alarming movies in my neighborhood to have the same positive effect. I believe that when my life is a party boat, and more and more people get on it, and they inspire more, and learn how to invite more... there's no need to tell the last few they're on the Titanic. When it's just them, they're bound to get together and find community of some kind... and we'll just keep inviting them to the party... or rescue them out of the water later.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Facing the Future
I love these Curriculum Guides, because they help real, human, loving teachers of all age groups teach Global Sustainability, Biodiversity, the Interconnectedness of All Things, Life-Size Math, Social Responsibility, and SELF-EMPOWERMENT, all the while
- building a curriculum students love,
- getting all types of learners to engage actively,
- accounting for fulfilling requirements for testing and meeting standards, by equipping teachers to evaluate student progress with precision in a non-invasive way.
It leverages free resources and copy-write free materials to provide a rich multimedia, multiple senses ‘workshop’ feeling. It puts the student first, gives them context, and helps them know themselves better as creative, powerful people. I simply can't say enough about good things about it!
I gave a copy to a neighbor who is a teacher aligned with her purpose. Her response? Ecstatic wonderment and enthused gratitude.
- building a curriculum students love,
- getting all types of learners to engage actively,
- accounting for fulfilling requirements for testing and meeting standards, by equipping teachers to evaluate student progress with precision in a non-invasive way.
It leverages free resources and copy-write free materials to provide a rich multimedia, multiple senses ‘workshop’ feeling. It puts the student first, gives them context, and helps them know themselves better as creative, powerful people. I simply can't say enough about good things about it!
I gave a copy to a neighbor who is a teacher aligned with her purpose. Her response? Ecstatic wonderment and enthused gratitude.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Transition Handbook, Transition Movement 1
Thank you Margo Adair!! I'm about to start (speed)reading The Transition Handbook, and attending the Training May 1st and 2nd. I'm so excited to apply myself to this project:
Big enough for my intentions,
Realistic enough to be broken down bite-size,
Author-modeled, and so: inviting...
And! explicitly guaranteeless - and thus, a worthy challenge!
The book offers a full-on case study of the first Transition Town - a town that, in 2006, decided it would be fun to challenge themselves with a living social experiment, sprouting from the question: "How would we choose to live in an age without oil?" Taking one action at a time, doing the inner and the outer work, they now live in resilient local communities that hold a shared vision.
Big enough for my intentions,
Realistic enough to be broken down bite-size,
Author-modeled, and so: inviting...
And! explicitly guaranteeless - and thus, a worthy challenge!
The book offers a full-on case study of the first Transition Town - a town that, in 2006, decided it would be fun to challenge themselves with a living social experiment, sprouting from the question: "How would we choose to live in an age without oil?" Taking one action at a time, doing the inner and the outer work, they now live in resilient local communities that hold a shared vision.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
This post is from an additional blog I used to have... interested in sharing in where I was at? I posted:
"For everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season..."
Now that I've gone through a time of intense inner focus (on how I think and feel about every kind of action I undertake (while implementing the GTD system)) I am finding myself attracted to large, highly social undertakings:
- I'm facilitating 3 workshops at a state conference for educators of young children October 15-17 in Bellevue
- I'm inviting everyone who is able, to attend CANFEST October 17/18th, a festival celebrating Compassion in Action, harvesting your story regarding Seeds of Compassion!
- I'm most excited about gardening, tapping into my neighborhood's know-how of sustainable practices, and facilitating the inner work that accompanies outer transition.
In synch with all the blossoms around me popping open for all to engage with,
~Briana
"For everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season..."
Now that I've gone through a time of intense inner focus (on how I think and feel about every kind of action I undertake (while implementing the GTD system)) I am finding myself attracted to large, highly social undertakings:
- I'm facilitating 3 workshops at a state conference for educators of young children October 15-17 in Bellevue
- I'm inviting everyone who is able, to attend CANFEST October 17/18th, a festival celebrating Compassion in Action, harvesting your story regarding Seeds of Compassion!
- I'm most excited about gardening, tapping into my neighborhood's know-how of sustainable practices, and facilitating the inner work that accompanies outer transition.
In synch with all the blossoms around me popping open for all to engage with,
~Briana
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