who are we?
a constant joke at the giving conference was amazement at the fact that people actually showed up, from locations far and near. the joke revolved around the "why". popular opinion seemed to find the invitation fairly vague. what made people come? and who were the people that were moved to be there?
from my perspective, two prominent pieces were the main attractors of this conference. the theme, opening space for giving to flourish, attracted a group of people whose visions included the gifts they personally had to offer and extended beyond themselves to giving for the greater good. the sessions generated were quite impressive, here's a few of them:
during one circle, a participant asked, "who are we?" if you're curious about the priests, educators, facilitators, writers, techies, philanthropists, inventors, entrepreneurs, activists, financial advisors or other types that showed up, peruse the list of participants.
as i settle back into being home, it is this question that continues to echo inside my head: "WHO ARE WE?" i think about all of the people that i am connected to. i think about all of you who have mentioned the kavanah post, who are we that choose to be intentional, aware of our actions, directing our hearts to Spirit, living in truth, sharing our gifts and passions with ourselves, our neighbors, our communities? a shining network of truth livers. WHO ARE WE? and how do we continue to connect and unite with one another so that the ripples of our actions spread wider and deeper into the hearts of beings all across this planet?
comments:
love my southern blood. i can't help but read "a shining network of truth livers" and think about a shining network of chicken livers!! feels like more of a comment statement, than words for the actual post!!
ashley | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 8:27 am | #
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Chicken livers!! or, Truth and Onions...
The echo inside your head resonates with a couple of phrases rattling about in mine: one is from the Pragati Foundation's Radiant Networking conference being spun out by Anne Stadler and Arun Wakhlu and their other Spirited Work colleagues, where they ask "how do we create an outburst of alive, radiant people throughout the world?" ("outburst"!)
and the other phrase fragment is "connective tissue". One meaning is: skin and bone, tendons and ligaments, that which keeps our structure intact and flexible, & the "ground substance" matrix that is the medium via which cells talk to each other and are nourished. Another meaning is, all the many ways in which people connect to one another (in which life connects to itself).
Christy Lee-Engel | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 8:39 pm | #
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(cont'd)
I'm just beginning to do some work with my herbalist-wizard friend Rowan, who has developed an amazing botanical topical cream (http://www.rowanbotanicals.com) and whose company motto is "doing business with friends" --so he is addressing both meanings at one go. It has been breathtaking to watch how the connections between friends and kindred have led to unexpected, and immediate, opportunities and treasures.
So: Who Are We? My astrologer friend Eric Francis asks, "For whom does We mean *all of us here*? All of us who drink water? All of us who breathe air?"
love, Christy
Christy Lee-Engel | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 10:36 pm | #
from my perspective, two prominent pieces were the main attractors of this conference. the theme, opening space for giving to flourish, attracted a group of people whose visions included the gifts they personally had to offer and extended beyond themselves to giving for the greater good. the sessions generated were quite impressive, here's a few of them:
- Social Venture Bank -- how to establish a "social venture bank" that could provide seed funding and planning support to help new, long-term, sustainable collaborations get off the ground.
- Better World Project Stories Online Giving Auction Market -- inviting stories from all kinds of people, networks and communities, with all kinds of purposes and passions generally aligned with simple principles capturing the essence of "highest good" and enable them to offer their visions in an efficient marketplace where they can get the funding and other kinds of support they need to realize their dreams (large and small) of a better world.
- Essential Foundations For Sustaining Giving -- What is essential in an organization/community to encourage and sustain giving and flourishing
- Building Bridges between the Left and the Business and Professional Communities
- Giving As Meaning/Purpose
- Gift And The Property Of Movement -- If one of the essential properties of a gift is that it must keep moving, what does this mean or how do we relate to this?
- Living In Truth
during one circle, a participant asked, "who are we?" if you're curious about the priests, educators, facilitators, writers, techies, philanthropists, inventors, entrepreneurs, activists, financial advisors or other types that showed up, peruse the list of participants.
as i settle back into being home, it is this question that continues to echo inside my head: "WHO ARE WE?" i think about all of the people that i am connected to. i think about all of you who have mentioned the kavanah post, who are we that choose to be intentional, aware of our actions, directing our hearts to Spirit, living in truth, sharing our gifts and passions with ourselves, our neighbors, our communities? a shining network of truth livers. WHO ARE WE? and how do we continue to connect and unite with one another so that the ripples of our actions spread wider and deeper into the hearts of beings all across this planet?
comments:
love my southern blood. i can't help but read "a shining network of truth livers" and think about a shining network of chicken livers!! feels like more of a comment statement, than words for the actual post!!
ashley | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 8:27 am | #
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicken livers!! or, Truth and Onions...
The echo inside your head resonates with a couple of phrases rattling about in mine: one is from the Pragati Foundation's Radiant Networking conference being spun out by Anne Stadler and Arun Wakhlu and their other Spirited Work colleagues, where they ask "how do we create an outburst of alive, radiant people throughout the world?" ("outburst"!)
and the other phrase fragment is "connective tissue". One meaning is: skin and bone, tendons and ligaments, that which keeps our structure intact and flexible, & the "ground substance" matrix that is the medium via which cells talk to each other and are nourished. Another meaning is, all the many ways in which people connect to one another (in which life connects to itself).
Christy Lee-Engel | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 8:39 pm | #
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(cont'd)
I'm just beginning to do some work with my herbalist-wizard friend Rowan, who has developed an amazing botanical topical cream (http://www.rowanbotanicals.com) and whose company motto is "doing business with friends" --so he is addressing both meanings at one go. It has been breathtaking to watch how the connections between friends and kindred have led to unexpected, and immediate, opportunities and treasures.
So: Who Are We? My astrologer friend Eric Francis asks, "For whom does We mean *all of us here*? All of us who drink water? All of us who breathe air?"
love, Christy
Christy Lee-Engel | Email | Homepage | 07.14.04 - 10:36 pm | #
