In the winter of 2011, with very little money in CSC bank accounts, our board of directors met in a small cottage behind a house in Palo Alto, CA. Our organizational outlook was bleak, by all "normal" appearances, and yet with the addition of Gabriela Maldonado-Montano as a new Co-director, fresh energy also was flowing.
Over the last year-and-a-half, we have overseen the Center for Sustainable Change with a kind of dedication that has had nothing to do with standard parameters for organizational expansion, or growth.
Every step, every week, every month has been a feeling our way through toward an unknown future, gathering a team of women who have inspired each other to find our passions, follow our hearts and rest in not knowing.
Old habits of thought were challenged, attachments to forms and "responsibilities" were questioned.While financials and administrative duties swung up and down, our commitment to finding and trusting wisdom within, despite and beyond the many "forms" the CSC has taken, has not wavered.
And now, we bear witness to a greater vision unfolding--the seeds of which were sown in many meetings, each dedicated to trusting in our deeper feelings. What felt right? What did we gravitate to? And what felt like it had been outgrown?
Today, a new administrator, our beloved Dave Nichols, is poised to lead the CSC as our new Director, with a fresh round of funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to work in at-risk communities and schools, nationally. Our personal visions for sustainably focused corporate work, and for wide-scale communications (radio, media and books) have also come to fruition. Gabriela will remain as Senior Trainer & Consultant to the Center, and Ami as Education Director--while we each pursue our individual dreams of (for Gabby) corporate consulting and (for Ami) writing and expanded public education.
We are pleased to report on all of this in the newsletter, below--and also to announce our upcoming "Foundations in the Principles" web- and teleconference-based class series, beginning May 5.
We hope our own journey of (mostly!) fearless discovery might inspire yours--a journey that looks beyond the forms, the circumstances life has presented, and to a silent knowing within.
Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us,
"Resiliency brings out our naturally wise response to situations. It's not something we have to strive for, or strive to be, or to do. Resilient is what we are." -- Dave Nichols
Last newsletter, we announced that Dave Nichols, our project leader on the ground in Charlotte, NC, had just accepted the role of National Community Resiliency Project Co-director at the Center for Sustainable Change. This month, we are thrilled to announce that Dave also will be stepping into the position of CSC Director, taking over the reigns of the organization beginning May 1. CSC Grants Manager Maureen Latta interviews Dave here.
CSC Online Course: Foundations in the Principles Begins May 5
Saturdays, May 5 to June 16, 2012, from 9:30-11:00 AM PDT
Join CSC Directors Ami Chen Mills-Naim, Gabriela Maldonado-Montano and Media Director/Trainer Elese Coit for this opportunity to learn (or learn more deeply) the Three Principles of Mind, Consciousness and Thought. Both an introduction to the Principles, and an opportunity to deepen an understanding of the Principles through continued dialogue on how they unfold in our day-to-day lives.
Held via Internet video conference (computer and/or phone), this class takes place during six consecutive weekly sessions, with the exception of a break for US Memorial Day weekend, and includes a personal coaching session for each participant. Restricted income scholarships are available by application, and a certificate of completion is also offered.
What people are saying about our training:
"The voices of the participants came to be just as powerful and deep as those of the facilitators, which is saying a lot."
NCRP News: School Signs on to 3P's
"When you can share with someone something that can transform their lives, that's hugely significant." -- TACRC Program Coordinator Amy Stewart.
An inner-city, North Carolina public school school is encouraging its teachers, students and families to learn about Mind, Consciousness and Thought through collaboration with our National Community Resiliency Project partners in Charlotte.
Read more about the Thomasboro Academy Community Resiliency Collaborativehere.
CSC Radio Show Finale - April 20
Tune in at 10 AM (PST) this Friday for the final CSC radio show, "Drop the Oars!." We thank all our listeners who tuned in during the past year to hear Elese Coit and Ami Chen Mills-Naim host A New Way to Handle Absolutely Everything on Seattle's Contact Talk Radio. As one listener said, "One of the reasons I get a lot from your show is that it's great to hear 3 Principles topics, as there is a lot of reading material out there."
After April 20, CSC will no longer produce this show, due to budget restrictions. However, we feel the show has a valuable role to play in sharing the Principles of Mind, Consciousness and Thought. If you have been a fan, and are interested in helping us to find a sponsor in the future, please send us your testimonial. Meanwhile, On the Front Porch with Ami Chen, a new show launched by CSC's Education Director Ami Chen Mills-Naim, continues to broadcast live, biweekly on Contact Talk Radio every 2nd and 4th Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Please do join Ami for continued dialogue on the 3 Principles, and the living wisdom within us and everywhere.
Archives of A New Way to Handle Absolutely Everything will continue to be available via our website, cscmediacenter.org. You can also find both shows on iTunes as podcasts. Listen free anytime you wish!
Your generous donations
SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY WORK AND TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS
Saturday May 5, 2012 at 9:30 AM PDT -to- Saturday June 16, 2012
Both an introduction to the Principles, and a deepening of understanding of the Principles through continued dialogue on how the Principles unfold in our day-to-day lives. This class will take place in six consecutive weekly sessions, with the exception of a break for US Memorial Day weekend
Internet video conference (computer and/or phone). One personal coaching session is included, plus option for certificate of completion. Restricted Income Scholarships are available by application.
