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thinkoutword eNews
SERIOUS RE-SEARCH... AND PLAYFUL EXPERIM-ENTATI-ON
June 2010 |
When taking new steps - starting a new project or creating a new form - what's right? What's healthy and what's not? What works? These questions are constantly on our mind as each step is a new one. And our path is a continual tacking back and forth between study and action. Through research, we try to perceive the health and sickness of what already exists, and through experimentation, we try to listen to something faint and not-yet-existing within ourselves and, out of it, improvise a new way.
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THINKING OUT INTO NEW WORLDS
Imagine a beautiful summer evening, a group of healthy, friendly, welcoming people of all ages sitting at small tables, engaged in lively conversation about what it means to "support"...
Imagine a young woman, closely resembling a Renaissance painting of an angel, speaking about the many achievements during the last year of this small band of young people who are Think OutWord...
Imagine a young man speaking of the adventure this group is on, to work into the world in new ways, to find new forms: "The board form didn't work for us... The traditional fundraising form didn't fit with our thinking, our values, so we invented this one, and put it on at a moment's notice..."
Imagine these young people bringing to our tables gifts... and then we decided who would be the best recipient of each gift, at the table, at other tables, or elsewhere, until all the gifts had been given.
How I wish my check, so spontaneously and happily written, could have had many more zeros on it... This extraordinary group is in need of money energy, yes, but what become clear is that they are in just as much need of colleagues as deeply committed, as active, and perhaps as musical as they are...
The last gift we received that evening was the gift of sound. After hearing Think OutWord's Core Group sing throughout the evening, we lifted our voices up together, bringing into the room a living feeling of the creative harmony possible between the individual I AM, and the community of WE ARE...
Oh, brave new world that hath such people in it.
Davina Muse was one of around 70 people who came to our Annual Benefit last weekend. This was no ordinary benefit. We created a new form - a "(Community) Benefit." There was no entertainment or auction. Instead of telling people what we do, we did it with them. Instead of trying to sell them stuff, we gave it to them. And boy, did it feel good...
Not only did it feel good, it created social capital. We had café-style conversations about things that matter, and people started to see each other a little bit more. Then we harvested thoughts from the conversations, and everyone became a little richer from the intellectual capital that was shared. We played with goods, with our understanding of money. We showed people our finances, told them our needs and asked them for support - for $6000 worth of financial capital. We sang together. We closed the night. People gave. We counted it the next day. $6050. Extraordinary. Thanks so much to everyone who was there and to everyone who continually supports us by simply being interested in our work.
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 One of the things we spoke about at the benefit was Think OutWord's recent Core Group Retreat. A few weeks ago, we took a ferry to Fire Island for a three day meeting to look at where we've come from and where we're going... Much was discussed: upcoming events, our financial structure, how we strengthen the work that we're doing together, not only outwardly, but inwardly. One idea, a possible new offshoot that seemed to strike a chord with the whole group, was the idea of really focusing on Independent Projects and Research in 2011. As you'll see below, Core Group members are already busy with a number of different projects and studies. The idea here would be to bring this work more to the forefront: to clearly articulate the questions we're working with, find support through mentors and a peer-review process, and work towards more structured outcomes (such as an annual research publication). Details for this way of working will be ironed out in the fall, but I thought you might be interested just to know the direction we're headed. ~~~~~ A few Recent Developments for individual Core Group members that are well worth sharing: -
Kristin Dalton received the Henriette Rice Award for her work in painting.
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Rachel Berk, a senior coworker at Camphill Soltane, has been put in charge of development and asset management of the Soltane Foundation.
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Seth Jordan and Jordan Walker both received Student Research Scholarships from the Goetheanum that will enable them to do research for 6 months in Dornach. Seth will focus on the interplay between social forms and social processes and Jordan will look at new forms of adult education. (Connected to this is the Frank Chester Research Residency that Jordan recently helped create at the Threefold Educational Center).
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Nathaniel Williams has co-organized a summer conference entitled "The Search for Humanity in Contemporary Art" from August 13-17. For more info, contact Nathaniel at nafanyel79@gmail.com.
- Sarah Hearn and Think OutWord colleague and mentor, Gary Lamb of the Center for Social and Environmental Responsibility, received an RSF Social Finance Seed Grant for their efforts to research and publish Rudolf Steiner's Indications on Money and Finance (see Sarah's article below for more info).
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So... we've been busy. Besides the work that we're doing individually, there are also a number of Upcoming Conferences. (Remember - our work is with the young and young-at-heart! So no matter your age, if you're interested in one of the conferences, please join us!):
8/22/10 - 8/30/10: DOING SOCIAL RESEARCH | Think OutWord's 9 day "Community Lab"
Community Lab is part of a 5 week Backpacker's conference that the Youth Section is sponsoring. Community Lab will be an opportunity for 25 people to explore the fabric of community while living within the Triform Camphill Village, as well as working with various Community Organizations from the surrounding area. (For more info, visit our web page. There is limited availability for this conference, if interested please contact Seth Jordan at seththomasjordan@gmail.com)
10/5/10 - 10/7/10: Lemniscate Process Facilitator's Training with Nicanor Perlas
The Facilitator's Training is for individuals who wish to strengthen their capacity to facilitate organizational and group work. (This workshop will be very limited in availability, if interested please contact Seth Jordan at seththomasjordan@gmail.com) 10/22/10 - 10/24/10: Philosophy of Freedom Intensive
Think OutWord will host an intensive study of Rudolf Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom this fall in the Harlemville Area. If you're interested in participating, we encourage you to begin the book as soon as possible (everyone should have finished it before the weekend) and to register here.
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Lastly, some all-important Resources you should know about...
 2 AWESOME ARTICLES: Both written by Think OutWord Core Group members (the first taste of what a research publication might look like...) "Money: Reclaiming the Power to Create," by Sarah Hearn, is an amazing primer on money, exploring currency as a tool for community building with reference to some of Rudolf Steiner's indications in this field. (It's no wonder RSF gave her and Gary a grant for this research!) "Asceticism Today," by Nathaniel Williams, is a beautiful piece describing the search for "truth" by materialistic science as a modern form of asceticism, a rejection that denies us of our very Self. |
THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT: These cats are cool. Originally an offshoot of the Permaculture movement, in only two years over 200 "transition initiatives" have sprung up and transformed whole towns, neighborhoods, and city blocks with the stated goal of "bringing the head, heart, and hands of communities together to make the transition to life beyond oil." How do they do it? By making it awesome. By using social technologies that bring all stakeholders together to kick the habit and party (not protest) like it's 1776. By "unleashing," "reskilling," and hanging out with old people. These folks are on to something. (But they're not "they," they're "us"...) |
 SOCIETAL WHOLENESS: Jordan Walker and Seth Jordan have returned from their adventures in the Philippines! Their first trip resulted in a handful of interviews with presidential aspirant Nicanor Perlas and the possibility of future collaboration on a longer documentary. The second trip resulted in an international training for Cultural Creatives called EMERGE! (which Think OutWord co-sponsored) as well as a "Lakaran" - a 3-day spiritual walk with Nicanor (which was joined by the infamous Immanuel, musician and Threefolder, making it quite spirited!) Unfortunately, Nick was not elected President, but his campaign sowed the seeds for a New Politics to take root, and seedlings are beginning to pop up everywhere! |
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And a word from our sponsor:
"There is no need to get rid of state schools and state financial bodies tomorrow morning; but from quite small beginnings people will start to see the possibility of gradually dismantling the state education and financial 'machine.' The most important thing, though, is for people who see the validity of what is described here, and of similar social ideas, to stand for them and promote them. If such ideas meet with understanding, trust will develop..."
- Rudolf Steiner, Towards Social Renewal |
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That's it for now. If you're feeling deeply moved and inspired, you're welcome to support our work by donating online. We'd also love to see you at a conference, or you can join us online on both WeStrive and Facebook. (These social networking sites allow at least some semblance of two-way dialogue, so please sign up and join our groups. Also, they allow us to post quick updates and new resources as we find them, which is pretty cool. Let the sharing begin...) If you want to contact us directly, please send emails to: info@thinkoutword.org. |
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